HOUR 1 - Astros Lose 5-4 + Walker Challenge Controversy + How Concerned are We About the Titans?

Summary

Payne & Pendergast – HOUR 1 - Astros Lose 5-4 + Walker Challenge Controversy + How Concerned are We About the Titans? June 30, 2026 — SportsRadio 610 (Houston) Hosted by Seth Payne & Sean Pendergast

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Episode Overview

The first hour of this episode zeroes in on the Houston Astros’ dramatic 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins, with special focus on the controversial failed challenge by Christian Walker in the ninth inning. The hosts analyze the ramifications of that moment, break down key performances (good and bad), discuss the continuing soft tissue injuries plaguing Astros infielder Jeremy Peña, and pivot to an in-depth conversation about the Tennessee Titans’ offseason overhaul, bringing in NFL and local context.

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Astros vs. Twins: Ninth Inning Drama & Walker’s Botched Challenge

The Setting (01:19 – 03:19)

• Astros trail 5-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
• Unexpected rally nearly results in a comeback.
• Christian Walker's pivotal at-bat with one out: gets called out on a pitch up in the zone (likely a ball), leads to challenge controversy.

The Challenge Controversy Explained (02:42 – 09:23)

Key Play Sequence

• Walker’s delayed and “mopey” reaction after the called strike three: looks at the dugout before signaling challenge, per new MLB rules.
• Umpire Brennan Miller denies the challenge because of Walker’s delay and apparent consultation with the dugout.

Hosts’ Analysis & Frustration

• Sean: “Walker, when he gets struck out looking, the switch on his back that said ‘mope on or off’ was switched to on.” (04:52)
• Seth: “You don’t get to mope and look at the dugout and then turn around and decide to tap your helmet… that is 100% on him.” (05:47)
• Both agree the umpire technically got the rule right, but its application compounded a bad strike call.

What Might Have Been

• The very next batters: Taylor Trammell hits a two-run homer (should’ve been a three-run shot), Cam Smith follows with a solo homer.
• If Walker’s challenge succeeds, Astros likely tie the game.

Notable Quote:
Sean: “Far be it from us to stick up for the umpire. This was a thousand percent on Christian Walker… That’s the umpire. Got it right.” (09:38)

Joe Espada’s Take (Coach’s View) (11:13–11:26)

Espada: “It was the look to the dugout. The umpire just thought that he kind of looked in to ask for help on that… and it was a ball, right?”

ABS & Modern Umpiring Grievances (11:46 – 12:15)

Seth: “ABS has put us in this weird spot where you can be mad at the ump for just a horrible call, but you did have a chance to overturn that. So now we can be mad at everybody.” (12:13)

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Notable Astros Performances & Takeaways

Yola’s Emergence (Pitching Prospect) (12:21 – 13:05)

• Rookie reliever Yola: two innings, four strikeouts in MLB debut.
• “He was electric last night. …Reminded me a little of Santa coming up in his first outing…” (Sean, 12:56)

Cam Smith’s Breakout Game (13:35 – 15:29)

• Two home runs, both “missile shots”: hosts hope it's a sign of his offensive arrival.
• “Cam Smith is more important long term than anybody they’d pick up at the trade deadline.” (14:18)
• Astros need outfield offense; Smith’s development is crucial.

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Jeremy Peña's Injury Woes

Latest Injury Update (16:22–18:53)

• Peña out with a “mild calf strain” (minimum IL stint expected, but concern is high).
• Sean: “He’s turning into a guy who gets a lot of these little soft tissue, oblique, calf, hamstring, knee [injuries]…” (17:51)
• Discussion of Peña’s recurring injuries and impact on team performance.
• Stat: With Peña out of the lineup, Astros are 33-42 over last two seasons (21:45).

Notable Quote:
Brian: “It’s a present tense thing. It’s not ‘is he becoming’... He is injury prone, as was a young Carlos Correa.” (40:46)

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Listener Questions: MLB Challenge Rules & Walker’s Responsibility (22:11–23:36)

• Clarification: Challenge must be immediate and solo from the batter/pitcher/catcher, no consulting the dugout.
• Sean: “I don’t not like Christian Walker. I don’t like post-strikeout Christian Walker.” (22:43)
• Seth: “The moping is what cost them.” (23:07)

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Titans Offseason Overhaul: Cause for Concern? (24:00 – 29:45)

George Kittle on Robert Saleh & the Titans (24:30–25:30)

• Kittle (from Bussin’ With The Boys podcast) raves about new Titans coach Saleh’s leadership, energy, and ability to rebuild.
• “Just give him a couple years… he’s going to drive the bus in the right direction.” (Kittle, 25:15)

Hosts Debate Titans’ Prognosis (25:53–29:45)

• Titans could have 10 or more new starters from a full roster overhaul (7 via FA, 3 via draft).
• Sean draws Patriots parallel: bad record, new coach, QB in year 2, big defensive free agency—“They went to the Super Bowl last year.” (28:03)
• Seth: “Robert Saleh could end up being a really good NFL head coach…they could end up being a lot better this year than people expect.” (27:08)

Defensive Identity Comparison

• Seth: “DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh…just be a bunch of maniacal bloodthirsty whack jobs on defense.” (29:25)

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NFL Cornerbacks Debate: Broncos 2015 vs. Texans 2026 (30:10–33:52)

• Cut from former Bronco TJ Ward compares Texans’ current corners to himself, Talib, Chris Harris Jr. (“not a competition, it’s the Broncos”).
• Sean skewers Ward’s argument that 4 interceptions is “standard”: “TJ Ward himself never had more than two interceptions in a season!” (32:20)
• Discussion of how elite corners are targeted less, so INTs alone can't measure greatness.

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Quick Hits & Headlines (39:00–44:20)

Astros Postgame Consensus

• Both hosts: The loss stings, but blame is shared (bad call and botched process).
• Injuries to Peña are a chronic issue.

World Cup Recap (41:19–42:52)

• Knockout round upsets: Germany and Morocco eliminated on PKs; Brazil beats Japan at home in Houston.
• “25 goals scored in the World Cup after the 90th minute—crazy number.” (Sean, 42:05)

NFL: Terry’n Arnold Arrest Fallout (43:38–45:05)

• Lions cut their first round corner after he’s released on bond (felony kidnapping/robbery charges) despite character references.
• Sean: “The reports walking out the courthouse ‘what a great dude’... But the alleged acts are the exact opposite.” (44:38)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He went into a two-step mope and then looked at the dugout and then challenged and then proceeded to mope when the umpire made the right call against him.” —Sean (05:04)
• “Far be it from us to stick up for the umpire. This was a thousand percent on Christian Walker.” —Sean (09:38)
• “These guys will challenge in the second inning on the first pitch like it’s nobody’s business. But in these high leverage situations, this is exactly when you’re supposed to.” —Seth (08:50)
• “If Cam Smith’s the one that has the physical makeup to be what he was last night, this is what they’re waiting for…” —Sean (14:18)
• “Soft tissue lower body injuries... it’s a present tense thing [for Peña].” —Brian (40:46)
• “DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh… just be a bunch of maniacal bloodthirsty whack jobs on defense.”—Seth (29:25)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Astros game, challenge controversy: 01:19–09:23
• Espada on Walker’s challenge: 11:13
• Yola’s pitching debut: 12:21
• Cam Smith’s night: 13:35–15:29
• Peña’s injury update: 16:22–18:53, 21:45, 40:46
• Listener feedback (MLB challenge rule): 22:11–23:36
• George Kittle on Saleh/Titans: 24:30
• Hosts’ Titans debate: 25:53–29:45
• Broncos vs. Texans DBs (Ward/TJ Ward INTs): 30:10–33:52
• Headlines redux/Astros final word: 37:10–39:54
• World Cup recap: 41:19–42:52
• Terry’n Arnold arrest/NFL cut: 43:38–45:05

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Tone & Style

The episode is filled with sharp banter, humor, and the hosts’ signature mix of exasperation and local sports pride. They bring clarity and energy—even to topics that might seem arcane—grounding the discussion with concrete examples, data, and relatable frustration.

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For any Houston sports fan who missed the game or the chatter, this episode thread is an engaging, opinionated, and comprehensive catch-up on all things Astros, as well as a quick primer on big NFL storylines impacting the Texans’ division.

Transcript

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[Brian McTaggart]

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[Sean Pendergast]

Sports Radio 610 presents Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.

[Brian McTaggart]

We coming to eighth time.

[Joe Espada]

Let's get the work in, man.

[Robert Sala Commentator]

Let's go.

[General Commentator]

Great day.

[Brian McTaggart]

Great day.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, give me some juice, baby. Oh, yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

Let's do it.

[Game Play-by-Play Announcer]

3rd multi home run game of his career. Now a slow roller. Right side Cody Clemens will shovel it to Royce Lewis, and the Astros fall one run short. Lot of drama in that. Bottom of the ninth. Inn 5 for the final score. A frustrating finish, but a lot of activity in that last inning.

[Game Analyst]

That was a tough one, TK it's amazing. It came down to just umpire discretion on that call that could have been overturned. Christian Walker still seething about it. Understandably so. This team plays hard, they play late. It's tough to go to bed on them when they're behind. They refuse to go away.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay, well, welcome in, everybody, on a. On a Tuesday. Good to be with you. Payne and Pendergast, if you went to bed, like, say, after the eighth inning last night, it was five to one. Minnesota Twins beating the Houston Astros last night. And you probably. You're waking up listening to us this morning, like, whoa, whoa, whoa, five, four. And there was controversy in the bottom of the ninth. Yes. I was glad I stayed up for this. I was almost one of those people. Seth.

[Brian McTaggart]

No, it seemed all but lost. You know, you got u. Yola. The. The rookie out there figuring like, yeah, give him a. Give him a shot. And he does a great job.

[Sean Pendergast]

He was amazing.

[Brian McTaggart]

Rookie reliever. Yeah. And in his first appearance, and he did a great job. Lo Profito had some heroics earlier in the game.

[General Commentator]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

But, yeah, there was. It ended up being a way more exciting game than it felt like it was going to be.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

And then. And then I just. I got so excited because I knew how angry you were going to be about Christian Walker looking directly into the dugout, walking away, and then giving a late. It's like, by the book. I. By the book, yes. This is the way I understood the way the review rule was going to be this year. The challenge has to be immediate, and you can't look to the dugout, according to Chandler, Rome or no. It was Matt. Kyle Hara, I think it said. Yeah. It looked like Josh Miller gave a no. A shake of the head no, or something like that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, well, he was good. If the no was coming from Josh Miller to not challenge it, then Christian Walker didn't listen to him because he did challenge.

[Brian McTaggart]

And it doesn't matter whether there was communication or not. The umps. The ump looking at the batter, looking at the dugout.

[Wix Harmony User]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

And then turning around and tapping his head like, no, you can't do it.

[Sean Pendergast]

The Josh Miller. You saying that is the first I've heard of the Josh Miller thing. You're right, because I didn't care. It's it. So for those who missed it, the Astros go into the bottom of the ninth inning last night trailing five to one. So this is one of those games you're feeling like, all right, it's not their night. Peter Lambert wasn't good. He gave up three home runs. You know, maybe he's coming back down to earth a little bit. It was just, you know, classic first game of a series where they're back from a road trip, and they just didn't have it. Jeremy Pena didn't play because of a leg injury that we'll get to in just a second. So the bot. The bottom of the ninth begins, and your best hitter grounds out to second. So now you're like, all right, bottom of the ninth, one out. I guess I'll stick around and just watch the rest of this. Well, Isak Paredes walks. Okay. You get a little something going. And Christian Walker works a works 3, 2 count and gets called out for the third strike on a ball that looked to be high. I think if the challenge had been accepted by the umpire, excuse me, I think he would have won the challenge. My guess, it did look high because I immediately go, challenge, challenge. But the problem, as Seth just said, was that Walker, when he gets struck out looking was apparently the switch on his back that said mope on or off was switched to on.

[Brian McTaggart]

Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

So he went into a two step mope and then looked at the dugout and then challenged and then proceeded to mope when the umpire made the right call against him.

[Brian McTaggart]

And then pouted. And then pouted the entire time through

[Sean Pendergast]

the end of the game when. When Callis was saying Walker still seething over this, they had flashed to Walker, who was still seething over this.

[Brian McTaggart]

Let me, let me correct myself real quick because the home plate umpire's name was Brennan Miller. So I. And it was. So as Matt Young who wrote up home plate umpire Brennan Miller, disallowed the challenge because Walker appeared to peek into the dugout just before he tapped his helmet. Okay. Miller could be seen telling Walker, no, you looked in there pointing at the dugout as you overruled the challenge. Okay, so that was a 3am reading of Miller and me just conflating stuff.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Josh Miller had nothing to do with any.

[Brian McTaggart]

No, no, no, no, no. Which didn't make any sense anyway. Especially if you're saying no. Right. No, it was. I totally side with the umpire here.

[Wix Harmony User]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

Like this is. When you see guys challenge is there. What you will see is guys just like throw the bat and challenge as they walk to first. You know, because they're so confident in it. You don't get to mope and look at the dugout and then turn around and decide to tap your. Your, your helmet that's on. That is 100%. 100% on him. Like, that's just. Yeah, and it would have been.

[Joe Espada]

There's no.

[Brian McTaggart]

What it could have, should have if he walks, I mean, you know, butterfly effect and whatnot. But you get two home runs after that. That's the, that's the run that matters. Let's.

[Sean Pendergast]

Let's go there because. Yeah, because Walker, Walker, I think would have won the challenge. He doesn't even get the challenge accepted because he, he took too long and looked in the dugout. So the very next hitter is Taylor Trammel, who hits a 412foot rope into the right field stance.

[Game Play-by-Play Announcer]

That ball hooking down the line. If it stays fair. It's one home run. Taylor Tramell, his first home home run of the season. Number three in the span of a week. And the astros back within two runs. It's 5 to 3.

[Game Analyst]

Taylor Trammell's been hitting tanks on the road. He's got that swing going.

[Sean Pendergast]

And so obviously the gut reaction there is. Well, it should be. It should Be five to three. It should be five to four right now, not five to three. That should have been a, you know, and like you said, butterfly effect. Does a pitcher throw a different pitch to Trumel? All those things. But it's fun to think at a very basic level.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

At a very basic level. Taylor Trammell, who's been one of your hotter hitters from a power standpoint lately, would have had two guys on base instead of one guy on base. So he gets a good pitch. To look at, you're talking 5 4, which takes on even more meaning because very next hitter was Cam Smith who did this.

[Game Play-by-Play Announcer]

Cam drives one high and deep to left. It's a one run game, multi home run game for Cam. Five to four.

[Brian McTaggart]

Oh, the candy man can. Oh, that's a. That's a rough thing about the two. I'm. I'm okay with wham, bam, thank you, Cam. But because Cam Smith already had a home run in this game. Oh, we needed another one. He had to dig into his bag and come up with the Camdy man can. I don't like that one.

[Sean Pendergast]

Do you think Blum has backups for every player?

[Brian McTaggart]

I don't think he has backups because he originally did. I think he originally did the camdyman can. I remember really not being all that enthused by that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

And then he replaced it. I'm guessing he probably was a little bit nervous about whether I can do wham, bam, thank you, Cam, because of some of the, you know, the connotation, the root. The root of that thing. But yeah. So he's got a couple for Cam. Okay. No, I mean, Sean, I just. Just to be sure, I went back and watched the replay on the TV broadcast. The ball, the Christian Walker ball, it's like three inches above this.

[Joe Espada]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

He would have won the challenge.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah, I know, I know. You were a little uncertain about it. It was like, no, it's 100. It was. That was a ball.

[Sean Pendergast]

If he was. If he was. If he wasn't in mope mode.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

He would have challenged it immediately. That's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to stand in the batter's box.

[Brian McTaggart]

And that's precisely the situation when you're supposed to. These guys will challenge in the second inning on the first pitch, like. Like it's nobody's business. But in these high leverage situations, this is exactly when you're supposed to high

[Sean Pendergast]

leverage situations where it's the ninth inning and you still have both your challenges. Like, yeah, he should have challenged it, even if it was even more borderline than that. Just because you're down five. 1. Smoke him if you got him. You can't take him to the next game. But he has to take his first three steps at a glacial pace to the dugout and then go, oh, yeah, that's right. I got a challenge. No, Chris, Christian Walker messed up.

[Brian McTaggart]

He double clutched it, too. That's the thing the umpire, who knows, maybe would have given him. But he started to tap his helmet, then look towards the dugout and tapped it like it's like the, the uncertainty. And then like a look at the dugout as you're tapping.

[Sean Pendergast]

This is a thousand. Far be it from us to stick up for the umpire. This was a thousand percent on Christian Walker. Yeah, you got to challenge it right away if you're going to challenge it. You can't start, you can't mope for two steps, then look into the dugout and tap your helmet. That's the umpire. Got it right. And ultimately, in the, in the odd twist of irony is you could argue it ended up costing the Astros at least getting the game to extra innings because of what the next two guys did at the plate. So, yeah, I had no idea when that, when that ninth inning began with a nondescript ground out by Jordan Alvarez that I would be coming in all perturbed at Christian Walker this morning, who's been great lately. He's had a really good few games.

[Brian McTaggart]

It was a really good at bat. He threw the walk. You know, for all intents and purposes, he was, he was doing it perfectly right up until he just second guessed himself or took too long or whatever.

[Sean Pendergast]

He had no business seething like he was in the dugout. Well, after the game's over.

[Brian McTaggart]

He was mad at himself. You know, you're seething at your.

[Sean Pendergast]

He was glaring at the ump and muttering to himself. It looked like maybe if he's mad at himself, I guess that didn't look like a guy who was mad at himself. That looked like a guy who was glaring at the home plate umpire to me. But at any rate, and then Joey Loaferfito comes up after Cam Smith's home run and just kind of grounds out weekly to second. That's the out that you heard. Courtesy of Space City Home Network. I will say this. Things coming out of this game that were good last night. Well, first of all, before we do that, let's hear Joe Espada. This was Joe Espada's take on the Christian Walker at bat. Yeah, it was the look to the dugout. That umpire just thought that he kind of looked in to ask for help on that. On that. On that pitch. And it was a ball, right?

[Joe Espada]

I don't.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, it was a ball. Well, no, officially it was a strike, but it would have been a ball.

[General Commentator]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

Brandy brought up a good point, though, too, which was that he might have just been also still mad at the ump for what a bad call. It was. Like, I wouldn't be in this situation if you knew how to call balls and strikes.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's a good point, actually. Yeah, that's a good point. But it was. I think the ump got the. The challenge part of it.

[Game Analyst]

Right.

[Brian McTaggart]

That part of it. That part of it, though, too. It's.

[General Commentator]

It's.

[Brian McTaggart]

That's. ABS has put us in this weird spot where you can. You can be mad at the ump for just a horrible call. Like in the days before abs, we would be seething at the umpire for the fact that he missed that call. And then. And then you go on and you see a Taylor Tramell home run and a Cam Smith home run, and then you're really mad at the ump.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep.

[Brian McTaggart]

But now it turns into, okay, the ump screwed up, but you did have a chance to overturn that.

[Sean Pendergast]

There's a mechanism that up.

[Brian McTaggart]

So now we can be mad at everybody.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[General Commentator]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

We mad at the mad in both 2025 and 2026.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

And Christian Walker at everybody.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes. So. So that was an unfortunate ending to the game. It was exciting. You know, in Cam Smith, I would say the two big things to come out of this game that I was excited about. You mentioned. The first one was Yola, the reliever who just got called up from Sugar Land a couple of days ago. Boy, he was. He was electric last night. Two innings, four strikeouts. He was really, really good last night. So that was. That was cool to see. It was a little. Reminded me a little of Santa coming up in his first outing at the end of that, no hitter and pitching a couple electric innings for you.

[Brian McTaggart]

And that one magical time.

[Sean Pendergast]

Magical time. I'm guessing, you know, there'll be film on him now, and, you know, people will be. You know, they may have a better beat on him if you do.

[Brian McTaggart]

There was. We saw Victor Caratini tribute video.

[Joe Espada]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Did you see that?

[Brian McTaggart]

That was nice. Where does that. Also, I did appreciate Matt Young and his write down in the Chronicle this morning. Yeah. Out of respect to Cody Clemons. Just saying. Former standout at Memorial High School and University of Texas with no mention of who his father might be.

[Sean Pendergast]

Son of hall of. Should be hall of Famer Roger Clemens.

[Brian McTaggart]

I feel like, I think Matt Young is probably like, you know, I let Cody Clemens be his own man. We don't always have to mention that his father is Roger. Cle.

[Sean Pendergast]

Let him have a moment. The other big thing last night, and this would be nice if this started to happen because this, I think, would win you some games. Camp Smith with two home runs. Not just two home runs. Like two absolute missile shots in that game last night. Like, okay, that's, you know, that was good to see. You know, they, they're, they're getting nothing, relatively speaking. They're getting, they're getting not much out of the outfield. Granted, it was the outfield that got them back in the game in the ninth inning last night. The two guys that hit home runs, both outfielders. But over the course of the season, this has been one of the worst hitting outfields in the history of the franchise.

[Brian McTaggart]

But they're brilliant defensively.

[Sean Pendergast]

They're great defensively. They're great defensively. But if Cam.

[Brian McTaggart]

No, no, I know. I'm not saying, like the organization wants to get an outfielder who can hit, preferably a lefty, you know.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, but, but if, but, but camps. Cam Smith is more important long term than anybody they'd pick up at the trade deadline. Like, if Cam Smith's the one that has the physical makeup to be what he was last night, this is what they're waiting for from Cam Smith. This is why they traded Kyle Tucker to get Cam Smith. They certainly didn't trade for him because they thought that he'd be a Gold Glove right fielder, which he, he is that caliber of defensive player. They got him because he's the total package. And if this is the beginning of him, you know, a two home run game where it's not just two home runs that creep over the, you know, the apron there in the Crawford boxes. It's two home runs where the, the, you know, the Bobby Dynamites got a duck because he hit him. So far. That was a good takeaway from last year. They lost the game. That sucks. But two things I was excited about. Eola and Cam Smith, the nature of his 2, 429ft.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Was the one that we just heard and the one earlier was. Had to be about that distance as well. Like he, he smoked that thing.

[Brian McTaggart]

So he's got, he's sitting on. Is that, was that his 10th homer? 9th and 10th last night, or 10th

[Sean Pendergast]

and 10th and 11th 10th and 11th.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah. So 11 homers, you know, just a little bit past the halfway mark.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

He just. I like, on pace for 21, 22, whatever. But maybe just kicks it into gear. Yeah. And you're. You. You see. Obviously, we see the potential there. Yeah. I was just reflecting on that trade the other day where, man, the Cubs fans sure talked a lot of smack about what a great trade it was for them.

[Wix Harmony User]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

And meanwhile, the. Meanwhile their part of the trade is often Los Angeles being mediocre. Still feel very good about Cam Smith. I'm very happy to have Paredes. And then who knows with Wisneski what ends up happening.

[Sean Pendergast]

The Astros won that trade.

[Brian McTaggart]

Oh, yeah. By far.

[General Commentator]

I mean.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah. Yeah. Like, no matter where. Look, man, and I don't know if Cam had just run more of a normal course and spent a bunch of time in the minors last year, like most young players do, the. You know, on a different. In a different era of the Astros, that's. That's what would have happened. But it. It is what it is.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, it is. Well, I'm. And I'm fine with Cam Smith right now. Like, you know, it's. It's. Hopefully we see more of what we saw last night. Jeremy Pena did not play in the game last night. Before the game, it was categorized as left leg discomfort, which is just awesome. Guy's been the hottest guy.

[Brian McTaggart]

I don't know. I like. I like that they upgraded or downgraded it to a strain. I don't. I feel discomforts way too. I feel if I go back. If I go. If I went back and did a study, I feel like discomfort has more often resulted in either a UCL or something worse because they just don't want to say anything. I feel like with a strain, it's more. It's more often. Because that's not. It's kind of a vague term, but I feel like with a strain, it ends up being more just like a muscle, an actual muscle.

[Sean Pendergast]

You're more optimistic than I am. Here's Joe Espada on the Jeremy Pena injury. Yeah, it's left mild calf strain, and it's going to be a minimum, hopefully minimal IL stint. So hopefully it won't take very long. Minimum. We know he's already going on the il, right.

[Brian McTaggart]

But it's a mild calf strain. Specificity as we get.

[Sean Pendergast]

But I. But, dude, a calf, like, calves are. Calves are tricky, man.

[Brian McTaggart]

Well, calves can sometimes turn into Achilles, but that's basketball. That's not even going there.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm just. I'M just saying, like, I don't know,

[Brian McTaggart]

that's where you get that you get the compartment syndrome and stuff. And like, you're thinking like Christian Harris and all those.

[General Commentator]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

Sometimes calves turn into nightmares.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, right. Of all the injuries that turn into something that worse than what it initially sounds like, calf is pretty high up the list. I mean, you're right. Maybe I've got some Christian Harris, ptsd. Texans linebacker Christian Harris, some PTSD there. And here's the other thing, too. Pena is turning into a guy who gets a lot of these little soft tissue, oblique calf, hamstring, knee.

[Brian McTaggart]

I mean, how much he's paid on for the toll road to Katie, you know, back and forth and like all these various IL stints.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So he's.

[Brian McTaggart]

He sugar landscape.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. So he's. That's to me, I didn't like that at all. That it's a calf and it's Jeremy Pena. I don't like this at all. So.

[Brian McTaggart]

I know. I mean, he's got a history of coming back from these IL stints. It's just that he just, he just takes a bunch of them.

[Joe Espada]

Yep.

[Brian McTaggart]

He's always, he's always been a guy that I always get a little bit nervous about. Guys like him were really, really fast, but kind of still has like a stiff, a stiffness to him.

[Sean Pendergast]

You know, he's very muscle bound, too.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And there's just. Well, even in his gait and everything, there's a certain stiffness and sometimes those guys tend to have a lot of muscle. Strange.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep. Yep.

[Brian McTaggart]

All right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Baseball talk ON Sports Radio 610 is presented by Xfinity. Score. The most reliable Wi Fi 1 price, 5 years guaranteed. Xfinity. Imagine that. All right, coming up next, should we be concerned about this team in the AFC South? Is this disrespectful to the current Houston Texans secondary? And maybe the best day of World cup soccer yesterday we had in the. In the knockout round. We'll get to that as well. We'll do some headlines a little later on this hour. Stay there.

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[Sean Pendergast]

right, real quick on the text page, reaction to the Astros. Has Jeremy Pena become injury prone? Yes. Yes. The answer is yes. He's become injured.

[Brian McTaggart]

He's succumbed to it. Yeah, he is. Well, Brian McTaggart earlier this month had a when he came back from the IL this this latest time, he had the win loss record of the team with Jeremy Pena and without him over the last couple seasons. And the alarming thing was that, okay, yes, they had a much better winning record with him, but they were like 33 and 42 without him. Which is a lot of games missed due to injury.

[Sean Pendergast]

Absolutely. Yeah. The.

[Brian McTaggart]

No.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. The sheer. It's not just the nine games under.500 or whatever. It's the sheer volume of games. Yeah, yeah, I get that this is another text. I get that you don't like the guy, but why should walking away change the challenge?

[Brian McTaggart]

Because that's the rule.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, he's Talking about.

[Brian McTaggart]

Because that's the rule.

[Sean Pendergast]

Let me clarify that first part real quick here, because in the texter's talking about Christian Walker, if you missed it, Christian Walker had what would have been a successful challenge, except he took too long to challenge and he looked at the dugout before.

[Brian McTaggart]

You're not allowed to consult with anybody. Like, it has to be an immediate. It has to be an immediate challenge from the batter and the batter alone.

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't not like Christian Walker. I don't like post strikeout Christian Walker. Get back to the dugout. Just walk.

[Brian McTaggart]

You don't like a body language. And you might say, why is Sean making such a big deal out of this all the time? And if you're his co host and you're watching last night, you're like, oh, Sean, Sean has the ultimate I told you so.

[Sean Pendergast]

Twisting his mustache, rubbing his hands together.

[Brian McTaggart]

The moping is what cost them. The rule is. So for those of you who don't understand, which I'm guessing the texter doesn't, that the rule is that it has to be an immediate challenge from the batter or the catcher or the pitcher, and they're not allowed to consult anybody with the dugout or anything else. They're trying to do away with the chicanery of like, I don't know, maybe somebody bangs on a garbage can or something.

[Sean Pendergast]

Cameras. Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

You can't turn your ear towards the dugout.

[General Commentator]

Right.

[Brian McTaggart]

When you, before you turn, make the

[Sean Pendergast]

challenge, does a Hulk Hogan.

[Brian McTaggart]

That's where I do think, though. I think where some people might get confused is we have seen it relatively commonly when a guy is convinced that he got hosed, a batter, he starts walking towards first base while tapping.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

Where it's kind of a simultaneous thing. I think, honestly, they should. They should probably crack down on that a little bit too. Yeah. Just to make it more clear cut.

[Sean Pendergast]

Got to do it.

[Brian McTaggart]

But in those instances, they start tapping as soon as they start headed towards the first.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep. Yep. All right. So this was. This was George Kittle on the Busing with the Boys podcast. He, of course, spent some time with Robert Sala multiple times in San Francisco when Salah was the defensive coordinator. This was George Kittle talking about his experience with Salah last year and what he thinks the Titans could be this year. Do you listen to this as a Texans fan and get more concerned about the Tennessee Titans? Put me on some Robert Sala lore.

[Robert Sala Commentator]

I talked to Salah more this year than I did in the four years that I was with him. I'm talking like Twice a week. I'll just go sit in his office from anywhere from five to 30 minutes and we would just talk. He's a big conspiracy theory guy. I'll say that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Love that, loves conspiracy theory.

[Brian McTaggart]

Big year for the conspiracy theories.

[Robert Sala Commentator]

Yes, it is. This is me giving Robert Sala smelling salt. So he's one of the boys for sure. He knows how to inspire. He has great, great messaging. I mean he's part of the invention of that like defense that he coaches. I mean our defense was mauled by injuries. He was part of us winning 13 games. Like just give him some time and I think he's going to really put some good games out there. I really do. Especially, I mean, you guys, Cam Ward's a hell of a football player. Like he's special. The Titans are going to be good. This is my thing. Like my rookie year with Shanahan. We started the year off 0 and 9. We were 1 and 10 and we won what, five straight games in the season. And then the next year we had a couple injuries. We were 4 and 12. So just like just give him a couple years because becoming a good team in the NFL is incredibly difficult unless you already have a stacked roster. So like just give him a couple years. Like he's going to turn around, he's going to drive the bus in the right direction.

[Sean Pendergast]

Where the analogy fell apart for me was at the end there where he's compari this version of the Titans to the Niners teams. He was on that. The injuries were at quarterback, you know, and they, they had a couple bad seasons. Those were really obviously very talented football teams. They went to a couple Super Bowls. Do you, do you agree with. Are you, are you nervous at all about Robert Saleh as the Titans head coach?

[Brian McTaggart]

I don't know if nervous is the right word. I mean because ultimately it's the entire organization. I think Robert Saleh could end up being a really good NFL head coach. I think he actually did. I think he did some impressive of things with the jets given the hand he was dealt with the quarterback situation.

[Sean Pendergast]

Absolutely.

[Brian McTaggart]

I mean they were an almost.500 team while playing four different non NFL starting quarterbacks the year that Aaron Rodgers got injured. And his defense, well, Robert, while Salah was there, the defense was impressive. The weird thing about the year Salah got fired was usually if a guy is at least taking care of his own business on his side of the ball, like if a head coach is a defensive minded coach and like it, but the offense is struggling, like the offense is struggling, you Understand, there's going to be that. But if his defense was no good, then that's when you really got to get rid of the guy. Yeah, they got rid of him even though defense was performing well that year. And then after he left, the defense fell off a cliff, of course. So I. Okay, how do you evaluate the Titans? Because there's a really good chance that at least of their 22 starters, I would say 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, they might have 10 brand new guys by virtue of the draft or free agency.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

And they spent heavily in free agency on the defensive side of the ball. They drafted Carnell Tate, you know, who will likely start obviously in the first round on the offensive side of the ball. But they were super aggressive where they've, they've flipped over already before the season even begins. About 50% of their starting roster. Almost 50% of their starting roster. So I think that, like, usually when you have that much change, it's not as simple as, okay, hey, now we're good, you know, building through free agency. But with a new coach where you're just resetting the foundation, they could end up being a lot better this year than people expected.

[Sean Pendergast]

Can I tell you about a team that two years ago had the same record the Titans had? 4 and 13. They had that record two years ago. The Titans were 4 and 13 last year that splurged in free agency on the defensive side, that hired an experienced defensive head coach and had a second year quarterback who struggled his rookie year. The New England Patriots went to the super bowl last year.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah, they.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's, you know, and I'm not saying that it's exactly the same, but I'm saying we did see, like the things you just said. New coach splurged in free agency. I'm adding the quarterback part of it in here. That was the New England Patriots last year.

[Brian McTaggart]

This is the thing, is that, look, we know Josh McDaniels as a head coach probably should never get a chance again. But Josh McDaniels as a coordinator has done some really impressive things. And it's easy to say, well, yeah, with Tom Brady. No, he just, he got the best out of Mac Jones his rookie season. Yeah. And then he was gone. You know, remember, he went. Mac. It was Mac Jones went from working with Josh McDaniels to all of a sudden working with a couple, a former special teams coach and a former defensive coordinator. It was a disaster.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes.

[Brian McTaggart]

And he's done it with Drake May. So like Josh McDaniels is a made man when it comes to working with quarterbacks, not just Tom Brady when he's a coordinator and not a head coach. Kyle Shanahan larger regarded as one of the best three play callers and offensive coordinators in the league that I don't, I don't put Brian Dable on that same status. So it's. But will cam or be better with Brian Dabel this year than he was last year and given that they improved the improved the offense around him, et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, I think there's a. They're definitely. There's elements to watch and not take too late.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, there's elements there.

[Brian McTaggart]

And because they're defense, look they play d' Amico Ryan's and Robert Saleh are they have their own versions of their same philosophy which is just be a bunch of maniacal bloodthirsty whack jobs on defense.

[Sean Pendergast]

Absolutely.

[Brian McTaggart]

And it's hard to play against when everybody's healthy.

[Sean Pendergast]

Here was former Broncos safety TJ Ward when asked about the comparing the 2026 Houston Texans defense to the super bowl defense that he played on with the Broncos, widely considered one of the best super bowl winning defenses of all time in 2015. Here was TJ Ward, former safety for the Broncos. Is this disrespectful to Derek Stingley Jr. And Kamari Lasseter?

[Joe Espada]

I love what the Texans do on defense. I talked about them all last season. Them in the Broncos. The corners aren't a competition. It's not a conversation. Correct. What are you talking about? Which way? No, it's not like you got, you got a, you know, you got an all pro. You know what I mean? You got another four pick guy, you got another nickel. That's basically an all pros not a conversation. It's the Broncos. That's what you're talking about, right? You cannot be Derek Stingley. And what has he done? He got, he got took up top about three times last year. Like at least three times the first team all Pro. Dexter, you talking about that. You're talking about. I'm not reception touchdowns. Are you talking about a keep to lead second? Are you talking about that? Akeem, are you talking about.

[Brian McTaggart]

Both have first team all pro first

[Joe Espada]

team all pro Chris Harris juniors. On the other side though, are you talking about Kamari Lasseter, four picks on the other side, four picks. You're supposed to get four picks as a corner.

[Wix Harmony User]

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[Joe Espada]

That's standard easy money. That's standard easy money. You're supposed to get four picks especially with the quarterbacks in the league today, they're giving them to you.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay.

[Brian McTaggart]

Okay.

[Joe Espada]

All right.

[Brian McTaggart]

Okay.

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[Brian McTaggart]

Okay, man. You know what I was hoping.

[Sean Pendergast]

Just real quick. Sorry. Emmanuel Acho is the other voice that you're hearing in that cut right there. Just so people wonder where that's coming from.

[Brian McTaggart]

I hate trying to take the side of Emmanuel Acho and all this, but look, don't worry.

[Sean Pendergast]

We got a good one for the Petty cast that you will not.

[Brian McTaggart]

Okay, so I think I was interested to see where he's going to like look. Yeah, those Broncos defensive backs were awesome.

[Robert Sala Commentator]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

As soon as you say one quarterbacks these days because like is all of a sudden quarterback throwing a bunch of interceptions to these days. Yeah, two. Oh, it's standard. You're supposed to have four picks. That's really interesting because it keeps Talib. Look, he played 14 years. Yeah, he had four plus interceptions five times in his four 14 years.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's really good.

[Brian McTaggart]

It's pretty impressive.

[Sean Pendergast]

I was told that that's just normal.

[Brian McTaggart]

That's just normal. Even though he achieved it less than 50% of the time.

[Sean Pendergast]

I thought that was really good. And then I listened to T.J. ward.

[Brian McTaggart]

T.J. ward himself never had more than two interceptions in a season.

[Sean Pendergast]

He sucked.

[Brian McTaggart]

Chris Harris himself never had more than two interceptions in a season. He sucked. Bradley Roby never had more than the standard. No, he never had more than two interceptions in a season. So none of those three guys ever even achieved more than 50% of what's standard in the NFL.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh my God. This is almost take a mania worthy. Wow.

[Brian McTaggart]

That's right. Like I don't know why he went down that road and tried to just pluck that stat out of the ether because. No, but the other, the biggest thing is I was kind of shocked to hear a defensive back using interceptions at all. Especially when it comes to cover corners.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

As, as a, as. As how you. Is how you decide whether they're good or they're bad. Because we all know over time, you know, like Akeep Talib, three of those interceptions. Three of those years where he had four plus interceptions came in his first four seasons.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right.

[Brian McTaggart]

Then he wasn't tested nearly as much after that. Derek Singley's got three, four plus interceptions seasons in his first four years. You know, just like a keep Talib over time it's harder to get interceptions because people just don't test you.

[Sean Pendergast]

They avoid you. Yeah, they avoid you.

[Brian McTaggart]

They also when that extended out a little further, TJ Ward up brought up the booty touchdown from the Patriots game. Where that one, I'm like, man, that was a brilliant throw by Drake May. Yeah, that was just. That was an incredible throw.

[Joe Espada]

It was.

[Brian McTaggart]

Booty was covered. It was just. That was incredible. I put that on Drake May being such an incredible quarterback.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, pain and pender gas with you here on a, on a Tuesday.

[Brian McTaggart]

Let's get rewatch it. Though maybe my memory has been a little biased.

[Sean Pendergast]

Let's. Let's get to headlines brought to you by the Men's Tea Clinic. Coming up next, we'll circle back to the Astros. An amazing day of World cup soccer yesterday. And then one I. I was surprised by this move by this NFL team based on what happened in the courtrooms yesterday. But this was a big story in the NFL that we'll get to as well in headlines. Coming up next, Tyler redick here from 2311 Racing. And Bubba Wallace. You know what's the worst part of a race? A rain delay. Sitting around waiting for the track to dry is dull. But instead of waiting, we hang out with Chumba Casino.

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[Brian McTaggart]

Ugh.

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[Brian McTaggart]

Pain and Pendergast with today's headlines, powered by Men's Tea Clinic.

[Game Play-by-Play Announcer]

3rd multi home run game of his career. Now slow roller right side Cody Clemons will shovel it to Royce Lewis, and the Astros fall one run short. A lot of drama in that bottom of the ninth inning, five for the final score. A frustrating finish, but a lot of activity in that last inning.

[Game Analyst]

That was a tough one, TK it's amazing. It came down to just umpire discretion on that call that could have been overturned. Christian Walker still seething about it. Understandably so. This team plays hard. They play late. It's tough to go to bed on them when they're behind. They refuse to go away.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, so just to give you the Cliff Notes version of what happened in the bottom of the night, the Astros lose that game 5 to 4. They were trailing 5 to 1 going into the bottom of the 9th with one out. Issac Paredes walks, and then Christian Walker comes up to the plate, works a three, two count, and then gets called out on a third strike that definitely looked like a ball high. He unfortunately took two mopey steps towards the dugout, looked into the dugout, and then tapped his helmet. And he was denied the challenge, which I think would have won. I think they would have had one out, runners on first and second. Instead, they had two outs and a runner on first. The issue was that Taylor Trammell then hit a home run to make it 5 3. Could have been 54 if Walker was on base. And then Cam Smith hit a solo home run that made it 5 4. Could have been tied at 5 if Christian Walker just challenged it like a normal human being.

[Brian McTaggart]

This is where. And people are heated about this because, you know, I. You and I both feel like. Yeah, like Walker did not handle the challenge correctly. You're not. The rule is you're not allowed to consult anybody. It has to be immediate. And the. And yet the umpire made a really bad call. So I think that people are divided on the pitch. You're talking on the actual pitch. Yeah. So the umpire makes a horrible call on the pitch. Christian Walker has a horrible process in challenging the pitch. So I. You don't have to choose sides here. No, the umpire was not incorrect in not accepting the challenge. But it's okay to be mad at the umpire for the horrible call in the days before ABS Kids, there used to be a time where you couldn't challenge these pitches. I know you think this has always existed, but it's a relatively recent.

[Sean Pendergast]

Way back in 2025, we would have

[Brian McTaggart]

been furious this morning at the umpire. I still think, yeah, that umpire. That was a trash call on that pitch. But also, like, that's. I. There's. I cannot argue against the way things happen. Christian Walker botched that. Yeah, he knows you're not supposed to look towards the dugout. Yeah, yeah, he looked towards the dugout. He looked back to challenge and then he double clutched. He looked back towards the dub. Out again before he actually tapped his helmet. Like, it just. No, they. Like. That's. That's not like.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right.

[Brian McTaggart]

That's the rule, is that. No, you're not allowed to challenge in that man.

[Sean Pendergast]

In 2025, Christian Walker would have been a sympathetic figure.

[Brian McTaggart]

Don't be mad at it. Don't be mad. You can be mad at the ump for the bad call, but you can't be mad that you botched it with, as Sean has pointed out time and time again, your mopiness. Yes, you're my look. And there's two things we're getting fed up with in this town. Mopiness by your quarterback and mopiness by Christian Walker.

[Sean Pendergast]

You don't like mopey people, man.

[Brian McTaggart]

You want to be lumped in with playoff stroud?

[Sean Pendergast]

No.

[Brian McTaggart]

That's where you are right now. Christian Walker.

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[Sean Pendergast]

Christian Walker. All right. So the Astros lose the first of a three game set with the Twins. They're back at it tonight. The other news with the Astros, Jeremy Pena. Stop me if you've heard this before. He's going to the il. Jeremy Pena is going to the IL with another soft tissue injury. This time it is a left calf strain. They're hoping it'll be a minimal IL stint, but he is definitely going to be unavailable to the Astros for the next week to 10 days. Who knows, Seth? They may just take it up to the All Star break with him. Yeah, and let him get a little extra rest on top of that the following week. That would seem to. That in fact, I don't even know. They may not have a choice. If it's a 10 day IL stint. I have to look at the calendar so that's your Astros update the world.

[Brian McTaggart]

Somebody asked earlier if he's. If he's gaining a reputation as being injury prone. I think the gaining was a while back.

[Sean Pendergast]

He is injury prone.

[Brian McTaggart]

He's injury prone.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's a present tense thing. It's not. Is he becoming. Is he sort of. Is he. No, he is injury prone, as was

[Brian McTaggart]

a young Carlos Correa.

[Sean Pendergast]

You mean the Carlos Correa that's on the IL for the rest of the year right now?

[Brian McTaggart]

Well, then Carlos Correa.

[Game Play-by-Play Announcer]

Correa.

[Brian McTaggart]

Though the thing that you can say you were concerned with long term was that he had these back issues, but he figured out a routine to work through those. Yeah, some of the ones, remember, like he broke his hand sliding into second elbows. That. That's going to happen. I think with Pena, it's a little bit even more concerning because it's just this steady, this steady procession of soft tissue, lower body injuries.

[Joe Espada]

Yep.

[Sean Pendergast]

We'll go deeper in the World Cup a little later in the show, but the. Yesterday was a great day of games. In the knockout round, you had two games go to penalty kicks. Both of them upsets. Germany losing to Paraguay in penalty kicks. Morocco losing late last night to the Netherlands, who will remain for at least four more years, the best country to never win the World Cup. They get knocked out in the first round of the knockout round in PK's against Morocco. And then the Brazil Japan game, which was here at Reliance Stadium, was awesome. Brazil wins that game two to one with a late goal and stoppage time. There have been 25 goals. I saw this last night, Seth. 25 goals scored in this World cup after the 90 minute mark of these games. Again, stoppage. Stoppage time.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

And 25. That's a crazy number.

[Brian McTaggart]

There was my favorite tweet last night, which I assume that this was when James Palmer was watching the. The Paraguay game. Not the Germany game, the Paraguay game. We only talk about winners on this show. But he. I mean, that was tense because it was all the injury time and then it came down to penalty kicks. But James Palmer had tweeted, I'm going nuts. I'm so nervous and I'm in my basement. Yeah, that's it. I can't. I just. I cannot wait until five years from now. I just randomly retweet that at a weird time.

[Sean Pendergast]

Did you book.

[Brian McTaggart]

Please tell me you're gonna do that. Oh, I will. I've got. I'm gonna set it. I'm gonna set it on my calendar right now. Just on a Random Tuesday at like 11pm that's phenomenal.

[Sean Pendergast]

So good day yesterday. The big game people are waiting for tonight is Mexico and Ecuador at 8 o' clock tonight. So that should be crazy. The. The. For the last Mexico game, the watch party over at Shell Energy Stadium apparently was off the hook. This is going to be even crazier probably tonight. So. So enjoy that, everybody. NFL headlines. Terry and Arnold, we talked about this yesterday. He was looking to get released on bond. The prosecution was looking to make sure he wasn't released on bond for eight felony counts, four of robbery, four of kidnapping. He gets his release. His lawyer was able to get him a million dollar bond. No ankle bracelet. So all the tweets yesterday morning, Seth, were Terry and Arnold free to go to training camp. Now he's out on bond. Two hours later, the Lions are like, it ain't going to be our training camp. They cut former first round pick Terry and Arnold yesterday, man. Which tells me the Lions know things about this that maybe aren't fully out there. Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

The Lions don't feel great about the potential outcome here. And Nick Saban vouched for Terry and Arnold's character, which is. And I saw a lot of people thrashing Nick Saban for this because I don't. I don't know why I. But I. For whatever it's worth, I mean, the reports on Terry and Arnold coming out were the exact opposite of any kind of a character risk when he swimmed

[Sean Pendergast]

out for the draft.

[Brian McTaggart]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was that he had. Not coming out of prison.

[Celsius Announcer]

Sorry.

[Brian McTaggart]

Coming out of. I forgot I had to make that distinction. That's a fair. That's a very fair. That was. It was good for you to clarify that, Sean.

[Sean Pendergast]

The reports walking out of the courthouse where he's a great dude.

[Brian McTaggart]

Well, honestly, the reports by Saban coming out of Alabama and coming out of jail.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

Were that Saban's never known him. But to be this incredibly upstanding young man. I don't. I. It'll be fascinating if we ever get more details on just what the hell's gone on with Terry and Arnold's life over the course of the last year.

[General Commentator]

Yeah.

[Brian McTaggart]

Because he was. People gushed about him.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes.

[Brian McTaggart]

And what a great kid he was and everything. And this is the. This was. The alleged acts are the exact opposite of that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Exact opposite. Man, it's crazy. It's a wild story.

[Brian McTaggart]

At least the. We never got to see Jimmy Ward at practice in an ankle bracelet, did we? Remember, that was a big argument. Like you wanted to have the ankle bracelet removed. Trying to get it removed and everything. Don't think we did.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh my God. All right, into the 7 o' clock hour we go. We got a lot of stuff to get to a little later on in the 7 o' clock hour. Diana Rossini done in by body cam footage, at least in terms of some of the truthfulness of her story about

[Brian McTaggart]

rookie cop under fire.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes, yes, we will get to that at about 7:20. I do want to circle back to the Astros, though. Dana Brown met with the media before yesterday's game and talked about what the next couple of weeks could look like, what it's going to look like coming up to the trade deadline. Look, Dana Brown's under a lot of pressure right now. How, how do you feel hearing the Astros general manager talk about the trade deadline and where this team is at? We'll let you hear what he had to say.

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