DeMeco is ready for some real football

Summary

Payne & Pendergast: "DeMeco is Ready for Some Real Football"

Release Date: August 12, 2026
Podcast Hosts: Sean Pendergast & Seth Payne
Podcast: Payne & Pendergast (Audacy)

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Sean and Seth deliver their trademark sharp takes and humor on a range of hot topics in the world of Houston and national sports. With preseason NFL action just days away and the annual grind of training camp setting in, the guys get candid about the monotony of camp coverage, fiery social media beefs, and the astronomical rise of sports franchise valuations. They also take playful, yet pointed, aim at the pettiness and posturing in today's sports world—whether it’s Hall of Fame ceremony roasts, Magic Johnson’s Twitter presence, or college coaches trying (and failing) to manufacture villainy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Astros Circle of Trust" Debacle

Timestamps: 01:01–02:50

• Segment Summary:
  The show kicks off with some banter about the "Astros Circle of Trust"—a running bit among the hosts about which Astros players they fundamentally trust. Given the team’s rough start and inconsistent play, the circle has narrowed dramatically.
• Memorable Quotes:
  • "We lowered the standards for Circle of Trust for a while. Or we widened the circumference. We gave it a permeable membrane." – Gregg Berman (02:10)
  • "We don't have enough points to plot to make a circle. It's just a line segment." – Pendergast (02:46)

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2. Hall of Fame Weekend: The Petty Roasts of Adam Vinatieri & Bill Belichick

Timestamps: 02:51–06:15

• Segment Summary:
  The guys dissect Adam Vinatieri’s Hall of Fame speech, particularly his awkward shots at Bill Belichick. Nick Costas’s on-air defense of Belichick (and complaints about the trend toward roasts at such ceremonies) becomes a springboard for a wider discussion about pettiness and respect in sport.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "It's okay, he's the greatest coach ever, but I'm gonna take my shots at him. Can there be a modicum of respect shown for this man?" – Nick Costas (04:42)
  • "All right, yeah, he's an old man... you're here at the Hall of Fame, an institution which snubbed him this year, and just tell some tired jokes about him and his girlfriend." – Gregg Berman (05:58)

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3. Pushing the Envelope: Old-School Metaphors and Ads That "Didn't Age Well"

Timestamps: 06:31–09:41

• Segment Summary:
  The guys respond to Vic Fangio's use of "virgin" to describe Quinyon Mitchell’s lack of regular-season interceptions, which sparks memories of dated metaphors from crusty coaches and a broader conversation about dated, sometimes cringe-worthy TV ads and how American pop culture has (and hasn’t) evolved.
• Memorable Quotes:
  • "The old football coaches used to use the term 'virgin' metaphorically a lot more... I used to hear that from coaches: 'You think I'm afraid to get fired? I'm no virgin.'” – Gregg Berman (07:32)
  • "It's amazing how many of us Caucasians thought it'd be really funny to dress up and talk like Native Americans." – Sean Pendergast (08:11)

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4. Magic Johnson’s Twitter and the Manufactured Drama of Ring Ceremonies

Timestamps: 09:53–13:07

• Segment Summary:
  Magic Johnson’s over-the-top Twitter praise for the Knicks' championship ring ceremony draws the hosts’ ire. They argue that—outside of devoted fans—no one cares about televised ring ceremonies and criticize the broader media for forced attempts at drumming up significance.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "Aside from Knicks fans, nobody cares about the Knicks getting their championship rings. Nobody." – Sean Pendergast (11:04)
  • "No, we don't care... I'm petty about Magic Johnson sucking on Twitter." – Sean Pendergast (11:14)
• Humorous Sidebar:
  The guys riff on becoming like old men shaking fists at clouds about social media, and Gregg jokes about being "pleasantly surprised" if he ever got to heaven—covered with some light-hearted existential asides (12:04–12:44).

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5. College Football Posing: Texas Tech’s “Villain” Complex & Purdue’s Blunder

Timestamps: 13:11–17:27

• Segment Summary:
  • Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire's claims that the Red Raiders "embrace being the most hated team in college football" are met with skepticism. The hosts argue true villainy requires actual success or transgressions, which Tech is lacking.
  • The new Purdue AD tries a “burn” on Indiana despite Indiana’s recent championship, which the hosts roast as being tone-deaf and poorly executed.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "Joey Maguire doesn't get what being a heel is. You've got to have some success." – Sean Pendergast (13:52)
  • "That's what you are; you're like an 80s movie villain from before they hired good actors. Some skinny fat dude in a mesh shirt." – Gregg Berman (15:30)
  • "Go to the school that just won the championship in the most popular sport in collegiate athletics." – Sean Pendergast on Purdue’s misfire (16:49)

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6. BREAKING: Lakers Sell for $12 Billion – The Sports Valuation Boom

Timestamps: 17:54–29:44

• Segment Summary:
  News breaks that the Lakers have sold for $12 billion to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. This launches an in-depth conversation about the jaw-dropping growth in sports franchise values, why owners hold onto teams, and what actually motivates billionaires to stay in sports.
• Key Insights:
  • The appeal of owning a team is less about raw profit and more about ego, notoriety, and legacy—owners like the Fertittas (Rockets) and McNairs (Texans) are likely to hang onto teams indefinitely due to personal investment and community prominence.
  • Growth in team values mirrors increases in broadcasting investments, with sports content (including sports radio) now hotter than ever due to its immunity to digital commoditization and AI.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "The exploding values of these sports teams are indicative of something similar to… moving Sports Radio 610 and making the investment to move us to FM. Sports is hot." – Sean Pendergast (25:44)
  • "There's a level of notoriety and publicity you get from being involved in sports that you just don't get from being a run-of-the-mill ordinary billionaire." – Gregg Berman (28:18)

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7. Training Camp Ennui: Texans Coverage & Press Conference Fatigue

Timestamps: 31:06–36:57

• Segment Summary:
  Eleven practices into Texans camp and with games yet to be played, both the media and coaches are apparently running out of fresh angles—evidenced by questions about deep backups like Trevon Saunders. The conversation touches on how coaching staffs manage the repetitiveness, and the natural urge for honest “I don’t know” admissions during the long weeks before preseason.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "We're kind of getting to that point in training camp, judging by the questions being asked in press conferences, that... we need a game." – Sean Pendergast (32:12)
  • "There's only been a few times where DeMeco’s gotten chippy with the media.” – Sean Pendergast (34:21)
  • "Sometimes if you ask your husband a question and he says he doesn’t know the answer, just appreciate how much strength that took for him to say it.” – Gregg Berman, in a tongue-in-cheek riff on masculinity and uncertainty (36:12)

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8. Texans Camp Standouts: Montgomery and Marks

Timestamps: 39:00–44:05

• Segment Summary:
  Additional attention is given to practice standouts:
  • David Montgomery's route-running and 80-yard touchdown in camp are highlighted as potential game-changers for the Texans' offense.
  • Discussion on Woody Marks and Tejerron Jordan reveals excitement about their upside but also concern over durability and size for an NFL workload.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "What he's done a really good job of is his route running. He can spark an offense. He can lift us with just making those plays—or just by him being a leader." – DeMeco Ryans on Montgomery (41:52)
  • "The running style of David Montgomery is one that you don’t necessarily get to see the effects of in practice." – Gregg Berman (42:45)

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9. Candid Moments, Insider Banter, and Self-Deprecation

Throughout the Episode

• The hosts riff on a range of semi-related subjects—from inter-show station banter, to FM signal upgrades, to locker room etiquette and old school Houston sports legends. Their freewheeling chemistry keeps the show energetic, peppered with in-jokes and references familiar to Houston fans.

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Most Memorable Quotes

• On the Astros Trust Issue:
  "We don't have enough points to plot to make a circle." – Sean Pendergast (02:46)
• On Modern Roasting at Ceremonies:
  "It does feel like too many things have turned into people trying to make it a roast...." – Gregg Berman (05:29)
• On Magic Johnson’s Twitter:
  "I'm petty about Magic Johnson sucking on Twitter." – Sean Pendergast (11:15)
• On College Football Villains:
  "We're the biggest villains in college football. Get out of here." – Sean Pendergast (15:09)
• On Franchise Selling:
  "There's a level of notoriety and publicity you get from being involved in sports that you just don't get from being a run of the mill ordinary billionaire." – Gregg Berman (28:18)
• Texans Training Camp Fatigue:
  "There's only so many Keelan Rutledge questions." – Sean Pendergast (32:23)
• On Admitting 'I Don't Know':
  "Sometimes if you ask your husband a question and he says he doesn’t know the answer, just appreciate how much strength that took for him to say it.” – Gregg Berman (36:12)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Astros Circle of Trust: 01:01–02:50
• Hall of Fame Roasts & Belichick: 02:51–06:15
• Vic Fangio & Cultural Shifts: 06:31–09:41
• Magic Johnson Twitter/Ring Ceremonies: 09:53–13:07
• College Football Villainy: 13:11–17:27
• Lakers Sale & Franchise Valuations: 17:54–29:44
• Texans Camp Coverage Fatigue: 31:06–36:57
• Montgomery & RB Room Insight: 39:00–44:05

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Episode Summary & Takeaway

This episode is a quintessential showcase of Payne & Pendergast’s blend of sharp sports analysis, H-Town hyper-specific insights, and irreverent, self-aware banter. Between poking fun at the stale rituals of training camp and the media, the eye-watering rise in sports values, and the absurdity of social media posturing, the hosts keep things lively, insightful, and never far from a punchline. Listeners will emerge with a clearer sense of the pulse around Houston’s biggest teams, a laugh or two at pretentious sports dramas, and a reminder that, above all else, “sports is hot”—and only getting hotter.

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For those who missed it, this episode delivers everything: humor, local expertise, and a refreshing lack of filter—just in time for real football to (finally) begin.

Transcript

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[Sean Pendergast]

Every week on the Moth podcast, real

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

people tell their stories live on stage.

[Gregg Berman]

I burst into tears and I wasn't sure if I was crying because I

[Sean Pendergast]

hadn't been kissed in a really long

[Gregg Berman]

time or if I had just never

[Sean Pendergast]

been kissed like that before.

[Gregg Berman]

To hear fascinating, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious stories from astronauts, teachers, farmers, and people just like you.

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

Follow and listen to the Moth wherever

[Gregg Berman]

you get your podcasts.

[Sean Pendergast]

And Pendergast. I painted Pendergast. Good question. On the text pages. We're about to get petty. This is a good lead in. This is a good petty palette cleanser, I guess.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Appetizer. It's an appetizer. Is the Astro Circle of Trust bit with you guys over or do you just not trust any of them anymore?

[Gregg Berman]

It wasn't a bit.

[Sean Pendergast]

No. We've been doing it for years.

[Gregg Berman]

As far as our core religion, it was.

[Cole Thompson]

We had.

[Sean Pendergast]

We had. When was the last one? When was the last one we did? Yeah, the last one we did was on April 3rd, so we've done one all season long.

[Gregg Berman]

Who is in it?

[Sean Pendergast]

There were five people in it.

[Gregg Berman]

Okay.

[Sean Pendergast]

And keep in mind they got off to a rough start.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Altuve. Jordan.

[Gregg Berman]

He'd be in it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Jordan would be in it. Correa. I forgot he's even on the team. Yeah. Carlos Correa. Well, you know what?

[Gregg Berman]

We forgot he's on the team. Even as he's potentially coming back.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hunter Brown.

[Gregg Berman]

No, he wouldn't be in it right now.

[Sean Pendergast]

Not right now. And then Isak Paredes.

[Gregg Berman]

Who.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's. He's kind of cooled off a little bit, too. It might just be. Might just be Yordon.

[Gregg Berman]

We. We lowered the standards for Circle of Trust for a while. Or we widened the circumference.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

We gave it a permeable membrane.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

And it was. You're not Jordan and Hater right now. Jordan and Hater. Like we. Like, like so it's like a. It's a. It's a simple atomic. It's just an electron and a neutron. Yeah,

[Sean Pendergast]

that's what they are, man. Yeah. So there you go, listener. Not a bit. It's something that we do when we feel like doing it.

[Gregg Berman]

We're petty about there being no circle of trust. There you go.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

We don't have enough points to plot to make a circle.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's exactly right. That's exactly right.

[Gregg Berman]

A line segment.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right. Hall of Fame weekend was this past weekend in the. For pro football. Pro Football hall of Fame. And if you recall, this is Adam Vinatieri taking a jab at Bill Belichick.

[Richard Deutsch]

I would repeat those last few statements about coach Bill Belichick as well. Thank you for demanding excellence every single day. Your preparation, discipline, and attention to detail shaped far more than my football career. Unfortunately, Bill couldn't make it here today. There's a lot going on at UNC right now. He may be on a recruiting trip right now looking for the next Lawrence Taylor. I thought it was being because training camp had already started, but in truth, it's because he's judging his girlfriend's cheerleading competition.

[Gregg Berman]

It was a couple of good lines. He was just so bad at the delivery.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes. Delivery being sucks.

[Gregg Berman]

How do you about vinitari?

[Sean Pendergast]

No, well, I, I. Vinitary clearly is being a little bit petty about Belichick.

[Gregg Berman]

He couldn't be here. He's got a lot going on at unc.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes, you and I can be petty about his delivery.

[Gregg Berman]

The great thing about that is that people. If people were unaware of Bill Belichick's girlfriend being involved in adult cheerleading competitions. That sounds even worse than the age gap is.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

It's like, like you hear that and you don't know anything about the story. That sounds creepy as hell.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's dating a 15 year old or something. All right, so. So that was vinitary. The reason I repurposed this, though, in part was because of the. The. The jab. But Nick Costas, who does. He does some gambling. He's been on with us before, I want to say. Got a very distinctive voice.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Very New York, N.J. and his voice is very pitchy. He's got a very high voice. He is. He is upset with Adam Vinatieri disrespecting Bill Belichick.

[Nick Costas]

Someone who appreciates and knows and understands and respects the history of the game. State to claim to be the greatest ever. And everyone's gonna go make their jokes in that fabled place just Run this guy. Well, it's okay. He's the greatest coach ever, but I'm gonna take my shots at him. Can. Can there be some respect? Can there be a modicum of respect shown for this man and what he accomplished? Or is it just we're just going to mock this guy forever? Come on. Open mike night at the hall of Fame. Adam. Yo, Adam. Maybe his whole life he's wanted to do stand up comedy. He's like, this is my. This is my moment. Now I'm going to get all my jokes off. Stop it.

[Gregg Berman]

I stand with Nick.

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

You do?

[Gregg Berman]

Yes. I disrespect.

[Sean Pendergast]

You will not stand for the disrespect of Bill Belichick.

[Gregg Berman]

That's right. That's. I do. I did. It does. It feels like too many things have turned into people trying to make it a roast. There's a. And look, hall of Fame places are great for, like, kind of gentle roasting or whatever. Like, I think Bill Belichick is weird as hell for whatever the hell he's letting his girlfriend do with the football program and his life. And yet, at the same time, I do agree with Nick Costos. Like, all right, yeah, he's an old man. He's got to be like, 80 now, isn't he? Like, he's just.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's like 75. I want to say he's an old man.

[Gregg Berman]

You're here at the hall of Fame, an institution which snubbed him.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

This year, like, that's the extra part of it is that Belichick got snubbed in the hall of Fame voting this year and kind of just tell some tired jokes about. About him and his girlfriend.

[Richard Deutsch]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

I stand with Costos. Yes. Costos also did a video there yesterday making the argument that the jets could make the playoffs this year. So. Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, then that's a. What did Johnny say? A sizzle, sizzle fire.

[Gregg Berman]

Five sizzle fires.

[Sean Pendergast]

Five sizzle fires for that one. All right, next one. This is. This is Vic Fangio. He had a great reference to Quinon Mitchell, one of the really good young corners. Him and Cooper De Jean are two really good young corners that were drafted within a few picks of each other a few years ago. I think in that Lassiter Kamari, last. Same draft as Kamari Lassiter. This is Vic Fangio saying, Quinya Mitchell still a regular season interception virgin.

[Gregg Berman]

He still needs his first interception, you

[Byron]

know, of his career.

[Sean Pendergast]

I know he'll quickly remind you he's

[Gregg Berman]

got four in the playoffs, but he's

[Byron]

still a virgin in the regular season.

[Gregg Berman]

So, Fangio, a little funny, though, but having one in the postseason, four in the postseason already, that's almost like somebody who's starred in adult films but has never found true love. Can't settle down. Hasn't really had a sport special moment where they feel like they connected.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, my God. Yeah. Vic Fangio, dropping the old V bomb right there.

[Gregg Berman]

The old football coaches used to use the term virgin metaphorically. A lot more like that. You know, like, look, look, I'm no virgin. I've been fired. I used to hear that from coaches. You think, I'm afraid to get fired. I'm no virgin. Like, oh, I didn't know that those were even things that you would compare.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, definitely. It definitely feels like that's probably. Probably skews towards maybe a little politically incorrect these days.

[Gregg Berman]

Probably.

[Sean Pendergast]

Did I tell you? I told you this? I. I watched. I gotta watch it a little more intently and put some notes together. There was a video that got curated to me on YouTube that was ads from the 70s that didn't age well.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, yeah. Oh, I didn't watch it.

[Byron]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's like nine minutes long. It's okay. I gotta rewatch it and come up with some thoughts on this thing. Because I'm watching this, I'm like, yeah, that wouldn't fly. That wouldn't fly. It was amazing how many of us Caucasians thought it'd be really funny to dress up and talk like Native Americans.

[Gregg Berman]

It was funny. We're. As a serious dramatic actor, exercise.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, it was the ones I watched. They were being funny.

[Gregg Berman]

Like, no, when you go back and watch old stuff, I'd say, like, it felt like 95 of Native Americans were white dudes. Yeah, you're right, though. And doing this, doing the speeches. The thing is, they would do a stereotypical version of the speech.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's like bad syntax.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Somebody's actually, like, you know, doing a good job of it or something. But, like, there was a part of just. Just playing the stereotype.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was nine minutes long. So if I'm just doing the math, that means they're probably maybe like 25 commercials, something like that. And at least, like, four or five of them were what involved white people dressed up as Native Americans.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Talking like Native Americans to pitch cars to people.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, for cars.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

Ads. Yeah. Sorry, I was thinking of old TV shows.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

These are like the owner of a car dealership.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, yeah. Okay.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

Doing it real broken English and everything. Trying to get you to buy.

[Sean Pendergast]

To buy a Ford F150.

[Richard Deutsch]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm sitting here thinking, like, a lot

[Sean Pendergast]

of Indians drove trucks back in the day.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm thinking here I was having a. Like, a debate on NPR about, like, hey, let's not worry too much about, like, what. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, no, these are commercials.

[Gregg Berman]

Like.

[Sean Pendergast]

Like local commercials. So the production value is insanely bad.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, gotcha.

[Sean Pendergast]

So that's.

[Byron]

That's what that.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm gonna watch this after the show. It's.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's really. It's. It's pretty funny. A lot of ads for cigarettes.

[Richard Deutsch]

So.

[Gregg Berman]

Wait, what are. So Fangio wasn't being petty there, though, necessarily.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, no.

[Jen Hatmaker]

I don't know.

[Gregg Berman]

Maybe that's Quinn Yan.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Yeah, he's just a little petty. Quinn's felt like. It felt like this is a good place to park that cut. That has nothing to do with the Texans. All right, this one is a tweet that I'm going to read from Irvin Magic Johnson, who, as we know, on Twitter, can be a somewhat dicey proposition with his obvious observations and weird things he gets effusive about on there. Irvin Magic Johnson tweets. This is after the opening night schedule came out yesterday, Seth. Yeah, the. Where the Knicks and the Sixers are going to be playing each other. So LeBron versus the Knicks on opening night. Magic Johnson. Wow. Basketball fans all over the world should give Adam Silver a standing ovation for scheduling the Knicks and the Sixers game on opening night. Praying hands, emoji, clapping emoji. It was already going to be a special night because the Knicks are receiving their championship rings. But now LeBron James, Jalen Brown, Joel Embiid, blah, blah, blah, will all be playing must see tv. This is my message to Magic and also I would say to ESPN at large, aside from Knicks fans, nobody cares about the Knicks getting their championship rings. Nobody. Knicks fans care. The Knicks themselves care, and that's fine. Those people should care. But Magic Johnson acting like they did

[Gregg Berman]

this with the warriors, too.

[Sean Pendergast]

Must see TV of some team that's not my team getting their rings. Screw that.

[Gregg Berman]

No, we don't care. No.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, I'm petty about this. I'm petty about Magic Johnson sucking on Twitter.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Which he's sucked for years on Twitter, but this is extremely bad.

[Gregg Berman]

You know what? I kind of appreciate sometimes that Magic Johnson just kind of lays it out, like, as if you do. If you hadn't followed the NBA at all. Like, he pointed out that they. You know, that. That they want a championship and everything. That's good.

[Sean Pendergast]

You're not being Petty enough.

[Gregg Berman]

I can't get petty. Where did that light come.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, they took. The light got turned on in here. There's no more. There's no more. There's. There's no more curtain on this window right here.

[Gregg Berman]

All right.

[Sean Pendergast]

This window was covered.

[Gregg Berman]

I didn't realize. FM Chann handled that for us. Okay.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Fm you get rid of all your curtains and freaked out.

[Gregg Berman]

I thought I was just getting sucked up to heaven all of a sudden, which was a surprise unto itself. The dying was one thing, but the heaven part, Bonus.

[Sean Pendergast]

Pleasantly surprised.

[Gregg Berman]

Two things that I desperately can't wait to happen. I died.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

I'll leave this earthly hell. And B, I'm going to heaven.

[Sean Pendergast]

I get to use that note on my phone. Sing. Break the ice with St. Peter.

[Gregg Berman]

No, with Magic Johnson.

[Sean Pendergast]

Icebreakers with St. Peter.

[Gregg Berman]

Really wanna try to set the stage here? Well, for a good.

[Sean Pendergast]

We've debated for years down on Earth. Did OJ Ever show up here where you could turn him away? Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

No, with Magic now, though, he's aged to the point where it's like, okay, this is just kind of like my grandpa, I guess, tweeting.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe. I just don't like being told that it's.

[Gregg Berman]

That I should want to watch the rings. It was like when everybody was telling us, hey, hey, NFL fans, stop criticizing the Chiefs. You should just stand back. That's what this is, this championship they're about to win.

[Sean Pendergast]

Thank you.

[Gregg Berman]

This is what they were saying before the Eagles game. They were acting like they'd already won the game.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, remember?

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, three in a row. Who would have thought we'd see it?

[Sean Pendergast]

Remember Nate Burleson lecturing. Yes, yes. On just sit back and enjoy the great.

[Gregg Berman]

No, no, no, no. We're gonna hate the Chiefs with each ensuing championship even more.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, I've got two more, and they're college football related. Texas Techs Joey McGuire, who, you know I'm not a big fan of, their head coach, tells Brett McMurphy of On3, which is a college football site, that the Red Raiders are embracing the villain role. Quote, we're the most hated team in college football, and I absolutely love it. End quote.

[Cole Thompson]

That's the thing.

[Gregg Berman]

I don't think the team is hated as much as, like, the actual, like, Joey Maguire himself in the administration and everybody else.

[Sean Pendergast]

Cody Campbell, the billionaire benefactor of theirs,

[Gregg Berman]

that's the other hatred. I don't think it. I don't think I feel it from fan bases as much as. Because it's not like Texas Tech is sitting on Top of three consecutive national championships.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes. No, he. Joey Maguire doesn't get what being a heel is.

[Gregg Berman]

Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

You've got to have some success. And I know they made the college football playoffs. They also got shut out in their one game they played in the college football playoffs. So they. They rolled over. They. They rolled over in the playoffs. So it's not like they put in a performance in the postseason that would have people who. Hating them.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, you.

[Sean Pendergast]

You were ready to let a degenerate gambler play quarterback for you, and then when the water started getting getting a little hot legally, you said, why don't you go into the supplemental draft? And then kind of hung the kid out to dry.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, you guys are villains in the, like, people who read the paper version of the Sports Business Journal.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

You know, like people in various circuit courts or whatever we call these chicken

[Sean Pendergast]

bleep heels in the wrestling world.

[Byron]

There's.

[Sean Pendergast]

There's the. There's the heels that are cool because they're, you know, they had some success and they're bad guys. And then there's other ones where you're like.

[Gregg Berman]

They're like, you know, they're like the guy that pulls a practical joke on somebody, and it's not a really good practical joke, but they insist. Oh, yeah, you should have seen your face. Meanwhile, the person. The person who. The person who the joke was played on was kind of like, wasn't affected by it at all. You should have seen your face.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's exactly what it is. I.

[Gregg Berman]

Now I'm getting mildly agitated that you're acting like this, but no Joey McGuire. I sidestep the bucket of water.

[Sean Pendergast]

We're the biggest villains in college football. Get out of here.

[Gregg Berman]

Now, if. If Sorsby had been playing for him, then they would. Then they might have an argument.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, but they got cold feet with the Sourcebee thing. They're like, oh, why don't you go Pro? The Big 12 might punish us.

[Richard Deutsch]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

No true villain would have figured out a way to get Sourceby to play.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

And actually. And then. Then they'd be villains.

[Sean Pendergast]

You got cold feet.

[Gregg Berman]

But, yeah, you chickened out. You know what you are? You're like an 80s movie villain from before. They used to just hire some cheap actors, some of those old Schwarzenegger movies and everything. Like, it was like some skinny, fat dude wearing a mesh shirt who wasn't a good actor. Like, oh, this is the super villain in this movie. Like, no, you paid him, like, $25,000. He picked him up from a soup kitchen.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right. I don't know if you've seen or heard this yet. I immediately thought of you when I saw this, because this is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard somebody say. Not that you say dumb things. You'll think that this is very, very dumb. This is what we're about to hear.

[Byron]

I don't care.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm going to heaven. I don't know. Well, before you go.

[Sean Pendergast]

Before you go, take a list. This is new Purdue athletic director Tommy McClelland. Okay. Now, keep in mind Purdue, big in state, rival of Indiana. Okay. So he's trying to kind of resurrect Purdue athletic football, really, because the basketball team's good. But he's trying to get kind of people rallied with Purdue athletics. And here's what he said.

[Gregg Berman]

Every recruit, every current student athlete will hear this message repeatedly. We are here to win championships. If you don't want to win championships, go to Indiana.

[Sean Pendergast]

Go to the school that just won the championship in the most popular sport in collegiate athletics.

[Gregg Berman]

And then he stands up and looks at Signetti and he's like, burr, you should have seen your face.

[Byron]

Oh.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, the meme. Meme of the kid doing the walketti.

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

Oh.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, my God. How stupid are you?

[Gregg Berman]

How's that taste? Signetti? Oh, my God.

[Sean Pendergast]

If you don't want to win championships, go to Indiana.

[Gregg Berman]

What the hell was that?

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't know.

[Gregg Berman]

I wasn't expecting that at all.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm trying to figure out where he was gonna go.

[Sean Pendergast]

Better reaction out of you than I was expecting. Oh, my God.

[Gregg Berman]

Hey, Byron. Gen Z representative. What do we call that? That meme or that. That gif of the kid in the schoolyard doing the. Oh, you know what? I just call it the whoa as well.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

I think people listening might know what I'm talking about. Just. It's the one kid. They're like, in a schoolyard, somebody just either got beat up or they're, like, humiliated. And he just enters the frame with that, like, whoa face.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, wow. Breaking news. The Lakers just got sold for $12

[Gregg Berman]

billion to American businessman Josh Kushner on Bob Iger.

[Sean Pendergast]

Is he Disney? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

That's interesting. The way that was framed. It was like, almost like Bob Iger was American businessman something. Kushner and Bob Iger.

[Sean Pendergast]

Bob Iger's like, his assistant.

[Gregg Berman]

Is he Irish? What's going on? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So that.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

Wow.

[Sean Pendergast]

$12 billion going rate.

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

Whoa.

[Nick Costas]

Whoa.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

$12 billion for the Lakers. Hadn't they just.

[Sean Pendergast]

They sold a chunk of it.

[Gregg Berman]

A chunk of it.

[Sean Pendergast]

There's, I guess they bought the whole thing.

[Cole Thompson]

All right.

[Sean Pendergast]

The chunk that they sold, if I'm not mistaken. I'll look this up during the break. The chunk of it they sold valued the team as a whole at 10 billion.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So they, you know, in other words, that chunk, if you had multiplied it times the entirety of the team, it was 10 billion. That was like a year or two ago, though.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

This is today. Just now. 12 billion.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

Man.

[Sean Pendergast]

I, you know what, carry this into the next segment since we're up against it. This, this brings up yet another question that I have for billionaire owners of sports teams out there. We'll talk about that and a whole lot more coming up next.

[Gregg Berman]

Sports Radio six ten presents live from the West Point Lincoln and West Point Lincoln of Sugarland Studios. Here's Pain and Pendergast.

[Sean Pendergast]

We had a listener figure out what meme you were talking about.

[Gregg Berman]

It's the super hot fire meme.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep.

[Gregg Berman]

The, the one where the, the one they're having like a rap battle and the one kid is like looking like he just dropped the mic and another kid comes in through the screen with his hands over his face. That's. You can, you can tell your Gen Z friends. Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm talking about the super hot fire, which is from a video, a seven year old video that I just watched, which is, it's fun. I give these kids credit because people claim that young kids these days don't get sarcasm and satire and everything. It's a, it's a, it's a like a five minute long video of them like intentionally doing bad jokes.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay.

[Gregg Berman]

And then having that, like these guys having the Gen Z reaction. Yeah. Because they're super bad corny jokes. And then they're like, oh,

[Sean Pendergast]

good job, listeners. We get a lot of people still text.

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

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[Jen Hatmaker]

Hey, it's Jen Hatmaker. Here's what I've learned in midlife. Joy isn't the reward you earn after all the work is done. Joy is the work. That's what this new series on for the Love is all about. The sacred yes. It's choosing delight, rest and pleasure on purpose. Because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else. Come find your sacred yes with me. Follow and listen to for the Love. Wherever you get your podcasts, sing in

[Sean Pendergast]

about the the Station Changeover Tomorrow we're going to be 95. This time tomorrow we will be 95. Seven the fan it happens at 8 o'.

[Gregg Berman]

Clock.

[Sean Pendergast]

If you missed it earlier, we announced our guest list. J.J. watt will be the first guest in the history of the new station at 8:20. We do the changeover at 8:00am we're gonna celebrate. And then our first guest in the very next segment will be J.J. watt, Roger Clemens, 9am tomorrow and then Rudy Tom Jonovich, 9:40am tomorrow. So this time tomorrow we will be talking about how awesome Roger Clemens just was and saying how much we're looking forward to Rudy T. So Watt Clemens, Rudy T. Don't get any better than that.

[Gregg Berman]

Good job, Sean, putting together that list.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah man, no problem.

[Gregg Berman]

I mean you didn't just put together a list. You actually, you know, called them and everything, got them to agree to it.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's they were all excited to do it too. So looking forward to that. The have you missed it? The Lakers just sold for $12 billion.

[Gregg Berman]

A billion.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, 12 billion. And I'll ask this question and I asked the same thing when the Seahawks just sold for 9.6 billion. If you're looking for the high water marks for this is the new one for I would say probably North American sports in terms of what's what a team has been sold for. I saw a story earlier on tv, on ESPN that I guess they put out the values of the teams. Maybe Forbes does that list every year. The Cowboys are valued at 15 billion, but obviously Jerry Jones is not selling that team anytime soon. The, the Lakers actually sold for $12 billion today. The Seahawks actually sold for 9.6 billion. I guess what a couple of months ago now is earlier this summer, the Allen estate.

[Gregg Berman]

How much does it sell for?

[Sean Pendergast]

9.6 billion. Yeah, the Seahawks, that's, that's the high water mark for the NFL.

[Gregg Berman]

One thing I've noticed is that whatever the valuations are, they tend to like when those teams actually get sold. They're, they're a couple of billion off, give or take. Who worries about a couple billion these days? But it's a just, it's a lot of Money.

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't have one.

[Gregg Berman]

It's a ridiculously large amount of money compared to what it used to be.

[Sean Pendergast]

So my question that I asked after the Seahawks got sold, I'll ask it again with the Lakers getting sold. And I guess this would be. Since it's a basketball team we're talking about, I guess it would be more of a question for the Fertittas than the McNairs.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

But how high does the number need to get to where you start to consider selling your team?

[Gregg Berman]

I don't know. That's just real quick.

[Sean Pendergast]

Seth. Sorry. For context. The, the Rockets, the, the Fertina family bought the rockets for $2.2 billion. It'll be 10 years ago next year. So.

[Gregg Berman]

10 years already?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, man. Yeah. September 2017. 2.2 billion. That was the first team in the, in NBA history to be purchased for north of $2 billion. The, the Clippers a few years before that were purchased by Steve Ballmer for 2 billion. 12 billion. I'm not saying the rockets would go for 12 billion. It's the Lakers. They're a blue blood franchise.

[Gregg Berman]

But there's.

[Sean Pendergast]

But they'll be in the neighborhood.

[Gregg Berman]

It's going to be more than what they paid for 10 years ago. I think that. I don't know. I. With Fertitta, I know that for one his sons are very much like all about the Rockets. Patrick, especially Patrick. Really. I mean like it's, you know, so forever how much. And I think for Tita, like really likes obviously being a part of the community and all the money that he's put into the U of H athletic program, I think for him it would, it would have to be something that surpasses whatever financial benefit it is. I think that's like, that's. I think he enjoys and likes being part of the fabric of the sports society in the city.

[Sean Pendergast]

Absolutely.

[Gregg Berman]

Which is. It is. I mean that's how it goes with most sports owners. There's an appeal and for some people maybe it's the community part of it. For others it's just their egos or whatever. I mean you can go buy a couple of office buildings and get the same financial return and like that there's the glitz. Has a lot to do with it or just the, the community part of it above and beyond the actual ticket price.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, I think it's interesting too and I'll, I'll actually. A couple things. One, for Tita Tillman specifically said when they bought the team that a big reason they did it was so that Their family would have something like this in the family for the next generation. So I'm with you on that. And Patrick is very involved. So there's that, I think, too. It's interesting to me. This just sort of popped into my head on the day before we're about to flip over to fm. You know, there's an investment that's taking place with our company, with Odyssey in. In Moving Sports Radio 610 over to the FM dial, over to a spot on the FM dial that had been a successful station in the spot. I think this.

[Byron]

The.

[Sean Pendergast]

The exploding values of these sports teams are indicative of something similar to something like moving Sports Radio 610 and making the investment to move us to FM. Sports is hot. Yeah, sports is hot. Hot in terms of broadcast properties. It's hot in terms of media because it's one of the few. It's in on tv. It's one of the few live things you can still watch in radio. It's still a realm that hasn't been infiltrated by artificial intelligence. You know, people still want to hear opinions from other humans. And I think it lives kind of in this. Obviously different dollar amounts we're talking, but I think it lives in the same neighborhood. The message, with what's happening with us tomorrow and with what's happening in the Lakers today is the same message. Sports is hot.

[Gregg Berman]

Right? Right. Well, yeah, like, because even in radio, where, like, there's different ch. Challenges, you know, based on the. Just the way the. The industry has evolved. Sports radio is the one thing, and sports talk is the one thing that's thriving. And because people want as much sports content as possible, there's an appetite for it. And the. And we're also the easiest to transfer over to podcasts as well and everything, too. So, like, we can stream, we can do podcasts, and we're basically doing the exact same thing.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes.

[Gregg Berman]

It doesn't change anything. So, like, we've been lucky in that regard. But I think that. That the sports as a pastime, like viewing sports and watching sports, gambling on sports now has just become such a mainstay in society.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, gambling. Yeah. You're right.

[Gregg Berman]

The whole thing about owning a sports team, though, too, that when it comes to. All right, there's just a certain. Whether it's ego or whether it's just, you know, sometimes it's not. Sometimes billionaires want that public presence not necessarily just because of their ego, but because having your name out there helps, and it smooth things over, and it opens up other doors for you. It's just there's all types of different motivations. But I remember and I promise everybody, this is not a political take whatsoever. It's just a story that sprung my mind. It was when Trump first started getting into, you know, when he owned the USFL team. The story was that, you know, he was a big time real estate developer in Manhattan and like he had just completed some huge deal and he was sitting next to somebody on an airplane and saying, look. And he opened up the paper and he had to dig to like the headline about the story, people smoking on the plane. Meanwhile, you turn the page over or the front page of the sports section and just every random little thing is right there on the front page of the sports section. There's a level of notoriety and publicity that you get from being involved in sports that you just don't get from being a run of the mill ordinary billionaire.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

Probably a lot of billionaires out. Look, you know me, if I were a billionaire, I would be the quietest billionaire on earth.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes.

[Byron]

Nobody would.

[Gregg Berman]

Nobody would know I was a billionaire. I think there are a lot of other people that like you get to be a billionaire and you're kind of like, I want to enjoy the spoils of this billionaire.

[Sean Pendergast]

And here's the other thing. It's not like these are not like people that like the, the, the asset like a regular person. There are things at times that either because the value gets to a certain point or because you need, need liquid assets.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

That you sell these. None of these people, most of them at least aren't living in a realm where a point. I, I need to sell this. I need this influx of cash to sell the team. Like Tillman Fertitta can hang on to the Rockets forever if he wants to. Like his, his restaurant and hotel businesses are thriving.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah. You know, well, Bomber the Cohen. Right. The owner of the Mets.

[Sean Pendergast]

Mets, yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

I mean, he's using it like his plaything. Oh, he's so rich that he just doesn't. He's the one owner that is every fan's dream. Which is he just doesn't care about the bottom line. No. He's a guy that apparently he's that classic. From what I've read about him, he's that classic contradictory billionaire. Contradictory billionaire where he'll be stingy as hell in some regards, but then he'll go drop $100 million on a piece of art.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

And the Mets are just another thing that he collects.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

They're a piece of art.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Not a great piece of Art right now, but they're a piece of something. All right. Paint and pender gas with you. Yeah. So that's the big news that just came down several minutes ago. Is it the Lakers? $12 billion.

[Gregg Berman]

So what do the. What are the Texans valued at?

[Sean Pendergast]

That question. I'll go find it. During the break.

[Gregg Berman]

I.

[Sean Pendergast]

They. All I saw regarding the valuations of the NFL teams was the headline Cowboys valued at 15 million. Take a guess. I don't know. I'll look it up during the break. I'll find the article that has the Cowboys.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm make Cal an offer the next time I see him.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

Are you.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah. I'll put together a group of investors.

[Sean Pendergast]

I was going to say. Who's in your group?

[Gregg Berman]

Of the NFL. Well, the NFL doesn't allow. They're starting to allow private equity in a very small amount. But that's the one thing, the one thing that kills. Keeps prices down, is that it's a relatively limited pool in the NFL. They want one individual entity to be the owner. They just want to have that stability. If they ever opened it up to private equity or something, it would be absurd.

[Sean Pendergast]

The Yankees just. Did you see this yesterday? The Yankees just took an influx of 2.6 billion.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

They sold part of their team to retire all their debt and things like that. And I think it was an institutional investor, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, 2.6 billion. Not for the whole team, just for a. A chunk of the team. Which gives you an idea.

[Gregg Berman]

It makes you think about how that affects, like, other owners when it comes to the salary cap discussions and everything this offseason.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

We're not gonna have baseball for three years after this drink. Soak it in. Everybody enjoy it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. I don't think we're gonna have it next year.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

You don't think.

[Gregg Berman]

You think so? I don't really.

[Sean Pendergast]

There are a lot of people saying that right now, man.

[Gregg Berman]

People say lots of things.

[Sean Pendergast]

I know, but this. This feels like. This feels pretty dug in. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they feel pretty dug in.

[Gregg Berman]

Man. Don't say that.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's gonna be a long summer, man. No longer.

[Gregg Berman]

The Rockets better be good.

[Sean Pendergast]

I know, I know. All right. Pain and Pender Gast with you. All right, let's. Let's circle back to the. To the Texans. We'll find out what the guys have going on on in the loop. But coming up next, we got a question. Yesterday for Demico Ryan's. That to me, was the. The signal. Like, okay, we need games now. Yeah, we need games. We'll Play that for you.

[Gregg Berman]

200610 presents live from the West Point Lincoln and West Point Lincoln of Sugarland Studios. Here's Pain and Pendergast.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, final segment and then we'll hand things over to in the Loop. This is the first time we've been in studio with those guys. In a few weeks.

[Gregg Berman]

It's gonna be super hot fire.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's gonna be super hot fire. How you feeling? We're doing this four hour show today.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm good.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's been a while.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah. I'll probably go get an IV after we do something.

[Sean Pendergast]

A little drip spot.

[Gregg Berman]

Dehydrated. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

I love that. So I, I think we're. We're kind of getting to that point in training camp, judging by the questions being asked in press conferences, that. We need a game.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, yeah, we need a game.

[Sean Pendergast]

You know, the questions are getting a little repetitive. I don't blame the media. I don't. But I'm just saying, like, it's 11 practices in. It's. There's only so many Keelan Rutledge questions.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, but like, Keelan Rutledge's chippiness, etcetera, just becomes a topic and a theme every day. You're right. That's. Yeah. And it's not. There's only so many questions asked until. Until the Texans actually go out and face some actual competition. It's going to be tough. I was watching Josh. Not Josh McDaniel. Mike McDaniel's press conference yesterday. Oh, yeah. And. Or from two days ago. And they. He had. He took five questions about the battle at left guard, right guard. One of the guards. I think it's right guard. So five questions about the battle at right guard. Yeah, there's five guys vying for that one right guard.

[Sean Pendergast]

That had to be a long answer.

[Gregg Berman]

Those were the first, first five questions of Mike McDaniel about those guys. I feel like Chargers fans have got to be getting especially sick of training.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay, good.

[Gregg Berman]

Can you think of anything more just ridiculously boring than five straight questions about the right guardian?

[Sean Pendergast]

No.

[Gregg Berman]

It's relevant.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes. Well, this is where I. This, this is the question yesterday. Well, not the question, but the, the question that got asked yesterday. Or I'm like, all right, we need a game. D'. Amico. Ryan's got asked the question about Trevon Saunders, who is a, I believe, a wide receiver who's way down the depth chart, probably not going to make the team. And that was the question. How's Trevon Saunders doing?

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Byron]

Trayvon has done a really nice Job of just, you know, being smart, always aligning in the right place. We throw a lot on the receivers when it comes to alignments, motions, I feel like he's handled that really well. And he's a fast, explosive guy who. He can make some plays with the football in his hand. So we'll see how he does on tomorrow night.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay. Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

And I think. Well, I think Cole Thompson asked that question. I'm guessing that he was planning on writing a story about Trayvon Saunders. Yeah. So that was. I, like, he isn't one of the guys that I've seen him make some nice plays and everything, but he hasn't been one of the guys that's really jumped out now make. Cole might feel differently about that. He might feel like, okay, you know what? He's actually done more in practice than people realize.

[Sean Pendergast]

Big college guy, too. Cole was in studio with us for a few days. We had a good time with Cole. He's a big college guy, so that may be somebody he was watching at Colgate. Is that. Oh, is that where he's from?

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Cole might have been watching him at Colgate. Who the hell knows? Cole watches a lot of college football. But I. It was just one of those things that's not a shot at Cole. It's just one of those things like, okay, we're. We're to the Trayvon Saunders questions part of camp. You know, like something somebody nobody's watching at camp. It reminded me, and I give d' Amico credit, like, he gave. Gave a good answer, gave a thoughtful answer, was cordial. Will almost always will be. There's only been a few times where d' Ameco's gotten chippy with the media. I remember a time where Bill o', Brien, I think it was during training camp. It had to be. He was asked about. I want to say it was Matt Filer, who at the time was like an undrafted free agent offensive lineman with the Texas, went on to actually play in the NFL for a decent long time, may still be in the NFL. I have no idea. But he was a fringe guy in camp.

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

Camp.

[Sean Pendergast]

And o' Brien could not have been more dismissive. Why are you asking me about him?

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

O', Brien, who doesn't like talking about rookies to begin with.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Was probably like, you're asking me about. I'm paraphrasing. Obviously, you're asking me about this undrafted guy.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

How's he doing at camp?

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

Don't you ask me about J.J. watts, O' Brien. Sometimes O' Brien would get testy for no reason at all. I feel like that, you know, as a guy. This is what guys do. There's one thing we hate. It's when we're asked a question that we don't know the answer to. We have to fight with every. With every fiber of our being to say, I, I don't know. Because he didn't really have an opinion. Opinion on Matt Filer.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's a good theory.

[Gregg Berman]

Talking to anybody here and everything.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

You get caught knowing with a question that you don't know the answer to, you got to make that decision. Decision. Do I just BS my way through this, or do I admit that I don't know?

[Sean Pendergast]

That's like 60% of sales.

[Gregg Berman]

That's why. Some advice to some of the ladies out there. This is what you have to understand. Like, look, we're hard to figure out, us men. Sometimes. If you ask your husband a question and he says he doesn't know the answer, just appreciate how much strength that took for him to say, yeah, I don't know. I'm not gonna mansplain this to you. Like, even though I don't even know what the hell I'm talking about. I just don't know. Do not follow it up with the same question again, because saying it a second time, it feels like you might as well be in Get. Getting kicked in the junk.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, you're. You're pointing out a flaw a second time. What's that blemish on your face?

[Gregg Berman]

I don't know what it is.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's a hive.

[Gregg Berman]

I don't know, but it's a blemish on your face. What is it exactly.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right.

[Gregg Berman]

I don't know.

[Sean Pendergast]

That was one of the things I'll never forget. I. When I was talking to. Talking to Barry Warner one time.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Barry, formerly of the station, radio legend here in town. And that was. This is early in my radio career. I think I probably saw him at Texans practice, and he came up and we were talking. I'd known Barry for. I'd known Barry for a few years before that through Ken Hoffman, who was friends with both of us. And so I'd been to some things with Ken and with Barry, so we knew each other a little bit. The one piece of advice, I'll give you three words that you can't be afraid to say. I don't know. I'm like, you just gotta. I would have a hard time with that one. I'm gonna have a hard time.

[Richard Deutsch]

You are?

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, really?

[Sean Pendergast]

No, no, no.

[Gregg Berman]

You don't Talk out of your ass.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, no, no, no. At the time I said that. But I've gotten good at it.

[Gregg Berman]

You don't want to be the other. The other side of that coin is that you just gotta be well informed enough to, a, don't be in a position where you genuinely don't know that, or B, talk your way out of not knowing. Like, just don't answer the question like a political candidate. You know, you don't have to answer every question.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, you can't.

[Cole Thompson]

Yeah, you.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's okay to say I don't know. You just can't do it in this business all the time. Because if you don't know all the time, then they'll get somebody who does know things.

[Gregg Berman]

Or if you're good at it, you can actually make like $10 million a year. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Lemonade. Fresh squeezed lemonade.

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[Gregg Berman]

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[Nick Costas]

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[Nick Costas]

That's digitallocalads.com okay, people, mine starts here.

[Sean Pendergast]

I painted pender gas with you. Hey, a little bit more from. From D' Amico Ryan's. Let's. Let's skip down Byron to D' Amico 5. Monday's practice, not great. Yesterday's practice, much better.

[Byron]

I think the guys are a little fired up and I had to get after him a little bit yesterday. It wasn't our best practice yesterday by any means. That wasn't who we are, how we come out. That wasn't it. So, you know, everybody need a reminder just of what we're doing, what we're trying to achieve. What are we trying to accomplish? Right? To do what we're trying to accomplish, it takes persistent work every single day. We can't have letdowns. We can't have setbacks. Like, we have to continue to press forward. We have to count on guys to be relentlessly consistent in what they're doing in their approach every single day. Yesterday we took a step back. It wasn't good enough. But today, guys responded really well, all three phases did a really great job. Right? Making plays, doing what they're supposed to do.

[Sean Pendergast]

So all right, good. Followed up with bad practice.

[Gregg Berman]

With a good practice. And I wouldn't have thought. I didn't think it was particularly any better or worse than other practices. After watching practice on Monday, usually for d' Ameco to say that it was one of those things where when they went and watched the film, I'm guessing there were, there were mental errors. There might have been some lapses in swarminess on the defensive side of the ball. And then I think too also just like CJ and that pick that he threw to Colin Wright, I think that was without having watched the film and everything in real time, I felt like it was an ill advised throw. It was. And that maybe that was part of it too. So I think you just wanted a crisper, cleaner practice. And by all accounts from people out there, yesterday, it was a very energetic practice.

[Sean Pendergast]

What play that you saw? Cause you and I were not there yesterday. What play that you heard about were you most sad that you missed?

[Gregg Berman]

I think the deep strike to Nico.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay.

[Gregg Berman]

And it was with Kamari Lasseter defending him, I believe, or covering him. I think you're right. It was just because I think what we've seen with Nico and those two cornerbacks all camp long is man, and when they try to run a go route or something down the sideline, it is a battle. And it's, it's Nico and either Derek Singler, Kamari Lasseter really fighting the whole way down and you know, and not in a way where you feel any worse about Nico or, or, or Distingley or anything. It's just, it's cool to watch. Yeah. But they also haven't had a lot of deep strikes.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, they have.

[Gregg Berman]

And then that's a good one. I would add on to it the David Montgomery 80 yard touchdown.

[Sean Pendergast]

That was mine. I would love to have seen what that looked like. An 80 yard touchdown catch and run by David Montgomery. Oh, I should have asked.

[Gregg Berman]

I'll talk to John about that later. Yeah. Cause I'm curious too. Just.

[Cole Thompson]

Okay.

[Gregg Berman]

If you catch a, if you, if a running back catches a pass 10 yards downfield, that's cool.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay.

[Gregg Berman]

So we beat Henry. Toto is in coverage, but. But there's another level of the defense there that wasn't able to get him. So I'm wondering if there's a little bit of misdirection involved. They got everybody kind of rolling over to the right and then they. And then he threw back to the other side of the field.

[Sean Pendergast]

Here was D' Amico on the Montgomery 80 yard touchdown.

[Byron]

It was a huge play, Huge momentum boost for our offense to see David is what he's done a really good job of is his route running. Right. And him and Henry have had a lot of battles thus far in camp. So it was cool to see, you know, David make a big play for us. And that's the type of player he is. That's why he's here for us. He can spark an offense. Right. He can lift us with just making those plays or just by him being a leader, being vocal. Right. Encouraging the other guys.

[Gregg Berman]

I can lift you up. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's the wind beneath our wings. David Montgomery.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah. The David Montgomery. Okay. We probably won't see him in the preseason at all. Right. Or maybe just one or two series. Whatever.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Whatever game the first string offense plays in, I think he'll play in that game.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

Okay. So we'll see him for a couple of series.

[Sean Pendergast]

However long CJ Is out there, I would expect David Montgomery.

[Gregg Berman]

I know this is where I am. You know, we've talked a lot about Woody Marks and how good he's looked in camp. And I don't. I know some people think that, you know, Woody Marks looks like he's better than David Montgomery. Like I. This. The running style of David Montgomery is one that you don't necessarily get to see the effects of it in an in practice.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

Just because they're just like they're thuds and you don't like. So some of the broken tackles and some of the physicality and short yardage you don't see. I think the biggest. The biggest lingering, gnawing concern that I'm going to have, and there's nothing the preseason can do about it, is the fact that Woody Marks got injured a lot last year.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

And that man, yeah, he looks really good in camp, but he is still an undersized guy. And I know that he learned a lot. He's talked about. He learned a lot about taking care of his body and recovering from week to week in the NFL. But the.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

And I like to our Jordan a lot, but he's currently injured.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

And he's £180. Is he 180? Is he cracking 180?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, I think. Yeah. In that neighborhood. Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

So I feel like I'm excited about the upside of all three of those guys, but I'm still a little bit nervous about the. The durability of a couple of them.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's valid. I. To me, the whole Montgomery Marks thing, you know, David Montgomery, Woody Marks thing is less about comparing the two of them. And to me, the exciting thing about Woody Marks is that he looks like a better version of Woody Marks than he was last year.

[Gregg Berman]

You know, to Gerard Jordan, he's 185.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, okay. Well, he's a hulking monster. Listen to that.

[Gregg Berman]

He's basically Tony Mandrich. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Post steroids. Tony Mandarich.

[Gregg Berman]

When I was in high school, I had a Tony Mandrich picture up on my wall for motivation. That was when I thought he was getting all those gains through protein powder, Right?

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, yeah. They got the picture of him pushing the shopping cart, all the fruits and vegetables.

[Gregg Berman]

Now, at the age of 51, I've got a picture of Steve Carell. I was like, boy, he has aged incredible. He's better looking now than he was when he was 30.

[Sean Pendergast]

And I spit.

[Gregg Berman]

He's got his good hair and beard going.

[Sean Pendergast]

A little salt and pepper.

[Gregg Berman]

That's my motivation.

[Sean Pendergast]

Absolutely. All right.

[Gregg Berman]

So Lopez, of course I've got a picture of Lopez. Who does?

[Sean Pendergast]

We all do.

[Byron]

Who doesn't?

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, we all do.

[Sean Pendergast]

Hi, John. This is fun getting to see you. I mean, we see you at practice, but this is fun getting to sit around a table with you guys.

[Byron]

Absolutely.

[Gregg Berman]

And we're getting all spiffy in here

[Sean Pendergast]

with all the new

[Gregg Berman]

tube. The picture is incredibly improved.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes, very much so. The picture looks good. Do we know, are they putting something on this window?

[Cole Thompson]

No, no.

[Sean Pendergast]

We're gonna be able to see through there again. So you'll be able to watch in the loop and wave their show.

[Gregg Berman]

We'll be able to wave at you when there's breaking news, like we used to do. Remember, that's where my nose.

[Sean Pendergast]

There's age gotta be.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Gregg Berman]

Oh, this is what happened yesterday. I was. I saved myself from potential blow to my self esteem. I have a new fob and it wasn't quite working. So I was in there and I was texting Clinton Ron. It was in the afternoon. I had to get in, and I was texting them like, hey, during the next break, can you let me in? And I was about to hit send, and then I realized, like, I could see them on the monitor as I was looking through the window. I could see the show, you know, And I'm like. I'm like, oh, crap, I better add this. Hey, I can see you on the monitor, so don't make a face. Yeah, like this guy. Look, I didn't want to see Clint,

[Sean Pendergast]

like, okay, so I would have loved to have seen. This is what I texted these guys yesterday. So.

[Byron]

So.

[Sean Pendergast]

So you. You and I both thought that yesterday was going to be a walkthrough.

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So we're like.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

We all did.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. I thought it was gonna be a walkthrough, so I was. I had a bunch of stuff going on, clients yesterday, things like that. So I was trying to. We got a big week coming up here, so I'm trying to parse out my time. And I know how walkthroughs go. There's not.

[Gregg Berman]

Every time we've gone to that practice in the stadium, it's been boring as hell.

[Nick Costas]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Just they're walking around and so it's. It's good to go see people and whatnot. These are all people I've seen for the last two weeks at practice.

[Nick Costas]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna go do some work. So I get home after getting breakfast, I go home and I. I'm gonna do my walk right now. Get that out of the way. So I'm walking the neighborhood, and I turn on the Odyssey app to listen to in the loop as I do every day on my walk. And I can tell from the. The. From the. The cadence, from the. The way it sounded that you guys were at practice. And I'm like, what is wrong with the Odyssey app that they're playing yesterday's show.

[Byron]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Because it's not a practice. It's a. Well, you guys are doing like a play by play of the practice. Like, so and so. Just hit a deep shot and this and that.

[Gregg Berman]

I'm like, we're not doing play by play. You know what I mean?

[Sean Pendergast]

But, like, wait, hold on.

[Gregg Berman]

I don't want anybody.

[Sean Pendergast]

Some things that happened that weren't. You weren't giving anything away that was going to be, I don't know, in film rooms.

[Cole Thompson]

I don't know. Old boy Parker up there in Dallas, apparently he might have been listening to

[Sean Pendergast]

Getting Ready show tomorrow. We know what happened. Sorry, guys. So. But I texted. I texted both of you. I think I'm like, why is. Are people texting you guys about the Odyssey app playing yesterday? Then when I found out it wasn't, I'm like, it was awesome. It kind of felt like a private

[Gregg Berman]

screening of a movie because there was nobody in there. We're watching an entire.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was like a preseason. Were you up in the booth?

[Gregg Berman]

Radio booth.

[Cole Thompson]

Which was honestly, even greater. Incredible vantage point. I mean, look, we enjoy being out there at the Houston Methodist Training Center.

[Richard Deutsch]

Yeah.

[Cole Thompson]

But even then, you are on ground level. Like, you can't see all of the, you know, all the trench warfare that happens in the middle. Buddy. Radio. I was like, oh, okay. That was the best view that we've gotten of the Texans. And it was great that it was that day as well where they're doing

[Sean Pendergast]

scrimmage because we were originally gonna. Seth and I were originally gonna be in the booth yesterday and then we got a text later in the day like, no, you guys are gonna be in studio. So I thought that was because. Okay, well, they're not really doing much. It's just a walkthrough. So. I was so confused when I heard you guys at a practice. I'm like, boy, something's wrong with the Odyssey app. So. So did you guys make a face like Seth was afraid the drive would make about him? When I texted you, were you like this idiot?

[Cole Thompson]

No, my face was more confused like, wait, what the hell's happening?

[Gregg Berman]

Yeah, I don't know why I thought it was real. I just trusted you. I was like, oh, I guess they were playing the wrong audio.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's your first mistake. That's your first mistake, girl.

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[Richard Deutsch]

Hey, this is Richard Deutsch, the host

[Sean Pendergast]

of the sports media podcast. If you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports, the sports media podcast has you covered. I've been turning down interviews all week. Hoda Kapi reached out. Oprah, George Stephanopoulos. So I said no. I was booked on the Deitch podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts.