The Best Of Covino & Rich

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Episode: The Best Of Covino & Rich

Release Date: January 9, 2025
Host/Authors: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. Acknowledging the Wildfires in Los Angeles

[00:11] Covino:
Covino opens the episode with a heartfelt acknowledgment of the devastating wildfires engulfing Los Angeles. He expresses deep sympathy for those affected, mentioning the destruction of thousands of acres, homes, businesses, and wildlife. Despite the surrounding chaos, Covino and Rich assure listeners of their safety and extend their gratitude for the community's concern.

"We're live from Los Angeles, sending good vibes, thoughts, prayers, everything to all the people affected by the fires. Luckily, we're safe... It's horrible... Thousands of acres, thousands of homes and businesses and wildlife and people affected. The whole thing is terrible."
— Covino [00:11]

Rich echoes these sentiments, describing the eerie and unsettling atmosphere caused by the fires and the relentless winds.

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2. Main Topic: Forgiveness in Sports – Players and Coaches

a. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick Reunion Possibility

Covino and Rich delve into the potential reconciliation between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. They discuss the recent developments in Brady's career, particularly his involvement with the Raiders and the implications for a possible return to the NFL under Belichick's coaching.

"Would Belichick do this? And you're like, wait, he did that to the Jets?... It almost seemed like they were at odds. Like, he finally left Bill Belichick's evil ways and the first chance he got was an official separation."
— Covino [08:52]

They explore theories suggesting that a friendly interaction, possibly over a drink, might have rekindled their professional relationship, emphasizing the importance of weighing options before making significant career moves.

b. Ricky Pearsall's Story of Forgiveness

A touching segment is dedicated to Ricky Pearsall, a San Francisco 49ers player who was shot by a teenager for his Rolex watch. Despite the life-threatening incident, Pearsall demonstrates remarkable grace by choosing to forgive his attacker.

"He wants to forgive this kid who shot him this past summer and move on. Ricky Pearsall says, 'I don't know how he grew up. So I can't judge him as a man. I have to forgive him to lift that weight off my chest. If I can impact him in any way, I'd be open to it.'"
— Covino [42:13]

Covino and Rich commend Pearsall's maturity and highlight the broader theme of forgiveness as a means to personal healing and closure.

c. Other Players and Coaches: Unforgiven Grudges

The hosts discuss various sports figures whom they or the listeners might never forgive due to perceived mistakes or betrayals. Examples include Pete Carroll's decisions with the Seahawks and Fat Joe's controversies, underscoring how personal and professional grievances can shape fan sentiments.

"If someone does you dirty in a relationship, God forbid someone hurt a family member of yours or hurt you or hurt you, are you one of those type of people that seek out like, I want to see them..."
— Rich [44:16]

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3. Midweek Major: Sports and Pop Culture Headlines

a. Firing of Raiders Head Coach Antonio Pierce

The episode highlights the abrupt termination of Antonio Pierce as the Raiders' head coach after just one season. Patrick Mahomes' unexpected interaction with ESPN's announcement sparks rumors about Pierce's intentions to target Mahomes, though Covino considers the story "mid" (moderately significant) despite Mahomes' stature in the NFL.

"Patrick Mahomes was throwing a bit of shade at the situation... I don't think there's any doubt that Pierce had a target on Mahomes."
— Danny [55:13]

b. Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift Wedding Speculation

Speculation arises around Travis Kelce's potential engagement to Taylor Swift after Kelce comments on his dislike for fall weddings. Covino debunks the rumors, labeling the story as "mid" due to its speculative nature.

"He answered a question, says he's not a fan of fall weddings. He's not talking about marrying Taylor Swift."
— Covino [57:33]

c. Political Figures Betting on the Cotton Bowl

Vice President Elect JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz engage in a friendly wager over the Cotton Bowl between Ohio State and Texas, with the loser promising to deliver food and beer to the winner's doorstep dressed in the opposing team's jersey.

"This is so mid. But I was happy to hear that it was Ted Cruz because I thought J.D. Vance was betting against Grandpa Munster."
— Covino [59:28]

d. UFOs and Drone Sightings Conspiracy Theories

Danny introduces a segment on drone sightings being part of a larger alien invasion cover-up, referencing Project Blue Beam and other conspiracy theories. Covino remains skeptical, labeling the story as "major" due to its intriguing premise, though he personally doubts its validity.

"According to another expert, the weapons manufacturers have already gotten their hands on alien technology and that the drones are being used to mask the usage of that technology."
— Danny [60:16]

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4. Updates on Wildfires and Impact on Sports Events

Dan Byer provides live updates on the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, noting the postponement of the Kings' game against the Calgary Flames due to safety concerns.

"Rams, Vikings scheduled for Monday, still on, but the NFL says they are just taking a look at everything. Kings were supposed to hold the host the Calgary Flames tonight [e-mail] arena. That game has been postponed because of the wildfires."
— Dan Byer [26:50]

They discuss the broader impact on athletes, mentioning celebrities like Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James who reside near the affected areas, highlighting the widespread devastation.

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5. Listener Interaction and Banter

Throughout the episode, Covino and Rich engage in light-hearted banter, sharing personal anecdotes about dating mishaps and the challenges of making decisions under pressure. They encourage listener participation by inviting calls and comments, fostering a sense of community.

"I invited Tyson, our Buddy to the Christmas party and actually did have his wrong phone number by one digit... It's like, you see some other parents at the school, like, oh, we should have went to Chuck E. Cheese."
— Rich [34:07]

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6. Conclusion and Shoutouts

As the episode wraps up, Covino and Rich extend their gratitude to listeners affected by the wildfires, commend first responders, and acknowledge their support system. They emphasize the importance of community and resilience in the face of adversity.

"Shout out to all the first responders and the story I just mentioned about Rosenthal Wines, that's just one of hundreds and thousands of people affected."
— Covino [21:03]

They conclude with a final segment, "Midweek Major," discussing the latest sports headlines and encouraging listeners to stay engaged and informed.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "I feel bad even saying that when people are living out full on reality nightmares."
  — Covino [01:06]

• "There might be someone that is really good at what they do, but they're such a pain in the ass."
  — Rich [11:17]

• "Forgiveness is always a good thing, though. Moving forward, always a good thing."
  — Covino [48:34]

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Overall Flow and Insights: The episode masterfully balances serious discussions about the real-life impact of wildfires in Los Angeles with engaging debates on forgiveness within the sports community. Covino and Rich seamlessly transition between personal anecdotes, listener interactions, and football analysis, providing a comprehensive and relatable narrative for both avid listeners and newcomers. Their emphasis on community support, personal growth, and the complexities of professional relationships offers depth and resonance, making the episode both informative and emotionally impactful.

Transcript

[Rich]

Hey, thanks for listening to the Best of Cavino and Rich podcast. Be sure to catch us live every day from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio.

[Covino]

Find your local station for Cavino and [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR. We're live from Los Angeles, sending good vibes, thoughts, prayers, everything at all the people affected by the fires. Luckily, we're safe and I feel bad saying that because it's surrounding us. It's everywhere. It's horrible. Thousands of acres, thousands of homes and businesses and wildlife and people affected. The whole thing is terrible. But we're happy to say that we're safe and we appreciate all the concerns. Thank you very much.

[Rich]

It's eerie when it's that windy and you can only, you know, watch, you know, you can only watch so many videos on Instagram and TikTok of people like trapped in their house and there's fire all around them.

[Covino]

And I feel bad even scary as hell.

[Rich]

Yeah.

[Covino]

Saying that. I feel bad even saying that when people are living out full on reality nightmares. But Rich is not lying. Last night I was there in the fetal position doing the sign of the cross because the wind was frightening. The wind was so scary. And those embers are no joke. They could fly over and cause fires in our area. We're actually, we live and we broadcast in the valley. So the fires are essentially just surrounding us, but we're safe for the most part. The winds were frightening, the air quality is terrible. But we're here, we're live. And we do send our best out there to the firemen, the first responders, all the people affected, the police, the medical squad, all your people.

[Rich]

Spotty Terror squad.

[Covino]

The terror squad. No, somebody flip mode squad. One of my favorites. But anybody affected, all the best. Stay strong. We appreciate you. And let's get into it. We have lots to get to on the show. Today we're going to talk about players or coaches that you'll never forgive. You never forgave them. Or maybe you're on the cusp of it. Maybe you'll have a change of heart. Today we'll see life show forgiveness. That is what I'm saying. By the way, who sings that song in the movie Just Friends?

[Rich]

Anna Faris.

[Covino]

I'm pretty sure I just saw that she had to evacuate her house.

[Rich]

She's right.

[Covino]

What? It is, right? It burnt down.

[Rich]

Look at that.

[Covino]

Yeah, it's crazy. How many people were affected by the fires? Out here. We're also going to do a little version of Covino and Riches, believe it or not.

[Rich]

Yeah. There's a superstar athlete that's yapping. And I don't think Cavino believes him.

[Covino]

No, I think I do. I.

[Rich]

You know what?

[Covino]

I figure it out as I go. I think I do believe him. Plus, we gotta do a little midweek major like we always do on the show. Every Wednesday, we go over the biggest stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Are they mid? Are they weak? Are they major? And Tom Brady is always in the news. Always a fun story. So we got to talk about weighing out all your options.

[Rich]

Yeah. Tom Brady, now that he's got some pull for the raiders and he's got a great beach pod. If you follow anything on social media.

[Covino]

It'S fair to say, man, I'm confident in my sexuality. Dude is looking studly, handsome. More ripped than he did at the combine when he was a kid. More ripped when he was playing.

[Rich]

He's all tan.

[Covino]

He's tan. He's shredded. And good for him.

[Rich]

I'm going to throw this out there before we dive into this Brady Belichick possibility. Do you know anyone else. And I, and I say this respectfully to women and men or anyone. Do you know anyone other than Tom Brady that you could say looks better at 40 something than 20 something?

[Covino]

I mean, besides me and Tom Brady. Let me think about it. Yeah, Spot. I'll give Spot the credit. Yeah.

[Rich]

But he was a tight guy.

[Covino]

I don't want to take all the credit. Oh.

[Danny]

I mean, I still look better.

[Rich]

I mean, that is true.

[Danny]

You asked the question, I answered it.

[Covino]

Me. I got one. I got one for you. But I'm saying, like, he's popular right now and he's not quite as old as Tom Brady, but his name is Nate Bargetzi and is the hottest comedian going, yo.

[Rich]

If you look at the before and after of Nate Bargetzi.

[Covino]

No, I don't think he's, like, slaying it the way Rich talks about him as far as how handsome he is.

[Danny]

Grew a beard and combed his hair.

[Covino]

But he definitely got a glow up from his early days. If you see what a young Nate Bargetzi looked like. He looked like he wasn't fully developed, like he was still in a fetus stage.

[Rich]

Like many people listening that are thinking, isn't it Nate Barghetzi? I thought so until his daughter introduced him on the special. And she's like, my dad, Nate Bargetzi. And I'm like, okay, I guess he's Bargetzi Bar Getzi.

[Covino]

She didn't say that she.

[Rich]

Nate Bargetzi. She gave a little role.

[Covino]

He has a brand new comedy special out on Netflix and it came out that he was the highest earning comedian in 2024. News to me. I feel like he's great. I feel like he's, he is slain in the world of comedy. I like his, like his formula. He's trying to keep it family friendly but still be relevant. I like him. He's a nice guy. He's likable and his bit, his George Washington thing on SNL is really what took him next level. So no hate, just congratulate to Nate Bargetzi.

[Spot]

You know who I saw early on in his career and he just looked like a normal dude. But through the years he got all jacked.

[Rich]

Carrot Top Tarantop might look better now than he did earlier.

[Spot]

He did, he does.

[Covino]

He used to look like the Wendy's girl.

[Spot]

It doesn't really go with his stage performances act. It's something's off, dude.

[Covino]

He said that and he lost a lot of his muscle mass recently. But we saw him at the super bowl was it last year. He was still in good shape. But he has said publicly that a lot of the times the muscles didn't work with his comedy. You know, it was almost counterproductive.

[Rich]

So ask yourself that. That's question one. It's a quickie. Do you know anyone other than Tom Brady that looks significantly better at 40 something than 20 something? The Nate Bar gets He want I bring up because I'm not the only one. There's before and after little photos on social media. He dressed poorly. He was like a little chubby face comedian. Now he's also with Glow Up.

[Covino]

It happens. He found success. You get a stylist, you get a personal trainer and a nutritionist, possibly guys making millions. He could afford to look good. And I think that's part of the presentation. Man, you look good, you feel good, feel good, you play good. So you play good, they pay good.

[Rich]

Speaking of Tom Brady who's like we said, living the life, throwing footballs in the beach. Yeah.

[Covino]

They're going to have to change living the life of Riley because last I checked, Pat and John C. Aren't doing that great.

[Rich]

Yeah, there's no Riley I envy.

[Covino]

Yeah, it's the life of Brady. And we're not talking Peter or Bobby.

[Rich]

We're talking Tommy throwing footballs with his kids.

[Covino]

Look at this guy living the life.

[Rich]

Of Brady being like super dad. And you know like, on the side, he's probably hooking up with all types of hot models.

[Covino]

Of course, he is Tom Brady. He's Tommy. Little Tommy.

[Rich]

They're especially.

[Covino]

Don't you love, when his family talks about him, Little Tommy, they refer to him as like, yeah. And then Tom. Little Tommy. Little Tommy is living the life.

[Rich]

Little Tommy. The story is that he reached out to Bill Belichick to see if there was any interest in Las Vegas. Now, Dan Beyer, I know you got your ear to the screets on everything NFL and college football related. Belichick, is there any possible out in the UNC contract?

[Covino]

Yes, that was the whole point. Yes, there was a clause. It was a buyout.

[Dan Byer]

Yes. $10 million. $10 million buyout before June 1st of 2025. It drops to $1 million after June 1st of 2025.

[Rich]

So it just begs the question, that's.

[Covino]

Why when the contract came out, there was tons of speculation that was pretty obvious that he fought for that clause because it was a one and done sort of thing. Like the option to come back to the NFL would be there and would be available.

[Rich]

But there's so many layers here. Number one, would. Would Belichick do this? And you're like, wait, he did that to the Jets? Like, once upon a time, everyone was like, bill Belichick, psych. And then he just bailed on the Jets. So it's not crazy to think, but I think the interesting part is when they separated and Tom Brady went to Tampa and Bill Belichick remained in New England for like a year or so, everyone's like, who do you give the credit to, Brady or Belichick? And it almost seemed like they were at odds. Like, he finally left Bill Belichick's evil ways and the first chance he got an official separation.

[Covino]

Or did Tom Brady just feel the need to see other coaches and players.

[Rich]

Much like Jessica Alba and Cash Warren?

[Covino]

I know separated Jessica Alba saying there's.

[Rich]

A chance, but when they separated, the media and I mean, we're part of that, I guess, but made you want to think that they hated each other. But here we are, fast forward, and Tom Brady has some power, and the first move he makes is, that's the guy.

[Covino]

Hey, maybe I have a theory and I'm making this up. Okay, guys, if you're new to Covino.

[Rich]

And Rich, there's a lot of making up.

[Covino]

Yeah, Just roll with it. Okay, what do you got? You know how everybody says Nikki Glazer became that next level person and hosted the golden globes and slayed it and is also hosting in 2026 based on her performance.

[Rich]

She signed a three year deal.

[Covino]

She signed a three year Deal. They're saying all because of. Even she has said it all because of the Tom Brady roast. Being part of that and putting her on that big stage really showed what she could do.

[Rich]

It was one of the most streamed events in Netflix history. So it also put Nikki Glaser in front of a lot of eyeballs. Yeah.

[Covino]

And she's admitted, like, yeah, that's totally the reason why I'm hosting. But then, of course, her talents proved that she deserved to be there. Props to Nikki Glazer. Maybe on that magical night that changed her life and changed her stars, also brought Belichick and Brady back together. We saw a different side of Belichick, did we not? Maybe that really you saw he was boozing, hanging out with Gronky and Edelman and everybody else. Maybe everybody got back together. And Tommy and Belichick, on this magical night that I'm making up right now, maybe this is when they saw each other man to man instead of player coach for the first time. And Tom Brady had a little thought in the back of his head and said, you know what? There's a different side to this guy that maybe the Raiders need. Interestingly enough, I'm just making that up.

[Rich]

I like your theory, though.

[Covino]

We did see them pal around when we hadn't seen that in a long time.

[Rich]

Remember, they did a shot together.

[Covino]

They did a shot together. Absolutely. I'm not saying Belichick getting in on Tom having fun laughing. That to me was a major icebreaker. For all I know, maybe. And remember, I made it up first. If you hear it later on, it was you. You know, I came up with this first. Perhaps that was the icebreaker they needed for this to even start.

[Rich]

I'm not going to attribute that moment. I'll say it could be part of it.

[Covino]

But what I do leading up to that, we thought there was beef.

[Rich]

But what I will say is I want you to think your own life, work, relationships, all the dealings you have, there might be someone that is really good at what they do, but they're such a pain in the ass. But if push came to shove and you're like, hey, I need a real estate agent. The guy, you know what, he's really good. I want to work with him again. Even though he was, I don't know, maybe a pain in the butt. Maybe, like, maybe the reality is you got to separate. Like, yeah, maybe, you know, personally. Yeah, we butted heads. But Tom Brady's acknowledging, like, at least Bill Belichick should get a look. He is one of the best ever.

[Spot]

Well, in a situation like this, too, now with Brady owning a small part, but still part of the team, he would be above the coach. So no longer would he be, you know, a victim to the rigid rules of one Bill Belichick.

[Rich]

If anything, he could reign that in.

[Spot]

Or maybe that's what that locker room needs. You know, we're not inside the facility there.

[Covino]

I think he says so many things. You're right, Richard. That putting all differences aside for greatness, right? We do that with women. We do that with a lot of things. Like, this girl's a nightmare, but man, she's hot. All right? You make exceptions. Yeah, man, Belichick, we didn't vibe all the time, but man, he's great at what he does. The talent, the skills, they speak for themselves. There's so many angles to think about here. I think it's also a testament to, again, despite their differences, how great Tom thinks he really is. I think it's a possibility, but it comes back to a matter of not pulling the trigger too soon and always weighing out your options. I know Rich has a story. We all have a story.

[Rich]

There's balance here. And again, I always try to bring in real life examples to these sports scenarios because as they said on. As they said on Ted Lasso, real life examples. For you, football is life.

[Covino]

Because Rich's example he's about to give is. Isn't everybody's story. No.

[Rich]

But it's a story nonetheless. And I think it's a real story. I think everyone's been there, and I have.

[Covino]

No, no, not everyone has been there. And I'm hyping you up in saying that Rich is about to tell a story about how he had a chance to date an NBA dancer.

[Rich]

Well, I'll tell you the story.

[Covino]

You think everybody listening in their car is like, yep, been there.

[Rich]

But. But let me. Let me explain, because there's a lesson to be learned and.

[Covino]

Yep, I know. I've been there myself. Had a bunch of cheerleaders chasing me.

[Rich]

I'm just saying this. It could be jobs, it could be dating. Sometimes you gotta weigh out your options and take your time, but you don't want to take too much of your time because then all of a sudden your options go away. Like Steve Covino. Let me throw you under the bus first before I give my story. Covino is the type of guy that is very non committal and plans so that by the time he is ready to make the plan, the reservations taken, the flights double the price, the hotel's booked, so you can't be a Covino.

[Covino]

Where there's no more tickets.

[Rich]

Yeah, like, wait a minute.

[Covino]

They're all sold out.

[Rich]

It's a nightmare for people that are hesitant, like Cavino. Some people don't want to make that decision.

[Covino]

It does happen.

[Rich]

Sometimes you're too quick. Like, sold. Like, you buy the car the minute you see it, or you. My example would be, I met a girl who was beautiful, kind, smart. Like, I really liked this girl when I was in my 20s and she happened to be a dancer for the New Jersey. The then New Jersey Nets. She was good looking, really enjoyed her. She said, tomorrow night we're gonna go out with my friends. Do you wanna come?

[Covino]

So you're gonna hang out with the entire dance team? Yeah, everybody's been there, like Rich said.

[Rich]

So she's like, we're going out with the dance team tomorrow night at the club.

[Danny]

So relatable.

[Covino]

Yeah, bro. Any other relatable stories?

[Rich]

I get to this club. And as much as I really enjoyed the company of the woman I was talking to.

[Covino]

Yeah.

[Rich]

If that was day one, she wouldn't have been like a top ten choice of mine. I know that sounds terrible, but I was looking around like, oh, man, I.

[Danny]

Hate it when I have these problems. Right, Danny? Right, Sam?

[Covino]

Don't you hate when you have hot chicks? But you wish you would have picked the hotter one of her friends.

[Danny]

Remember that?

[Rich]

No, you're the one.

[Covino]

And then you saw the hotter one. You're like, man, I should have held out for the hottest.

[Rich]

You're the one. You are the one making me look like an a hole.

[Covino]

No, it's true. Hey, by the way, for the record.

[Spot]

Would you have had the girls. Would you have had the girls do, like a dance off, Rich?

[Rich]

For my heart?

[Spot]

Yeah.

[Covino]

You know, when you have women dance for your love.

[Rich]

I'm just saying there are times where. All right, let me bring it. Forget about that.

[Danny]

Remember that bus of bikini models pulled up and they stopped and they. I was. I was standing there and they like, oh, we really could use an oil boy for all of the bikini models.

[Covino]

Even though your particular situation is not really happening to you, right, Danny? And it was, you know, Rich's way of just expressing how handsome he is.

[Rich]

That's not true. Go on.

[Covino]

Though it really does prove the point because you took the bait so quickly. Had you waited, you would have maybe met a girl that would have been better for you.

[Rich]

You see this in free agency because.

[Covino]

That relationship did not last.

[Rich]

You see this in free agency where some players, the. It's like day one and it's like, look who signed. You're like, yo, they were antsy. They were like Lamar Jackson antsy. The word of the day. They were antsy. Where, like, day one of free agency, like, oh, they signed, then this guy's at. Weigh it out, make a decision. And then you got like the Pete Alonso of the world, where I'm like, yo, is Pete Alonzo going to wait around until nobody really wants him?

[Covino]

I feel like the Mets are his only option right now, so he has to take what he gets.

[Rich]

So I think it's the balance of waiting, striking. And that is like, to get that perfect balance is very difficult in business relationships or anything. Because right now, could you argue Bill Belichick, could he have had the foresight to say, well, Tom Brady's involved with the Raiders. They're going to fire their coach. Tommy may want me there because we won't know six Super Bowls together. Maybe I don't take this UNC job. Or is there no hype with the Raiders and Belichick and. And he's going to be very happy in Chapel Hill. That could very well be the case.

[Covino]

No, because I do believe, or else he wouldn't have had that clause in his contract. I do believe his plan was to coach there until something came up. If it. If not this year, next year.

[Rich]

I did see a headline that said Belichick has. Has already insinuated he is not interested.

[Covino]

Wow. But again, he's still interested in getting back to the NFL. You would imagine maybe next year.

[Spot]

And also remember, a big part of this college job was to set his son up.

[Covino]

Set his son up and, yeah, again, create a program there. Absolutely. Great point, Danny. So good one, Tony. Did Belichick, based on this story, did he act too soon? Should he have waited longer? Should he have explored more NFL avenues? Maybe he did. But the point here is to always weigh out your options. We weigh out all the options before you make that final decision.

[Rich]

This so perfectly just goes along with the conversation we had a day ago so we could all tie it together, put a little bow on it and move on. We talked about this with a lot of the hot commodities in the coaching world, like a Ben Johnson. We were like, does Ben Johnson just jump at the first head coaching job? That seems enticing. Does Rabel take the first gig that looks like, oh, this is good.

[Covino]

And we talked about. There's just Not a lot of opportunity, so you might have to.

[Rich]

Sometimes you prematurely, like, sold, I want it. And then other times you're like, let me think about it. You think about it too long. Guess what? Remember trying to buy a house a couple years ago? They wanted you to put an offer in. Like, sometimes without seeing the place, depending on the scenario, you got to make decisions. And interestingly enough, you're seeing that with the coaching carousel. You're seeing that with baseball free agency.

[Covino]

Let me ask you a question.

[Rich]

And you're seeing that with Belichick now. And by the way, why do you.

[Covino]

Think Chapel Bill is not interested? He doesn't want to deal with the Tom Brady stuff again. I think he must do his own thing.

[Rich]

He made a commitment. Like you said, he's setting up his son. Why have the buyout protection, just in case it goes wrong or something.

[Covino]

I don't know. We'll see.

[Rich]

We'll see.

[Covino]

All right. We'll see. Your thoughts. 87799 on Fox. That's our number. 87799 on Fox. @ Covino and Rich again, always weighing out your options. All the options. Did Belichick act too soon? Your thoughts on that Tom Brady story?

[Rich]

Why do you take. Why don't you take a look at Belichick's thoughts on Twitter? Because now he's on. Who would have thought that?

[Spot]

X. I bet his girlfriend would love to live in Las Vegas, though.

[Rich]

What? You know what? You know. Yeah, I have fun with that. What did he used to call Face? Fucking Instagram.

[Spot]

What is Snap Face?

[Danny]

Snap Face Twitch.

[Spot]

I'm not on Snap Face and all that.

[Covino]

You don't think of his young girlfriend.

[Dan Byer]

Instant chat.

[Covino]

24 year old insta chat girlfriend was like, come on, Billy, just think about it. Vegas, it would be so fun. You don't think he'd have a little bit of a.

[Spot]

Not even mention it?

[Covino]

Every weekend we could go see Carrot Top and. And Terry Fader and think about it. Think of all the Cirque du Soleil shows and Blue Man Groove.

[Rich]

Oh, yeah. I don't really care about that.

[Covino]

I mean, no, but I bet you there's some sort of. You're never that fully confident, right?

[Danny]

And Hakasan and Cosmo.

[Covino]

Come on, Bill.

[Rich]

DJ Vice is spinning.

[Danny]

Oh, my God, you look so cute dancing.

[Rich]

That's funny.

[Spot]

Okay.

[Covino]

Props to Rapid radios.

[Spot]

We're going to bring them to New Orleans with us for the super bowl again.

[Covino]

Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Great way to keep in contact.

[Rich]

And where's Cavino? I'll Be eating more beignets. Yes.

[Covino]

Where's Rich?

[Spot]

With the Saints cheerleading squad.

[Covino]

Yeah, they're all fighting over. So relatable. Oh, yeah, man.

[Rich]

Oh, boy.

[Covino]

We're just trying to figure out which cheerleader to date.

[Rich]

Come help me.

[Covino]

I can't decide. I just can't decide.

[Danny]

Can you guys come pick me up?

[Covino]

Maybe I should wait. It cheerleaders won't leave me alone.

[Rich]

Ladies, I'm married.

[Covino]

Please.

[Rich]

I hate you guys.

[Covino]

I do want to say thank you. FOX Sports Radio. We're live from Los Angeles. So thanks again for all your concerns. I want to say, man, I feel really bad about everything, obviously, but we found out today one of our favorite wineries out here also burnt down. And he's a great friend and listener of the show. Mark from Rosenthal Wines. And that's just one example of many businesses.

[Rich]

Yeah, that guy.

[Sam]

Isn't that in Malibu?

[Rich]

Malibu, yeah, that guy.

[Sam]

Oh, my God.

[Rich]

Mark that runs that place.

[Covino]

He's a big supporter of ours and a friend, and we feel so bad about the whole.

[Danny]

He actually runs that place.

[Covino]

Beautiful place.

[Rich]

Yeah, he's actually Mark, who runs that place. He not like Mike, who.

[Covino]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rich]

But, yeah, no. So just a lot of devastation. And I was telling some of the guys off the air in the kitchen that when you're not from an area and stuff like this happens, everyone you've met in your whole life reaches out to you. And it's. It's, you know, it's nice to see the concern. But when I tell you all day, every person I feel like I've met in my life that doesn't live out here is asking, are you okay?

[Covino]

Yeah. I never realized how much I was associated with California because I don't associate myself that way. I happen to live out here. But, yeah, I'm from Jersey. And like Rich said, just so much feedback all day, people concerned, because it. It is that bad.

[Spot]

One thing I didn't realize till a East coast person told me is that some of the country, when they. If they haven't been out here a lot, especially if they. When they think of California, they think we all live on pch, like we all have beachfront property.

[Danny]

It always makes me think of that scene in the opening of the movie the Holiday where she leaves LAX and is somehow just driving down the PCH and then is going to Beverly Hills. It's like that's what people outside think.

[Covino]

We all live at the beach and far from it.

[Rich]

Interestingly enough, when you. When you live out here. Listen, Kavino and I moved out here from the east coast for work reasons. But Kavino said this to me this morning. When we say, oh, yeah, we live in the Valley. He goes, I don't know. Do you think people know what we mean by that? And I'm like, you know what I think?

[Spot]

They just think Karate Kid.

[Rich]

They just. Yeah, they just think, oh, karate must be big there.

[Covino]

Means we're actually in the valley, the San Fernando Valley.

[Rich]

Between mountains.

[Covino]

Between mountains. So we're surrounded by the fires. Does that mean we're completely safe? No, but it means, you know, we're surrounded by it and it's just wild to see. So thanks again, guys. We appreciate the concerns. Stay safe. And.

[Rich]

And like I said, I know we're.

[Covino]

Shout out to all the first responders and the story I just mentioned about Rosenthal Wines, that's just one of. Of hundreds and thousands of people affected.

[Spot]

Shouts to the firefighters that are coming in from other states right now to help.

[Covino]

No doubt.

[Rich]

And, you know, listen, I know we're on across the country, so I know snow and ice and, you know, wherever you live, Mother Nature, as Covino said before, chill out. Not a great start to 2025. Relax.

[Covino]

Yeah. Rich, did you cheat on Mother Nature or something?

[Rich]

What's going on?

[Covino]

What happened here? Did you leave her for a cheerleader or something? Mom. You know, there is something positive, though. I don't know how to position this, Rich, but today is like a special day. It's, it's. Here's what I'm going to say to keep it clean here on Fox Sports Radio.

[Rich]

Yeah.

[Covino]

Is football's Five Day of Excitement Eve the weakest name? How else could you describe it? I had a different name for it earlier, but I can't say it here. It's the Football five Day of Excitement Eve, because tomorrow begins the boy. For all the football fans, the five days of excitement.

[Danny]

Let's workshop that.

[Covino]

The five days of excitement. Excitement begins tomorrow. So if there's anything you need to get done, you got to do it tonight.

[Rich]

Can you say football, Stiffy? Eve?

[Covino]

I don't know if you can say that.

[Rich]

I don't know if you got. Who knows?

[Covino]

Stiffy.

[Spot]

I'll allow it.

[Danny]

Oh, thanks, Sam.

[Covino]

Okay.

[Rich]

Football.

[Covino]

Because I'll allow it.

[Rich]

Because if you're a football fan. Starting tomorrow, Stiff neck.

[Danny]

I slept funny myself.

[Rich]

Starting tomorrow, college football playoffs, back to back days, and then three days with six wild card games. Football fans are excited in the pantalones, I'll tell you that. And starting tomorrow, I was looking at the point spread for this one. And it's too tricky for me, but I found a little loophole. This is what I'm doing tomorrow. And shout out to our friends at DraftKings. I was looking at Notre Dame at Penn State. The over under is 44, so follow me here. The over under 44. The point spread is like one one and a half. So we're assuming this is going to be a very close game. Correctamundo. You would assume.

[Covino]

Correct the mundo, Cunningham.

[Rich]

Oh. Now, last five games, Notre Dame's put up 23 points, 27, 49, 49 and 35. Penn State's put up 31, 38, 37, 44 and 26. So I just think, unless there's like a tense defensive battle, which I don't totally anticipate, I like the over 44. No teaser, no parlay. I'm. I'm sort of digging the over in that game. I like to see some offenses hyped up coming into that game. I don't. I don't want to have like a 1710 defensive battle. I'd like to see some points. So I like the over with Notre Dame, Penn State.

[Covino]

Nice. So enjoy the holiday, the football holiday of sorts that we just renamed for you guys.

[Rich]

Football Stiffy.

[Spot]

I have eve of five glorious days.

[Covino]

There it is.

[Sam]

How about five days of blue ball?

[Covino]

I don't want to celebrate that at all.

[Spot]

Sam, play the rim shot on yourself.

[Sam]

Not this time.

[Covino]

Now there's a lot of people on the phones. We're going to get to your phone calls. 87799 on Fox. People chiming in about all different things. And the Belichick Brady story weighing out all your options. But first, an update from the great Dan Byer.

[Dan Byer]

Hey, guys. The NFL is monitoring, monitoring the fires that are taking place here in Los Angeles. Rams, Vikings scheduled for Monday, still on, but the NFL says they are just taking a look at everything. Kings were supposed to hold the host the Calgary Flames tonight [e-mail] arena. That game has been postponed because of.

[Rich]

The wildfires and for the terribly inappropriate timing of the flames coming to town.

[Sam]

Yeah, I noticed that.

[Rich]

Like, my goodness.

[Dan Byer]

I just chose to ignore it. You just mentioned. Yes, that's okay. It's all good.

[Rich]

I just saw something on TV that's very concerning. I mean, we're in the midst of all this. They're talking about the biggest of the fires. And I just saw. Did you see it said 0% percent contained?

[Covino]

Yes.

[Rich]

I mean, 0%.

[Dan Byer]

Yeah.

[Danny]

Yeah.

[Rich]

Terrible, man.

[Dan Byer]

It's not good. It is not good at all. And it's such a unique. It's. There aren't a lot of cities that are built like Los Angeles to have this sort of situation happen.

[Rich]

No doubt.

[Covino]

There's so many other random things going on too. Like just here in this area, the traffic lights are out. Right. Spotty has no power all night, no nothing. And again, it sounds like it's the midst. You don't want to talk about it because there's so many other bigger things going on. But like everybody's affected.

[Dan Byer]

Yeah. You know, just doing some research. There were reports that, you know, Kawhi Leonard had a home in Pacific Palisades. He's out tonight for personal reasons. The Chris Haynes NBA insider says that it's to tend to family matters that are tied to the fire. Yeah. So a lot of those things in play. But Kawhi's not going to play in tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets. That came in Denver, by the way.

[Rich]

And I'd imagine DB a lot of athletes of Los Angeles teams possibly in those areas because Malibu, Palisades, the areas that you might not. People outside of California.

[Dan Byer]

LeBron lives right by it. Brown lives two miles from here.

[Rich]

People that might not be familiar with it. It's a pricey area. It's nice. Like you hear names like Tom Hanks and you know, big time celebrities live in those areas. So I'd imagine Kawhi's not the LA athlete in those areas.

[Dan Byer]

Yes.

[Rich]

Having a lot of fun here on Cavino and Rich today.

[Covino]

Trying it's like Tears of a Clown kind of. It's a somber. Let me give you the vibe real quick. Live from Los Angeles, we're in the Valley, so we're surrounded by it. Right. You look to the left, it's like doom. It looks like something out of a movie like, oh my God. Destruction and devastation to the left and then to the right it's like blue skies. And then before you know it, the.

[Rich]

Whole skies the other way. You see like a mountain on fire the other way. It looks like a beautiful day.

[Covino]

Crazy. So lots of mixed emotions. But thanks again for hanging out with us. Cavino and Rich. Hopefully a fun escape for you.

[Rich]

One thing, no matter if it's a fire out here in la, a flood, a tornado, any type of coverage. I feel like some of these reporters, you don't need to prove anything to me. How many times you seen these people, like gas masks on and they're. They got all protective gear by the fire. Like we get it. What are you doing?

[Sam]

They gotta be out there though, do they Hoarding? I think so. You me, don't you think though, that when they do the field reporting and you can, you can see him right there in front of the flames, like someone has to be talking at the camera, don't they?

[Rich]

I don't. Maybe I'm wrong, but like, I just see this, this guy on abc. I'll give him credit. Brave guy. Whatever he's doing out there, he's got.

[Covino]

I don't think they need to be in the eye of the storm that stuff either.

[Rich]

I was, I was saying, when there's like a, a hurricane on the east coast, you'll see always some jabroni. Unlike the Jersey shore and waves are hitting him and he's like, whoa.

[Covino]

And it's almost like, yeah, the closer they are to the devastation, the better they are, the better reporting they're doing. And really they're just putting themselves at risk.

[Rich]

DB Yeah.

[Dan Byer]

I know that there are some places that are extreme, but this is also the whole point of news and the whole point of covering it of like, of being there. It's why when there are wars break out, correspondents are sent over to those war zones and are filming on balconies with bombing going in the background. It's crazy to think that you would ever want to do it, but to get a real assessment of what's going on and what's happening, you need that sort of thing.

[Rich]

You know what? Dan Beyer, once again, newsman Dan Beyer, everyone. No, but once again he's got the truth. Dan Beyer has a knack of making me say, oh, yeah, well, you know what?

[Covino]

Then today when I say first responders, I'm going to throw in a lot of these people because they're keeping everybody informed. And not on the same level as of course, a firefighter or someone else protecting, but painting the picture.

[Rich]

And Dan Byers art.

[Dan Byer]

I was, I was watching KTLA last night and John Finolio and I put this up on TikTok and it's, it's gained some traction on that platform at Buyer Talk, if you will, but is doing a live report in the backyard of a home and he realizes that the home's on fire, so he goes and he turns on the hose and puts out the fire while he's doing the live shot.

[Rich]

What really did you see?

[Dan Byer]

Devino saw it, but didn't like it.

[Covino]

But that's a whole other story.

[Rich]

He doesn't like any of your posts.

[Dan Byer]

Yes.

[Covino]

You know why? Because I was looking for other distractions by Our distractions.

[Spot]

I mean, I sent you guys the Channel 5 clip of Steve Gutenberg being interviewed. Did you see that?

[Covino]

Yeah.

[Rich]

This person doesn't know who Steve Gutenberg is. Steve Gutenberg, police Academy.

[Spot]

How do you not know? Mahoney, and he's talking about.

[Sam]

Gen Z does not know. Steve Gutenberg has been anything in, like, 20 years.

[Rich]

Let me tell you. Steve Guttenberg is helping people get in and out of, like, these chaotic areas. And you know why he's there, Rich.

[Covino]

Right.

[Rich]

Why is he there?

[Covino]

I gotta show you my punchline. Don't read it out loud. Come on. It's funny.

[Rich]

I could say, no, I don't say that.

[Covino]

No, I don't say that.

[Spot]

Were you gonna say citizens on Patrol?

[Covino]

It's a police academy.

[Rich]

There's a rumor about Gutenberg. Let's just say he doesn't need the fireman's hose.

[Covino]

Oh, stop it.

[Dan Byer]

Okay.

[Covino]

I was just giving props to the goots.

[Rich]

Anyway.

[Covino]

Gutenberg trying to make light of a really heavy subject.

[Rich]

He's on the scene, helping out, and the reporter's like, sir, thanks for all your help.

[Spot]

Yeah, he was helping his street evacuate.

[Rich]

And he's like, my name's Steve Guttenberg. And they're like, hey, thanks there, Steve.

[Covino]

Yeah, I heard about this, but I didn't know, like, it was this in depth, really.

[Danny]

Can you spell that?

[Rich]

Gutenberg from Short Circuit? Let me tell you, no, Kavino. The. The thing is, he is such a helpful guy in his community, but the young reporter is like, yeah, yeah, Steve Gutenberg. Great name. Doesn't even realize it's him.

[Covino]

So weird.

[Rich]

But have you seen that video where those two guys are trapped in their home and there's fire surrounding it? Like, we get an update that they're okay with their dogs? You saw that?

[Covino]

I just had a thought. Rich, before we get into players and coaches, everything you never forgave, and believe it or not, and all that other stuff. Midweek, major, this hour. Yeah. Yeah.

[Rich]

What do you got?

[Covino]

Remember when Rich had a Christmas party and everybody was invited except for Alex from the Odd Couple, but then Rich pretended like he invited him afterward just to not feel bad. You think maybe that's what Brady's doing? Like, Brady had plenty of time to at least plant the seed with Belichick, but now Belichick has a job, so he makes it like, hey, I just wanted to do the. The optically nice thing to do and pretend like I wanted to be part of the Raiders. First of all, I think that's exactly what happened.

[Rich]

I invited Tyson, our Buddy to the Christmas party and actually did have his wrong phone number by one digit. Almost like, you know how, like, a girl may give a guy a wrong number by one digit? I was like, no, for real, dude, look, I have your number wrong.

[Covino]

No, but maybe they just added courtesy, like, Tommy Bo is just doing the right thing, knowing that Belichick was never going to take that gig anyway. You mean to tell me that Tom couldn't have planted that seed a while ago? You know, it's like, of course he could have. Somebody could have. I know, I know.

[Rich]

Your Christmas party example was just fine. But people do this for their wedding all the time. They invite people they know won't make the trip. But it's the courtesy, asshole.

[Covino]

People do that to their richest friends or their bosses just because they know they're going to get a better gift.

[Rich]

Oh, yeah, I've heard people that say, if you're going to get married, just invite a bunch of rich bosses and CEOs of companies. They're not companies. No. Of companies you don't even know because their secretary or assistant might just get the email or the invite and be like, yeah, yeah, send them 100 bucks or something.

[Danny]

So, you know, I invited Donald Trump to my wedding before he was president.

[Covino]

So my fake example was before the funny story. Way before our buddy Alex from Fox Sports Radio, Tyshirt, you guys know. Yeah, he's on next with the Odd Couple, who. He didn't show up to Rich's party. And Rich was like, oh, my God, I had your wrong number, but I did invite you. That is true. You think Tom is just, again, just doing the polite thing by reaching out to Belichick and saying, hey, we're interested. But he knows that there's no chance.

[Rich]

The Great theory Camino. And I. And I say that because if you think of how many times you use that in business, personal life, how many times you make that little false promise, like, you see some other parents at the school, like, oh, we should have went to Chuck E. Cheese.

[Covino]

Yeah, you're just playing the game. You know what I mean? Like, but you mean well, but you don't really mean it.

[Spot]

That theory actually makes sense to me because I was talking to a fellow Raider fan, Rob G. From the Odd Couple. Who?

[Covino]

Rob.

[Spot]

And a couple days ago, we were talking about, hey, Ben Johnson. You know, if he gets a text from Brady, maybe he'll get an interview. Or maybe the Raiders can interview him because he's the hot commodity, right? If you get a text message from Tom Brady that says, A lot more than getting a text message from Mark Davis, I think. So imagine the different candidates Tom Brady is thinking about bringing into the building to interview for head coach. The Brady has to have somebody in mind. Otherwise the Raiders would not have cut ties with Antonio Pierce.

[Rich]

Yeah, I think there's. There's two answers. And I think you as a Raiders fan, Danny and Rob G. And all the Raiders fans that work here. I know our buddy Ryan's a Raiders fan. It's Rabel. Or the combo of prime time. Deion Sanders, Coach prime and his son.

[Covino]

Want a slight Belichick. Right. Cause then all those years, Tommy didn't even reach out to me. Now Tom could say, oh, no, I reached out to you. But of course, he had other plans, and he wasn't going to leave Chapel Hill for this opportunity.

[Rich]

It's almost like telling an old friend that or an old co worker like, yeah, I'll pass along your resume. And, you know, you really can't do much with him, but you.

[Covino]

But you want to do the right thing.

[Rich]

You want to do the right thing because you.

[Covino]

You know, it could be very much, very well that. Now, Rich, speaking of football. Yeah. Your team, the 49ers, your boy Ricky Pearsall's in the. In the. In the news today, yesterday.

[Rich]

You know who else is in the news? Who? The coaching staff, because they. They bumped up Kubiak to the offensive coordinator. So Shanahan doesn't have it all on his plate anymore. And I'm all in favor of a Robert Salah reunion. And sometimes you got to take a step backwards to take another step forward. And I don't know unless the coaching opportunity is right. And who's to say he even gets a head coaching opportunity? When you go back to somewhere you were loved, like Robert Sala was loved as the defensive coordinator of the 49ers. And coming off of two years where the Niners defense was a little suspect, you don't think the Bay Area and Niners nation would welcome this guy with open arms. They loved Robert Salah, so I wouldn't be shocked, even a little bit.

[Covino]

Journey style, Steve Perry style, open arms. That's right.

[Rich]

I'm telling you, I think that's the reunion waiting to happen. We shall see.

[Covino]

So, yeah, it's kind of like the theory of the arrow, Rich. You know, the theory of the arrow. An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties like Robert Sella had, it means it's gonna launch you into something better. So focus and keep on aiming.

[Rich]

Who sent you that meme? Your therapist?

[Covino]

Yeah, my therapist. So it's the truth. And work and relationship.

[Rich]

It's true, though. Let's say hi to Andy in Puerto Rico. And then I got two quick thoughts. And we'll get to. We'll get to get to Ricky Pearson. We'll get to all of it. What's up, man? Andy.

[Andy]

Guys.

[Covino]

What's up, buddy?

[Andy]

I'm glad to hear that y'all are safe. Most of the us, they either pleasing their ass off or they're dealing with some type of, you know, emergency situation like they are in California. But nonetheless, you know, I, the way I look at it, maybe Brady's kind of just, you know, just doing Belichick a favor, you know, just kicking the tires on him just to see, see where he's at and kind of maybe put his name out there because in a sense, with the claws that he has, it also could lead to other teams that already. Already.

[Rich]

You know what? It's that George. It's the George Costanza hot woman theory. Right. Remember George Costanza carried around the picture of a model and when good looking women got wind, like, wait, that's your ex. They were interested. Like sometimes just putting someone's name in the mix gets other people being like, wait, wait, what's going on?

[Covino]

And Tommy did that as a friend.

[Rich]

Yeah.

[Covino]

You know, just lots of ways to look at this.

[Rich]

So you could look at it this way, you could look at it that way. But before you get to the Ricky Pierce all Star, which very intriguing to me as a Niners fan, two quick thoughts. Number one, we've been talking about how the NBA has been lacking any real excitement. As far as, you know, it's all three pointers. Danny G last night sent us to the sickest dunks we've seen in years. And I'm going to tell you right now, the LeBron pump fake left handed windmill. How on earth could a 40 year old guy do that?

[Spot]

That reverse windmill, I had to watch it again. I thought it was like, I thought somebody did a fake video. It didn't look real the first time I watched it.

[Rich]

Dude.

[Spot]

How could a dude that old stay in the air that long?

[Rich]

Reversed, switched hands, left handed windmill. Unbelievable. So watching some of these guys take it to the hoop.

[Spot]

And there was another one, Kobe White of the Bulls dunked on Wemby. And that hair in the picture, the still shot I sent you guys of the. It should be a poster. Wemby. And then you see how the air he gets like it's half of Wemby's.

[Rich]

Body and the bragging right to dunk over Wemby these days, who is really, you know, Danny, I remember when you saw him as tall as a damn giraffe in Vegas at NBA Con. That's right before he even made his debut in the NBA. Has that guy emerged rather quickly? Like there's. He's a top five MVP candidate so far and they're showing his early numbers in his career compared to the other NBA greats. And he is matching up with everyone.

[Covino]

Props to him.

[Rich]

So props to Wemby. And before I get to Peirsol, I know Kavito, you're a guy that loves numbers like coincidences. Like, yo, can you believe this guy batted the same batting average like three years in a row? And there's all, you know, all these weird things like, oh, Joey Votto never hit a foul ball. Get this. They're saying everyone knows the Ravens are going to win the super bowl this year. You know why?

[Covino]

Why?

[Rich]

Every 12 years the Ravens win a Super bowl with a different quarterback who's 28 years old. And they score 34 points in oh, one. Dilfer was 28. They won 34. Seven in 2013, Joey Flacco was 28. They won 34, 31. So the question is, this year, Lamar Jackson, who just turned 28, who are they going to beat? 34.

[Covino]

Wow.

[Rich]

A lot of just coincidence.

[Covino]

I like that's like almost as cool as the JFK Abraham Lincoln one or the Joe Theisman.

[Rich]

Alex Smith.

[Covino]

That's a good one too. Yeah, I love that. That's great. So back to football. Ricky Piersoll. This is an interesting story because he's saying if you remember, his season started crazy and ended kind of crazy. Dudes wearing a Rolex gets shot by a teenager for his watch. That was the story.

[Rich]

Like What?

[Covino]

Yeah, a 17 year old approached. I think he's 23. Right. Ricky Pearsall, with all the promise in the world, shoots him for his watch. Sideline, sidelines him. But, you know, we were thankful that he was alive. And now the story today is, or actually yesterday, but we got a little more out of it today was that he wants to forgive and move on. He wants to forgive this kid who shot him this past summer and move on. Pierce all says, I don't know how he grew up. So I can't judge him as a man. I have to forgive him to lift that weight off my chest. If I can impact him in any way, I'd be open to it. So It's a really big gesture. It's a really cool story.

[Spot]

Says he's open to sitting down with.

[Covino]

A kid, doesn't owe that kid a date damn thing. But I guess again, if he wants to do something that helps him move on, he has all the right in the world to do that. And by doing that, if he helps some kid out, that may be misguided, then I guess it's a win win. But it takes a really big person to think that way. So props to him.

[Rich]

All the things you're talking about are way more important than on the field stuff, his life, you know, tragedy, a possible tragedy that luckily he ended great. But talk about a guy like if you followed. I know the Niners were sort of playing out the season and they had injuries, but Ricky Pearsall, after the injury never really got in his groove. And you're like, was Shanahan, you know, soft launching this guy? Because Niners fans thought that Ricky Pierce would be a bigger part of what they were doing the last month of the season. You get the feeling that he is going to be a big part of what Kyle Shanahan does moving forward. So the kids got a lot of promise. And based on what you're saying with the more important stuff off the field in life, if someone does you dirty in a relationship, God forbid someone hurt a family member of yours or hurt you or hurt you, are you one of those type of people that seek out like, I want to see them, I want to close, I want to close this chapter. I need an apology or I need to get it off my chest.

[Covino]

We saw this awkwardly happen recently. Again, not on the same level as a life or death situation with Piersall, but we saw it with Gastineau when he wanted to confront Brett Favre and talk about how hurt he was. You hurt me, Brett.

[Rich]

You hurt me, Brett. Brett was like, I'm going to sack you.

[Covino]

What do you mean again? I don't think I've ever been. And maybe it's a self defensive mechanism of sorts. I don't think I've ever been hurt enough where I had the need to confront somebody to let them know, have you ever. But I would imagine it's a major part of closure and therapy. I bet you every therapist would tell you, yeah, you're holding on to a lot and you should probably let it go. And it's probably in Pearsall's best interest. I mean, let this go.

[Rich]

I think so. I mean I, I give a real life and fictional scenarios like.

[Covino]

But I've Never been there.

[Rich]

You've never had. You've never reached out to like an X or someone you knew back in the day, like, yeah, listen, I want to let you know that I'm sorry for how things went down. You've never reached out to someone in your past and said, you know, I could have handled that better.

[Covino]

That's, that's flip side though. That's also flip side. I've never went to somebody to let them know they hurt me. I don't know if I've ever or never been hurt that much where I needed that, but I've never done that. Hey, I, I'm not saying it's wrong if you do. I'm just telling you, I personally never did that.

[Rich]

I've been on the receiving end of people reaching out to me like, hey, I'm sorry about what I did to you back then. And even you might be like, yeah, no big deal, man. But they might be trying to get their own closure.

[Covino]

Yeah, I've been there before.

[Rich]

And you know, maybe that's. Sometimes people going through recovery, you'll get a message from like, yeah, dude, sorry, back in the day. And you're like, dude, we're fine. And you know, he's just going or she's going through their process.

[Covino]

Yeah. So maybe you need. That is the point. Right. Maybe it works for some, not for everybody. But I would imagine that's a therapeutic sort of thing. And like Ricky says, it's a weight lifted off his chest. Something serious that he dealt with. He wants to forgive the kid that shot him. He wants to confront him and in turn maybe help this kid. Who knows? It might be a great story.

[Rich]

I have a question because I want to take this way extreme on both ends.

[Covino]

Sure.

[Rich]

Ricky Pierce hole almost lost his life. He was laying in the arms of a female officer in the Bay Area and she assured him, you're not going to die. This was not a small time story.

[Covino]

Yeah.

[Spot]

You remember he asked her, am I going to die today?

[Rich]

That was so scary. So this is a guy who thought this is all over. 23 year old young man about to be in the NFL, wants to confront and talk to the guy that shot him.

[Covino]

He wants to forgive and move on.

[Rich]

Forgive and close this chapter. I'm going to give you a really light scenario and the heaviest of scenarios and tell me if that changes your feelings. Danny, you and I both watch the show shrinking. I don't want to give away too many plot points, but I mean, it's the whole premise of the show. Jason Siegel Lost his wife in a drunk driving accident. God forbid someone, you know, their life was taken by someone else's terrible judgment. Do you ever want to come face to face with that person?

[Spot]

Yeah, it's a big part of the series.

[Rich]

Like, one of your college buds, God forbid, lost his life due to an accident.

[Covino]

See, I can't believe.

[Rich]

Would you want to be, like, you, the guy. You took my friend's life.

[Covino]

I don't ever want to know if I could answer that, because who wants to be in that situation, right?

[Rich]

Then let's go light. Let's say you were in college or in your 20s and you were a dumb kid, like, one of your buddies hooked up with a girl you were interested in. Years later, if he's like, yeah, dude, you know, our friendship was never the same after I, you know, banged the girl you liked. Would you be like, yeah, who cares? Would you be okay with someone wanting closure or something like that?

[Covino]

You hurt me, dude. Yeah, I didn't know, man. I just couldn't control myself. And she was really hot. Yeah, but you hurt me. Yeah. You know, you have a family member.

[Rich]

That went through this where, like, there was, like, they hooked up with someone's ex, and it was like, you know, can't believe you did that.

[Covino]

Like, it just depends who that person is. Because let's say. Let's say I did have a friend. I hooked up with a girlfriend of mine, right? I could have wrote that friend off and never looked back and couldn't care less. So I got this guy years later trying to apologize to me, and now I'm indifferent. Like, yeah, I don't care. You lost a friend. Beat it. That's life.

[Rich]

All right, so, Pierce.

[Covino]

So it just depends who that person is, what the situation is. Forgiveness is always a good thing, though. Moving forward, always a good thing. And based on that, I do want to pose this question, so don't forget your thoughts. Are there other players and coaches you never forgave?

[Rich]

That's a very petty fan thing, but I like the question. You hurt me, then. Byer never forgave Pete Carroll for not running with Marshawn Lynch.

[Covino]

In other words, he never forgave Bo.

[Spot]

Jackson for running all over the Seahawks.

[Covino]

Do you want to confront them, Dan, and tell him that was a myth?

[Dan Byer]

By the way, all Bo Jackson had was leverage at the goal line, and that's all that it was.

[Spot]

No, I mean up the sideline, into the tunnel.

[Rich]

Like, if you were to see Pete Carroll, Dambier. Is there a party that's, like, still, why didn't you run the ball? Or you like.

[Covino]

You heard me, Pete.

[Rich]

You heard me.

[Sam]

You know what a conscious person does, though? They already know that. Pete Carroll has thought about that thousands of times and just lets it go like it's. Then you're making it about yourself. It's like Pete Carroll already took the.

[Rich]

Yeah.

[Sam]

From everybody over that.

[Rich]

Let the.

[Dan Byer]

There wouldn't be one Super Bowl, Right? I mean, that. Not that it's. I mean, still, it hurts me to this day to see it and to have that empty feeling, but I couldn't get to the point of blaming someone and not forgiving them.

[Spot]

See, he's not over it. They didn't sound like he's over it.

[Rich]

I'm not over it.

[Spot]

Yeah.

[Dan Byer]

But I don't blame. I can't.

[Covino]

There's.

[Dan Byer]

I mean, there's plays, I think, that we all have.

[Rich]

You know what I thought?

[Dan Byer]

Never get over.

[Covino]

You know what I thought?

[Rich]

Dan Beyer. And this always bothered me because I know that he's. He. When he was alive, he was known as a great man. The way the Red Sox treated poor Bill Buckner for all those years until they finally won a championship. Red Sox fans remember there was an episode with Larry David on Curb, and.

[Covino]

It was like, dude, so unfair. You know, mental errors. Never forgive him. Never. Mental decisions and bad decisions and mental errors really bother me a lot more than a physical error. That's like me hating Aaron Judge still, because he dropped the ball.

[Rich]

Right.

[Covino]

You know, Buckner didn't lose the World Series, and he got so much.

[Rich]

And by the way, you were down three games to one in the world. If that was game seven and Aaron Judge dropped that in, like, the eighth inning, that's a different story.

[Covino]

But still, it's a physical error. Doesn't. Although it hurts my feelings, it doesn't make me hate the guy. Like, if I wanted to play this game of players or coaches that I'll never forgive or haven't forgiven yet, I'd have to have Robbie Canoa up there, because he just disappointed me. Like you disappointed me, Robbie. You hurt me, Robbie. You could have been the next great Yankee. You know, I would confront him. You went for the money, Seattle Canoe. Seriously. And then you ended up on the spongebob squarepants team. Now you're playing in Mexico. Robbie, you could have been a great one. You hurt me, man.

[Spot]

How about an extension of your players? Do you have hard feelings towards Fat Joe?

[Covino]

That's a good one. You know what? I really don't. I feel bad for Fat Joe a little Bit that he's associated with that whole thing. Juan Soto. I don't forgive him. I'm like, juan, you big fatso, have fun at the Shake Shack at Citi Field, you loser. I'm so angry about it. You hurt me, man. You hurt me, bro.

[Rich]

I love how much of a little biatchi's back now.

[Covino]

Speaking of forgiveness. Right.

[Rich]

Cry about it.

[Covino]

Your boy Pearsall's choosing to forgive the kid that shot him.

[Rich]

Flip it.

[Covino]

Hold on, hold on. I'm going to have to forgive Gerrit Cole for his lazy mental error. I'm gonna have to, because he's still pitching with the Yankees. Like, I have to find it in my heart to be like, dude, you blew it.

[Rich]

Flip it.

[Covino]

But I forgive you.

[Rich]

We're looking at it from the one side just to match it up. We said Peircell is the guy that wants to touch up, touch base with this kid and be like, yo, what? You know, I need closure.

[Covino]

Yeah.

[Rich]

Because that kid hurt him. What if the kid was like, I was a troubled kid. I need closure. Ricky Pierce, will you talk to me? Does Peirce hall owe it to that kid?

[Covino]

Hell, no, he doesn't owe that. He doesn't owe anything to that kid. He's a bigger person if he chooses to do that.

[Rich]

No way. Know what I find always so heartfelt, yet I don't think I could ever get there. And at least I'm man enough to admit it. If someone ever hurts someone close to me, you ever seen, like, a courtroom? There'll be, like, a murderer, and the family's like, we've forgiven him. It's like, f. That I. Would you be able. You would never be able to forgive a murderer.

[Covino]

I mean, I commend you if you are big enough to. To do that, But I don't think that's for everybody.

[Rich]

No, you've just turned to faith and you're letting something else take over. Because there's no way.

[Dan Byer]

I would also say that if you have real grudges in your life, sports grudges are nothing.

[Rich]

That is true without kidding.

[Covino]

Yeah, there's. There's the real situation, life or death, like we said. And then there's, like, this that we're talking about. Right. So that's why I'm telling you, Rich, I've never been in a situation where I felt the need to tell someone how much they hurt me. Luckily, to this point, I haven't been hurt on that type of level where I needed that type of closure.

[Spot]

Sports grudges are silly, but so Many fans have them.

[Covino]

Yeah.

[Spot]

How about like fantasy football players? There's that one guy that like slides down right before the one yard line and forever. I have friends where they're like, I hate that guy.

[Covino]

Hurt me, man. I could have won thousands.

[Rich]

Portnoy at barstool. He did some player prop parlay a couple weeks ago. And who's the running back on the Washington Commanders? Robinson.

[Sam]

Ryan Robinson.

[Spot]

Brian.

[Rich]

Yeah, he needed him to score a touchdown. And like, apparently Portnoy and like millions of his barstool people did the same player prop and it was like plus 1200.

[Covino]

So Portnoy, he did a rant and.

[Rich]

He'S like, I'll never forgive this guy.

[Covino]

Portnoy would have to go to say, hey, listen, Robinson, you hurt me. And Robson would have to then try to ask for free, hey, man, I'm sorry.

[Rich]

I'm sorry.

[Dan Byer]

And the full circle. Brian Robinson was shot prior to the season, couple of years ago.

[Covino]

Remember?

[Dan Byer]

Missed a couple of games and then came back and returned circle.

[Covino]

I'm Steve Cavino. That is Rich. Danny G. Sam is here, D.B. and now it's time for Spotty in Midweek.

[Spot]

Major Covino and Rich get you over the middle of the week with midweek Major.

[Rich]

Oh, I love that.

[Spot]

We throw sports and pop culture headlines.

[Covino]

And topics at the fellas.

[Rich]

And it's like the kids say, that's so mid. We definitely major CNR scoring midweek.

[Spot]

Major. Look at the clock. Gotta give Spotty a full seven minutes here.

[Danny]

I got like four minutes this week.

[Spot]

You hear the horns, you know you have made it to the middle of the week. Before we hand things over to the number one and only host of this segment. We love to roll the two big red love dice over there in the main studio.

[Covino]

I just rolled an 8.

[Rich]

And a rich roll 7.

[Spot]

That means Covino's gonna get.

[Covino]

Wow.

[Spot]

Steak. And now, ladies and gentlemen, the most famous person besides Judy Bloom from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Spotty Boy.

[Danny]

Hey, guys. All right, let's jump right in. Of course, by now you've already heard of the firing of Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce after. After just one season. Well, it appears, according to the web sleuths who are hot on it, that Patrick Mahomes was throwing a bit of shade at the situation. If you recall before the start of the season that Pierce revealed he had like, a Mahomes, specifically, like a Mahomes playbook, like a plan to just target Mahomes. Well, when they announced Pierce's firing on the ESPN page, it was liked by none other than Patrick Mahomes and everyone screenshot. It was like, oh, he's throwing Chase appears. Since it went viral as a story, Mahomes is apparently unlike the story. So apparently it was. I don't know, maybe it was intentional. Who knows? Midweek or major.

[Covino]

I think it's a mid story. That's so mid. And the only reason it is a story is because it's Patrick Mahomes. Right. And he simply liked it and it caused all this speculation. I don't think there's any doubt that Pierce had a target on Mahomes. Everybody. Well, I mean, every team is after Mahomes. You did see a lot of rough plays when it came to Mahomes and the Raiders, for sure.

[Rich]

I would love when Crosby would give him a little extra shell.

[Covino]

Oh, that's the one that comes to mind, for sure. We saw that on. What was that on? That was on quarterback. Yeah, that was on quarterback, you're right. So I think he did like it with intent and probably thought it wasn't worth it. I didn't think it would garner that much attention. And unlike that, just to be a better guy.

[Rich]

I mean, I agree with you. Mid. But because it's Patrick Mahomes, it's major.

[Covino]

Definitely major.

[Rich]

When you're that elite and you like a post about the firing of a division coach, it's gonna get attention. I'm sure Patrick's like, oh, didn't mean to do that. Like, it happens.

[Covino]

He did it as a little bit of a jab back, but he's not a bad dude, so he didn't want all that backlash.

[Rich]

True.

[Danny]

All right, sticking with the Chiefs, the biggest story of the day. The biggest story. During a conversation on the New Heights podcast, a caller called in asking about, like, what the guys thought about having a wedding in the fall. And Travis Kelsey responded by saying, you know, he clearly doesn't really know much about fall weddings because a lot of the weddings he's been to of players never really occur in the fall. They're not a fan of fall weddings. So, of course, the Swifties went into overdrive and are assuming that because of this, they're speculating that he and Travis or Travis and Taylor are headed down.

[Covino]

The aisle in the spring.

[Danny]

In the spring, they're saying, yeah, they don't like the fall, so maybe in the spring they even joked about February. So obviously there's no rumor of engagement. There's no official plans. But is it a possibility? Who knows? Midweek or major?

[Covino]

I know it's a major story. According to TMZ and Swifty fans. But this is the weakest story of the day because all he said was he's not a fan of fall weddings. And then the headline becomes, Travis Kelce's already putting a lot of thought into marriage. It's like, no, he's not. Just answered a stupid question. Of course he doesn't like a fall wedding. He's always playing football around that time.

[Rich]

I agree with you 100%. This is a, it's a non burger.

[Covino]

Of a story and it's a misleading headline.

[Rich]

This is, dude, everything Camino said. You were right on. I, I think we could just move on. The only thing I'll add is athletes. When you marry an athlete athlete, the. The women that do this realize that they know a lot of times they try to plan pregnancies, weddings, major family events in the off season. That's part of the deal.

[Covino]

Did you hear Kelsey's talking about marriage? Yeah, he answered a question, says he's not a fan of fall weddings. He's not talking about marrying Taylor Swift.

[Danny]

Yeah, right. He was asking a somebody else's question or answering somebody else's question.

[Covino]

Misleading.

[Rich]

That's how rumors start.

[Danny]

That's how they start. All right, politics meets sports as VP Elect JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz have put a friendly wager on the Cotton bowl as OSU takes on Texas in the College Football Playoff game this weekend. The Texas senator laid out the challenge on Twitter, which basically states that the loser would have to deliver food and beer to the winner's front door wearing the opposing team's jersey. Vance gladly accepted the challenge and a reply tweet, the Buckeyes are actually a five and a half point favorite. And the Cotton bowl kicks off Friday at 7:30pm Eastern. Midweek or major.

[Covino]

This is so mid. But I was happy to hear that it was Ted Cruz because I thought J.D. vance was betting against Grandpa Munster.

[Danny]

I knew you were gonna make that. Yeah, honestly, that, that joke. Major.

[Covino]

Yeah, the story. Mid. I mean, I was actually surprised to hear that news. To me, I thought Grandpa Munster was in on a bet, but. Ah, yeah, totally mid.

[Rich]

I don't think it's. I don't think it's major, but I don't think it's mid. I think it's nice. Listen, love them or hate them, Republicans, Democrats, when they do something and they involve sports and there's a loser and you know, they represent Ohio and Texas in a big way, I think it's cool. I just think Major though, I think instead of delivering food wearing a jersey I think. I think it'd be pretty cool if the bet was something like one of them had a rock, like a weird mustache for a month or so. That'd be great. I think the stakes are just wrong. I like the idea the stakes are wrong.

[Danny]

Or if Ted Cruz actually had to dress like Grandpa Monster.

[Rich]

Yeah, exactly.

[Danny]

That'd be great too.

[Covino]

Lame O's, to be honest. I know.

[Danny]

Do you want to hear about UFOs or Angel Reese?

[Covino]

UFOs, yeah, UFOs definitely.

[Danny]

Okay, well, Angel Reese was on the COVID of Vogue in case you missed that.

[Covino]

I saw that.

[Danny]

Okay.

[Spot]

Good for her. All right.

[Danny]

With all the recent drone sightings, it may signify that it is actually more than drones after all. According to a UFO expert, Carl Nally, who works for the UFO and Paranormal Research Ireland, claim that the mysterious drone sightings are actually a staged operation designed to trick the public into believing an alien invasion is imminent. Hiding the real truth that alien encounters have been happening for several decades. And according to another expert, the weapons manufacturers have already gotten their hands on alien technology and that the drones are being used to mask the usage of that technology.

[Covino]

Isn't that like the Project Blue Beam stuff just to mislead the public? Yes.

[Danny]

So all of this according to experts. Apparently an alien invasion has already happened and they're just trying to trick you into thinking it's imminent. Midweek or major.

[Covino]

Right? I think anything that involves drones and UFOs and these unanswered questions are. It's always major to me, but I don't. I don't buy into that answer. So the answer was mid, but the story itself is major to me. I. I want to know what's going on.

[Rich]

I can give you a 30 second answer.

[Danny]

All you have to do is give.

[Covino]

Me one word before we go to.

[Rich]

Damn. I'll give you one word. You're asking me my. It's like you're asking me my thoughts on aliens, government cover ups and, you know, conspiracies.

[Covino]

Yeah, what about the plasmoids and the orbs?

[Rich]

I'm a Cavino again. I think it's major. I think. I wonder if 2025 is the year we find out something weird. But that's all I'll say.

[Danny]

I could have talked about Angel Reese, but you wanted to hear about aliens.

[Rich]

You know what? I feel like the only problem is, but I feel like we could talk about that for an hour.

[Danny]

Okay.

[Rich]

Thanks, buddy.