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We were putting together deep dives into classics like 2001 A Space Odyssey or Fight Club. Plus weekly episodes on all industry news. Listen to Raiders of the Lost podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more follow aidersofthelostpodcast and ICTOK Podcast Network on TikTok. Yeah, maxing is so maxing right now bro.
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or a combination with any other offered discount. Welcome to Sharper Square presented by Hard Rock Bat. We are part of the Volume Podcast Network. This is the show that makes the squares sharper and makes the wise guys pay attention. I am Chad Millman. I am joined as always by my co host, my bff, my companion, my compadre professional Better Simon Hunter. Hello Simon.
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C
Hello Chad Guy.
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I'm sick. I'm honestly sick for you. You obviously as Our listeners know you were born in England. You spent 10 years living there. You are a passionate, passionate football fan for both sides of the pond. You love this England football team, the Three Lions. My family, we've adopted this team. That was excruciating. As someone who's become a soccer expert in the past four months, I can't even imagine what it means. Like, speak. Speak your truth for the record.
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C
I was born in America. I'm an American citizen. I was born in Miami. I have a passport. Please don't deport me. It was horrible. But I told you this two months ago, Chad. This is the only way it ends. Yes, and this is why I don't put money into them. I never bet their futures. We'll always have 66, but it doesn't matter if we have the most talent in the world. It's a cultural thing, that's why. Try to beat into people's brains. Before this whole thing started, there's, it's all culture. The World cup doesn't matter about the skill. The skill does matter in some aspects, but it's the culture and the mentality. And you know, in England, the way we're raised is this is, this is coming home. But in our mentality is always. The guys can't live in the moment. And you saw that in the game, right? Once they scored the goal, they wanted to prevent defense, and it was only a matter of time. And Argentina, you know, they might not have the best players, the best team, but they believe in their leader, Messi. They love Messi with such passion. And I mean, every game they come from behind. It's incredible what Argentine has done where it's like they don't have the skill, they have the belief and they have, you know, when the best goal scorers ever play the game. So it just keeps happening. But yeah, yesterday it's. I mean, you know the feeling, right? When your team loses, you kind of just sit there, you have the whole, what the hell just happened? Then you have anger and blame. And then I woke up this morning, I felt a little better. Just a little better where it's like it was, it's. It was such a fun run. I love Harry, love the boys, love Jude. It just sucks that it's over. And, you know, people ask, why do they play a third place game? How stupid is this? It's a big deal. It's a big deal to be. Even if you don't think it is to be the third or fourth place team in the World cup, it does matter. So I'm not shocked they're gonna keep playing this out. And yeah, I'm, I'm not as hurt as I was yesterday. I was honestly unconsolable yesterday. I'm just, I just can't believe it. I really, really believe we were going to win that game. And yeah, Messi. Messi had plans for other things.
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B
It was excruciating to watch. It was excruciating to see the tactics immediately change and for this team from England to go into some kind of pre event and it took all the spirit and energy and joy that we've seen them playing with for the past month out of their game and it's almost like they didn't, they didn't know who they were anymore. And, and it also felt like it just played exactly into Argentina's hands, which now was untethered to play exactly the way they wanted to play. Like the whole time you felt like England knew they were going to lose that game and was just trying to keep it as close as they possibly could. That's what I felt like after they scored.
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C
It's true. That's why it's. As a fan of England, it's like, I like that mixer game. I couldn't believe they won that game because that would have been on brand to lose that game. So it's, that's what stinks is I kept believing, I kept getting sucked in. And yeah, they took that one goal lead. It's okay. Okay, all we need is one more and this is ours. And like you said, they just started playing back. You know, you only could do so much when you're putting nine men in the box, it's. It's just a matter of time, right? It's the perfect cross, the perfect header. That's going to capitalize a perfect shot from 18 yards out. That's going to go in. The goalie played out of his mind for England. They just, they, the manager, the team, everyone. I hate the way they play. They turtled at the end and you know, life, you can't live with regret. How can you not live with regret if you're one of those players the rest of your life? It was there. You could feel it. You were 10 minutes away from going to the finals and yeah, it's, it's a little surreal. And Matt Mitchell, like, he said it best, the whole Buffalo Bill thing, that's why I try not to crush them too much. Bills fans for their love of Josh Allen. I love him too, but my God, does it hurt when you, when you start believing in the playoffs and your, your quarterback of your team lets you down. That's how I felt with England. It's just, I really started believing and they just, they totally let us down. So I'm going to keep repping excited for the third place game. But Chad, it is in fact not coming home.
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Daily Mirror headline heard around the world. Harry Kane back page Kane not able. Let's bring in one of our favorite guests because now we've had a month of worldwide soccer thrills and chills. There's only one match left. The final for the FIFA World Cup 2026 between Spain and Argentina. It's Sunday, 3pm Eastern in the Meadowlands. We're going to bring in a guy friend of the show, a man who hates weather, a man who believes all NFL games should be played in domes, Mr. Tony Devonado.
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A
So you did have a conversation with Leebo.
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For people who have listened to the show know that Mike Leboff, who worked with me and Simon, and of course, this is Anthony De Bundo, formerly of Action Network, now of the Ringer. And Mike Leboff, who covers hockey, covered hockey for Action and is now the gambling writer at the New York Post. The Action Network diaspora is everywhere we are. And Leeboff and Anthony are in a text chain with a bunch of Leeboth's Long island gambling scumbag buddies. And one of them cannot get Anthony De Bundo's name right. So he calls him Tony debonado. And so Leebov called me and we were just bullshitting. And Leebob calls like every four to six weeks. Yep. It's like you're. Every time Leebov calls, it's like you're starting the conversation in the middle. And what I love about Lee Boffa is he's one of the few people who calls. He doesn't need anything. He's just calling to say hi.
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Yeah.
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And you had just been on the show, I think, and we were. He was saying, oh, yeah, Tony debonado.
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Anthony called me at halftime of the game yesterday. I didn't pick up, though.
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No. Now there he's just fucking with you. He wants to see how far your friendship can go. Anthony, we want to get to the Spain Argentina final. We want to give out a brass balls bet of the week, presented by Hard Rock Bet on this game. I'm like, Simon, after the Mexico game for England, I was all in on England and then they scored that goal. I'm like, this team is different. They're not going to fade. They're not going to choke. And then it's almost like the switch went on and they were the Manchurian candidates and they were required to choke. What was your take on what happened in the final 35 minutes of that game?
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He, Thomas Tuchel, lied. He deceived us. The first game of the tournament, England went up 3:2 on Croatia, and they kept attacking. And Tuchel gave this big halftime speech where he said, if we're gonna lose, we're gonna lose playing our way. We're gonna be aggressive, we're gonna play on the front foot. Everybody was just singing the praises of England after that first game. And I bought into it. I was like, this team is talented enough to win it all. I picked them to make the final. And I was like, you know what? They could do it. And then right before Mexico, they were 10 to 1. And I was like, I don't know. Like, I think the market's overrating Mexico. Like, I think they can survive this. This team is different. And you can understand, like, we're going to bunker in against Mexico. We have 10 men, we've gotten a red card. Kind of the best way to play. But to do it against Argentina, to let Messi just have the ball right outside the penalty area and then hope that what he's not going to eventually have an assist or two was crazy. It was ridiculous. We all saw it happening. They completed, they had what, 12 of the possession after they scored the goal. It's ridiculous for a team like England, who was better than Argentina at full strength when they were going for it. So, look, I understand why they did it. It never made sense. It never was going to work. And they, they paid the price. And, and I. I will say I've enjoyed listening to. To British talk radio the whole last 20, last 24 hours. It's been. It's been a joy.
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How would you compare it to Philly, Boston, New York?
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It's the same thing, just with great accents. And it does feel more personal for the Brits.
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I was going to say, I actually feel like there's always a little bit of. A little. It's performative in New York and Philly and Boston, like, they feel it, they love it, but they also know they're doing it because that's their job. And I feel like in England, when England loses, this is why I wanted England to win or lose. To be honest, you guys, I like Simon. We talked about this. I am so in love with social media fan reaction videos. The fan reaction videos. I just wanted England fan reaction videos. If they won and the fan reaction videos of them losing it. I mean, it's, it's such good drama. But I do feel like English fans feel it in a way that is different and English radio personalities feel it in a way that is different. Simon.
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I think it's a hundred. They're 100. They're all Stephen A. Smiths. It's 100 times worse, in my opinion, than America sports media. Like, they beat Norway. Chad. They talked about the head coach. Say it's an hour show. They did five minutes on the win, five minutes on Harry, five minutes on Jude, and then 45 minutes on the head coach of England because of the remarks he made after the game saying the guys didn't play well enough. And they debated if he should do that in house, clubhouse or outside to the media. 45 minutes, if they just beat Norway. Their. Their media is the worst. They've always been the worst. I, like I said, it's all culture. I though I cannot stand a million things about British culture. The biggest one is how they treat and talk about their sports athletes, how disrespectful they are to their sports athletes. Like, Chad doesn't even remember this. David Beckham basically had a World cup blunder. Yeah, the man had to leave the country, like, because the media, the fans are so mental in England where it's like, dude, you're a country of losers. You haven't won since 66 and now you're running out your most famous player from your country. I told you, I have a whole thing about England media. I can't get into it. I hate the way they are. I think it's ruined the culture. It's why these players get so tight in these games, because they know they will get judged and just ridiculed by everyone and, and destroyed for the next four years if they can't overcome and win these games. And it gets to them. And I hate it. It's like the worst thing in the entire world. I wish a sports psychologist could get their hands on these soccer players and just tell them it truly does not matter. Like, you're, you control the outcome. The media does not control the outcome. And like we said, you could see in that second half just weighing on these players as soon as they scored that goal. You could just see them playing back on their heels and just being like, okay, we can't lose this, we can't lose this. And it's just, there's no way to play that. You have to keep playing your style, keep attacking. So, yeah, I'm, I really can't hear what I have to say about the third place game because to me it's like, is there value embedding England? No. Isn't that the easiest fate of our lives?
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Just right. That's the thing.
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Yeah, we're on France right now. It's like, my God, France, at least they can own their law.
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They're pissed off, right?
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C
Yeah, yeah.
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France is pissed off. England is devastated. Yeah.
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B
Well, before we get into it, Anthony, one of Philly's finest, you've had a couple issues with your car in Philly, and yesterday you posted another tragic picture. Can you explain to people exactly what happened?
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Yeah. So I live in Fishtown, which apparently is. Is a hotbed of car theft in Philadelphia. And I drive a Honda Civic, which I know is a hotbed of targeted cars because it's so everybody has Hondas all over. They're very easy to sell the parts. So last year in August, actually, the wheels were stolen off my car. Now, this was annoying, but really ultimately was more of a funny story than like a tragedy. Insurance covers it. They literally have a company that they contract. It's like a pit crew that comes and puts new wheels on your car where it's parked. So it was like a one day hiccup. I didn't have a car. I didn't need my car that day.
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B
Ha ha ha.
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A
Funny story to tell. So yesterday, or, sorry, Monday, I parked my car on the street around the corner from my apartment where I park it all the time with no issue. And on Tuesday I took the train down to Citizens bank park to go to the All Star game. Now it's about 10 minutes before the game is about to start and I get a phone call from a guy saying, hey, are you the owner of the gray Honda Civic, license plate, blah blah, blah. We have your car. We found it on the street. I'm like, where? He said Port Richmond. I said, oh, that's not where my car was parked. I said, I left it in Fishtown yesterday. And he said, well, it's missing all four wheels. And somebody did a number on the steering column. Like they got into the car, they obviously hot wired it, drove it away, stole the wheels, parked it on the street, stripped all like the airbags, the steering column, all that stuff, and then left it there. And the Philadelphia Parking Authority, those great people that they are, left a ticket on it too for parking it illegally. No way that was left. So I called the police and left a police report. And now I'm dealing with like this towing company that Towed it to their lot. And now apparently, like, the insurance company has to get the car from the lot, and I have to get a rental because I have to figure out if my car is told or not. My car is only two years old, but they stole so much from it. All the sensors, the airbags, you know, the wheels that, like, it might just be totaled. Even though, again, I bought the car in October of 2024, so it's been a hell of a ride. And this one is actually really, really annoying because now I don't have a car, and I have to deal with all this madness when we're trying to enjoy the world Cup. Chad. I'm too busy to be. To be dealing with all this chaos.
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So who called you?
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The guy who found the car. This guy just ran.
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B
Like, some random dude found a car.
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He worked for a towing company.
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Okay.
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I'm sure he was, like, driving around the city and was like, oh, here's an opportunity. Like, this guy's car is obviously not mobile without wheels on it in the middle of the street. Let's call him and try to see if we can tow it to our yard, and then, you know, insurance will pay us to.
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B
Right.
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A
You know, to do the tow. So this guy saw a business opportunity. It is funny like these, because, like, the same thing happened last year, right? So the four wheels get stolen off the car, and when I go to the car the next day and I see it, I'm like, oh, shit. And some lovely man from a towing company just left his business card right on the wind. Window. The window. Just in case I was feeling a little down. I'm starting to wonder if these tow guys aren't in on it.
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B
Well, that's what I'm saying. Right. What a rattle.
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A
And the police are investigating this person that called me. They're like, you know, we've seen this before where they. They work for the tow company. They steal the car and they take the parts, and then they get money for the toe on the back end, and it's like a racket.
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Yes.
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I'm like, well, please investigate. Happy to. Thank you, officer. Please do. Please find out how this is happening. Because, you know, twice in a year is tough.
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B
It's tough, Simon. I don't even ever have my antenna up for scams, But I feel like the guy calling Anthony to say, hey, I found your car. And, oh, by the way, I run a towing company. That all feels very suspect.
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A
Yeah, you sent me his business card.
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C
But I agree with it. Probably all in on it. And it's why I always tell people I have a burner car. I have a very nice car. I think Chad's the only person I've ever taken my nice car into Philly with. It's a nice car because Philly is meant for the burner cars. Doesn't matter if you're an old city or Fishtown.
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A
That's the thing.
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C
They'll find it. They'll get you, especially if you're an easy target kind of car.
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A
So, yeah, Hondas and Acuras are the two that they're after. And it's funny, because when this happened last year, I got, like, tweets from three or four other people in all different neighborhoods of Philly, from, like, the nicest neighborhoods to, like, the not as nice. All of them were like, yep, they got me too. They got me too. They got this neighbor of mine last week, and my. The person who lives upstairs from me drives an Acura, and they had their Acura stolen and stripped in a very similar manner last year. So clearly, we're the target. And if I have a new car, I don't know that I'm gonna buy a Honda.
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B
To be honest, this is good intel, because my kid, who just graduated from Drexel and is probably gonna stay in Philly and wants to move to Fishtown, said for graduation, he wants a car.
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Do not buy him a Honda.
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I'm like, I don't know if we're gonna do that.
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C
My recommendation would be Subaru now that are hooked up to the apps. Like, I had a BMW that literally, if my windows cracked, I get an alert on my phone, let alone if my car is in motion. So they definitely have come around the technology now where you can just track your car, all the movements, every little thing like that. And, yeah, I'm like. I said to people all the time that come to Philly, Philly has improved so much or the last 10, 15 years. But every time I go to the city, whether I'm in a parking garage or if I'm parked on front street visiting my brother, someone's gonna do my window in. Like, doesn't matter if I have left nothing out. If I. I come out in the morning, my window's broken in. They're just. They're gonna break it in. They're gonna go through your glove box. They're gonna go through your center console. It's just the way it is in most cities. I've been very lucky. I feel terrible, Anthony. Like, that. Talk about a headache. Like, the whole deal with all the BS where it's like you were literally doing nothing. That's one of the worst parts of being alive right now, where it's like we have so many people struggling. Who knows what people are going through, but that, that sounds like a racket. Through this towing company. This is very, very suspicious, the fact that they called you brother. I'm not gonna lie.
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B
Listen, we still love Philly. We love Philly.
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A
We do.
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B
We do. All right. We've gotten distracted here. I want to talk about Spain and Argentina. Quick word from Hard Rock. We're coming back to talk about the finals. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock BET Sportsbook. If you haven't tried out Hard Rock Bet yet, there's no better time to get in the game than right now. We're down to the final four in the world's biggest soccer tournament. By this time next week, we'll be waiting four more years for soccer's biggest stage to return. So don't spend it wishing you were part of history. Hard Rock Bet is a top rated sportsbook app built to viva lacopa. Check out their promos like no goals, no problem. If you bet on a team to win in regulation and the match ends scoreless after 90 plus stoppage time, you'll get back a bonus bet up to $250. So when the goals go missing, your bet doesn't every match day. You can choose your own offer a profit boost to juice your winnings or a no sweat bet for a little extra security. So if you're ready to try your first bet on Hard Rock Bet today, sign up and you can score $150 in bonus bets. Just place a $5 bet and if it wins, you get not only your winnings, but also an extra $150 in bonus bets. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and don't let the cup's biggest games pass you by. Roll with us. Go. Go with us. Hard Rock Bet payable in bonus bets. Not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In Florida, offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC and all other states must be 21 or over and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. To play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1833 playwise in Indiana, if you were someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it. In Arizona, Ohio and Virginia, call 1-800- my reset gambling problem, call 1-800- Gambler in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee.
- [23:42]
C
We've all been there.
- [23:44]
A
We've had seasons that have shaken everything. The question is, what remains when the shaking stops? Hi, I'm Gary Valenciano and on my podcast Unshaken with Gary Vee, I sit down with amazing personalities and we talk about the seasons that nearly broke them,
- [24:04]
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the lows that carried them to their highs.
- [24:08]
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Listen to Unshaken with Gary Vee on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [24:17]
C
The Declaration, which is full of these beautifully rendered sentences and paragraphs about enlightenment ideals, does also have this darker history to it. Why is it important for the darker part of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution?
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Why is it important that Americans know about it?
- [24:39]
C
Well, if we don't understand the the full context in which our nation was
- [24:43]
A
founded, we won't understand the full context
- [24:47]
C
in which our nation now finds itself. I'm Rebecca Nagle. Gohin Tawa Don Jalika Yetli KE La citizen of Cherokee Nation.
- [24:56]
A
Are you guys big Chiefs fans?
- [24:58]
B
Hell yeah.
- [24:59]
C
This is First America, the true story of how the United States came to be and how we got to this present moment. Listen to First America on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Mainstream media is full of cruel depictions of the unhoused, stories that shame and blame and paint the unhoused as a monolith. We the Unhoused is the podcast that's changing that. I'm Theo Henderson, creator and host and
- [25:33]
A
for years I've created a space where
- [25:35]
C
the unhoused and their advocates can tell their own stories. In the last few months alone, I've interviewed unhoused parents, immigrants, mutual aid organizers, veterans, the lgbtqtia community, and the policymakers who make the laws that impact the unhoused existence. We'd In House is a two time Webby and Signal award winning show with many exciting guests on the horizon. Tune in this week for more. My interview with Dr. Jill Wicheric, a street doctor turned influencer whose work with
- [26:05]
A
the unhoused community has made a huge
- [26:08]
C
impact online and in her community. Listen to we the unhoused on the
- [26:13]
A
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [26:18]
B
Hey guys, Paul Verze here and I
- [26:20]
A
want to talk to you about Paul's
- [26:21]
B
best podcast, Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio. I sit down each week with a special guest and we discussed the absolute best of things. Davidson.
- [26:30]
C
It's that and then there's everything else.
- [26:32]
B
He would just shout one line and it would murder.
- [26:35]
A
Marie, lunch.
- [26:37]
B
Let's talk about the best moments that we had on the road.
- [26:41]
A
I would love a cocktail.
- [26:42]
C
Dude.
- [26:43]
A
Joker, get last row, middle seat on a Southwest Airlines flight.
- [26:46]
B
Joe, how was your flight? It was great.
- [26:48]
A
The guy in Penn State on the field and the player thought Joe is
- [26:52]
B
his former coach, and he hugged him
- [26:54]
A
and hugged him, and Joe just went with it.
- [26:56]
B
The guy goes, what are you doing here, coach?
- [26:57]
A
And Joe just goes. And you walk in, and it is bananas. I mean, it's a feast for the eyes. And I was like. It's like. It's not my thing either, but we're here.
- [27:08]
B
When in Rome, top athletes, chefs, musicians, everybody. Listen to Paul's best podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Spain. Argentina, defending World cup champion. Current odds, Spain 130. Argentina 250 draw 200 to bet who lifts the trophy. Spain 155. 155. Argentina 125. So Spain, a very, very slight favorite here. Anthony, break it down.
- [27:51]
A
Yeah, I think they're a little short, honestly. I know that Argentina is the new Chiefs. That's the comp everybody's decided to come up with. They even played, like, half their group stage games and knockout games in Kansas City. But, you know, this team, quite frankly, has been outplayed for most of their knockout games. Just because they again, pulled off a miracle at the end and pulled off another comeback doesn't necessarily make them a better team. And the one. The one reason that I would be more confident in Spain is just that Spain is not going to abandon its principles like England did. Spain. Spain has a way of playing. They have an ingrained identity. The thing that's been so impressive is they hired this guy, the Fuente, in 2022 following the World cup, and he wasn't really well known. He had been coaching the youth soccer teams in Spain, U21s, U23, U19s. And they just said, well, that guy has a lot of experience. He knows all these players, and he's pretty good at that. So, like, let's have him coach the national senior team. So a lot of them have so much familiarity playing with each other, too. You know, three or four of the starters play for Barcelona at the club level. And this team has just been a historically good defense in a way that we have literally never seen at the World cup level. I mean, they may only concede one goal the entire tournament. They've only conceded about two expected goals in six games. Seven games, sorry. They held France, who many people thought and I thought was the best attacking group in the history of the World cup, to nothing. 0.3 Xg and like 7 shots, none of which were high quality. So the Spanish press, the Spanish, the Spanish counter press. When they lose the ball, they're so good at winning it back and controlling these games. Like Argentina can show up and they can muddy up the game, they can make it physical, they can turn it into a war. But I'm just not convinced that they can actually create a lot of clear chances in this match. And I don't think Spain is going to be running away with it by any stretch. That's not really how they play, but it just feels to me like they're going to be able to grind and grind and grind them down and eventually find the goal that wins the match. So I think this, this screams low scoring and it screams Spain just does enough.
- [29:53]
C
You nailed it from the top. They're talking about head coach where it's like people don't really didn't get that higher. Where it's what we keep talking about, the culture. The man knows the culture and the rhythm of that country. Right. He's been with these guys since they were kids to where they're at now. And it's a plain style. Like I. People are asking me comps for it about an NFL team. You can literally go back to last year. This is Seattle Seahawks. It's a great defense. The really smart coach, really stiff defense that they wait for you to make mistakes. They play their game Spain. And that's what I love about them so much. I mean, me and Debundo, we took a ton of heat when we came on here. Our first show we did together. We said it's boring, but it's Spain. Spain is the team to pick. Right. That's my biggest bet. They're like, you know, this is the easiest hedge of my life now because, you know, we got either. You could have got them at plus 800 at one point. Spain.
- [30:40]
A
Yeah.
- [30:40]
C
The France hype had gotten so high. Where it's a good lesson for everybody. The best team week in and week out rarely wins the World Cup. It's hard to play your best game, especially in one stage knockouts. Right. Eventually France would get caught. Spain called them same things for here with Argentina. This feels like such a step down for competition level where France, there really is no true weakness on that team. Argentina, There's a bunch of ways they can Attack in Spain, you know how smart they are. They're just going to play their style. So I'm with Anthony. I was shocked to see this below minus 175 like that feels like there's a ton of value if you want to take the Spain side. And you know this is the type of game too where if you like Argentina, wait, they've, they've shown you what they do. Wait for them to get down one nothing or something. That's when you take your position on Argentina. If you do like that side, it's, it's very rare they come out with the lead. Especially against these high class teams where you just assume Spain's gonna get a penalty kick, right? They're just gonna be such an attacking force team. So many plays in the box, you, you think eventually Argentina has such an aggressive defense, they're going to make a dirty play, they're going to do something stupid either outside the box or inside the box. And I, I, that's also, I bet I like for this game is betting that Spain will have a PK and score one. So this is the type of matchup where I'm hoping for a great game. Like the last time, you know, four years ago, France, Argentina, maybe the greatest World cup ever. It's, I don't see it being like that where France, they had a lot of inexperience. Argentina was much better team back then. That game made more sense to be what was a 3:2 to bundo 3:3.
- [32:11]
A
Yeah, I went to Pence.
- [32:13]
C
Yeah. This 2:1 feels like a very extreme game. 2. Oh, Spain feels more likely to me. So people can tell I'm very heavily leaning towards Spain. I, if I didn't have this huge futures on them already, I probably would be betting them straight up or taking the minus one and a half goals. It's up to people, they want to do it. If you, if you do have to hedge this one, it's going to be pretty easy to do so. But I, I, where you at the bundle? You like them? Spain just taking the money line. Do you like them to, to kind of adjust the goals? How you feeling about this matchup?
- [32:42]
A
Yeah, I think if you like Spain you take the money line. Argentina, the one edge they would have if they got two penalties. This guy Martinez, the goalkeeper for, for Argentina has won every shootout for Argentina this decade. They won two at the last World Cup. They won one at the Copa America two years ago. They won two at the 2021 Copa America. Like this guy's been unbelievable. So his Track record at the club level is good too. He won his only shootout with Aston Villa. So you don't want to get into a shootout with him and you're sitting there holding minus one. You know, you don't, you don't want to be doing that. So if you like Spain, I think it's Moneyline, take them in the 90 minutes as a result. But, you know, the other thing, and Simon, you mentioned it, it's been really fun to kind of track the market here because they opened as a co favorite with France and then every game France played in one, France just became more and more and more and more of a favorite. And Spain, you know, after the group stage, I even tweeted like, I still had Spain as my highest rated team. And you would have thought like, I, I stole somebody's car because they were like, you. You don't know the games. You're not watching the game. Spain looks terrible. You know, they did struggle through the group stage, but that was kind of the expectation with their health situation coming in. So they have grown into the tournament, whereas, if anything, I think Argentina has actually done the opposite. And they've, they've progressively played worse and worse. They've. They've pulled it out with a lot of late goals, but, like, their best performances were in the group stage, not in the knockouts. So I feel like these two teams are quietly trending in opposite directions. And it would be Spain and England if England hadn't just completely capitulated on Wednesday.
- [34:13]
B
It's interesting. The comps are pretty smart, right? Seahawks, great defense, unsexy Argentina, greatest player who's ever lived. Dramatic comebacks, could be offensive when they need to be, and really aggressive and attacking. And yet the framework is the boring team is the one that everyone thinks is going to win. I want each of you as world football fans to put Argentina's run, multiple Copas sandwiching a World cup in context for legacy. Defining if they win this World cup knowing that they actually aren't the best, sort of, that no one thinks they are the best team in this World Cup. How do you define this era for them if they win it?
- [35:11]
A
Yeah, I thought they were the best team at the last World Cup. It was like, you know, them and Brazil were probably the two best teams. And Brazil has fallen off since. Brazil, you know, they, similar to England, choked a quarterfinal that year and denied us what would have been a classic Brazil, Argentina, semi. But it's just very hard to not eventually, like Simon said, get picked off, like you have a bad day Every team's gonna have a bad game, you know, and. And you have to be able to survive when you have it. For Argentina, that was. I mean, they've had multiple. But I thought Egypt was especially like the one game where it's like, okay, they had that dramatic win against Cape Verde. You expect them to roll against Egypt. And it's 75 minutes in and they're down 2 nil. And they missed a penalty. Messi misses, and they're not really creating a lot of chances. And you're like, this, this is not how we thought this was going to go. They've survived. And that's why it's so hard to do, because you're going to have bad games. How do you manage to pull yourself up? And honestly, like, the story of Argentina is being rewritten because for most of the 2010s, it was. They were underperforming, they were choke artists. They kept losing all these finals. They lost the Copa America final to Chile because Messi missed a big penalty. And there was talk in 2016 that Messi was considering retiring from international soccer because he was so devastated from all the losses they'd had. Right? They lost the 2014 final to Germany. They lost 2015 Copa final. They lost 2016 Copa final. And it's like, Messi is never going to win, you know, an international trophy. And now they might win four in a row. And when he's in his 30s and now 39. So it's, it's a little bit, I guess, Brady esque, you could say, where, like when he, when Messi was in his prime, the team wasn't that good or kept losing in heartbreaking fashion. And then when Messi was, you know, aging, still very good, obviously still one of the best players in the world. He now has a team around him that can get over the hump and get the job done. And they win all those close games instead of losing all the close games. So it's been a crazy rewriting of history with Argentina because again, you only have to go back. 2018 World cup was probably the low point. They got hammered by France, hammered 4 to 2. Mbappe, I think he had two goals and like, he just destroyed Argentina. And it was like, well, that's it. Argentina's cooked. And since then, they haven't lost the game basically at the international level.
- [37:23]
C
So, yeah, Brady comp's perfect. It's Brady, the Bucs. But unfortunately for Brady, the Bucks, they're not playing a banged up Chiefs team in the finals, right? This is a Spain team that they're even more so of a juggernaut than that. Brady's Buck team. So, you know, it's when we saw Brady go to the Bucks, it's like, okay, this might be one of the best teams he's ever played on. It really wasn't right. Like they did have a great defensive line and he did obviously have good rod receivers. But going in, it wasn't like they were this huge odds on favorite. It was still, there's still questions about it. That's how it was with Messi this year. It's like, well, Messi's played in the MLS these last couple of years. How much does he have left in the tank? And my favorite thing Fox is doing too is they do this thing where they just, they basically put a camera on a player for the entire game, right? They'll just follow a player around the entire game. And you know, I love watching people, they're like, messi does nothing. He just walks around the entire game. And it's like you're watching literally this. You're watching the smartest football player ever to play. Wherever he's walking to is the exact spot he needs to be at all times. And he has these little bursts of energy. And I try to explain to people that if he tried to play like he used to play, he'd be dead by halftime. It's just a 39 year old man. Like in soccer terms, I don't think people realize how insane that is where these guys are running. What is it if eight miles a game, whatever. Five miles.
- [38:39]
A
Yeah. Seven, eight miles.
- [38:40]
C
He needs, he needs to pick his spots. And it's the guy who, his whole career, the knock on Messi was, well, he's only great inside the box. You've seen it, you know, these last, I don't know, 10 years, how much better he's become outside the box. The power, because he's lost speed. So what Messi's done is he's relating to his power. His power shot from the outside, crossing the ball. All that stuff has improved so much these last 10 years because he's adjusted his game. And you know, like I've talked about this Argentina mentality of they are not as good as these other teams, but they believe in Messi. They think Messi will have saved them when they need him to. He will come through and he does. I try to explain people, that Argentina goal, he did, he did a half volley chat, which means the ball bounced. His teammate kicked it, it bounced. There is no player alive ever without the size that he is, which is the height he is, that could turn their body into cork. That ball so perfectly against Egypt to score that B there just doesn't exist. Messi's the only person that can do that type of shot with that tight of a body inside that many guys. And it's like, I try to explain people a time where it's. It's not logical. That's why, like, I am scared of this game where Argentina obviously could win this because of Messi. The messy factor, the belief. I mean, belief is such a strong, powerful thing in this, in this life. And Argentina has it. Obviously Spain has it as well. The whole thing, though, of, remember the whole thing we talked about Brady, Chad, of. You're sitting on the sideline, you're looking across the field and you go, fuck. They have Brady. Like, it doesn't matter. We're up two touchdowns in the Super Bowl. They have Brady. Like, we have to literally cut this man's head off for him to be dead. It is that times a thousand for Messi. This is global. This is like, I can't even explain to people how big of a deal Messi is. The rest of the world and all these different players. And you see that. Like, I'll never forget in that England game, they scored that goal the England players reacted to. Of course, of course it was Messi that crossed that ball and they scored that goal off that header. Of course it was. And that's what was so sickening, was like, these players, they built up this mystique on Messi and he lives up to it. So that's why this game, it's torturous. Where I feel like me and Anthony on the same page, where it's like, Spain should kill this team. They're just so much better. They have the rest advantage. It's going to be 100 degrees in New Jersey for this game. Like, it just feels like it's all stacked for Spain. But that messy factor, man, I'm not gonna lie, it scares the hell out of me.
- [40:58]
A
And the other thing is too, and this has been, you know that people have called them Argentina, right? And like, there's a FIFA conspiracy. I don't really believe that, but I do believe that, like, when a certain player reaches the. The deity status that Messi has, the refs, whether they want to admit it or realize it or not, it's subconscious. Like, you don't even realize it. And you're like, oh, like, we. We let him get away with that call. Or like, oh, like you Know, you don't really think about that. That was a foul, right? Yeah, but that was a foul in Egypt. That way he stepped on the guy's foot. That can't be a goal. And it becomes like myth making like the refs get, can get blinded by his starter. Cape Verde, right? Like they almost pulled off this historic upset, right? They had that incredible game with, with Argentina and every player on the Cape Verde team is asking to take pictures with Messi after the game and then posting on their Instagrams like, I got to play against Messi. Like Virginia, you know, and Messi are together like two of the biggest stars though. You know, the greatest player of all time and some 40 year old goalkeeper who nobody ever heard of and now is a global superstar. I like take and Bozina's like, I gotta get my picture with Messi. Like this is all worth, this is all I'm doing this for. So like he's, he's reached a level that I'm not sure any living athlete actively playing in the game has ever reached. Well, even Bri, like you know, the American start. I don't even think it's like that.
- [42:17]
B
Yeah, it is. You guys are so fucking young. You don't remember the 92 Olympics where the, the Dream team would go out and destroy all these other teams by 30 points and then after the game, every single player on the other team would be begging Michael Jordan to take a picture. It's exactly that. Anthony. Don't give me your soccer bias bullshit. But I will say, but I will say, I love the. This is where soccer transcends all the other sports. Belief, suffering, capitulation, like those are words. When you hear them applied to soccer, they feel bigger than when they are applied to basketball or football. Right. Like there's a different level of sort of something that is spiritual about those words in these games. You never hear someone say the Seahawks capitulated, right? England capitulated in that game. Anthony just said it's a great way to describe it.
- [43:21]
A
It's a national story, you know.
- [43:22]
B
Yeah, it's like blow it.
- [43:24]
A
The Seahawks are sad, the Seattle is bad.
- [43:27]
B
There's something about sort of the language and the, the, the power of these games and what they mean to everybody. And because soccer is like, because every chance is so precious, it might not come back around, every decision takes on that much more importance and every feeling is actually real. Like the belief and the suffering, that's something that is so inherent in global football. It's great. It's been great to watch Simon, we got to do a brass balls. I don't feel like I want to do Spain on the money line. Spain minus 155. Whatever. I feel like we need. Anthony, help us out here. It's got to be a prop from the game. It's got to be Spain to score a penalty kick. Spain, you know, one and a half goals. Whatever we need. We need a good brass balls here. Anthony, run down some props so we can choose from this and then Simon, we and I can nail it. Let's just do one. Okay, let's choose one.
- [44:31]
A
Okay. I'm looking down the goal scorer. Props here.
- [44:35]
B
The.
- [44:35]
A
The story of Spain's tournament has been that Lamina Mall hasn't really been the main.
- [44:38]
B
Yeah, right.
- [44:39]
A
He only has one goal. He did draw the penalty for the goal against the first goal against France, but like he hasn't been at his best and they've actually been getting a lot of their goals from midfield and defenders. Poro scores. Fabian Ruiz scores against Belgium. Mikel Marino comes off the bench. So do you want to take a flyer on like a crazy Spanish goal scorer? Is that. Is that something you're interested in that?
- [45:02]
B
Simon, do you have any strong opinions yet or do we want to hear more about what Anthony has to say?
- [45:07]
C
I'll let him keep throwing. I mean, I, I told you my biggest bet that I made right away was France -115 to win the third place game. So if you want to take that and parlay Chad with Spain, we could do that as well.
- [45:22]
B
Okay.
- [45:23]
C
I let it be known. I just, I can't get over the fact that you can get a good number on France right now. Like, I don't think people realize. I mean, in theory, yes, England could come out like a hungry dogs and beat the crap by them because they're so mad. But I think it's the other way. I think France is way more mad and England is way more just in. I think they're shell shocked, honestly. The fact they're on shorter rest, I don't know.
- [45:43]
A
And they're more gassed.
- [45:44]
C
Yeah.
- [45:44]
A
Kind of walked through the tournament and England was going through wars every single. Every single third day and they've got more injuries. Going to be chasing the golden boot.
- [45:54]
C
There's value. There's value on France right now. So we can do stuff where, you know, if you want to put them with Spain, I think it's like plus 250. You want to just do, you know, Spain, I even do the first 90 minutes. You just want to do Spain to win it all. Right. That's probably the safest bet, right Anthony? Because you know, you're paying. You're paying the vic, you're paying the juice if you do that bet where you want to take Spain to win the 90 minutes? I believe it's plus 130 on Hard Rock.
- [46:17]
A
Yeah.
- [46:18]
C
You want to take them just to. Just to win it all. It's minus 155. You could pair it with France. Now you're up to plus 250 if you want to do something like that. So if we're looking for straight bets, I would just do Spain in the 90 minutes. Right. Plus 130. I think that's a nice number. I think they could win in 90 minutes and I've already talked about it. If you like Argentina, you wait, you bet them once they get down one goal for props. I think the bundle have a better read on this than me. Like I've been playing again. It sounds stupid to people, but I love doing corner kicks. This number for corner kick feels a little high. I've seen eight and a half at some books. Where are you at with the props for this game?
- [46:54]
A
Yeah, so the, the angle we've been hitting all tournament against Argentina has been that they cannot defend their right side at all. And three of the last four games, right? Lopez Cabral scores the incredible goal. He's the left winger for Cape Verde. He scores that insane finish in extra time. Then they play Switzerland, Dan and Doy, who's like a very average left winger, but he's cooking Argentina the whole match. He scores. And then yesterday Anthony Gordon, the left winger for England was five to one to score and he scored. And it's been a common issue. The problem is Spain doesn't really play with a left winger. They. They have a winger named Bayena, but he's more of a midfielder. Like he comes inside, he's more of a passer. He's not really like a get to the byline guy. So I'm like, damn, like we don't get to play any props against like I would have loved to have bet like Mbappe or one of the other guys against Argentina if we had gotten it, but we were not going to. So like Baena isn't, isn't really a goal scoring threat. So he, he kind of gets taken off the board and then the right winger, where they're also vulnerable is Lamine. You're not getting good numbers ever on the men you mall. He doesn't take penalties. So it's like, where do you go, and, like, if I have to pick a goal scorer prop, it's going to be Omo at 4 to 1. He's been in and around the penalty area a lot and, like, that would be my guy for the final. But, you know, the odds aren't that great for a game that is projected. Spain's projected to score one goal, and you have to try to guess which guy it's going to be. You only get 4 to 1. So it's like, well, it's not that good.
- [48:18]
C
And Mbappe is like, what, minus 190 to score against England.
- [48:21]
A
Yeah.
- [48:21]
C
Because he's got that golden Boot.
- [48:24]
A
Yeah. Which is crazy that that counts. Yeah.
- [48:26]
C
I know people hate it, but I. I do think they're. France is going to be feeding them that, right? The Golden Boot. It's a big deal culturally, Chad. So, you know, as. As much as Messi's gonna be going for it, he wants the World Cup. He could care less about the Golden Boot. Mbappe cares about the Golden Boot. Like, when they interviewed him, is he gonna not play this game? He gave him a look of like, do you. Do you understand what I could win if I play in this game? So he can win back to back.
- [48:51]
B
Right?
- [48:51]
A
Because four years ago, Mbappe won the Golden Boot, Messi won the Golden Ball, which is best player, and there's a world. The most likely scenario is that that happens again. I think Messi's already wrapped up the Golden Ball, regardless of what happens on Sunday. And then Bobby gets the boot. We could. We could just get a repeat, you know, really, for all the main awards.
- [49:10]
B
All right, here's what we're going to do. Simon.
- [49:11]
C
Well, I was going to say for brass balls, we could do. We have two options, Chad. We can do the Plus130, Spain, which does take some balls, or we can do my parlay, which I like the parlay.
- [49:20]
B
That's what I was going to choose.
- [49:22]
A
Spain and France.
- [49:23]
B
So we're gonna go a parlay.
- [49:25]
A
The only problem is, if France doesn't win, then we're drawing dead before the game even kicks off on Sunday.
- [49:30]
B
You know what? That's what they've got the golden ball. We got brass balls, Anthony. All right, our brass balls. Bet of the week, presented by Hard Rock. Bat.
- [49:43]
C
You know what it takes?
- [49:45]
A
It takes brass balls.
- [49:47]
B
4. We're going to do Spain to win in 90. Parlayed with France to win in 90. Looking at hard rock bet that's plus 350. You can see the number there on the screen. If you're watching on YouTube our brass balls bet of the week. Spain and France parlayed to win in 90 Anthony DeBundo, aka Tony DeBonado. Thank you for joining the show. Simon and I will be back on Tuesday. We're starting NFL training camp conversations with Ben Solak from espn. This has been Sharper Square, part of the Volume Podcast Network. By the way, Solak, if he doesn't leave the ringer, then Bill probably doesn't steal Anthony from Action Network. Which means, Anthony, it's almost like you're leading into the guy you replaced.
- [50:40]
A
I love Solak. Talk to him regularly. Great guy. Gave me some great advice over the years. Proud. Sort of a Philadelphian.
- [50:48]
B
Not really, but I can't wait to have him on.
- [50:50]
A
Accept him into the community.
- [50:52]
B
As will we. This has been Sharper Square, part of the Volume Podcast Network. Watch or listen on YouTube at Sharper Square. Like this video. Subscribe to the channel. Download some Spotify, Apple pods wherever you get your pods. Rate, review, subscribe, Leave us. Five stars. Say whatever you want. Feedback as a gift. Until next time. Love you.
- [51:09]
A
Open wide for some soccer. Fast kicking, low scoring. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.