10-23-25 - Thursdays w/Former Dallas Cowboy OLineman Dale Hellestrae - Thoughts On The NBA Gambling Sting That Went Down Today - Picks For NFL Week 8 Games

Summary

Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – 10-23-25

Thursdays w/ Former Dallas Cowboy O-Lineman Dale Hellestrae – NBA Gambling Sting Reactions & NFL Week 8 Picks

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Episode Overview

In this candid, lively episode, John Holmberg is joined by regular contributors Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo, and special guest former Dallas Cowboys lineman Dale Hellestrae. They tackle the major NBA gambling sting that broke earlier in the day, dissecting its implications for pro sports, and segue into spirited debates over NFL Week 8 picks. The group’s signature blend of humor, skepticism, and behind-the-scenes sports anecdotes is on full display, with several memorable personal stories and jabs about gambling, mob ties, and football heartbreaks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The NBA Gambling Scandal (03:11–13:00)

• Breaking News Reaction: The crew discusses that an NBA head coach was arrested for illegal gambling, and that the FBI said it “envelops the NBA.”
  • "How far back do we go? Because we’re talking about last year’s games." – John Holmberg (03:36)
  • Mention of players like Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups rumored to be involved, with gambling connections to both the Italian and Israeli mobs.
• High-Stakes Card Games & Athlete Addictions: Dale notes how even players who have earned over $100 million can get embroiled in risky gambling habits and mob connections.
  • "Legend has it, Phil Mickelson was in that big, big, big time. But you get into trouble with these guys, and all of a sudden they say, 'well, here's how we can kind of settle this.'" – Dale (04:22)
• Unusual Gambling Patterns & Detection:
  • They break down how unusual bets—like a massive spike on Rozier’s unders—raise red flags in today’s sports landscape where betting data is visible and tracked by computers (06:47, 07:12).
  • "Computers start going, something’s not right." – Holmberg (07:12)

2. Sports, Gambling, and Fixes: Historical and Modern Parallels (06:30–21:00)

• Changing Perceptions: The group reflects on how gambling is now normalized in sports coverage, which differs sharply from when gambling talk was taboo.
• Old Stories, New Evidence: They reference the NFL’s Spygate tapes and speculate that the destroyed footage was “more sinister than we even know.” – John (08:44–09:10)
  • Debating whether historic games, like Steelers-Cowboys Super Bowls, were influenced by inside information.
• Mob Stories & Temptation: Both John and Dale recount their own unsettling run-ins with questionable business deals and supposed mobsters.
  • John’s story about nearly getting paid $250,000 in cash for “being on call” for a casino billionaire:
    "If he gives you $250,000, you are going to be under his thumb forever." – John (16:03)
  • Dale’s run-in with literal black-suited men dropping an envelope in a Dallas restaurant, which he suspects was mob business (17:14–18:34).

3. Why Do Athletes Risk So Much? (11:00–17:00)

• The table is dumbfounded that megastar athletes would risk careers for gambling, despite immense earnings.
  • "What are you doing? How much money’s involved if you’re willing to risk that?" – John (11:07)
• The fear and pressure exerted by criminal organizations are discussed as possible motives.

4. NFL & NBA as “Clean” Leagues? (19:00–21:00; 26:31–27:40)

• Group skepticism that gambling, fixing, and underworld influence have really ever stopped.
  • "At one point, horse racing and boxing were America’s number one sport…It was all because of the gambling element. Then it got broken up and the regular sports came up. Why wouldn’t that be crooked too?" – John (19:24–19:35)
• They point to advances in technology making today’s activity both easier to track and easier to conceal.

5. NFL Gambling Stories, Bad Beats, and “Cashing Out” (21:32–26:34)

• The group recaps last week’s bets. Dale picked against his Cowboys and cost the group a potential $2,000 win, leading to endless ribbing.
  • Brady: "So fork over the 33 bucks because you lost us two grand." (23:13)
• Spirited debate about “cashing out” early or riding bets for a bigger payoff:
  • "That's a pussy's move. You make a bet and stick to it." – John (25:52)
• Dale shares the pain of almost winning a $10,000 pool, while John and others mock the more cautious strategy.

6. Sports Updates, Suns Talk & NFL Week 8 Picks (28:00–33:50)

• Discussion turns to last night’s Suns win and new team grit, especially standout Dillon Brooks, praised for playing through injury.
  • "This dude put a tampon on his head and wrapped it up with a headband and went back out." – John (28:56)
• The group doubts if Phoenix teams can ever truly be tough, joking the city “softens” visiting athletes.
• NFL Picks:
  • Brady: Takes his Bengals over the Jets, but admits nerves (31:00)
  • Brett: Picks Bears over Ravens, despite Ravens getting Lamar Jackson back (31:16)
  • Dale: Picks Cowboys over Denver, with bonus bet on Dak Prescott throwing a TD (32:06)
  • John: Takes his Steelers +3 vs Packers (33:02)
• Quick World Series prediction:
  • "It's got to be the Dodgers. But I want Toronto." – Dale (33:37)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Current Scandal’s Roots:
  “There is absolutely nothing new here. We're surprised because there's so many cameras and so much money now…But it is not new.” – John (18:38, 19:21)
• On Temptations in Shady Business:
  “If I was desperate, I’d have absolutely said whatever you need me to do. But luckily I’m in a spot where, like, that is wildly tempting, but if I don’t get any more information from you, you’re buying me and I don’t know for what.” – John (16:31–16:40)
• On Athletes Losing Control:
  “Again, wait a minute. What is going on? Michael Irvin tried to kill a man…That’s Michael all day, every day.” – John & Dale (21:53–22:12)
• Bad Beat Resentment:
  _“Brady got hooked.” – John (10:13)
  “He hasn't won a single week." – John to Dale about the bets (33:16)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introductions & Sponsor Chatter: 00:20–02:56
• NBA Gambling Sting Discussion Begins: 03:11–07:12
• Historical Gambling and Mob Connections: 07:13–18:34
• Personal Stories with Gambling Temptation: 13:41–16:40
• Modern Tech & Gambling Detection: 18:38–21:00
• NFL/Entertainment & Betting Stories: 21:32–27:40
• Suns Grit & NBA Talk: 28:00–29:44
• NFL Week 8 Picks: 30:14–33:50

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Tone & Style

The episode is fast-paced, irreverent, and full of playful trash talk. The crew’s chemistry shines through sarcasm, mockery, and honest confession, whether about bad bets, mob run-ins, or the endless intrigue of pro sports. Dale’s experience and grit contrast with John’s sharp wit and habitual skepticism, giving listeners both laughs and insights—even as they question whether any sports betting scandal is truly a surprise.

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For more details, stream the full show at 98KUPD.com or catch up on their podcast feed for tangents, deep dives, and the group’s next set of questionable wagers.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the HMS Podcast, brought to you by MMP Guns.com, your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition and accessories.

[B]

You thought that was funny?

[C]

You were laughing like a hyena when he said it. What the hell is wrong with you?

[B]

That's a great question. All right, quiet down. Don't be dumb. It is time now for Tiny to come in here and get it all done. It's Dale Hellestray, three time world champion, co host of the main event on the Internet.

[C]

If I got promoted.

[B]

No, he didn't. That's not mine.

[A]

That's not his.

[B]

Also participant in the John Holmberg sportscast called the Sports Thing with John Holmberg.

[A]

Now he's just a participant. He was permanent guest before.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And now he's a participant.

[C]

Guy until he found out that this thing might be kind of good. Yeah.

[B]

When I got involved, I said, this thing might be good. I should take it over. And I did. It's a good podcast. I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

It's got me as the star and host. And then you've got permanent temporary guest, Dale Hellistron.

[C]

Hi, Candy.

[B]

Along with. That's right.

[C]

And John. John says we gotta get a camera.

[B]

We were talking about that. The podcast, having cameras involved.

[C]

And you need a camera on you. Like you need a hole in there.

[B]

Like, don't you start.

[C]

Come on.

[B]

Cameras turn away from you.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

If you've ever heard a camera scream, it's like a horror movie. And turn it on and point it at Dale. Your camera will turn around the main event.

[C]

You can find it on all your podcast. That's right, Pod Bean. And that's right, Apple.

[B]

That's right. Same with ours.

[C]

Yeah. With Steve McCullough.

[B]

That's right. That's right.

[C]

Are you the captain of the ship of our.

[B]

Of our show?

[C]

I see a C on your.

[B]

Yeah, I'm the captain of the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs.

[C]

Okay. All right. Re read my sponsor. We need to sell some stuff.

[B]

Dale Hellister series brought to you by our friends at Diamond Coatings AZ. If you want to go to diamondcoatingsaz.com you're going to find out exactly what's going on. I don't know when they're going to post all the pictures. We did a. A big photo shoot at my house looking at this thing they invented. And that's the cool thing about these guys. If you're. You got a floor that you want change, you're like, I want to do this, I want to do that. They talked about my garage floor and like we could do a, like a Steelers themed garage for like, oh man, the whole house is going to go goofy if I start doing that. But they can do anything. And they invented this thing that they put down on my. On the floor, on the fly. Like you want this, we can do this, we can do that. They put it down. It's awesome. Pictures will go up online soon. I have a Steelers basketball and pickleball court now.

[C]

Oh, and pickleball.

[B]

Well, it's a combo. Ok. You roll the net out and do that or you can play basketball. It's pretty amazing. They did an incredible job and the best part is they get it done really fast. Most of their projects are one day install so they're in and out. They make everything look great. Garage, floor, tile, pavers, countertops, whatever you got. Painting, they'll paint. They do everything. Check them out and say, hey, thanks for bringing Dale on the show once a week instead of five times a week.

[C]

But how do you get a hold of them?

[B]

Diamondcoatings AZ.com Dale said it several times.

[C]

You just don't know how to sell.

[B]

Also, the word is gold. People think I'm saying goal. The 9 o' clock word for our app contest is gold, as in I love gold, like the leprechaun.

[C]

All right, a gold medal.

[B]

Oh, that's exactly right. Not the goal is a metal gold medal. Don't go G O L D is what we're doing. It is a. It's a weird day here. The news broke this morning that. And you had a great question right off the bat, Dale. Beyond all the sun stuff and everything else, a head coach in the NBA was arrested this morning. Yes. For illegal gambling activities. And they said the words the FBI used were it envelops the NBA. That means that either this isn't done or like you said, they're going back in time. How far back do we go? Because we're talking about last year's games. Which is why Rosier down in Miami got arrested.

[C]

Right, right.

[B]

And Chauncey Billup's not arrested for basketball yet, but he was involved in all sorts of side gambling games with the, the, how do you say Genovese?

[A]

Genovese.

[B]

Genovese.

[C]

Israeli.

[B]

No. What?

[C]

Well, one of us was involved in the Israeli mob.

[B]

Is that it too?

[C]

Yeah, the, the Israeli mob. I think it was Chauncey Billups. The card games were.

[B]

Yeah. They said there were 12 different families involved. Not all Italian, which is surprising, but like, yeah, Israeli. So your, your people are my My, this is incredible. This gets great.

[C]

Well, see, what I want a lot of people to understand is. And we can get into the whys and questions and all that, but you play these high stakes cards games and all, you know, say you make $100 million. Legend has it Phil Mickelson was in that big, big, big time. Yeah. And how much money he made over his entire career. But you get into trouble with these guys.

[B]

Oh.

[C]

And all of a sudden they say, well, here's how we can kind of settle this.

[B]

Yeah. You have control of something.

[C]

Yes. And. Or you. Seriously, who. Who's gonna. In 45 minutes with Rosier, all of a sudden $15,000 worth of bets are coming in on the unders on his.

[B]

And then he gets hurt.

[C]

Yes. 10 minutes.

[B]

Yeah. It's very, very strange that. So nobody saw that.

[C]

No.

[B]

Or they did. And they just have kept it quiet.

[C]

Well, I think it raised eyebrows flag it. And then it's like, okay, well, now we need to start looking into this thing.

[B]

And.

[C]

And they want to make sure that they're damn sure.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That they're going to get them.

[B]

But let's get into.

[D]

Avoided looking into it in the past.

[B]

Oh, I think the NBA has done a great job. I think now that you've got so many people's eyes on gambling lines, though it used to be there was a very frowned upon. But ESPN never used to run the over. You know, the first time I ever saw over unders on a. On a ticker was the ufl. And I remember watching that going, I know what they're doing here. They're getting like, they're acting like this is new, but they're going to start putting it on NFL games. They want to make it look normal for anybody who's poked in. ESPN started to put the gambling lines on the scroll. That used to be taboo. That was never mentioned. You'd have Jimmy the Greek pop on. You'd have an expert and he was a little shady with the pinky ring. And let me tell you something, Brett. These teams have been. I got them favored by seven and like, oh, gambling. Not allowed to mention gambling lines.

[C]

No.

[B]

Ever. Even on pregame shows. Now it's everywhere. So you and I, Joe Schmo watching Brady and I know it now talking on Thursdays when we're doing our picks together. Oh, Brady. It's hard to hear sweet, innocent Brady. 14 and a half down there in KC against the commanders.

[D]

You know, Dale told me about these hooks.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

That's what.

[B]

Yeah. Brady started throwing hooks around. I don't know I got burned on that hook. It was a bad beat. These are people who three years ago didn't have this language. So now that all these people are involved and a lot more people know about Terry Rozier's over under than ever before.

[C]

But the thing is, you look at $14,000 worth of bets came in on his unders within a 45 minute period.

[B]

Nobody bets on him.

[C]

Ever.

[B]

Individually.

[C]

No. In a nondescript. Yeah. Whoever was Heat, Pelicans, Hornets, Pelicans game in March. Yeah. And all of a sudden 15, $14,000 come in on. On Rozier's unders. And yes, that's when the computers start.

[B]

Going, something's not right. But again, it comes back to all of us having an app on our phones and knowing these over unders. Knowing, like again, the. I had a guy email me and say, the Kansas City Chiefs. He said, I'm a fan of the Chiefs and I've been accusing them of point shaving for the last year and a half. They haven't covered a spread like 90% of the time the Chiefs don't cover.

[C]

This week was the first time they.

[B]

Covered in a very long time. And it's like, why?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And then. And then everybody who has those moments that say, oh, the Chiefs, get the ref's help and this and that, push it. And then you don't want to believe it, but why wouldn't it happen? And. But the problem is.

[D]

So what's the call this week on the Chiefs?

[B]

Oh, you've got to get into watch the hook is what I'm saying. You get burned by that 14 and a half, that hook will kick your ass. And you know, you got any juice on that and the vid comes back and haunts you forever. But yeah, it used to be like I would go to Brett and say, I want to place this bet. And if things went sideways, Brett and I would handle it physically or he'd take something from me.

[C]

Right.

[B]

I couldn't call the police on him. I couldn't get justice on a bad bet or a beat that was sideways. Or if the bet turned out, I get beat.

[C]

But right. Or.

[B]

Or if I was dealing with some shady people, I had no recourse. Now, the people who have been doing it us might have a little pushback if it turns out this is a big deal and it turns out the NBA bets again. I don't know how, I don't know. I don't even know your feeling on the tapes that Belichick had for three or four years. But I knew when it was really bad. When Roger Goodell had a press conference say, I've seen all the tapes. You know, the punishment was just. And I destroyed them.

[C]

Couple things on that. Number one, I think that the tapes were a lot more sinister than the flake gate.

[B]

And the reason they didn't want it. Oh, much more sinister. But I think they're more sinister than we even know, which is why they were destroyed. Because if. If Brett's family got a hold of that and notice that you've been fixing games from within without them and gamblers took hits on Super Bowls territory, you're dancing around the wrong.

[C]

The only thing that I think you can glean out of those tapes is if you're going to hire a couple people to try and figure out their signals. Because I've always said, come watch our practice, but nobody, you know what we're going to run. You don't know when and their formation.

[B]

But personnel, when you move a guy over to this side, this is the play that goes all the time sometimes onside kick. I will never forget Marshall Falk saying that when he watched the. The onside kick in that Saints Colts game. And it was that crucial moment and they brought in three guys who'd never run on the special teams.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And Marshall Falk said if you had the tape of that, you'd have known and that that onside kick would have never happened.

[C]

Well, tell me this. Should we go back and look at the Steelers cowboys? Yeah. You know what? Yeah.

[B]

You guys might have screwed us on that deal.

[C]

Yeah. And we could have won that game.

[B]

What you're saying is what was the spread on that? 12 points. You guys had a heavy spread.

[D]

There was a hook in it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. There's 12 and a half. Did you get hooked on that?

[C]

Damn it.

[B]

Brady got hooked.

[C]

Hey, I want to know between you two, if you two got in a fight over somebody owns somebody.

[B]

Me and Brett.

[C]

Yeah. Who wins?

[B]

Oh, I kill him. I'm a trained assassin. I've seen him fight.

[C]

Come on, Brett. Come on.

[D]

Yeah, you're fighting. Doesn't do anything against.

[B]

Well, you don't know if you want to pull a gun when they see it coming. Seeing that's not a fight, that's a murder.

[C]

Fists.

[A]

He'S got training.

[C]

But if that nose isn't exploded within the second punch, if he can land.

[B]

A first one, then maybe. If he lands one, then maybe there'll be a second y. But yeah, you're going to need two to explode it. Yeah.

[C]

No, so. So the Whole gambling thing. What just absolutely blows my mind, because the first thing I look at is these guys have both Billups and Rozier made over $100 million in their career.

[B]

That's what I said earlier this morning.

[C]

What are you.

[B]

How much money's involved if you're willing to risk that.

[C]

But when you look at the phone and go, oh, Israeli mobs thing. Yeah.

[B]

Hello.

[C]

Come on. What are you. What are you doing?

[B]

Or even somebody whispers, I don't have. Look, I don't have $100 million, but I'm in a comfortable space.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And if somebody's like, oh, I'm with the mob, and I want to talk to him, like, yeesh, I'm not doing business with him. I'm just gonna stay away from ever. I might buy him lunch, but my wallet's pretty much staying in my pocket most of the time around him. Because I'm like, this is gonna get bad if I start investing in what he asked me to invest in. Why?

[A]

Cause it's Israeli mobs. You keeping your wallet in your pocket?

[B]

No, he would keep his wallet. I knew I'd have to pay. No, but if it was Italian or anything. Anything that I'm like, this is shady. I'm not going to lunch with them if I did. Okay. So once I went to Vegas, a guy. This was the closest I've been to this, right? So guy calls me up through another person who. He heard me do some voice work for the Suns on a schedule release. I did Barkley, Shaq, Kenny, and Ernie. I did the pregame, but they were babies, right? But I did their voices, and they overdubbed it. It looked great. We could do it with AI now. It would be so much easier. But back then, it was thing. Guy's friend sends it to this dude and says he's an Internet billionaire. He starts these companies that has all these games, and you see the. Like, the Royal Kingdom game. How much money that has to be making. Because, I mean, the celebrities. I mean, Lebron James. Yeah. Kevin Hart, the cast of Friends. All the people that are up there talking about. It's like, this thing's making a fortune. And that's what he did. He used to come up with these Internet games. So he. He gets told about me, and he says, you want to do some voices for it? An associate of his. And I'm like, sure. And he goes, I'm up in Vegas. I'm opening the business. And he said, why don't you come up and we'll talk? And he said, I'll show you around. I'm like, actually, I'm kind of connected in Vegas a little bit. I got some stuff at the Aria. I can come up. I'll meet you, we'll have lunch, talk about the business. I'll gamble it all, go home. He said, okay.

[C]

Holmberg's morning sickness. Holberg's morning sickness. 28 KU PD Holmes. Bloomberg's morning sickness.

[B]

So I get there. This is the craziest thing I've ever been a part of. And it made me so nervous. So I. I meet with my casino hostess. I tell her, and she goes, that's shady. And I'm like, really? Talked to another guy that said, just beware of him because he starts things and quits them. He. He's got so much money, that'll start something and just abandon it. Next thing you know, you get your. So don't quit your job for this guy. I wasn't gonna. He calls me in my room at 10 in the morning and he says, I know we're supposed to meet at noon, but I'm down in the lobby now. You want to come down? I'm like, all right. So I go downstairs, 11 o', clock, I'm all ready to go. I sit down, plop down with him, and he goes, so what do, what do you do? What do you do? And I'm like, what do I do? And it was kind of quick and, like, almost coked up. He goes, you want to ride? I can't remember the cars of Ferrari. And he said, I took the Ferrari. If you want to ride in that or you want to ride in a Bugatti, I got both. I'll do both. You want to go take a ride? And I'm like, we're good. And I'm getting this odd vibe. He said, here's what we're going to do. I like the voice work you did. I want you to do it for my games. I'm starting this new gaming day. I want you to do my voice thing. I want to be. I'll have you on call. And he goes, well, let's just do it. Let's just do it the old fashioned way. How much are you? How much do you make? And I'm like, come on. I'm not. Goes in. Let me just get. Let me throw a number at you. I'll give it to you. You're on call, okay? And I'm like, all right. And he, he literally said, I'll deliver $250,000 to your house. And I'm like, why? Why don't we just do it, like, case by case or whatever? And he said, no, no, just do that. And you'll be. You'll be. My employee will be covered. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I didn't even know the job yet. And he's already handing me, in our minds, 250,000 cash. Be on call to start off to be on call. And I'm like, what does that mean? He goes, well, I need you. I call you up, you do the thing. And I'm like. And even I'm thinking, that's excessive. That's an awful lot. I'm really good at this. But I don't know. And I'm like, what does it entail? And I got so nervous. And he left. He goes, oh, come back. We'll do dinner. And I'm like, okay. And he left. And I'm sitting there like, I don't want to be in a room with him ever again.

[C]

I don't even be. I want to be in public spaces.

[B]

Yeah. And if I'm wildly public and also don't want people taking pictures of us sitting down together. It was that dirty. And I turned it down. And it could have just because all I thought was, I'm getting in deep with somebody that's.

[C]

Yeah, I'm going to owe him now. Did you follow how he. How the games went?

[B]

Dale? I didn't know the company's name. He came out and said, I want you to do this, this, and this for me. I'm like, well, what is it you're doing? I'm starting this thing over here. I'll show you. We'll go over and we'll take a look at the building. And that's when he started throwing the cars. I'm like, what is the name of what I'm doing? What would you do? Oh, you do the voicing. You know, you're good. You do your thing. And I'm like, I'm literally sitting at the. There's a lobby bar at the Aria, and I'm staring at this guy, and all my brain's doing is run. Get away from this. If he gives you $250,000, you are going to be under his thumb forever.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Like, he bought you.

[C]

Because the next. The next package is going to be three dudes in suits.

[B]

Yeah. And a horse head. Or the next one's gonna be like, I gave you $250,000. You do what I tell you to. And I'm like, What do I have to do? Kill Dale? Hella straight.

[C]

God damn it.

[B]

All right, I'll do it. That's simple. Take him golfing out at wecopons. A little push in the back and he's done.

[C]

Leave him in the sad.

[B]

But it was this weird moment where I'm like, if I was desperate, I'd have absolutely said whatever you need me to do.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But luckily I'm in a spot where, like, that is wildly tempting, but if I don't get any more information from you, you're buying me and I don't know for what.

[C]

Right. And being on what is on call.

[B]

Exactly. And what is on call with voice work.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Like, this wasn't a. I can't do.

[C]

It in Arizona and send it up to you. Do I have to come to Vegas? Do I. No details.

[B]

He was. He was buying me on.

[D]

It was the weirdest you to call his Netanyahu.

[B]

Yeah. My only. Yeah. I need you to do me a favor. You do voices. Do it in impression of this guy.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Calling this guy, tell him his balls are going to be in the mail if he doesn't deliver. What?

[C]

Don't do it.

[B]

Next thing you know, I'm on the phone. I think I need you to do me a favor.

[C]

I've. I've had one run in with the mob, and I didn't even. I. I didn't know it, but there's this place called Campisi's in Dallas, right by smu. We got to go eat free there if you're a decent football player. And I'm sitting in the office one evening after dinner, and we're talking to Big Joe. That's the guy who started the restaurant and all that. It's me and my line mate. There's two of us in this kind of a cramped office. All of a sudden, two dudes show up out of every movie you've ever seen. Sunglasses, black coats, black pants and a black tie, white shirt. And walk in hand Big Joe, this manila envelope. And he literally pulls up something looks like a whatever, 8 by 12 glossy. Boom. Pulls the other one up, puts it back down, nods at the guy, hands it back.

[B]

It's over.

[C]

And then he went right back to talking to us. It's like, I gotta hold on.

[B]

I gotta go. You just witnessed the hit.

[C]

Yes. You just witnessed the thumbs up.

[B]

Is that what that was in your photos?

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[D]

That was the photographer.

[C]

Now, my.

[B]

My life went for the night, sir.

[C]

My line might swears he saw a dead body.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

You know and this was confirmation that.

[B]

Oh, my God. But let's. You know what? And again, we're clutching our pearls that this gambling thing is broke this morning and a bunch of athletes are being arrested. There is absolutely nothing new here. It's just it. We're surprised because there's so many cameras and so much money now and again. I always go back and Brett will argue because he just won't admit it. In the 50s, eight of the. I think 10 or 12 belts in boxing were held by Italians.

[C]

Right?

[B]

When the box, when the mob got kennedied and they were like keeping an eye on them, suddenly it was just all black guys and Mexicans. Nobody and no Italians could fight me.

[A]

Somebody else put the work in. What are we gonna take the beating for? Like I said, you're welcome. Phoenix, we got you an arena. We got you basketball team.

[B]

You won't hear it, okay, but it is not new.

[A]

Got your baseball team.

[B]

At one point. At one point, horse racing and boxing were America's number one sport.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

One and two. And it wasn't even close.

[C]

No.

[B]

And it was all because of the gambling element.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

That was it. That was it. You could use. There's a return on investment, everything about it. If you weren't at the arena or you weren't at the track, you couldn't bet. But a lot of people still did. But it was number one for a reason. Then it got broken up and then the regular sports came up. Why wouldn't that be crooked too? I'm sure back in the 30s, nobody thought the races were fixed, but they were. Nobody thought the boxing matches were fixed, but they were. Why can't we say nobody thought the Chiefs and Eagles super bowl was fixed. But why not?

[C]

But. Well, the whole thing is. Especially back then. Obviously they didn't have all these trackers. You didn't have cameras, you didn't have phones, you didn't have computers. You didn't have all that to try and flag and track to try and get away with it today.

[B]

Maybe it's easier.

[C]

How is that? Every bed is monitored by somebody.

[B]

Right? But dummies like you and me don't understand the computer aspect of this. That's an awful lot of money getting floated around invisibly.

[C]

But. But I. I guarantee you. What's your usual bet? 100 bucks.

[B]

Me? Yeah, 100.

[C]

100 bucks. My mind's.

[B]

By the way, you owe us. We'll get to that. Yeah, that's right. What are you talking about?

[C]

You're ridiculous. Buyout, Johnny, you owe me.

[B]

We'll get into this, all right?

[D]

This will be good.

[B]

Cut the conversation. We're moving on. Screw you and your stupid stories.

[C]

Your hundred dollar bet all of a sudden came up. And you, John holmberg, you bet $10,000 on Devin Booker under.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And Devin Booker goes out in middle of first quarter.

[B]

And I'm not alone. I'm not alone. There's like hundreds of other people doing it. Yeah. It's obvious that you can watch the spikes and the falls.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But that's easy to manipulate too. Really. I mean, if you really say.

[C]

But I guess what I understand is. And then I forgot over the summer, there was the guy from the Wizards who got arrested again. Gosh, I just forgot his name anyway. Gilbert Arenas. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, they. They had a poker game on the plane flight home and there's some money that flies around in those, but not a million dollars. There'll be hundreds and. Yeah. And things like that. And. And then somebody got mad at the other person and they both brought guns.

[B]

In the locker room.

[C]

It's like, what is going on? But what I. Again, wait a minute.

[B]

What is going on? Michael Irvin tried to kill a man.

[C]

That's over a haircut, John. That's fairly.

[D]

Hair's different.

[C]

Was it understandable?

[B]

Was it over a haircut? Is that the story? I know that's the story, but is that.

[C]

Well, he didn't like him either.

[B]

Okay. And was there a woman involved?

[C]

No woman. No.

[B]

Was there money involved?

[C]

That's Michael all day, every day.

[B]

Yeah. Okay, so he. This dude didn't dabble where he should have been.

[C]

They had no chance.

[B]

Because it does seem like. But it seems like a convenient story. He got mad.

[C]

Well, there were scissors. That guy was getting his hair cut.

[B]

He was on probation. He should he. Something else was going on there. No one.

[C]

Well, if we could get into the minds of all these idiots.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Then maybe it wouldn't be so many idiots.

[B]

That's a very good point. Now, speaking of idiots, last week during our football bets, Brady and I had the Bengals and Steelers. On Thursday last week.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Gladly took the Bengals five and a half. Brady got that. It was a good bet. I picked Darnell Washington to score a touchdown. Check that box. Huge ding. That helped us a $2,300 bet. Brett picked his Bears to win his their fourth game in a row. Boom. They do it. You had your Dallas Cowboys against their rivals.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

With no receivers or anything on the commanders. And you picked the commanders to beat your heart and sold Dallas Cowboys. And you're the only one who lost. So fork over the 33 bucks because you lost us $2,000.

[C]

Well, I'm going to go with the Brett payment method. I'm going to wait a week. That's fine. And let the interest rise.

[B]

Yeah, okay. I see you get the vig on that. I understand. A little juice. The. The thing is, I sent everybody in our little group a text saying, all right, Brady and I did our part, and Brett's game's going our way. And the Cowboys have, you know, pick it up, though, because they were down, like, 15 when I sent the text, and it said on the thing, cash out. 500 bucks.

[C]

Take the 500. Never, you cowards.

[B]

And wait a minute. He's the one who said, take the 500.

[D]

I said, ooh, that's right.

[B]

No, tempting. And I'm like, I'm not even looking at cash outs. I'm a man. You said, I wouldn't want to be.

[C]

In a foxhole with you.

[B]

That was with me.

[A]

And so I told him I wouldn't want to be on a sports book with him. 2400 bucks. We would have won.

[B]

His family's going through a lot today.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

A lot of news breaking on Brett today.

[A]

That's not 2, 400 bucks we would have walked away with or.

[C]

Because away with 100 and been half.

[A]

You wouldn't have got anything you lost. You'd have cashed out.

[B]

Yeah. Because you're a cash out.

[C]

We had a hundred dollars each.

[B]

Are you or are you not a cash out guy?

[C]

I've never cashed out.

[B]

Yeah, don't cash out. That's my. One of my. That is a. That's a character flaw. That's a human character. Well, it's a character flaw.

[C]

Come on. I mean, you got money in your pocket.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Take your wife out to dinner.

[B]

I got money in my pocket. That's why I'm a gamble.

[D]

It was a couple of Super Bowls, like, two years ago, that guy had $333,000.

[B]

Cash out.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

If he rides, it goes to a million.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[D]

And I think he. I think he cashed.

[B]

Well, then he's a giant person with a P word for a moniker. Because that guy, if you make the bet and you say, this could be a million dollars, you don't take the cash out.

[C]

No. I have been in, like, we used to do a big college bowl game pool.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And they're like, 50 guys in there, and it came down to the national championship game, and I had picked one team, and if that team wins, I was gonna win like 10 grand.

[B]

Nice.

[C]

And I had no money, so see, if they win, I win. 10 grand if they lose.

[B]

Well, if you're a broke dick gambling, you take the money. If you're a man with something underneath it.

[C]

Or do you do the smart thing and put a little cha ching on the other team?

[B]

Just balance yourself.

[C]

Not really even balance, but take a little bit so you don't walk away.

[B]

With hedging your bets.

[C]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

It's a pussy's move. Yeah. So you make a bet and stick to it. What do you say? It's like a man pays his bets, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I make a bet with you, we go till what the agreed ending was. You don't sit in the middle and go, can I have $20, Mom? Because that's essentially what you're doing. I don't want to lose. I don't like it. And don't gamble.

[C]

$500, John, I. I know that's not much to you, but.

[B]

Peanuts.

[C]

I was reading through Brett's.

[B]

It wasn't 500. It would have been a hundred a piece, right?

[A]

Nothing.

[C]

200 for you.

[B]

The bet we put in, that's breaking even for me.

[C]

Break. No, you take 100, because I got.

[B]

To put another hundred in next week for you. Deadbeats.

[C]

Freaking cowboys.

[B]

Chaos. Frickin Cowboys. How about them cowboys?

[C]

Who knows anything about the NFL? Who knows anything about the NBA?

[B]

Brady and I and Brett did last week.

[C]

You're the only one we'll see this week.

[B]

We all like. I haven't lost yet.

[C]

Jonathan.

[B]

I got the. I got the.

[C]

I think you and I lost the same week and that's why you had to pay.

[A]

That was you and I that lost.

[B]

My bets have hit every week.

[C]

Oh, okay.

[D]

I guess I am too.

[B]

I think you missed one, but it was. It was a tight one, but I think that was.

[D]

Oh, because we had two losers in one week.

[B]

Yeah, two. Two loser weeks.

[A]

But wait a minute. So we got Dale tied once. Is it two losses?

[B]

Two losses in a tie.

[A]

I got one, I got two. Because we both lost on the same.

[B]

We gotta go, not time. That's good. Good for you because you're taking a beating here.

[C]

Can he smile?

[B]

Toledo. No, not when you're here.

[D]

It's been a tough week.

[C]

It's been a tough week. His Mariners.

[B]

We'll talk about that.

[C]

You bought a ticket to buy some tickets?

[B]

You're looking at some tickets.

[C]

You want to buy some tickets?

[B]

He sold them to Chauncey Billip's friends. He's in trouble. All Right. Well, more with Dale in just moments as the sports world collapses around us. Don't take away my sports. It's 98.

[C]

Hol's Morning Morning Sickness.

[B]

98.

[C]

Can you repeat Holmberg's morning sickness?

[B]

We'll get to that in a little while, Dale. Off the air. We'll talk about that off the air.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

You don't want to talk about herpes on the air.

[C]

We're talking about sons. Talking about rah rah.

[B]

Got a lot. Oh, the rah rah room. We had Hopkins and the boys. We all went down there, had fun. My buddy, Dr. Brink Antony, friend Brian. Yeah, we had. It was a good first half of the game, Dale. Everybody was saying, maybe they win 15 games. 16 games. We sat drinking, hanging out. Like, if they tie this game, we'll go back to our seats, but they're not gonna. Next thing you know, we're all running back to our seats. They came back. They won it. That's a bad Sacramento team. It's not a good sunset, but it was more fun to watch a team that had some charge and heart in them.

[C]

And my new favorite player is Dylan Brooks.

[B]

Dylan Brooks, if you're a Suns fan, get. Get ready to buy his jersey.

[C]

Seriously. I. I was talking about it on the main event this morning before I came in here. No one knows what that was with Steve McCollum. You can find it on Apple and Spotify and those things. But fantasy, I said, imagine Kevin Durant getting six stitches in his forehead. Yeah, that's a week. Yeah, that's at least a week.

[B]

He's out for a long time.

[C]

Or I'm just gonna put a headband.

[B]

This dude put a tampon on his head and wrapped it up with an A6 band headband and went back out.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And wouldn't shut up. As the game went on, he just kept getting more and more into Rosen's face. It was exciting, and everybody's like, oh, here. When he started to bark and it got a little chippy, the whole crowd buzzed. Phoenix has never had a tough team. They've pretended to every once in a while. This might actually be a fairly tough team.

[C]

I don't think of all our sports franchises.

[B]

No, it's a resort town.

[D]

It softens tough guys who come into town.

[B]

Ex McDaniel was the one. I'm like, oh, Phoenix can't have tough guys. Can't happen. Because they go to the Phoenician once, and they're like, yeah, this is more fun than what I'm doing.

[C]

Well, enjoy. Dillon Brooks this year because if he spends off season here.

[B]

Oh, forget it. Yeah, he's gonna be the nicest guy in the world.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Keep doing. If it's in his contract, he can't go to Scottsdale. You're not allowed. Dale Hellas trace here right now. He's brought to you by our [e-mail] get your garage floor or any sort of flooring you've got. Vamp. Just amazing what they do. You got an idea? They'll cover it and they're Perfect. Diamond coatings AZ.com. all right, let's get to the picks. We'll talk about the. We'll talk about all that other stuff on John Holmberg sports podcast. Yeah. With special guests, you said?

[D]

Who's on today?

[B]

Weekly special guests. Today my guests are Dale Hellistray and a fella named Dave. We're going to talk to him later as well.

[C]

Angry fan. He doesn't show over. Yeah, robot TV there. He's angry.

[B]

He still does the show over there.

[C]

Yeah, he's the angry patriot over there.

[B]

Jesus Christ. And our blind listener Sean Rockefeller has emailed over some thoughts on Dave.

[C]

Oh, really?

[B]

He hates Dave. Passionately hates Dave. All right, let's get to it. Dale blew the picks last week for us. We would have had a nice monster this week. We go right to it. And one of the worst games I've ever seen in my life on paper. Going in. Brady's Bengals are hosting the New York Jets.

[C]

Oh, televised it is.

[B]

Yes. They're going to put cameras and pay people to talk about this game. Brady, who's.

[D]

I'm a little nervous about this, but I'm. I'm gonna go with the Bengals.

[B]

All right.

[D]

I mean, the jets are straight up right now.

[C]

Okay. Are you. Are you giving the points?

[D]

No, straight.

[B]

Go straight up.

[C]

All right.

[B]

Yours is very interesting too, Brett. The Ravens get Lamar Jackson back.

[A]

Well, he was limited to practice, so I don't know. They haven't seen either way.

[B]

There's no way. There's. He's.

[A]

They're injured pretty good.

[B]

He's playing. The Bears are rushing for 170 something yards a game. That's insane.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Caleb's thrown nine. Nine touchdowns, only three interceptions.

[B]

Doing all right. Four and two. One.

[C]

Four. What color fingernail polish?

[B]

I'm not taking that.

[C]

Purple.

[B]

I'm not taking that back. Can't wear purple against the Ravens. The Ravens get Lamar back. The Bears go into Baltimore. Four game winning streak. Baltimore can't stop the run. Bears can run. Who you got going five. You're going with the Bears. To Bears. All right.

[A]

You should be proud of me. For God's sake.

[B]

How about them Ravens? I am, I am. I am rooting heavily for that. Are the Cowboys off this week, Dale?

[A]

Now Denver.

[B]

Oh, they got Denver. That's right. Oh, boy. There it is in Denver. High flying Cowboys offense, no defense. Denver, no offense. Good defense.

[C]

I'm gonna take the Cowboys, I. I think straight up. Yeah, I'll take the Cowboys straight up. And, and how about one of those prop bets? I'll say Dak throws a touchdown pass.

[B]

You want me to add one? I'll throw one in there. If you want to make good on your.

[C]

I don't know how much that would add to it, but I think, I think Dax pretty soon he's have a lot lower odds than your. Your pick last week for Pittsburgh.

[B]

Darnell Washington. Tight end. Heavy tight end. Heavy. Running 13 all day. All right. My Steelers are Sunday night against the packers at home. Much like I talked about last week, Steelers were 2 and 7 on Thursday night as a road team. Oh, and 6 against their own division. Now they're 2 and 10 and oh, and 7. Equally as impressive as on Sunday nights. Mike Tomlin is 14 and 6. Covers his bread every time. I'm going to take plus three Steelers on that. And our bet is $2,000. Who.

[C]

Who they? Who are they playing?

[B]

The Packers.

[A]

In Pittsburgh.

[B]

In Pittsburgh.

[C]

Green Bay's favored.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Wow. Yeah.

[B]

Steelers are getting three. How about that?

[C]

Well, I think you should take him straight up.

[B]

I think that would bet y' all.

[C]

Go up to 2500.

[B]

No, that's silly. I'm gonna take it my way. You shut up. I think. I'm not taking advice from him. He hasn't won a single week.

[C]

You haven't.

[B]

You haven't won a week? Not one. We got all the other stuff too to talk about. I'm gonna another commercial and we're gonna do that. Who's gonna win the World Series? Go. Just go.

[C]

Well, it's got to be the Dodgers. But I want Toronto.

[B]

You want Toronto? You hate the Dodgers, don't you? Can't you admire like Americans? All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's anti American.

[C]

Shohei. Oh, Donnie, look at Commie.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. We'll take a break here. We'll come back to the entertainment drill. Nice job, Dale. Our bets are getting trounced mainly because of our football experts missing all of his football bets. Mushell astray. Yeah, Mushell astray is not helping any of that. The entertainment drill is coming up Arizona's.

[C]

Most powerful, powerful rock radio station.