← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Go Low - Golf is getting real, Golf Parlay, Saquon staying in Philly
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- [00:00]
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- [00:36]
Julie Stewart-Banks
What's up everyone? Julie Swearbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
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Nate Thompson
We're doing a new podcast together.
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John Middelkoff
Here we go.
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Julie Stewart-Banks
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
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Nate Thompson
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?
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Julie Stewart-Banks
Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
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Nate Thompson
Julia is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
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Julie Stewart-Banks
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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John Middelkoff
The Volume what is going on everybody? How are we doing? John Middelkoff and a little Go Low podcast with a little Saquon Barkley talk at the end. So we're going to talk a little golf in regards to we got the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill this weekend all elevated event, all the stars there. Couple weeks we got the players. We had Fred Couples go on local radio say Koepka is ready to return. We had my guy Jake Knapp who I think moved to Scottsdale within the last year. I see him sometimes at tpc, looked like he was going to win his second tournament of the year and then had a disaster and I just wanted to talk disasters as a whole because they are riveting to watch. We also will do a we do it all the time every single week for this podcast at Golopod is the Instagram at golopod. Fire your DMs. Any questions regarding golf to get to get on the mailbag on this podcast. Obviously we do a football one is just my normal Instagram. I like to separate it for golf. It's just easier to find them at. Golopod is the way to do it. So make sure you subscribe to the podcast on Collins feed. Everything's up on YouTube. I did a little saquon reaction for YouTube but I put the audio here at the end of this podcast because he just got a big extension and I wanted to talk about it. So little golf talk, Little golf mailbag and a Little Saquon Barkley who just became an even richer man. So. But other than that, I did want to start with. This does start to feel like right around the players is when you get Masters commercials. And I'm a sucker for the west coast swing. I mean, those that stretch pebble waste. I know Riv didn't happen this year because of the fires. And I would include Tory as well. Has a soft spot for me. Even Hawaii, there's nothing like the, I mean, it used to be the Tournament of Champions. Now they allow like, I don't know, just random people in. But those views in Honolulu or in Kapalua, the, the water in the background, I've never played it. My brother's played it a couple times. It's just, it really kind of like, God, I want to be in Hawaii. And I would say right around now it feels like, okay, the golf starting to get real. And this week the Arnold Palmer with the elevated event, you know, Xander's back, obviously, Scotty, Rory, Ludvig, jt, All the big dogs are there. And then in a couple weeks we have the players. And then it feels like major seasons on. And I think sometimes with these golf tournaments, again, I, if you're listening to this, you're probably a pretty big fan, but listen, we get a lot of people that play golf, that don't watch golf, that consume this content and that was such a cheesy thing, consume this content. I'm saying, listen to me talk about golf. But ultimately, like the last couple weeks, the Mexico Open, the cognizant aren't really doing it for most. And I completely understand. This is a star studded sport in the sense of you need stars to get people to pay attention. Tennis, any individual sport is that way. You can't roll out randoms and expect people to care. And I think anytime that these guys all play together, we saw a couple weeks ago with Tory, we saw it pebble with Rory, that the bigger names in the mix, people will watch and you'll get 3,4 million people watching on a Sunday, which in this climate is really good. I mean, NBA games without LeBron James or Steph Curry are not sniffing 4 million people. And I think anything you can hope is when these guys are together. And I think the hard part about golf is like in a perfect world, you would start to see, you know, Rory's already won, Scotty's coming back off the injury, Ludwig's already won, Hidecki's already won. So the top guys heading into the majors with Bryson, Koepka, and kind of that crew waiting. Hopefully it's. And hopefully Jon Rahm gets his shit together. It's like a perfect emergence of all the stars playing well. And then all of a sudden, you look at the Masters leaderboard, and four of those eight names are in the mix on Saturday and Sunday. That's all you can ask for. And I think right now is when you start to see, you know, Rory's looked really good this season. Obviously, Ludwig, if he hadn't gotten sick, might have multiple victories. You know, Scotty is going to be just fine. I think the wild card is Xander coming off the injury. We'll have to give him a little time. But if he feels good, like there's a chance this major season, you know, Bryson, how good he looked last year in the majors. It's exciting. And listen, this tournament, I think my philosophy from a gambling standpoint, I'm going to hammer Ludwig every single week as a top 10. The moment I won, what bet that I win? Tony Finau to, like, top 10, I think, at Tori. And he kind of backdoored it, maybe. No, it was top five. And I turned 1000 into 1500. I immediately put $1000 on Ludwig to win the Players, and then I put another 500 on him to win the Masters. But I will also hammer him. That. That was kind of spur of the moment. I will hammer him every single week to top 10. Because right now he's played in four events, and he's top 10 in two of them. And one of them, he was leading after Thursday, and then he got deathly ill. And we all know people, this flu season, I mean, the flu came out of retirement a couple years ago and came back with a fucking vengeance. That thing just went away like Michael Jordan started playing baseball. And then it came back. You're like, holy shit. It hit me twice. So I just played golf with my buddy Fong on Saturday. He said he was in shambles for, like, two weeks. And he said the worst part is I had to give presentations for work. And he's like, this was. I own the company, so I couldn't exactly not show up. I'm like, yeah, bro, I had it. The chills. You just feel like you couldn't move. So there's a chance. I don't know if Ludwig would have won at Torrey, but I think it's fair to say that he would have had three top tens in four events. So to me, auto hammer Ludvig drives it straight, hits his irons pure. Now, historically, at this course they grow at the rough around the greens. You would say short game can be a little bit of a bug boo for the guy, but I would be stunned if he's not in the mix. And I think the same could be said for Rory, for Scotty. I also like Hidecki who's just been playing really well. So my parlay this week and the guys I'm hammering are Ludwig to top 10, Hidecki to top 10. I do think Shane Lowry one, he's been playing really good golf. Last year he I think was tied for third in this event. He is a Florida guy, lived there for a long time, so he's very comfortable in the environment. Plus is a big year for him, right? There's a Ryder cup year. I think he's trying to cement his status of like is he on the fringe to like I'm a lock Ryder cup guy moving forward until my game falls off a cliff. Like just write me in in Sharpie. And I've been hammering him for top 20s every week. He played well, pretty well last week. I just think you look at. Listen the scary part about the Ryder cup is the Euros look good. Good. I mean obviously Rory, I think his wedge game over the over the winner clearly put some emphasis in that. And if his wedge game improves by, I don't know, 5, 10%. Right. Because there were moments the last couple of years I thought it was pretty horrendous for an all time great player. And if it becomes like, I don't want to say a strength, but something that is not a liability, like he could easily have, I would say a Scotty Rom type all of a sudden. Rory won three or four times and a major or two and these are the type tournaments where I would expect him to be in the mix. Same thing with Hidecki. So I'm going Ludwig Lowry to top 20 and Ludwig and Hideki to top 10. I don't hate if you go with hidecki to top 20, but I think Ludwig moving forward is a auto top 10 hammer if you can get him at plus 150 or plus 175 or plus 160 like I just like my chances on a weekly basis. Again, he is a the flu. Coming around to having three top tens in four events, the other being a top five and a win. So I just, I think you got to like your chances with the young stallion. Pretty couples who I'm just a sucker for these old school guys going on local radio keeping, you know, keeping that medium alive. And Freddie just calling in probably talking some sports, BSing about the Seattle Seahawks off season. I saw Mike McDonald was asked if he could coach one player in league history, who would it be? I think he said like Lawrence Taylor. Of course he's a defensive guy. But spirits are high in Seattle well run operation good GM And Freddie Couples is fired up. Freddie Couples die hard sports guy in a loyal, loyal PGA Tour guy. And he has for a guy that's not like playing that regularly. I know he's play some Champions Tour but he has been extremely outspoken talking shit about the live guys from the jump. Now he's biased. His wealth, his status, where he stands in life is all created by the PGA Tour. And you could say that was the same for every guy that went to live. But he made a comment this week on the radio show that Koepka is one of his boys, one of his good buddies, obviously his bff, his Tiger. But he said that Koepka wants to come back to the PGA Tour and it's pretty clear that a lot of these guys, Koepka, Bryson, I would say John Rom who's also been outspoken about like he misses these events because you're just not getting the same juice. I can't imagine like I totally understand and I supported it is it was so easy for everyone to get on the moral high horse non the elite players and say wait, why are you leaving? It's like well, they just put $145 million guaranteed in front of my face. And then they say if I play well in these events I can win like $5 million. Like DJ won $50 million. I think the first couple years on live. That doesn't even count the couple hundred million dollars they paid him to leave. They gave Phil like 200, $250 million and he can't. It's not even good anymore. So when they offer John Rom 2 to $300 million, like yeah, it's easy for you to say no, just stay on the PGA Tour, keep playing the Arnold Palmer. It's like they just offered me $275 million and this cool ass jacket. So I understand. But then after you play there for a couple years you're like I kind of just miss being under the bright lights. I miss being in the events that really matter. And beside the majors, there are five or six events and that's what I'm fascinated to see like the integration of these guys coming back which feels inevitable. Are they going to play a normal schedule? Because if I was Koepka or I was Bryson, let's Use Bryson as an example because I think Koepka1 he never took regular events beside a couple that seriously. He was very successful at the Waste Management makes sense Bright light event, you know, the Riv, the Torrey Pines. Maybe like the players but you think like you're not getting him to play random non elevated events. I do think what's going to be fascinating for Bryson is like he's built a pretty important thing on the Internet and I can't imagine Bryson wanting to pivot off the YouTube. And one thing the tour has always struggled with is allowing these guys and in fairness they get so much money from these TV partners that they don't want you to rip the content like the CBS gets to own it. It's why they pay all this money. And that's been the pushback. Guys like Bryson that live allows them to use any content they want. So I think they're going to have to find and strike some happy medium because let's face it, they really need the three guys back. John Rom, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. And then you know, for us golf nerds, the Cam Smiths, the Joaquin Neiman's definitely add to it. But I think most people just feel like whenever this does come back that this is going to be normal again. I have a hard time with that because if I was just paid a couple hundred million dollars I would miss the juice and I would want some of the juice in sense of like I'd want to play at Waste, I'd want to play at the players. But some of these other events, like I didn't like doing that before I was super rich. I don't plan on doing that now. And that's where I think the disconnect has to be with some of these players. Just act like you're going to do what we tell you to do. It's hard to tell someone to do something when they have more money than you and they no longer really need you. Like especially Bryson, he just won a major, he's in them for the next five years. Brooks last year won the PGA or two years ago. Like he's in majors for five years. Like the DJ hasn't cared for five years, doesn't even matter to him. But like those two guys, Cam Smith won the British Open a couple years ago. Like these guys don't have to worry about getting into the major. So bullying them around I think is going to be difficult. And one thing that's clear is like and I saw Alan Shipnock talking about this on Rapaport's YouTube show. That's not Ian, that's Daniel. Is these contracts are coming to an end, right? These weren't eight year deals. This wasn't Patrick Mahomes. Here's 10 years, $450 million. It was like three year, three or four years for a couple hundred million dollars. And then they end. Well, it's like, are you going to pay me another $300 million? Are we going to keep this going when 12,000 people are watching? That's what it does feel like. Probably not now. You can also never say never when you're dealing with people with trillions of dollars, with reserves that are more than most major nations all around the world. So I don't feel comfortable saying speaking in absolutes about this situation, but it does feel like we're headed towards somewhat of a resolution in the near, I would say year or two. I'm not confident it's going to be 20, 26, but. But I also am not confident that like, even when it's like, okay, they're quote unquote back together, that it feels like what everyone thinks it's going to look like. Oh, Bryson's just playing a schedule of 15 events. I don't know, because if I was him, it's like, no, I'm going to play some of the cool events, play the majors, and I'm going to do my YouTube stuff. Why? Because that's making me a star. The majors make me a star. Maybe the players may be wasted and Jack's tournament and YouTube. So I don't think he's going to pivot off that. I don't think Brooks Koepka is going to be like, oh, I'll see you guys at the John Deere. The other thing is, one thing that is unique to golf is like, even in tennis, like, you can start playing bad, hitting the net and missing serves, but there is nothing like a golf meltdown, because it happens on an individual hole when a guy in the lead or in the mix just has a disaster. And that's what happened to Jake Knapp on Sunday. And while it has to be just listen, we all can relate. If you play golf that all of a sudden you're just kind of cruising along, playing pretty good and then you get a triple bogey or you hit two balls in the water, or you just hit one out of bounds and then you three putt and you're like, did I just make an eight on a par five? It happens to all of us. The difference is we're not playing on the PGA Tour. And we're not tied for the lead on hole 11 after shooting a 59 on Thursday. And I was watching on my couch when Jake Knapp hits it into the water and you're like, okay, he's going to drop, try to make a bogey here. Then he tries to hit it out of the water because his ball is kind of submerged and does not get the ball out and it rolls back in. Then he hits it again. And you just. For as awesome as great shots are, I think the most riveting thing that can happen on television and professional golf is that I think it's just, I can't believe this is going on. And I would say the cognizant and Jake Knapp on the scale of 1 to 10 importance in the grand scheme of things is pretty low. But when moments like that happen, let's face it, I had a decent amount of money last year on Max Homa to win the Masters. I live bet them. I think I put $1,000 on them at like 15 to 1 on either Thursday or Friday, and we're cruising on Sunday. I'm like, I think, I think this is going to happen. This is going to be the biggest win or one of them. I guess. I hadn't hit my Bryson DeChambeau parlay that I would the US Open, which is the biggest gambling win I've ever had, but it felt like I'm going to do this. And then all of a sudden, hole 12 and he hits it into the bush. And I immediately, look, I have a cash out option that I think I got like $940 back. So I basically lost like 60 bucks and I immediately cash out. And then obviously he just, he implodes. I mean, anyone would have. He's in a bush. What's he going to do? And that feeling when you're watching it, I think some of the biggest moments in the history of golf are some of the big putts made or the great shots made. But I actually think we think about Jordan Spieth on 12 melting down, right? John Vanderbilt melting down. Greg Norman melting down. And sometimes a meltdown can just be an awful shot slash, an awful break. And sometimes, and I try to think about this and I do a terrible job of like, should I just hit out? Should I just chip out, live to fight another day. That's not fun. That is not an enjoyable way to play golf. And even if you're gambling with buddies and you could lose 50 bucks or whatever, I like being aggressive on the golf Course, it's not fun to just chip out unless you absolutely have to. So I understand when guys the first inclination and feeling inside is going to be like, I can pull this shit off now. One thing I saw Golf Channel. The dude in studio was kind of critical of Nap. When you're in like the submerged, not in the lake, but in that kind of mud area where you can step. He had to take his shoe off. You got to swing out of your ass and just get the ball on dry land, whether it's in the green or even deep in the sand. And he kind of pussy footed it. He didn't swing that hard and the ball barely went anywhere. And all of a sudden some dude no one's ever heard of with a bucket hat who was a Pepperdine a couple years ago starts draining birdies. Nap falls apart and he wins it pretty easily. But I do believe as a sports fan, watching an individual in the lead on Sunday fuck up is elite sports television. I mean it's just like, this is crazy now. You never want to have money on that individual because the Houma thing, my heart dropped when he hit it into the bush, which in the air it looked like a good shot and even Max was surprised. But it happens. And then I think Ludwig and Morikawa right behind him hit the ball in the water. Maybe Morikawa was playing with Max. Hit the ball in the water and 11. Yeah, it's just what makes golf so fun. Who's scoring big in the NBA this season? You are with the all new ways to get in on the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. From dunks to assists to rebounds, get behind your favorite player and the prop bets you can make on DraftKings, the home of NBA player props. Ready to place your first bet? Try betting on something simple like picking how many points your favorite player will have. 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T Mobile Advertisement
You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months It's Julie Stewart Banks.
- [23:10]
Julie Stewart-Banks
I'm doing a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts and the National Hockey League, and I'm paired up with one of my favorite players, the always quotable Nate Thompson.
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Nate Thompson
I wore nine NHL sweaters and I have story after story to share. And believe it or not, I have plenty to say. And not just about hockey.
- [23:26]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Believe me, he does. Energy Line with Nate and JSB is the name of the podcast and it's gonna be, well, it's gonna be quite the ride. We're officially linemates, Nate. We're the Energy Line.
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Nate Thompson
We'll have plenty of folks join us. Current players, some of my former teammates, hall of Famers. And wait till you see some of the connections that Julie has. She has quite the Rolodex.
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Julie Stewart-Banks
Okay, we'll lean into Nate's playing experience and tap into our interests. A week away from hockey and try to do what energy lines are supposed to do. Provide an emotional boost. How do you feel about all that, Nate?
- [23:58]
Nate Thompson
I'm vibing Julie. I'm ready to roll.
- [24:01]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [24:15]
John Middelkoff
Okay, let's, let's bang out a couple mailbag questions here at golopod. Is the Instagram fire in those dms? This was an old question that I saved that I did want to answer because I think heading into the to the major season, it's going to be pretty interesting. Just a quick thought. After the US Open with Bryson winning the major season, Bryson has done better than Scotty. Scotty won the Masters. Bryson was tied for sixth. The PGA Championship. Scotty was eighth. Granted, he went to jail. Bryson was second. The U.S. open, he was tied for 41. Bryson was first. So Bryson has a first, a second and a sixth. Scottie had a 40th, an eighth and a first. Is it a hot take to say that Bryson is his rival and could challenge him as the world number one if Bryson was on Tour? I do think if Bryson was on tour right now, the way he has played in the majors the last couple years and specifically last season, I do think we would be talking about him no differently than Scotty Rory Xander on a weekly basis. And I do think going into majors now, he is considered on that level. The way that he played in the pga, the way that he played in the US Open. And honestly, he took a lot of shit because a couple years ago he called the US Open a par 67 or something and. And then I think he proceeded to miss the cut. But I would say that if he can just be solid at the Masters, he is going to be a major factor on a yearly basis in the US Open, in the PGA Championship. So even if he doesn't win a Masters, and I would say it's definitely no lock for him to win a Masters. But even last year, was he leading it when on hole 12, he or no, it was hole 13. He chunked that, like, third shot and I think he had like a seven or eight and it just kind of lost him the tournament. But I think that was on Saturday, if I remember correctly. If he can just be consistent at the Masters, like be a factor, that that's going to change the legacy. Because for a long time, like, he's never going to do the Masters is not going to be his thing in the British Open probably is not. Definitely not going to be his thing because conditions are always changing out there, slow greens. So I think the British Open, AKA the Open Championship, I'd be stunned if Bryson ever won that thing. But I think the US Open and the PGA Championship he could win on a yearly basis. I'm not saying he's going to win them every year, but, like, it's never shocking either one of those tournaments. It was like Bryson's type for league going into Sunday. And then I think the Masters was a little bit of a wild card because, like, I do think he's going to be able to figure this out. And then he kind of did. And the one thing they've always said is like a, you know, you got to hit a draw. And what does he hit? He hits a draw. You know why Bubba have success there lefty but he hits a fade. Phil Mickelson, lefty, but he can hit a fake. Obviously you can hit cuts there. I mean, Morocco had success last year, but yeah, I mean, I think Bryson is just a major, major factor. My parents recently moved from New York to Myrtle Beach. The main reason is for the golf courses. My father calls it the golf capital of the world because there are 90 plus golf courses, including the Dunes. In your opinion, which city, state is your golf capital of the world? That's a good question. I would say that Myrtle beach is, you could argue, is the golf capital of the South. I'm biased. It's not like I've lived here, what, three years now? Three and a half years. I would say on the west coast, it's pretty hard to beat the greater Phoenix area when it comes to golf. I mean, there is a golf course, you. It's hard to drive down a somewhat major roadway and not see a golf course every couple miles. So I can't speak to Myrtle Beach. I've always wanted to go. Like you said, there's definitely a shitload of golf courses there. But I would put. I think you'd almost have to split it up into regions because the greater Phoenix area for the west coast, there's nothing like this. There is so much golf here. It is outrageous. And I'm talking private courses, I'm talking public courses, I'm talking muni courses, I'm talking putt putts, I'm talking grass clippings, night golf. There is, I would put this. And it's year round. I mean, there ain't. I would imagine Myrtle beach the same way beside the occasional like hurricane or something. But I do believe that this could go toe to toe. Now, I'm not saying that of like, I want to go to Myrtle beach and that is a place that I will attend with my golf clubs in the next couple years. I cracked a smile hearing you talk about what to do about the wedding ring while golfing. My regular foursome all got married about the same time and this was a topic of conversation. Our solution was regular wedding ring on a daily basis, but silicone ring when doing other activities involving your hands. I found my finger can swell a bit when golfing, especially when it's warm. The ring can get a bit tight. A silicone ring solves that problem. I think he was alluding to when I talked about what do you do with the ring when you golf? What about when you lift? What about when you just do activities? And I've talked to people that say they never take it off. I've talked to people that say they take it off all the time. My problem is this. I would say the only thing that I haven't come close to losing is like my nice watch, but that's pretty big and I'm not a huge watch guy. So I only wear it pick and choose, but I've never been in a position where I've misplaced it. I lose my car keys all the time. I lose my sunglasses every day. I lose my wallet. I don't even know where it is right now. No clue. So a ring which is smaller than all those, I lose my Stanley. Look how big my Stanley is. I forget this thing at the gym like every other day, like, oh, I gotta pull back around because I left my Stanley in the locker room. That ring I can't take off because if I take that thing off, it will not be found. And I can already see, like, I'll just take it off, put it in the golf cart. Well, it's one thing if it's, if it's your golf cart, but if I'm at some random course or a tpc all of a sudden, think how many times I've lost my, my little rangefinder. So that's what scares me. The move of, even if I have a backup one taking it off and putting something else on, I can see that thing go, bye. Bye. I also was torn. Like, do you go. Do you go black? Do you go silver? Do you go silver and black? Do you go gold? I just went silver. I guess I'm old school traditional. Don't hate the black though. I couldn't go gold. Just saw an update that Bryson has yet to sign a 280 million dollar extension with live with potential to return to the Tour. I know all the live players are currently banned, but if it were to change, you see more players return to the PGA because of live slowly dying out and no one caring about it. I really think that these guys will look back and go, we just cashed out for a couple years, nothing changed. We cashed out for a couple years, come back and honestly, we have more intrigue. You know, if you're Bryson, people forget. I wouldn't say he was polarizing. I'd say most people didn't like him, people made fun of him. Now part of that was Koepka was, had much more support. Obviously the pardon my take, guys like him seems just more of a cool guy. Bryson was a nerd and everyone talked shit. And then eventually Koepka and him just Became buddies, and Bryson's YouTube channel took off like a rocket ship. He's playing golf with Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and just everyone under the sun, Trump, and people just like the dude. So now Bryson's popularity feels like he's the biggest star in golf. And that includes Scottie scheffler and Rory McIlroy. So I would say Tiger's the most famous. But right now, the biggest star actively playing is Bryson DeChambeau. So whatever the PGA Tour has to do to get that guy in tournaments, whenever this thing merges is the most important thing. Honestly, it's more important than Rahm and Koepka, and those guys are important. But having Bryson DeChambeau compete, like, at the Players or at the Waste Management, at Riv, at Jack's tournament, just at some of these tournaments, whenever it finally does happen, will be a big fucking deal. And I think by far he will be the biggest draw of the group. And I think he will come back. You know, Michael Jordan was extremely popular, and then all of a sudden he goes to play for the minor league team. When he came back, he was bigger than ever. I'll never forget. I mean, I was probably 12 years old turning on that game when he came out at MSG in 45. Like, it's a little bit. And again, I'm not comparing Bryson DeChambeau to Michael Jordan, but relative to, like, the golf world, that moment, he will be by far of all the guys, even if Koepka's there, Rom's there, will be the number one guy we talk about and be the number one guy I want to watch. I'd be interested. Like, what will his odds be? His first PGA tournament? Like, is he a 9 to 1 guy? Are we getting him 14 to 1? The odds on some of the live guys can be fascinating. I think the sad part is, and I've loved this guy and I've gambled on him a lot, and I've won some money on him over the years. Is DJs just done? You know, DJ is what, 12, 13 years younger than Phil? Phil. It's understandable. He's 53, 54 years old. You're just not as good at golf. You can't compete with the younger guys. Like, okay, I get it. Whatever. You become a YouTube guy with Grant. Totally understand. DJ basically is like, I'm over. I'm just done. Someone asked me the other day, what are the chances that Dustin Johnson, over the course of the last six months, has just actively went to the range and, like, really practiced? Not like hit a couple balls before he went to play, like with his buddies or with his brother or just around, you know, playing high level guys, like, just went and grinded. Does feel like kind of small. It does feel like those days for him are over. Which, listen, you grind for 15, 20 years, you make all this money, you get paid out for live. When he first went to live, he was kicking the shit out of everybody. I'm a big DJ guy. But it's kind of sad. It does feel like his career is over. And I do commend Bryson. Now he's way younger. He has a lot more to accomplish. But, like, it does feel like Bryson. Listen, Bryson's a golf nerd. Bryson honestly is much more like Phil and Tiger in terms of just thinks about golf 24 7, 365. That's like Tom and Peyton Manning. Like those, those guys think and talk about football all the time. Like Belichick and Andy Reid. Right. And that's kind of the Bryson of golf. Like, he's a junkie. He's going to be in to golf the rest of his life. It's. It defines his life, which I respect. Like, he takes it very, very seriously. That's never been the case with Dustin Johnson. He was just an elite talent and Koepka was somewhere in the middle. I think he cares about it a lot more than he portrays and just loves to compete. And I think Bryson is like the Phil Tiger nerdy who also likes to compete. So I'm pretty. I get fired up like every human for the majors just because it's. I kind of miss seeing these guys. Would you ever consider a prop bet? Talk? Enjoy the golf talk. In regard to your schedule, I think it's perfect because the PGA picks up from February, September. The last major tournament is the Ryder cup in September. Not really missing much. Totally agree. My thing is. Yeah, I mean, I will talk, whatever. I don't do that many prop bets, and maybe I'm an outlier. Like, the things I bet when it comes to golf are top tens and twenties. I used to just bet winners. And then you realize, like, there's a reason morons play the lottery. Unless my mom plays the lottery. I tell her all the time, like, we got to stop doing this. Like, just go do something, buy something else. Just keep your money. Stop playing the lottery. And I think sometimes betting on people to win, which I still do, it's just very, very difficult now. It's easier to hit a winner in golf than it is playing the lottery. But my point is, I'VE really transitioned to top tens and top twenties, and I've had a lot of success over the years, but in terms of, like, individual matchups, you know, this guy versus this guy on an individual day, I don't really play. Now, the one thing I've dabbled in, especially around the majors, are, like, the groups. They basically pick five guys. So for the Masters, that'll be like, Scotty, Rory, Xander, Rom, Cam Smith, or, you know, I'm trying to Ludvig. And, you know, starting with Scotty, he'll be like plus 150. And Ludwig might be 4 to 1. And you just. You're just betting against those five guys. Whoever has the best score at the end of 72 holes. So you can get Ludwig five to one just to get four other guys. Now you're playing the best guys. Sometimes, like the second tiers or third tiers, it's like kind of random guys. It'll be like Max Homa. It'll be like Shane Lowry. It'll be like Jason Day, Victor Hovland. Like, that's probably as proppy as I'll get. I've done this before, but you talk about lottery tickets. First round leader. There can't be a bigger Hail Mary. It's professional golf. All these guys on any given day can shoot 7, 8, 9. Major is a little harder, but we just saw Jake knapp shoot a 59. No one in the world thinks when Thursday starts, you know this guy's going to shoot a 59. But it's like you can get 60 to 1 odds for one round. I've dabbled a little bit in that, but that's probably as proppy as I've ever got. I think it's a little easier prop betting in football or basketball when it's like, Steph's going to score over 24 points. You know, Debo is going to have 60 yards. Jalen Hurts is going to score two touchdowns. I guess there's some of the birdie ones make and miss the cut. I don't hate, but that's a little, like, over and unders. Like, I don't like rooting for guys to miss the cut, but sometimes a guy's not playing well, it's not a bad bet. Yeah, but overall, that'll do it for go low. Appreciate everybody. I think I'll do a podcast tomorrow on some football stuff. I think I saw Maria mentioned before I walked in here. Devonte Adams got cut, which is not shocking, of course, yet a $40 million cap hit. But other than that. Have a great day and let's win a little money this week. Lowry top 20 Ludwig Hidecki top 10s. Let's get it.
- [39:47]
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- [40:22]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Julie It's Julie Stewart Banks. I'm doing a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts and the National Hockey League, and I'm paired up with one of my favorite players, the always quotable Nate Thompson.
- [40:32]
Nate Thompson
I wore nine NHL sweaters and I have story after story to share. And believe it or not, I have plenty to say, and not just about hockey.
- [40:40]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Believe me, he does. Energy Line with Nate and JSB is the name of the podcast and it's gonna be, well, it's gonna be quite the ride. We're officially line mates, Nate. We're the Energy Line.
- [40:52]
Nate Thompson
We'll have plenty of folks join us, current players, some of my former teammates, hall of Famers, and wait to see some of the connections that Julie has. She has quite the Rolodex.
- [41:01]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Okay, we'll lean into Nate's playing experience and tap into our interests away from hockey and try to do what energy lines are supposed to do, provide an emotional boost. How do you feel about all that, Nate?
- [41:13]
Nate Thompson
I'm vibing Julie. I'm ready to roll.
- [41:16]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [41:29]
John Middelkoff
Okay, we just probably within the last 30 minutes had some breaking news and I wanted to jump on and do give a quick reaction to what happened. Saquon Barkley got a contract extension. He got like 35 million more guaranteed dollars and he now jumps McCaffrey, who last year I think got a big raise right before the season and then he couldn't even play at like 18, $19 million a year now. Now Saquon's making over 20, and if you factor in the guarantees of 36 plus the 27 from last year, you know, you're still guaranteeing a running back $50 million. But I think a couple things one, Howie Roseman knows his locker room and when he was at the combine. I saw him tell Florio that he thought that Saquon had the greatest season in the history of a running back, in NFL history. Now, I'd have to get like Parcells and Belichick on the horn here, some historians to some people at NFL Films, but clearly it was an all time great season. I do think it would be tough to go in. It's essentially his contract year. He signed a three year deal, but he only got 27 guaranteed. So you do the math. I mean, the last season is kind of fake, so you want to take care of the guy, but when you have like, he's still the seventh highest paid guy on his own offense, they got two tackles, making a ton. Landon Dickerson makes a boatload. Quarterback makes a ton. Wide receivers make a lot. So it's like even with getting this extra extension guarantee relative to some of these guys on his own team, it's not like he is by far the highest paid guy. They got a lot of guys making a lot of dough, but you can't have Saquon making half as much as all these other guys. The 49ers were in this position last year. Now, they wouldn't have done it if they knew McCaffrey had all these injuries going on, these phantom injuries. Saquon's clearly healthy, but it's pretty tough to walk in and going, yeah, I'm making a third of what like devonte Smith's making like that would be a problem for me as a human being. Or I'm making, you know, 40%. Right? The human dynamics forever. Belichick used to talk about this. He would trade down in the first round because he struggled. And this is before, like 2011, once the CBA changed the amount of money guys could make in the draft. But if you drafted a player in the first round, depending on where they would make, I mean, if you had the number one or top five pick, they would often be the highest paid guy in your locker room. But even if you somehow got to like the late teens or early 20s, that guy would be making more than a majority of guys on your team. So you would bring in a dude from college who immediately is making more than like a Pro Bowler who's still on a rookie contract. They might be a third round or a fourth rounder. And listen, I don't care what industry you work in, I don't care how much money you make, whether it's $50 or $50 million. Competitive people, competitive men judge themselves financially against others. And in a profession like football, when it's well known who's making what. Like, I do think you had to make them whole. And making a guy whole at running back is still a bargain. Like, you're not having to give. Like, if you trade for Miles Garrett because of his position and you give him an extension, or you traded for Max Crosby and give him an extension, you are talking 100 million plus Miles Garrett. You're probably talking like $140 million. Micah Parson wants a new contract. That number is going to be astronomical. Saquon Barkley, who clearly, we do this all the time with quarterbacks, right? It's about the fit. Who's your offensive coordinator? Who's your. Who are your skill guys around? Who's your offensive line? Who's designed in the place? It's no different with elite running backs. Saquon Barkley, Giants. Like, kind of overrated. Not that great. Christian McCaffrey with the Panthers kind of washed. Get with the right guy, get in the right fit. Hall of Fame talents rise. You could put Micah Parsons on any team, he's going to look good. You could put Miles Garrett on any team, he's going to look good. You could put Darrell Revis on any team in his prime, he's going to lock you down. That is not the case with a lot of offensive players. As a wide receiver, I need someone to throw me the ball. Many years Larry Fitzgerald played with shitty quarterbacks. It impacts you, you see. Saquon Barkley, hall of Fame talent. I do not understand. Now, did anyone know he was going to help lead the Eagles to the super bowl and run for 2,500 yards? Howie Roseman didn't know that, but anyone with a fucking pulse knew the moment the Eagles signed him. It's like, guys, they have the best offensive line in the league. Guys, they have a dual threat quarterback. And they will run RPOs with them. And they got sweet wide receivers in a tight end. This is going to work. Now, at what level? I don't know. Is he going to be a pro? Like, he's probably going to be a Pro Bowler if he stays healthy. And then he becomes like first team, all Pro elite. It's like plug and play. The only question it turns out with guys like McCaffrey and Saquon, when they get in the right place is health. Because if they're healthy and they're with the right team and the right play caller, buckle up and get out of the way because they're kicking your ass. And I just think at the price point in which you pay these elite guys, it's still a bargain. And this also shows like, Jeffrey Lurie spends more actual cash than all these other teams. And it's a great place to play if you're a good player because you will get compensated and they will keep you around. What Saquon has going for him, obviously relative to other positions, he's not that expensive. But they were around him for a year and like, we love this guy. Wait, you're telling me this super high character, great player who is a superstar in the town, Everyone loves him. Like, that's the type guy you build your franchise around. And Saquon in a weird way takes some pressure off the quarterback on and off the field because of his startup. And you know, you hear this in the NBA, this argument, which is so stupid about like, who's the face of the league. It's like, guys, we determine that shit. The face of the leagues were always determined by, I don't know, the most popular player. Magic, Larry Michael, Kobe, LeBron, Steph. Like, this isn't a complicated formula. The media doesn't huge it, the fans, the consumer does. And like, Saquon is someone who just resonates with people. He is a fun player to watch. He is a fan friendly player. Whether you're an Eagles fan or you like the NFL, you're going to like Saquon Barkley, his approval rate. And this is true with most star running backs. Barry Sanders, you did not need to be a Detroit Lions fan. You could have been the packers or the Vikings. Everyone liked Barry Sanders. I mean, everyone likes Saquon Barkley. A couple of years ago, I didn't hear anyone saying a negative thing about Christian McCaffrey. Walter Payton's approval rating was pretty freaking high. Everyone likes watching Derrick Henry play football. Players who run with the football are enjoyable to watch. And I think when you factor in all the variables, this is an easy decision for the Eagles. And like, it just shows you. Now Saquon was the number two overall pick. So he made a lot of money on his rookie deal. I mean, as much as you humanly can in this rookie scale. But like sometimes getting drafted super high, if you are a really talented player can really stunt your growth. It can really put you in a position that is not fair. I say this all the time. I have a ton of admiration for, honestly, even college players. I can't imagine being 20, 21 years old and someone paying me $950,000. What would, what would you eat? Where would you even start? I don't even I mean, I can't even. And then the pressure of these guys to get drafted really high and get a $30 million signing bonus, but then go to a team that sucks and be a part of our operation that's awful and be a part of a roster that stinks. Like, to keep yourself. It's so easy as you get older. And I do this a lot. Like, hey, keep your head up. Times are gonna get better. The sun comes up. No matter how shitty your day is, adversity is gonna hit us all. Because all that cliche stuff is true for every human being there. There is no avoiding problems. But ideally, the older you get, it's easier to handle. Like, imagine being, like, 23, 24, 25, and handling all this shit now. You could say, listen, I'd rather handle this stuff as a young guy and still be rich. True. I would rather handle problems with a bunch of money in the bank than no money in the bank and having problems. Totally agree. I'm not disputing that. But I do think, for the most part, these guys do a really good job. You know, Look. Look at Sam Darnold resurrecting his career. Like, never was really a problem, even through when everyone was taking a gigantic dump on the guy's career. You know, Baker handled it probably like most of us would have. Little, like, okay, I'll fight back a little bit. Don't blame him. But I think Saquon, everything he went through with the Giants. And listen, he wouldn't have been as good on the Giants. We all understand that. But this continues to age. Like, John Morris sitting there, the owner of the fucking team said, I don't know if I can sleep at night. You know why? Because he's got a pulse. He's got a brain. He understands. Like, this is. They're our rival. They are the team right down the road. And he understands they're good. Like, they got a bunch of talent. Like, this is probably going to go well. And it couldn't have gone any better. Devonte Adams was also traded, right? Not. Or, I mean, cut today. He was traded last during the season. But, like, that was kind of obvious. Like, yeah, I don't know if this is going to work. This thing's weird. And then what happened? It got weirder. It didn't work. And now he's just available, and it's just his career ever since, like, him and Rogers, like, I want out of Green Bay. It's like, are you guys sure? Do you guys understand? Like, Saquon got there, and sometimes I think it helps. You know, devontae was drafted into a team with the packers that is just one of the most well run operations in all the sports. Now, you can nitpick. They're not as good as some of these teams, but they are consistently always solid. More than likely they're going to win 10 to 12 games every single year. So it's like Devonte that kind of got some first class problems which I we're all human beings. I don't care where you are. I say this all the time about my job. I'm a podcaster. Like my job's problems relative to a guy digging ditches or tough manual labor jobs. I can't relate. But I don't care what you do. Everything that you do for a living, eventually, even the coolest stuff, you could be the starting quarterback for one of the NFL teams eventually can feel some monotonous characteristics of your profession and it becomes a job and it feels like a job. But you know, you look at devonte, it's like you had it pretty good. And I think Saquon's like, I realized what the NFL was. It's hard, it's humbling. You get your ass kicked more often than not most places. And he comes to the Eagles and he goes, God, I got it pretty well. I would say the same thing for Stafford and props to him. And McVeigh kind of alluded to this with McAfee. Like, when it comes out, everyone will realize, damn, he did us a favor. And I give Stafford credit because listen, it's easy for me to say like, you've already have a bunch of money. The difference between $50 million, that's a lot of money. I don't care how much money you got in the bank. It's easy for a bunch of poor people to tell you what to do with your money. And I would include myself. I'm guilty of this. But I also give you credit when you realize the money's not going to change my life given I'm so rich. So I got a pretty good spot. I understand what that Andy Dufresne gif of him getting through, you know, the sewer and out to the that little river and looking up at the sky. That's these guys getting away from the Giants, getting away from the Detroit Lions to the Eagles, to the Rams. Like, it doesn't get any better than that. It doesn't mean you're going to win the super bowl every year. It doesn't mean every year is going to be easy. But like you're part of high level football team with an elite operation that has a chance when the season starts. Every single year, the Giants have no shot. They have no fucking shot. Detroit pre Dan Campbell for the most part had no shot. And I just think I'm always excited when elite players get put in good positions. When elite players who were good guys, like, they weren't the problem, they weren't the reason their team was losing. And seeing Saquon get paid a bunch just seems. I mean, I've been watching him like a lot of people since he played at Penn State. He's just, he's just an easy player to watch. It's just fun. And having him on a good team like, just like Steph Curry. It's much more enjoyable to watch Steph when the warriors are good because he's an easy watch. And I'm not even that big of a basketball fan anymore, but now Jimmy Butler's there, it's like, give me Steph. And that's how I feel with Saquon's like, I'll Saquon any given game. Go for 250. I'm fucking in. So congrats to Saquon Barkley, congrats to Howie to keep this thing rolling. If I'm an Eagle fan, I'm pretty fired up right now.
- [55:02]
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The volume.
- [55:06]
John Middelkoff
This is Nikki Glaser from the Nikki Glaser Podcast. On a more serious note, I'm still thinking about that commercial with Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg hating on each other. Because when you listen to the reasons for hating someone or something, you realize just how stupid they really are. There is too much hate in this country and it's gotta stop. So join us at iHeart in standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up, call it out and you can learn more by following OTs. UpWithHate.
- [55:33]
Julie Stewart-Banks
What's up, everyone? Julie Swerbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
- [55:37]
Nate Thompson
We're doing a new podcast together.
- [55:39]
John Middelkoff
Here we go.
- [55:40]
Julie Stewart-Banks
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
- [55:43]
Nate Thompson
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?
- [55:49]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
- [55:52]
Nate Thompson
Julie is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
- [55:57]
Julie Stewart-Banks
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and JSP on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.