PMS 2.0 1356 - Ian Rapoport, Quentin Richardson, Jim Harbaugh, Pete Thamel, Kenny Albert, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 1356

Release Date: June 9, 2025
Guests: Ian Rapoport, Quentin Richardson, Jim Harbaugh, Pete Thamel, Kenny Albert, Darius Butler, AJ Hawk
Duration: Approximately 78 minutes

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1. NFL Offseason Developments and Aaron Rodgers' Signing with the Steelers

Pat McAfee kicks off the episode by highlighting a flurry of NFL transactions, including significant player movements such as a running back moving from the Green Bay Packers to Texas and inquiries about players signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The primary focus quickly shifts to the monumental signing of Aaron Rodgers with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Key Points:

• Contract Details: Rodgers signs a one-year deal worth $10 million guaranteed, with a total salary of $13.65 million including incentives (04:50).
• Team Strategy: Pat and co-hosts discuss how the Steelers plan to integrate Rodgers into their offensive scheme, potentially leveraging players like DK Metcalf and maintaining defensive strength with TJ Watt.

Notable Quotes:

• Pat McAfee: "If Aaron can come in here and matriculate the ball down the field and eat up some clock, make smart choices, not have any turnovers, the Pittsburgh Steelers are dancing in the playoffs yet again." (09:00)
• Ty Schmidt: "I'm glad you brought up last week and how, you know, us Yinzers and me in particular, have been acting the last couple months. [...] I started looking into things. [...] I think he's going to go down as one of the best coaches ever, too." (08:26)

Interview with Ian Rapoport:

• Timing and Negotiations: Rapoport explains that the $10 million offer was appropriate given Rodgers' career stage and that Rodgers was selective, seeking a team with championship potential (12:02).
• Future Implications: Discussions revolve around maintaining team stability and the impact Rodgers could have on the Steelers' Super Bowl aspirations (16:14).

2. Insights from NFL Insider Ian Rapoport

Ian Rapoport joins the show to delve deeper into NFL offseason moves, focusing on Aaron Rodgers' signing and its broader implications for the league.

Key Points:

• Rodgers' Motivation: Emphasizes Rodgers' desire for a fresh opportunity rather than financial gain, aligning with similar moves by other veteran quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning (14:54).
• Team Dynamics: Rapoport discusses the Steelers' defensive prowess and the importance of keeping key players like TJ Watt to maintain competitiveness (10:01).

Notable Quotes:

• Ian Rapoport: "If you're up in a booth, [...] it's a great honor to just be a part of that list and see some of the other names that are on there." (69:56)
• Rapoport on Contracting Strategies: "If you take a low salary and you say, I'm not doing this for the money, and you kind of just hope the team loads up around you." (15:08)

3. Conversation with Coach Jim Harbaugh of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Jim Harbaugh, renowned football coach and Steelers' leader, joins the show to discuss team preparations, player evaluations, and the overall mindset heading into the NFL season.

Key Points:

• Training and Culture: Harbaugh emphasizes the importance of elite players like Justin Herbert, Derwin James, and Khalil Mack in setting high standards and fostering a culture of excellence (44:49).
• Rookie Integration: Focuses on developing rookies who are "humble and hungry," ensuring they contribute effectively to the team's success (46:07).

Notable Quotes:

• Jim Harbaugh: "If you get through a Marine Boot Camp, you're going to have to be mentally tough. I mean, you are going to have to be physically tough, you're going to have to be mentally tough..." (60:38)
• Harbaugh on Team Building: "We're trying to get better today, be better today than we were yesterday, be better tomorrow than we were today." (45:14)

4. College Sports Update: House vs. NCAA Settlement

Pete Thamel provides an in-depth analysis of the landmark House vs. NCAA settlement, which marks a significant shift in college sports by introducing revenue sharing and roster limits.

Key Points:

• Revenue Sharing: The settlement allows universities to directly share revenue with athletes for the first time, addressing long-standing issues within the NCAA framework (79:42).
• Role of College Sports Commission: Brian Seely, a former MLB executive, is appointed to oversee the newly formed College Sports Commission, tasked with enforcing new regulations (83:09).
• Implications for NIL Deals: The introduction of a "range of compensation" aims to standardize NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals, though challenges remain in regulating and enforcing these agreements (84:49).

Notable Quotes:

• Pete Thamel: "This is a completely new pathway for college sports to go on. [...] It's a complete reset and reboot of the system." (79:42)
• Thamel on Enforcement: "The College Sports Commission is going to come in and attempt to set and then enforce rules, which has obviously been one of your favorite words, Pat, a vexing issue for college sports." (84:01)

Discussion Highlights:

• Challenges Ahead: Thamel acknowledges ongoing questions and skepticism about how effectively the new system will operate, especially regarding the definition and enforcement of fair compensation (86:20).
• Future Outlook: The transition promises to bring both opportunities and growing pains, with potential legal challenges as institutions and athletes navigate the new landscape (88:53).

5. Pat McAfee's Visit to Marine Boot Camp

Pat shares his personal experience visiting a Marine boot camp at Parris Island, reflecting on the rigorous training and the mental and physical toughness instilled in recruits.

Key Points:

• Boot Camp Overview: Describes the intense training regimen, including the Crucible—a 54-hour final test—and the transformation from recruit to Marine (60:38).
• Humility and Discipline: Highlights the discipline taught and the profound impact the training has on young individuals, many of whom come from challenging backgrounds (66:45).

Notable Quotes:

• Pat McAfee: "We make Marines. [...] It was super emotional. It was, it was awesome to be down there." (70:01)
• Darius Butler: "Glad they're on our side." (73:12)

Highlights:

• Interactions with Drill Instructors: Pat recounts humorous and challenging interactions, emphasizing the strict adherence to commands and the overall harsh environment designed to build resilience (137:00).
• Respect for the Military: The segment underscores a deep respect for the Marines and their pivotal role in national security and personal development (66:45).

6. NHL Stanley Cup Final Insights with Kenny Albert

Kenny Albert, a seasoned sports broadcaster, provides his expert analysis on the ongoing NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Florida Panthers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Key Points:

• Series Highlights: Discusses the thrilling back-to-back overtime games, showcasing the high level of competition and the depth of both teams (107:55).
• Player Performances: Highlights standout players like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, and praises the offensive and defensive strategies employed by both teams (110:10).
• Broadcast Experience: Albert shares his experiences from attending the games in person, noting the electric atmosphere and the top-tier talent on display (112:07).

Notable Quotes:

• Kenny Albert: "There's nothing like McDavid. [...] And he plays like it." (34:43)
• Albert on Team Depth: "This shows how deep they are and how much of a team they are. They're like, you got guys sitting over there that is probably chopping at the bit to get in the game, but they not showing it." (35:11)

Interview Highlights:

• Wayne Gretzky's Influence: Albert reflects on Gretzky's legacy and its impact on the growth of hockey in non-traditional markets like South Florida (122:10).
• Broadcasting Challenges: Discusses the complexities of calling different sports, particularly baseball, and the evolution of broadcasting techniques over time (119:46).

7. Conclusion and Closing Remarks

Pat wraps up the episode by reflecting on the diverse range of topics covered, from NFL and college sports to personal experiences with the Marines and in-depth NHL analysis. The panel expresses enthusiasm for the upcoming games and ongoing developments in the sports world.

Final Thoughts:

• Emphasis on the evolving landscape of sports, the importance of adaptability, and the continuous pursuit of excellence across all disciplines.
• Acknowledgment of the contributions and sacrifices of military personnel, highlighting the intersection of sports and service.

Notable Closing Quote:

• Pat McAfee: "We are in this together. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team goodbye." (Final Moments)

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This episode of The Pat McAfee Show offers a comprehensive exploration of current events in major sports leagues, insightful interviews with industry insiders, and personal anecdotes that underscore the values of discipline and teamwork. Whether you're an avid sports fan or new to the scene, the discussions provide valuable perspectives on the dynamic and interconnected world of sports.

Transcript

[Pat McAfee]

Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to our humble abode, the Thunderdome on this overreaction. Monday, June 9, 2025. This program begins now. Sports are the greatest thing on earth. And right now in the NHL Stanley cup finals, we have a Tide series. In the NBA finals, we have a Tide series. And in the NFL world, we have a lot of shit to talk about. It is a wonderful time to be a sports fan. It's a wonderful time to have this as a profession. We can't thank you enough for allowing us to do this. We hope you had an incredible three day weekend. A lot has happened and we'll dive into all of it. The show is packed today. We got Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network joining us in about 10 minutes or so for a hot five. Okay, hot five. Quick five, quick five. Holy hell. Who signed with the Steelers? Oh, oh. Oh, wow. That guy just got released from the Green Bay Packers. Oh, wow. That running back is now in Texas. Oh, wow. A lot going on around the NFL with mandatory minicamps happening as we speak. Quentin Richardson Q Rich will join us obviously to chit chat about what's going on in the NBA Finals. Don't love how good SGA is. I seen it with Jalen Brunson. Didn't love it with him. This SGA guy is a scoring wizard. I know people call him a foul artist and they say he's a free throw merchant and all these things, but whatever. What this guy is able to do on a basketball court is outrageous. Then Jalen Williams, the guy can just drop it from wherever. Chet and Hartenstein, I almost call him Hogelstein. Hartenstein. I apologize. Those two, whenever they're on the court at the same time, which they were at times last night. Massive problem for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were able to steal one in the greatest environment in the NBA is what they call it now. They come back to Indianapolis. Indiana tied 1 1. Caruso, I mean, he's locked down defender too. I mean, let alone him shooting and everything else, he's doing absolute lockdown. Let alone the dorture chamber. Lou Dort. What he's been able to accomplish, his Oklahoma City team showcase. Why they were the best team in the NBA last night whenever they beat the hell out of the Indiana Pacers. Now there was a time late, you know, when both sides decided to just sub out, full line changes. I thought to myself, we're down 16 right now with like two minutes. This is kind of where the Indiana Pacers kind of do their thing. Yeah, Coach Carlisle pulled everybody. They pulled everybody. We move on to Game three on Wednesday. We would like to say shout out to Oklahoma City getting a win at home. Shout out to the Pacers stealing the first game. Shout out to the NBA delivering and shout out to I guess to us. We're going to be outside Gainbridge once again for game three on Wednesday. Come join us. Noon to 2ish. 2:30ish. We'll be down there in anticipation of game three of the NBA finals. It also says game four will be down there. That is TBD.

[Boston Connor]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

That is TBD. We shall see. I think the plan is to do that. Let's see how Wednesday goes. The last time we were down there it was awesome. We assume it will be again. But let's also let's not make any decisions on anything too far in the future. Sure. Wednesday. Come join us if you're in town. Doesn't matter if you're an Oklahoma City fan or if you're a Pacer fan. Should be a blast. We assume will be be loaded with all the guests that come into town for the game. It should be fun. Now the talks and tables here at Boston Connor and at Ty Schmidt. One half of the Hammer done Cowboys AP Tone is here. Nine year NFL vet Darius J. Butler is here. I don't know if you heard this or not. Aaron Rodgers is officially a Pittsburgh Steeler. An entire offseason of chit chatting about what the future could be for Aaron Rodgers. Is he going to retire? Was he going to be a Minnesota Viking? Was he going to be a New York Giant? We knew he wasn't going to be a New York Jet after we heard that his conversation with the jets new head coach, a new general manager, lasted about three minutes. After he flew himself all the way across the country to go shake their hands, they kick him out of the building. What's Aaron's next step? Is he going to retire maybe and focus on something other than ball for the rest of his life? Maybe continue to build up, you know, knowledge and things that we had never heard of before. Talking to him. Sure. Darkness retreats. Ayahuasca ceremonies. The enlightening of your body and your soul to become the best you possible so you can provide to society. That is kind of the journey that seemingly Aaron Rodgers has been. What would his future be? We all wondered, including myself. Now we know he is definitely a Pittsburgh Steeler. It seemed as if all of Pittsburgh thought he was going to be a Steeler. It seemed as if all the insiders thought he was going to be A Steeler. He decided to announce on Friday that he was going to be joining the Pittsburgh Steelers. I wonder why then, why now? And how long has he been in the decision of becoming a Pittsburgh steeler? He's making 10 million guaranteed, 13.65 salary.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, is that it?

[Ty Schmidt]

Is that it?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, 19 and a half maximum value with another 5.85 million in incentives. I assume that's team based stuff. If you win, if we go do this, go win the super bowl with that team, I think they're thinking with one weapon like DK Metcalf, which they brought in for 30 million, with one quarterback that can maybe operate this offense that Arthur Smith wants to be able to operate. If we can keep TJ Watt, which they're still going to have to figure out, we're a team that can contend we're above.500 with absolute crap on the offensive of the ball. If Aaron can come in here and matriculate the ball down the field and eat up some clock, make smart choices, not have any turnovers, the Pittsburgh Steelers are dancing in the playoffs yet again. And once they get in the playoffs, who knows, Especially with how good their defense is, I assume that's how all of Pittsburgh feels. Let's go to one half of the hammer Done. Cowboys. AP Tone, you guys excited that Aaron has officially announced that he's a Pittsburgh Steeler? And what are your thoughts and expectations for the team? Because just last week I think you and many Steelers fans are saying, who cares? We're not going to win super bowl with him or without him. Who cares? Has that changed at all? Is there any sense of hope for a team going into an NFL season that maybe you can climb the top of the mountain?

[Ty Schmidt]

I'm glad you brought up last week and how, you know, us Yinzers and me in particular, have been acting the last couple months. You know, when the Aaron News first came out months and months ago, that there was a chance that he would come to the Pittsburgh Steelers, I stood on the soapbox and said, we need to get Aaron Rodgers. He's a much better option than Justin Fields. He's a much better option than Russell Wilson and whoever else is out there. And then came that lull, period, where, you know, we started questioning whether he was going to come to the Pittsburgh Steelers or not. And we had to champion Mason Rudolph during those times. And you know, during those times, maybe we did throw some shots at Aaron for squirting water guns on stage and doing stuff like that. And that was only because Pat and you know this.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we did not. He's saying we Steelers fans. Oh, sure, sure. Formal.

[Boston Connor]

We just making sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Because he was going through stuff in his personal life. He expl. More on Joe Rogan. He had two people in his inner circle that were going through cancer. People that are around him on a regular basis, depend upon him as their employer that he felt obligated to attend. And if you look back to last year with the jets, he was at all the voluntary stuff with the New York Jets. All of it. Literally all of it. And then the mandatory OTA or mandatory minicamp weekend just so happened to come on June 12, 2024, 6:12. Now, we do not know if the date has any reason for that, but he had to go to Egypt, a trip that he had planned in advance as a 40 year old. He planned this trip to Egypt a few years. I don't know if it was last year or something like that.

[Boston Connor]

Once in a lifetime.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that's what he said. He said it was a once in a lifetime trip to Egypt. He misses mandatory minicamp. Was that everything? Literally for the first time in his career since he was like a rookie. Everything else missed that. It became this massive story of how selfish he was, how he didn't want to win, how he wasn't bought in. All the negative stuff came. So he approached this, this offseason. From what he told us, I know nothing other than what he said on our show. Just to clarify for everybody, what he said on our show was he didn't want it to be like last year. He was very upfront with everybody, said that he was not going to be able to attend the OTAs. He had the two people in his inner circle that were going through things. He's also, I think he had a couple other obligations that he set up for his schedule. So he was like, I don't want to sign with a team and then have us go through exactly what we went through last year when I'm not going to be able to be there. So look for a decision to be made after OTAs. This one happens after voluntary OTAs. Right before mandatory OTAs. Did not expect this to be the time frame for him to do it. We thought he was going to do it in the summer. But before mandatory minicamp feels like the right move for him and obviously a good thing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, it's absolutely perfect timing. And you know, as I know, being a man from Pittsburgh, we don't like to set ourselves up to be vulnerable. So I think the. The fan base as a whole Was.

[Pat McAfee]

Like, yeah, we don't want them.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, we don't want them. We don't need them. But then you finally, you realize your real feelings when it finally happens. And I was honestly super pumped when he signed. You know, I started looking into things. In 2019. The Bucks were 7 and 9. Oh, and then they got Tom Brady the next year and won a Super bowl. He was 43 years old. Peyton Manning, the Broncos in 2011, they were eight.

[Pat McAfee]

Eight.

[Ty Schmidt]

And then Peyton Manning comes over as a 40 year old. They won a Super Bowl. Okay. Aaron Rodgers, a four time MVP, he's 41. You know, he leaves the great Green Bay franchise, comes over the Steelers. Yeah, sure, there was two years of the Jets.

[Pat McAfee]

They don't count.

[Ty Schmidt]

They're not a real franchise. So he comes over to a team that was 10 and 7 last year and he's 41 years old. I think the fan base is pumped. And who says no? I'm thinking Super Bowl.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. It's great to hear because I was bummed out for you guys. Yeah. Because if you as a 10 and 7 team last year are thinking we can't win the super bowl, who is allowed to think in the off season that they could win a Super Bowl? I see Mason Rudolph doing all this stuff, talking at rallies, throwing out pitches. He's getting the boys together. You know, he's doing a lot of front first quarterback things. There's a new sheriff in town. I think he understands that. I think Aaron understands that. And I think this was the Steelers plan all along. Tomlin and Aaron have great respect for each other.

[Darius Butler]

Yep, always.

[Pat McAfee]

And Tomlin decided not to get any other quarterbacks. I think out of a display of like, hey, we want you here. How do you feel about it and what do you think inevitably happens?

[Darius Butler]

You know, I like it for the Steelers. If I was a Steelers fan, I may feel differently because now you are. Your true expectations to win a Super Bowl. Maybe, if you're being super optimistic. Yeah. But I mean it kind of sets you up to kind of stay in that quarterback purgatory because what's your plan beyond Aaron for the future, but for this year, he definitely gives you your best chance to win. Out of expectations. When he went to the jets because they had that great defense on paper, he brought over some more weapons. They had great weapons already there. The expectation there was Connor picked him to win the super bowl going into the season. So those were the real expectations at that point. You talked about Brady, you talked about Manning. Two anomalies. You know what I mean and Aaron Rodgers will be on that Mount Rushmore quarterbacks right there with him. But when you look at those teams and how they were built, the Bucs had a really good defense. Mike Evans, hall of Famer on offense, Chris Godwin, the Broncos couple great players on offense as well. Hall of Fame level Hall of Famers all over that defense. So that team was built for a quarterback to come in and not really carry the team, even though Tom Brady did get hot late. So can Aaron do it? He'll always be able to spin the ball. Absolutely. But I think it's a lot more building. You still need for that Steelers to really go and compete. And it starts with the offense having some real weapons and then the defense showing up and showing, you know why they are one of the most expensive defenses in the league.

[Pat McAfee]

Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is senior insider for NFL Network, a friend of the program, host of the weekly wrap up of the Rap sheet and Friends. Us being the friends, he being rap sheet. Ladies and gentlemen, Ian Rap. Applause, rap. What's going on, buddy?

[Ian Rapoport]

What's happening? How are you guys?

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, everything is great over here. We hope the same for you. Not as much pizzazz as a few weeks back.

[Boston Connor]

I'm worried about it.

[Pat McAfee]

We're a little bit worried about the pizzazz. Yep.

[Ian Rapoport]

Yeah, you need to up my personal pizzazz.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes. Low.

[Ian Rapoport]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

It's been low.

[Ty Schmidt]

Aaron signed before you went on vacation. You should be happy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that's it. Let's get right into it.

[Ian Rapoport]

No, actually the, the, the signing was perfectly timed because I played golf in the morning and then it became clear in the afternoon. I actually just hopped off the peloton and I was ready. So it was actually timing was great for me.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so let's talk about the timing. It is before the mandatory minicamp for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers officially signs 1 year 10 million. I don't know if you were one of the assholes that was reporting he was going to want 40 million or something, but there was a lot of you guys. Well, sorry, a lot of people in your vein of existence that were saying that the reason why nobody was signing him is because the amount of money, the reason why he hadn't signed with the Steelers because he was commanding and demanding a massive contract. Especially with whatever people are making. We reported very early in the process that that was not true. I think we even said 10 million bucks is about the number that it would probably take for Aaron. He's not looking to get rich. He just wants to look for another chance.

[Ian Rapoport]

I Mean, he said it on this show, didn't he?

[Pat McAfee]

Yes. And before he said it on this show, we reported that source had told us something, but obviously nobody listened to us because we wear T shirts and talk about sports better than they do. Now, with that being said, how long has this deal been the framework? Has this been the offer since the beginning, from the Steelers to Aaron? And why do you think Aaron chose this time to sign? And what are the Steelers saying behind the scenes?

[Ian Rapoport]

Okay, we'll get to the offer first. The 10 million number made sense. And, like, if you're going to sign a quarterback who has done what Aaron Rodgers has done and, you know, was. Was on the open market, but it was different because it's not like he was like, all right, I'm going to the highest bidder. Like, he's very selective. Not that many teams from when I got the sense were in the mix because, you know, he's not going to go to a team that doesn't have a chance. For instance, he's not going to go, you know, some team that's rebuilding. So it's actually very limited. So the way you do a deal for a guy like Aaron Rodgers is you're kind of like, what would it take for you to play? Like, that's basically how the Steelers would do it. And, like, there's a really good history of really good, veteran, accomplished, decorated quarterbacks in the final, let's say, one or maybe two years of their career taking less. Brady took less. Peyton took less. Elway took less. A lot of these guys do it to give the team. Yeah, that's another one exactly right. And I know it. It hurt his agent, Tom Connor. Like, this is what you do it so the team can build around you. The Steelers aren't done building also, but, like. But this is sort of why you do it. You take a low salary and you say, I'm not doing this for the money, and you kind of just hope the team loads up around you. I would also say I always kind of weirdly got the sense that Rodgers was uncomfortable making so much money. Like, I don't know. That sounds weird to say, maybe, but, like, I kind of got the sense he didn't like how it felt to make so much. So, like, this is probably something he's.

[Quentin Richardson]

A little more comfortable.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Yeah. I think you're right, Ian. I think you're right. You're right. Good take.

[Boston Connor]

I like that.

[Pat McAfee]

But I do think he was very comfortable with whatever team he was to go to next, whatever team it was to Be after the Jets. Even if it was the Jets. I think he went in there willing to restructure in the whole conversation.

[Darius Butler]

Took a pay cut there.

[Pat McAfee]

I think he. Exactly. Even when he was there, he took a pay cut. I think he wants a good team. I think he wants another run. I think that's what all these OGs want, which is why they're willing to take a little bit less. Let's stick with the Pittsburgh Steelers because we have to kind of roll here. T.J. watt deal now, next on deck. Is that kind of the idea here?

[Ian Rapoport]

Yeah, I don't get the sense it'll be immediate. These things take time. They. I don't know why. They just. They always do. So, yeah, I mean, this is, you know, something that is ongoing. You know, we'll see if he's there for mandatory minicamp. Rarely do players give up. Guaranteed, you know, give up money. Rarely do players take fines, but some do. So we might see a couple players stay away. You know, there's a couple who hang in the balance. I mean, T.J. watt is. Is one. Terry McLaurin is another. But yeah, I mean, this is the next big deal for the Steelers to do. I believe it's going to happen. I believe they'll get to a number that everyone can be happy with. It just hasn't happened yet. While the edge. That's such a great play. While the edge market is kind of a little bit in flux with Tre Hendrickson and Micah. Not done like this is another one that we're kind of waiting on.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so, TJ, you bring up Terry McLaurin. He left OTAs. Is that accurate?

[Ian Rapoport]

I believe he showed up. I'm not sure if he left or. I don't know how much he was there to begin with, but I know he was not there for a lot of it. And I would say very much up in the air whether he shows up this week at a contract situation that as of right now, is not great.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. We'd love to have him back here in Indianapolis. He is an Indianapolis kid. Feels like this happens every couple years with Terry McLaurin, and all he does is show up and deliver on the field. You got Jaden Daniels, you got Cliff Kingsbury. You had the magical run you had last year. Let's assume they keep Terry around. Let's assume TJ stays with Pittsburgh. Hopefully that's sort of expediting quickly. Let's talk about this secondary market now. Jair Alexander gets released from the Green Bay packers this morning. You thought they were going to potentially Get a deal done. Thought it got quiet. It has not. Clearly. They make the announcement, the bird call. Hey, we're going to release Jair Alexander. Now, this obviously means other teams can put together some trade proposals here in the next four hours or so to maybe steal him from getting released and take a trade. But with him, Jalen Ramsey, Stefan Gilmore, there's a lot in the DB room still available. What do you think is next for Jair?

[Ian Rapoport]

Yeah, you're right. I was a little surprised because he's really talented. He's like, not a bad guy. Like, there's no, like, you know, it's. He's a little bit different and really hilarious, honestly, but not a bad guy. It just really.

[Pat McAfee]

What?

[Ian Rapoport]

The packers tried to do a deal before the draft. I know they did. Couldn't come. Couldn't come up with a team that wanted to pay $15.3 million for Jair Alexander. Offered him a restructured deal, which I believe was a pay cut. And he just never really dug in on that. And I think, you know, sort of part of the thought was like, if it's not going to be Green Bay, let me pick. Let me go find a place. He's going to make some money. He's going to make some real money. He's made some in the past, but let me pick. I mean, he's 28. He is a Pro bowl caliber player with sick ball skills. Like, these guys are not often available. So I think he's going to have a real market, you know, might be before training camp or he might decide to wait a little bit because he's in no hurry. But it's rare that these guys are actually on the market.

[Pat McAfee]

Got it. Is he healthy?

[Ian Rapoport]

Yes, I believe he is healthy. Last year ended not great, but I believe is and has been healthy. Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Darius Butler]

Phenomenal player. Everything rap. She says last four seasons, only one season went over 600 snaps.

[Pat McAfee]

So that's the thing.

[Darius Butler]

That's the thing for sure. Probably being incentive laden contract, but he is. He's worth taking the shot off for sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, absolutely. Come to Indianapolis, brother. We'd love to see you. And we'll make you captain when you're playing back in your hometown. We'll never, ever forget it. Chubb going to Houston Texans. Is there anything else in the NFL world that we've missed? That's a huge signing. Chubb going anywhere is a big deal. If he's anywhere near what he was. Yeah, this is a massive get for the Houston Texans. Is there any other signing that or any other Things happening around the NFL we've missed first.

[Ian Rapoport]

I like this one.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Me, I hate it.

[Ian Rapoport]

We'll see how much he has left. If he's close to what he was. I mean, look, look. If he's close to what he was, him and Joe Mixon are going to be a. Yeah. Insanely physical duo. The only thing I would say that you guys missed. So I like this signing. This should be official today. I believe he's going to pass the physical. Only thing you guys missed was David Chang. The respected chef and personality was on Good Morning Football this week, named his five best NFL cities with regards to their best sandwiches. And left out Pittsburgh.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. So he sucks. That's what I heard. That guy sucks.

[Ian Rapoport]

I mean, Pittsburgh, to me, is top three sandwich place in the country.

[Pat McAfee]

We are a sandwich city. That is literally what we are, literally tier one. Why is this guy on television talking about sports if he doesn't even know how to talk about fucking food? This guy's a chef.

[Boston Connor]

He is a celebrity chef.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

What's his name?

[Ian Rapoport]

David Changu. He's great.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, David Chang. Shut the fuck up.

[Boston Connor]

Not going there.

[Pat McAfee]

How about that? Yeah, yeah. I'm at the point now where I don't care about any of these bumps. I. I don't care about it. Who is the commentators for tst? What are these dudes? Name? Hercules Gomez and Sebastian Salazar. Bombs, get them off microphones. John Mellencamp. Bomb, get him off microphone. This guy. Bomb, get him off television. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life, you know? Not anymore. Sometimes you got to say the right thing. And last one here, something mean. Jermaine Pratt. Jermaine Pratt. Tom Pelissero literally just reported while we were live, captain of the Bengals, top 10 tackler for the Bengals last year, has been released by the Cincinnati Bengals. I have no idea how much money he's making, but are they trying to make a move here to get money for Trey Hendrickson, or is this just them trying to shape up their roster? You think Ian Rapoport.

[Ian Rapoport]

Well, first of all, you. You always say, like, come to Indy. This guy might actually come to Indy. I mean, Lou Anarumo is Indy defensive coordinator. This was one of his favorites. This actually does make a lot of sense for Jermaine Pratt to land in Indy. So I'll say that, yes, this is good news for Trey Henderson.

[Pat McAfee]

We'll see.

[Ian Rapoport]

They got mandatory minicamp. We'll see if they're able to get a deal done. I know they want to. This does free up some cash. Things do not exist in a vacuum. We'll see if it ends up in a deal for Trey.

[Pat McAfee]

It saves $5.6 million for the Cincinnati Bengals. So every dollar counts, especially whenever you're trying to sign a big money sack king in Trey Hendrickson, if that is still what they're trying to do. We appreciate the hell out of you, Ian. You are not a bum like Chef Chang.

[Ian Rapoport]

Chef Chang is great, by the way. Momofocus.

[Pat McAfee]

Awesome.

[Ian Rapoport]

And they have great sandwiches there. Okay, bye.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I'll never eat there. He's been on Good Morning Football more than. More than.

[Boston Connor]

You. Pro.

[Pat McAfee]

I've never been Good Morning Football.

[Boston Connor]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a good show, though. Emmy award winning. They got a chef that doesn't know fucking sandwiches on talking about football. That sounds interesting to me. To be clear, Chef Chang, I don't know anything about you, but I know you don't know shit. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, Ian Rappaport. Why'd he do that?

[Boston Connor]

I don't know.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a Monday. We got a long week ahead of us.

[Boston Connor]

He knew exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

There was no reason for. Is there anything else around the NFL world? Oh, yeah. Some guys said your hometown sucks. Yeah. You know what you guys are known for?

[Darius Butler]

You thought you really had some.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I thought it was big. Yeah, I thought it was a big deal. I'm like, oh, sweet, we missed something. Like there's gonna be something to talk about. Instead of Chef Chang, why is this guy on tv? Put his ass on one of the Food Network's got shit all day. Yeah, Chop, have him say dumb stuff over there. Why is he saying dumb stuff on football? We don't need that. Talking about Pittsburgh not being a top five sandwich in the NFL. That's only 32.

[Boston Connor]

I was gonna say.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, I'm sorry. 30 cities. Yeah, because there's multiples. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

New York and LA.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, true. 30 out of 30 cities. Not every city in the world. 30 cities in the United States of America.

[Boston Connor]

What was his list?

[Darius Butler]

Yeah, you guys have a public.

[Ty Schmidt]

You mean the grocery store?

[Pat McAfee]

Listen, your gas station subs are nowhere near sheets. Like, I. I. Which one's? I don't even want to get into this, but, like, our gas station sandwiches are better than Chef Chang's top five list. If I had it. This you didn't even see this. Pisses me. I don't need to see him. How about that? I don't need to see Chef Chang ever again either. Not that I ever have. I have no idea. He was the one. He was lower Right corner. He was lower right corner on Good Morning Football.

[Boston Connor]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Made no sound. Should have been turning it up. Need to listen to Chef.

[Boston Connor]

Unbelievable. Not anymore.

[Pat McAfee]

This piece of.

[Darius Butler]

I gotta see the list.

[Boston Connor]

I want to see the list too.

[Pat McAfee]

You're telling me he's had Rudy subs? Has he had Rudy subs?

[Ty Schmidt]

No.

[Pat McAfee]

Chef Chang is the expert on saying New York. This is an order from five to one. New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles.

[Kenny Albert]

I'm sorry, Philadelphia.

[Pat McAfee]

Two Los Angeles at one.

[Ty Schmidt]

Los Angeles.

[Pat McAfee]

Los Angeles is the number one sandwich.

[Boston Connor]

Not right now. Tell you that much. Hey, guess what?

[Pat McAfee]

Guess what I'm not doing going to.

[Boston Connor]

LA to grab a sandwich right now.

[Pat McAfee]

I was in LA on Saturday.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I was in Los Angeles on Saturday. Lot going on. Lot going on right down the road down there a few hours south. San Diego. Ooh, raw. Raw. Okay. I'm not gonna say what the Parris island people call the people that come from that particular base or boot camp or everything like that, because I'm nowhere near as tough as the people that come from either of those places there. But there's two entry points I do believe, you know, into the Marines, one of them. Real close to everything that's going on right there. Marines, first to fight. I do believe. I don't know if anybody in L. A. Wants Semper Fi to be walking up those streets. I don't. Just something to. Oh, my gosh. Lot going on. We hope everybody gets figured out.

[Ty Schmidt]

Figure it out.

[Pat McAfee]

I put out a tweet this morning. Let's have a positive day. Let's have a good day. It's hard after Chef Chang does this.

[Ty Schmidt]

You didn't know that curveball was coming.

[Pat McAfee]

I put out a tweet like, hey, let's have a good day. Let's have a good day. Had a bunch of people tell me it's hard to have a good day with everything going on in la. It's like, okay, well, I wish I could help. Okay. I can't. I think this one's out of my control.

[Ty Schmidt]

I think so.

[Pat McAfee]

But good luck to all parties. We hope whoever wants to get it right gets it right. And everybody's.

[Boston Connor]

They'll get it figured out. Yeah, they'll get it figured out. Those people who are down in the dumps, you should tell them, like, hey, well, you know, Chef Chang ranked LA number one city in the country.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Go find a sandwich.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Maybe that's what they need over there. Just eat some sandwiches over there. Calm everybody down. Their taste buds will be full. Bunch of food trucks and just joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, 13 year. We do. We do hope everybody's. But that there's a lot going on over there. Yeah, that one's a lot. Algorithm, a lot of those.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I think everybody's kind of living in that right now.

[Boston Connor]

Some people say it was peaceful.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, 13 year NBA vet, co host of the Knuckleheads podcast, Ladies and gentlemen, friend of the program, Quentin Richardson. How you doing, boss?

[Quentin Richardson]

I'm good, I'm good. How you fellas doing, man? After last night, how's everybody doing in the Thunderdome?

[Pat McAfee]

Well, I'll tell you what. West Virginia lost to lsu. Okay. Western lost. Lsu. Conceifa loses to Pumas. To Alabama.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Bad way, bad way. Pacers lose to Oklahoma City. Not good. That was yesterday. Then this morning, I wake up and I hear Chef Chang says that Pittsburgh isn't a top five sandwich city in the NFL. It's been a rough couple. It's been a rough go here. Okay, Q. Rich, but we'll talk.

[Quentin Richardson]

I felt pretty good about hearing Chicago was in there. I don't know who this Chef Jane guy is. I mean, from the sounds of it, he's not a real good guy up in this room right now. So I'm not gonna. I mean, I did approach approve of him having Chicago in there, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, sounds like you're a big fan. All the big cities. This guy's got a big city appeal. You know, he's. I'll say. He's got pandering taste buds. I like that. Sure. I like a good pandering taste bud that Chef Chang has. He never had Rudy subs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He never had a whole Italian, hot lettuce, onion, mayo. Let me get some fries on the side with some cheese, please, and a Turner's tea on the side. Also from Pittsburgh. I know Chef Chang's never had that. Okay, well, in Primanes, I'm sure he's maybe seen one.

[Pete Thamel]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, you got the camera. I don't like the fries on my sandwich. Shut up.

[Pete Thamel]

Shut up.

[Kenny Albert]

Never had a Roethlisberger.

[Pat McAfee]

Donna Pepe's ever in his life. Ever in his fucking life. This guy. Let's move along. Let's talk about sports. Ian Rapaport should not have done what he did. No. That was, what, five minutes into the show?

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

It was distasteful. He knew what he was doing.

[Pat McAfee]

Speaking of distasteful, Chef Chango, that son of a.

[Darius Butler]

Up.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's talk basketball, please. Can we. Can we talk basketball?

[Quentin Richardson]

Let's do it.

[Pat McAfee]

That was everything you guys wanted, huh? What happened last night? Everything that everybody wanted to happen to the Indiana Pacers happened last night. The Oklahoma City Thunder on the defensive side, dominant on the offensive side, magical Pacers were never able to really get going. It was like a 20 point game forever, seemingly at the end, you know, got down into the teens. But they continued to answer, put their foot down on the Indiana Pacers because of what has already happened in this series and what they have seen Pacers do throughout the entire playoff run. This is the Oklahoma City team that everybody was expecting. This was how everybody thought this series was going to go. Q Rich, or what is your takeaway?

[Quentin Richardson]

My takeaway is like, like I gotta say this, I don't have a horse in the race, so I'm just here to see good basketball. I want the series to go as long as it can, as far as it can go. Just because I know after that we're gonna be dead with basketball. It's gonna be no hoop for a minute. So I don't, I'm, I'm dreading that. But that if you look at what the OKC Thunder have done after they have lost the game this, this year, this was, the writing was all on the wall for this to be a 15 to 20 point blowout. I said that yesterday. I was on Sports center and I said that A Hannah was like, whoa. I'm like, but like if you look at the evidence they've given when they lose a game, first of all, they hadn't lost the game two games back to back since like 24, sometimes sometime in 2024. But the game this year, when they lose, lose, you go look at the game they play after they lose. They average like 25, 30 point blowout games every time after they lose a game. So this, the writing was on the wall for this. And then just the way that that first game happened, they should have really finished the game. They just didn't do it, that they were already in that position to do the same thing. Game one. So I knew being in their home building, they would have that confidence to come back and get it done last night.

[Pat McAfee]

Their building is awesome. And I'll tell you, watching them answer every single time, like me Smith would hit a three and it's like, here we go. This is exactly what we needed. Then the next time down, somebody in Oklahoma City would do something ridiculous, put the fire out. And then that crowd never really let it go either. They were a huge part of the momentum just continuing. They were relentless and they won one at home. Congratulations to them. Let's talk about a guy who was voted the most overrated player in the league this season by his peers. Allegedly. Go ahead, Tone.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Q. There was a lot of talk this morning about that Tyrese needs to maybe be more aggressive and look to score more. Like, is that something you think he can do or should do or just who he is to be more of a facilitator, but like in or in the finals, do you think he needs to look to be more of a scorer?

[Quentin Richardson]

Yeah, I agree that he does need to look to be more of a scorer because his team needs that. But I think, I think, you know, the whole conversation around him is kind of taken out of context, man. They. You can't ask somebody to be something they're not. Yes, he has the ultimate clutch Dean, but when they get into the clutch moment, we've seen him time and time again hit the game winning shot or a meaningful shot down the stretch and he has that ability to do that. But if you look at what he's done, he's averaging 18.6 points. Asking him to be this high volume scorer, that's not who he's been. He's a pass first player. But yes, he can score, but he's not your guy. He's not Steph Curry who's averaging 30 something points or close to 30 and shooting all of the shots and things like that for his. He's a guy that uses his teammates. He, he makes his teammates better. He puts them in position to score and do things. This year Pascal Siakam was the all star. He was the leading scorer for the team. He was the Eastern Conference finals mvp. So because Hallie Burton has made these shots and everybody wants him to be something he's not, just because he hits game winners and things like that doesn't mean that he has to go out there and average 30 points. He's more of a Steve Nash type player than a Steph Curry. He's a passer that gets everybody else going and makes everybody else better. So I feel like, like because he's made these game winning shots that people have taken it out of context, everybody wants to say, is he a superstar? Is he not? Like to me when I was playing in the league, Pat, when we played, we looked around at guys and we said, okay, are you an all star? Are you all NBA? Do you make the Olympic team? Do you got a max contract? That's what matters. Like if he got, he's got a super max Contract. He's one of the best players on his team. His teammates love playing with him. He makes everybody better. He's the extension of his coach. He does what he's supposed to do on the out there on the court. He delivers for his team. I don't really care about who's a superstar or not. Like, in my mind, I got a max deal. I'm playing, I'm a starter. I help my team. He made the All Star last year. He didn't make it this year, but he was an Olympian. Like, these are all of the benchmarks to be a superstar. You see what I'm saying? So if y' all don't want to call me that, that's fine. I got the check that says so I play like it. So that's all that matters to me. My, my. Like, like you said, the disrespect from the peers with the overrated. I showed them what I thought of that.

[Pat McAfee]

If you go through the entire playoff run here, okay, against the Bucks, game winner, against Giannis, literally right in front of his dad. Cleveland, game winner. This one?

[Boston Connor]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

New York Knicks, this one. And then game one in Oklahoma City, game winner to win a finals game with, like, 0.3 left in the thing. It's like the amount of moments that this dude has had and created through just this playoff, like, kind of run alone is enough for an entire career, let alone what's happening right now. He's. Hey, he's stone cold. This guy is cold blooded, you know, because he laughs a lot. He's kind of a nerd. He's got moxie, he's got swagger, but whenever push comes to shove, he is a killer. We saw it in here. Yeah, we were up on him. You remember Foxy? We were killing him. Me and Foxy were up on him in our shooting game. We got which we need you to come play, which I fear you are going to be very good. Too good. Yeah, I might have to change rules for you like we did for Tyrese. Me and Foxy were up on him and Connor, though, in the shooting game. And then all of a sudden, it was just like one little flip of the switch happened. The only way to win is he had to make every single shot. That was the only way to one inch straight. NBA three with us chirping at him, and none of them touched the rim. And it was like, oh, this guy is one of those guys. This is one of those guys. And he's been able to prove it. I'm happy for him still. So Young, tough series because they got a lot of guys on the other side that can, you know, bop the wood. As Q you understand, Connor has a question for you.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Q Rich, I hope you know too, his nickname isn't the Moment. Okay. For Halliburton. We all know what his nickname is. It has some negative connotations, but the Photoshops are too good and Twitter has already deemed his name, which I think we all respect. Looking at last night's game though, Q Rich, you got to respect the player. The bench for the Thunder kind of were the stars Wiggins and Caruso. They both have 20 plus. Are you kind of counting this game as the OKC bench game? Obviously SGA had 34 points, but when you look at the sportsbooks, his over under was actually 34 and a half. So thanks a lot for all those overbearing like myself. But are you looking at this as a bench game? And do you think now the Pacers have enough on the bench? When you're looking at OKC and they're getting, you know, 40, 50 plus points from their bench, I mean, this is.

[Quentin Richardson]

Who they are though, man. This is, this is why, you know, when they were playing Minnesota, I was saying that their bench, the depth of their team and this is, this is, this is why they had the record, they had the, you know, in the best record in the NBA. Wiggins has scored 43 points this season. He, he's, he's gotten, gotten off and went crazy. So they, this isn't new. And this is a guy that got in last night. He hadn't played in a couple games before from the last series and in the beginning of this series and he got out there and got to the money. He was out there hitting step back threes and everything, not just catch and shoot. But this shows how deep they are and how much of a team they are. They're like, you got guys sitting over there that is probably chopping at the bit to get in the game, but they not, they not showing it, you.

[Pat McAfee]

Know what I'm saying?

[Quentin Richardson]

In a negative way. Once he got a chance to get out there and play, he balled out. Teammates gave him the ball, supported him. It wasn't like, hey, he not supposed to be doing this. It's like whoever's going crazy, they let go crazy. And I think that's an attribute of a great team. You know, when they got depth like that and they could bring a guy in who hadn't played and he comes in and looks like he should be six man or something. And he plays that well off of offensively and defensively. So I think this is just, you know, who OKC is as a team. They very deep and they very talented.

[Pat McAfee]

Chris, I need to chill out. He needs to chill out. This guy needs to relax.

[Quentin Richardson]

He is a dog.

[Pat McAfee]

Hembo sent me a stat. I didn't want to say it because, you know, I didn't want to. I just didn't want to do it. Although Caruso is our guy too, it's kind of a tough thing to say. Alex Caruso defended tyrese Halliburton on 10 half court matchups yesterday. Halley didn't score. And at a 1:3 assist to turnover ratio. Hey, Caruso, relax.

[Ty Schmidt]

Seriously.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay? Everybody needs, Everybody needs to relax. All right, let's move. Let's move along here. Last question about the series. Go ahead. Ty.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Q. Rich, so far, who do you think the coaching advantage would go to? Everyone's been talking about Dagano all year. And then, you know, after game one, it was. There was a lot of like, hey, the, the moment may have gotten to this guy. He wasn't ready for it and he kind of, you know, made several mistakes down the stretch. Obviously, everyone's been giving Carlisle their flowers thus far, but at this point, one, one, who do you think has the advantage so far for the F through the first two games and who do you like in terms of X's and O's coaching for the rest of the series?

[Quentin Richardson]

My opinion, man, I think. I think Dag Note is a great coach. He's a young coach. He's going, you know, he's growing. He's trying to get his first championship and become, you know, like a great. Known as a great coach. But I think, I think the, the coaching matchup, that's Rick Carlisle, man. He. He's a. He's a Hall of Famer. He's a championship coach. He's been one of the better coaches for the, for a long, long time in his league. But I mean, that's. That's no disrespect to Dagno. I think he would even know that, that, you know, that Rick Carlisle is. It would be seen as the superior coach between the two of them in this series. But I mean, that still doesn't mean anything between, you know, Dagno. His team can still win the championship and win the final. So. So, you know, that's just the way it is. Carlisle is the beast, man. He's one of the best to do it. I think when he's all said and done, he's going to go down as one of the best coaches ever, too.

[Pat McAfee]

One with the Mavs. Then he helped build the Pistons. Right. And then he guys kicked him out of town. Then he gets one the next year. Exactly. Yes. And then now he's been with the Pacers. He's built the culture each year. You see him like kind of building it in there. He's perfect for us here. Loves it because in 49 other states, it's just basketball. You heard him as soon as they won the Eastern Conference finals. He loves being here.

[Quentin Richardson]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was awesome. It was a great promo. It was a great Indiana promo. Like, as you were saying, I was like, yes, do that. This is exactly what you should be doing in this exact moment. Go ahead.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, that Mav championship too. I forget there's a video going a little further back. And that. That championship they won is basically the greatest run of any team ever. They played hall of Fame teams in every single round and they beat them all. And then it was the Heatles.

[Pat McAfee]

I'll tell you what, Carla will run them. Carlisle will have the boys running. Seems like that might be a little bit of in question. With what? The way Tyrese Halliburton walked in that press conference. Walked out of that press conference. Oh, don't lie. He might be tired.

[Boston Connor]

He might be tired like Team USA Soccer.

[Pat McAfee]

No, Team USA Soccer isn't tired. They're ass. Oh, okay. That's a little bit different. Tyrese is not Tyrass, okay? He. He's got two days, man.

[Quentin Richardson]

That's just. That's just the, you know, that's a hard fought game that shows like. Like you say Caruso, all the different guys all up on them, fighting through it all game. Like you walk out of their store after that after a game like that.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, the dorture chamber. Okay. Caruso chamber.

[Boston Connor]

I get it.

[Pat McAfee]

You know all these things.

[Quentin Richardson]

Lou Gord is a unit. Have y' all seen him in real life? Like, in person? Like to see him. You go to the game, watch when you see him in person. Is a big dude, man. I saw him in Montreal when they played the Pistons. I. I was like, I was standing courtside, me and Richard Hamilton. I say, bro, look at this dude.

[Pat McAfee]

He's so fast too. Q. He's able to.

[Quentin Richardson]

That big. He moving. He moving too.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't want to say fast because I don't know how fast he is quick. He's just. His ability to get body in front and then work through screen. It's like he is a problem. Lou, dort is a problem. That is something needs to get Lou sorted before game three. I'm sure coach Carlisle will have have it figured out. Last question here for you. Q. Rich comes from D Buds.

[Darius Butler]

Yeah, we had a lot going on this weekend in sports Cuba. Something that caught my attention one on one with two former NBA players. Lance Stevenson, Michael Beasley. Not only gameplay, but Beezy was cutting some interesting promos.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you mean interesting?

[Darius Butler]

Just very, very interesting. But I want to know over your 13 year career, any great I guess post practice one on one stories? Number one and then secondly any dream matchups of two active players right now that you would like to see go at it one on one?

[Quentin Richardson]

No real crazy stories from one on ones when we play. I mean it would happen but nothing really crazy to tell but I guess a dream matchup in the league that I would like to see of guys would be.

[Pat McAfee]

Let me see sga.

[Darius Butler]

I would like that Kyrie, Steph sga.

[Quentin Richardson]

Let me see SGA and Kyrie go at it. Let me see that matchup because like listen, listen. People don't understand how magical Kyrie is. This man here, listen, I don't know that there's anybody on the planet that could guard him one on one if they play the king of the hill. I don't know that. That. I don't know if anybody could stop him.

[Pat McAfee]

I didn't create this so I don't want to act like I did. But somebody has been on the record of stating that if Kyrie was to be dropped back in like way back, they would burn him for being a witch without a doubt for what he can do with a bad. Like this guy's got to be a wizard of some sort with what he's able to accomplish. They were saying the same thing about Beasley though. People are saying like Beasley one on one problematic.

[Boston Connor]

Just like cousy.

[Quentin Richardson]

Yeah. He can't. You can't stop bees. I play. I played my one year in Miami with bees. That was bees the second year and he was the same then playing every day after practice whoever want to play. And like he literally like I. I truly think if the. He got drafted to the wrong team, he couldn't. He. He wasn't for that structure. He couldn't. You know what I'm saying? That kind of. That, that stunted his growth because he needed to go somewhere where he could just be him and just not have like, you know, some of the teams don't have the same structure. The heat is straight up and down like six o' clock. You're not gonna do certain stuff here and it's. If you do, you're gonna lose. You know, things are gonna happen, you're gonna get fined, you're gonna, you know what I'm saying? You're gonna be in a bad, bad spot. But there are teams in the league where the standards aren't that high. And he could have went in there and he would have been out averaging 25 and getting busy and would have been the toast at the time, telling you, you asked somebody, you asked some people to play with him. He went to a different situation where they just gave him the ball and said, go crazy. He'd have been averaging about 25, 26 points.

[Pat McAfee]

We'll never know now. Hopefully it's just more one on ones where he's cutting interesting promos to say the least. Straight up and down, like 6 o' clock is a great bar. I appreciate the hell out of you. Ladies and gentlemen, 13 year NBA vet Quentin Richardson from the NBA. Let's go to the NFL. Ladies and gentlemen. Joining us now is one of the most legendary humans in the history of football. He's a national champion. He's now a man who's in charge with leading the Los Angeles Chargers. Ladies and gentlemen, everything that's right with ball coach Jim Hornbaugh. Pat, how you doing?

[I]

Good to see you.

[Pat McAfee]

Good to see you, coach. High five, high five, high five. Yep, yep. Bam.

[Ian Rapoport]

Got it over.

[I]

Got it over here.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah. Boom. Happy to see that still standing. Obviously that was a gift from us, built by Tim McAfee that we delivered to coach Harbaugh when we took a visit to their beautiful facility. Let's talk about that. How is the facility OTAs? How's it to have all the boys back in there? What's it feel like this year's team versus last year's team? What's the mindset of this time of year for you, coach?

[I]

Yeah, it's all training. It's all training right now. Super excited for what's been done to this point. I mean, I gotta tell you, I mean, just listen to that interview with Q there. I mean, I've got no insight for you. I've got. We're in training mode. We're trying to get better today, Be better today than we were yesterday, be better tomorrow than we were today. That was a great interview. You guys are up there demonstrating. You got some real insight going there.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. To be an additive to society every once in a while. We are certainly a drawback. Whenever you decide to stop Being the consummate football guy, you on TV every day would be a gift from the gods. But since we do have a conversation with you, here is every year starting back at the bottom of the hill, like, is that how you do it? Is that so, like, first team meeting, it's like reestablishing culture, reestablishing expectations. Does that all happen again during these off season times?

[I]

Oh, yeah. And that's driven by the, it's driven by the players. I mean, if I looked at our top guys who train, I mean, the elite, you know, eight guys on our team, that would be Justin Herbert, Derwin James, Khalil, Mack Tooley, Zion Johnson.

[Pat McAfee]

Be.

[I]

Ladd, it would be Joe Alt, Rashad Slater. I mean, that, that's no disrespect to the other guys that are at a. Training at a great and high level, but I mean, those guys are elite and, and they train. Here's how Derwin does it, how, how Khalil does it, how Justin Herbert, they do it. They train in the off season like they've accomplished nothing. Therefore, when they get to the season, they can be that guy. And that's, that's how, that's how it's led. That's. And then the rest of us, we just, I mean, we're feeling guilty. If these great players can train the way they do and give it the kind of effort they give it in the off season when nobody's looking, you feel guilty if you don't do the exact same thing or attempt to do.

[Pat McAfee]

It at that level. When your best players have your best work ethic, that's when you have your best teams. It feels like you guys have that over there. Let's talk about the young guys that have come into your building, the rookies. What are you looking for whenever they get into the building? Is the, the judgment period or evaluation period over? Now you're trying to build them up or how do, how do you kind of view the rookies in their first off season?

[I]

Well, looking for humble and hungry, you know, guys that want to make us better. And it's been a really good off season for that, including the draft. But then you get to see him, you get to work with them, you get to be in the meetings with them, you get to see them train. And Lad doesn't like this Joe. Doesn't like this Joe. All I'm saying, I mean, nobody, it's going to be tough for anybody to be better than Joe auld or lad McConkey. But as a group, as a total, you know, all like 30, 30 rookies. I mean, these guys have really been about their business. And I've got to say, you know, just, just really pleased with the way they're handling their business and the way they're attacking each, each and every day.

[Pat McAfee]

If you're coming into a coach Herb and a coach Jim Harbaugh building, I think everybody kind of understands what is expected every single day. You mentioned Joe alt there and lad McConkey saying these guys aren't going to like this, but they are unbelievable. You know what else Joe Alden is? We saw day one of him getting to your facility.

[Quentin Richardson]

Huge.

[Pat McAfee]

Tone has a question for you, coach.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, Coach Joe is huge. You bring in Makai Becton. He's huge. You bring in Najee Harris, he's big. Omarion Hampton's big. You have big wide receivers. You bring in Bud Dupree and Khalil Mack. Those guys are huge. Setting the edge.

[Pat McAfee]

You talk.

[Ty Schmidt]

Derwin's a big safety. Is that all on purpose? Like when you guys are bringing people in and you look at your team, is it on purpose to potentially have the biggest team in the NFL?

[I]

We started visioning what the right side of the line would look like if we had Joe Alt there and added Makai Becton. And it looks great. I'm gonna give a little secret away here. I think we're gonna be a right handed team. I think we're gonna.

[Pat McAfee]

Makai Bechton with quite a rebirth of his career moving into guard. How has that been alongside Joe? And whenever you say what you're imagining with the team, whenever you guys are talking about this, you and Ortiz are talking about what the team could be, then when you see him on the field, is it like, oh, yeah, this is exactly what we were dreaming about whenever it comes to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2026, 2025.

[I]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely, definitely that, you know, that, that vision is, is, it's looking good. I mean, it look, it looks good right now. And just trying to add to it every day, I think. I mean, Greg Roman, you know, there's a lot of people that want to talk finesse. They want to talk, they want to talk, you know, out trick them, that kind of thing. Been around Greg Roman a long time. Been around Ben Herbert a long time. You know, that strong, strong wins. And Greg talks about it like, yeah, we want to be, we want to have tendencies, you know, we want to be predictable. And then we use that, those tendencies and that predictability to our advantage. But, you know, just, just, you know, the Things about football that I know that you appreciate. You know, that's. That's what we're striving for here. And we're going to have to. I mean, we got to be better. I think we will be better, but we're going to have to be better because, I mean, the NFL is dog eat dog and no more competitive than it is in our division in the AFC West.

[Pat McAfee]

I loved hearing you say, you know, a lot of people say you got to finesse them. And in the back of your mind, we ain't what are we? This is what football is. What football is.

[I]

I'll tell you a great story. My dad played at Bowling Green and played for Dwight Perry, legendary coach. And he said it this way one time that you. My dad said they were. He was also coaching for Doit at Bowling Green, and they were having a discussion and they had a coach that came in, he said, you know, this is how you do football now. And we're talking like late 1960s, early 1970s. You go, you know, it's more of a finesse game now. And Doy Perry said, there's. I'll show you how to finesse somebody, and that's to knock another man on his rear end.

[Pat McAfee]

That's.

[I]

I. That's the only finesse that I understand when it comes to football. So set it a little more colorful. My dad. Get my dad on the show. He'll tell that story a little bit better. But, you know, I think you get the point there. I mean, that's. That's strong, strong wins in football.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, it does. Always has, always will. And I do think it does get forgotten. And I did not know in the nineteen nineteen sixties they were pushing a narrative of not being a physical football team. Now we know it's just kind of all the time. It feels like it's all the time. It's going to be like that. Let's go back. You talk about the AFC west, and then you mentioned Coach Roman. Let's go. Connor has a question for you. Coach.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Coach. Going back to your San Francisco days, you and Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks had a pretty good rivalry. And now, you know, he's kind of following you around a little bit. It feels like joining the Raiders, how does that feel? Kind of being that familiar with a guy, kind of knowing how the Raiders are going to be set up because of your familiarity with Pete Carroll and have you texted him like, hey, we don't have to be in the same division. You can coach for a different team?

[I]

Well, we are and we're playing them game two, and we just. What do we know about them? We know they're going to be good. And you know, Chiefs week one, Raiders week two, Broncos week three. So, you know, we're going to find out where we stand in that competitive division, you know, right off, right off the bat. So, you know it's coming. We know it's coming. So get ready for it. I mean, let's prepare. Let's make today. Let's make it a great day. Let's see if we can be better today than we were yesterday and be better tomorrow than we are today.

[Pat McAfee]

So many hall of Famers over there, it's insane. Cannot wait to watch you guys do battle shout to the NFL schedule makers. First three weeks ago, them all, you know, it's all you can eat buffet over there for the AFC West. It's good for us. Obviously, a lot of very meaningful games early for all parties over there. DBut has a question for you.

[Darius Butler]

Yeah, Coach, I just want to ask you about some early impressions of some of the new guys. Tone already mentioned Nas Harris, but Amaran Hampton, you got up there at the top of the draft and then Trey Lance been a backup quarterback. We had Big Mike McCarthy and we asked him, he was very impressed with him in Dallas last year. What's your thoughts on those guys early on?

[I]

Yeah, well, Amaran Hampton, let me talk about what we're looking for out of the young guys. I mean, people are going to help us and are humble and hungry. Amar Anzat, you know what I like about him the best is he just, he's really put together. He is trained and you know, he just looks NFL ready. Love how he hits a hole. I know we're just in shorts and no pads yet, but I know that personality because I've seen it on tape from him. So many other guys. Trey Harris, we added a lot of firepower to the offense. Been really impressed with Arande Gadson, Kyle Kennard, who was the SEC defensive player of the year. Ja' Marr Caldwell. I mean, I think he's. I mean, he's training. He's making Ben Herbert his best friend. That was like day one, hey, Jamari, your best friend should be Ben Herbert. You know, he's going about it that way. So you mentioned Trey Lance, I mean, and Mike McCarthy. You know, he got that mess. Mike McCarthy actually got that message to us. That to me and appreciate him for that. Really excited about Trey and yeah, we're just, we're just training and roller right now.

[Pat McAfee]

Pat, before we let you go. We can't thank you enough for taking time here in the middle of the off season. As somebody that I know or I assume you care about immensely. Mr. Irsay passed away last week. Any thoughts when you got that message? What was your first feelings and what was it like with your time here at the Colts? Obviously, you're beloved here still.

[I]

When Jimmy passed away just took my breath away.

[Pat McAfee]

It really did.

[I]

And then, you know, you just go back, and then all the thoughts and memories just start, you know, kind of flowing through your mind. I mean, it's just a great, great, great, great guy. I mean, guys, guy. I mean, he would get in the weight room. I mean, he would get under the bar. I mean, he would. He would deadlift, he would bench. You know, he was. And then there's just a great vibe about him. You know, you play the guitar. He's a people person, you know, one of the real greats. But the thing you loved about him as a player and I. I played, and he was. He was the. He was the owner. And he would get right there in the weight room with you, and the chalk would be flying and the. And the. And the. The iron clanking and be like. Like, this is my kind of guy right here. You know, he's one of us. I mean, nothing but love for Jim Irsay and the entire family.

[Pat McAfee]

Hell, yeah. And I know they send the same thing back to you, Coach. You're the best. Enjoy it all. Tell everybody we said hello over there.

[I]

Thank you. Appreciate it.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, Coach Jim Harbaugh. He's in a ring of honor.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Jim Harbaugh's in ring of honor here in Indianapolis. So obviously, he's very much appreciated. You know who's not much appreciated?

[Boston Connor]

Who?

[Pat McAfee]

Chef Chang.

[Boston Connor]

Not at all.

[Pat McAfee]

I didn't know those guys existed before this morning. What about Indianapolis sandwiches? There's good sandwiches around here too. Boston?

[Boston Connor]

You kidding me?

[Ty Schmidt]

I heard the list was rigged.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, there's some people saying it was a little biased voting. Maybe by Chef Chang. We have not done our research, and we'll not get into that yet. No.

[Darius Butler]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

They're saying maybe, though. Nope. Not getting into it.

[Darius Butler]

Indianapolis sandwiches.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, dude, come on. You ever had pork tenderloin?

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Quentin Richardson]

Subway.

[Pat McAfee]

Watch it.

[Boston Connor]

There's a bunch of subways around here.

[Pat McAfee]

Jersey bikes also here.

[Quentin Richardson]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

There's a lot of chains here, but have you ever had a pork tenderloin from diner.

[Ty Schmidt]

Everywhere?

[Boston Connor]

Chicken parm sandwich from buga to bevel.

[Pat McAfee]

That is very good. And you can get that here.

[Boston Connor]

Change your life.

[Pat McAfee]

What's that deli? The big one.

[Boston Connor]

Steak and shake. Cat.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I'm forgetting. Seems. Oh, thanks Foxy Shapiros. Boom. You got Shapiros. You get a great deli meat sandwich.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, that's like that's an indie thing.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Boston Connor]

It's not Ben's Tony what you're thinking of?

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know. We back on the other side. We will still hate Chef Chang then. But we got a lot of stuff coming for you, I think. Be a friend. Tell friend something nice about changing life. The basketball playoffs are wrapping up up, but the action is still heating up on Prize Picks, the best place to cash in on your favorite sports.

[Darius Butler]

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[Pat McAfee]

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[Darius Butler]

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[Pat McAfee]

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[Darius Butler]

Your game must be present in certain states.

[Pat McAfee]

Visit prizepix.com for restrictions and details. With a Venmo debit card, you can Venmo more than just your friends. You can use your balance in so many ways. You can Venmo everything. Need gas? You can Venmo this. How about snacks? You can Venmo that. Your favorite band's merch. You can Venmo this or their next show. You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. You can Venmo this or you can Vemo that. You could Venmo this or you could Vemo that. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuit to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Card may be used everywhere. MasterCard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply. Sports are the greatest. We're so incredibly lucky that we get a chance to chit chat about them every single day. It's not just me, obviously. The toxic Tables here at Boston Conor and at T.A. schmidt. I see that eagle howling on your chest, brother man.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, yeah, I got the eagle. I also, you know, it's a navy little tarp here. I figured, you know, I thought we'd talk a little, you know, Marine Corps, maybe Navy, maybe just kind of go over the branches. Just kind of dive into that type of stuff today too, because I saw on your desk there's a little.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, you're talking about a campaign cap here.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, that's what.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, that's right.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you're talking about a campaign cap here. Well, this is from the Charlie Company down there, Parris Island. Obviously, incredibly honored to have received this, but also get a chance to hang out with them for about 36 hours Thursday night all the way through Saturday afternoon or Saturday mid morning felt like afternoon. They wake up early over there. Sure, yeah, yeah. They do the military time, you know. And I'll tell you what, I hadn't seen O300 in a long time. Yeah, sure, okay. I had seen. Wow, it's 3am already on the other side. I hadn't seen O300. We're still starting the entire day. But I had an opportunity to hang out with maybe the baddest motherfuckers on earth. The Marine drill instructors, especially down there at Parris island, once again, not take a shot at anybody out of San Diego. But if, if, if I was to echo the sentiment from a lot of people that were down there, I think we do potentially take a little bit shot over there because Hollywood is close to that particular world. It was an honor to learn everything I possibly, possibly could about the life of a drill instructor, the job of a drill instructor, and the culture of the Marines. There's the yellow footprints that basically every single Marine recruit starts on. And then you go through the silver hatch, which is exactly where I was standing in front of that door. And then you go through there. I did not. I went around. Sure they were. They did have me go through what a recruit's life is like from the yellow foot, from the car, from the bus is what they arrive on. I was in a minivan, very comfortable minivan, had air conditioning on.

[Boston Connor]

Nice.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think everybody else has that. And they let me know that that was certainly the case. You go through the yellow footprints, then through the silver hatch, then you go into the silver chairs on the inside. And then that is where you're basically 18, 19 years old. You signed up to join the Marines. And here we go. Boot camp has begun. There's A phone bank right over there, if behind the drill instructor's back on the far side, where you get your phone call that you. You have arrived at boot camp and there is a script for you to read. And you basically say, this is recruit. And then it says, name here. I have safely arrived at Parris Island. And while you're saying all those things, there are three drill instructors saying, hurry up, hurry up, Shut up. And then you hang up and you're right back in there. Yeah. And then it is the building of a Marine. You know, everywhere you look around Parris island, it says, we make Marines. We make Marines. We make Marines. And they take a lot of pride in that. And there has not been a lot of change over the decades and generations of those who have had to come through Parris island or got to come through Parris island to become a Marine and go on and serve our country first. The fight are who the Marines are. So those who are coming through here are being taught in learning how to become a warrior, I mean, and that I got to change. There's 11 different boot camps happening, 11 different companies going through it. I got a chance to watch from the first day of pickup for a group of 60. I believe in the company. And then I got a chance to see, like, day 11. Then I got a chance to watch them do their crucible, which is like their final exam. It's the final 54 hours. And then I got to see an EGA ceremony, which is an eagle globe anchor ceremony, where the recruit gets their pin for the first time and they are considered Marines. It's also the first time that the drill instructors in them have a relationship of peers in humans, as opposed to di in recruit that needs to figure out that this ain't a game. And it was a. It was enlightening. It was eye opening. It was an honor. And it was something that made me realize quickly that I had a little bit of worry, you know, about the way the world was. I thought maybe it would be too soft, like, if something was to really pop off. Do we still have it? Because I feel like other countries are still going through some stuff, and I feel like if they had to, they'd have the toughness, the mental toughness, the physical toughness to have to do what you have to do whenever push comes to shove. We're watching it happen in a couple different places now where we couldn't have expected things to happen. And all of a sudden we got, like, invasion happening, war happening, and boots on ground happening. And I wondered about The United States of America. Have we gotten too soft? Do we even have enough. Enough to supply? We're going to be just fine. I want to let you know. Yeah, we're going to be the reason why I know that is because we have Marines and they do not. And if you get through a Marine Boot Camp, 13 weeks. If you get through a Marine boot camp, you're going to have to be mentally tough. I mean, you are going to have to be physically tough, you're going to have to be mentally tough and you're going to have to be ready to go and. Because that is basically what they're creating down there. A lot of people that end up at the Marines, a lot of the people that we saw now, granted, there's legacy. You know, dad was a Marine, family was Marine. There's people that want to serve their country and be something great. Then there's a lot of people that don't have a lot of other opportunities. Homeless people, homeless recruits. I got a chance to meet guys who just basically said I had nothing else going on in my life and wanted to find something. So I signed up for the Marines and then they get here and now their lives have changed forever. And the emotions that happen from day want to pick up all the way through the EGA ceremony when you become a Marine, for some of them, it was the first time they've ever accomplished or finished something in their entire life, in their entire being, they've done something. So it was super emotional. It was, it was awesome to be down there. Shout to First Sergeant Pete Ramos. Break chains, Dog Passion. Gotcha. Shout out to Bobby Yarbrough. Sir. Appreciate you, First Sergeant Patrick Gartland. Steve Price. I appreciate the hell out of you. And Emmett Berg was down there doing his thing with a camera. Oh, okay. We lost him a couple times. What do you mean? He was, he's got courage. Okay. He was embedded.

[Ty Schmidt]

He was, He's a film.

[Pat McAfee]

There's a couple different times we were like, we lost him. And then we'd be walking around, there's one guy with a white shirt on and he'd be in the middle of a. And he's like in. It's like we had to get them back. It was, they were so nice, so cool and so thankful. There's going to be recruits though, in my. I think that were going through their crucible, which is the end of an 11 week boot camp. It's like a 54 hour straight, you know, series of events that leads to your graduation. It's the hardest by far. It's like everything you've done, but limited sleep. Like, two hours of sleep, maybe over this 54 hours. Drill instructor sleep, like, three hours a night for 11 weeks. That's the drill instructors. They think the recruits need to get a lot harder. It's the easiest was going to be through that crucible period. They're sleeping, like, four hours maybe, and they're dead tired, exhausted. It's the end of boot camp, and they're doing a lot of, you know, like, walking through different trails and woods and hiking and water and swampy land and dragging their face through stuff. And then I was just standing there, you know, and I'm in a tank top, got a hat on. They got these sand fleas that are just, I mean, ar aggressive. They are the Marines of bugs. They are resilient, they are tough, and they will get you. But there was a couple kids that I made eye contact with, and he could see them, like, they could barely keep their eyes open. And they're like. And then they would just walk. And they're going to tell the story someday, I think. Pat McAfee. That might have been hilarious. There was a guy in a tank top sitting there. I mean, it was. It was awesome, man. And thank you to all those who serve, who have served, and those who will sign up in the future. You know, obviously, all branches of military are incredibly appreciated by us here at our entire program. DBut's dad was obviously a member of the army, I do believe. But for what the marines did to me. Semper fi, brother. Oorah. Okay. And I ain't never gonna be no waddy. And everybody understands what I mean. That. What I said there. That are drill instructors.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, me neither.

[Pat McAfee]

You look like you'll never be a DI brother.

[Boston Connor]

I'm just saying I'm not gonna be.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't want to give it all the way. All the. I don't know how much I'm supposed to say. How much I'm not supposed to say. Wadi is my favorite term, though.

[Boston Connor]

Me too.

[Pat McAfee]

Weak ass drill instructor.

[Boston Connor]

There you go.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so you asked for, like, energy drill drink. Oh, you're looking for a little wadi over there. You yawn. Did I just see a wadi? Like, so much of.

[Kenny Albert]

Damn.

[Boston Connor]

You can't yawn.

[Pat McAfee]

Handles checking each way. Can you yawn? No way. What are we talking about?

[Darius Butler]

It's involuntary.

[Pat McAfee]

Also, watch where you put your hands. Watch where you put your hands. Dude. Watch where you put your hands. Break chains, break chains, Break chains, break chains.

[Darius Butler]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I was very Pumped to be there. It was cool. I. I'll you tell. Tell you what, I am not built for it, though. Those drill instructors just 44-40-400, lights are on. Lights flip on. But there's already been a lot that's been happening. We're in there and it is. Well, good morning. Showtime. It is about to go from 4am to 8pm it is just 13 weeks.

[Boston Connor]

How do those voices.

[Pat McAfee]

They don't. They, they don't.

[Boston Connor]

How do they.

[Pat McAfee]

Last I heard a BA out of one. So while I was getting in the middle of learning what a life of a recruit is. Okay, drill instructor. I didn't know his name. I did not get a chance to meet him. He's in the middle of either boot camps or going back to Tort. So drill instructors have to serve in the Marines first. Then they either sign up to be a drill instructor, they have to go back to DI school, which is like a boot camp, to become a drill instructor, or they go and serve, and then they're asked if they would like to go back and be a drill instructor and help out or whatever. And a lot of them do. You gotta be cut out for it, though. Obviously, not everybody's a drill instructor. A day's a two and a half, three hours of sleep. You're creating the culture. You are making Marines in this entire thing. The guy that was the lead senior drill instructor for when I was coming through the footprints, I mean, just. When I say ears, you say open, sir. Do you understand? I, sir. Yeah, I, sir. Aye, sir. Is. And I was like, is that ears? You know, you didn't. That sounded different, you know, So I said, aye, sir. He goes, when I say ears, you say open, sir. Do you understand? I, sir, is. I'm like, I still think you're saying those words differently, you know? Still think you're saying differently. So I didn't say that, obviously. I was just sitting there letting my brain calculate. Is he saying ears right there, or is he saying. Because when he said. When I say eyes, you say snap, sir, and you snap your head at me. Eyes. Snap, sir. Faster. Eyes. Snap, sir. Yes. Okay. Eyes. What did you say there? So, my bro, I was rattled, bro. I was rattled. Couldn't even. I'm standing there. I, I, I open. This guy was fed up with me. He was done with.

[Darius Butler]

Simon says player couldn't even.

[Pat McAfee]

So good.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I bet you the Marines very good at. Simon says.

[Darius Butler]

Probably best. Tier 1, elite.

[Pat McAfee]

Tier. I would say elite.

[Quentin Richardson]

Elite.

[Pat McAfee]

Simon says players. Yeah, it was.

[Boston Connor]

What was. Did they tell you what the boot camp was like for these drill instructors, like when they get back from tour.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I was there. I actually went through it. So they got to go through all the same.

[Boston Connor]

So it's the same exact stuff, basically.

[Pat McAfee]

Because they got to be reminded of what all the exercises. There's like a confidence course which has all these different exercises. There's like a rope thing and then there's a hand to hand combat system. They're yelling, go through all that. Yeah, yeah, go through all that stuff. Then they got a DI score, they sit down, have to learn all this like it is. You're right back into almost a boot camp. Now, granted, there's more of a peer feeling as opposed to how the recruits are viewed. Yeah, yeah, okay. The recruit, the recruits. You have not earned the respect to be. Call it a Marine. And it will certainly feel like that. But a lot of the DI's not a lot. I guess some of the DI's end up having to serve with the people that ran their boot camps. So, like that is how they view it. Like, hey, you're going to be at war with definitely other Marines, maybe even me. So for these next 11 weeks, I am going to make you as hardened and as smart and as lack of reactionary or scared that you could possibly be. But I could, I couldn't imagine that at 18 years old. I could not imagine walking in there at 18. Oh, I would they call it the yellow footprints, you know, yellow snow. Yeah.

[Darius Butler]

Did you have a moment there? Like, obviously you took a different path. Like, what if this was the path I took?

[Pat McAfee]

So there was a couple times where I was like kind of mixed, like, because I'm talking to people, I'm like, man, I have so much respect for all these people I'm talking to. And the conversation is exactly how like I like to enjoy conversation things we're talking about the way we about go, talking about the shit that's being talked. There's a lot of being talked, a lot of sports similarities. I'm like, oh, this would be a cool team to be a part of. You know, they walk outside and I watch these guys going through Fallujah in a crucible when they are dragging their faces through a field and a field of mud because if they lift their face at all, they're seen. All right, so you can't be seen. Have to be under there 300 yards, just dragging their faces just under barbed wire through stuff. And I'm like, 18 year old Pat would have never. I would have never. I would have and then you can't, though.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, it's too late.

[Pat McAfee]

You can't. Oh, you want to quit? Oh, you're broken. We got a broken recruit. Okay, so what's that mean? Well, somebody else is going to have to drag me now, so I just made somebody else's life miserable. I could see how, like, if I had a kid that was a little bit, you know, got to be a dog, but a little bit out. Like, the Marines will make you an adult.

[Boston Connor]

Fix that.

[Pat McAfee]

They will make you a adult. I think back in the day, I don't think it happens much anymore where they say you either go to, like, Juvia or jail or you go to, like, boot camp or something like that. I could see how that would be an answer. Like, I could see how that would be a. Hey, we're gonna teach you how to be disciplined. We're gonna teach you about accountability. We're gonna teach you about striving for perfection. Because that is basically what a DI is trying to do. They're trying to make every recruit be perfect at every single that they do. And also, we need you not asking any questions. Like, we tell you to do it. You need to, because they're first to fight. So, hey, there is a wall right there. We need you to actually run through that wall. That's what they're trying to create with the Marines. And it's like, they do it. They absolutely do it. And then you finish with a 15k hike that starts at 2am at the end of that crisp, they're on like, two hours of sleep. And you're just watching them walk through the streets to finish it. And it's like, just dragging. I mean, everything. Massive rainstorm. So we're just drenched for 54 hours. Chafing everywhere.

[Darius Butler]

Glad they're on our side.

[Pat McAfee]

Bingo. That's all I kept saying the entire time. I'm so happy this exists. That's all I kept saying. Hey, what's your big takeaway? I'm just thankful that this exists because I didn't think it was possible anymore. And they've. They've talked about how people have tried to change them over the years, and they certainly had to get in different. They've had to do things a little bit different. But, like, they fight against. They're like, no, we need this. This needs to stay. And they've won. So shout out to Marines. Ooh, rah, er, ra. You get it? And shout out to the Charlie Company passion. Dude, Sorry about it. Alpha graduated this weekend. And shout out to First Sergeant Pete Ramos. First Sergeant Pat Gartland, Bobby Yarbrough. Sir. Steve Price and Emma Burke and everybody else that I met there. Everybody was so cool. A lot of fans of the show.

[Boston Connor]

Nice.

[Pat McAfee]

A lot of fans of the show. A lot of fans of game day too. A lot of southern boys.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, good to know. Emmett's get lost too, you know.

[Pat McAfee]

Emmett. Emmett Berg. A little bit different than Mitt. We did talk about Mitt there. Yeah, I mean I actually thought about Mitt a couple times through that entire thing.

[Boston Connor]

Boot camp.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I think this is so Bobby Arboro. I'd like to let Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Arboro, formerly enlisted, now officer. He said, hey, if you need somebody down here, we got. We got a couple different options. 3 day, 1 week, 2 week. We can really straighten some things out. You threatened Debone this morning. Actually, yes, I did.

[Ty Schmidt]

Feel like we should all do it.

[Pat McAfee]

I tell you what. Ah, sir. Yeah, I think you should too. I think you should. I think you should. Ladies and gentlemen, live from an attic in Ohio. Tone, just as a guy knows you at this stage of your life, you don't want no pieces of Paris island, brother. They got a. I'm not going to give away too much. They got some great on that island. Briggs and Brews, that's a bar. Got a sand volleyball pit out.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, hell yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm gonna ask him. Is there a piano in there? Yeah. You know the whole thing. Everybody was too kind to be too kind. I appreciate everybody. All right. Live from an attic in Ohio, ladies and gentlemen, a man who would have been a. I think that's probably his other. I think that's probably what it would have been if he wasn't a college football national champion, super bowl champion, Rocket cup winner. The all time leading tackler for the Green Bay packers, ladies and gentlemen, A.J.

[Boston Connor]

Hawk.

[Pat McAfee]

Hawk. Saw a lot of your faces down there, buddy. A lot of your faces down there at Paris Island. Those dudes are way tougher than anyone. I. I can't. Yeah, I'm very thankful that humans like that do exist.

[Boston Connor]

My father in law was a marine.

[Pat McAfee]

So yeah, I know a little bit.

[Kenny Albert]

About it and yeah, huge respect.

[Pat McAfee]

I couldn't do any of it. Legitimately, very thankful they exist. That was my takeaway. That's still my takeaway. And I'm very appreciative of how nice they were to me. They're probably, probably forced to be as nice as they were and I appreciate them allowing us to watch them do their thing, answer all my questions. And going forward, obviously I've had Respect for the military, getting a chance to experience it hands on and see what happens. It's like much, much respect. You know, like Jim Harbaugh say, much respect. Now, let's talk a little football here before we get to our first guest of the hour. Aaron Rodgers, officially with the Pittsburgh Steelers. How long did you know when you talked to him at the Kentucky Derby about his football future? Was it the Pittsburgh Steelers and nobody else? How close do you think he was to actual retirement? Just kind of. What is your thoughts on him officially joining The Pittsburgh Steelers, A.J. yeah, I mean, this is what, this is kind of what Ian predicted, I guess. He gets into, gets there in time for, for minicamp and get the playbook when they send him home for the little summer break that they have. I mean, I had no insight on this. I didn't know when he was going to sign, if he was going to.

[Boston Connor]

Sign, but I did say, like, he.

[Pat McAfee]

Looked like he was in good shape, he was eating healthy, definitely was working out. He didn't look like a guy that was on the road to retirement, that's for sure. Yeah. And him joining the Pittsburgh Steelers has Pittsburgh Steelers fans singing a little different tune. I think they were doing a big. Let's not get our hopes up. Let's not get our hopes up. Hopes up. We don't like it. We don't like it. Then it officially happens and boom, all the Steelers fans are all in. Maybe we go win something. Maybe we do something special here. Because the style of football that Aaron Rodgers is okay with playing is handing the ball off, not turning it over, being a smart offensive football team. And it feels like with Tomlin in that defense, Arthur Smith and he are going to be able to do some magic now. Tone, you just brought up a good point. Aaron's already out and about in the community. Is that accurate?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, he's already at a charity golf outing that Cam Hayward is hosting. Him and DK are there. So, yeah, Aaron's already best friends with the entire team. He's already a leader of the team. And I mean, it's just the first step to a great season.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, didn't Cam Hayward say you just get off the pot?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, that was taken. That was taken out of context, Cam, like the rest of us. He also, you know, was, you know, he didn't want to get hurt. So you say things like that until Aaron actually comes and then, you know, we are big, or at least I am a big, you know, under, under promise, over deliver guy. So, you know, that's kind of how it was taking hold.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, shout out to Aaron getting out there. Shout out to Cam Hayward being an incredible leader not only for the city, but for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And Mark Caboli obviously on the scene. And that's why Marcaboli boots on the ground is good for the program. And shout out to Swickley Heights Golf Club. Very nice shgc. You get a good two and a half months of golfing in there, but their greens are pristine. I think Aaron doesn't even know that he's about to have a tough day on that golf course.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, it's a tough golf course. Normally they'd be at Oakmont, but it's booked this week. So they went with Swickley instead.

[Pat McAfee]

That'd be the U.S. open. We'll talk more about that as the week rolls on. Joining us is a man who has all the information about a massive ruling that has taken place. House versus the ncaa. House being a kid's last name, not the House of Representatives. Basically this case was going to be the one that was going to bring about a salary cap for D1 Sports. Judge Claudia Wilkin has approved the Landmark House versus NCAA settlement which will usher in revenue sharing and roster limits to college sports. Roster limits obviously a big deal because it's doing away with walk ons college sports and revenue sharing. Big deal because schools will be paying players for the first time. To tell us more about that, ladies and gentlemen, the man who has the authority on all college sports, sports friend of the program, Pete Thammel. Yeah, Peter. How you doing, Pete?

[Pete Thamel]

Never been better, Pat. How about you guys?

[Pat McAfee]

You say that every time we talk to you. And I think it's that type of mindset that makes me love every time we get a chance to catch up with you. Let's talk about it. This House versus the NCAA court thing was supposed to happen in April. That was just a setup of a hearing. Now we have an actual ruling. What does this mean? How quick, quick does this get instituted and is everything fixed now? Pete Thammel, which is great news.

[Pete Thamel]

I wish everything was fixed back because it make my job a little more linear. I think the best way to look at the House settlement it's that it's a completely new pathway for college sports to go on. There are still a lot of questions and there are certainly still some skepticism on how everything is going to work. But it's a complete reset and reboot of the system. The headline is officially formally schools will be able to directly share revenue with players for the first time ever. Long, obviously overdue, long anticipated Friday night, 9:10 Eastern. Judge Wilkins set that into motion. So it is a completely new era, which is exciting because the old era was a mess. But there's also going to be a ton of questions pushing forward and there will be, there will be some hiccups there. It will not go smoothly. I think that's the safest thing thing to say. Probably the most important takeaway of the last 72 hours, Pat, is that an enforcement entity called the College Sports Commission was formed. And about three hours after Judge Wilkins signed this document, a high level MLB executive named Brian Seely was put in charge of that commission. NCAA enforcement I think everybody can agree upon was a very futile and inept organization that was poorly armed, armed and poorly executed. All these NCAA investigations the last 20 years. This new College Sports Commission is going to come in and attempt to set and then enforce rules, which has obviously been one of your favorite words, Pat, a vexing issue for college sports. How that all comes together and how quickly it can come together are the, you know, the issues will be pushing towards until the season starts.

[Pat McAfee]

So many follow ups. We'll get into them all. The first main one there is the sports commission that you're talking about that has been put together. If people were to list groups that suck at their jobs, I think the NCAA would be in last in professional sports and then the MLB would be right above it, wouldn't it? I think literally every other league would be above, even the nll, the pll. You put Rabel in there above the MLB with how they go about handling their business as a whole. So when I see a guy from the MLB is heading it up, my immediate thoughts are, oh great, that's great, let's get the guy from the league that doesn't do good to head up this brand new thing. But everybody says this is the right guy for the job. I think is that because he wants the job? And what type of experience does he have that makes us think, okay, he'll be good for the job? I certainly am happy that somebody is signing up for this role. I am happy that he has experience in professional sports. But the MLB is, is nowhere near a place where anybody looks at and says, yeah, that's the motto on how we should do things. So just, just kind of why Brian Seely and do you think he's going to be good?

[Pete Thamel]

Why Brian Seely is a good question, Pat and I. And I think that his experience as an Assistant US Attorney in Washington D.C. so he has significant litigating experience and he can combine that Obviously with years of running MLB's investigation. And so he is, he has had his hand in two pots that are going to be applicable here. I believe he is Princeton undergrad, Harvard Law, obviously extremely intelligent guy. He was, had a very much behind the scenes role at mlb. So it'll be interesting because what his job is going to be in a lot of ways is he's going to be the sheriff of this whole thing, for lack of a more articulate way to put it. And he is going to be in the crosshairs.

[Pat McAfee]

Everyone.

[Pete Thamel]

Right now, we had five commissioners on a conference call this morning, is kind of linking hands and singing Kumbaya and say, we all need to make this work. And it's only going to work if rules are enforced. If you say one thing about the NFL, like you tamper and you're the Dolphins, there's punitive measures and ultimately he's going to have to be an unpopular figure in college sports because he's going to have to set rule, help set rules, put them in place and enforce them with punitive measures. And those are going to be in regards to nil deals that are outside of revenue share. And that's where the new tension point in the industry lies. Everybody can give away their 20.5 million how they want. I would guess 14 to 16 million of that go to football. But it's how these outside nil deals are gauged, how they are handled and ultimately approved or not approved is where the tension point in the industry shifts.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so on that note, Tone is going to have a question about some deals that have already been negotiated. But let's talk about the deals that are supposed to happen in the future somehow under Sheriff Seeley's watch here of this sports commission. I guess it was all supposed to be market value and there's like comps and everything. And they approve whether or not it's an overpay or an underpay. How is that possible in marketing deals? Because you are worth exactly what somebody is willing to pay you in marketing deals? Like, are they foreseeing a massive lawsuit coming down the pike in that type of world? Or will Brian Seely be given the pattern power or the unilateral power to be like, no, this is what this type of deal is worth. Because it feels like that could potentially. That's the, that's where it could still get ugly. Right? That's probably the only thing holding it all up.

[Pete Thamel]

Oh, yes, there will be lawsuits, Pat. That is, that is, that is, that is for certain here. I think the key term, if we want to go inside baseball, no pun intended, is that that the, the fair market value quote you just mentioned is not actually the term that's in the documents now. It's called range of compensation. And I think for the very reason of the legal ties to, they don't want to be the ones determining fair market value. So they're going to look at a range of compensation, see where this fits, and whether or not it is, it is approved. It's going to be a lot easier to talk about these deals once we see them approved or not approved than in the theoretical. And nobody really knows, Pat, how it's going to go until the deals are funneled through the system and ultimately they are done. Now, one thing for the athletes that is a notable shift is that these cases, so say your deal is not approved and you, you, you appeal it, it goes to arbitration. And the whole process of appealing and arbitration ruling is going to be 45 days. You were around the NCAA long enough to know, Pat, that like, sometimes these things stretch to years, years and years and years. So there is at least a focus on efficiency in a more nimble system, gauging what they're going to say yay and nay to and what is a fair market or what is the, what is fair and what is not. That is going to be tricky. Like, there's, there is, there is no doubt about that. I mean, you obviously, you obviously foresee a tension point there, and it's, it's, that's, it's hard to sort of blame you forecasting that in, in the future.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, for sure. I didn't know defensive ends got 40 million a year. Did you know that? Did you know that quarterbacks get $230 million fully guaranteed? No, the market said they don't. Right. Until somebody comes in and says they do. The market is always whatever the, whatever somebody's willing to pay you are worth exactly what somebody's willing to pay you. So I appreciate the fact that they're trying to put a cap on it. So, you know these schools with all the money, you know the oh State Buckeyes.

[Kenny Albert]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

Of course, you know the Oregon Ducks, you know the Texas Longhorns, the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Michigan Wolverines had enough millionaires to begin with. Then he brought in Larry Ellison as a billionaire to join them in that entire thing, let alone the SEC and what they've been up. How are they going to be able to stop the NIL deals that are on top of now? The school salaries from being absurd which then leads to the deals that have already happened. Tone has a question for you.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah Pete. So basically the schools are now pay to play for the athletes. Before that it felt like the nil collectives were paid to play. So what happens to the nil collectives? And then before this people knew this was coming down. So they were front loading contracts for players this year. Are those contracts still good going forward and what do you see going on with the NL collective?

[Pete Thamel]

Yeah, all, all good questions. So yes, there was a ton of front loading and Pat referenced that date in early April where we, that the industry thought a ruling was going to come. So the, the, the hurry up to front load has really been going on for, for a few months and my understanding is those deals that have been already been brokered are not going to be subject to, to, to scrutiny. So pushing forward. Tone, Sorry I lost train of thought on your question. The second part was what's going to.

[Ty Schmidt]

Happen with the nil collectives?

[Pete Thamel]

Yes, so that, sorry about that. So the collectives are still going to exist. I think ideally when they start to set up this system, they set it up so that the collectives would no longer be part of the industry. But that's just not the case in a free market like we say. So ultimately I see the collectives becoming almost like marketing arms that are going to help players get deals and if you have a professional one that falls within industry standards, that becomes a competitive advantage for you. So basically all those teams that Pat just mentioned, the Ducks, the Buckeyes, the Wolverines, the Longhorns, etc, they are going to have access to more deals and that is essentially going to give them an advantage outside of the 20.5 million and how it all works. But you guys are doing a really good job distilling where these tension points are going to come.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you.

[Pete Thamel]

Because what they don't want is, you know, John, John business in downtown Indianapolis just randomly giving a Hoosier $3 million in a pay for play thing, but actually judging what is market range of compensation, whatever you want to call it and what is pay for play is, is where this is going to be fascinating. Especially if you're a private business. Right. Which you can, you know, in this country do what you want to do. So there are, yes, there are tension points looming and it's going to be Brian Silly's job to not only navigate Pat, which I think is important, but also explain what works and what doesn't and why. Because the, the NCAA system was always Very distant, vague, non transparent. And this system, if it's going to work, has to be transparent. And then if people do break the rules and they're caught breaking the rules, there has to be punitive punishments in order for people to respect the rules, which was not the case in the old system.

[Pat McAfee]

So we happen to be athletes that do sponsorship deals. So why would we potentially be able to forecast what's coming down the pipe? I think because I've done all these things. I think because I've had to do all these, these. And I'm going to let you know that if, if I was a player and some company was going to give me $1.5 million and then Sealy's crew says 250,000 is what's right. That's an immediate. That's a $1.25 million, hey, I'm getting screwed here. And that's just the way the world works. Like, that's loud. That's a lawsuit. That's some sort of. I mean, I don't know. And it's like we thought that the revenue sharing was going to be the right play because now they have a salary cap in the schools are paying. So we know it's actual real contracts. We know that they're not going to get bamboozled. We know they're not going to lie to. But the fact that all the other stuff isn't like banned, you know, and not saying it should be banned because guys should be able to collect their money however they collect, but the fact that that's still available, it's like, well, you still have the nil problem, you still have the pay for play problem. But now it just has to be worded in ways that Brian Seely and the team say, yeah, it's okay. So it's just more paperwork almost as opposed to just the wild, wild West. Hopefully it's good for players, hopefully it's good for teams, but it feels like there's a chance that we're still in the middle of chaos. As long as the product on the field matters and is good, that's all that matters. Now, let's talk about another thing that was reported a part of this entire ruling. Go ahead, A.J.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Pete, I saw over 28 billion.

[Pat McAfee]

In back pay to former players, I think going back to 2016. How did they come up with that number? How did they come up with the.

[Kenny Albert]

2016 mark to take it back to.

[Pete Thamel]

Yes, it's 2.8 billion, AJ and they came up that number through a complicated system that involved metrics and income and chopping up different revenue streams that the athletes needed to be a part of. And I think this is all pre2021, dating back a certain number of years. Unfortunately not dating back far enough for you and Pat to, to, to, to capitalize on it.

[Pat McAfee]

It does feel like Chef Chang put this together, feels like he was a part of it. Go ahead, Pete. Sorry.

[Pete Thamel]

And then how it gets distributed and you know, the people used Baker Mayfield. I see the picture obviously up there. He, he's, he's obviously, you know, the, the type of high profile athlete who should profit, who should have profited. And this is going to be essentially back paper that people talk about Zion Williamson a lot, maybe as a marquee guy who obviously could have commanded a lot of money for his name, image and likeness during his, during his season at Duke. There are economists and people a lot smarter than me working on how to chop this up. And there are, there have been stories about like NBA locker rooms where there's like a representative and guys go around so guys can essentially like send an email and file for their back pay. So that is, that is in motion right now. I'm not going to pretend to, to understand the math well enough to explain it to your broad audience, Pat, but we are in, we are in the midst and throes of that money being pushed back that the 2.8 billion AJ is going to come from different conferences basically. So this is all a deal, guys, to just sort of keep college sports going and keep college sports on, on the rails. And it is an imperfect solution. I think we all know that. I don't think a random federal judge in Northern California controlling the fate of a billion dollar industry is what anyone wanted, but because the industry had gone so sideways and because the NCAA for so many decades had been able to, hadn't been able to adapt and evolve, it's, this is just sort of the drastic lightning bolt to pivot the conversation, pivot where the money goes. But anyone who thinks this is a solution, and there's going to be a period of Kumbaya period after this, is naive. There are going to be growing pains and they need people to follow along. This industry and the coaches in it and the schools in it have for decades, basically when rules have been set, they have attempted to find ways around the rules. And the hope in the industry, whether it's naive or not, we'll see is that now that there are rules and there is money available for everybody, people are going to fall in line and follow the rules. We'll see if it happens.

[Pat McAfee]

Seely's got his hands full.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. People always.

[Pete Thamel]

Amen.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know how they decide what deal is good, what deal is not good. Because if you give a. Let's say you give some percentage ratio deal to somebody, and then you don't give it to somebody else, now you automatically start because, like, what would they approve? What would they. Each city is different. Each school is going to be different. Each city they live in.

[Boston Connor]

Like, oh, does this guy have.

[Kenny Albert]

Have a million.

[Pat McAfee]

10 million Tik Tok followers? That drives the value up.

[Kenny Albert]

Like, do they evaluate all of this?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. What if you buy a bunch of fake. Hey, lads, ladies. I'm watching these softball players make a million bucks. I mean, all college athletes. Listen, you just go buy those fake followers, you go into court, this is what you got. They can't say no to anything. They can't. I don't think they're going to have the power to say no to any deal. I don't know how you do without getting sued. I genuinely don't know how you do that.

[Pete Thamel]

I mean, certainly, Pat, I think there's an expectation that things are going to be legally challenged, and that's ultimately gonna help form how this stuff goes. My lighting's agreeing with me because it's blinking.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Blink once if you agree. Imagine them turning down a deal. What if it's for a kid? Think about the story that they can paint, okay? The ceiling kid comes from nothing. $1.25 million signing bonus available. Also getting paid from the salary cap, 500,000 bucks or whatever from the salary cap for his job. Because they're going to do percentages of NFL rosters and what they make. That's how they're going to end up making the 14, 16 million. Who's worth what? They'll be able to say this is equitable and everything like that, but some nil deal is going to come in. It's 1.25 million bucks for two posts or something like that, and then Seely's going to say no, and then this kid could potentially have a lawyer say, this kid comes for nothing with sleeping on the ground, and now he's got a company that wants to give him $1.25 million, and they're saying, no, he can't have $1.25 million. Just think about the. All right, good luck, Cely. I'm pulling for you. I'm pulling for you. I'm pulling for you. There is a way to make money for your school, though. Allegedly. Go ahead, con man.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, fam. Well, everyone was reporting over the weekend that college football, the video game, NCAA 2K, whatever, whatever. The newest one that's coming out this summer will actually pay schools based on how much their school is used in the game. So the most popular teams, like last year were Ohio State, Oregon. They would get more money because more players online and things are using their team in theory. Does this mean if we all use West Virginia or Ball State, that these schools could earn, you know, millions of dollars because of that? Or how does that pay out exactly.

[Pete Thamel]

Work, Connor, that's an excellent question. My instinct upon seeing that report was that it was a very wise marketing gimmick because hence we're talking about it here on national. On national tv. And it's a good way to incentivize, you know, fans to go and support their teams, et cetera, et cetera. I don't think the money involved here is particularly. Particularly game changer or anything. It's. I think it's sort of gussied up bragging rights, perhaps would be the. Would be the best way to. Would be the best way to put it.

[Boston Connor]

Gussied up bragging rights.

[Pat McAfee]

And we need to put. We need Pat White and Steve Slayton back on the game. Yeah, we need everybody playing West Virginia.

[Darius Butler]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And we need to run it up. We need to run it. Pete, we appreciate you keeping us updated on all of it. It sounds like we get some more answers and then more questions arise. That's college sports in a nutshell. How many lawsuits are going to be coming from. From the sports that don't get as much money as the revenue share as well to the individual schools themselves, that's probably something too.

[Pete Thamel]

Oh, yeah. Well, athletic farmers have difficult decisions to make, Pat, because if you're an SEC school that really values basketball like non Kentucky, and look, the SEC had the greatest single basketball season conference has ever had. How do you, you know, how, if you're an athletic director, do you chop things up to keep your basketball relevant, vibrant and competitive in the most difficult league in the country? But at the same time, you can't cut into King football, which is why the nil question really comes into refocus. Because if you do not have the. If you don't have a lot of funds as an SEC school, because football is getting it rightfully so, They're. They're the biggest revenue driver. How do you go find money to have a competitive roster? We've seen the headline about UNC's roster being around $14 million. Kentucky's is, is in the teens or perhaps even a little bit above this year from, from what's been reported. So there's, you know, the landscape has gone sideways with all this front loading. And the thing that I'm probably most skeptical of, Pat, is that all of a sudden everything's going to get right sized and people are going to make less. Like we don't see in booming multibillion dollar industries, people making less. So what happened that's going to become so difficult? Right. Sizing.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't want to do a. Well, actually to you, but CBA happens, and AJ was pre CBA when the draftees used to just make like more than 10 year vets. Like Matthew Stafford got like 60 million or something the year I was drafted number one overall pick. So they reset that market pretty quickly with the new cba. And that just was like, well, your generation kind of just gets screwed by it. And then he moved forward. It was still millions and millions and millions of dollars, obviously, but it was vastly different. Different than what it was. There's a chance that there's a generation now of kids that are going to have to experience that where it's like, if you were two years older, you would have got. You would have got 8 million bucks for one year, buddy, to go up to Michigan and play quarterback. But instead they're trying to find those rules. I think there's a lot of chaos still to kind of figure out Cely's the right guy for the job. I hate being negative immediately upon seeing that he was from the mlb. I don't like that. I don't like that. I was just immediately negative about that. But, but the fact that you said he was an attorney general. Is that what you said?

[Pete Thamel]

Yeah. AUSA out of Washington D.C. he spent a year at the Senate Judiciary Committee. I mean, your credentials, Pat, are, you know, extremely impressive. He's clearly a bright guy who has experience in, you know, the highest levels of courts and in the highest levels of professional sports. Whether that means he can solve this vexing college sports issue, we shall see. It will be a challenge.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, well, Sheriff Seeley's gonna do a great job, just like the authority Pete Thammel always does. We appreciate you, brother. A.J. he's not gonna. They're not gonna be able to turn down any. Can't do anything. How can you shut down, like every deal is its own specific thing. Like, how do you have 5,000 people working on this? Yeah, I don't. And also yes, they would have to have a full committee. They would all have to be able to see the exact same things and who's deciding what the range is for how much money are left to make. You know, like I just brought up Myles Garrett and Deshaun Watson just as two examples so people can like just have a reference for what a market is. There's people that break the market. Like, that is how the market continues to evolve. And like, well, they're not worth that. Well, they are. You know why? Because somebody was willing to pay that. It's like, so how is this group committee going to be able to be like, nah, you ain't worth that. That ain't what you're worth. Like, if these people want to pay somebody a lot of money to make them popular, they could do that. You know, I don't think they have, but I think they could choose to do that. I think they've tried a couple times in the past, but it's like, who says how much money they're willing to spend to make their business better is within a reasonable price or not? Like, who, who gets that? That's never gonna.

[Darius Butler]

The lawyers win, definitely.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

But me as a person who has represented my circle, myself and negotiated my own deals and has had to put the number on what I think the deal should be worth and have had people like call me and be like, hey, if they counter you, they are debating your number. You are in there defending your number. Like, that is literally the last marching orders before I went into a nine figure negotiation was, hey, defend your number when you go in there. So it's like every agent or every one of these players is going to defend their number. And it's like, if they get paid that, who says they're not worth that? I don't know how you stop that. I think that's just what it is going forward legitimately. I think that's probably what life is going forward. I appreciate Sheriff Seeley signing up for the gig, but I don't know how many legally he's going to be able to say no to. Like, I just don't know how you're going to be able to say no.

[Boston Connor]

For schools too. We remember the graphic of, you know, the percentage of, of teams that a school had. I believe it was LSU that were in the green making money and that were in the red losing money. So like, if you're an athletic director, how can you decide to take money away from, let's say the football team that's making 100x over the softball team or soccer team or something like that, or vice versa, where it's like, hey, soccer, you haven't made. You don't make the school any money. So we're going to take a million of your dollars and give it to the football team. Like, are they able to do things like that?

[Pat McAfee]

You also have to remember they have to hit a certain amount to get to the 20 million max.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Remember, because some schools aren't going to be able to hit the 20 million dollar revenue share because they're not going to hit the amount of money in revenue to get to that point. I mean, there's just so many conversations about this because unc, I believe a big part of the negotiation between Bill Belichick, Lombardi and them. I think Belichick was obviously representing himself, but I'm just. Lombardi was general manager, was there. Would we be able to hit the revenue? Would we be able to hit the max revenue? And it's like, yes, we'll be able to hit the max revenue. Now, UNC basketball place, how much will they give up? And then you think about some of these schools that have a lot of Olympic sports. Like, I remember talking to people up in Michigan and they're like, we have a lot of Olympic sports here, so how much money are they going to give? We're very proud of the amount of Olympians that come out of Michigan. It's like sharing that money. I think if you listen to a lot of athletes, athletic directors or coaches or people that have to make a decision on what percentage is going where they all want a mandate from. Sealy. We would like, we would like you to fire. Yeah. So like, can you give a percentage? Has to go to this. You get pressured to like get rid of sports. I mean, because the more, the more sports you have, the. You're at a bigger disadvantage from other schools that may not have as many sports you have to share that with.

[Boston Connor]

That's where it's going to get the messiest. You mentioned it. Without a doubt, because all of these school, like the sec, I mean, we're talking about them in baseball, like they are the best baseball, college baseball conference by far. But a lot of these.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, like, I mean, also gymnastics.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, gymnastics.

[Ty Schmidt]

I'm going to find out real quick.

[Boston Connor]

Probably a couple of these other sports. But then you mentioned like the Olympic stuff. Like they're going to. A lot of these schools are going to basically have to say like, hey, sorry, we don't give a. About anything but football, you know, and like, that's Just a reality. And that's absolutely going to happen. But I think you're right. I think where the other sports come in and like scholarships getting pulled or people not getting money, like that's where this is going to get really messy.

[Pat McAfee]

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[Kenny Albert]

You were 3, Pat. I think I was 7 at the time. Back in 19.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but you nailed it. You nailed it. At 3 or at 7 years old, you were unbelievable, just like you are now. Thank you for joining us. I want to just kind of set the table to get your take on this. I assume you love college sports. You seem like you're just a sports guy in general. College sports, sports is at a wild time. And we all appreciate the fact that players are making money. It's the wild, wild west now. The schools are going to be paying a salary. Then there's also going to be nil. All we care about is that the sports don't get ruined. Right, Kenny? That's kind of the thought at the end.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I don't get to see as much college football as you might think because I'm always at an NFL city over the weekend. We'll have it on, on Saturdays, but you can't fully pay attention. But I'm a big college sports fan. Love college basketball, basketball. And you know, when I was growing up back in the 70s and 80s, I think back to Big east basketball, Georgetown, St. John, Syracuse, Villanova. You knew which schools were in which conference. Right. The players stayed for three or four years. The conferences never changed. So that was sort of the, the glory days, in my opinion of college basketball. It's changed a lot since then. You know, a lot for the better. But as far as what you're talking about, it is hard sometimes to follow which players playing for which school, which schools and which conference. But, you know, I, I guess that's for a lot, lot smarter people than me.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Hopefully Sheriff Seeley's able to figure that out of the mlb. I'm sure you know him with all your work you've done in baseball. Let's talk about the NHL. Let's talk about a Stanley cup final that is living up to the hype. Back to back games in overtime, second game, double overtime. What are your thoughts on how the boys are playing right now and what should we expect for tonight, Kenny?

[Kenny Albert]

Well, it's been an unbelievable series so far and I appreciate you having me on. I think the last time we chatted was during the Stanley cup final two years ago between Vegas and Florida. Our NHL on TNT crew covered. That one rotates every year. So our friends over at ESPN had Florida Edmonton last year and now we're thrilled to be back on the series this year. And I don't mean to, you know, start with a name drop, but.

[Pat McAfee]

But.

[Kenny Albert]

Regards, pat, from about 20 minutes ago, I was with Eddie Olczyk and Wayne Gretzky having lunch. Wayne was telling us about, you know, what a great time he had on with you last week. And you know, Eddie remembers meeting you back in the day when he was playing for the Penguins and coaching the Penguins. So those guys say hello first off.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, geez. Hey, Kenny, will you please tell the great one and Eddie Ole that I said hello and I'm a massive fan as well. Well, the fact that Wayne Gretzky came on our show, absurd. He was so kind to us. So kind to us. What a legend, Kenny. What a legend.

[Kenny Albert]

He's. He's the best. As good a player as he was. He's even a better person. And I mentioned to him that I was about to come on, and he said, I had such a great time with Pat last week. Please pass that along to him. So thank you, Wayne.

[Pat McAfee]

We had a great time, too, Wayne.

[Kenny Albert]

And Eddie Oldcheck and Brian Boucher and Darren Pang were with us as well. Those guys. But as far as this series this way, because I've been around a lot of other media people, TV and radio people for this entire series, among the best games we've ever witnessed in person. As far as the hockey, the level of play, you know, you mentioned two unbelievable teams. The first game felt like an extension. It felt like game eight, an extension of last year's Stanley cup final. And then on to game nine. And, you know, when you look at both first periods, a combined eight goals scored in the first periods of the two games. The Florida Panthers had the lead going into the third period in both games. Edmonton ties it, sending it to overtime. The late goal by Corey Perry. We've had four lead changes, two overtime, you know, thrillers. So, you know, we certainly hope those of us involved in this series end for the viewers and the fans. Hopefully. Hopefully it goes seven and we have five more overtime games.

[Pat McAfee]

Amen. More hockey. More free hockey. We love it. Stanley cup finals. Living up to everything we could have dreamed of in this finals rematch. Go ahead, A.J. kenny, what's it like being in person, watching Connor McDavid move up and down that ice and just how fast he is, is it. When we watch on tv, I get a sense of it. But I would imagine in person, that's something special to witness. Oh, geez.

[Kenny Albert]

Well, I know you're very close to, you know, some players around the NHL, some family members, and I'm sure they've told you the stories about, you know, what it's like to be on the ice with a Connor McDavid. I was chatting with one of the referees who's involved in the series, and he said, you know, Nathan McKinnon is probably number two, but as far as the speed, there's nothing like McDavid. And you know, when he gets going and skates through the neutral zone, and McKinnon is probably the guy in the league who's. Who's next on the list, you know, as far as being close to McDavid in Edmonton, we have the good fortune our broadcast booth is down low. It's on the first concourse level. It's about 25 rows up, right behind the stands. It's a great view. The Press box there, you know, where some of the other broadcasters are, is pretty high up. But to watch those first two games from, not right against the glass, but a lot closer to the ice than we usually do. And when he gets going, it's just something special to watch. And then you throw in Leon Draisaitl and, you know, some of the other unbelievable players in this series. And on the other side, you watch what Sam Bennett's been doing in the playoffs and Brad Marchando, not, not as far as the speed of McDavid, but just some of the plays they've been making. But, you know, it'll be fascinating tonight with, with Florida having the last change, will they try to get Barkov out there as much as possible against McDavid, you know, which defense pairing will they try and get out? So we'll keep an eye on the chess match, but just getting back to AJ's original question, it's just a different, it's a different speed. We're, we were talking about it with Wayne, you know, a little while ago. I think his son joked to him, you know, imagine if you had McDavid speed back in the day and, you know, Wayne looked like he was twice as good as any other player that was out there during his entire career. So it's a lot of fun to watch.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it certainly is. In Wayno with McDavid, speed would have been certainly something to watch because he said, you know, we'd sweat. We get 10 pounds of sweat in the old leather skates. You kind of slow you down a little bit, don't you? Sorry. Sorry about it. That cooking that he did, that's in a Stanley cup final. Oh, yeah, that's not like game one or game two. That's like game 40, middle of the season. Like, that's, ah, drag.

[Darius Butler]

Those are pretty good defenders too.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes. It's Stanley Cup Final. Two best teams.

[Kenny Albert]

And those moves he made in the past, just incredible.

[Pat McAfee]

Hi. Hi. See you. Stanley Cup Final. This is not an All Star game. People are trying. There's a Lord Stanley cup on the line. Okay, let's move along here and talk about you. Kenny on the call. We can't wait to hear you yet again tonight. Ty has a question for you.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Kenny, when you look around every broadcaster or most broadcasters who are, you know, worth their salt, you're certainly in that conversation. Mike Breen's got bang, you know, and there are a laundry list of others, you don't really have an opportunity to do it in hockey as much. But one of my favorite Things about watching you on the call is you just get a quick concise.

[Kenny Albert]

Yes.

[Boston Connor]

You just, you pop that in time and time again. I don't know if that's like, considered your trademark because it's got a little bit of your dad in there too. But, but are you noticing, like, do you consider that a trademark? How did that come to be. And can, if you can, can you maybe pepper like 50 to 60 of those into the game tonight?

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Kenny Albert]

It's funny in hockey, you know, you're right. You know, Mike Breen has the tremendous bang call. And I know there was a little controversy because he didn't use it for Hal Burton. And I read, I read an article where he said, it's mostly for three point shots. Not, not, not two points.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, okay. More national media bullshit.

[Kenny Albert]

That's, that's what I read. I don't know. That's what I read the other day.

[Pat McAfee]

I know, I know. I, I read it too. I'm not thrilled about it. We deserved a bag there, you know. Yeah, I'd say, yeah, yeah. Sorry about it. Go ahead.

[Kenny Albert]

People often ask me about, you know, signature calls and do you come up with, do you have a prepared line, for example, when the, when the team wins the Stanley Cup. And I don't write out a whole paragraph, but, but I do get some phrases, some key words and phrases in my mind. When I worked, the 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cup. They had won the previous year as well. So I was throwing some words around and came up with lightning strikes twice. So when the game ended, lightning strikes twice. The Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley cup with Vegas. Two years ago, it was the silver trophy to the Golden Knights. So that was what I used on that. And then this year we had the Ovechkin record breaking game, speaking of Wayne Gretzky. And we were lucky enough to be there with our TNT crew back in early April on Long island. And he had scored two goals in the previous game to tie the record. And I was watching that in a hotel room in Atlanta and I had been thinking about, you know, what I would possibly do if he scored that goal. And I was throwing around in my mind, you know, he's the great eight and Wayne's the great one. And then Joe, Ben Andotti, who does a terrific job on Washington Capitals games, he sort of used that for the tying goal for 894. So I said, well, I can't go, you know, I can't go in that direction now because Joe did It for the tying goal. So when he scored that goal, 895, it kind of came out naturally, the goal call. And then I got in the number 895, but then I got out of the way. And you know, in tv, what we call laying out. And there have been a couple of other occasions in my career. The Bautista home run in bat flip back in 2015, some other big overtime series winners, I just shut up and get out of the way. And so many other great broadcasters, Joe Buck comes to mind and many others do the same thing. They let the pictures tell the story and the sounds from the arena or the stadium. And it's ironic. Some of the biggest praise that play by play announcers get is when we don't say anything, when we shut up and get out of the way. And that was my philosophy. With the Ovanchkin goal, I know on the Corey Perry tying goal, I yelled score twice. Maybe I was thinking about Mike Breen with the double bang. I don't know. On some of the big goals. And I think I did it, you know, for some other big goals. We had that great Winnipeg St. Louis game, Game 7, when Winnipeg was down 3 to 1 and scored 2. Two goals in the last two minutes and won the game in overtime. So sometimes you let it just come out naturally and then shut up and get out of the way.

[Pat McAfee]

Are you, honey? You drinking, honey? What do we do? You got some stuff for the voice? What's the voice work?

[Kenny Albert]

Very fortunately, knock on wood, I haven't had many issues through the years, and we deal with a lot of late flights and early mornings. Hall's cough drops are probably my secret remedy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Kenny Albert]

I don't.

[Quentin Richardson]

I don't.

[Kenny Albert]

I don't drink coffee. I don't drink tea unless I have a sore throat, a lot of Diet Cokes. I'm a big Diet Coke guy. But throat the halls cough drops, that's about it.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Well, the voice always sounds so pure.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, it always sounds so damn great. I'm very envious. Just know that because I wake up on a random Tuesday and it'll just be nothing. I'm like, what the hell happened? Oh, I must have slept with my mouth open last night. Okay, so now you're.

[Kenny Albert]

You guys have to talk for hours, so you have to preserve that voice, Right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I know. And I try to. That's why I ask. That's why I was like, hey, what are you doing? Every person that's a singer, I try to ask them what they do. Some of them have Some real interesting. Some of your favorite singers. Really?

[Boston Connor]

Like what remedies.

[Pat McAfee]

Like, you know, the. Like a Vicks Steamer. I've seen older generations of Gumby's laughing. Gumby was there with me. Gumby was there. Yeah. This guy. Okay, there's a guy.

[Boston Connor]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Brought it out, put it on the counter. We were having a conversation and just started huffing. I mean, just huffing this steam for 35 minutes, I think. Conversation with us, then right back into it like it was a ventilator and it was just Vic Steam just going right down. Like that's.

[Kenny Albert]

Now I will say this. Radio broadcast hockey versus tv. I don't have to talk as much on tv. You don't have to describe as much as you do on radio. And I have two color analysts, plus we have Darren Pang and Jackie Redmond downstairs. There are five of us contributing. But I've done radio for 29 years with the Rangers, and there have been some playoff runs. 2014, for example, I was going back and forth in the conference final. Rangers were playing Montreal. I was working those on radio and then LA against Chicago on TV just about every other day. And red eyes and flights. That was the time period where I was most concerned because there was a lack of sleep and a lot of flights and early morning flights on game days, but fortunately no issues during that time.

[Pat McAfee]

Did you just have to put the cigs down for that run? No Sig smoking. Yeah, I get it.

[Boston Connor]

Nightmare.

[Pat McAfee]

What?

[Kenny Albert]

I should have thought of that back then.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Get that little gravel in there. Get a little gravel in there. Connor has a question for you.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Kenny, it feels like you have called every single sport for so long and. And throughout that time, so many of these sports have changed. Is there one sport you look at that has changed the most? I assume baseball is the only one that hasn't changed as much just because it's still boring. But as far as the other ones go, what sports?

[Pat McAfee]

It's not boring. Ratings are up.

[Boston Connor]

I actually watched. I actually watched a baseball game this weekend, so I don't know why I would pick this time to say that, but. Kenny, is there one sport that has changed the most out of the four major ones?

[Kenny Albert]

You know what? To be honest, Connor and I don't do as much baseball as the other Sports. Anywhere between 5 and 10 games every summer on Fox. But I think baseball may be the answer because of the pitch clock in recent years. That's really sped it up. And a lot of strategy changes and the ghost runner and X ratings. As far as the other Sports, we've seen new rules. And I think replay, you know, especially in football and the NFL. When I started with Fox back in 94, that's when replay was first coming in. And the technology and you know, going to the, to the replay rooms in the various sports. Football in New York, hockey, situation room in Toronto, basketball, they go to Secaucus, New Jersey. So I think the replay video review challenge aspects in every sport, that's probably the biggest change. But I would say baseball from a broadcasting standpoint, standpoint. And I tell this to, I speak to high school and college broadcasting students every year, various camps and programs that I visit and so many other announcers do as well. As far as play by play. Hockey, especially on the radio, but hockey in general, radio or TV, it's just a continuous action for 60 minutes. You're calling the play, it's exciting, it's fast. Basketball, similar, 48 minutes, the ball is in action, but there are more whistles, more fouls, more stoppages. Football is the most rhythmic to call. And I know Pat's been in the booth for football games. And by the way, I love what you guys did during the college football playoffs. Doing the play by play, you know, right down on the field, that was very entertaining. But football, it's one play and then it's 20 or 25 seconds for the analysts to come in. It's another play, 20 or 25 seconds. Baseball, the ball's only in play eight to 12 minutes during an entire game. So if you're up in the booth, there's a lot of downtime to fill. So I think it's the most challenging. But the pitch clock has certainly sped it up over the last several years. I've spoken to baseball announcers. Howie Rose in New York, who does an unbelievable job with the Mets and called NHL games for 30 years, he said calling baseball now almost feels like a hockey game because of the speed between pitches. And you have to be right on it in case the next pitch is thrown. There's not as much time to tell stories in between pitches and in between outs.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, sorry, you just blew my mind there with that. Eight to twelve minutes of actual gameplay in a four hour baseball game. I tried to do the percentages there. So you do the math. Eight to 12, put it at 10. Baseball game is what, 240 minutes? Four hours?

[Boston Connor]

No, like two and a half hours.

[Kenny Albert]

With the pitch clock. Two and a half, 240. They used to be three hours. I might have told you this story the last time I was on I once worked a 20 inning game, never went to the bathroom.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh yeah, yeah, I remember you dumped your pants.

[Kenny Albert]

These days it's about two and a half hours with the pitch clock. But that's. They've done studies. It's actually only 8 to 12 minutes that the ball's in play during an average baseball game.

[Pat McAfee]

I'll tell you, I've been watching more baseball just like Connor mentioned. Their ratings are up across all networks for baseball. I think it's because their superstars are playing well. But I guess it isn't a. It'll never be. Never be called a high action sport, you know, never be. College baseball though had some action.

[Darius Butler]

I don't know the World Series last year.

[Boston Connor]

It was awesome. It depends too because like if. If you get like a pitchers like personally like I think that is incredibly like watching SK and he's just mowing people down. You got to think like a lot of those balls are never getting put into play.

[Pat McAfee]

I love watching.

[Boston Connor]

You know what I mean? Like and that's. That's a super entertaining brand. It's just like you can get some nights where.

[Pat McAfee]

So many seats.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, a lot of empties.

[Pat McAfee]

So many open seats right behind the plate too. He just needs to.

[Darius Butler]

Great watching him.

[Pat McAfee]

But he's so good with baseball.

[Quentin Richardson]

Go the Yankees, buddy.

[Ty Schmidt]

Winning record since the Don Kelly's taking over. They're playing salty ball.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that's right. The Pirates are getting hot at the right time. Don't look now. Don't look now. Only got.

[Kenny Albert]

That's a beautiful. That's a beautiful ballpark in Pittsburgh. Love that place.

[Pat McAfee]

Don't you think they should sell the team though, Kenny?

[Kenny Albert]

I. I probably haven't followed it as closely as you have, so I just love. I haven't been there in a while for baseball but love working games. Beautiful setting there, Kenny.

[Pat McAfee]

I put you in a terrible spot there. I put you in a bad spot there to say that and I apologize.

[Kenny Albert]

Are you looking to buy the team Pirates?

[Pat McAfee]

No. No, I don't. There's. That's a few decades away. We got to get really lucky to be able to buy a team like the Pirates are. How expensive it is. The problem is the guy that owns it, he knows that too.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And he's just sitting there on fat cash. He doesn't care about making the team better. Even though we got a guy. We got the guy. But speaking of that. We got the guy. He's playing well. Shohei's playing, playing well. Aaron Judge is playing well. It's like all the stars are playing well across baseball. It's a good time to be a baseball fan. It's also a great time to be a hockey fan, especially if you're from South Florida. D, Bud has a question for you.

[Darius Butler]

As, as Pat mentioned, South Florida kid, still a resident down there. South in, in that bubble at least, the sport has grown in popularity immensely. I'm even seeing in my neighborhood, you know, hockey nets on the street that you would never see 10, 20 years years ago. Have you felt it at all in your personal life as a commentator now? More people just talking about hockey because I feel like the guy. Half the guys in here probably grew up hockey fans, but most guys, casual fans of sports. Maybe that wasn't the case.

[Kenny Albert]

Well, in South Florida, absolutely. You know, we've been coming down here for the last few years to do playoff games. But I've been coming here, you know, ever since the Panthers entered the league in 93, and they did go to the final in 96, but after that, they went 25 years without winning a playoff series. And the building was half empty for a long time. And what they've been able to do over these last four years, they won the President's Trophy, best regular season record. Then they went to the Stanley cup final against Vegas, won the cup last year. So it's been an unbelievable four year stretch. And Vinny Viola and his wife Teresa, they own the team. The general manager, Bill Zito, they've all done an unbelievable job promoting the sport of hockey here in South Florida over this recent stretch. And now they have a great new practice facility. I was just over there this morning. It's in Fort Lauderdale, about two miles from the beach. So a lot of the players live in that area. Head coach Paul Maurice said he lives two blocks from the practice rink. He rides his bike to practice every day. Some of the players drive golf carts. So it's really become a destination in the NHL because of the way they treat their players, the weather and just the level of talent that they have on this team. You know, they were, they were an excellent team when they won the regular season title. But then they trade for Matthew Tkachuk and that, you know, as far as culture that, that just added to it, you know, the type of player and person that he is. He's out there, you know, amongst the fans promoting the sport. And they have a superstar captain in Barkov and superstar gold here in Bobrovsky. And then they bring in a Brad Marchand and a Seth Jones prior to the deadline. And here they are Three wins away from another Stanley Cup. But you could sense, you know, all the games are sold out now. There's so much talk about hockey in the South Florida area, so we've certainly seen that here. But you look at the Wayne Gretzky influence, you know, he goes to LA in 88 and gets to a cup final in 93, and all of a sudden kids in California are playing hockey. Kids in some of the other warm weather states are playing hockey, the Sun Belt states. And now you look around, you have two teams in Florida that have gone to the finals six straight years. Tampa Bay Lightning three straight years. And now the Florida Panthers three straight years. The Dallas Stars have been to the conference final three straight years. They won a Cup. They won a cup back in 99. Vegas won a cup two years ago. The two teams in Southern California, The Kings won two cups. The Ducks won a cup back in 2007. So, you know, once Wayne went out there and, you know, he's. He's such a humble man, you know, downplays it. But that trade of Gretzky from Edmonton to LA really set the table in the United States for these Sunbelt teams who have all had great success.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was a. It was a great move for hockey to get Wayne O. Down there. Wayne was emotional about leaving Edmonton.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, like he didn't want to.

[Pat McAfee]

Wayne was. Yes, he was.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah. Wound up. And he's still beloved in Edmonton. We were just up there with him for games one and two. He's got a statue outside the arena. Helped lead the oilers to the Four Cups and then they wanted fifth after he left in 1990. They still had some of the other superstar players, but he played such a large role, you know, obviously in the success in Southern California and then all these other Sunbelt teams coming in as expansion teams. And you could throw a Nashville into the mix. And Carolina, you know, moving down from Hartford and all those teams have enjoyed great success.

[Pat McAfee]

Hockey's the best. Hockey is awesome. I'm happy more people are learning about it. You know, hopefully more people get a chance to play, and obviously it's expensive. Hopefully they're able to figure that out because going forward, to get more people on the ice, I liked hearing there's hockey necks, hockey nets on the street down there in South Florida. It's a great game. It's a great sport. Hey, Gumpy, what are they saying about Texas hockey down there? A lot of people playing hockey now, huh? Because DeBoer is running dust show down there. Deborah got shit canned, actually. Yeah, it turns Out.

[Ty Schmidt]

Turns out when you bury the franchise.

[Pat McAfee]

Goalie, one of the best goalies in the league, they probably don't like it very much. So thanks for the good times beat.

[Kenny Albert]

But hit the bricks, pal.

[Pat McAfee]

You brought up Dallas as you brought the Dallas Stars. We got a guy in the back who is a Dallas Stars fan from Victoria, Canada. So, I mean, you piece that together however you want. He also likes the Miami Dolphins and he likes the Boston Red Sox. So he likes the Red Sox, the Miami Dolphins, and the Dallas Stews.

[Kenny Albert]

He's got every corner of North America covered with those teams.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I didn't even think Dallas is heavy.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah, great runs. We did the conference final there two years ago, or I should say last year against Edmonton. Yeah, they made the change. You know, we all know what took place with DeBoer pulling Ottinger and in the last game of the Edmonton series, Game five. And their general manager, Jim Dill, came out and said, it's time for a new voice. And Paul Maurice was asked about it. He and Pete DeBoer are very close. They played junior hockey together 30 years ago. And he said, you know, Pete will definitely get another job. He'll probably win. Jim Nill said, pete will probably win a Stanley cup final. Wherever he goes next, he'll probably win a Cup. He's been to the conference final, I think, six of the last seven years, and he's brought two other teams to the cup final. So he's a great coach. But, you know, Pat, A.J. you guys know how it is in pro sports. I think the average life cycle in the NHL for a coach is probably three years. There are so many changes every year, and we'll see who the Dallas Stars wind up hiring, but they've had a great run. But they haven't been able to make that final step into the cup final.

[Pat McAfee]

On that note, good luck to coach Solly in New York. Thank you for the time in Pittsburgh. That's your. Fired from Pittsburgh, signs the biggest contract in the history of coaching the next day for the Rangers or whatever.

[Kenny Albert]

Just like, yeah, he's a great, you know, great coach. Great man. He was in New York as an assistant before under John Tortorella. So looking forward to the Mike Sullivan era in New York with the Rangers.

[Pat McAfee]

He brought us a lot of good times in Pittsburgh. You talk about Muse.

[Boston Connor]

I'm talking about. Yeah, yeah, Dan. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

That's not his.

[Ty Schmidt]

He was a Rangers assistant.

[Darius Butler]

That's the new coach.

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah, he's a coach in Pittsburgh. He was a Rangers assistant. I've Heard a lot of good things about him from people who are around some of his junior teams that he coached, coached in the US National Development Program. So he's one of those up and coming coaches, is in his early 40s.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Kenny Albert]

That have been identified, you know, at a young age. You look at Spencer Carberry in Washington and the job that he's done as a young coach in the NHL. Just won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the Year. Chris Knobloch in Edmonton, his second season, his second trip to the Stanley cup finals. So the Penguins certainly hope Dan Muse can lead the Penguins in the same direction as Carberry and Knobloch have done with their teams.

[Pat McAfee]

I think a lot of people wondered about the framing of the photo of Dan Mewes views and the announcement of him being the new head coach. Yeah, you know, had him looking off to the side there. Could have had some sort of actually his best. Maybe a better photo shot.

[Kenny Albert]

He's looking down. He's looking down at the goal to the left side of the ice.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, I got it. Because that's where we're scoring. Right side. Big brain, huge brain. Him and Dubas are going to do a great job. Couple young lads. A couple young lads there in Pittsburgh going to turn it all around.

[Boston Connor]

No Marco Stern?

[Pat McAfee]

No. Sidney Crosby told me a big night. Now a couple more years, we're going to be doing exactly what we're doing here. Packing this place out, having a good time, chasing Lordo. Music is going to take us there, brother. Don't you worry about that.

[Boston Connor]

I don't know about that.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's talk about you and your career. You said in 1990 you were maybe seven years old whenever you got your start. We believe that you probably could have been able to do it as a seven year old, obviously, because the family in which you come from. Tone has a question for you. Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Kenny, I believe I saw recently that you passed your father for second second most. Let me get it right here. All time in national calls at close to 1500 games. Which is. Which is just absurd. All four major sports obviously is. Now that you're doing hockey right now is hockey. You talked about it being the most action for sure, as in the booth. But is that. Is it the most fun sport to call?

[Kenny Albert]

So a couple of things there. It's amazing that there are people that keep these lists of. Of games called by announcers. There's a gentleman named Tony Miller in the Midwest who has a site on social media, it's called Unnecessary Sports Research and he keeps charts of every Sport, play by play, announcers, color analysts, sideline reporters, etc. So it's fun to check it out and see what those numbers are. And yeah, last week I guess I pulled into number two. This is for NFL, NHL, NBA and Major League Baseball. Baseball, national broadcasts. It doesn't count the local broadcasts. I think that would be too hard to keep track of. For example, I've probably worked over 2000 national broadcast, sorry, local broadcasts as well. Three years in Washington and now 29 years with the Rangers. But that's the national list and it includes the other sports, like I said. Does it include, for example, college basketball, boxing, that a lot of others have done, but. But, you know, it's a huge honor to just be a part of that list and see some of the other names that are on there. Dick Stockton, number one on that national list of the four sports, but very fortunate to be involved in all of them with Fox since 1994. On football and like I said, some baseball during the summer. NHL on NBC for many years. Olympic hockey, which were like, looking forward to again next year. And then gel and TNT with an amazing crew for the last four years. And also do the Rangers and some Knicks fill in on msg. So lucky to be around. Great people as far as my color analysts, the executives, the production people. But yeah, crazy that it's that many games. It does not include the college wrestling event I did back in the mid-90s. That's probably the one event where I felt like I had no clue what I was doing, even though I prepared and talked to an Olympic wrestler, Jeff Blatnick, and had a great color analyst that day. And that was probably the one I've done. I've done some other sports at the Olympics. Water polo, track and field, volleyball. But the college wrestling, probably the one where I really felt like I had no clue what I was watching.

[Pat McAfee]

What the hell do you get a point for there? Points fly and he gets up. They put him down. Was that Matt and Madness? You called Matt Madness?

[Kenny Albert]

This was the ACC speaking of college sports. It was the ACC Wrestling Championships in Chapel Hill back in 94, 95 that year.

[Pat McAfee]

I wish I could have pulled it.

[Kenny Albert]

By the way, Pat. I was. When I was 7, I was calling games into a tape recorder in my bedroom at home. So I was doing it back then.

[Pat McAfee]

Do we have those saved? Do we have those tapes?

[Kenny Albert]

Have some of them.

[Pat McAfee]

I do.

[Kenny Albert]

I do.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, that's amazing. I can't wait.

[Kenny Albert]

I could bring them on the show next time if you'd like. Hey, might Scare some people away.

[Pat McAfee]

We would love that. I just assume whenever you go into all the hall of Fames, they will have that in the intro videos. We appreciate your service to sports. You're the man. We can't wait to watch you tonight.

[Kenny Albert]

Well, thanks so much for having me on Pat, AJ the rest of the gang, really appreciate it. A lot of fun. And hopefully game three is just as exciting as games one and two.

[Pat McAfee]

We assume it will be because hockey is awesome. Just like you and your entire TNT crew. Tell everybody we said hello. Ladies and gentlemen, the man. Kenny Albert. Why'd they put Muse's photo like that?

[Boston Connor]

I know.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you mean? What do you want it to be? Lifting weights or something?

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, maybe him skating, maybe. Maybe him on the ice.

[Pat McAfee]

Just anything but this one, I think.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, he does look like a. No nonsense son of a, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah.

[Boston Connor]

It has no nonsense.

[Ty Schmidt]

I saw him in a movie one time.

[Pat McAfee]

What was it?

[Ty Schmidt]

Slender Man.

[Darius Butler]

Few movies.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. I bet he's some.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Boston Connor]

Bet he's in those porno films you watch. Tony.

[Pat McAfee]

The NHL put. Jeez Louise. The NHL put this post out. The Penguins are fired.

[Pete Thamel]

Okay, I can see why.

[Pat McAfee]

They.

[Boston Connor]

Holy. Are you kidding me?

[Pat McAfee]

They're going to win the next five. Coach, we appreciate you. Coach? Me? What the hell? He's. The guy's the head coach of Pittsburgh Penguins.

[Boston Connor]

Built this guy in the loser lab and it's like, come on.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's not true.

[Pat McAfee]

I just got a text saying that big pop out of the entire chow hall. Nice. Whenever I said I'm not going to be no wadi. Then I believe they all called me a wy.

[Ty Schmidt]

Or they got TVs.

[Pat McAfee]

They got TVs there in the DI. Okay, there's a DI.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. The recruits watch the TVs and then they have to act out what's happening on the tv.

[Pat McAfee]

The recruits, the crew's eye, the recruit's eyes. Do not have any sight of a television time. Those recruits, man, I'll tell you, I appreciate them. Hell yes, I do appreciate them. Yeah, I do. We need them. Yeah. Yeah. Ura.

[Darius Butler]

Hell yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Er. Kill Slayer. Break chains. So many little. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Just listening to them bop phrases back and forth around town. So many badasses.

[Boston Connor]

So sick.

[Pat McAfee]

One place felt very safe there, you know? Yeah, I could see that's one of those places that you're just walking around. It's like all of these people, all of them could just handle whatever, whenever. So remember that. Whenever we think, man, this world's going, we don't have a we. We Marines, and I assume the other branches of the military are saying the same thing, but with these eyes, what I've seen, we're in a good spot for a long time. Packed out, too. That's good. That sold out, you know.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

No vacancy.

[Boston Connor]

No vacancy.

[Pat McAfee]

No vacancy. It's going through there, and I guess summer is the big time, you know, because high school gets out of school and then it goes through there. So the amount of camps that are going on right now currently, it's this moment. Think of the weather. The weather in the summer there for their training. Oh, it was so hot. So I. So, So. I mean, I got burnt pretty good. I mean, I got. I got. I got lit up pretty good. Who's the. In a tank top? Shouldn't be wearing it. You're just going to get burnt. You look like a idiot.

[Boston Connor]

Told me to wear what I wear.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I was told to dress as I dress. That's what I had so many questions, questions going in. I'm like, what should I wear? Who am I allowed to talk to? They're like, just be yourself and wear what you would wear. And I go, you know, I dress like an. It's like, just wear what you would wear. All right. Go down there. So much room for sand fleas.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

So much surface area.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah. They love.

[Pat McAfee]

So many mistakes made. Sun beating the. Out of me, these fleas. As I'm standing there on the yellow footprints. Okay, seven. Whatever. Am been up for four hours already. Holy. Is this the longest day of all? As I'm standing there. First sand flea of the day. I've heard about it. I've heard about it. I heard that these things are real. As I'm standing there, right on cue, just right through my face, and I'm like, oh, can't. Could you imagine this thing off me that. Look at old buddy.

[Pete Thamel]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Where his hands are. Big deal. Right there. Says a lot. Right there where his hands are.

[Boston Connor]

Good posture.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, great posture. Yeah, great posture. When I say ears, you say open, sir. Do you understand? I, sir. Yeah, I, sir. I, sir. Ears. What? That didn't sound like ears. That didn't sound anything like ears. Eyes. Snap, sir. Too slow. When I say eyes, you snap your head and you say snap, sir. Do you understand? I, sir. Do you understand? I, sir. Yell, I, sir. Aye, sir. Eyes. Fuck, I forgot. Snap. Snap, sir. Damn. Back to the beginning. I know, I know. I don't. I couldn't even imagine. 18 years old. Yeah, boy. You know why they call it yellow there? Pissing your pants and I was pretty close as soon as he. Because I didn't see him. The two took me out. I had two took me out of the van. There's a van over back, his shoulder there, like that way that I got pulled out of. Two guys, you know, get to the thing. I get there. All of a sudden, old buddy here comes walking out of sights unknown. I've not seen it. It's like, oh, this is the one here. This is stone cold Steve Austin coming in. So I didn't even know what he looked like while I was looking ahead. And then whenever he got in front of me, I was like, this guy's playing no game. Obviously there's a little bit of spit going. Sure. Obviously there's a little bit of a spit going. You worried? If not, don't move, don't move. Then you go from there to the. In front of the silver hatch, which front of the building. That's like a. Let's say 15 yards, 20 yards. They're telling me to hurry up to get there. So I'm like, do I run?

[Kenny Albert]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I was about to say, am I.

[Darius Butler]

Supposed to run march, Run got burst?

[Pat McAfee]

What? Yeah, no, run. Do not run. I guess if I would have ran, it would have been a big.

[Darius Butler]

Just a speed walk.

[Pat McAfee]

I. I think you're supposed to good.

[Boston Connor]

Pace, make it look.

[Pat McAfee]

Supposed to be a little. Hey, you know. And then they're like through these doors, did the entire thing and I'm like, like I should not be standing here. I kind of. This is like a very important thing. And then across the top, obviously, which I did not even look up and see because I was scared if I lifted my head up like this, I was going to get from the other two. So I didn't. So as he says move for me to walk through the doors, I literally ask. I'm not going. And like this way, I go around like, move, move, move, move, move. They were. I mean, I was in it. I was a recruit there. Sit down in these steel chairs or silver chairs. The only one in there. That means a lot of eyes on me, all three of them. Sit down. Stand up. Sit down. Aye, sir. Stand up. Aye, sir. Sit down. Aye, sir. Because he tells me only to listen to him. Okay, Little bit of a mind fuck outside. He told me, you will listen to me and only me going forward.

[Kenny Albert]

Do you hear me?

[Pat McAfee]

Aye, sir. Okay, so we get inside, there's two of them sit in front of that desk right there. Oh, he's telling me to sit down. So I sit down. Other one comes in stand up. I'm like, well, I was told, can.

[Darius Butler]

You follow orders or not?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Is this a. Is this. I don't.

[Boston Connor]

That is.

[Pat McAfee]

Simon says, that is a little bit. So I can't be right. I stayed down. I'm like, nope, Almost listening to this guy. So this guy says, stand up. And I don't even. I didn't even budge. And then the guy goes, stand up. Okay. And I stand up. And they go, you stand up, you say, aye, sir. You sit down, you say, aye, sir. Do you understand? I, sir. Yo. I, sir. I, sir. Sit down. I, sir. Stand up. I, sir. Sit down. I, sir. Do you understand? Oh, don't stand up.

[Ty Schmidt]

And, you know, if you would have stood up originally, he would have said, I told you only to listen.

[Pat McAfee]

Bingo. Yeah. Yeah. I was in the middle of. I mean, there was certainly something.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's.

[Pat McAfee]

It just mentally clever all over the place. When I say ears, like, elongated, you say open, sir. Do you understand? Say, I, sir. Aye, sir. Say it louder. I, sir. Is. Are you saying yes?

[Darius Butler]

You probably got. Got different accents, too.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, and then they all lose their voice, you know, so they all have like a. Like a coach's voice, probably. Yeah, like, very much. But it's loud and it's very. I mean, it is. They are. That's exactly what it is. By the way, I realized quickly that all disciplinary coaches are just trying to be what's happening there. Like, that is how they are. You know, one person bobbles bringing the pants out. Out to the line. Oh, guess what we're all doing again. All of them back. You know what I mean? Like, all you need is just one person. Oh, Buddy's arms aren't straight, so now everybody has to go back. Oh, Buddy's left leg was not at attention, so now everybody has to go back. You know, it's like, oh, this is what football coaches are. Like, it was very obvious. Like, but that. That. That one's like, that one, you know, they don't want anything slip. That's the thing. Yeah, they don't let anything slip. Like, you can't. Can't give up an inch. Heels, heels, heels, heels.

[Darius Butler]

Good coaches, little things. That was hard. A little thing for us, it's like we lose the game for them is life and death.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Quentin Richardson]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Did you feel like you were in, like, a Scared Straight episode? They have that, actually. Yeah, I did. And I could. We talked about this earlier. Like, I don't know if they still do that or not. With, like, you either go to jail or juvie or you go to a boot camp camp. But like that should be something that should still be. Cuz I feel like that can really. I think it straightens you. I think you're not. You're forced to Scared straight. Holy. I watch and either stay in and take it or go to jail.

[Boston Connor]

Like that's the thing too.

[Pat McAfee]

Like you got to make a choice. Yeah. But then at the end of it, we got. You know, I saw the end of it. I saw the end of it and it was like all of them. We are in this. It was. It was like a really cool thing to kind of see. The first day pickup, which I saw. I forget which group.

[Ty Schmidt]

It was.

[Pat McAfee]

D Delta, whatever, saw their first day. And then I saw the graduates. And then I saw in between. It's like you can see it like kind of happening through the meticulous accountability on everything. And then by the last day, they're all. I mean, everybody. Uniform, the exact same walk, talk, breathe, talk. The way they. I think even. I think even their mannerisms are all the exact same. And it's like that's what they're creating there. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Build them in machines.

[Pat McAfee]

We make Marines. It was an honor to watch. Thank you to all of them for the hospitality and thank you to the Marines for being a Marine still. And thank you to Sergeant. Sergeant that was yelling at me. I didn't get a chance to meet him afterwards. They kind of. He did not. He viewed me as a recruit. Sure.

[Darius Butler]

Is he on his tippy toes?

[Pat McAfee]

I think he's leaning over. He's leaning over good.

[Boston Connor]

Forward, lean right.

[Pat McAfee]

He's telling me to say I, sir louder, you know, because I didn't say I, sir loud enough. Did they ever bump you with the brim of their hat? Like get real close to you and.

[Kenny Albert]

Start bumping your hat head?

[Pat McAfee]

So the, the. They used to actually have swagger sticks, I believe is what they were called back in the day. Which drill instructors had. Which is like I guess a ruler that nuns used to have at Catholic schools. Yeah, like, I guess that used to be. Not anymore. Anymore. No, there's no. It's all.

[Darius Butler]

That's one of the things that verbal.

[Pat McAfee]

What's that?

[Darius Butler]

That's one of the things that didn't make it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I guess. I guess those are getting pretty sure.

[Boston Connor]

They'Re abusive them a bit.

[Pat McAfee]

Those were. I mean, just like the nuns. Just like the nuns started, you know, cracking hands a little bit. I assume at a time there's a little bit of that. But it was. I mean, the drone instructors might be the baddest I've ever seen. Just all from 4am all the way. I'm sorry, 3:30am because they were even doing pre for those who were on fire watch, which terrible. I don't know how they got picked. Three people that were in the Charlie company there. Three people that were 11 days into it, and they were forced to watch. You know, we'll look out. And it's like they roll right into that. The lights, lights, lights. Like they've been up for the last. Oh, buddy. But we appreciate them.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes, we do.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And I'm thankful it exists. All right, we'll be back tomorrow. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. We're in this thing together. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team goodbye.