PMS 2.0 1488 - NFL Divisional Playoffs Preview/Picks, Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal, University of Miami President/CEO Joseph Echevarria, Jeff Passan, & AJ Hawk

Summary

The Pat McAfee Show 2.0 – Episode 1488

Date: January 16, 2026
Key Guests: Mario Cristobal (Miami Head Coach), Joseph Echevarria (University of Miami President/CEO), Jeff Passan (ESPN MLB Insider), AJ Hawk
Major Themes: NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend Preview & Gambling Angles, College Football National Championship, Behind-the-Scenes at "The U", and MLB Financial Dramas

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Overview

This episode of The Pat McAfee Show is a high-energy, jam-packed Friday celebration and deep-dive into the 2026 NFL Divisional Playoffs, the impending college football national title game between Miami and Indiana, the Miami Hurricanes’ resurgence, major shakeups in Major League Baseball, and a series of laugh-out-loud in-studio antics. Through a mix of expert insight, locker room banter, and candid interviews, McAfee and team paint a vivid picture of a defining sports weekend—while highlighting how leadership, culture, and business acumen are shaping The U’s return to glory.

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NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend Preview

(00:13 – 14:30)

Main Storylines and Matchups

• Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncos
  • “Buffalo Beals and the reigning MVP travel out to Sean Payton, Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos who have a loaded defense looking for their first win in the playoffs this season.” (00:30, McAfee)
  • Discussion on Denver’s home-field advantage and the Broncos’ playoff return.
• San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
  • Recap of regular season splits; rivalry intensity; crowd impact in Seattle.
  • “Saturday night Seattle is going to be gigantic.” (07:53, McAfee)
• Houston Texans @ New England Patriots
  • Focus on New England’s home-field (cold/rowdy fans) vs. Houston’s historic defense; Drake May’s MVP campaign.
  • “Patriots fans, talented shit talkers…a shit talking community…They know when a game’s going good, when a game's going bad. They've literally been in prime time in the biggest games two decades straight.” (05:00–05:28, McAfee)
• LA Rams @ Chicago Bears
  • Bears’ frigid home conditions; Matthew Stafford vs. Caleb Williams in cold; crowd psychology after a hotly contested playoff run.
  • “Caleb's actually played in multiple games that are colder than any game Matthew Stafford has ever played in...That was my initial hemba to look into it. No, both of them, two and two.” (00:56, McAfee)

Notable Quotes

• “Let's enjoy the hell out of our last time watching four of these teams…I mean you could just go back to what happened to the Philadelphia Eagles last year…Team looks vastly different. So…let’s enjoy.” (13:01, McAfee)
• “The real tradition of playing in New England is that their fans are going to be assholes. Like that is just what it is to the opposing team.” (05:36, McAfee)

Insights & Betting Angles

(09:34 – 13:25, Tone Diggs)

• Detailed NFL betting breakdowns; point spreads; public betting trends.
• Discussion on coaching carousel and the effect of coordinator turnover post-playoffs.

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Deep Dive: The U’s Resurgence and Championship Preparation

(15:03 – 38:09)

Interview: Mario Cristobal (Miami Head Coach)

(17:50 – 37:43)

Building Toughness & Team Identity

• Miami’s return to the national championship spotlight is credited to culture, physicality, and “men of action.”
• “We’ve been very fortunate to have a collection of guys that…know talk is worthless in this profession. They know the only thing that matters are the dudes within the walls of our building.” (21:30, Cristobal)
• “Brother in law and each other ain't getting anybody better. Okay. That ain't helping anybody.” (24:47, McAfee on Cristobal’s intensity in practices)

Team Building & Blend of Youth/Veterans

• Unique mix of veteran leadership (Carson Beck, Keonte Scott) and impact freshmen.
• “The gut of your team has to be experience, hard nose, tough ass experience guys…the easiest way to get gutted. If you’re not right.” (25:59, Cristobal)
• Handling distractions & maintaining a “road trip mentality” despite playing at home for the natty.
• “We’re actually on the other side and in our away uniforms…We’re going away, we’re going on lockdown.” (32:10, Cristobal)

The Miami Offense

• Discussion of offensive line dominance and buy-in to "chase the ball, chase the ball", referencing healthy culture built in the trenches.
• “Their metrics are really high level. Some are off the charts. The bone density of Minoa is like that of a brontosaurus.” (30:14, Cristobal)

Quarterback Leadership: Carson Beck

• Complete buy-in, toughness after setbacks, and leading by example.
• “He just wants to win. So fired up for the guy.” (29:50, Cristobal)

On President Joe Echevarria’s Role

(34:02 – 37:43)

• “He sees the massive reason of why I…eventually choosing to return…But it had to be right…You had to have a man right at the head…that was going to be able to provide us with all the resources to make it Miami.” (34:25, Cristobal)
• Cristobal’s loyalty to the U flows from “owe Miami…couldn’t go to the grave without Miami being Miami again”.

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Joe Echevarria, President & CEO, University of Miami

(45:03 – 55:44)

Strategic Vision for Miami and College Athletics

• “You know, we started this journey December 6th of 2021…So it's exactly four years. So it's extraordinary for the city…as Mario likes to say, 'we’re here to now.'” (46:07)
• Echevarria sees athletic success as vital to lifting Miami’s national brand—and specifically, football’s power to unify a campus and a region.
• “That U logo was built by athletics…Athletics raises the brand and the consciousness about the University of Miami.” (48:01)
• Candid about NIL and conference dynamics: “We’re playing for our next contract right now…The ACC’s in the championship game, we had to beat some teams in the SEC…But the truth is, football…has not found its equilibrium.” (50:13–51:54)

College Athletics Business—Partnerships & The Future

• “We, the member schools, remember, we are the NCAA…We haven’t won a market-based litigation since 1984…so we have to let go of that model and…create a partnership model just like professional sports.” (51:54)
• Outlines legislative and business fixes needed: Broadcasting Act, collective bargaining, revenue sharing.
• “There are about 4,000 kids, I think, in the transfer portal. There’s not 4,000 opportunities, but that process is dislocated…” (53:50)

Notable Moment

• “Joey, you’re a dog, dude.” (55:13, McAfee, summarizing Echevarria’s energy and business savvy)

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Behind the Scenes at the Show: The Thunderdome Dash / Ticket Contest

(100:25 – 110:34)

• A team relay through varied office/parking terrain serves as a ticket giveaway challenge (and comic relief).
• “Mitt’s been running four miles a day, seven minute mile pace for this moment…” (104:44)
• “If that is failed, five second penalty. If they fall, five second penalty. If they get injured, five second penalty…” (76:10)
• Sports analogies abound as the gang mocks each other’s form and records split times; “Bone” earns respect for gritting out a puking finish.
• “He screamed I’m him at the top of his lungs.” (110:18, Ty Schmidt describing Bone’s post-run confidence)

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Major League Baseball – Dodgers’ Spending Spree & CBA Crisis

(80:04 – 97:39, with Jeff Passan)

Dodgers’ Financial Dominance

• “Dodgers are just going to buy every single good player and they’re going to ruin the game. And now baseball’s over.” (82:17, McAfee)
• Jeff Passan on the system: “This system that has worked…with no salary cap for [baseball's] history…been wonderful to players…But fans right now feel like this game is unfair.” (83:44)
• Upcoming CBA will seek compromise; owners want a cap, players want to hold onto big deals.
• Warning: “Everybody needs to understand this is a universe that people will escape…if you don’t give them what they want.” (89:02, Passan)
• Arbitration system breakdown; what happens as players/agents and ownership go to war over contracts, future of parity, and the sport’s direction.

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Other Noteworthy/Entertaining Moments

• Performance of "the Hammer Dahn" intro and in-studio ribbing, including a discussion over regional styles of trash talk and the “yinzers” (Pittsburghers) offense-as-defense mentality (60:32–63:55).
• Extended riffing on the weather, “feels like” temperature, and midwestern hospitality (77:07–79:37).
• “Bone’s” eating habits, including his aversion to lettuce and mayo; McAfee: “How are you an adult?” (124:01–124:20)
• Closing wisdom: “Let's have the best weekend of our lives. Why? Because it’s the next weekend…Divisional round weekend’s about to deliver…and then the big college game Monday. This is it. This is the time to be alive.” (139:00, McAfee)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:13 – 14:30: NFL Divisional Playoff Preview & Analysis
• 17:50 – 37:43: Mario Cristobal Interview: Coaching Philosophy, Team Build, Championship Prep
• 45:03 – 55:44: Joe Echevarria Interview: Miami's Institutional Revival, College Athletics Business
• 80:04 – 97:39: Jeff Passan: Dodgers, MLB Labor Relations, Salary Cap Debate
• 100:25 – 110:34: Thunderdome Dash (Ticket Relay Contest)
• 124:01 – 124:20: "Bone's" Lettuce Epiphany

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Memorable Quotes

“The real tradition of playing in New England is that their fans are going to be assholes…They know when a game’s going good, when a game’s going bad. They’ve been in prime time in the biggest games two decades straight.” – Pat McAfee (05:36)

“We’ve been very fortunate to have a collection of guys that…know talk is worthless in this profession. They know the only thing that matters are the dudes within the walls of our building.” – Mario Cristobal (21:30)

“Let's enjoy the hell out of our last time watching four of these teams…let’s enjoy.” – Pat McAfee (13:01)

“That U logo was built by athletics…Athletics raises the brand and the consciousness about the University of Miami.” – Joe Echevarria (48:01)

“Everybody needs to understand this is a universe that people will escape…if you don’t give them what they want.” – Jeff Passan (89:02)

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Final Takeaway

This episode is quintessential “Pat McAfee Show”: sports analysis through the lens of culture, betting, and comedy—punctuated by meaningful convos with leaders making a difference (Cristobal, Echevarria), and capped by both absurd and revealing moments that make the show a true original. The blend of divisional playoff hype, granular college football prep from inside "The U," warnings about the future of both college sports and baseball, and a classic relay race, all create a vivid, raucous, and memorable journey for any sports fan—especially those craving more than just the final score.

Transcript

[Pat McAfee]

Hello beautiful people and welcome to our humble abode, the Thunderdome on this division round eve. Feel good. Friday, January 16, 2026. This program begins now.

[Connor Rogers]

Football.

[Pat McAfee]

It's the greatest. And we got four massive divisional round playoff games for the NFL. Two on Saturday, two on Sunday, and then Monday, obviously the big college game that we'll be live from both on our overreaction Monday program from the stadium at Hard Rock down there and the sideline as the big game decides who's this year's title holder. Now, divisional round tomorrow kicks off at 4:30 Eastern Time on CBS as the Buffalo Beals and the reigning MVP travel out to Sean Payton, Bo Nicks and the Denver Broncos who have a loaded defense looking for their first win in the playoffs this season. Now they were the number one overall seed in the afc. Does it still look that way? After one round of wild card football, we shall see San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. The battle for the number one overall seed in the NFC just a few weeks ago. And NFC west rivalry continues in divisional round in front of the 12s who put on a show for football that the entire world will say, wow, those are good fans. Then on Sunday we wake up, have a little bit of a morning. Yeah, have yourself a morning. Do what you got to do, hang out with the fam, talk to the fam, do a little breakfast, maybe some brunch, maybe some mimosas, get this entire thing kicked off, you know, because the big college games happening tomorrow, today's divisional round, we're almost in the middle of a necessary three day holiday weekend. You should enjoy yourself. And then boom, three o'. Clock, the best defense maybe in documented history will travel up to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots who are favored by three. And Mike Vrabel's first year as head coach up there and Drake Baines second year as an NFL quarterback, will he win the mvp? Will he have a massive moment? Or will the demoralizing defense of the Houston Texans who bring the Boobirds with them often ruin everything that Foxborough could potentially showcase? And then at 6:30 on Sunday, we wrap up the divisional round in Chicago. Chicago, the Monsters of the Midway will host the Los Angeles Rams. And I'll tell you what. Rams favored by 3 1/2 on the road, it's going to be down near zero. They're saying that's right. Saying that weather's going to be crazy. And if you start looking at the stats of these cold weather games, you know Matthew Stafford was in the NFC North For a long time on the Detroit Lions, you'd assume he'd have a lot more experience maybe in colder weather than Caleb, who comes from, you know, Oklahoma. Then he was at usc. He's just in his second year in Chicago. There has to be more experience in the cold by Matt Stafford to Caleb Williams. That was my initial hemba to look into it. No, both of them, two and two. Caleb's actually played in multiple games that are colder than any game Matthew Stafford has ever played in. And Matthew Stafford's coldest games were never in Chicago. They were at Green Bay and Philly whenever he was on the Detroit Lions. So now we got a chance to say Caleb actually maybe more prepared for the weather than Matthew Stafford, who spent more than a decade in the NFC north, which is a crazy talk. Now, will Caleb Williams be able to play all four quarters like he's played a lot of fourth quarters? We shall see. Will the Rams defense take advantage and will this weather really impact anything on either side? We'll certainly chat about it the entire rest of today's show as we lead into the greatest weekend of ball that we have had in some time. The toxic table was here at Boston Connor and at Ty Schmidt.

[Ty Schmidt]

Comment?

[Pat McAfee]

I thought we had a playoff fit that we were wearing before the playoffs all the time. Didn't he say that last week, Ty?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, yeah, he did.

[Pat McAfee]

It involved at Nike Tech over the head thing.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Lock in glasses.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yep. And then a water bottle.

[Pat McAfee]

And a water bottle. I thought that was what we were wearing going into every playoff weekend. They got a big win last week.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And now he's changing it up. Did we expect this tie?

[Ty Schmidt]

Not exact. You know what, I don't really hate what he's wearing right now either.

[Connor Rogers]

I was going into the playoffs.

[Pat McAfee]

Gentlemen.

[Connor Rogers]

Okay, we're here.

[AJ Hawk]

We here.

[Connor Rogers]

Okay. Now we are in game mode going forward. We don't have to. We don't have to do any of the. Hey, let's get our warm ups on. Let's do all that. We've been warmed up.

[Pat McAfee]

You got the helmet on.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, yeah. Now it's just all game since Sunday. I basically had this. When I look into the mirror, you guys, you know, I see this constantly. I might have had different outfits on all week. This has been what I've been wearing mentally since Sunday when we beat the absolute shite out of the Chargers. Now, I mean, Chad, you said it. Greatest defense possibly ever with the Houston Texas coming to town. But we'll see. Well, we'll see. I think a lot of people In Foxborough feel good. I think that home field advantage, we're talking about the cold being the advantage in Chicago. In New England, it's the cold and the fans, you know, it's a. It's kind of a two.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, you don't think the Chicago fans are going to be as, as powerful as the Foxborough people? Because I'll tell you, Patriots fans are good at what they do. They have a lot of experience. They are a shit talking community. Okay. The entire area, revolution region. And they also have had a lot to brag about for a long time.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

So they've thought of creative ways to say things over and over. So they got in their holster a multitude of things that they can bury you at. You are the professional athlete. Okay. I'm getting paid to be here.

[Ty Schmidt]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

The person that is talking right now, paying to be here.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

In theory you're a nerd, dude. You're paying to be where I'm getting paid to be. But coming out of their mouths, they'll have you believing that you're an embarrassment to even be in that stadium. I mean, the Patriots fans, talented, talented shit talkers. And they're very loud and they got all their customs and they know when to scream, when not to scream. They know what to cheer. They know when a game's going good, when a game's going bad. They've literally been in prime time in the biggest games two decades straight as a part of it. You know, the Minutemen get a lot of the conversation, as they should. I mean, anytime you can get a musket going off in the middle of a stake, we're certainly fans of that and everything, you know, the keeper of the light now has become a new thing.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

The real tradition of playing in New England is that their fans are going to be assholes. Like that is just what it is to the opposing team. I was there with Adam Venatori, Adam Venturi. What has he done for the New England Patriots? Anything.

[Connor Rogers]

One of the, like all time favorite Patriot for a lot of people.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Has he? I think he's done some things.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. A couple.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. In the community, I think. And also maybe on the field with his toe. You know, some of the biggest moments in the history. Started it happening in the entirety. Yeah. You know, Tucker, then what? Well, Venatori says, oh, is that right? You're going to give us an opportunity. Let me go ahead and do something that's so improbable that then would launch something even more improbable which would be a 20 year dynasty in its entirety. But Adam Ventari, I was up there with him. You would think, you know, hey, kicker, who's done so much also, we love this guy. Number respect him walking on the field, first time for warm ups. It was really cool. It was really cool. Coming out of the tunnel, bunch of around, you know, Mr. Viniteri.

[Mario Cristobal]

Vinny.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you, Vinny. We love you, Adam. It was unbelievable. I'm like, yeah, Vinnie. Hell yeah. Take those flowers, brother. Okay. We go back in, same thing. We come back out for a game. You're gonna ship you like you did against San Diego, you know, right to Vinny. And as soon as the game happens and as soon as the game's over, it happens again. So it's like a sophisticated fan base. Like they, they know when and how. Like Sean Payton's given the speech to the Denver Broncos fans and other fans like, hey, we've been so conditioned that we need to be cheering. Once the huddle breaks for offenses, once they get to the line of scrimmage, because that's when the quarterback's doing the audibles and stuff. Fans are like, hey, that's when we'll yell. Sean Payton's like, ah. The huddle is when we need to maybe be the loudest. Then whenever they get out, let's continue to be loud. Patriots fans, they. They know all of it. They know. They even know whenever they're supposed to quiet down because maybe Bill needs to say something to the ref. Oh, yeah. They are in symphony. I would say up there, some of the best fans in all of sports and obviously there'll be a weapon. But I think Chicago's fans, you know, it's new. I think this is all very new feeling.

[Connor Rogers]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

So I think they will be crazy because they waited around to that fourth quarter last game.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah. That is the one thing that if I was. And this is just me outside looking in, the Bears like they hate the packers so much that you kind of knew like that. I hope it's not everything in the gas tank for that game because, like, all they wanted was we don't want to. We cannot lose to the Packers. If we beat them, you know, not only are we going to the next round, but it's like anybody but those guys. And I don't know if there's that same, like, legitimate pure hatred towards the.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so we know Saturday night Seattle is going to be gigantic.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

We know New England's going to be out of control. Then the question. And we know Denver, right?

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Right. Denver's done for. And they're going to run that video of Sean Payton saying, hey, I'm kind of new here. You know, what are we, what are we really about? So then it is all about Chicago.

[Ty Schmidt]

And I think it will be insane, but it is something, it's something to think about.

[Pat McAfee]

It's going to be shirtless whites.

[Ty Schmidt]

Agreed.

[Pat McAfee]

There's going to be a lot of shirtless whites out there because it's going to be so cold. Incredible mustaches. I assume we will see incredible mustaches. And I think they'll be losing their minds. They're going to have to. Because what the LA Rams offense is capable of is obviously special. Matthew Stafford is in the middle of a potential probable MVP season right now. At the end of this one, he's going to walk up on the stage at the honors whether he's playing in the super bowl or not playing in the super bowl and probably thank everybody that has ever gone into working with him throughout his entire career, all the way back to high school, college and throughout this NFL season as first time MVP winner. That is what the offense is currently doing for the Los Angeles Rams. But boy, if that Bears fans can get them a little bit rattled, get Puka a little bit off his mark. Even though he drop anything.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, no.

[Pat McAfee]

And he runs for everybody. And I think him being in the cold, he'll be even more excited.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Look for him to be even more outrageous. I would assume because it's cold. You're not supposed to be this way. I lift weights. I lift weights. Tell them I lift weights. As he's walking down the sideline. He's awesome. But that Bears defense, Caleb Williams better in the cold maybe than Matthew Stafford. Whoa, pounding the rock. Ben Johnson scheming all over the place. You got Shula Ben Johnson battling. Oh, well, we got a couple great football games happening.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, he's got one half of the.

[Pat McAfee]

Hammer Cowboys AP Tone, tone, as you look ahead to the divisional round here on this divisional round eve, what is the big swing maybe in the betting? What is the most likely? What is the least likely? What should we be thinking about as we look at these numbers? 70 some percent on the Niners seems a bit high for a division around playoff game within a division. That's a lot of points, man.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, that is a lot of points. In the divisional game. In the divisional round. They've played twice this year. Niners won week one 17 to 13. Then they played in the last week of the season and The Seahawks won 13 to 3. They, they came in The Niners came in and that offense was humming and the Seattle Seahawks just put it to them to get the one seed. So they've been two very low scoring games. The highest between those two was obviously 30 points in week one. The total being 44 and a half. Could be something to look at there. The Niners are just three and four as a dog, so something to look at as well in that game. Seattle's 13 and 1 as a favorite on the other side. And that's not against the spread. That is just straight up.

[Pat McAfee]

We have another Hembo staff for that one. Kyle Shanahan is 3 and 1 outright and 4, 0 against the spread is more than a field goal underdog in his playoff career. Obviously his playoff career is talked about a lot. One game.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

In particular, he wasn't even a head coach then.

[Ty Schmidt]

Don't matter now they talk about it.

[Pat McAfee]

And until they win the entire super bowl, that game is going to be mentioned. What about Jimmy G? He hits that one. They already got it. Potentially. Jimmy G had a hell of a run. I'm not saying he didn't. But that super bowl, they think that deep shot, it connects that probably game set match there for the Niners. They have a Super bowl, they don't have to answer the question can this team do it? Can this team do it? Can this team do it?

[Connor Rogers]

Where's Jimmy G, by the way? If they win that super bowl.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh man. First ever, $50 million a year quarterback. Yeah, probably Jimmy Garoppolo.

[Tone Diggs]

Seriously.

[Pat McAfee]

Let alone all the other deals that become to his handsome and Sam brand. He was already getting what? The subway. He had the subway.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Jimmy G. This is known as.

[Connor Rogers]

Cooking.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, the known Italian cooking.

[Ty Schmidt]

It was delicious.

[Pat McAfee]

And if they would have won that. Oh man, Jimmy knows this. He's lived well, he's great quarterback, had a great time. But if they win that Super Bowl, Kyle Shanahan's life's very different. Jimmy G's life's very different. And Brock Purdy, we never heard of him. Yeah. So obviously now we got Brock Purdy going in there. Kyle Shanahan's record against the spread in the playoffs, you know, especially Divisional 7, does feel like a lot of points, which is why 70 plus percent of the people are on it.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. Purdy has also been really good in the playoffs and you know, we had the, the questionable pop up with Sam Darnold, so that's something to watch in that one as well. Other things, I was looking at New England 111 as a favorite this season. That's not against the spread. That is straight up. And then similar to the Niners Houston game, Houston is 4 and 3 as a dog straight up. And then Houston as a dog is also six and one to the under. Obviously they have a really good defense. If their offense is going to struggle, they hit the under a lot. And then the last thing that I I was looking at this weekend, the Rams are just five and four on the road this season. So to go into Chicago as a road favorite, it's not a spot that they have been good this season. So that's something to watch as well.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so. So the numbers say any story you want to tell?

[Tone Diggs]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. You can find a stat for these teams, anyone you want because they're all good. There's only eight of them left, you know. Now granted, there's also 16 coordinators that are still coaching. Seven coaching positions open. What do all of these teams look like after this year? We have no idea.

[Tone Diggs]

A lot of coordinators interview.

[Pat McAfee]

This is going to be the last time we see a lot of these teams look how they're going to look. I mean you could just go back to what happened to the Philadelphia Eagles last year. Now that was after the super bowl, after beating the ass of the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. But boom, everybody's out to door. Team looks vastly different. So what we would like to say is let's enjoy the hell out of our last time watching four of these teams and we appreciate the hell out of these four teams for what they've done this NFL season. It has been a remarkable year for ball.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, like if you just look at those NFC teams like damn near every single coordinator on those teams and Steel Haas, who isn't even a coordinator, is getting head coaching jobs. Like, but that feels like the Rams, they deal with it damn near every year. Like it's interesting to see how those other kind of teams, especially Seattle, like if Kubiak, their OC gets plucked, how does that work? Sam Fran with Salah, if they get moved on, you know, what happens to them? Burke with the Texans defense, you know, does he affect the game as much as we think he does? Definitely. But can d' Amico kind of continue to carry that defense on? I don't think any of us have any doubt he can. But still would be a question going into the offseason no matter what. Really the only teams, I mean the Patriots, you're not hearing much. Denver, you're hearing a little, but still not much. And then Chicago, there hasn't been one Thing out of any of the Chicago coordinators. Probably a testament to Ben Johnson. But you would still think that similar to like the Chiefs and Andy Reid. Hey, you still want to interview those OCs about, you know, Chicago's OC, who I don't even know, by the way. I probably should because Ben Johnson is essentially the OC and head coach. And that is a very interesting game now that I'm thinking about it.

[Pat McAfee]

Like, does anybody out here know the name of the OC for the Chicago Cordon or. Oh, it's Declan Doyle. Oh, yeah, Double D. I forgot Double.

[Connor Rogers]

D got that job.

[Pat McAfee]

D loves TDs, baby. He's honor head coach Ben Johnson. Right now we know. And he had experience with Sean Payton's coaching tree. Oh, no. So. And he's working to elevate young quarterbacks like Caleb. And despite Johnson who calls plays dual, is managing the offensive structures and details. He's drawn up to place.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's right.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

He's drawing up the place which might be the head coach. Batter's box.

[Mario Cristobal]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Or on deck circle. On deck circle. Yeah, that might be a head coach on deck circle going forward like the Los Angeles Rams Play designer play drawer. And I'll tell you, Monday, big college game. We're going to be live from down there at Hard Rock, Miami, Indiana. They got the right two teams.

[Ty Schmidt]

I think so.

[Pat McAfee]

They got the right two teams. These two coaches obviously live and breathe their teams, their programs. College football as a whole. You have to. In college, it's year round recruiting, it's year round coaching, it's year round schedule control for 115of the players trying to get the greatest team on the field as possible. And these two have certainly proven that they are worthy of battling out out in the big college game for the big college title. Now crystal ball beast. Signetti dog. Their teams littered with all of them. We had a chance to catch up with one of the coaches who's going to be coaching in the big college game earlier today. And I'll tell you what, I jumped off his high dive. Oh, yeah, we're on a sideline. I threatened to tackle him. And now just a couple days away from the big college game, a few days removed from him throwing a left jab at me. Me. Hey.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Slip.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, Good slip. Almost got you in the throat.

[Tone Diggs]

Could have parried it if you wanted.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, definitely could have. And I thought about buying to the.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah. Liver shot.

[Connor Rogers]

And he almost had the.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And he. He would have belly to belly. Suplex meter. Yeah, he had me too. I gave up. Good luck. Yeah. See, I stepped back though. I think I feel like I timed.

[Connor Rogers]

It right, pulling him out.

[Pat McAfee]

But he got me. I went in and he immediately knew he was going for under leverage. He actually lifted my hand up and did that. That's what these jiu jitsu things.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's right. That's exactly right.

[Pat McAfee]

These are machines, okay? They, they are fingering your rib cage. So you just go like that a little bit. And as soon as you do that, bang. Chicken wing, broken shoulder. Like that is what that. They are masters of the body. They can control what you and he did in that moment. I thought we're coming in for casual thing after we did the entire thing. Nope. Leverage lifts it up. Bang. And I'm under your arm and you're dead. Yeah. He knew that was a toss over the head, like kind of a cheap.

[Tone Diggs]

Shot, to be honest.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, it was right in front of my face though, so it kind of happened.

[Tone Diggs]

But you thought you guys were done. The bell had rung and he came in and just gave you a little one of the stuff.

[Ty Schmidt]

He heard no bell.

[Pat McAfee]

That there is no bell. Yeah. And I should have known that I heard the bell. Well, the bell rang whenever. They just got done kicking somebody's ass.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

And that is certainly what their team likes to do. We caught up with that coach earlier today. What a beast. What a monster. Congrats to him and thank you for his time, ladies and gentlemen. Joining us now is the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes who will be playing in a national championship, a big college game on Monday night night in their home stadium, ladies and gentlemen. He's big, he's strong, he's a former player, a former natty winner, an absolute dog. Ladies and gentlemen, Mario Cristobal. How are you? Coach.

[Mario Cristobal]

What's up, guys? How's it going?

[Pat McAfee]

Great, man. How are you? You're playing in a big college game on Monday. Excited. You did it. This is. You won. You did it. Hey. Yeah. That's what we're looking for.

[Mario Cristobal]

Well, I appreciate you guys having me on the show. We're just getting ready for practice, man. You know, got another big one. Really good meetings, great prep so far, so just keep doing it.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Whenever you look at the Indiana team, I've kind of felt this way, as have the boys, pretty like minded individuals leading the team. Do you kind of see that in the similarities or the traits of what you've seen on film of the Indiana team and how you want your team to be viewed as well, they're Fast.

[Mario Cristobal]

Or physical, they're really, really talented. High football IQs, you know, they, the level of communication is really, really high. You don't see, you don't see many, if any bus, especially down the stretch here in the last few games. They work well together. They swarm the football, they chase and finish. You know, they, they secure the football really, really well and they force a lot of turnovers on just an elite level football operation.

[Pat McAfee]

The way everybody's talking about is how you're talking about with this Indiana team. Obviously they've been through the most dominant run in college football playoff history. For your team, we've got a chance to watch just dogs, dude. Feels like whatever the game calls for, they show up. Texas A&M, 25, 30 mile an hour wins. I mean it won't get talked about, but that changes game completely for both sides. Kicking game, obviously deeply affected for you guys. There wasn't many points in that game. You guys kind of adapt, do what you have to do. Ohio State, same thing. Then against Ole Miss, it was like, hey, we got to be able to spar and keep up with this team. Is that something you're proud of whenever you think about your team? We can win in a variety of different ways or is that just kind of the, the, the DNA of your squad? They'll get the job done. Like, what have you learned about your team over this college football playoff run?

[Mario Cristobal]

We just go, you know, it's whatever it takes mentality. Every team is different, right? Every, every fight has its own like unique strategy and aspects that are unique to that particular contest. And I think our guys understand that their level of commitment to doing it to a certain way in a certain standard has increased and it's gotten even better down the stretcher. So just a really strong appetite for getting better, for just getting pushed. The drive, determination is legit. These are like self starting dudes that love football and they absolutely love competing and smacking each other around out there and practice and preparing.

[Pat McAfee]

Answering a bell I think is the big thing is how I would describe your team because you know, maybe Miami teams of the past or you know, flashy teams of the past, if they were to get into an actual fight, they'd roll over. Like, I think that is what I think you consider yourself and you don't say it and obviously I don't think people that have an alpha or a toughness trait don't come out and tell you about it. So anybody that's telling you about it is certainly something. But I think a lot of tough People would think that all these show front runner type teams, if they get into a real fight, they'll kind of, they'll fold. Your team starts getting into real jousts. Answer, answer, answer. And then over the top. And it feels like on the offensive side, obviously Carson Beck is making all the right decisions, able to protect him. Him running in here and screaming for the final 6 yards. What a moment for him. But it does feel like you have guys that are ready to answer the bell at all times. Running back position dogs everywhere. Wide receiver dogs everywhere. Offensive line dogs everywhere. Defense, across the board, dogs everywhere. How do you find these guys? Like, what is, what are you looking for whenever you're trying to find the next Miami Hurricane? Because it feels like across the board you got dogs and everybody's looking for that, I thought. But you seemingly have found them. Them.

[Mario Cristobal]

We've been very fortunate to have a collection of guys that are, they're men of action, you know what I mean? They're, they know talk is worthless in this profession. They know the only value and the only thing that matters are the dudes within the walls of our building. That's it. And they also understand that like, like this is an awesome place if you love working, if you love football, if you understand the value of a, a great education. Because we hammer all that stuff and we hammer it hard and we go and you know, the, the reward on the other side is that you just, you get better. You get better individually, you get better collectively, and then you grow a legitimate and genuine respect for each other that galvanizes a unit, an organization and makes you play harder for each other. So we just believe in that. We just kind of shut out all the outside stuff, man. We are, it's us. It's always been us. It's always going to be us. So we like that.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I like the way you guys view the games and your defense, the way they're thump people, you know which reffing crew you're going to get. Certainly matters, I think for the way in the style of play and you guys have been able to dial it back if you have to, but whenever these refs are letting the teams play, which we like, I think everybody likes that your team is like a 1995, 1999 football team. I mean it is just everybody's looking for some and it's like every tackle was ending with punishment. It's been an honor to watch your team play. Last question for me before the boys have a few. Coach, you know, we saw Mark Fletcher, this guy Monster, do his thing, do his thing, do his thing. Then fourth quarter, late in the fourth quarter, we need you bring in Marty Brown, this guy. Who is that guy? We haven't seen them all catch in the fourth quarter. Run in the fourth quarter. He's seemingly like a closer for you guys with Fletcher, can you tell me about kind of the stable you have in the backfield and how you kind of decide who goes when? Because it feels like those are two NFL guys that are certainly making plays for you in big moments.

[Mario Cristobal]

Both of them, you know, we feel we're pretty fortunate there. We're four and five deep and judging by the, the freshman that's on campus now practicing with us, we're going to get, you know, continually better at that position. The best part about that group is like they get it that it's a long season and that you have to share responsibilities and carries and that your responsibility and blocking for the quarterback or blocking in some of the run game is just as important as carrying the ball. And nothing's more important than the ball. That's the program. So. But there are a. To pride. Really, really physical. Really as good of a leader as you can imagine, you know, a guy like Mark Fletcher, I mean, truly the heart of, of our football team. And like yesterday, we know you have a bunch of new guys on campus, right, with 30 new freshmen. They're riled up, ready to go. They haven't been in pads and you know, scout team comes out and they try to, they try to get a piece of him. And all of a sudden, you know, I think it's, you know how it gets. Hey, welcome.

[Pat McAfee]

Welcome to college ball. Yeah, welcome to the.

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah. And you know what? It was welcomed by the whole team. And I thought that was dedication. I guess that's what it's supposed to feel like. That's what we've been striving for. When you, when the competition stuff is never viewed as like, hey man, you know, chill, slow it down. No, like we have to get better. We're playing against a really physical team. You have to practice in a physical manner. And I think we're taking a lot of. There's a lot of growth in, in those particular areas in our program.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Brother in law and each other ain't getting anybody better. Okay. That ain't helping anybody. And you know, there are some places that have that happen, you know, and that is obviously because you've been around, obviously you played. You know, there's always a guy, not always in bad teams. There's always a Guy looking for a brother in law situation. And then that starts, that's two people now. And then all of a sudden that's three people. Then you got four people. Then all of a sudden that kind of spreads throughout the entire team. Love hearing that about your squad. That's because of your culture, that's because of your leadership. Now let's also talk about the maturity of your particular squad. Go ahead, Tone.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, Coach, you and I, you two of the older teams in the NCAA this year. Michigan was an older team. Ohio State brought back a lot of guys. They were an older team. Do you think that's a coincidence? Or when you're bringing in guys like Keante Scott, he's older, Motore is older. Mezador was proven and older. When he came in. Your entire offensive line, Carson, Beck, those were all older guys. So do you think that's a coincidence? Are you doing that on purpose? And then, then when you get Malachi, Tony, this superstar freshman, young kid, like, how, how does he mix in? How do the freshmen, how do the younger guys mix into this, this older regime kind of that you have?

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah, no, that's a great question. I mean, we're, I think we have a very unique combination. Like, I think we have the right blend of older guys, experienced guys, guys that have been around for a couple years and then some young elite talent. And they all mesh really, really well together. You know, we do believe that the core of your team, the, the, the nose tackle, D tackle, the center, the quarterback, the linebacker, the safety and the running back, that just the middle, the gut of your team has to be like experience, hard nose, tough ass experience guys. Because that's always going to be the easiest way to get gutted. If you're not right, you have to have real deal dudes right in the middle of your football team. But if you look at our team, I mean it's, it's spread pretty evenly. You know, the young talent that has come in, that has earned time, time, they're on the field. It's not just Malachi, it's Bryce Fitzgerald. You know, this is now four years in a row we've had one or two freshmen, all American on our football team. And then, and then you have some guys like Carson that's been around for a long time, guys like Motore, who's been around forever, Keonte Scott, they've seen a lot of ball. Those are, those are old eyes. They, they kind of have that sixth sense that allows them to play at a level and make plays that maybe a particular Call didn't call for, you know, so I think it's the right blend and they do a great job mentoring and pushing and holding the young guys to a standard.

[Pat McAfee]

That keonte Scott Pick 6 Jump against Ohio State is obviously going to be one of the lasting images of this particular big college football playoff that we have going on right now. Your team has a lot of those. Carson Beck, I mentioned it. Whenever he ran in that touchdown from the six, he's yelling the whole time and you can almost see like, I don't know, a 4,000 pound gorilla maybe off of his back in that exact moment because of everything he's kind of been through. And I said on game day and Tone Diggs and I kind of talked about it heading into college game day. They're talking about storylines that potentially can come out of this particular playoff run for these teams. It's like the rise, fall and rise again of Carson Beck could potentially be the case. Tell me about Carson Beck, your quarterback, what you've seen from him and kind of the whole year that was with him as your quarterback. Because whenever he goes to your place and obviously it's outside the building, there's a lot of drawings drama immediately about Carson Beck. You know what I think he gets his car robbed. I think a lot of other things happen. People start burying him, you guys lose a couple, you aren't perfect. It's like this guy stinks and then all he does is seemingly just keep showing up like the rest of your squad. Can you tell me about your quarterback a little bit and the decision to bring him and now where you're at?

[Mario Cristobal]

Well, if you watch film on him in 23, like it's off the charts. He's ripping it all over the place and leading that team to high level victories and a great season. And in 24 it just seemed that offensively, you know, they were and a great team. Obviously they've been outstanding for a while, but they, you could tell they were off offensively. There were some guys down on the offensive line. Protection wasn't holding up as it was before. And then the receivers, you know, there wasn't a connection there. And then he gets blasted and gets hurt. We had enough people that knew him, knew of him. The background check was awesome and it's. He's like an elite human being and elite competitor and he's got elite traits and he's got a lot of experience and we' felt that if we could surround them with the right offensive line, the right pieces outside and a strong running game, that he could get back to, you know, elite form. So the guy's awesome. The guy could give a rats. You know, what about all the outside noise and people talking? And I think that's kind of. It rubs off on his teammates. They. They're cut of the same cloth, right. The same type of DNA. So this guy's been nothing but awesome for the University of Miami. And I'm really happy for him that he's continuing to push on and have an opportunity to go get another one zero because again, that's all he cares about. He don't men doesn't care about personal accolades and awards and all that stuff. He. He just wants to win. So fired up for the guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Your wide receiver crew is awesome. Marion, Daniels, Malachi. And then obviously you add in Fletcher and Brown and offensive line that has six foot nine. Is that what bell is if I rook a six nine on.

[Mario Cristobal]

Yep. Six foot nine. Six nine.

[Pat McAfee]

And then I think you got what, six, six, six, five six. And then like 67 on the other side.

[Tone Diggs]

Maui knows them.

[Mario Cristobal]

We're pretty large up front. We. We end up getting some big dudes. But you know what? They're athletic jumbo athletes, man. These guys could run. Their metrics are really high level. Some are off the charts. You know, the, the bone density of Minoa is like that of like a. A brontosaurus. You know what I mean? And so. And you know what? And they approach every day like they're nobodies and they like getting pushed. You've seen Coach Mirabal, our offensive line coach, man, he gets after their butts like, like it's day one freshman just trying to earn a spot on the, on the scout team. You know, it's. That's why they're great. They just, they're all about it. And you know what they do? They do a great job helping us find the right guys to come in after them and recruiting. They're really good with that.

[Pat McAfee]

I love to hear that. Passing down the baton of a great offensive line is a once again great culture from an offensive lineman I would expect not else. They're always with the ball carrier too. Whoever it is. We've noticed and obviously you see that on film anytime you're big guys. Like when Quentin Nelson got drafted to the Colts, Quentin Nelson was picking up the wide receiver who had the ball. This guy's 20 yards down the field. First person to him was Quentin Nelson. Chasing the ball, chasing the ball, chasing the ball. I was like, holy hell. This sets a standard every time you guys score or Anytime you guys have a play, these massive jumbo humans are in the end zone with their teammate. Like, it feels like you have a very tight group and it feels like that offensive line does lead the way. Now you have a very busy schedule coming up before the big college game, so we appreciate you taking time on that note. Little different than Indiana's week, it feels like. Go ahead, Ty.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, Coach. In terms of preparation, are you. Are you treating this week as a traditional home game or do you have to kind of tweak things a little bit? Because it obviously isn't a traditional home game. I mean, I understand having the blinders on, but I'm sure you have. All the players are dealing with family, friends, asking for tickets. Obviously there's just a bunch of pomp and circumstance and bullshit surrounding the team being down there playing at home. So what is the preparation like going into Monday's game?

[Mario Cristobal]

It is no different than any road trip and has road trip mentality. And I'll tell you, you just mentioned a lot of the reasons why. But, you know, the parents, you know, we, we engage them with messaging early that we're shutting down all the outside stuff and as it relates to tickets and everything else because we have great families, but, you know, know, like anything else, right, Everyone wants to be there and be involved and they've been awesome. And understanding knowing that we, we're going away, we're going on lockdown, we do what we do. It's a road trip mentality. We get to use our home facilities, right? Our, you know, our practice for the sites and, and whatnot. And we got to play in our home stadium, but we're actually on the other side and in our away uniforms, you know, and those are dynamics that, you know, the way that, that, I don't know, the DNA of our team and the way we practice and prep, that kind of stuff really doesn't factor in. You just kind of lay out the dynamics for everybody. Today we take them and lock them down after practice in our hotel. So we have our three days to ourselves, handle media, handle practice, just stay in preparation, man, everything want to know mentality and, you know, really just dive into what, what we're. We're playing against, which is an awesome football team.

[Pat McAfee]

Is this what you've done every single game of the college football playoffs? Same exact setup. Setup.

[Mario Cristobal]

The exact same setup. It hasn't changed at all. And, you know, it works for our guys, you know, for. It's kind of neat for our guys. They're experiencing the equivalent of the old school NFL season, right? 16 games and they've been great. And you know what, we've done a great job taking care of the bodies and at the same time just letting it rip in practice, man, and cutting it loose and being physical and never losing that part of our team, you know, never compromising the physicality. And the work with come that comes with, you know, being able to, to play at your best on game day.

[Pat McAfee]

Being able to balance having an edge and keeping people healthy is a fascinating dynamic. Your team obviously been able to figure it out. Last question here about the U as a whole. Go ahead, Connor.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, Coach. There's been stuff about, you know, your president, CEO Joe Echeverria and it feels as though he was a massive part of you coming to Miami. There's a couple press conferences where you actually talk about it. What does he mean to just the program and the school and how big of a role is he going to play in know in the football team going forward. And just the continued success of the UN University of Miami.

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah, he sees the massive reason of why I was number one. I had the privilege of being offered the opportunity, but then eventually choosing to return, you know, because that was a difficult decision in terms of just life, family dynamics. You know, I've been a selfish son of a bitch my whole life, so it is what it is. But it's always been Miami. It always has been. But. But it had to be right and not in terms of me and my contract and you know, I don't. Not in all the money stuff is, you know, it's just not like football. And being a Miami Hurricane has always been everything to me. And the bottom line is I, I feel like me, anyone that played here, we were young knuckleheads, man. We were. And coach Jimmy Johnson, Erickson, all these guys, they shaped us. They changed our lives forever. So I owe Miami and I think all of us that went through her, we owe Miami and it had to be done right. Boom. But that we had to have a man right at the head of the whole thing that was going to be able to provide us with all the resources to make it Miami like come into modern day football. Because Miami had lagged behind. Miami had completely abandoned ship. And let's call it what it is, man. I couldn't go to the grave without Miami being Miami again. That's the bottom line. That's why I came. But Joe, his leadership, his engagement, his involvement, his passion for it, like the whole objective is to take Miami. You know, we're progressing, we're getting better. We still have a long ways to go, but, brother, that guy is a hungry dude, and he gets after it. And I couldn't. I couldn't ask for a better situation, man. So it's in lockstep throughout this whole thing.

[Pat McAfee]

Good for you. Proud of you, man. I couldn't go to my grave without seeing Miami back. Columbus High School, obviously getting a lot of chatter. Your high school photo out. You're. Hey, strapping lad. Strapping lad. Tell me about the mauler. That was Fernando Mendoza, senior as a high school teammate.

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah, that's a great, great team right there. Great offensive line. Fernando Mendoza, senior was a great player. You see Alex mirabal there, number 65? He was a great player, man. A lot of. Some of those other guys were some crazy rounders, but they were really good players as well. But we. We won the district. We won the sectionals. We actually played against the number one team in the state and beat them. Them. You'd be proud. Swirling wind. We punt, they muffet. We recover it, kick a field goal. 3 nothing. Carlos Huerta drives it through the uprights. And then we got beat after that against Carroll City, and. But unbelievable memories, man. It really, really was.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, well, hopefully you get to reminisce a little bit after the game with former high school teammate and obviously his boy who's going to be on the other side. He's representing Miami well, too up here in Indiana. We'll have you know, he's been great for our community, great for our society, and obviously great for football. So muchos gracias to Columbus High School.

[Mario Cristobal]

Your Spanish is still suffering terribly.

[Pat McAfee]

You're gonna give me a day. Nada right there. Isn't that what the answer? And that's what. Hola, Ki. Estamos, mi amigo. Muchos gracias. Poor Columbus High School.

[Mario Cristobal]

You got no shot, brother.

[Pat McAfee]

But we'll work with you.

[Joe Echevarria]

We'll get you ready.

[Mario Cristobal]

And I do want to say this. I appreciate you guys having me on.

[Pat McAfee]

I know what.

[Mario Cristobal]

Well, again, very much appreciate it, guys. Thank you. Go Paints.

[Ty Schmidt]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

We love you, Coach. We've been following your team this entire playoff run. It's been an honor. Dude, you're the best. Ladies and gentlemen, coach Crystal Ball. He is the man. He is the man. I thought I was going to do a little Spanish conversation there. I like to showcase the depth every once in a while. If we ever have a French speaker on, I will certainly do the Bonjour Sava Sav bien etu. You know, the whole thing Just so we can show that we have range. On that note, speaking of range, that guy's a beast.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, just you, Nate, name it. We appreciate how transparent he's always been with us. And we also appreciate how great his team is down there at the U. Having the U be all the way back. Even though he doesn't like saying that until they win a national championship, he doesn't want to say the U's back until a national championship banner is hanging. That is like his kind of thing. He got real mad at Scott Van Pelt. Do you remember that?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Real mad at Scott Van Pelt for saying he used now SVP and he friends. I don't think he's getting publicly mad at anybody he doesn't like. So, like, that is something I think a lot of people took a little bit too, too serious. But he is very locked in on Miami being all the way back. And congrats to them. They got a tough Indiana team. They gotta face in a big college game now to get to that big college game. We've been giving away opportunities all week to win two tickets. Now, today will be the final contest to win a pair of tickets to the big college game on Monday. Today's might be.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, yeah, not my. It is the best.

[Pat McAfee]

Today will be a PMS SeatGeek relay. The way this will work. Mittalk Bill and Bone will run a 4 by 293 yard relay. That's an interesting yardage, you say. Well, it was one that we didn't know before. We measured it out with one of Those roller things. 293 yards. Each lap does feel like the perfect amount. Each runner will complete the Thunderdome dash, which is a 293 yard sprint from the putting green. Right here, there will be a launch zone. You see the taped off area? That is the launch zone right there. They will start in that particular square. The on deck circle will be right next to it. And then the other two runners will be lined up, up off to the side. You will start on this putting green. You will sprint out of the Thunderdome and then you will touch a wooden post at the very tip of the property of the Thunderdome. Straight out the front door. It'll be a straight sprint to a wooden post and then a straight sprint back. Now the terrain.

[Connor Rogers]

Why don't you peek your eyes outside if you see what's going on right.

[AJ Hawk]

Now, by the way.

[Pat McAfee]

So is there snow? Fall?

[Connor Rogers]

It's snowing. It's a slippy track.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so the weather is what it is, there's a little snow. There's some reports of it feeling like it's 16 degrees outside. There's some reports of it feeling like 20 degrees outside in the terrain that they'll be running through. Not only the wood here in the Thunderdome, then the carpet in the Thunderdome, then there is hard pavement. Then there is a good drop off of a curb and there is another batch of hard pavement. Then you got to get up over another curb onto some grass that is basically a pasture. That thing's up, down, up, down, up, down. And then there's a drain grain grade out there. So it actually goes down like this and then up like this at the very end. This is going to be like the steeple race. This is going to be something that is going to be very difficult. Difficult to accomplish. Each person, four of them will run one up and back. The time will start whenever their foot hits the wood to start this thing and whenever any body part of the final runner touches the green. Obviously right now you will be putting out your guesses. Only five entries per Twitter account, per X account. I apologize for calling it Twitter. That's. It's unbelievable. It's called X now.

[Connor Rogers]

Hell yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

But it's always going to be Twitter.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

So it gets a little difficult. Anyways, that platform is where this is all happening. Use the hashtag pmsseekgeekrelay and project what your guess will be in time to the second. Now let's meet the four runners, shall we? Here is the team that will be competing. First we have a 6 foot tall, 190 pound man named Mitt. Now he's all jacked up, ready to go. He runs four miles a day at seven minute mile pace. Now speaking of running a lot of miles, this man runs six miles a day on the treadmill. Is your college classmate.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. And he is duck footed. That might help him out. That might be the end of him. Especially when you're talking about that terrain.

[Pat McAfee]

Out there, that six' two talk. And then here's Bill. Bill's a powerhouse. Five' seven, two hundred pounds. Now back in the day they called him Big Mutter. Cuz in track he did have some gas.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, I believe. And I don't know if this is corroborated. I think he has the state record for 4x1.

[Pat McAfee]

And the Anchor, a man who said I need a subway sub for the graph to let people know that, yeah, I do eat. I am a big body. I'm Debone. Six four, 335 pounds.

[Connor Rogers]

Wow.

[Pat McAfee]

Former D3 national champion. We got athletes out here. We got four guys that. Well, we got three guys that work out very regularly. Okay. The first three guys work out very.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, the first three.

[Pat McAfee]

Two A days. Two A days. Mitt does.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Long ass day talk. He'll run six miles, then does four. He's like two and a half hour workout guy. Bill's doing three a days.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Actually trying to become a ball of muscle, we believe. So we don't know how that will affect him running actual track. Guy in high school though, has some records at his high school.

[Connor Rogers]

Photos.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And it's. It's a wild thing. And then he got deboed.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

He's been jumping rope for three days.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Quick feet.

[Pat McAfee]

The body's been back at nasty. We don't know the last time he was wide open. He is young, so he just thinks that his body is still 100% because he's 25 and he's a D3 national champion. He's the anchor. We'll be excited to see how he finishes. Whenever a body part of his touches the green, it'll be over. So it starts whenever they leave the green. It ends whenever Bowen touches the green. What is this second? It'll be. I'll be the one keeping track of the overall time. Tone will be keeping track of the individual lap times because there was a lot of competitions within the Thunderdome happening on those particular money on that. There'll be five second penalties for exchanges that have to happen. For instance, the next runner has to shake the hand of the current runner twice and cannot step into the launch zone until the current runner X runner is completely out of the launch zone. Only 2ft can be in the launch zone at one time. And you must leave bang throughout a fall. Plus five seconds. We do not want these guys trying so hard that they fall. Any injuries, plus five seconds. We would like them to be careful as they do this. But we do have great fear that they are going to be wide open out here and that field is going to beat them.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Take that into account. 293 not easy yards. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who might have some ideas because from my understanding and my experience, this might be one of the best business people that I've encountered. Not only because of his work at Deloitte, which is obviously a professional services place where he oversees. So I don't know 70,000 people or something like that in professional services. And you know, he's just Joey from the Bronx that's right, they say, and comes from a single mother, works his absolute ass off and climbs through the business ranks. And then he gets the opportunity to become the president and CEO of the University of Miami. And all you see now is cranes everywhere and their sports teams blowing up. A man who seemingly has it figured out could be retired and on a beach smoking cigars instead on a beach also influences the future of furthering of education and also overlooking an entire health system. Ladies and gentlemen, the president and CEO of the University of Miami, Joe Echevarria.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

How you doing, Mr. President?

[Joe Echevarria]

I am fantastic, Pat.

[Mario Cristobal]

How are you guys?

[Pat McAfee]

Good. Did I nail the intro? I want to make sure I get everything right because there's so many accolades. I want to make sure I get them right for you because I am so impressed by the work that you've done legitimately. I want you to let you know.

[Joe Echevarria]

That, well, you did it. Not as well as your 10 meter dive was, but you did pretty well.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, not bad there. I had to find a balance. You know, there was a moment. There was a moment I thought about turning around and going back. You know, there was a moment I was thinking about turning around, going back. I was trying not to look down. I was looking out at the students, out the students. Then I accidentally looked down, saw where I was headed. Oh, boy, that's some really clear water. I'm seeing the bottom of the pool. How deep is this pool? I need to know how deep that is. So it was a wild time, a moment that I'll have for forever. And your university was so kind to us, and you were so kind to us as well. The conversations, the information. I thought we were very lucky to meet and I'm very thankful you're joining us today. Let's talk about it. Obviously, Miami is hosting the national championship on Monday. Your team is in that. What does that mean for your school? What does that mean for your university? And whenever you take over and decide to kind of go in the direction that you go is this dream scenario for the university and for Miami as a whole here.

[Joe Echevarria]

So it's pretty magical for us, as you can imagine. You know, one thing that people don't realize is we started this journey on December 6th of 2021, literally. That's when we picked up Mario and his family in Eugene, Oregon and landed in Miami Airport. December 7th, we get invited to the college football playoffs. So it's exactly four years. So it's extraordinary for the city, it's extraordinary for the university, but as Mario likes to say, we're here to now. And the objective is to stay here. Stay here, meaning let's continue to be relevant. It happens to be in our city. You know, we won three of our national championships at the Orange bowl, so. So we like being at home. We're not the home team, but we are at home. So it's pretty extraordinary for us. You know, the city has gone crazy. There's nothing like this, look, you know this and your guys there know this. Nothing galvanizes a community like sports. All the differences get put aside, all the rivalries get put aside. And everybody is singly focused on the university of mine, man.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so let's talk about sports. Feels like you, whenever you take over president and CEO of Miami, understand, like, hey, if our sports teams are good, that's good for the university as a whole. I think down in Alabama, whenever Nick Saban signs on to be their head coach, the president and leadership said, hey, we think the football team's growth and development will be great for our university. You always seemingly knew sports would be great for the university. And what is the top tie between having good sports and like kind of the rest of the campus and everything? Do you. It felt like that was a main focus for you. Is that accurate read?

[Joe Echevarria]

Yeah, it's very accurate. But all three domains, as you know, we talked about this when you're down, by the way, I haven't disappointed you, right? You called me a suit that day. I'm still wearing a suit.

[Pat McAfee]

You are president and CEO. You're like super suit, actually.

[Joe Echevarria]

But I. I want you to know I've still got a suit on. It's not the same suit, but I got a suit on.

[Pat McAfee]

Very important, accomplished, super suit, I would say. So not all suits are bad, but. Yes, go ahead, sir.

[Joe Echevarria]

Anyway, so you know we're in three things, right? What most people think of as a university, the academic side, the research side. That needs to be great. It's extraordinary. We have an academic health system. That's what we were yesterday. It's top 10 in the country today. It wasn't a few years ago, but it is now. And athletics and athletics lifts the entire brand of the university for us. We have a storied program, football, baseball, but some other sports. So it was important to be great at all three. So we're focuses all three. This show is about athletics and I love athletics. You know, you talked about in the beginning, I'm just a kid from the South Bronx, so for me it's extraordinary. But it's all three. It's not One or the other. You know that U logo that you have up, that was built by athletics, that was not built by anything else. And athletics raises the brand and the consciousness about the University of Miami. It wasn't that way when I went to School in 1970 at the University of Miami. Nobody called us the U. Nobody knew who we were. In fact, they were called us Suntan U back in those days. So it changed the architecture of what people think about us. It's an extraordinary accomplishment, but it's part of three stools. Pillar of academics and research, pillar of health system, pillar of athletics. They all matter, all three.

[Pat McAfee]

Each of them have their own job, seemingly. For you guys to be in one of the best places. I think I've seen a college, be it a private institution as well, obviously. So everything's self funded. Everything kind of comes together. Your ability to do business while also having empathy and understanding of what's going on around you and self awareness seems to be your super power. But let's talk about your, your business acumen. We're in a world now of nil, right? Nil. This new business, business, business world. You guys are in the acc. Nobody really talks about the ACC other than a couple schools tried to exit the acc. I think Florida State, the number was like going to get $750 million of private equity and they were going to use that to buy themselves. I was out of the TV contract to try to get to the SEC or something like that. Allegedly. That was a couple years back. Didn't end up working out. There's a lot of crazy business stuff happening in the world of college sport. How much are you involved in this? Feels like your voice should have a lot of say. And in the ACC world, how does navigating it all as the Big Ten and the SEC are seemingly the ones driving most of the conversation. Lot to that.

[Joe Echevarria]

You're right, Pat. And part of it is the brands and how much viewership they have. Because you're right, it's a business.

[Pat McAfee]

Right? Right.

[Joe Echevarria]

So the networks, the streamers, espn, one of our great partners, obviously, you know, they're looking at viewership and viewership is what drives the contracts. So I tell people all the time in the acc, we're playing for our next contract right now. Right now we need to improve the viewership top to bottom. We happen to be one of the top view programs. But nevertheless, the conference as a whole needs to continue to invest in athletics so that we can have that success on the feet. I'm quite proud of the fact that the ACC's in the championship game. We had to beat some teams in the sec, in the Big Ten to even get here, but we did. So I think that proves that the conference is very competitive from top to bottom. So we're proud of that. But the truth of the matter is football, college football and sports in general has not found its equilibrium in terms of market forces. A little dislocated. And all the professional sports at some point had to find equilibrium where you move from a control process to a partnership. All the professional sports have a partnership. The value today of being in the NFL is different than it was when you played, when AJ Played. The value of being in college today is different than when you guys played, when you played at West Virginia and AJ played at Iowa State. That's what happens when you can create a partnership and some alignment. So I think the next step is to find that equilibrium. And we have to find it in the acc, as do all the conferences, and we have to rise all the boats. And until we create that market equilibrium, it's going to be a little bit bumpy ride. Look, in Major League Baseball, Curt Flood. You're not old enough to know who Curt Flood is.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, I know. Kurt Flood, please.

[Connor Rogers]

Great.

[Joe Echevarria]

Kurt Flood started the challenge. Andy Metro Smith and Dave McInally finish it off in the 70s, they get some equilibrium. The big old Oscar Robinson starts it for the ABA and the NBA merger, they get equilibrium. Libyan John Mackey starts it for the Colts. Reggie White finishes it off in 93. And that group gets equilibrium. We're still on our way. We haven't got yet to that equilibrium because we're still functioning as independent conferences. But the bottom line is this. We the member schools, remember, we are the ncaa. We keep talking about the ncaa. No, it's the member schools. We haven't won a market based litigation since 1984. Oklahoma and Georgia beat us in 1984. We tried to control TV rights. They won that case. We've lost virtually every case since then. Which means we have to let go of that model and we have to create a partnership model just like the professional sports hat. That's. That's a long journey, though. They didn't get there overnight. We're not going to get there overnight. But I feel good about the trajectory and where it can go.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, sounds good. So you're going to get that done? Hey, you're going to get that done for us?

[Jed Lowrie]

Is that what I'm.

[Joe Echevarria]

We're going to get that done job.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. I like to hear that. I Like to hear there is a little optimism and maybe a road to some back end control or I'm sorry, not control, backend partnership that can keep everything kind of rolling forward because the sports, college sports are only up and to the right. I mean, sports are up and to the right as a whole. So we got to make sure we're able to keep that on track. And we also got to make sure we keep all the sports in college that we have. Sports are good, more of it better than less sports. So if we continue to kind of just let things spiral, it feels like, you know, what's good for the gander is good for the goose. And some people got to really think about that. And I appreciate the fact that you seemingly have a plan. So this off season, after you guys either win the national championship or end up losing in the national championship, which is an incredible run, need you go where? Congress. You got to go to Congress and say all this. What was even the first step for that?

[Joe Echevarria]

Mr. You have, you have, I'll try to use some acronyms, I apologize. You have SCORE act, which is something very specific. And, but the Broadcast Broadcasting act, the Broadcasting act is where the major league sports get antitrust protection around revenue so that you don't have to negotiate TV contracts as five conferences, you can do it as one. So you need broadcasting rights, which gives you the antitrust exemption. The next thing you then need to do is you have to create a collective bargaining partnership with the players that will help everybody rise up. Today the share that we do is 20, $22 million in the house settlement. That's what universities now can pay, pay, but the outside market has no cap on what it can pay, obviously. And so you have to take that next step and create where both sides become partners to each other. That requires some form of collective bargaining for players. It cannot be one by one by one by one because that creates sort of this, this sort of dynamic where you have a lot of chaos, if you will, in the marketplace and it's not fair to everybody. It's not fair to the players in particular. There's about 4,000 kids, I think, in the transfer portal. There's not 4,000 opportunities, but that process is dislocated. And so that's kind of where it starts. It's not going to be a one year thing or a two year thing, but we have to recognize that we have to land in a different place than we are today, all of us. I don't mean the acc, I mean all the conferences and all the schools that want to participate at this level.

[Pat McAfee]

Joey, you're a dog, dude. I appreciate the hell out of you for joining us. A president of a university, obviously talking actual business. That's that presidents of universities are going to have to figure out that affects the sports world. I'm very grateful for this convo and I'm very grateful for our relationship. And I'm thankful that you brought Mario Cristobal back to the U, because it feels like the U is back. Even though he doesn't want to say that. Thank you so much. We'll see you on Monday, boss.

[Joe Echevarria]

Is AJ there?

[Pat McAfee]

No. What do you. You could deliver a message, though.

[Joe Echevarria]

Well, tell A.J. i forgive him, but he's got to give me back that 2002 national championship.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, your businessman, he is as well. Well, we'll see how that negotiation goes. You're the best. Ladies and gentlemen, that's president Joey Echeverrio. Yeah, dog.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

What a weapon. That's genius. Genius.

[Pat McAfee]

Curtis Flood, Cardinal. I believe he started. Then this happened. Mackie comes in, then, then this happens. ABA Oscar Roberts. And then this happens. We need this one. K said then we could do this. This. It's not going to be a year thing. It's going to take a while. This dude's a weapon. Really cool guy. Great energy. And then you learn his story. It's like, oh, he wasn't supposed to be this guy. He decided and worked his ass off. And he's on it. He was in a suit. And I did immediately go suit and then just kept walking. And then he afterwards is like, hey.

[Ty Schmidt]

Come on, I'm in a hospital all day. Wear a suit.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was a cool combo. He like sought me out basically, you know, like cool to talk to him. And once I learned he was the president of the university, I was like, oh, so sorry I said this.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, makes sense. You probably shouldn't be wearing sweatpants.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I'm happy. You don't look like an like I do. But nonetheless, you're a good suit. I appreciate what you're doing. You're doing great for sports and for the you. That university is beautiful down there. Yeah, it's a resort that has like very high end. They got it going on. Well, they went in Addy. We shall see. Hour two on the other side. Be a friend. Tell friend something nice.

[Joe Echevarria]

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[Pat McAfee]

Real quick.

[Joe Echevarria]

Faster than heating up leftovers. Mix and match players from any sport all season long on Prize Picks, America's number one daily fantasy sports app, available in 45 states, including California, Texas, Florida and Georgia.

[Pat McAfee]

Download the Prize Picks app today and use code TPMS and get 50 instantly in site credits when you play $5. That's code TPMS on prize picks to get 50 instantly in site credits when YOU play $5. Win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks in psych credits for just playing. Guaranteed Prize Picks. It's good to be right. Must be present in certain states. Visit prizepix.com for restrictions and details. Hey, fans. Welcome back to Fansville's cheers and tears. Okay, so like, everybody deals with losing right? To a rival and a last second field goal, whatever. It's fine. I'm totally fine. But I cope with losing with an ice cold Dr. Pepper.

[Mario Cristobal]

Mmm.

[Pat McAfee]

Those 23 flavors are like so delicious.

[Jed Lowrie]

They totally wash away the pain of.

[Pat McAfee]

Your college football team taking a big fat L. College football. It's a pepper thing. Football is the best. All right, that's the show.

[Ty Schmidt]

There you go.

[Connor Rogers]

Boom, boom.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's go.

[Ty Schmidt]

Nothing else.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, how do we feel? Toxic tables here at Boston, Connor and at TI Schmidt. 1/2 of the hammer, dad. Oh, I like that. One half of the hammer D oh, I didn't hear the back. Did you hear the back?

[Ty Schmidt]

No, never.

[Tone Diggs]

Do they hate me?

[Pat McAfee]

What's that all about? One half of the hammer D All right, let's stage. Be quiet this time. One half of the hammer, dad. Oh, they might have a little bit better one than us.

[Connor Rogers]

That's not True.

[Pat McAfee]

Stage now. 1/2 of the hammer D See, Tone, you could participate to maybe make it sound good and represent for us.

[Ty Schmidt]

I've.

[Pat McAfee]

But we lose a guy cuz he doesn't want to do his own intro. That's interesting. They got four, we got three. It is a strength of number. We lose an entire vocal box because old buddy's too humble. Stage is too humble maybe to keep up with them. Now stage, one more time. One half of the hammer. See, that's going to be tough to beat because I came in a little bit afterwards, carried that thing a little bit higher, and then con man came in with A right hook. Now behind the glass, one half of the hammer. Oh, see, they weren't ready.

[Connor Rogers]

No, not at all.

[Pat McAfee]

We had them.

[Connor Rogers]

Not from the gut, either.

[Tone Diggs]

I say down every time.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, no. We got a weak voice out here. The pack is the strength of the weakest wolf. Feels like in this particular case, we're losing to behind the glass because the man who's supposed to be chanting for himself just can't be heard. Stage only one half of the hammer. Did you mute yourself? I don't think your mic is on. I muted. I muted them. I just want to make sure that Tony was actually saying it. Oh, you muted all of us?

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Did he say it? I didn't hear because I was yelling, too.

[Ty Schmidt]

Maybe Tony just goes on his own this time.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Just Tony.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

One half of the hammer.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, you son of a.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, maybe we don't.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, you mean.

[Tone Diggs]

I'm saying how it's supposed to be said.

[Pat McAfee]

You're supposed to yell it, brother. Yeah. Supposed to give it a little bit of juice. This is not supposed to tear us down, boys. This is supposed to rally now. It is.

[Connor Rogers]

And I hate the back room about this now, too.

[Pat McAfee]

It's.

[Tone Diggs]

Foxy talked about this the other day with us. If you're from where we're from, I just go into full attack mode.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Foxy did mention this. Yeah. I mean, I guess it was kind of a read of Yinzer. I guess that he's been around. Not all Yinzer, I guess, but just the ones that we. Pretty much all of them. If you just point something out about the city of Pittsburgh, the Steelers, the Penguins, anything that involves Pittsburgh and you just say a comment about it that might be a little bit negative, they're not going to, like, rebut that or defend that or, you know, have an excuse for it. No. They're immediately going, screw Detroit, screw Michigan, screw the whole state, and screw you. Well, that's how it goes. You punched a punching bag yesterday and got a one. So Michigan will be buried for that forever. Now. We are things broke. We are an offensive city. Like, we will go into offense. You have some offense. Sick. That was cool, what you said. We have some ideas, too. Bang. We're going right back at it. And I guess that is a pretty good character trait that we have that could be viewed as a negative in some. Some situations.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. Or positive.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Situations. It's positive. There's other situations where it's not for sure, you know, for sure. Somebody maybe didn't know that that was definitely Gonna happen. So they take what you're saying to them as like, do you hate me?

[Connor Rogers]

You have to take offense to everything.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no.

[Connor Rogers]

You have to take offense to everything. Because if you don't, then when you get caught off guard and someone's just completely on you to your face, you don't even know like that that's the difference between Michigan and, I hate to say it, Indiana and some of these Midwest. Basically everything to the west of Ohio. You can make the argument, and I'm not including Texas. Texas is its own state. You'll get shot down there. Okay, but I'm saying everything to the left of Ohio.

[Pat McAfee]

That's why they call them nice in the hospitality.

[Connor Rogers]

You're saying bingo. It's the mid Midwest hospitality. Bingo.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Nice people. Not everything is a potential shit talk. Straight back. Joining us now is in Ohio bingo folk. I mean, to a T, ladies and gentlemen. He's college football national champion, super bowl champion. He is not one half of the hammer dad Cowboys. AJ Hawk.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you think that's an accurate descriptor of yinzers or just most people east of maybe the most western tip of Ohio. Whenever you say we go on offense.

[AJ Hawk]

In return, it's definitely a regional thing. I feel like different certain groups that. That may react, I guess quicker and just with more, you know, violence, I guess verbally that can happen. It's Pittsburgh thing a little bit, which is fine though. It's what makes it what makes Pittsburgh great, though. Yeah. Some people might not like it, but it's also what makes you great.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that used to be old Twitter. You know, somebody would talk to me on Twitter because he could say whatever. And then I would do research and I'm coming back.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, and they're like classless. I'm like, this guy's allowed to say whatever he wants to me. I didn't know that that was impossible. I think going back now on therapist following Foxy. Foxy's read here. Yeah, Dr. Faucky, I think I'm going back. That that was inevitable, I guess. And we gotta. Hey, we gotta acknowledge that that's your cross to bear. Yeah. We gotta acknowledge there's nothing wrong.

[Connor Rogers]

There's nothing wrong with verbal violence when it's to people that you know. Okay. And even when it's people that you don't know. You know, Michael Scott has a very famous quote about this, about, you know, friends and just how everything works.

[Pat McAfee]

And where was that?

[Connor Rogers]

It was from a very early on season. So I'm not going to say It. But I will say TV was a little different. It was much different. And maybe it's because I'm rewatching the.

[Tone Diggs]

What's the gist of it?

[Connor Rogers]

It's. You don't call your friends idiots. You call idiots your friends. Or something along those lines.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay?

[Connor Rogers]

And look, that's just the point of verbal violence. That's a point of Johnson. How are we supposed to get better? How's Foxy supposed to get better? Focky Faukey? How's Faky supposed to get better if he's not verbally jousting with people who have been doing it this whole.

[Pat McAfee]

And that's sports in a nutshell, you know. Yeah, shit talking is good. It's competitive talking.

[Connor Rogers]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

It's nice to compete. Speaking of competing, we got the biggest competitions in the history of this NFL season coming up tomorrow and Sunday. A twofer on Saturday and then, oh, yeah, another twofer on Sunday. Little bogo here. Action on both Saturday and Sunday. Divisional round one weekend. Buffalo Bills, Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and the Seahawks are on Saturday. We Talked about the 12th man being on display on Saturday night. We are pumped for the world that maybe doesn't get to watch all of NFL football get a chance to see a massive game out there in Seattle. AJ we talked about that in the first hour in a big way.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, I want to see how. How do these teams, not only Seattle, how do the Broncos, how do they come off this bye week? We had all that talk in the College Football Playoff about the teams. Indiana is the only one to come off a buy and find a way to win.

[Mario Cristobal]

So that's.

[AJ Hawk]

That's a thing in the NFL. NFL that they have to deal with, too. And obviously, Sam Darnold, what the hell is going on? Do we have any. Any updates on him?

[Pat McAfee]

Questionable is a big one. Huge questionable. Rate to questionable was crazy. And it was mentioned in the first hour out of nowhere. Sam Darnold, questionable for their playoff game Saturday vs 49ers due to an oblique injury. Then whenever he was jogging on the field, there's a video I saw where he had a therapy gun, but I think he was on the outside. I don't think it was necessarily on his oblique. So maybe that's just standard warm up for him. But he was jogging out to practice. Was this during a workout? Was this during a p. A practice session? I don't think we know much for.

[Ty Schmidt]

What it's worth, and he's usually pretty good about this stuff. Pro football doc Dr. Dave Chow said that this is about a 2 out of a 10 for him in terms of whether or not he's actually hurt. Not going to play on Sunday.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, well, we move on then. We just think if. Because pro football doc, we've had him on the show a couple times. Him in the lab.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know, what's it called, the.

[Ty Schmidt]

Sports injury institute or something like that.

[Connor Rogers]

Laboratory.

[Pat McAfee]

Should be called. A laboratory.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Him and other ex sports doctors sitting in a room back to back to each other with a bunch of screens around them and then basically just eyeballing injuries from, you know, wherever they're sitting and going. Man, that looks like. What do you think? You think that's like a PC? I feel like that's probably a pco. Let's just wait till he gets up. Oh, wait on his outside. Yeah, he might have got it. Actually. Our determination is what they do. Our determination is that he sprained his PCO while potentially tearing his meniscus. This is anywhere from a two to four week injury and this will be the recovery, but not catastrophe. That is what they do basically all year for all sports. It is actually quite a weapon. Now I have. I don't want to put their shit over too much, but I don't think I've ever seen them actually be wrong.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, no.

[Pat McAfee]

And they'll stay away from things. I think that they're like, ah, we don't know what they that'll be. But anytime they've opened their mouths about something, they have seemingly been right. Now I'm sure, I'm sure throughout the history of their business, they've been wrong. Somewhere, I assume there's a tweet that was wrong or misread because it's hard to diagnose something from thousands of miles away. But whenever they decide to speak normally. Pretty spot on. 2 out of 10 is what he said.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's what he said. Yeah. His level of concern was a 2 out of 10.

[Tone Diggs]

I just sent in. Yes, there's that. I also sent in Darnold talking about how he did it and his percentage of chance to not play.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, let's run that. Do we have that right now? Yeah, obviously, you know, just in routes.

[Tone Diggs]

On air, just kind of felt a little.

[Joe Echevarria]

Little something.

[Tone Diggs]

My oblique just didn't want to push it, you know, wasn't the day to push it.

[Pat McAfee]

So that was. That was it. So just came inside, got some rehab and you know, feel like I'll be ready to go for Saturday.

[Connor Rogers]

That was just today that happened.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

You ever had anything oblique Issues or anything?

[Tone Diggs]

No, no.

[Pat McAfee]

Never had oblique issues.

[Tone Diggs]

But it's fun, you know, we'll attack.

[Pat McAfee]

It the next couple days and be ready to go for Saturday.

[Tone Diggs]

Is this on, like, throwing side? It's just on my left side.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, it is what it is.

[Tone Diggs]

But yeah, again, like I said, felt.

[Pat McAfee]

It on a throw, but, you know.

[Joe Echevarria]

We'Ll be ready to go.

[Connor Rogers]

What percent of you thinks you might not play?

[Tone Diggs]

Very low percentage.

[Pat McAfee]

Probably closer to zero. Any other questions? Sam, Don's playing.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, that was a good question. Good question. What percentage of you might not play?

[Pat McAfee]

So left oblique. This is obese.

[AJ Hawk]

So he must have been, like, twerking around to throw. Just routes on there and something just.

[Pat McAfee]

Grabbed on him because, you know, if you get that.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, exactly.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, right there.

[Connor Rogers]

Jacked up, you know, and that thing.

[Pat McAfee]

Is just like, not today, Sammy boy. Okay? We've been doing this all season. Let's go ahead and relax. And it gets that theragun on it. Oh, there's a spot right there. All right. We hope he's okay. So he was listed as questionable for the day. Is that how these things go?

[Connor Rogers]

I think so.

[Ty Schmidt]

Right.

[Pat McAfee]

Because we've experienced if there was a game that day.

[Tone Diggs]

If you don't, we did this with, like, Lamar. If you don't complete the entire practice, you have to be listed as at least questionable. Limited or limited or yes, yes. Which Limited equals. If you were limited in practice, that equals questionable. I believe on the injury.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know. We need to learn more. We cover it every day. I mean, this is what people say whenever we're just on the air or whatever. But it is like a very interesting thing. They seemingly move the goalpost for when do we have to judge who is what and what are they? There was a penalty coming. Ravens almost faced, like, a draft pick compensation pick penalty because they maybe falsely listed Lamar Jackson one day. And did they do it on purpose or did they not do it on purpose? Is this a game? How many people are doing this and why is it so confusing? Sam Darnold just told me he's 100% playing. Why is there a queue next to his name? Like, I, I. My brain's not good enough to understand that because when I see questionable in my head, I go, oh, it's a question on whether or not he's going to play.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, it makes sense.

[Pat McAfee]

But then Dr. David Chow comes out and says 2 out of 10. And then Sam Donald comes out and goes 0 out of 100% that I missed the game at all. It's like well why is there a cue there? That doesn't matter. We got to figure that out further. And by we I'm saying the NFL is going to figure that out and I would just like to offer up myself as the standard doofus. Okay. I just think that that is a little confusing for me and I don't want you to just change for me. I assume there's a lot of people.

[Tone Diggs]

Feels like he should probably be a P probably going play.

[Connor Rogers]

That's what they need to change to. He's probable or doubtful. You know one of the two two quarterbacks play played this year with a strained oblique. It was Mac Jones and Baker Mayfield. I saw some Seahawks fans saying hey Mac Jones threw for 300 yards with a battle bleak. We should be just fine.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, let's pivot away from the divisional round weekend and then the big college game and AJ I don't know if you've seen PMS Segeek Relay.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh yeah, I've seen. What are you talking about? That's all anyone can talk about.

[Pat McAfee]

Darius Butler sent us a video of him watching it either in an airport or various but the hashtag PMSCGEEK Relay is today's contest for two tickets to the big college game on Monday night down there in Miami. We've given away three pairs of tickets already. Today will be the fourth and today's one is going to be the most electrifying. AJ Mittalk Bill in Bone will run a 4 by 293 yard relay. Five second penalties will be assessed as they are timed for each runner doing the Thunderdome dash which will be a 293 yard sprint from this putting green right here. AJ standing in that box will be each participant. They will sprint across the basketball court down the hallway which Zito is currently just at the exit of. There will be a camera outside shooting. They will sprint through the double doors, through the other double doors that are bulletproof and padlocked. Yes. Through both of those double doors, across the driveway, then across a pasture to the outer tip of the Thunderdomes property that we literally just sold to the city. Because they're making a roundabout right out there. That's right. You would touch that wooden post. Then you will have to run back. It's called a roundabout out here. Rotary maybe over there in New England. Run back all the way in to this green right here and then once all four are completed that'll be the final three time. You just have to guess to the second what it will take. These four gentlemen now AJ let's meet the four participants, shall we?

[AJ Hawk]

Yes, please.

[Pat McAfee]

Running the Thunderdome Dash, first runner leadoff will be Mick. This dude once played D3 football for. For DePaul. Yep. With a W. And here's an Emmy award winning editor. Age Talk is going to be the surprise of it all, I think. Don't you think?

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

Todd can run. He could probably run 100 miles and not even sweat.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And that's real. We don't know if he can do any type of terrain. He's only on a treadmill. And speaking of terrain, this guy has all of them. The ball of muscle, Bill, his name was Big Motor back in high school because he was a track star. And then we got a national champion here, Bone as the anchor. A.J.

[AJ Hawk]

I mean, I know Bone has been. He's very confident in what he can do to say, is he still feeling really good about this, about him being the anchor here?

[Pat McAfee]

Bone's been very confident because Bone's bringing him home. And Bone home. Bone home. That is kind of what it's going to be. So if you can perfectly predict the time it will take for Mitt's foot to leave that green and Bone's body part to touch the green and the other two runners in between between, you could potentially win two tickets to the big college game on Monday.

[Ty Schmidt]

Boom.

[Pat McAfee]

If we get 10 people will get it accurate. The first 10 people get accurate will be put into a pool. We will randomly select one of them to win the final pair of tickets that we're giving away. Awesome stuff. Thankful that we're able to do it. And I cannot wait to watch these boys do their thing.

[Connor Rogers]

Quick question.

[Tone Diggs]

I'm sorry if I missed it because we talked about it earlier. Is this seconds or tenth of a second? 100th of a second.

[Pat McAfee]

Just to a second, not tenth of a second. Yeah, we were going to do tenth of a second, but we thought that might be tough. So just to the second. And Bone is getting ready. He heard what you're questioning. He's been out there touching his toes.

[Connor Rogers]

That's gross. That's gross.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you mean?

[Connor Rogers]

Someone clean underneath where he's sitting down? Because I've seen those white tights before. And he had quite the morning.

[Pat McAfee]

We'll just say that he did have quite the morning, which included preparing for this particular reaction relay. I'm pulling for Bone. Honestly, the other three are very active every day. Like maybe the most active people I know.

[Joe Echevarria]

Oh.

[AJ Hawk]

So phone's been jump roping.

[Pat McAfee]

I thought three days. Three days of that is three days enough for a 25 year old. Talk runs six miles every single day on the treadmill. I hear every single step of it. Six miles every single day. Mitt's running four miles plus full workout day. Bill's. Bill's doing three a days right now, including cardio. The three guys leading this off, I would say they would say in the best shape of their life. And then Bone is the anchor and bones 25. And that's what he's been banking on this entire time. It might be in a little bit of a wake up experience here for Bone about life as a 25, 26, 27, 30, 40, 50 year old in this entire thing or that D3 National Champion heart and that D3 National Champion mind will carry him through as he glides to that post and comes back. He was a track star in high school.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, that D and D. Bone stands for determination for sure. I don't think people understand how bad the terrain is. Like if it was Darius Butler running from here to the post, I'd be worried because of the ground itself, the, the amount of little mounds, little, little divots. Like I, I'm not going to say.

[AJ Hawk]

Like cross country in high school. Kids run cross country.

[Connor Rogers]

Exactly. I'm not going to say no one's going to fit finish. But I do worry about the time if someone blows an ankle out or knee out and me and Ty standing out there, maybe having to go and kind of helping them get to the finish.

[Ty Schmidt]

And I can't do that because that would not be right. You know, you gotta, you gotta let them finish on their own. So you gotta take that into consideration when you're guessing as well.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, and also remember, we're adding five second penalties to the entire group for every failed exchange on the green here. There has to be two hand shakes between the pass runner and the next runner. And the runner that just finished has to be completely out of the launch zone before next runner can get into launch zone. If that is failed, five second penalty. If they fall, five second penalty. If they get injured, five second penalty. So you gotta factor in all those things as well, AJ because we're putting these penalties in so that they take them seriously.

[Ty Schmidt]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, hey. Don't fall, okay? We don't want you to fall. You don't have to go all out and fall. Don't get hurt. That's not cool. We're in a very important time right now. We need, we need everybody here. And then on the exchange. Have a little chivalry here, a little bit Have a little respect for the Thunderdome, Dash, shake hands with the next person, wish them good luck, get the hell out of the launch zone and watch the show.

[Tone Diggs]

But also, if they have any pride, go as hard as you can.

[Ty Schmidt]

Well, also, yes, it's cold as shit out there, so you're not really going to be wanting the dilly.

[Mario Cristobal]

Dude.

[Pat McAfee]

Dally. Weather report coming out of the Thunderdome. Feels like 16 right now. Wind gusts up to 20 miles an hour. 75% chance of snow.

[Connor Rogers]

Already seen it.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, people are talking about Chicago this weekend. We're pretty close. Yeah, we're pretty close. Normally we get the weather before Chicago gets it, you know, because usually it's. Everybody thinks, you know, because the jet stream is west to east, which is true. Feels like a lot of this stuff comes like up and atom from the. From the west east. Very similar weathers between our state and their place. It might be the home of the bears. Actually Indiana, it probably should be. Might be the case, but nonetheless. Feels like 16 outside. That's the only degree I need to know. By the way, I'm tired of them telling me what the actual degree is.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, tell me what that's.

[Pat McAfee]

Because that's not what it actually is. What it feels like is what it actually is.

[Jed Lowrie]

Correct.

[Pat McAfee]

Who's the actual one for? Not humans. Like, who cares?

[AJ Hawk]

What's the equation to make the feels like situation?

[Connor Rogers]

I think the Denardo edition, right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but I don't need to know what the actual weather is. I don't. Just tell me what it feels like. That feels like.

[AJ Hawk]

All I know is what it feels like. That's all I know. If I walk out, this is what it feels like.

[Pat McAfee]

They always do the actual one big and then they do feels like small. It's like that should be reversed. It should be feels like one big and then actual one bottom. Just in case scientists want to do any experiments or anything with the actual temperature that I can't feel and no other human that can read what's on the screen. Kenny.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, I feel like it's just solely for like record high and record low purposes, because we get that all the time. Wow, look at, look at the record high. This is the coldest it's been in, you know, 85 years here in the state. There's really no other reason to give the. The true temperature other than that type of scientific record. Right.

[Pat McAfee]

So that's cool. They should put science for scientific record. That should actually be what it says for scientific record. The actual thing. I just want to know how it's going to affect me.

[Ty Schmidt]

I'm.

[Pat McAfee]

I. I advise. I don't know if the scientific record does. I'll text Cantori joining us right now. Jim Cantor needs to get to bottom that DiNardo would have and everybody need to think about him when they're making these decisions.

[Connor Rogers]

Miss you, Joe.

[Pat McAfee]

Joining us. That we do. Rest in peace, Joe Nardo. God, Joe Nardo. You did such a good job doing what you did. Rest in peace to you, legend. I'm actually thinking. Never mind.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, keep that one in Donardo degrees. Perhaps the. Feels like one one denardos.

[Tone Diggs]

34 denardos outside.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Just like that one guy was an amount of pylons.

[Connor Rogers]

Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, speaking of same number. Unbelievable. He does not deserve that.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. He's less. You're it.

[Pat McAfee]

This guy. Jeez. He doesn't even know what you're talking about right now.

[Connor Rogers]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

And I'm sure he does feel offended. Joining us, ladies and gentlemen, is the voice of a sport that an entire generation like, likes and appreciates. Has complete tone. You don't need to be laughing at what he just did.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, he got it.

[Tone Diggs]

I just realized who was coming on.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, Tony got it. I mean, he's put a bomb on me.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, the authority on baseball, friend of the program, Chad Bassett. Chad, I don't like what he just did, brother. If you have anything to say about anything, anybody you'd like to kill, myself included, go ahead. Let's just get it out of the way before we get started here.

[Jed Lowrie]

I have no desire, Pat, to kill you. I've just been wondering this entire time why Conor is wearing a hat that makes him look like a pen.

[Connor Rogers]

Like, grow up, Jet. Okay?

[Pat McAfee]

It's called.

[Connor Rogers]

It's called football, man.

[Pat McAfee]

Looking at the history of it.

[Connor Rogers]

This is what they used to wear, brother.

[Pat McAfee]

Called leatherhead, man.

[Connor Rogers]

Have some respect for the people that built the NFL, all right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it does have a respect for.

[Jed Lowrie]

People that built the NFL. I do not have respect for men who wear that in 2025. I do have respect.

[Joe Echevarria]

However.

[Pat McAfee]

It is 2026. I haven't gotten much sleep.

[Jed Lowrie]

I'm sorry.

[Connor Rogers]

It's all right.

[Pat McAfee]

It's all right. Good thing. Everything's just.

[Jed Lowrie]

I'm sorry. I was. I was just smitten by bone. What a unit like that guy is going to.

[Pat McAfee]

That guy is going to be the.

[Jed Lowrie]

Absolute superstar of the relay.

[Pat McAfee]

I am so excited to see him.

[Jed Lowrie]

Like the truest anchor I've ever seen. Like the size of the three other Guys combined, it's tremendous.

[Tone Diggs]

That's the scale too.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I don't know if you saw the silhouette beforehand. I don't know if anybody knew who was going to be the anchor. You know, that incredible work here on motion graphics. The. The thought of these guys leading us in this, the final contest for the ticket giveaway for the big college game, it just feels right and it feels like it could get a bit out of control. Which leads us to your sport. The Dodgers are just going to buy every single good player and they're going to ruin the game. And now baseball's over. Over. I put out a tweet last night after I saw this massive signing and deferral payments and over 2.1 billion now in total salary, I guess on their roster. I said dodgers are so good at baseball. I mean they got all the good players they're so good at. The responses were very negative to me and to the Dodgers as a baseball operation. What does this mean? Why does it mean it? And how did this get done? Jed, it's a lot for you, but if you could explain why I was getting murdered for what I said, please.

[Jed Lowrie]

Well, let's start with the dollar figures because that is why, Pat, they were going after you. And you know, we saw last year with Juan Stto getting $51 million a year over 15 years, setting a new mark for contracts not just in baseball, but across all of major professional sports. It was an enormous deal and I thought it was going to be a long time until that average annual value was beaten. It lasted all of one year because there weren't a whole lot of deferrals. $30 million out of the 240 that the Dodgers gave Kyle Tucker for four seasons. It takes the average annual value down to $57.1 million a year. This looks like an NBA contract. It looks like a supermax. It's one of those types of deals. And the reason that the Dodgers are doing it is very simple because Kyle Tucker is 28 years old and they are getting those prime seasons. And in the case of Juan stto's contract, had he gone for something shorter term, he might have gotten 70 or 80 or $90 million a year. In this market he chose the long term guarantee. What Tucker gets is the optionality with opt outs after years two and three where if he can get that longer term deal and go back out onto the market after a great season, he's going to do that. I think the anger pat hat from baseball fans is understandable. It is warranted and it's illustrative of where the game is right now and what both owners and players need to do as the collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1st. Baseball needs to listen to its fan. And what its fans are saying right now is this system that has worked and operated with no salary cap for the entirety of baseball history really has been wonderful to players, and it's been great to the game. And you don't necessarily need a cap to achieve what fans want. That at the end of the day, is what this story needs to be and what it should be about. That fans right now feel like this game is unfair. And if enough fans. And we're talking 29 fan bases, we're talking Yankees fans, Red Sox, Sox, Cubs, Padres. Everyone looks at the Dodgers right now and the way that they are operating, which by the way, is within the confines of the rules. But sometimes rules need to adapt. Sometimes rules need to evolve. Sometimes rules need to reflect what the modern society is asking for in the sport. In the sport right now, baseball fans want to feel like when they go into a season, their team has a chance. And right now, because the Dodgers have won two World Series in a row.

[Pat McAfee]

Row.

[Jed Lowrie]

And have gone out and signed the best free agent on the market and Kyle Tucker and the best closer on the market, Edwin Diaz, they don't feel like they have that opportunity going into the season. And it's not just the fans, Pat, the players themselves. I heard from players last night, like, how do we beat the Dodgers? And baseball's the kind of game where the best team doesn't always win. It's just happened to the last couple of years. And the fear is that it's going to happen in again.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so thank you for all the information there and for breaking it all down. Dodgers doing what is legal in current baseball, you saying what 2026 calls for has to be a different system. Now what all happens, all these contracts, because in the CBA up in like a year. And what would the move be? There be a basement amount of money that has to be paid. And then there will be a ceiling on the amount of money that's allowed to be paid. So a salary cap has to happen. So like Pittsburgh Pirates fans, our owner has to spend this amount of money and then the gap between what. What is has to be spent versus most, a lot of spend is much smaller. Is that what the next negotiation is? And what do all these deals that are deferred for 15 years, Shohei's deal, what he's not getting paid really until 2030, most of it's deferred something. So that would be after the new cba. So how does that kind of all play together and what is the fix to make people happier or feel optimistic about their teams? Because I think there's a few of our teams in here where we're not really optimistic ever to begin with. So we would like to feel optimistic at some point as well. When does that answer happen and what happens to baseball if it was was to happen?

[Jed Lowrie]

So here's the likely way it's going to play out. December 1, 2026, the collective bargaining agreement expires, and when it does, unless there is a deal in place there, Major League Baseball is going to lock the players out. This happened back in 2001. Going into 2022, it was problematic. They did not lose games. The positions that have been staked out by both sides are this. Owners want a salary cap. They look at at all the other major men's sports in North America and they say they have salary caps. Why don't we. Salary caps would bring some semblance of competitive balance to the game. Now, I don't know that that's entirely true. That presupposes that a salary cap causes, as opposed to, is correlated to parity and to evenness and to fairness, so to speak. Players, on the other hand, look at it like, hey, we have a system right now that's paying Juan Soto $755 million. We have a system that's giving Kyle Tucker $60 million a year. Do we really want to change that? Do we really want to limit the earning power of players and limit the ability to make the kind of money that they are right now? Major League Baseball argues that, hey, under this system, you know, players are going to make even more. But you guys know how salary caps work. They start at a fixed percentage of revenue that's given in every negotiation is just ownership trying to take that percentage down and down and. And down. The first deal in a salary cap you get is the best players don't want to open that Pandora's box. The real question at the end of the day is where do they find compromise? Can they find compromise? Or are both sides going to take this sport and drive it off a cliff? Because ultimately, what do they do this for? Yeah, they do it for the businesses on the owner's side. Of course they do. They want to make money on the player side. They do it, yes, to make money and yes, to win championships and as well. But really, they do it for the fans because with the fans, they ain't got nothing. And fans right now are feeling alienated. They are feeling disaffected. And everybody involved, players and owners alike, need to listen. Listen to what fans are saying, listen to each other, and try and find some sort of compromise that's going to prevent baseball from doing something that it's going to deeply regret if this labor war turns into whatever it could.

[Pat McAfee]

So you're saying for the good of ball, we need to figure this out because what there is the. No, I'm not.

[Jed Lowrie]

I'm not saying there needs to be a salary cap.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, you're saying for the good of ball, though. This shit needs to be figured out, obviously, for the good of the fans, for the good of ball, all that stuff. Yes, I agree with you.

[Jed Lowrie]

Absolutely. And it's. Dude, it's easy for me to sit here and say that I don't have any stake in it. I'm not invested in baseball. I'm not trying to make money playing baseball. But everybody needs to understand this is a universe that people will escape. Escape if you don't give them what they want.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, fans have proven, especially over the last, like 10 years or so, that they will say, nah, we're not doing that anymore, and almost protest actively what you have going on. Obviously, hopefully for baseball, that's not the case. I don't know if you're getting an update right now. We will certainly love. Yeah, I just got.

[Jed Lowrie]

I just got some news.

[Connor Rogers]

J.T.

[Jed Lowrie]

Realmito is going to. Going back to Philadelphia. Three years, 45 million.

[Connor Rogers]

Come on.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, congratulations. Real mutos. Real deal.

[Connor Rogers]

It's a good gift.

[Pat McAfee]

That's a great gift for Philadelphia. One of them In Boston, is that 15 per there? Is that what that is? 345?

[Jed Lowrie]

Yeah, yeah, that's what it looks like. And look, the Phillies were in on Boba Shet and Boba Shet earlier today. You know, we talk about Kyle Tucker's deal. Four years and $240 million. Boba Shet got three years and $126 million from the new York Mets. So really, the. The fallout from the Kyle Tucker deal last night, he goes to the Dodgers when everybody was thinking it's going to be the Mets, it's going to be the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets turn around and they pivot to Boba Shet and bring him into an infield that was filled already. But they needed a bat to protect Juan Soto in their lineup. And the Phillies were in on Bichette. They now go back to Real Muta, who's been their catcher for a half decade and has been part of all of the great things that they've done.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Jed Lowrie]

It's interesting times, man. Like, I think baseball is in such a fascinating place right now. And as bearish as some fans are, based on what happened yesterday with Kyle Tucker going to the Dodgers and with them seemingly getting anybody that they want, there are solutions that can be had. If you have people going to the table in good faith and having the same goal in mind, which is to preserve all of the great things baseball has going for it and to build the game and to really reward fans who invest as much time as they do in this sport that lasts for six months and demands two and a half to three hours from you every day.

[Pat McAfee]

Baseball.

[Jed Lowrie]

Baseball's a lot, but it's worth it.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a lot. Okay, so on the point of agreeing at the table in good faith, the players that don't want the salary cap or the money to change right now that it is, they're just going to say the team you referenced there, the Mets, spent the most and they didn't even make the playoffs. So if it's just spending money, how come. That's. That's the argument immediately. Right. I assume from Dodgers and from those people. So then how do you get everybody at the table to agree? Who knows? Good luck. Good luck over there.

[Mario Cristobal]

There.

[Pat McAfee]

We're pulling for all parties for the good of ball, because we're getting interested. But there's another story out there that you guys have arbitration or something, which is a wild thing that baseball has that no other sport that I know has. Go ahead, Ty.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, Jet. Is there any kind of update on Tarek Skubel? Because I think a lot of people assumed that he was going to be traded at the winter meetings, like any of the, you know, reporters you talk to. Like, that was obviously a hot topic of discussion. Then we saw his ARB number was much different than what the. The Tigers wanted to pay him. Is there any update there? Because I think that, you know, the Kyle Tucker thing is one thing, but I think if Scubal were to get traded to the Dodgers, which is kind of what everyone just assumed when this first got brought up, I think that would send things into much more of a fever pitch. Do you what. What's going on there.

[Jed Lowrie]

The Scuba situation, I'll lay it out accordingly. And, and it's fascinating because Tarek Scubal is the best pitcher in the world. He and Paul Skins both. I mean, they're absolutely incredible. And the way arbitration works Is that after your third year as a big leaguer, you essentially get to argue for your salary. You can say to the team, I believe, based on past comparable players, I am worth this much. The team then comes back and says, we believe you are worth this much. 90 plus percent of guys wind up settling somewhere in the middle. But those that don't settle and go to an arbitration hearing, which is where you have the two sides. Each has given a specific number of salary that they, in this case, Tarek skubal has put $32 million out there, higher than anyone has ever gotten into the arbitration system. And the Tigers countered at $19 million, which they believe is fair based on the comparables. And they essentially spend three hours arguing back and forth in front of a three person panel. And at the end of the day, that three person panel picks which side it wants. There's no in between once you get into the hearing room. So you've got this enormous gap, this enormous disparity. And the most fascinating part to me is that Tarek Squibble is one of the eight players on the Major League Baseball Players association executive subcommittee, which means he is one of the eight most powerful players in baseball because he's going to be sitting at the bargaining table across from Major League Baseball as they're trying to hash out all of these issues. And this is almost like Skubal saying, as players have in the past, you know what, in the position that I'm in right now, with as much juice as I have as a player, I'm going to go and try and make gains for the player population. I'm going to go into that room and the lawyers around me are going to argue to this panel that I'm the best damn pitcher in the world. I have won two straight Cy Youngs. How can you possibly not pay me at the level of other players? Like a Zach Wheeler who's making, you know, 40 plus million million, you know, like a Dylan Cease, who this offseason signed for $30 million, they're going to be those comparable players and Skubal, because the system allows players in their final year of arbitration to compare themselves to free agent contracts, he's going to go in there and do that. And if this gets to hearing, if there is no settlement, it's going to be an incredible decision that I think is one of those pieces that when we look back historically on this, I think the Tucker contract is going to be one of those flashpoints. I think the school arbitration case we're building all of these interesting Elements that ultimately are going to lead to this negotiation that's going to chart the course of baseball going forward.

[Pat McAfee]

We appreciate all the information on baseball. Baseball is interesting. Baseball is cool off the field. Baseball is awesome as well. The most ever given in MLB arbitration, 31 million to Juan Soto, who settled with the Yankees. Settled with the Yankees. And 2024. Shohei Ohtani set a mark at 30 million in 2023. Okay. The highest ever awarded in a hearing was lower, though.

[Jed Lowrie]

19.9 million. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, there it is, y'.

[Tone Diggs]

All.

[Pat McAfee]

Test me, McAfee, I appreciate and respect your knowledge there. So when SK walks in this thing. Oh, this is. Yeah, this is going to happen to Skeens. What, after this season?

[Jed Lowrie]

Yeah, after this season.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, no. And then this would be when he would be gone, huh?

[Tone Diggs]

No, we're signing him for a big deal.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Jed Lowrie]

You got four seasons of control of Paul Skeens. He has now because he won rookie of the year his first year. He got a full year of service even though he wasn't there opening day. That's essentially an incentive to call guys up at the beginning of the season because if they win an award, they get that full year. But after that third season, Pat, you go into arbitration for three different years. And so Tarek Skubal is in his third year of arbitration.

[Pat McAfee]

And then that deal is for how long?

[Jed Lowrie]

It depends. I mean, what if the team doesn't.

[Pat McAfee]

Want to pay it?

[Mario Cristobal]

They.

[Jed Lowrie]

They have to. Or they'll trade the guy.

[Pat McAfee]

But that's what I'm talking about here for both schemes.

[Jed Lowrie]

See, in this case, though, Pat, arbitration is still like the salaries are dwarfed compared to free agency. That first year of arbitration, you know, because it's based on past comparables, you're not looking at much more than, you know, know, eight to $10 million. Like that first year, still going to be depressed. That second year, still going to be depressed. That third year is when he could go out and ask for a lot. But, you know, the aphorism pad is true. There is no, there is no such thing as a bad one year contract. And I think those shorter term deals with Kyle Tucker and Boba Shet sort of illustrate that, you know, teams are much more willing to give those high dollars for those prime years than they are to pay a guy when he's 38, 39, 40.

[Pat McAfee]

Interesting. Or they could be doing salary cap gymnastics like the NFL folks do, where the more years you can spread out the money on and the only thing that really matters is the first couple. It's a wild time in baseball. We'll certainly follow it. You're the man, ladies and gentlemen. Jet Pass. Hey, baseball's always got something cooking. AJ What'd you take from that convo with Jet there?

[AJ Hawk]

The arbitration situation is crazy because you sit there like the player is in there. I think a lot too. So they get to hear all the terrible things being said about him. And you're trying to, you know, present your case that the team and them are trying to say, this guy's awful, he's terrible. We don't. We want to pay him the low amount. And then your agent and you have to argue how good you are.

[Pat McAfee]

School, obviously. Dog. Detroit. Fifth richest owner in the baseball is Detroit. Yeah, fifth or fourth. Okay, so top five richest owner in baseball. So that conversation maybe goes different. Skeens walks in there and then somebody from the Pirates are going to say, he's not worth it. Who's going to say that? On the that size nutting's got no.

[Connor Rogers]

Problem from the cut of his jib.

[Pat McAfee]

I know, but think about Paul listening to that going, are you kidding? Because to your point, having to hear that, you know, that's why people have agents. So agents can do the negotiation. Because the negotiations are Pawn Stars, the episode. You're the thing on the table and you know, Dave.

[AJ Hawk]

Rick. Rick.

[Pat McAfee]

There it is. Bald Rick. Still.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

He's still bringing it.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Father gone.

[Ty Schmidt]

Rest in peace, son, I believe gone.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, whatever. I watched Pawn Stars. I ran through the entire thing.

[AJ Hawk]

Yep, that's a good run. Great run.

[Pat McAfee]

Great run. They did phenomenal stuff. Anytime we brought in an expert, if I was the person selling. I ain't believing this guy's an expert. What are we talking about?

[Ty Schmidt]

Medieval weapons expert?

[Pat McAfee]

No, He's World War II, second battle in the Pacific Theater expert. Who said that? Who said. He said. He's got stiff right here. Anyways, he says this thing 200 bucks. So.

[Ty Schmidt]

So I. I can give you 50 bucks for it.

[Pat McAfee]

Maybe 30, 35 bucks is what I'm thinking. Really niche group of buyers for this thing. You're going to sit on a shelf for a long time. That's who you are in this negotiation. For any of these negotiations and arbitration. Crazy baseball always hot. As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your your back.

[Mario Cristobal]

From professional grade products you can count.

[Pat McAfee]

On to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly.

[Tone Diggs]

Plus their Technical product specialists are here.

[Pat McAfee]

To help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or just stop by. This is pro linebacker TJ Watt and.

[Tone Diggs]

I'm back with YPB by Abercrombie for another activewear drop. My second co design collection has new shorts and tanks that keep up with all my in season workouts. And their new restore collection is a game changer off the field too, because even pro athletes like me need rest days. Shop YPB by Abercrombie in the app, online and in stores because your personal best is greater than anything.

[Pat McAfee]

Speaking of hot, I mean, the competition's about to be heated. Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to give away our final pair of big college game tickets as the toxic table will make its way to its broadcasting location directly outside of the Thunderdome. We will ask the competitors, our relay team, to make their way out, out to the green here. They obviously dressed in a fashion in which you would think to yourself, wow, those guys look like they're ready to go run. Those guys look like they're ready to do something for the people bone. Obviously sporting a tank top Bill with the short shorts and the tights talk potentially going to freeze out there showing a lot of skin and a lot of meat. And then you got Mitt obviously wearing the white tights in the super cool shoes bra. These four will obviously be taking part in the Thunderdome dash. Right now you can use the hashtag PMS Geek relay and try to predict how long it'll take these four men who'll be doing a reli a relay like style run.

[AJ Hawk]

Stop stretching.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you mean stop stretching?

[AJ Hawk]

They're all sitting here to this fake stretching like they need. They need to do.

[Pat McAfee]

That's not fake stretching. That's real stretching. Get that hammy bone. Boys, you can't hear me. Hey, hey. Boys, remember, you have to leave from the launch zone. Two feet only in the launch zone. Do not overstep. It'll be a five second penalty if you trip outside. Five second penalty if you trip inside. Five second penalty if you hurt yourself. Five second penalty, do not hurt yourself. Is that clear?

[Connor Rogers]

Yes.

[Tone Diggs]

A lot of yes, sirs, in case you guys couldn't hear them.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. They all agree? Do you all agree to do this? Okay. All right. Good, good, good. Now, if you get hurt, there's some chance real catastrophe happens with this pasture. Now Final guesses can be put in and I assume right now we will cut them off at. Let's wait till 144 for any of the final guesses where we will be running from. We will be running from this green across the court down the hallway outside the Thunderdome where Potter and Ty will be reporting. Boys, how's it feel out there?

[Ty Schmidt]

It's very fucking cold.

[Pat McAfee]

Very cold.

[Connor Rogers]

There's no junk out here.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it doesn't look like it's snowing though. It's not snowing, right? No precipitation.

[Ty Schmidt]

That is correct. Precipitation has ceased. And it doesn't look like we're going to have any more anytime soon.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. I believe we also have a view from back where the post will be that they have to touch. That is a drone. If we can get the drone to be shooting back towards Thunderdome, I think that would certainly be the proper way to look at that, don't we?

[Ty Schmidt]

Think where the tree is looking.

[Pat McAfee]

Looking back from through the wooden.

[AJ Hawk]

See them running to you.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but I do like the fact that we have a drone out there to make sure that these guys ain't cheating. Gotta touch the wooden post, boys.

[Tone Diggs]

I didn't know we had the capability to have a live feed to a drone.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we have a live feed to a zoom.

[Connor Rogers]

Look at us.

[Pat McAfee]

To a view outside. Let's not show that and let's boom. Yeah, there we go. That's okay. That's the view right there. For the drone. They would be touching that wooden post which is 146 and a half yards away from the green. All right, boys, get in your positions.

[Connor Rogers]

Here you go, boys.

[Ty Schmidt]

Hey, good luck. Oh, we got a fire truck taking.

[Pat McAfee]

Off right now and we, we appreciate the boys service. We might need that actually over there at the fire department Met you are actually in the launch zone. Taku will be going second. Who's on deck? Mitt, whenever your foot hits the wood, my clock will begin. For the overall time Tone will be doing the individual lap times for you guys to compete amongst yourselves. If you would like to put PMSCgeek relay and who you think will have the fastest lap? You'll win an autograph thing from the Thunderdome. Exact time time for all four in the relay. Could potentially win you two tickets to the big college game on Monday. Mitt, are you ready? M has been running four miles a day, seven minute mile pace for this moment. Can he show up for the people? Will he have the fastest lap? It is on you, Mitt. Ready, set and go. He's off To a quick start. Good, good start. Good. Heel drive, boys. He's right past. You got to move. You got to move. Good. Step down. Here comes the terrain. Ty, you got to get out of the way. You're directly in front of the camera. I believe as Mitt is running, he's almost. Is that how he runs the wooden post? Maybe the drone shot? Yes. Here he comes. He's lost track of where the post is.

[AJ Hawk]

Look at this.

[Pat McAfee]

He's missing the post. We might be at the wrong post. Actually, the drone is at the wrong post. That is the greatest thing of all time. Oh, that was the right ankle might be bumped. He might be blown in the left leg. What can FedEx do for you in the back dragging that left. Oh, no, there's a big up. Get up over the. Well done.

[Connor Rogers]

Here it comes.

[AJ Hawk]

What's happening?

[Pat McAfee]

There must be two handshakes in the transition era. MIT not trip. Good work, Good work. That's a clean transaction. No five minute penalty.

[AJ Hawk]

No way. There's no way.

[Pat McAfee]

That's not how he runs coming out here.

[Mario Cristobal]

Oh, no.

[Ty Schmidt]

He almost just tripped too.

[AJ Hawk]

It's gotta be a bit.

[Pat McAfee]

Nope, this is how you gotta move, Ty.

[Connor Rogers]

It's gotta be a bit.

[AJ Hawk]

He does not run like that. There's no way, man.

[Pat McAfee]

Six miles every day, con man. This is what he's prepared for.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know if he's prepared for this court Pat. His nipples could cut glass right now.

[Connor Rogers]

Look.

[Pat McAfee]

Feels like he might start bleeding.

[Connor Rogers]

He is now wavered from the direct path.

[Pat McAfee]

Massive. Massive. Thank you to the police that just honked at talk. They probably think something's wrong. Nothing is wrong. A man is completing a Thunderdome dash. He's been prepared for this moment. This is what we hear. Those feet clapping on the treadmill for this finish this, go home right here.

[Tone Diggs]

Because I've never got actual eyes on his form until now, other than on the treadmill.

[Connor Rogers]

Yep.

[Tone Diggs]

This guy is a.

[Pat McAfee]

He's a distant guy. Good work, doc. Let's make sure we got it. And good work, doc. That's incredible. And now Bill, formerly known as Big Motor high school track star.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, he's happy. Holy.

[Pat McAfee]

Grinning like the butcher. Oh, no.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, no.

[Pat McAfee]

A little bit of terrain.

[Ty Schmidt]

He turned his ankle pretty good.

[Pat McAfee]

And I think that's only the first time that's been happened. He does appear to have a little bit of a left ankle lean. Touches the post, obviously. Obviously. Good start with the left foot back. Bill, former Track star, doing 3A days preparing for this moment. Ty Schmidt, the knee drive arm Swing insane out of Bill.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, I mean, Bill looks like an Olympic runner compared to these two other guys. I gotta say it. I'm very impressed by Big Motor.

[Pat McAfee]

Here comes Bill. Seemingly flawless unless he hurt his ankle. Good stride in Bill. Now can they get. Oh, wait a minute. I don't. We don't know if two feet were out before the anchor. Bone, bring him back.

[Connor Rogers]

Bring him Back to the one right here.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, my gosh. D1s going the wrong one.

[Connor Rogers]

D3.

[Tone Diggs]

Sorry.

[Pat McAfee]

He said the path less traveled is a C, not A to B. Takes a looping effect at it. Maybe misses some of the terrain. Con man, your thoughts as Bone whisked by you.

[Connor Rogers]

I mean top to bottom, this guy's thicker than a $2 steak. I cannot believe believe the movement he has though. And the terrain not playing as big of a factor.

[Pat McAfee]

These guys are battling out here. Bone is finishing. Ty Schmidt, what is your message to Bone as the anchor of the relay here? Starting to celebrate early. Oh, get those jugs moving.

[Connor Rogers]

Come on.

[Pat McAfee]

I want to see him bouncing.

[Connor Rogers]

What's he talking about?

[Pat McAfee]

He's talking about his knees. Obviously we need to see his knees bouncing. He's. Here we go. Come on, Bo. Final steps of the hashtag PMSC can relay and 3:35. 3:35 for the boys. Incredible work. Incredible run from the beginning till the end. Boys, you should be incredibly proud of yourself. Go ahead and take a bow as you try to catch your breath. The crowd says thank you for your performance as the toxic table makes their way back into the Thunderdome through 3:35. Now we do have a replay on the exchange between Big Motor and Big Bone. Oh, we're going to have to watch that again. I do not know. If Bone waited for all of Bill to be all out of the loading zone, there might be a five second penalty. Their finish was 335.81. Very close to 336. Here's the replay. Do we think Bone was in when Bill was? Because maybe one foot and one foot each. We said only two feet allowed in there because I think maybe one foot of Bill was out. One foot of Bill was in, one foot of Bone was in, one foot of Bone was out. So technically two.

[Connor Rogers]

Interesting.

[Pat McAfee]

I think it's good.

[AJ Hawk]

It looked clean from here, Razor. That's close.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. What do you think, age? What would you vote?

[AJ Hawk]

I think they're good. I think they're good. Honestly, I think they got. I don't think they deserve. Deserve a penalty there.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think so either. So 335 will be the number. Boys, thanks for bearing the elements out there and broadcasting for us.

[Connor Rogers]

It was an honor. I mean, I cannot believe watching those guys come through the door. A lot of different vibes, but by the way, Mitt, silent, deadpan. Nothing going on up here.

[Pat McAfee]

Talk, though. Talk.

[Connor Rogers]

He, he was ready for the cold. Bill. Smiling big time.

[Pat McAfee]

Bone.

[Connor Rogers]

I think as soon as he hit those doors, he realized I, I, I ran way too fast to get here. I'm, I'm not going to be able to finish. And I felt like we saw it at the end.

[Pat McAfee]

See what I wash out of. Bone, there is a guy who's done football conditioning before. Did you not see that A.J. there? Oh, yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

You can tell. You can tell.

[Pat McAfee]

I feel terrible, but I'm going to finish this. I have to finish this. And he even gave out a little fake energy while he's still out the pasture.

[Ty Schmidt]

He was confident too. Cuz right after he came out the devil doors, he screamed I'm him. At the top of his lungs.

[Connor Rogers]

He, he did. No, actually.

[Pat McAfee]

So he was.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, so he was ready to go.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, no. Was that an I'm him performance? A3,335, I think is a good score from these guys.

[Connor Rogers]

Not bad at all. I'm surpri. I'm interested to see the splits, actually, because it felt like surprisingly all of them are very similar.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. And the splits did not have the handshake. They had foot hitting wood.

[Connor Rogers]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

To getting back touching hand. So there will be some differences there. Tone, if you would like to read through, who had the slowest, which we think we know. And then who all the way up.

[Tone Diggs]

To you think had the slowest?

[AJ Hawk]

If Talk didn't, then I don't know.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, it was. I was going to say talk. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

He looked the slowest.

[Pat McAfee]

I know a lot of steps. I guess he's not really going anyway.

[Connor Rogers]

And he swayed because of those feet right there.

[AJ Hawk]

That blew my mind.

[Tone Diggs]

So I.

[Pat McAfee]

Talk is like a little bit of a dj. Like it.

[AJ Hawk]

His arms too crazy.

[Pat McAfee]

He's like chopping wood, you know, like they're coming in at the side there. But I like that he finished, you know, head up, chest out. He finished strong. So Talk had the slowest. I think that should be something that Bones should hang his hat on. Here's Talk during his takeoff, which really got the boys buzzing. Good. Clear. Two handshakes out of mitten Talk, which obviously all of it. And he was gone forward. Lean on him. It wasn't his start. I don't Think because the start might have been the best out of everybody.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, my gosh.

[Pat McAfee]

He was close to going down one second faster.

[Tone Diggs]

Faster than talk was Bone.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. 25 years old.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

He sworn a D3 national champion. Way to go, Bone.

[Tone Diggs]

Three seconds faster than Bone. Who was a bit stiffer up top than I thought he might be.

[Ty Schmidt]

Was Mitt.

[Connor Rogers]

Wow.

[Pat McAfee]

You know that he. He does have a little bit more muscle. Six foot, 190, obviously.

[AJ Hawk]

It looks good. It looks jacked.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And he's doing a lot of running. I think that's kind of a race against himself. And every time he steps on that treadmill, which I respect and appreciate.

[Tone Diggs]

And then 10 seconds faster than Mitt. The fastest, by far. The form, the drive, everything. Was our sprint star, Bailey McComas.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, big Motor was gliding out. You know, I got this blue healer dog. Okay. We saved from the Humane Society. This thing glides in the pasture. Looks like a horse. How it runs. Doesn't even make sound. That was Bill.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

People calling him Big Motor. He's more like a horse. The way he gone. I don't know if he got two feet in the launch.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, you might have to run that back.

[Pat McAfee]

Hold on. Bill might have turned the corner there because he's too good of a track star. I might have taken less steps, but that was a part of the rules. Is two feet must get into the launch zone.

[Connor Rogers]

Sprinter.

[Tone Diggs]

If he needs to do it again.

[Ty Schmidt]

The doors are still wide open.

[Pat McAfee]

So, yeah, we do appreciate everybody that was a part of setting that up. Zito Production all the way through the drone on the wrong post for the first one. The greatest.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. Awesome.

[Pat McAfee]

That. That is how it should work. We will assume that. M touched.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, I'd assume so.

[Connor Rogers]

I think you might have taken a bite out of it. Actually says.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, dude.

[Ty Schmidt]

Okay.

[Connor Rogers]

That's all.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's all you need.

[Pat McAfee]

A couple news stories before we get out of here that need to be mentioned Monday. We'll be live from Hard Rock Stadium. We can't wait to get down there to celebrate the. The big college game. We'll be making our picks for all of the games happening this weekend on the other side digitally. But there's a story that you need to hear before you get to that national. Big Motor.

[Connor Rogers]

Incredible work out of you, Bill.

[Pat McAfee]

Coach Signetti is an actual robot, an actual machine. What did we learn about him in the last 24 hours?

[Ty Schmidt]

He eats a Chipotle burrito bowl every single day. He's had about 500 of them. It started initially when he first got there, there his. He walked up to his assistant's desk, said, hey, you hungry? His assistant started talking. Boom, cut him off right away. Great. Here's my card. Go to Chipotle every single day. I want white rice, black beans, chicken. Don't skimp on a protein. Make sure there's enough protein in there. And then a side of guac every single day. It just takes away one of my choices, you know, Steve Jobs. Why you think he wore the turtleneck? Every single day, that's one less thing he has to worry about.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay?

[Ty Schmidt]

I don't want to be worrying about. Am I going to get Chinese? Am I going to get McDonald's? Am I going to get burger?

[Pat McAfee]

All good.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah. All great options. Obviously. I want Chipotle. I want to think about it. All I want is that bowl in front of me so I can sit down, watch film, and prepare for next game.

[Pat McAfee]

He's an actual football robot. Yeah. Crystal ball earlier. We just want to play ball, man. We don't care about anything. Signetti Eating the same thing every day at the same exact time. My life is as it is. We asked Coach Sig for a couple different times to be able to talk to him and, like, love you, but can we please? Yeah, can we please. We got. There's a big college game coming up on Monday. Can we please have a little. It's like, all right. Yeah, you got it. You got. I understand. I love how locked in they are. I love how great football is. And we got a great weekend ahead of us, A.J.

[AJ Hawk]

It'S going to be the best. I mean, this is. Yeah, like I said, the football season's coming to a close, but it's going to end. Unbelievable fashion. I. I can't wait, man.

[Pat McAfee]

The grand finale has begun. You know, when he goes to a fireworks show. It's divisional round. Four games. Two on Saturday, two on Sunday. Boom, bang, boom, pow. One of those big ones, and then you got championship, then you got the Super Bowl. We're in a great time to be alive. We hope you have the greatest weekend of all time. We'll see you on Monday. Goodbye. Kind of bars.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

On that note, let's pick this weekend's games, aj shall we?

[AJ Hawk]

All right.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

I mean, that run was amazing. I. I was not. I was not prepared for mitt and talk there. I was not.

[Pat McAfee]

The running forms.

[AJ Hawk]

More just talk. The takeoff and then everything after that. For talk.

[Pat McAfee]

Talk was committed.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Talk was prepared.

[AJ Hawk]

I give them all credit.

[Ty Schmidt]

They all.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, they were all. They all ran hard, you know.

[Pat McAfee]

The interesting thing about talk cuz he is a treadmill runner. You don't move right. So he just has to go up on the treadmill. Just up, up, up right here. Yeah. So he's doing a lot of this sty stepping as opposed to gaining ground.

[Connor Rogers]

Ground, sure.

[Pat McAfee]

You know like some people.

[AJ Hawk]

He almost.

[Pat McAfee]

Fell a couple times. Yeah, couple times.

[Tone Diggs]

Wait till he comes back.

[AJ Hawk]

I mean he started to get gassed right there.

[Connor Rogers]

You can see him.

[AJ Hawk]

He's like oh no.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, I'm not used to running on terrain. So some people, some people stride out on treadmills, you know like running forward. He I guess does just kind of levitate. He's kind of like let it skip underneath him. That's why he's not gaining his much ground in the real world you put him on a treadmill, it sounds like that going yeah. Usain Bolton.

[Ty Schmidt]

Exactly. I mean feet to pavement hard. So I figured he was just going to like that was going to be second nature. Turns out it wasn't slow set of.

[Pat McAfee]

He'S long term though. 293 yard dash. That's not talk.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, triple that in talks.

[Pat McAfee]

Winning I think. I think Bill still got him there.

[AJ Hawk]

Maybe we have a 5K next time.

[Tone Diggs]

Bill showed. No, they raised him 5K stopping.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Bill's 3A days right now. Dude.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, Bill wanted to keep running. Bill would have done 50 laps.

[Pat McAfee]

Bill was pretty jacked up that he was provided the opportunity to showcase that this can run.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And he certainly can. He said the last. I've been wide open a couple times over the last few weeks.

[Ty Schmidt]

He did say that.

[Pat McAfee]

Good to feel alive again. Big Motor, you know, Big motor's been alive. I didn't know what to expect. He is, he is out there wide open.

[AJ Hawk]

He, he took advantage of his opportunity. I mean Bill looked great there. I believe him. I know Big motor's got plenty of records still in high school.

[Pat McAfee]

This morning we were setting everything up and Bill was just gliding from one position to the other. I, I, I asked him for something. He goes oh it's in a locker room. Glides over there as like a warm up run.

[Connor Rogers]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Then he comes out, oh, you need something. Glides across the thing. Go to his seat over here. It's like oh Bill is pretty primed to go ahead and glide. He's got a good little bop to him.

[Mario Cristobal]

He does.

[Pat McAfee]

He's got a good little bop. The shoes too I think were perfect for the environment.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah. And he did, he had a Caleb Williams moment out there against the packers on you know He. He turned that ankle going up that hill almost. I mean, almost all the way. I thought he was going down in just a. A heap. He didn't. He ate it. He kept going and, I mean, blew the doors off everybody. Yeah. Not even close.

[Pat McAfee]

Congrats, Bill.

[Connor Rogers]

Hell yeah, Bill.

[Pat McAfee]

Good work, Z. Go work, Z. A lot of wires getting run for that. Yeah, we like that. Long wires. Long wires. It's amazing how long they can make these wires long. These wires are long. Really? The.

[AJ Hawk]

The drone shot, the live drone shot. I didn't even know that was a possibility.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, drone, I believe drone goes back to a device like, let's say a computer. You have your computer because you have an app open that the drone is going to. Then you could put computer on zoom call, Right? So then that feed is literally just the zoom for everybody else. You could do this if you've already figured it out. You figured it out. But that feed is going live to somewhere. You just got to make that the feed for the zoom, Basically. Now all of a sudden, you got nice live feed, you know, shout out to the cops coming by the firefighters.

[Connor Rogers]

Awesome.

[Pat McAfee]

The boys sprinting through the double bulletproof doors. It's good news. There's another one that comes down right in front of his court here that should have been maybe a mover. Like miniature golf. Oh, yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, time it up.

[Pat McAfee]

Bone.

[Connor Rogers]

Runs right through it like a Kool Aid, man. Hole in the wall.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

Good show.

[Pat McAfee]

Great show. Something. I think we got enough space to build one of them.

[Connor Rogers]

Definitely.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, let's get to the picks for the weekend. Thank you for your.

[AJ Hawk]

Anyone ever win that show? Sorry.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we did as the viewer, which is why. Which is why we like that show. Okay, let's go. What's that? Somebody's puking.

[Connor Rogers]

Sounds like someone's puking right now.

[Pat McAfee]

Get some eyes on a think tank.

[Connor Rogers]

Phone hat had a ton of chicken Alfredo right before we.

[Pat McAfee]

Dwight Schrute, Zito, thumbs up that Bone is puking right now.

[Ty Schmidt]

Jesus.

[AJ Hawk]

Put eyes on. On Bone.

[Connor Rogers]

I mean, come on.

[Tone Diggs]

I mean, I know it's cold, but I mean, there's toilets, too.

[Pat McAfee]

We.

[Tone Diggs]

We all sit right there.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah, I know.

[Pat McAfee]

That trash should be taken out by somebody other than Bo.

[Connor Rogers]

Nicer. Yeah, the toilet would be better than him dumping in there, too. We had to make him change toilet to something.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, Bone, thank you for pushing yourself to vomiting. Man without a strength coach. That's a good mental toughness thing to be able to put yourself that hard. She need an ambulance.

[AJ Hawk]

But also decisions if we're eating chicken Alfredo before this.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, he wanted to carb up age if you never played a sport. Yesterday, he was drinking bottles of water like they were Mountain Dew for him. And then last night, we think he carved up. He brought a.

[Connor Rogers]

In these delicious cookies, which he also had about 10 of, which I don't.

[Pat McAfee]

Know how you don't. These cookies that showed up in here from his household. Oh, they're, they made incredible job. Incredible job.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Unbelievable work. Not safe to be in here.

[Connor Rogers]

No.

[Pat McAfee]

To be honest, Brownie cookie with chocolate syrup drizzled, cooked in between mixture.

[Ty Schmidt]

Sea salt on top to open up.

[Pat McAfee]

The taste buds a little bit.

[Mario Cristobal]

Bit.

[Pat McAfee]

Which is why they have. I mean, it was so Bones got no chance really. If that's going to be around. I don't know how you don't eat him. Morning of his big Thunderdome dash. I hope he stayed away from him. Yeah, I hope he did. And if you remember when Guther attacked you at WWE Monday Night Raw and we hopped the barricade, I mean, there was some physicality in there. And Bone was so juiced up after he puked after that one as well. Oh, so he's like Josh Allen.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, yeah. Like if he moves, he pukes.

[Pat McAfee]

That could defer people from moving.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, exactly. Which I understand. Even, even hearing the, the throw up sound, boy, it's getting my stomach crumbling.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So that's something I do know that happens for some people. That sucks that that happens.

[Connor Rogers]

It's the worst. I, I, I try to avoid it. I hate throwing up.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. It's not a fun thing at all. Especially when you don't have anything in there. Which normally. And he has stuff in there. We assume always.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, I don't think we have to assume. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

What do you do?

[Ty Schmidt]

Never has to worry about dry heaving.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's just say that, you see.

[Connor Rogers]

What was he taking down again? A triple meat sandwich from Subway. Delicious. I get it.

[Ty Schmidt]

But just a little fat.

[Tone Diggs]

He's full.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. So when I would work out, when I would run to a point where I would puke, it would be because of soccer or whatever. You know that thing was always yellow. Yep.

[Ty Schmidt]

Just straight bile.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Because there's nothing in there. Because I was scared to death death that I was inevitably going to puke.

[Connor Rogers]

Makes sense.

[Pat McAfee]

I like that he didn't think the Thunderdome dash was maybe going to get him. Rolled the dice. He went for it, paid for it. And that's why we respect him.

[Connor Rogers]

That's right. Guess what? Just. Just pukes. Whole new launch coming in I mean, that. That whole thing's out. Gotta. Gotta reload, brother. Get those bullets back in the chamber.

[Pat McAfee]

We got two guys in a truck down there right now moving things out. We need stuff to be moved in, stat. We appreciate you, Bone. And talk and.

[Ty Schmidt]

Mm.

[Pat McAfee]

It also could have been that icky mayo and lettuce he had on that sandwich too. He might not.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

First time I came a full mental toughness conversation here. The wrong sandwich from Subway came and it had mayonnaise on it and lettuce. You know, we didn't.

[Ty Schmidt]

Hey, this isn't just triple ham.

[Connor Rogers]

What the hell?

[Pat McAfee]

Hell, I can't do it. That's my first time having lettuce, is what he said earlier today with a straight face. Conor was in the middle of telling a very good story. Debone comes in with an icky face. Yeah. You know, like that. Dressed like that. And he goes, that was my first time having lettuce, let alone mayo. And just everybody stops and goes, you're the most absurd human to ever. How are you an adult? How. How are you an adult? His food thing's very interesting. You can't just be looking at mayonnaise almost puking though, like. No, I think that is. We got to get through that.

[Ty Schmidt]

Also, like, lettuce is bad. You know, lettuce is a very easy thing to eat. Bone should consider maybe mixing in a salad every once in a while.

[Connor Rogers]

Or just a piece.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Hey, you can have just a piece of lettuce. Okay. It's not going to kill you. And he says, like, the conviction that he has is what really gets me.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Like, he's right. We're all wrong.

[Connor Rogers]

Bingo.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. When we're like, you got to expand your horizons, he's like, I can't.

[Connor Rogers]

This is how I live. What, you want me to be happy? Okay, well.

[Pat McAfee]

But he's incredibly athletic. He's very athletic. He has seen it. He's. He can run. We've seen it. I think Bone has it in him to be a specimen. Yeah, we'll see that after today. I think. I think he impressed himself.

[Tone Diggs]

Fun fact, I don't know if the viewers have heard. Did you know who his father is?

[Mario Cristobal]

Ty.

[Ty Schmidt]

WWE Superstar.

[Connor Rogers]

The Big Show. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Tone Diggs]

Did you. You didn't know that?

[AJ Hawk]

I was not aware.

[Pat McAfee]

I did not know.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Paul.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Wwe.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

The Big Show.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Bone's dad.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, that would make sense, cuz Bone, if he was to deliver.

[Connor Rogers]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

It would be good. The Big show, though, he ain't puking after 293 yards?

[Ty Schmidt]

No, certainly not.

[Pat McAfee]

The big show was base jumping up onto the top rope at one point of his life as he's a seven footer gigantic human being. And I guess we could just assume that's what Bone was doing too a couple years back when he was D3 national champion.

[Ty Schmidt]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's get him back to those days. I think today could potentially lead to that. Good for you, Bone. And good for you, Big Show. World's largest athlete.

[Connor Rogers]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's see. Make some picks, shall we? Tomorrow it all kicks off at 4:30. God, that's a lot of day. That's a lot of day. Which is while super wild card weekend.

[Connor Rogers]

That's what it is.

[Pat McAfee]

Maybe has a little bit of an edge as opposed to super divisional round weekend as we're in super bowl season right now. 4:30pm Kickoff on CBS. Bills and Broncos. Broncos favored by one and a half last week. I think we both took the Jaguars. Or did you take the Bills? I don't recall.

[AJ Hawk]

I think I took the Bills.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so you understood the assignment whenever it was Josh Allen in the playoffs against anybody. Are you going to do that again here against the Broncos or who do you like? How do you like it?

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, Broncos coming off that buy, I'll be curious to see how they start out. But I am sticking with my Buffalo Bills right here. And Josh Allen, I think he finds a way to to get it done. I think it's going to be tough early, no questions.

[Mario Cristobal]

Gu to be loud.

[AJ Hawk]

But the Bills get it done.

[Pat McAfee]

It's hard not to fall into what have you done for me lately with this? Very hard not to. And then just last week, I like the Jags against the Bills. And then immediately upon watching Josh Allen on a football field you go, whoa, idiot. Why would I do that? Why would I ever think that? Yeah, am I going to do the same thing against his Broncos? Give me the Bills. I'll take the Bills.

[Ty Schmidt]

Buffalo be.

[AJ Hawk]

Is that all for playing? Do we know?

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think.

[Connor Rogers]

Not sure if he got activated yet, but I. But remember what Chef said. They have until a certain time.

[Pat McAfee]

Saturday, 4 3rd. No, today.

[Ty Schmidt]

Today.

[Pat McAfee]

Cuz has to be 24 hours. All right, so we're both on the Beals.

[AJ Hawk]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

What if they're loud during the huddle.

[Jed Lowrie]

Though over there in Denver?

[AJ Hawk]

Then Beals got to go score early, take the crack, got out of it.

[Tone Diggs]

Ed was officially questionable after practice yesterday.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Was questionable. Better than doubtful. Is it?

[AJ Hawk]

Questionable is better than doubtful, I think.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it is so probable. Questionable. Doubtful.

[AJ Hawk]

Probably the best.

[Pat McAfee]

Questionable is above doubtful.

[Tone Diggs]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

See, I don't know. That's interesting. Cuz doubt is heavier than questioning something.

[Ty Schmidt]

Right.

[Pat McAfee]

Cuz questioning. You still have optimism. Yeah, exactly. Doubting is complete negative. Yep.

[Ty Schmidt]

No chance.

[Pat McAfee]

Got it. So once it gets to the D, good luck. D it hopes are thin. Very questionable. Was still 50. 50 maybe.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Still wondering what it is. Yeah.

[Tone Diggs]

Probable.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, this guy's going to play Saturday night. San Francisco 49ers taking on the Seattle Seahawks. Seahawks favored by seven at home. 73% of the public bets on the Niners. George Kittle obviously first game he will be missing because of Achilles tear. Fred Warner has been bouncing around, but nobody's really said he's going to be playing in this particular game. They would have to find out tonight. Go ahead.

[Tone Diggs]

I believe he's officially out.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Fred Warner officially out. Sam Darnold oblique. He said 100% in. AJ who do you like? How do you like?

[AJ Hawk]

Well, seven points obviously for a division game is a lot of points. So I love Seattle and what they're doing. I love Sam Darnold. The oblique does worry me a little bit, but give me San Fran +7.

[Pat McAfee]

Here on the road.

[AJ Hawk]

I think Seattle definitely can still win, but I think seven is a lot.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, you're saying. Hey, let's. Let's go ahead and give a little twofer. I'll follow your lead on that one. We're both the same on Saturday. Let's go to Sunday. Houston Texans New England Patriots Patriots favored by three at home. I think we're going to pick the same maybe the whole way through and maybe we. This is our first perfect weekend, A.J.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, it's possible. I assume you're going. You'll go on my side with this one. Actually, I don't know. I now Houston Texas. Their defense scares the hell out of me obviously for the the Patriots offense and them getting after Drake May. But I like Drake May at home -3. I think they find. I think this Patriots defense steps up and probably gets a couple turnovers off this Houston team.

[Pat McAfee]

Texans offense, here's a Hembo stat that you'll like. Will Drake May use his escape hatch. May has 29 first downs on scrambles. Texans allow 9.2 yards per scramble.

[Ty Schmidt]

Wow.

[Pat McAfee]

Now obviously we assume there will be a spy on Drake May, d' Amico Ryan, you guys give up. You guys obviously take advantage. You think the Texans are going to give up a bunch to Drake me on the ground, which is obviously always the X factor with Drake May.

[Connor Rogers]

I I could see it. I mean we'll see they lead the league in man coverage or something along those lines. Top five teams, they love to run, man. I think you could see Drake taking a couple shots deep. I wouldn't be surprised if we maybe get a deep ball touchdown. All the conversations about, you know, running the ball and holding onto it and you know, can they move the ball against the Texans. But I mean he's. This is the number one offense in the afc. It's one of the best offenses in the entire NFL. You know, I'm, I'm most excited for this game as a Patriots fan, but also just from the outside looking in, you know, top defense, top offense, those are the matchups you love.

[Tone Diggs]

When you look at the, the rushing over unders for the Patriots, it's actually interesting. Ramandre is Stevenson's at 39 and a half. His over under Trayvon Henderson 35 and a half. Those are their running backs. And then Drake May is also 35 and a half. So they think he potentially will have as many rushing yards as the running back.

[Connor Rogers]

He was the leading rusher for New England last week against the Chargers. I believe he had, you know, 65 yards on the ground. We all saw the long run. But yeah, you could definitely make the case that Drake May, hey, this is it. You know, you want to win the mvp, you, you want to do in regular season award, we get it. But this would be his signature moment, you know, going out there putting it down on the Texas.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm trying to figure out whether or not my brain's just going to give me a, you know, vision. The only thing that keeps popping up is Drake May stepping up into the pocket. Yeah, that's his natural instinct, which is a good thing. Great. Not a bad thing. But that Texans defense, they swarm like that is actually what they do. Texans, if they don't have the back to back defensive touchdowns. Is it that big of an ass beating against Pittsburgh Steelers team that none of us think we're really that good? Good whenever push came a shove, right?

[Ty Schmidt]

No. And do you think if the Texans turn the ball over three times against New England, is New England not going to score any points off those turnovers? Kind of like the Steelers, maybe they got a field goal off one of them, but same deal they went three.

[Tone Diggs]

On, they got actually with three plays minus two yards.

[Pat McAfee]

They're all really good. They're all, these teams are really good. It can all win the Super Bowl.

[Connor Rogers]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Here's the weather in Foxborough for Sunday, January 18th, 18th 3pm Feels like 29 degrees. 5 mile an hour. 29, 29, 24. 5 mile an hour. 5 minute gusts. 10. That's not bad at all. That's a perfect day up in Foxborough, it sounds like. So we'd expect.

[AJ Hawk]

Not too gusty. Yeah, it's gonna be fine.

[Pat McAfee]

I'd expect everybody to play their best ball, their perfect ball.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, big time. And I believe Nico Collins yesterday he didn't practice either and a lot of people were kind of forecasting that he might be out.

[Pat McAfee]

Did JJ end up doing a video or no?

[Ty Schmidt]

No, he said not this week.

[Pat McAfee]

Patriots. All right. LA Rams taking on the Chicago Bears. Matthew Stafford in cold weather under 30 degrees, has the same amount of games as Caleb Williams in the NFL. Under 30 degrees. Both of them have four games under that temperature and they are 2 and 2. Caleb Williams has colder games in the NFL than Matthew Stafford has in his entire career in the NFL. NFL. And Matthew Stafford was in the AFC north for 100 years. I don't know how that works out, but both teams seemingly prepared. Tony, you have a discretion with the line, it appears.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. It has recently moved to four and a half. The Rams minus four and a half. Even though 60% of the bets are on the Chicago Bears. So that's what they call in the gambling world reverse line movement, which tends to favor the team in the Rams in this scenario.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, okay. Age. Are you going to go with the reverse line movement with the. The books or are you going to take the Bears at home? Really cold football.

[AJ Hawk]

I'm going to take the Los Angeles Rams. Do I get three and a half or I have to go four and a half?

[Pat McAfee]

Four and a half.

[AJ Hawk]

Okay. I'll take them at minus four and a half on the road. Yeah, I. I have a lot of respect for this Bears team and how they play, but man, I just love what Matthew Stafford and Puka and this Rams offense can do. And it's not even mentioning how awesome their defense is. So give me the Rams.

[Pat McAfee]

I love the Rams as well. Plus four and a half at home. Going to be freezing cold. I'll take the Bears. I'll take the Bears plus four and a half. That doesn't mean they're going to win. I don't think. I think the Rams put a close one. Maybe Matthew Stafford does some more MVP at the end, but maybe Caleb does as well. We need Caleb to play four quarters of football. Actually three quarters. Just two quarters.

[Tone Diggs]

Unless. Unless the Bears are down 30 in the fourth quarter.

[Pat McAfee]

You can't roll them up getting four and a half at home. Divisional around could be heartbreak at the end for the Bears for sure, but I think it's going to be a close game. Four and a half's a lot of points. The books think the Rams gonna go ahead and win in Chicago. Maybe the Bears are team destiny.

[Ty Schmidt]

It could be.

[Pat McAfee]

How many minutes have they led all season?

[Ty Schmidt]

Not very many. I couldn't find the entire season. But in the just specifically the three games they played against the packers, they went 2 and 1, obviously. And I believe they ran two offensive plays while they had the lead from that in that entire series this year.

[Pat McAfee]

The Cardiac Care Bears up there in Chicago who might be coming to Indiana?

[Connor Rogers]

Could be.

[Pat McAfee]

Have you seen this and heard this chatter? AJ yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

Is it all like negotiating through the media or what are we doing here? Like, is that actually really going to happen?

[Pat McAfee]

I assume that the Chicago Bears are very happy that Indiana is letting out what their offers are for the Chicago Bears to come to Chicago land up there in northwestern Indiana. Governor Braun, open for business. Always has been. Is a businessman saying, hey, yeah, we'll front all the money. You guys will pay us back while you're paying us back, no taxes. Then you'll get it up afterwards. Feels like a great setup for the Chicago Bears to build what they want. And you know, the money up front that you don't have to use is a huge deal to run your business.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And then having getting to pay it back without having to pay tax, that saves tens, hundreds of millions. I mean, it's an incredible offer that is being presented by Indiana. It's like, hey, we're actually closer than where you were thinking about going to dead center Chicago. You guys can own everything Chicagoland. Yeah, come through, Chicago.

[Connor Rogers]

Cool.

[Pat McAfee]

Come on through. We got a Peru Indiana. There's a Brazil Indiana. We got a Chicago land. Indiana, all of a sudden is what the governor Braun's pitching. It's close, it's there. You own it. Hotels, casinos, do whatever you need. Hell, you can even have a hunting thing set up over here. Here if you want a couple stores, a little mini mart, maybe Casey's gas station pizza around. Oh, they should.

[Tone Diggs]

There's a nice.

[Pat McAfee]

You want some hot dogs? You want some of your pizza? A little lasagna, bread? What you guys make like, go ahead and let's everything you want here Chicago, build it up. Get a dickers.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, Portillus.

[Pat McAfee]

That's what Indiana's governor Braun is saying.

[AJ Hawk]

It would be tough to turn all that down if you were the owner of A team. It'd be tough not to at least entertain, retain their offer and hear what they have to say.

[Pat McAfee]

At least let that get out public so then people in their state can say, yep, hey, we'll give you something. Can we do something which, you know, tax funded things are always going to have drawback from the taxpayers too as well. Well, the Illinois taxpayers say versus what the Indiana taxpayers are saying because I'm an Indiana taxpayer. Connor's an Indiana taxpayer.

[Connor Rogers]

Yes, sir.

[Pat McAfee]

Ty Schmidt's an Indiana taxpayer.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

Tone's an Indiana taxpayer.

[Tone Diggs]

Most years.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you guys want Chicago land or no?

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Would you mind if your money was spent on Chicago land instead of maybe the potholes outside?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes, I would mind.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

The potholes aren't getting fixed though, so.

[Tone Diggs]

I'd rather my money go to ball.

[Pat McAfee]

Going to ball is pretty good. Yeah, potholes aren't getting fixed.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, I know, but I. The potholes need to get fixed.

[Pat McAfee]

Agreed. But I don't think they ever will. But I do, like whenever they're good. Like, would you rather have you potholes, fish and police paid?

[Ty Schmidt]

You're right. That is kind of always the.

[Pat McAfee]

Or would you rather have a football stadium or you want to have some fun? Okay. Oh, football team from another city, another state. Okay. That's always the argument. Governor Braun's like, don't listen to any of that. Yeah, Chicago then.

[Tone Diggs]

I know my local is going to go to where I live, my state. They could go to football.

[Connor Rogers]

That's the thing though. I can't stomach another terrible football team taking my tax money for no championship.

[Pat McAfee]

They're in the divisional realm.

[Tone Diggs]

Oh, yeah. Can we pick which team more money go goes to? Because I want mine to go to the Bears, not the Colts.

[Ty Schmidt]

I'll send mine to the Colts.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you.

[Connor Rogers]

Mine's been going to the Colts and I'm about sick of it.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think you just turn it off. You're going to have to send it somewhere that's kind of a part of it.

[Connor Rogers]

Well, and that's what I'm saying. Sunday's game, I guess then becomes a tax game.

[Mario Cristobal]

Actually.

[Tone Diggs]

Mine should go to the freight. Fisher's freight especially.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, we're going to try to force them to have to let Bone try out.

[Tone Diggs]

I don't think he should try out.

[Pat McAfee]

Guy's going to puke all over the entire.

[Connor Rogers]

They all do. If I had to guess, it's a good ball.

[Pat McAfee]

Speaking of, we got a lot of it this weekend. We appreciate the hell out of you, aj. Good week this week. We'll see you down in Miami.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah. Can't wait. Gonna be awesome. And also, Bones to try out for one of these UF XFL teams.

[Pat McAfee]

They're.

[AJ Hawk]

They're signing guys right now.

[Connor Rogers]

That's true.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm seeing helmet displays going out. I think those guys can run. I think there is a little bit of a difference. And Bone can work to get there. Remember, he's 25. That's right, boys. Behind the glass. Great work. Graphic design, boys, great work. Zito Productions.

[Tone Diggs]

Good work.

[Pat McAfee]

Tim McFee. Great work. Yeah, Mitt. Good work, boys, on stage. You guys absolutely crushed it.

[Ty Schmidt]

You too, brother.

[Connor Rogers]

You too, dude.

[Pat McAfee]

AJ really good work from front of that bookshelf.

[AJ Hawk]

Thank you. You too.

[Pat McAfee]

And everybody that you know, allows us to do this for a living by paying attention to us speak about this stuff every single day. You're the greatest on earth. Let's have an incredible weekend. Let's have the best weekend of our lives. Why? Because it's the next weekend. Because it's the next day. We have no idea how many of these we're going to have. But we do know division around weekend's about to deliver. And then big college game Monday. This is it. This is the time to be alive. We appreciate you all so much. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We're in this thing together. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team. Goodbye.