Hour 2 – Aging NBA Superstars, Ross Tucker

Summary

The Dan Patrick Show — Hour 2: Aging NBA Superstars, Dysfunctional NFL Franchises, Ross Tucker

Episode date: October 22, 2025
Host: Dan Patrick
Major Guest: Ross Tucker (CBS Sports/Westwood One Analyst)

---

Episode Overview

This episode of The Dan Patrick Show features a lively, insightful discussion focused on the NBA’s aging superstars and how legendary players adjust to diminished roles. Dan and his crew offer humorous and pointed takes on the NBA season’s launch, changes in football franchises (with a focus on dysfunction, especially the NY Jets), and the often unpredictable business of NFL quarterbacking. NFL analyst Ross Tucker joins for a deep dive into team dynamics, quarterback drama, managerial decision-making, and how franchises deal with adversity and locker room culture.

---

Key Topics & Insights

1. America’s Baseball Loyalties: Dodgers vs. Blue Jays

[03:01–05:45]

• State-by-State Allegiances: Dan brings up a recent BET Online state-by-state map of rooting interests for the MLB postseason. Crew members guess how many states back the Blue Jays versus the Dodgers.
• Result: 46 states, excluding California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, are rooting for the Blue Jays.
• Notable quote:
  • "If you’re not a Dodger fan, then you’ll be a Blue Jay fan. You’ll probably root against the Dodgers maybe more than you’re rooting for the Blue Jays." — Dan Patrick [03:20]

2. Nostalgia for TV & Sports Theme Songs

[05:45–08:05]

• Theme Song Collection: Todd reveals he has 20+ TV and sports theme songs on his phone, which sparks a discussion about the cultural power and nostalgia attached to theme music in sports.
• John Tesh & 'Round Ball Rock': Dan teases Friday’s show with John Tesh (composer of NBC’s iconic NBA theme), and the enduring love for that song.
• Memorable moment:
  • "I was fascinated by that. It was almost as fun as the actual games, the opening theme." — Todd [08:01]

3. The Challenge of Aging NBA Stars

[08:05–13:08]

• LeBron’s New Role with the Lakers: Dan discusses LeBron James’ adjustment to not being the top option for the Lakers, citing the emergence of Luka Dončić as the team’s leader.
• Comparing NBA Stars: Kevin Durant, Chris Bosh, and Kevin Love are named as examples of stars successfully adjusting to secondary roles. For LeBron, it’s framed as a huge adjustment for an all-time great.
• Postseason Focus: Dan emphasizes that the Lakers and Warriors must manage older stars’ playing time and roles with the postseason in mind, likening NBA "closers" to NFL quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes.
• The ‘Boring Brilliance’ of SGA: Dan explains how watching Shea Gilgeous-Alexander forces fans to appreciate consistent greatness over highlight-reel moments, contrasting him with "flashier" players.
• Notable quote:
  • "There’ll be nights where Luka will lean on [LeBron] and LeBron will have those big nights. I just wouldn’t expect that on a consistent basis." — Dan Patrick [08:50]
  • "It’s not fair to Shea, but boringly awesome—he is. It’s just repetitive." — Dan Patrick [12:53]

4. NFL Locker Room Culture: The Great ‘Toys’ Debate

[13:08–14:18] [36:01–38:48]

• Ravens Remove Locker Room Games: The Baltimore Ravens reportedly took away entertainment like ping pong tables after a losing skid, then may have returned them. Dan and the crew compare this to their own show’s office "toys" (golf simulator, beer tap), mocking the NFL’s attempts to solve problems through such gestures.
• Ross Tucker on Team Culture: Ross describes how narratives swing when new coaches either install or remove games. Sometimes, removing games signals "getting serious;" other times, they're praised for building camaraderie. Ross shares an anecdote about an unnamed ex-teammate, a top draft pick, who showed more passion playing video games than in real NFL games.
• Notable quote:
  • "It seems so petty and childish…like they’re 8 years old." — Todd [14:05]
  • "The most animated I ever saw him was playing video games in the player’s lounge—way more than in a real game." — Ross Tucker [37:18]

5. The Dysfunctional Franchises: Jets, Vikings, and Quarterback Chaos

[25:34–34:49]

• Vikings QB Woes: Ross details how the Vikings cycled through options, originally targeting Sam Darnold and offering Daniel Jones more guaranteed money than Indy. With JJ McCarthy healing, the Vikings play Carson Wentz—a story of missed opportunities and strategic uncertainty.
• Jets Owner vs. Justin Fields: A recent Woody Johnson press conference sees the Jets owner publicly criticize current QB Justin Fields, despite signing him to a lucrative contract, and throwing his GM under the bus. Ross blasts this approach, noting it damages trade value and team image.
• Bengals, Steelers, & Joe Flacco: Discussion of backup QBs, expectations versus results, and Flacco’s unique “doesn’t care, just slings it” mentality.
• Wide Receiver Value: Jamar Chase’s performance highlights why top WRs merit massive contracts; defenses’ efforts to contain him only open the field for others.
• Memorable moments & quotes:
  • "All he did was make his own GM look really bad." — Ross Tucker on Woody Johnson [29:43]
  • "Joe’s out there just slinging it. He’s made $200 million… The guys won a Super Bowl MVP." — Ross Tucker on Joe Flacco [32:13]

6. NFL Coaching Carousel & Job Security

[34:49–36:01; 39:00–41:36]

• Interim Coach Effect: Ross explains why some NFL owners hesitate to fire coaches midseason—if an interim coach wins, they're often pressured to keep him (e.g., Antonio Pierce with the Raiders in 2023).
• Sean Payton vs. Russell Wilson: A spat erupts after Payton takes a veiled shot at Wilson. Wilson fires back with a "classless" tweet, referencing Payton’s BountyGate suspension, showcasing how grudges and egos still drive headlines.
• Notable quote:
  • "You can take a shot at me—I’m gonna come back twice as hard and bring up your lowest, worst moment." — Ross Tucker on Russell Wilson’s clapback [39:47]

7. Notre Dame & College Football Scheduling

[17:13–19:29; 46:32–48:59]

• Notre Dame’s Independence: Caller Nick shares family history with the Four Horsemen-era Notre Dame, and Dan weighs in on the advantages of the school remaining independent, emphasizing TV value, playoff expansion prospects, and classic rivalries like USC and Michigan.
• Scheduling Dilemmas: With more conference games, marquee cross-conference matchups may dwindle, prompting worries about future schedules.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments With Timestamps

• Dan Patrick on less flashy greatness:

  • "Sometimes you have to go out of your way to see greatness. And Shea Gilgeous is one of those players…boringly awesome—he is. It’s just repetitive." [12:53]

• Todd on team “toys”:

  • "It seems so petty and childish. Did they think that was not going to get out?...like they’re 8 years old." [14:05]

• Ross Tucker on Vikings QB saga:

  • "It’s a crazy dynamic that the Vikings thought Daniel Jones could play pretty well…and he didn’t want to have that hanging over his shoulder." [26:36]

• Ross Tucker on Jets dysfunction:

  • "All he did was make his own GM look really really bad. And by the way, Woody—the team is 0 and 7." [29:43]

• Caller Steve on broadcaster value (humorous):

  • "Ross Tucker can make a Texans game entertaining. Tom Brady can’t do that. I’m telling you guys, Fox wrote the check to the wrong dude." [15:59]

• Ross Tucker on coaching changes:

  • "Owners became hesitant to fire coaches in-season because if the interim goes on a run, there’s pressure to hire him." [34:49]

• Ross Tucker on Wilson vs. Payton:

  • "You can take a shot at me; I’m gonna come back twice as hard and bring up your lowest, worst moment." [39:47]

---

Fun and Engaging Moments

• Theme Song Nostalgia: Todd’s encyclopedic collection of TV and sports themes elicits laughter and a collective nod to the power of sports soundtracks. [07:14–08:05]
• "Mystery of the Animated Video Game Player": Ross hints at an ex-teammate (top-5 pick) who was far more passionate about video games than football, leaving Dan and the crew to play detective. [37:18–42:21]
• Branding Miss: Paul critiques NBC for naming their Michael Jordan segment “MJ Insights to Excellence,” calling for a better title (“Airtime with MJ”). [44:04–44:26]

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Dodgers vs. Blue Jays fan map: 03:01–05:45
• Theme song nostalgia: 05:45–08:05
• Aging NBA superstars and changing roles: 08:05–13:08
• Ravens locker room toys debate: 13:08–14:18, 36:01–38:48
• Vikings, Jets, and NFL QB discussions (Ross Tucker): 25:34–34:49
• Coaching carousel and job insecurity: 34:49–36:01
• Wilson vs. Payton drama: 39:00–41:36
• Notre Dame & college football scheduling: 17:13–19:29, 46:32–48:59
• Fun: Video game-obsessed ex-player mystery: 37:18–42:21
• Branding of MJ segment: 44:04–44:26

---

Tone & Style

• The show balances irreverent humor, curiosity, and sharp sports insight.
• Dan Patrick’s conversational, slightly sardonic tone makes deep sports analysis approachable.
• Regular tangents, pop-culture references, and frequent play among the crew add levity and keep the energy high, even in technical football talk.

---

Conclusion

This episode is a deep dive into what makes teams (and stars) age well or poorly, how executives shape narrative for damage control, and how culture—in the locker room or the front office—can spell success or disaster. Dan and his crew, supported by Ross Tucker’s NFL acumen, keep the show brisk and entertaining, making the chaos of the sports world feel a little more understandable—and always a lot of fun.

Transcript

[Dan Patrick]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thursday night Football is on. This week the Minnesota Vikings head west to face the Los Angeles Chargers. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern and it's only on Prime Video. Not a Prime member. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com amazonprime for details.

[Podcast Advertiser]

Is moderate to severe plaque psoriasis keeping you from being you? Get back to clearer skin with Bimzelix Bimakizumab bkzx, a prescription medicine taken by injection used to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. Bimzelics can deliver transformative relief Most people got 100% clear skin in combined clinical studies, nearly 9 in 10 people saw 90% clearer skin and more than 6 in 10 saw 100% clearer skin at 16 weeks. Serious side effects like suicidal thoughts and behavior, infections and lowered ability to fight them. Liver problems and inflammatory bowel disease have occurred. Tell your doctor if these happen or worsen or fevers, chills, muscle aches or cough occur or you've had a vaccine or plan to before starting. Get checked for infections, tuberculosis and liver problems. Start to get yourself back. Ask your dermatologist about Bimzelics. Learn [e-mail] or call 1-833-UCB now 1. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day.

[Ross Tucker]

My fellow Americans, this Liberation Day.

[Podcast Advertiser]

Stories that move markets.

[Dan Patrick]

Chair Powell opened the door to this.

[Podcast Advertiser]

First interest rate cut impact politics, change businesses. This is a really stunning development for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the Big Take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

Johnny Knoxville here. Check out Crimeless Hillbilly Heist, my new true crime podcast from Smartless Media, campside Media Money Players. It's the true story of the almost perfect crime and the nimrods who almost pulled it off. It was kind of like the perfect storm in a sewer. That was dumb. Do not follow my example. Listen to Crimeless Hillbilly Heist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Podcast Announcer]

Chicago A white woman's murder. A black man behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.

[Ross Tucker]

90 years for killing somebody I have never seen.

[Podcast Announcer]

The Crying Wolf podcast is the story of a corrupt detective, two men bound by injustice and the quest for redemption, no matter the price. Listen to the Crying Wolf podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio Hour 2 on this Wednesday, we'll talk to our good buddy Ross Tucker. Talk some football, talk some dysfunctional franchises, starting with your New York Jets. Stat of the day brought to you by Panini America. The official trading cards of the program. Flacco around and find out that T shirt is still available. We, we realized that there was a demand for Joe Flacco and we're trying to meet that demand. You can get your Joe Flacco T shirt and while it's available at danpatrick.com 8773 DP Show Email address dpdanpatrick.com Twitter handle @DP Show I saw this breakdown of states, United States, those rooting for the Blue Jays and those rooting for the Dodgers. Now I feel like if you're not a Dodger fan, then you'll be a Blue Jay fan. You'll probably root against the Dodgers maybe more than you're rooting for the Blue Jays. Don Mattingly, who is a bench coach for the Blue Jays, former Dodger manager, will join us in an hour from now. So here is the breakdown. This was BET online and state by state routing breakdown, the Blue Jays, how many states United States do you think are rooting for the Blue Jays? Todd, I'll start with you.

[Todd]

I'm going to say 32.

[Ross Tucker]

32.

[Dan Patrick]

32. Yes. All right. Seton, say all 50 states.

[Podcast Announcer]

Every single one.

[Dan Patrick]

Even in California.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. Because California is big. People in San Diego and San Francisco.

[Podcast Announcer]

Not the only team.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, that's true, Marvin.

[Ross Tucker]

44, Paul.

[Paul]

46.

[Dan Patrick]

Bloop, bloop, bloop. 46 states, the ones rooting for the Dodgers, aside from California, Paul, I would.

[Paul]

Think bordering states by the math of it. You get California, Arizona, Nevada. Utah's not border. Oregon.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, you got one, Marvin. So California and then the three other states that have rooting interest for the Dodgers. New Mexico, Todd, Wyoming, Seaton, New York, California, Hawaii. Oh, Nevada and Utah. All the other states are rooting for the Blue Jays. Welcome to the program already in progress. Good morning. If you're watching on Peacock, thank you for downloading the app. Peacock and NBC had a big night last night with the NBA. Of course, you had the two games. You had some hall of Famers, future hall of Famers. You had, you had the goat with Michael Jordan, Mike Tirico sitting down with him. Round ball rock with John Tesh back, bringing us back to the 90s. I didn't realize this. Now, John Chesh, who was the one who came up with Round Ball Rock, he of course, was a host. Co host on Entertainment Tonight. He's going to join us, I believe, on Friday. And I think he's going to be performing this on the show on Friday, from what I'm told. But I didn't realize this. We were in South Bend and I had a down time and Fritzi downtime as far as we weren't on the show. So Todd goes, do you want to see what's on my. My phone? Because I was curious what kind of music Todd had on his phone. And he started running down all the theme songs. Like he doesn't have necessarily songs, you know, Billy Joel and Hall of Notes. And then it'll be all of these different theme songs for different shows. How many do you have theme songs on your phone, Toddler?

[Todd]

I probably have at least 20. When I was a little kid, when I graduated junior high school, my parents got me this TV radio. It had a cassette recorder and a little black and white tv. And I thought it was the coolest thing ever, that you could have a radio and a TV and you could carry it around. And I started recording. I hope I could find the cassette somewhere in my basement.

[Dan Patrick]

But I.

[Todd]

All my favorite TV shows, the theme songs, and I would record them and then they actually. People started actually doing that and selling that, like at 2:00 clock in the morning, but different strokes. Facts of Life, Twilight Zone, Honeymooners, Star Trek, Odd Couple. I would like, record, you know, Cheers, whatever I could think of. And I would record all the TV theme songs.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, and then you had the sports theme songs, the shows.

[Todd]

The Monday Night Baseball and Sunday Night Football.

[Dan Patrick]

What was Monday Night Baseball? And then you had Monday Night Football.

[Ross Tucker]

Oh, yeah.

[Todd]

I used to just. I was fascinated by that. It was almost as fun as the actual games, the opening theme.

[Dan Patrick]

So thank you, Todd. Thunder over the Rockets, double overtime, the warriors over the Lakers. Luca had a big night, but not gonna have LeBron for a little while. I wonder what kind of record they're gonna salvage, you know, going through three weeks, maybe a month. And I wouldn't hurry LeBron back. I mean, you want to make sure that you're maybe a top four team. I don't know if they're a top four team this year, but, you know, they could be good enough where they can start on the road in the postseason. I know here we are in October thinking about the postseason, but if I'm the Lakers, I have to think that with LeBron because at some point, you know, he doesn't act like LeBron that what is this season 23 for him. I mean, it's remarkable what he's been able to do, but how often are you going to be able to rely on him to be. There's going to be pockets where LeBron will be LeBron, but this is Lucas team and LeBron knows that. And I think, you know, there'll be nights where Luca will lean on him and LeBron will have those big nights. I just wouldn't expect that on a consistent basis. And, and trying to modify your game is really hard for a star where you're not the guy on the team, but you still play at a very high level. You know, Kevin Durant has been able to do that. I thought now this guy's not an all time great, but I thought what Chris Bosh did when he was in Miami was that that's really the poster child for what do you want me to do? I'm an all Star in Toronto. I'll play whatever role you want me to. Kevin Love did that too. Where you find your role now, these are all time top 10 players. This is different. This is LeBron saying, okay, I'm one of the three greatest players of all time. He's, it's his team now. What role do I play? Steph Curry is still the star on his team, but he's got Jimmy Butler there and Jimmy Butler can still take over a game and maybe the Steph has fewer shots. I would be gearing up for the postseason for Steph. The Rockets with kd. I would be gearing up for the postseason. There's only a couple of closers in the game. When you think about it, game on the line, given the ball, you know what's going to happen. It's just a matter of where he's going to score. And I think when you have those players, you know we have closers in the NFL. Mahomes is a closer. Very few, but there are closers. And that's why they get paid what they get paid. But with the Lakers, I think the over under according to DraftKings is 47. So they're not going to be an elite team this year. But then what are they going to be? Maybe in May. That's the big curiosity I have. And Luca looks great. I mean that guy is streamlined, looks great. And that's why I picked him for mvp. I thought he's going to show people he's going to get the opportunity. It's his team and he's going to be. He'll be front and center. That's another thing. When people were talking about Shea Gilgis and they're like, who is this guy? And you probably didn't watch okc, but then you were forced to watch when you got to the NBA Finals and you go, okay, I get it. Sometimes you have to go out of your way to see greatness. And Shea Gilgis is one of those players. And even winning a title, being the mvp, I don't know how much TV time he'll get. They should get more. But you're watching him. He's not one of those players where you go, man, oh man, wow. It's like, damn. Like I just watch him and it's just. He repeats. It's like, here he goes again, there he goes again, there he goes again. And he keeps coming at you, but he doesn't do anything. He's not dunking, he's not shooting threes. There's nothing that's wildly explosive. But he doesn't have to be. He's not trying to be. It's the players who do try that and they think they get degree of difficulty points. I don't care. Anthony Edwards, he's as explosive athletic as anybody in the game. He doesn't have to be that. But when there are those moments. Ja Morant, same way. Zion Williamson, I want you to be consistently great. Not a highlight. And a lot of players approach the game in highlight form. Did you see that play? Yeah. I want to see plays, plural. Not. You see that dunk? Yeah. He only had 13 points. Yeah, but that dunk made SportsCenter. That's not what I want. I want it. And it's not fair to say to Shea Gilgames, but boringly awesome he is. It's just repetitive. Yeah.

[Paul]

Paul, if you look at how the game ended, double overtime, he's got the ball. Durant switches on him. He went back and forth and back and forth with the ball. Never drove, never shot and waited to. Durant left his feet, jumped into him, got two free throws and went home. That's it.

[Dan Patrick]

Yep. Seaton, what's poll question for our two on this program?

[Podcast Announcer]

Yeah, we got a few of them up there right now.

[Dan Patrick]

By the way. I'm never going to get to where the Ravens are like they took away toys. They took away like ping pong. The Baltimore sun reported this, that now I think they're bringing it back. Are they bringing all the toys back or did they take the toys out of the locker room?

[Paul]

Well, according to the Baltimore sun, it was some type of response to the 1 in 5 record that they're taking away all the toys and video games.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, we didn't win the sports Emmy again. I don't know, do I take away the golf simulator or the pinball machine or maybe the beer on tap or basketball hoop or pickle ball? I don't want to do that. But our standards apparently are a little bit higher than the Ravens here. But I think they're. Did Harbaugh take these things out or did he put them back in? Because I, I've heard both, both things.

[Paul]

We're diving into the.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, we. Yeah.

[Todd]

Yes, Todd, it seems so petty and childish. Did they think that was not going to get out? I can't imagine they would want anyone in the public to know. And we're taking away the video games of the ping pong table like their.

[Dan Patrick]

8 year old, I think. Cornhole. They were taking that out.

[Paul]

Oh, no, that's too much.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, that's when you lose me, coach. All right, Seaton poll question for hour two.

[Podcast Announcer]

Best part of NBA being back on NBC right now. Round Ball Rock has about 60% of that vote. Most threatening team last night was the Rockets. I very much disagree with that. And who are you rooting for, Dodgers or Blue jays? Right now, 72% of the audience rooting for the Blue Jays.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, we'll talk to Donnie Baseball. He'll join us. Finally going to a World Series. I don't know how many years it's been, but I know it's been over 5,200 games that he's been involved with as a player, as a coach and as a manager. By the way, people, whenever we talk about Don Mattingly, I did a story on Donnie Baseball. I think this is 1983 or 1984, and I was at Yankee Stadium interviewing Don Mattingly and I was working at cnn. And this is on the Internet. You can see a little young whippersnapper reporter Dan Patrick there out at Yankee Stadium. Interviewing so I've known Donnie for, what is that, 40 years? Yeah, 42 years. Amazing, amazing. So he'll join us coming up next hour. Let's see. Steven Houston. Hi, Steve. What's on your mind today? Dan?

[Caller]

Boys, good morning. How the heck are you? Hey, listen, I just wanted to make a quick call. Somebody's coming up on your show. I'm flipping through the TV a couple of weeks ago. A Texans game's coming on. Dan, I don't know if you've ever tried to watch a Texans game. If torture could be boring. Anyway, my wife's about to change the channel.

[Dan Patrick]

And why?

[Caller]

I said wait, what do I hear? It's the mellifluous tones of the meathead James Vanderbie. I got a chance to finally hear Ross Tucker. Ross Tucker can make a Texans game entertaining. Tom Brady can't do that. I'm telling you guys, Fox wrote the check to the wrong dude.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you. Did you find that on YouTube, Paul?

[Paul]

Oh, yeah, it's in your inbox.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. 1984. That's right, 84. Interviewing Donnie, baseball. So here we are, what, 41 years later.

[Paul]

You've got like a skinny tie on you.

[Dan Patrick]

I was killing it back then.

[Paul]

Kind of an Andrew McCarthy thing going on.

[Dan Patrick]

I had a window. I got a, I had like a four, five year window, maybe a little bit longer than that. After that, like before that and after that ball game. But that window. Oh, yeah. Yes. Marvin.

[Ross Tucker]

This was in New York or was this espn?

[Dan Patrick]

No, this was. You're kind of like Tom Brady.

[Ross Tucker]

You had two different primes.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, different kinds of primes. Not a Hall of Fame career at CNN though. But you can't teach hustle. And I had hustle back then. Teach the kids.

[Caller]

All right.

[Dan Patrick]

I respect it. Nick in Indianapolis before we take a break and welcome back Ross Tucker. Hi, Nick.

[Caller]

Hey, D.P. and the boys. Sorry I missed you at my alma mater this last weekend, but I had a little trivia for you. So my grandfather played with the Four Horsemen team 1924, the first national championship team. And back then when the Big Ten was founding was being formed, it was very anti Catholic in the United States. So Newt Rockne said, I'm going to take our small team out of Indiana, Catholic team on the road. So they'd play at the Polo Grounds in New York, played in Chicago and of course usc. That's where it stemmed from the rivalry. So now, you know, fast forward to today, Catholicism is the most popular religion in the United States. It's kind of a good point. Isolated to just some region of the country. So that's where thinking that Catholic school on the road kind of came from. So now, especially with the Big Ten spanning East coast and west coast, I think Notre Dame could join the Big Ten now. But it was kind of a.

[Dan Patrick]

That's why I wouldn't, I wouldn't join. Thank you, Nick. Like, what's the upside? If the goal is to make the playoffs, then stay independent. As Pete Babacco, the athletic director said, like, you got to be really good to be relevant. Really relevant. And as an independent, the only thing I'd be concerned about is my schedule. If you're not going to have USC and you're not going to have Michigan, okay, those are marquee matchups there. Who are going to be your hammers, where you're able to show the voters, hey, we can compete with the best teams. You know, you're going to have the military academies. That's not going to do it. You're going to have some teams in the acc. That's not going to do it. That would be my. But it's still Notre Dame and they know they need Notre Dame. The playoffs are better with Notre Dame. And if you expand to 16, I mean, that's what the athletic director at Notre Dame said. Hey, we're going to 16. That makes the most sense to go into a 16 team playoff. But I can't see them joining. Marcus Freeman said recently that, you know, he could see maybe a scenario where they join a conference. I wouldn't. You got standalone. You don't have to share any money with anybody. Yeah, Paul.

[Paul]

Three of Notre Dame's first four games this year were Miami, Texas A and M and Arkansas. That's some pretty nice scheduling early if.

[Dan Patrick]

You'Re able to keep that because some of these conferences going to nine conference games and they may lose that game. Although it's great for these, you know, for Miami to play Notre Dame, A and M to play at Notre Dame, usc. But USC is probably, you know, as I've said before, Lincoln Riley is like, man, we play enough tough, you know, enough schedule here, Michigan the same way. And maybe that's why we're losing Notre Dame, which is unfortunate. We'll take a break. Ross Tucker will join us coming up next year on the Dan Patrick Show.

[Podcast Announcer]

Be sure to catch the live edition.

[Dan Patrick]

Of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at.

[Podcast Announcer]

9Am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports.

[Dan Patrick]

Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

[Ross Tucker]

Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport.

[Dan Patrick]

Whether you believe in analytics or the.

[Ross Tucker]

Eye test, we've got all the bases covered.

[Podcast Announcer]

New episodes drop every Thursday, so do.

[Ross Tucker]

Yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thursday Night Football is on, and it's only on Prime Video. This week, the Minnesota Vikings head west to face the Los Angeles Chargers. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with football's best party, TNF Tonight, presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member, Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Vikings in Chargers Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.

[Dan Patrick]

It's Miller time. What's that mean to you? It can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. For me, it's the end of the show, end of the week on Friday. Papa Miller Lite. And they've been doing it for 50 years. Cheers to Miller Light, the great taste of light beer. For people who Love beer since 1975, it's a perfect time to celebrate game day with friends and family and great tasting light beer. It's Miller time. It always is cold. You put it in the glass, you take that first sip and you go weekend. It's a taste you can depend on. A great beer trusted by beer lovers for 50 years. Simply put, it just tastes different. It tastes great. 96 calories, just 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Miller Time's always a good time. It's a great time. Iconic. 50 years later. Miller like great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com Patrick. You'll find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, WI 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Podcast Advertiser]

The big take podcast from Bloomberg News dives deep into one big global business story. Every weekday.

[Ross Tucker]

A shutdown means we don't get the.

[Dan Patrick]

Data, but it also means for President.

[Ross Tucker]

Trump that there's no chance of bad.

[Dan Patrick]

News on the labor market.

[Podcast Advertiser]

What does a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich reveal about the economy? Our breakfast foods are consistent consumer staples. And so so they sort of become outsized indicators of inflation. What's behind Elon Musk's trillion dollar payout?

[Dan Patrick]

There's a sort of concerted effort to message that Musk is coming back. He's putting politics aside. He's left the White House.

[Podcast Advertiser]

And what can the PCE tell you that the CPI can't?

[Ross Tucker]

CPI tries to measure out of pocket costs that consumers are paying for things.

[Paul]

Whereas the PCE index that the Fed.

[Dan Patrick]

Targets is a little bit broader of a measure.

[Podcast Advertiser]

Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

In the new podcast Hell in Heaven, two young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over. But one will end up dead, the other tried for murder not once. People went wild, not twice, stunned, but three times. John and Anne Bender are rich and attractive, and they're devoted to each other. They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home high on the top of a hill. But little by little, their dream starts to crumble and our couple people retreat from reality. They lose it.

[Ross Tucker]

They actually lose it.

[Podcast Advertiser]

They sort of went nuts.

[Dan Patrick]

Until one night, everything spins out of control.

[Podcast Advertiser]

Listen to Hell in Heaven on the.

[Dan Patrick]

Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Announcer]

The Crying Wolf podcast is the story of two men bound by injustice, of a city haunted by its secrets and the quest for redemption, no matter the price.

[Podcast Advertiser]

White victim, female, pretty, wealthy, black defendant.

[Podcast Announcer]

Chicago, a white woman's murder. A black man behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.

[Ross Tucker]

I had 90 years for killing somebody I have never seen.

[Podcast Advertiser]

He says the police are his friends.

[Dan Patrick]

And then that's it. They turn on him.

[Podcast Advertiser]

A corrupt detective, how he was interrogated, the techniques. That's crazy.

[Podcast Announcer]

A snitch and a life stolen.

[Dan Patrick]

They got the wrong guy.

[Podcast Announcer]

But on the inside, Lee Harris finds an ally in his celly, Robert, who swears to tell the truth about what happened to Lee and free his friend.

[Caller]

If you're with me, you're golden.

[Ross Tucker]

I'll take care of you.

[Caller]

I'm gonna be with you. You stuck with me for life.

[Podcast Announcer]

Listen to the Crying Wolf podcast starting on October 22nd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

877-3Dp show email address dpdanpatrick.com Twitter handle pshow the popular Ross Tucker, CBS Sports Westwood One NFL college football analyst and host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. He'll be in the radio booth on Westwood One for tomorrow night. The Vikings and the Chargers. Good to see you, Ross. Let me start there. We're starting to get to that point in the season where Carson Wentz, J.J. mcCarthy. Something better happen here soon for the Vikings, certainly in that division.

[Ross Tucker]

Well, there's a lot of fascinating aspects of it because. Think about this for a second, Dan. They initially wanted Sam Darnold back, by multiple reports as their quarterback because I think they were uncertain about just how ready JJ McCarthy was to start week one and that maybe he would need some time or maybe this year wouldn't even happen for him. Coming off the injury, I thought it was really telling that Tom Pelissero from NFL Network came on my show, the Ross Tucker Podcast, in the off season and he Said that the Vikings actually offered Daniel Jones more guaranteed money than he took to go to Indy. And so a few weeks ago for cbs, when I called that Colts Titans game, I asked Daniel Jones about that and he said he felt like the opportunity was better in Indy because of the quarterback situation. So that's a crazy dynamic to me, Dan, that the Vikings knew that they thought Daniel Jones could play pretty well and they wanted to have a good quarterback. They weren't sure about McCarthy, so they offered Daniel Jones over 14 million guaranteed. But Daniel Jones knew, hey, McCarthy's gonna be their guy. He didn't want to have that hanging over his shoulder. He could tell the Colts were kind of moving on from Richardson. So he goes to Indy. The Colts are unbelievable. He's a legit MVP candidate. Charlotte Darnold's playing fantastic. I have the Seahawks as the fifth best team in football right now. Meanwhile, the vikings are letting JJ McCarthy get a 100% healed from this high ankle sprain. They're going with Carson Wentz and he has been up and down, which is pretty much the story of his career.

[Dan Patrick]

Woody Johnson got in front of a microphone and took a shot at his quarterback, Justin Fields. This is what it sounded like yesterday. It looks like he's turning around parts of it. You know, it's hard when you have a quarterback with, you know, with a rating that we got, you know, I mean, he has the ability, but something just is not jiving. But if you look at any head coach of the quarterback like that, you're going to see similar results. If you go across the league, you have to play consistently at that position. And that's what we're going to try to do. We can just complete a pass. It would look good. You got a complete surprise. You got to convince them that you can do something. Okay, who is the person who signed Justin Fields to that two year guaranteed contract that they're still on the hook for? I think $30 million, supposed to make 20 million. He approved it, right? He's the one who brought in Justin Fields, right?

[Ross Tucker]

Well, at a minimum, he hired Darren Muji, the gm, the new gm and Aaron Glenn. And Muji made the decision to go ahead and bring in Justin Fields. And you're right, dan. He has $10 million more guaranteed next year. So whether or not Muji had to run it past Woody Johnson, my guess is when you're signing a guy to be the franchise quarterback, you probably do talk about that with the owner. I just, I have no idea what he could think he was possibly gaining by that, Dan, I think the goal was to defend Aaron Glenn.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Ross Tucker]

And to support Aaron Glenn, which I really respect. Why would you feel the need to throw Justin Fields on Under the Bus to. To that level? I mean, listen, even if they want to move on from Justin Fields, maybe somebody else would want him if they have an injury or in the off season, like, maybe you're trying to trade the guy. What. What you. Well, all he did was make his own GM look really, really bad. And by the way, Woody, the team is 0 and 7. They're the only team that hasn't won a football game. Go ahead and look up all the other quarterbacks in the NFL and some of the guys that have won games this year as starting corporate. You could have had Mac Jones. Mac Jones, I think, is like 4 and 1. You could have signed him if you want. I mean, there's plenty of other quarterbacks. Joe Flacco, you ever heard of him? I think he's played for your team twice already. He went out there to Cincinnati and won a game right away. So this whole notion that it's all because of the quarterback is a little bit silly, especially when you consider some of the coaching decisions. Like, I'll never get over whatever that was at the end of the first half for Aaron Glenn in the game against the Broncos in Europe when they just let 35 seconds go off the clock and just stood there and went to halftime at midfield. It's a. It's. It's. It's bad. And Woody Johnson just made it worse.

[Dan Patrick]

You had the Bengals and Steelers last week.

[Ross Tucker]

Yeah, that was awesome.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. They're just asking Joe Flacco, we're going to protect you and then just throw the ball. Right? Why couldn't Jake Browning do what Joe Flacco's doing?

[Ross Tucker]

You know, being around a lot of those people there, Dan, they're still trying to figure that out. Because two years ago, in 2023, when Burrow went down, Browning played really well. And because of that, he got a new contract there. I mean, Browning, they thought they had a top five, certainly top 10 backup quarterback in the NFL. And it's almost like when Burrow went down this time, I don't know if it was the pressure or the weight of it, but Browning just didn't play very well. You know, maybe he thought it was his opportunity to become a starter somewhere and put too much pressure himself. That's the beauty of Joe Flacco. He just doesn't care.

[Dan Patrick]

He.

[Ross Tucker]

Joe, I mean, he's made $200 million. Okay? The guys won a Super Bowl MVP. Joe's out there just slinging it. And that was a hilarious game, Dan, because I'm in the booth and I said they should just throw the ball to Jamar Chase every play, whether it was Ramsey or Darius Slay or He was getting four or five yards of separation.

[Dan Patrick]

He had 23 targets. They threw the ball to Jamar Chase 23 times.

[Ross Tucker]

Not enough, if you ask me. I would, I. I would be the most hilarious offensive coordinator in NFL history. All right, throw the ball to Jamar again. Throw the ball, Jamar. If they bracket him, they did it a couple times, then throw it to one of the other guys like T. Higgins wide open or Yoshi Bosch or Fan. I mean, I would say this. I've been a little skeptical at times of just how much wide receivers get paid now. And Chase making whatever he's making $36 million a year. That was a game where I totally saw it because he was unstoppable. And then when you went out of your way to bracket him, which means the corners on outside of them, the safety is inside of them, then you're leaving the middle of the field open and Yosi Bosh has a big, big catch. Noah Fan has the touchdown. I really thought that was a little bit eye opening, even for me. And the. Just the value that you can have created by a receiver that's as unstoppable as Jamar Chase is.

[Dan Patrick]

Ross Tucker, CBS Sports, Westwood One NFL college football analyst and host of the Ross Tucker football Podcast in the Westwood One radio booth for tomorrow night. Vikings and the Chargers. How did Mike McDaniels hold on to his job this week?

[Ross Tucker]

Well, probably because the owner has one of two schools of thought. So there's the school of thought that when you want to move on from a guy, just move on from him. Cut bait and move forward. There became a few years there, and I want to say it was maybe 2020 to 2023, where owners became very hesitant to fire coaches in season because they were nervous that the interim coach would turn things around and lead the team to a bunch of wins and that the pressure would then be on them to hire the interim head coach. Well, that's the only logic, right?

[Dan Patrick]

The Raiders a couple of years ago, didn't it happen with the Raiders?

[Ross Tucker]

Raiders, Antonio Pierce. That's exactly right. 2023, they fire McDaniels, Pierce comes in, they have a lot of success, and there's a lot of pressure on Mark Davis to keep him because, remember, a couple years prior to that, he had cut. He had fired John Gruden middle of the year, going with Bosaccio. And the Raiders made the playoffs, and the Raiders were in the playoffs and almost beat the Bengals in the year the Bengals went to the Super Bowl. He didn't hire bisaccia. He hired McDaniels. He regretted it. So he felt like he had to give Antonio Pierce that chance. That is what look, I don't know a single person that thinks Mike mate, the annual will be the head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2026. Not a single person. So. And my guess is Steven Ross included. So he's electing to not take a chance that he makes Anthony Weaver, the young, you know, well thought of D coordinator, the head coach. Weaver goes on a run. All the players say, we want Weaver. We want Weaver. I don't think Stephen Ross wants to have to deal with that.

[Dan Patrick]

John Harbaugh's taken away all the locker room toys with the Ravens, according to the Baltimore Sun. What is. What is that going to do for this team?

[Ross Tucker]

Oh, man, that. You know what's amazing? It's so funny. Like, we got to google this or maybe you guys can talk about it. Depending on whether the team is struggling or when the new coach comes in. I've seen reports on both of these over the years. A new head coach comes in, he brings in a ping pong table and in the player lounge. And it's such a positive for the team because the guys are all hanging out together and they're competing. Like the Eagles have ping pong tables everywhere and Hertz likes to do it and, and pool. And Hertz does it and he competes with the other guys and Sirianni loves it because they're harnessing their competitive edge and they're spending time together. But then there's also the flip side where they take it away and, oh, now we're getting serious. It's funny. I mean, to me, it. It just kind of makes me up. I will say this. I once played with a player that was definitely top. They might have been a top five pick. The most animated I ever saw him in three years was when he was playing video games in the players lounge. I mean, way more animated playing Halo or whatever that thing was called than he was on the field in a real NFL game. Like a real game with 80,000 people and this other guy trying to embarrass you, that didn't really stoke his fire. That didn't do it for him. But being on a big leather couch, you know, in the players Lounge playing Halo. That's when he would get really animated and fired up. That team, who will remain nameless, should have gotten rid of the whole player lounge, or at least the video games, or at a minimum, banned that particular player from being able to play video games.

[Dan Patrick]

Wow. Do we want to guess? So you played for Washington, Cowboys, Bills, Patriots, any other team?

[Ross Tucker]

No, but it's pretty obvious. If I gave you top 10, top five pick and was there for three years.

[Dan Patrick]

That's true. I mean, if you guys, you're laying down breadcrumbs here, I can solve the mystery. I think Paulie's on it right now. So Ross didn't spend too much time in a place, especially three years. Yeah.

[Paul]

Paulie has to be Washington.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, that's what I thought. No.

[Ross Tucker]

Oh, 3.

[Dan Patrick]

04.

[Ross Tucker]

I'm not saying it. I'm not saying. You guys got to figure it out.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Ross Tucker]

Get the ITM polio.

[Dan Patrick]

Work on that. By the way, Sean Payton taking a shot at Russell Wilson. And this is what the Broncos coach had to say.

[Ross Tucker]

I have a ton of respect for that organization. I spent four of my early years there coordinating super bowl. First time, first game in this stadium before 911 close with the Mayor Tisch family. And, you know, they found a little.

[Dan Patrick]

Spark with that quarterback.

[Ross Tucker]

I was talking to John Marin not too long ago, and I said we were hoping that that change would have happened long, long after our game.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. So he wanted to face Russell Wilson. His former quarterback, Russ sent out a tweet. Classless but not surprised. Didn't realize you're still bounty hunting 15 plus years later through the media. And of course, the bounty gate that cost Sean Payton an entire season in 2012. What do you. What do you make of this?

[Ross Tucker]

Well, Russell certainly escalated it, that's for sure. You know, you could have spun Peyton's comment as being primarily a compliment for Jackson Dart and how he didn't want to have to face Jackson Dart. You could have made that, the emphasis. Certainly. I think there was a dig at Russell Wilson in there and that that was intentional. But, you know, the. The media took that and really made it seem like it was all about Russell Wilson. Russell obviously didn't appreciate it, was offended by it. I would be, too. I don't know if I would have gone where Russell did with it. But you know what? There are people that have the mindset if you're gonna. You can take a shot at me. I'm gonna come back twice as hard and bring up your lowest, worst moment. I don't care. I'm not a fan of the Giants or the Bronco. To me, it's just entertaining. Get your popcorn ready.

[Dan Patrick]

And guess what?

[Ross Tucker]

He was right because the Broncos should have lost that game. I mean, I can't believe, I still can't believe the Giants lost. I've never seen that before. 33 points in the fourth quarter. But Dan, it was 268 giants with a little over five minutes left in the whole game. The Giants scored a touchdown in those remaining five minutes and still lost the game. I mean, give me the probability, ESPN probability things or whatever. Like it must have been off the charts. I can. And they had the redhead kicker, missed two extra points. He got fired yesterday. I mean, just a wild game. So I guess on some level Sean Payton's right because I do not think Russell Wilson would have put up 32 points like that out in Denver.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, Paulie, looks like he's got an answer here.

[Paul]

This is the ping pong player that played harder at ping pong.

[Dan Patrick]

No video game.

[Paul]

Video games. Than he did on the field. Ross, with the Bills high draft pick. I'm going to go offensive tackle out of Texas, Mike Williams.

[Ross Tucker]

I think that's all the time I have for you guys today.

[Dan Patrick]

Wait, it's an offensive tackle or was that the defensive lineman?

[Paul]

Offensive tackle.

[Ross Tucker]

So listen, I'm not telling you guys the answer. I gave you plenty of hints. I'm pleading the fifth. I'm not saying yes or no. I'm just saying I played with a guy during my career that I got more animated playing video games than he did, than he did on the field.

[Dan Patrick]

Have fun tomorrow night, Vikings, Chargers, Westwood One. And thanks for joining us as always.

[Ross Tucker]

Absolutely. See you guys.

[Dan Patrick]

That's Ross Tucker, CBS Sports, Westwood One analyst. He wasn't very discreet in trying to hide who it was telling us the year and that he was with his team for three years.

[Paul]

Yes, Paul, the hints were top five, maybe top 10 draft pick. Mike Williams, fourth pick of the draft. He was there three or four years. Mike Williams, four years in Buffalo, then out of football.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. Does he work for a video game company? Like, does he work for World of Warcraft? All right, we'll take a break. More phone calls coming up. Don Mattingly at the top of the hour. We're back after this. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our [e-mail] and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. More of your phone calls coming up. By the way, Sunday night, Aaron Rodgers facing Green Bay for the first time since, well, he left. And the Steelers hosting Jordan Love in the packers. That'll be Sunday, 7 Eastern, NBC. And Peacock. I wish it was at Lambo. I wish it was just to hear the crowd and how they would respond. Aaron Rodgers coming back. But that'll be on Sunday night with NBC and Peacock, which is where you can also find this show. Paulie is bummed out sometimes he'll fixate on things. And I've walked by, I think three or four times. He goes, can't believe it. Can't believe they, they didn't name the Michael Jordan segment. Because I go, okay, what's, what's the name that you would have used for his segment with Mike Tirico? Yeah, Paul.

[Paul]

Well, NBC called it mj, Insights to excellence.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I don't like that because it sounds like a retreat with businessmen.

[Paul]

Yeah. Like a board meeting.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, you would have that. Yeah, you would have CEOs. Come on in. Insights to excellence.

[Paul]

I was. Got vests on. How about this airtime with mj?

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, simple. That's good. Yeah.

[Paul]

Less is more.

[Dan Patrick]

I know, but NBC, they didn't ask us.

[Paul]

They know what they're doing, though, do they?

[Podcast Announcer]

Apparently not.

[Dan Patrick]

Inside.

[Podcast Announcer]

Apparently they don't know what they're doing.

[Dan Patrick]

So, yeah, insights to excellence. No, no, I, I mean, airtime's good. Yeah, I'm fine with that. Let's see. Wink in Illinois. Hi, Wink. What's on your mind today?

[Caller]

Hey, yo, what's up, DP?

[Dan Patrick]

Hey, man.

[Caller]

First. Hey, first time a long time. 59190. I've been waiting a long time to hear that. Just wanted to. I heard a lot about owners, GMs, coaches, top to bottom dysfunction. So as a Saints fan, I felt obligated to call in. Just tell me I'm not. Just tell me I'm wrong on this. We're not going to take this spark of Spencer Rattler and take our high pick and just stick with him, are we?

[Dan Patrick]

Well, you're going to find out at the end of the year if he can play. He's certainly getting enough sample size there with the Saints. And, and it's not like they're a mess. There are certain teams that aren't very good. And thanks for the phone call, Wink, but I don't look at the Saints as a mess. I just don't think they're good. The jets are a mess. Cleveland Browns, I guess you want to say they're a mess. The, the Titans, they're a mess. I mean, there's a few The Raiders are a mess, but I don't, I don't look at the Saints as a mess. Like there's, there's really nothing there. It's just they're not very good. Yes, Todd, there's a mess going on.

[Todd]

In south beach too right now.

[Dan Patrick]

That's true. Dolphins. That's a mess. Yes. For over 40 years, Tire Rack has been helping customers find the right tires for how and what and where they drive ship fast and free. Convenient installation options. Tirerack.com the way tire buying should be. Let me see Dave in South Dakota. Hi Dave.

[Caller]

Hey Dan, thanks for taking my call. 510205 all right. So this Notre Dame thing got me thinking over the weekend. You know, usc, Michigan, even some of the SEC schools, you know, they're going to start backing out of playing Notre Dame. Why don't these conferences, they need Notre Dame just as bad as Notre Dame needs them. Otherwise they wouldn't worry about scheduling with them. They wouldn't worry about letting them into the tournament at the end of the year. Why not let Michigan, Alabama, whoever from these conferences count that as a conference game? It frees those schools up to be able to schedule somebody else later and it gives them a conference game that's way tougher than playing well, Kentucky, Iowa, Northwestern, so well, you know, some of.

[Dan Patrick]

These schools don't want to have one of those. You know, Notre Dame's a quality opponent. You're already going through a very difficult schedule, your schedule and your conference and if they're adding a ninth game, you only have so many games on your schedule and you gotta schedule a C. Couple of cupcakes here. I would love to have USC and Michigan continue the tradition but it, it's not going to happen. C in Glendora. AC.

[Caller]

Hey, what's up dp thanks for taking my call. To all the guys are good. Hey listen, I, couple years ago I was, my daughter was playing basketball, you know and right before her game I was watching all the varsity team warm up and all they were doing was shooting the threes and I said to myself, what is Steph Curry doing to this game and how are we going to be in 10 years? And so I just, Mark Jackson's, you know, his comments were, were real, you know and so I just want to say that, you know, when I saw Shay Gil just Alexander play, I said this guy's bringing back the mid range game. It was like Kobe Bryant.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, Durant, Durant had the mid range jumper for his entire career. But thank you for the phone call and don't blame Steph Curry. Don't blame him. He was so good at it that everybody wanted to do it. And the game has revolved around the three point shot. But I keep saying there is so much room in between the three and, and the paint. It's right there. You can have it. Yeah. Seaton it. You see it with a lot of.

[Podcast Announcer]

Sports actually where it because of video and highlights and things, the sport has almost been perfected. And it's like, analytically, this is the best way to win. So we only do that.

[Dan Patrick]

But Durant mid range jumper made a career out of it. Sga. Same thing. Final hour on this Wednesday, we'll talk to the Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly. More of your phone calls final hour right after this. This is an I Heart podcast.