← See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
David Pollack ONE-ON-ONE with Mark Schlabach | CFB Stories, Lane Kiffin & Golf
00:35:49
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- [00:00]
Mark Slayball
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- [00:15]
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- [00:42]
Mark Slayball
Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.
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David Pollock
All right, my next dude, Mark Slayball, expert, golfer. I think his handicap, I think he said, is right now after watching him at the Pollock family Foundation golf tournament. You looked at. You're about a three right now.
- [00:56]
Mark Slayball
Slayball three off the first tee. Yeah, that'd be accurate.
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David Pollock
How many years you've been at ESPN, man?
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Mark Slayball
Over 20. I think. I have to go back and count. It's been a long time.
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David Pollock
And before that, you were talking to your boy about where to go to school over there, right down the road at the. At the ajc, right?
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Mark Slayball
Yeah. That's how long I've known David Pollock. Since he was a junior in high school. Or senior.
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David Pollock
I bet you hate maybe junior. You couldn't stand me when you met me, could you, Mark?
- [01:26]
Mark Slayball
I couldn't stand you until about a year ago when you paid me to write your book. Well, I've said it, and I'll say it again. You and Jasper might have been the two worst athletes. And I love both y' all to death, but. And Jasper is a great guy, but he would wait hours to come out of the locker room. And I was like, dude, I got a wife and two little girls at home. I gotta get home. I don't care how your hamstring feels. Just. Yeah, come on.
- [01:56]
David Pollock
It's amazing when I think about it now to be doing this. Any part of this is amazing because of how much I didn't like it. And it really wasn't. It wasn't you. But there was so many guys that were so lazy at what they did. And then they talked about your team in a way, and you're like, you know, what are you talking about? Like, that's not even accurate. And then you get an opinion of those guys, and, man, it's just really hard. But you were always. You were always kind of easy to deal with at least you gave it back.
- [02:23]
Mark Slayball
Yeah, I gave it back a little bit. I always tried to be fair. I can remember when Kirby Smart was a player. I wrote something like, he's not the fastest and not the biggest, but he just makes plays. And Bobo was like, dude, he's like the fastest guy on our team. So that there's some laziness now.
- [02:42]
David Pollock
Well, I think the. I think the part of that, that you learn, too, in this business, too, is some of that subjective, right? Like how you see it, what you see. You know, nowadays we have so much more information, obviously, to numbers and stuff, but you see Kirby and he doesn't look like he's moving that fast, but some people just don't look like they're moving that fast and they're freaking covering ground. So, you know, you kind of get that on this side. Well, hey, speaking of, you've covered it this long, all these years, what's the. What's the craziest story that you've been a part of?
- [03:13]
Mark Slayball
There've been a bunch of them. I mean, Cam Newton is one that pops to pops in my mind. That was the last time I ever went to Auburn.
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David Pollock
You haven't been back since?
- [03:22]
Mark Slayball
I've snuck in a couple times for lunch behind enemy lines, but I have not covered a game since then. I almost went this year, and then my schedule changed at the end, but, I mean, I had to have a police escort back to my truck. It got so bad. Pat, 40 and I broke the Cam Newton NCAA investigation story on a Thursday, I believe it was. And I remember we had the information. I had to drive down to Atlanta by the Atlanta airport to interview his parents. And they were. They were great people, Cecil and Mrs. Newton. And I remember walking out of their house and they confirmed that the NCAA had asked for their personal bank records and the bank records for their church. And I was walking out the door and Mrs. Newton goes, this isn't going to be a big story, is it? I said, ma', am, I just write them. I don't. I don't decide where they go on the. On the page or anything. And, I mean, we knew. I knew it was going to blow up, but. And then Friday morning, producer called and said, game day and sports center, I'd like to have you in Auburn on Saturday. And I said, I'll drive over Saturday morning. I'm not going to spend the night, and then I'll leave after the game. And within, like two TV shots with SportsCenter, some guy recognized me and started screaming, here's Sleigh ball. Here's sleigh ball. And within, like, another five minutes, there's a circle around me, people yelling, tell us the truth. You're a hack. Everything else. And ESPN security called and said, get him out of there. And a bicycle cop escorted me back to my truck. And about halfway through, he's like, rough morning. And I said, yeah. I said, I thought it was gonna be bad. Didn't think it was gonna be quite that bad. And. And he goes, you don't mess with a legend. I said, a legend. The guy's been here for, like, a month. This was, like, early in the season. Chatted, they're playing Chattanooga, I think. And he goes, oh, no, don't get me wrong. I'm an Alabama fan. I hope he took the money.
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David Pollock
The beautiful dynamic between Auburn and Alabama right there, so close.
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Mark Slayball
And my boss calls me, says, call me when you get to the interstate. And I said, duff, I might get out and kiss the ground once I hit the state line. But, yeah, And I found out later, I did Bobby Bowden's book with. Helped him with his memoir after he retired and or was fired. And he. He spoke at the Savannah Touchdown Club, and they asked me to introduce him. He was speaking at the end of the year jamboree, and a friend of mine came up to me beforehand and. And said, hey, somebody wants to meet you. He'd like to apologize to you. I was like, for what? And he goes, that was my uncle screaming at you at Auburn. And there was this big old dude behind me, Pedro Gomez, God rest his soul, stood between that guy and me the entire time and would not let him get close to me.
- [06:09]
David Pollock
That's a good man right there.
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Mark Slayball
And I asked the guy at Savannah, I said, hey, man, what's your uncle do? I'd like to come scream at him while he's working. He goes, oh, he's a judge in Alabama. Sounds like, only in Alabama, baby.
- [06:21]
David Pollock
Interesting. What did you. How did that. Like, how did that story. How did you find that story? Did you. Did you know right away, like, it was going to be enormous?
- [06:32]
Mark Slayball
Oh, we knew it was going to be enormous. I think Pat, I. I honestly, I think Pat got the original tip and called me.
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David Pollock
What was the tip?
- [06:41]
Mark Slayball
The tip that the NCAA was investigating whether or not Cecil Newton shop cam to Mississippi State and some other schools. And I think the information was a long time ago, David, but I think the information to the NCAA came from Mississippi State, because I remember meeting with a Mississippi State source in Atlanta, and I'll never Forget, this is wild. I got a call, like, apparently the money, they said the money had been funneled through a church. And originally they said it was Cecil Newton's church. Well, so I went and found Cecil Newton's church. And then some guy called me out of the blue. He was from Montgomery or somewhere and said that there was $235,000 or what. However, I can't even remember how much it was. 180,000 that he supposedly wanted missing from his, the church where his, this guy claimed that there was that much money missing from the church where his mother worked. And I was like, wait a minute, dude, let me get this right. You're about to throw your mother under the bus to get Auburn in trouble? I said, are you an Alabama fan? He goes, yeah, but what's the point? I was like, come on. I mean, it was insane. So yeah, as Cam said in that documentary, that Wartide Roll Tide War Eagle Doc. Still, it's a, it's still under investigation. So I'll never. That, that one, that one. I wasted a year of my life. No, no, figure that one out. And he got, he got suspended for like a half. And I, I remember, I remember filing an open records request for the, for some documents from Auburn. And the Alabama open records laws are horrible. Basically schools can give them to you when they want. So a year later at like 5:00 on Friday before the Iron Bowl, Auburn sent the documents. I mean it was classic.
- [08:36]
David Pollock
So just a. Yeah, yeah. Did you read them?
- [08:41]
Mark Slayball
Oh, I read every one of them. Yeah. There wasn't anything in there. But yeah, it was funny because I mean the whole deal, they were getting ready to play Georgia and I think that was the game. Georgia jumped out in front of him really big and then Cam brought him back. There was question about whether or not he was going to play. A couple of the Georgia coaches calls it. What are you hearing about Cam? What are you caring about Cam and Auburn? I had one guy at Auburn that was talking to me and I got. Look, I have nothing against Auburn. I've got friends that went to school there. Have Frenzy's children are there right now. One of my best friends.
- [09:11]
David Pollock
They just got something against you because you were reporting the facts.
- [09:14]
Mark Slayball
Yeah. And I mean, but they're not alone. I mean, Florida State, it was the same thing with James Winston Baylor, same thing with Art Bryce. I mean, the good thing now is I get to have fun and joke about this stuff because there's no cheating now. Everything's legal. You can pay kids however much you want. So I'm just happy. I kind of happy I still have a job. Be honest with you.
- [09:34]
David Pollock
I was just thinking how much would Cam Newton get for a year in college right now? Holy cow. Like the number the. If Sorsby got four and a half, he'd easily get five and a half. Like.
- [09:46]
Mark Slayball
Yeah, no, I mean if he played basketball will wake it. Probably figure out how to get him some million a year.
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David Pollock
Below, I've read some not so some scathing comments about other people that have. Have a problem with Will Wade. What other, what other stories? How about this, what about today in college football? Like this next year? Who is, who are they going to be? Where are you going to be? Like, what's going to be the stories of college football? You think this next year we're going to be following?
- [10:16]
Mark Slayball
Well, I mean, I just got off the phone with a realtor in Baton Rouge. I'm looking for a one bedroom apartment from August to January and I may just end up staying even longer. No, I'm kidding. I mean Lane, Lane Kiffin is going to be the biggest story. He already is. I just saw he was on a barstool podcast this morning, so I got to listen to that while I cut some grass. But he's that, I mean, just the dynamic between him and Ole Miss and the game in week three. I've already booked a hotel room. I think as close as I can get. Was about 90 miles away. But he, you know, going to LSU, trying to rebuild LSU, it's amazing how far they've fallen not only as a football program, but also as an athletic department. They're terrible in basketball. He has like three, three players right now. Maybe the baseball team, I think was ranked preseason number one and had a losing record. But you know, Lane, they went all in. He's got some talent. I think it's interesting that he's kind of trying to temper expectations a little bit. You know, his quarterback, Sam Lovett, didn't play much in the spring, so his health, we'll, we'll see how he is in preseason camp. But, you know, they've got enough guys to be better than what they were. But that trip to Oxford, man, it's going to be fun.
- [11:33]
David Pollock
Have we seen a game like that in recent years with, with that much? Is it, is that him going back to Knoxville? Like.
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Mark Slayball
Yeah. Mustard bottles coming out of the stands. Yeah.
- [11:41]
David Pollock
Golf balls.
- [11:42]
Mark Slayball
Golf balls. It'll, it'll be. I was, I mean, I was there with Marty Smith the entire week. I think I did four or five trips to Oxford after October 1 last year. And there's no easy way to get to Oxford. I remember one time I was an hour away from Sea Island, Georgia, going to the last PGA Tour event of the year, the RSM Classic, and something happened and they called and said, turn around and go to Oxford. I was like, well, you can't really turn around in Pooler, Georgia and go to Oxford. So I had to drive all the way back to Atlanta and then drive to Oxford and then Thanksgiving Day even. I've done this for 30 years, Pac. I've never missed one of my kids birthdays. I've never missed Thanksgiving. I've never missed Christmas. I usually miss Easter because I'm at the Masters now. But I left Thanksgiving at 4 o' clock in Thomasville, Georgia and drove eight hours to Oxford. It was about eight, seven or eight hours. I went, actually I drove to Tuscaloosa and stayed in Nick Saban's hotel in Tuscaloosa. And I get there and I call Marty Smith. I was like, where are you at? He's like, somewhere in the middle of Mississippi driving a loaf of bread. I said, what? He goes, they were out of cars in the Birmingham airport, so I'm driving a conversion van. And I told him, I said, well, there's nothing to eat in Tuscaloosa because everything's closed because it's Thanksgiving. I said, I just ordered a pizza. And the guy pulls up, the Uber driver hands me a pizza. That's that Hunt Brothers pizza. I says, dude, is this from a gas station? He says, yeah, the Chevron over there on Highway 82. And I was like, marty, man, we're living the life. He was trying to get Lane, I was trying to get Gold, Pete Golding and some other guys over in Oxford. So I was camped out at the football office, he was camped out at the airport. I made it to the airport, but it was about. That was a Sunday when everything went down. But about home Friday, Marty turned to me and he said, boys, I ain't cut out for this. This is hard. I said, buckle up, Marty. We're just getting started.
- [13:50]
David Pollock
And he wasn't wrong.
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Mark Slayball
That was insane.
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David Pollock
You weren't wrong.
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Mark Slayball
But yeah, I mean, you know, in. Lane's throwing some salt on the wounds here lately, so it's only going to make it worse. But I. Ole Miss is going to be. I think he's going to be really, really good on offense. We'll see if they're better on defense. But Chambers and Lacey, nobody's. Nobody's got A better combo in the country.
- [14:12]
David Pollock
Knoxville. When Tennessee. When Lane went back was years and years later. This is fresh. I mean, this.
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Mark Slayball
We.
- [14:18]
David Pollock
This won't even be a calendar year later, which will be kind of crazy to deal with that. You just went to Oregon last month. What'd you learn in Oregon? What were you doing there?
- [14:26]
Mark Slayball
That's where I figured out I couldn't hit a golf ball anymore. We went to Bandon dunes and played 90 holes in four days, walked every one of them. And. And I must have swung a club about 2,000 times that week. Just forgot how to hit a driver somehow. But, you know, was it. John Feinstein wrote a good Walk Spoiled? That was a good walk. Very spoiled, because it was. It was awful. But now I went, saw Dan Lanning, and then I got some time with Dante Moore, who I'm a big fan of. Great kid. Really got a good head on his shoulders. Easily could have been the number two pick in the NFL draft, but. But came back just because he wants more reps, wants more snaps. Feels like he's got some unfinished business. Had some critical turnovers in that lost Indiana. You know, always been a big fan of Dan. You know, he's done a really good job out there.
- [15:15]
David Pollock
How different is he to talk to compared to a lot of these guys?
- [15:22]
Mark Slayball
He's got a little Kirby in him, though. He's a little. You know, he's a. He's a defensive guy. But, know, I think a different mindset out there because it's so much different than the South. But, you know, he's a guy that paid his dues. He was a high school coach and drove across the country to get a job interview. And that's what I respect about him. But, you know, they. They're going to have a really good defensive line. Look, he accomplished what Kirby and Lincoln Riley did. He got. Didn't. He got Bear Alexander to show up and play football. So that. That is. That. That speaks volumes to what he's done out there. But I'll be curious. They lost a ton of guys. They really like the safety they got from Minnesota. He was one of the best in the country last year. Defensive line is good. They got replaced. Some key guys on the offensive line. Somebody's got to step up at running back. But they didn't have a running back in the playoff last year. That was the biggest thing with him. When I talked to him was more about changing the schedule. You know, he really wanted it pushed up. They were in a terrible position last year with Tosh lapoy leaving For Cal and Will Stein going to Kentucky. You know, when I saw them at the Mercedes Benz Stadium before the Peach bowl playoff semifinal, I think it was. They looked like zombies, Tosh and Stein, because they were just trying to do two jobs at once and won a playoff game.
- [16:46]
David Pollock
Yeah, I'm high on Oregon this year. I'm high on Dan, obviously, all the time, just with his energy. But think about it, Mark. The last two years, they got three losses. Who'd they lose to? Ohio State and Indiana twice. They've only lost to the national champions, like in last year. They had to replace the offensive line. They did it. Dan's got. Dan's got to figure it out. I think he's that next young coach that's going to get one of these things, man. He's too good not to. He's too. He's too connected to the kids. He's got too much energy and juice. And the only thing I'm curious about, man, is the new hires. Like when you start to hire within and promote within and you got to bring new guys. Like, everybody knows Stein's elite. Everybody knows Tosh is elite. Like now replacing those two dudes, man, that's. That's the biggest worry for me.
- [17:29]
Mark Slayball
For Oregon. Yeah. Kirby had a guy sitting there right when Dan left with. With Schumann, a guy that had been with him since Alabama. He's kind of. I mean, look, Kirby beginning his tenure, he couldn't get over the hump against Alabama, right? And then he finally did, won a national championship. So I think it's. It's very similar to what Dan's facing right now. He'll say it. He said. He said, we gotta, you know, we gotta look at it. We gotta figure out why we haven't been able to get over that hump yet. But they've got the talent and certainly have the resources. And I'd ask some people out there, you know, Phil Knight, Uncle Phil's not getting any younger. What's the plan once he's gone? And they said, well, we've already talked with his son, so I think there's a plan in place.
- [18:11]
David Pollock
Yeah, 100%. Bring on the next night. Whoever wants to be there. As long as. As long as you keep supporting the program, we're good to go. What about golf, man? You cover. You cover a ton of golf, man. Like, is that. Is that the. Is that the hobby or is that the. Which one's the passion? You like football more or golf more?
- [18:28]
Mark Slayball
I'm still a college football guy. I tell you. They. They asked me to help out with the majors. Probably seven years ago. Yeah, I think was seven years ago because the. The first major I covered for, esp.
- [18:40]
Liberty Mutual Ad Voice
Liberty Mutual, customizes your car and home insurance. And now we're customizing this ad for your morning commute to wake you up, which could help your driving. Science says that stimulating the brain increases alertness. So here's a pop quiz. How many months have 28 days? What gets wetter as it dries? What has keys but can't open? Locks? If you don't want to hear the answers, turn off this Liberty Mutual AD. Now 12 months. A towel, piano. Enjoy being fully alert.
- [19:07]
Mark Slayball
Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.
- [19:11]
David Pollock
Why pay when you can slash TikTok
- [19:13]
Mark Slayball
slash and free lets you cut prices all the way to zero. Download TikTok, search, slash free and share the link to get free items. Start slashing now. PN was the 2019 Masters when Tiger won. And Saturday afternoon, my golf editor turns to me, said, you better start working on a Tiger wind story. So I went to Fresh Market across the street from Augusta, picked us up some ribeyes, marinated those, and sat there and wrote for like three hours, and he ends up winning. And my first big golf story for ESPN was Tiger one of the 2019 Masters, which was incredible, but, you know, it was. It was help out with the majors that wanted another reporter there. And then the main golf rider ended up leaving a few years ago, Bob Harrig, who's a good friend of mine. And they asked me at the Masters a couple years ago, they said, do you have any interest in covering golf full time? And I'm like, well, I already am, so I guess it really doesn't make a difference. But talk to my wife about it. I mean, consumes the summer. I don't get much of an off period. But, you know, I've been to Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Italy, Canada, the Bahamas, you know, all on ESPN's diamond. And you know, sometimes I wonder how longer, how much longer they're going to keep doing it. But it's fun. Yeah, I remember seeing the good thing Pollock is all the golfers love college football. Like if I walk a practice round with Brian Harmon or Brant Snedger Harris English, or, you know, Billy Horsel is a big Florida fan. And there's other guys, too, but those SEC guys, that's all they want to talk about is college football. And Harris would be like, you talked to Kirby lately? I was like, you talk to him more than I do. But I remember seeing Snediger on the driving range in Muirfield Village. At Jack Nicklaus's tournament a few years ago, and this is at the height of the live golf stuff. And he nodded me over and I said, what's up? He goes, man, I never thought I'd see the day. There were three golf stories on the front page of espn. He said, I didn't think we'd have to turn into the SEC for it to happen. And I said, yeah, but it's been wild because of the live stuff.
- [21:28]
David Pollock
Yeah. And then obviously that's going away. But what, is golf in a good spot now?
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Mark Slayball
Yeah, they got, they got to figure it out. I think I really like Brian Rolap, the, the new CEO from the NFL. I had dinner with him at pebble beach back in February. You know, he's a bottom line guy from the NFL. He's going to figure out how to make money and make more money and trim costs and how to put the best products out there because their TV contracts are coming up and the NFL takes such a huge chunk of TV dollars now. But I think, you know, there's some changes they're going to make. They've talked about it, more signature events, bigger fields, you know, a second track of tournaments where guys can. They're gonna be relegation and elevation. Kind of like European soccer, which is going to be really cool. So that, I mean, that could be like 14 to 20 additional tournaments. I think if Liv folds and I'm not completely read them, ready to write them off, because I thought they were,
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David Pollock
I thought they already announced that.
- [22:31]
Mark Slayball
Well, they. Saudi Arabia's public investment fund, which has spent $5 billion approaching 6 to try to keep it alive, is pulled their financing after this season. Scott o', Neill, the Live Golf CEO, is, is trying to find additional funding. It's going to be difficult if you've already burned through 6 billion and don't have much traction in the, in the, in the U.S. you know, I don't know who's going to invest in it. I was at their tournament in Virginia a couple of weeks ago at President Trump's course on the river up there. And it was incredibly beautiful course. But I was talking to Bryson DeChambeau and, you know, he's telling me that the teams are worth 200, 300 million apiece. And I'm like, what? You know, I just, I don't get it. And it's surprising to me that they're tripling down on the team aspect. I mean, I guess that's what makes them different from everybody else. But you've, you've burned through $6 billion trying to prove it's going to work, and it won't work. There are some guys there that'll tell me, you know, on background, I wish we'd do away with the teams and just go play golf. But, you know, the big question, if they fold, how many guys come back? What's going to be the punishment? I mean, there are a few guys that certainly move the needle. Bryson and John Rahm and Joaquin Neiman's probably one of the top 25, 30 golfers in the world. Camp Smith played much better in the PGA Championship last week. But you know, what's going to be the punishment? Bryson hinted that he's already been told it's going to be severe. He's not happy with it. Says he's going to go grow his YouTube channel and just play in the tournaments he has exemptions into. But, you know, Rom, Cam, Smith and Bryson had a chance to come back in the early in the season after Koepka came back for the same deal, which was $5 million of charity, no equity. And you can't play in signature events unless you're on your way in. And Brooks did it. Those guys didn't do it.
- [24:33]
David Pollock
It's interesting. I would want.
- [24:35]
Mark Slayball
I. I don't know.
- [24:35]
David Pollock
I don't know the details of how it happened, but I'd want my best players there. In the end. I know there's all kinds of stuff that goes into.
- [24:42]
Errands Ad Voice
There's.
- [24:42]
Mark Slayball
I mean, there's scar tissue for guys that state and are you gonna, you know, are you gonna cut. You're going to take away spots from guys who stayed? Because there are a lot of guys who turn down love golf money and they're, you know, are you going to kick out the fringe players? And I don't disagree with you. John rom and Bryson DeChambeau and a couple other guys. There aren't many, to be honest with you, that really move the needle and make the PGA Tour better, but that's. That's the fine line. He's going to have to pants. But. But roll up is said repeatedly he's interested in doing what's good for the PGA Tour. And having Bryson DeChambeau and John Rom and a couple other guys is good for the PGA Tour, right?
- [25:21]
David Pollock
Yeah. All right, let's get back to college football, and then I'll get you out of here. What's your gauge on the sport? Is the sport as popular as it's been, or do you feel like it's going the other direction? How do you feel about the sport?
- [25:31]
Mark Slayball
Right now, you know, it's funny. I, I think on Saturdays, it's as popular as it's ever been. The, the ratings, I'll tell you that. Television ratings and interest and everything. I think from end of January until the end of August, when we have no games, everybody's pretty upset about it and tired of it and tired of the greed and tired of the money and tired of the transfer portal, tired of the lawsuits, tired of the bickering and everything else. You know, I still think it's the greatest sport in the world. I liked it when you played. I liked amateurism. I don't, I do not have a problem with guys being paid, but I, I don't like guys going to four different schools and not graduating and, you know, guys getting $5 million to play. It's just, there's got to be some guardrails and, you know, we'll see if Ted Cruz and some other Congress people can get it done. That's always a red flag to me, trying to get Congress involved. I'll never forget I called then Senator Tommy Tuberville a couple. This was a couple years ago, and he was working on a bill with some. A guy from Ohio that went. Played receiver at Ohio State. His name escapes me. He's in Congress as well. And I've known Tommy since he was at Ole Miss. And so I called him. He usually calls me back pretty quick. Well, he waits like two weeks to call me back. He's like, sorry I didn't call you back. I was over in Switzerland dealing with the Ukrainians about Russia. And I was like, oh, boy. And then he goes, next words out of his mouth. Man, if they screwed up college football or what. So soon to be governor. Tommy Tuberville, maybe. So he won his Republican primary yesterday.
- [27:24]
David Pollock
Anthony Gonzalez. Was that the name?
- [27:25]
Mark Slayball
Anthony Gonzalez? Yeah, that's it. Yeah.
- [27:29]
David Pollock
What do you think about all this talk? What do you think we end up because you, you obviously talk to so many folks. What do you think we end up with the 24, the 16? We bet we've had some outspokenness with a lot of people. I love Reese Davis was like, screw that crap. I can't stand it. But obviously there's more to this than anything than, Than just being competitive.
- [27:48]
Mark Slayball
Well, yeah. What did Reese say? He's the voice for reason.
- [27:51]
David Pollock
Most of the Reese just said he, he, he sees. He said it's ludicrous to go to 24. Oh, I understand. Why you. Why in the world we would go to 24.
- [27:58]
Mark Slayball
I mean, with all due respect to James Madison and Tulane.
- [28:02]
David Pollock
Yeah.
- [28:02]
Mark Slayball
I mean, do we want four more of those? And, you know, I. I saw. I mean, it's basically the Big Ten and the sec, the two most powerful voices, two most powerful leagues can't get on the same page. Greg Sankey won 16. Tony Petiti wants 24. He said. Petiti said today, I think if. If. If it isn't 24, we'll stay. We'll stay at 12, which is fine with me. You know, I still like the conference championship games, but I think the SEC might be the only league that. That really cares about SEC championship games anymore. You know, at one point, they were talking about incorporating those games, those conference championship games into the playoff, where it would be like a playing game between two teams who aren't in, like, the top eight or whatever. I like that idea. I just.
- [29:02]
David Pollock
Man, is it egos? What is it with the Big Ten? Big Ten in the sec, and why can't they just run college football?
- [29:10]
Mark Slayball
I made it look. They've threatened to break away from everybody else. And, I mean, I think we're closer to that point than ever. I mean, I've said it a million times over the years. Nick Saban told me probably eight years ago now, that we're going to get to the point where there's 2, 3, 4 super conferences of 10 teams, where 10, 12 teams, where you have 40 to 48 teams, the biggest teams, richest teams, blue bloods, playing each other and nobody else. And the rest of those schools, the Georgia states, the Georgia Southerns, the South Alabamas, play in their own leagues and have their own national championship, which makes a hell of a lot of sense to me.
- [29:53]
David Pollock
Yeah.
- [29:55]
Mark Slayball
Yeah. I would think those guys. Those guys kick it off every season with zero chance to win a national title.
- [30:01]
David Pollock
Zero chance. Zero chance. All right, last question. You wrote book for Duck Dynasty. You wrote book for Bobby Bowden. Was it exactly the same process? Was it easier to write a book with your boy?
- [30:15]
Mark Slayball
It was easier because I knew not to use big words,
- [30:22]
David Pollock
facts, like, we knew better than that.
- [30:24]
Mark Slayball
No, I'm not just saying it because I'm on your podcast. I mean, it was a joy to do it. Obviously, the situation with Lindsay came up during that time, and we ended up putting in the book, and I. And I think it made the book a lot more authentic and raw, and I'm just, you know, the biggest thing, obviously, that she's healthy now and looks great. Saw her at the golf tournament. But, I mean, it took longer than you wanted. It took longer than I wanted. I mean, just the entire process. But that's how the publishing world works. But I think after all that, I think we in the end had the best product we could have had.
- [31:02]
David Pollock
You didn't show for me around like Bobby, though.
- [31:05]
Mark Slayball
No, Bobby was the best. I did like five or six book signings with Coach Bowden, and he. He'd go speak somewhere or sign, and then he'd have me pull in the gas station and he'd pick up a pack of Levi Garrett and he'd chew or. No, first he. First he'd drink the Coke, then he'd get the Levi Garrett out and spit in the bottle. And then he'd look at me and say, I'm out, boy. And he falls asleep and he'd wake up like three hours later when we're pulling into the next stop. It was amazing. It was like Driving Miss Daisy.
- [31:33]
David Pollock
And then. And then pop up and be ready to roll.
- [31:35]
Mark Slayball
Pop up, be ready to roll. A couple of times he made me. He asked me to stop at a golf course so he could go out and putt for 45 minutes to get his exercise. It was. It was amazing. He was the best. He. That was the first big book I did. And I went down to Tallahassee and spent like four or five days with him. And early in the process, I said, coach, do you have any copies of the. Your pregame speeches we could use in the book? And he goes to his desk and comes out, he's got like two big old three ring binders, hands it to me, goes, there's every pregame speech I ever had at Florida State. He kept every one of them. And I built the entire book around those pregame speeches.
- [32:11]
David Pollock
Wow. Which one was the best?
- [32:15]
Mark Slayball
Oh, man. There was a story. It's been so long as 20 years ago, David. There was. There was something about a blind Vietnamese girl that was incredible. But I can't. I can't remember the exact details of the story. I have to go find it.
- [32:34]
David Pollock
How do you. How do you know it was about a blind Vietnamese girl, but you don't know the details? Like, how is that possible?
- [32:39]
Mark Slayball
I cannot remember the details. It was the sweetest little story and I any. And it was about sacrifice. That's all I remember. But I can't remember that, man. I can barely remember what I had for breakfast, which was nothing, because I can relate. I went on my five miles. I went on my five mile walk, which I started doing after writing your book. I was like, if you're going to write about every day counts, you better make every Day count.
- [33:02]
David Pollock
That's what I'm talking about. Hey, I will tell you this. I have gotten, I have gotten hundreds of calls, hundreds of text messages of people that just like, they're like, I've been encouraged. It's helped me change the way, the way I approach life. And I'm like, we did a good job then, like, we did something right. And I know it doesn't happen without you, so I appreciate you bearing with me and working with me because I am not the easiest person to get still and talk and have to go back and do all the different things. But you made it. You. You helped us make it really good, man. I appreciate you.
- [33:32]
Mark Slayball
No, it was an honor to do it. I enjoyed telling it. And I mean, that's the goal, right? Is to change people's lives. And I remember when I did Cy Robertson's first book, Uncle Sigh, who I still am in contact with, a buddy called me and said, man, I just wanted to tell you, my 10 year old was in the backseat of our car reading uncle size book and would not stop laughing. And he said, I just want you to hear that. And I said, that's exactly what I wanted. And I mean, I joke about the big words, but, you know, the goal for me every time, unless it's a really complicated book, is to write a book that somebody can sit down and read in four or five hours and not put it down. And because I know what America's attention span is. It's X and it's Instagram and you know, people don't read. My kids, I don't know know if my kids have ever read one of my books. They read books, they just don't read mine. I know my wife hasn't.
- [34:24]
David Pollock
Well, I'll tell you this and I'll get you out of here on this.
- [34:27]
Mark Slayball
I'm not even sure if you've read it.
- [34:29]
David Pollock
No, I have. But I'll tell you this and I'll get you, I'll get you out of here on this. My wife, I was. You get so tired of reading your story. I mean, you just get tired of it. I got tired of reading about me and my story. And so you just get. I was like, baby doll, will you please read this for me? And she was like, yeah, yeah. And she didn't respond very much or give me any feedback. And the book finally comes, Mark, a month before it's released, it comes to the house and she opens it up and she looks at the COVID and she opens it up and it says, for Lindsay. And she Starts crying. And I was like. I was like, well, if you'd have read the book, you'd have seen that a long time ago, baby doll. And she was like, all right, you got me. And then she actually has been, like, one of the biggest sales, and we've been in the airport talking to people, and somebody asked me about it. She's like, it's really, really good. I have one. I promise. I've read it. It's. It's good. I. I promise. And I'm like, all right. Now you say that the best part.
- [35:20]
Mark Slayball
The best part of doing your book was getting to reconnect with John Favoris.
- [35:24]
David Pollock
Oh, man.
- [35:25]
Mark Slayball
I was on the phone with him for, like, two hours. It was awesome. And his story. I mean, his stories made the book.
- [35:33]
David Pollock
He's legendary.
- [35:34]
Mark Slayball
Yeah. I mean, he is hilarious. Look at. Look at Thomas Davis. He's a 10 coach. What am I, 3.5? What was it, 5.5?
- [35:44]
David Pollock
5.5. I pissed me off. And he knew exactly what he was doing. It's amazing how you don't know what coaches are trying to goad you and. And, like, pro. Que you and prod you and motivate you. You have no clue. You're just like, are you kidding me? Like, you're really gonna say. I remember Van Gorder, like, same thing. Telling me, going against Sean Andrews, he's like, hey, Pollock, we're gonna play you at. At right defensive end this week. And I was like, why? He was like, because Sean Andrews is on the other side. He's like, he's. He'll kill you.
- [36:11]
Mark Slayball
And I'm like, what? I mean,
- [36:16]
David Pollock
he knows exactly what he's doing.
- [36:17]
Mark Slayball
My favorite story was Lou Holtz screaming at skill. Why would you run that play towards Pollock side? Yeah.
- [36:25]
David Pollock
And then I'd send a video to Lou. Every time I went to the South Carolina stadium, I'd be like, lou, I'll never.
- [36:31]
Mark Slayball
That. My younger daughter Jane was born that weekend. So I didn't go to the game. I stayed home. But I remember Heather was really close to delivering. And the doctor pulled me in the office, in the hallway outside his office, like, on a Tuesday. She's due on Friday. He pulls her out. He goes, hey, I know you want to go to the Georgia South Carolina game. I got a fishing trip to Costa Rica. What do you say we just do this tomorrow? I was like, perfect.
- [36:58]
David Pollock
And we did it.
- [36:59]
Mark Slayball
And I still didn't go to the game. I stayed home. I did the fatherly duty.
- [37:04]
David Pollock
He went to the fishing trip, though.
- [37:06]
Mark Slayball
Oh, he went fishing for sure.
- [37:08]
David Pollock
Well, you demand. Mark, thank you so much, brother. Appreciate you all you did for us, man, making the book. Every day counts. You did a great job, brother. And thanks for covering the sport and always being a blast, brother.
- [37:18]
Mark Slayball
All right. Appreciate it. Thank you.
- [37:19]
David Pollock
David.
- [37:20]
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