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Pat McAfee
Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to our humble abode, the Thunderdome, on this big sports Wednesday, April 29, 2026. This program begins now. Sports are the absolute greatest, and today we're covering all of them. We have a special guest joining us. A man who was once very familiar with this program has now inked a deal to come back into the world in which we live. Ian Rapoport will be joining us in about 20 minutes or so. We're happy for Rap Sheet. Rap Sheet allegedly inked a new multi year deal with espn. We shall see if he can confirm that or deny that. Obviously, whenever NFL Network comes into the ESPN world, there's a lot of confusion. Everybody doesn't know what the future looks like. Well, we know Rap Sheet here is now officially a part of the ESPN umbrella. As an NFL Insider, we believe he'll be probably Junior NFL Insider. I'd assume Senior NFL Insider is Adam Schefter. So Junior here. We'll be back. Congrats. That's Junior. Way to go, Junior. Oh, my God. We don't want to do it. We just thought of this Junior title six, four minutes ago.
A.J. Hawk
Okay.
Pat McAfee
As we were standing up here, we're like, so excited. Rap's coming back. He's in the thing. And then we're like, oh, how should I introduce him? Because he used to be Senior NFL Insider at NFL Network, you know, and there's an entire team that's like a rank and file type situation in the insider world. But we know Senior NFL Insider at ESPN is one man.
Conman
Yeah, right.
Pat McAfee
And that's Michigan man, Adam Schefter. So now that Rap Sheet has come into the fold, he understands that. He has told us that both privately and publicly. Like, hey, Schefter is currently the guy. And then they write an article. It's like successor, though, to Schefter. And then Schefter goes, I'm still running five miles a day easily. I mean, I'm in the middle of my prime right now. Rap Sheet, I think, understands it. I think their relationship is going to go very well. I think it's going to be good for the league. But Junior NFL Insider, free little cheat. The prince who was promised here.
Tony Dungy
That's right.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. J.R. deuce, maybe we call him Deuce. I mean, we'll get into it. We will certainly chat about that in about 20 minutes or so. We're happy for him, we're happy for the league and we're very thankful another man will be joining us, which I know ESPN fans will be pumped up About Mike Tannenbaum will be joining us. Hell, yeah. Okay. Tannenbaum never okay on our radar. Okay. He was very clearly part of a different team. We thought at ESPN and we've seen some things he said on TV and we go, okay, it's okay if we never talk to that guy.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Then Mike Tannenbaum showed up at the event on Wednesday, the football town event. Had a couple drinks, came right up to us, started talking to us. He loves ball.
Conman
Yes, he does.
Pat McAfee
And everything he says up there, that is not okay. He's not just working people up. Whenever he says the stuff that he says, he genuinely feels that way. And he has a much better personality than any of us could have imagined. Amen.
Conman
Throwing a hot bat.
Pat McAfee
And we enjoyed the hell out of him. That's why I'm happy that entire event happened. Tannen mom's coming on today. Yes. We will treat him exactly how we treat everybody else that comes on this show. And I think he will be appreciative of it. I think he will be excited for us to immediately go, hey, come on, that's dumb. That is not reality there. But could be, you know, and that's like, he's been around ball a long time, obviously had his title. I'm excited to see how he performs on this program.
Conman
Me too.
Pat McAfee
And we are very pumped to have him.
Conman
Me too.
Pat McAfee
He won Conor boxing table at Boston. Conor at die Schmidt Con man was won over by Tannenbaum on Wednesday night at the Cayman Science center at the football town draft spectacular.
Conman
I mean, he worked for the jets for 20 years. He's basically the epitome of somebody that I don't want to talk to because he was a Jets mark for so long. And then, I mean, 10 minutes in, I'm like, okay, Mike Tannenbaum. And then 20 minutes and I'm like, mike Tannen, Bob's the man. I can't believe this right now. So I am excited to have him on here.
Pat McAfee
This is what happens though, you know, now we're becoming biased. You know, now we're starting to, like, learn more about these people that we have maybe judged for a long time and maybe we're starting to like them. I don't like that. We got to remember, stay in our holes still boys.
Conman
Yeah, that's true.
Pat McAfee
We got to remember stay in our bunkers. Let's not be all the branching, everybody. We still got to have our spice in our sellots. Exactly. Nine year NFL vet Darius J. Butler. Trying to get the feeling, you know,
Conman
I can already set to Be nice, good people. I will sell out to be a nice, good person. I. I am. I. I have no problem being kind to anybody.
Pat McAfee
It's free. I'm not selling out.
Darius Butler
It is.
Pat McAfee
I'm buying into being kind to people. Yeah. Yeah. How about that bad guy?
Conman
Go ahead.
Pat McAfee
All right.
Darius Butler
You used to wear tank top. Okay.
Pat McAfee
Shirt.
Darius Butler
What was that?
Conman
I don't know what it was.
Pat McAfee
Oh, you can't have. This is Amazon still. This thing came in a bag also. I don't think it properly p together, so I had to cut the side there. Okay. So straight scissors to this thing. Once I wash it, it's over. But thank you. Yeah. Maybe I am evolving a little bit. And maybe we. Maybe we don't bury Dannen Bomb for everything he says on other shows going forward. We'll see.
Darius Butler
We'll see, we'll see.
Pat McAfee
He has a chance. We're giving him a chance. We'll also have Sham Shani on for a drive by. Sure.
Conman
Hopefully excited to see Slaughter everybody again.
Sean Shapiro
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
What do you mean?
Conman
Well, I. I think Ty put it pretty eloquently.
Tony Dungy
It was a Shams drive by and then he did the initial drive by and then he said, you know what, let's circle the block and make sure everyone's dead. And, you know, maybe if we see anybody else parked. Yeah, exactly. Parked.
Tyler
He was driving a street cleaner.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. So what we need is. We just need him. We need to know what's happening. Hoops.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
You know, not a deep dive, but he has all the info, so he wants to give it to us. We appreciate that. Hockey certainly happening. Obviously we'd like to cover it. A lot of things happening for the draft and them trying to get rid. People tanking. How can you manage that? Well, the NBA has come up with an idea. Shams will certainly try to explain it. We got Austin Reaves probably returning for the Lakers. There's a lot of storylines that obviously Shams will be able to tell us about. We cannot wait to chat with him about that. Let's go to one half of the Hammer Cowboys. AP Tone sick Woods camo. You got on right there. I like what you're doing. Maybe you're thinking about going to kill something out there. I respect and appreciate that. Every night. There's a lot for us to bet on. Every single night. Last night was spectacular.
Tyler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Can I tell you my favorite moment last night?
Tyler
I would love to hear your favorite
Pat McAfee
moment from last night. The Buffalo Sabres thought they were going to win a playoff series at the Boston Bruins for the first time. Long time. The Blade boys are rolling into town. The Buffalo Sabres fan base. Outrageous. You're talking about an environment of all environments. And that sounds good until a goalie decides we're not going to lose this game. We saw it in the gold medal game between the US and Canada when Hallibuck stopped every puck. 100 shots was not enough. He clearly decided that we were not going to lose this game is what Hallebuck said last night. Swayman, the Boston Bruins goalie, said, we're not losing this game. That is just not going to happen. Now, did Buffalo score on him? Yes. Was that early? Yes. Did he stand on his head for the rest of the game?
Conman
Yes.
Pat McAfee
And in overtime, did pasta do some cooking? Absolutely.
Ian Rapoport
Bang.
Pat McAfee
Game winner. Joe's over to the boards, looks at the crowd. That never happens normally. Everybody goes to the glass, jumps and turns, and then everybody comes with him. Instead, Pasta goes right to the crowd, looks at him. Teams come, hit him in the head. Bang. Off the glass, off the glass, off the glass. Celebrating a life away. That is pasta football right there. That is exactly what Pasta nach has been doing for a long, long time for the Boston Bruins. Through an evolution of the Boston Bruins, where they move on from Marshy and they have Chara retire. He's not running marathons. What the Boston Bruins were whenever they had the greatest regular season in the history of hockey to what they are now fighting from the death there in Buffalo in overtime. Pasta getting it done felt like a special night for you guys as the Celtics got their asses kicked last night.
Conman
Yeah, and I wish we could talk about that, but there's no time. You know, backs against the wall when it comes to Boston. And that was one of those Bruins games where it was going to be Swayman or we were going to lose five nothing. You mentioned them scoring right off the bat. There was a penalty early. Unfortunately, Castilec got a little too aggressive. Hey, don't. Don't even come near my goalie. He gets a rough. And Buffalo goes on a power play. They score damn near right away. And that was five minutes into the game. And all of a sudden you're thinking, okay, this is going to happen. The Blades boys are in town. They're pounding the drum. One of the Blades boys was so drunk, he was standing in front of the camera. The other Blades boys had to grab him and bring him down.
Darius Butler
Was Whitney.
Pat McAfee
Was Whitney chugging something?
Conman
Was chugging one of the saber beers. He was.
Pat McAfee
There's the Blade boys. They're a problem.
Conman
Yeah, they're a problem. They're probably going to be in Boston tomorrow night. So we got to, you know, still come prepared. But yeah, w it was with the other Blades boys pregame. They were all getting boozed up. Everything seemed to go in the Sabres direction early. I don't know if you saw too the mic cutout during O Canada while they were singing the national anthem. Whole entire arena singing it. Hate seeing that as an opposing fan. Very cool just to see though.
Pat McAfee
And by the way, Canada.
Tyler
Knew it.
Pat McAfee
Huh? Knew it.
Tyler
Sung it.
Conman
You're welcome.
Pat McAfee
Huh, huh. Cause if the mic was to go up in Canada during a national anthem. We know you guys do here in America. Buffalo.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Very close to Canada.
Tyler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Very, very close to Canada. We would never give it up to Canada. If there was a negotiation on what cities are coming and going, we would certainly keep Buffalo forever. But we just finish it off. Respect, obviously, hockey and country. Lot of humans in that place that have done amazing things, including Bubba Gumpino. That's why they sang. They sang for you, Gumpy.
Tyler
Probably just hockey in general, but I appreciate that.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Certainly not you with the stupid Dallas Stars. Oh, yeah, we're in it right now.
Tyler
We're Shark. Glutton's gotta dial something up. We're in trouble.
Tony Dungy
We can't score five on five. I can't take it anymore.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, a lot of green on that screen. Yeah.
Tyler
Power play. Merchants. 500. 500 minutes without a five on five goal.
Pat McAfee
That's not good. But you're still alive. How's Otter doing? Otter's been good.
Tyler
He's getting no help. We had 12 shots with about 10
Pat McAfee
minutes left in the game. We got to get going. That's an ugly goal right there. Anytime those things are happening, know it's probably not going to be in your favor for at least the evening. Maybe the series. The NHL is swinging a hot bat. At least one of the games is going to be spectacular. This is the second game from last night after Boston won in overtime over Buffalo. And then the Edmonton Oilers won. Absolutely. Ham Draisaitl had two goals over the Anaheim Ducks. That was obviously the situation where the goal was called and then it wasn't called. And then Edmonton. Are they going to get robbed again? Is McJeezus ever going to win one? Well, they get a huge dub over Anaheim as Draisaitl puts two away. And people's now talking about him. Is he one of the greatest Oilers of all time? Hembo sent a very, very, very particular stat.
Tyler
Okay.
Pat McAfee
Power play goals in the playoffs in either's history. Draisaitl just tied who? Wayne Gretzky. Wow, that means something. That's pretty good. Oh, you tell me. Obviously they got McDavid. They got a lot of other studs. Never been able to win a cup, though. Always get their hearts broke, seemingly late in the playoffs. McDavid is a special character. The Florida Panthers are normally the ones doing the heartbreaking there for the Edmonton lads, but the NHL swinging a hot bat every night. There's at least one good game tonight. This one's going to be fantastic. Sidney Crosby backs against the wall. Him, Geno tanger, who's fighting 18, 19 year olds now at the end of games, obviously going over to Philadelphia, which is a tough barn as the Flyers try to close out the Pens. Flyers favorite in this one. Is that because they're home, Nick? Or is that just strictly because of how the vibes are going back to Philadelphia?
Sean Shapiro
If you're going off the vibes, I think the Penguins would be favored. But originally in this series, Philly was taking its Pittsburgh. Here they are at home. They're going to be dangerous at home. That crowd is going to be raucous. It's like feeding wild dogs. Red meat. They're going to be playing videos on that board of Flyers fighting and hitting Penguins. And the Philly crowd, you know those Philly fans, they're going to be insane.
Pat McAfee
And if we know anything about that Flyers team that could get them jacked up. Yeah, they look like a fighting bunch. That 74 one, the one that is a Flyer in human form. Yeah, he is gritty as a human.
Tony Dungy
Yes.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, he's a problem. Tip it, Sandheim. He. He might be a serial killer.
Conman
He's a maestro.
Pat McAfee
That guy didn't change his face the whole.
Conman
I mean, he locked in.
Pat McAfee
Remember when he spit at me? That guy? Yeah, he didn't change his face.
Darius Butler
I liked it.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, me too. To be honest, it was hard not to become a fan of the Flyers. If you watch them live and how they kind of operated with everything off the ice waving to us goodbye. I'm sitting there in a neck race too. Sitting down front. I could be in a handicap seat. They don't even know. Those guys pull me off telling me I'm exactly. By the way, I liked it.
Tyler
Sure.
Pat McAfee
I like it better that the Pens are beating them for sure. But if this gets to a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh, good luck. This one's all she wrote. The Pens move on. I think the NHL playoffs need the Pens. Okay. I think they need Boston, but if they don't, Incredible. Teams across the board and the tusks up down here, the Mammoth crew, they've been surprising everybody, the ownership. Ryan Smith, who we know obviously. Okay. He got fined by the NBA for his team allegedly tanking. Now he came on and said, we're rebuilding.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
So at the six minute timeout, maybe we think about rebuilding. Okay. Is that not something? Are we the first people to ever do this? No. And his fans, you know, obviously would like to see the Jazz good. So they, you know, sometimes people are trying to put in the air like Ryan Smith. Bad owner, bad owner. He takes over the worst team in the NHL. And the Phoenix Coyotes, they come up to Utah year two, they're in the playoffs and they might be the Golden Knights. I mean, it is a spectacular story happening up there in Salt Lake City, but it's also incredible vibes over in Las Vegas for what? The Golden Knights. They're already an established great fan base. The NHL playoffs are delivering on all fronts. Con man.
Conman
Yeah. And all the teams that are still in it, they are like kind of big markets right now. You know, talking about the Canadiens and the Lightning, the Canadians haven't been in it for so long and that series is damn near guaranteed to go seven. They'll probably go to overtime again tonight. But Penguin Flyers, you know, Boston and Buffalo, like there are a couple series and a couple teams I think the NHL would love to see continue on like Boston and Buffalo. Buffalo is going to be the best environment probably going forward. And then the Mammoth. You, you mentioned Utah. Those two.
Pat McAfee
That's not their name. And they're still trying to build their brand.
Conman
Mammoth, I think plays. I. I think Mammoth is probably what the O. Canada crowd would. Would be saying up there if I had to guess the Utah Mammoth. But. But still, either way, toss up.
Pat McAfee
I mean, you're right, because a boat.
Conman
Exactly.
Pat McAfee
You see them? A move, buddy. How do you guys say mammoth up there in Canada? Gumpy. How would, how would you guys reference that?
Tyler
Utah Mammoth. Yes.
Conman
Yeah.
Tony Dungy
Boom.
Conman
Mahmuth.
Pat McAfee
Sorry, are you saying that because of Conor, who's not a Canadian? Are you saying it more Canadian because an American was telling you how a Canadian should maybe think about saying it, or are you actually saying it? Yeah.
Tyler
Ever since the Coyotes left Phoenix, it
Pat McAfee
has been the Utah Mammoth.
Conman
And he has a little more on the. A tooth. I think that's the difference.
Pat McAfee
Probably lived in Canada too. Yeah, they were in that area. They found the Mammoths similar to the
Sean Shapiro
Manitoba Moose, you know.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. As well.
Tony Dungy
Right.
Pat McAfee
On that note, that's why we appreciate What Buffalo did last night? Yes, because the Mamus were roaming their land and our land, an imaginary line really divided us for a long time. And then it became a real line,
Conman
and then they still do.
Pat McAfee
And then I got scared coming back into America more. And I got scared going to Canada whenever I was underage kid, going to the casinos and the bars up there, having a time, my life, right through Buffalo.
Tyler
That's Canada football.
Pat McAfee
I was actually going through there saying, oh, Canada. And then coming back in, you're like, oh, no. Do we get everything out of every bag? Because they're going to check everything before we can go back home. We live down here. We'll find out about that. Open the trunk, take the keys out, empty the bags. Nick brought an entire GNC purchase.
Tony Dungy
Oh, no.
Pat McAfee
Nick went to GNC the day before we came and said, you know what? I'm gonna dump these into a bag, I guess put them in his bag. We get stuck coming back in because we can't open our eyes. Obviously, we're underage. What are you guys doing? Trying to go home. Go ahead and open your trunk and turn off. Great, Nick, way to go. Sit in shotgun. Guy gets his bag, opens it up in the back, pulls up this bag of pills. Even I was alarmed. I look at Nick. What the was that? Get out of the car, please. Come sit inside. Jesus, Nick, why? This guy's got a drug problem. GNC tells the guy, gnc, gnc Daily vitamins. Guy, kind of a meathead, looks at it, cracks one open.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, okay.
Pat McAfee
All right.
Conman
He's right.
Sean Shapiro
He knew.
Pat McAfee
Put us right back in the car. We got back in there. That was every time we came back into America. Going into Canada. Green flag race.
Conman
Go online.
Pat McAfee
Go on. Little young drunk American who wants to spend so much money. You can do that.
Conman
Have fun, buddy.
Pat McAfee
It's a little different now, but maybe what happened in Buffalo, maybe that kind of unites us. Yeah, it should, right?
Tyler
Don't we think of sportsnet's covering sports does.
Conman
Yeah, absolutely.
Pat McAfee
Because I think that that broadcasts how we show respect to your country there.
Tony Dungy
There you go.
Pat McAfee
Okay. We had an opportunity right there. We had an opportunity.
Conman
Oh, yeah.
Pat McAfee
Ha ha ha. Could have been a response. You know, how clever here, of course, the Canadian national anthem doesn't work in America. Instead they saying, that's a beautiful thing. That is simple. That's a beautiful thing for our world.
Tyler
Good job.
Tony Dungy
It is.
Conman
And Buffalo is one of those cities, I think most US Cities worth their salt would say, you know, we respect Buffalo. If Buffalo's doing It. We. We will co. Sign.
Pat McAfee
He created a buffalo wing.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, exactly.
Pat McAfee
Pretty American. You know that's right. Pizza, French fries, hot dogs, wings. America.
Darius Butler
Yeah.
Tyler
Fried chicken.
Conman
Buffalo Soldier.
Pat McAfee
Fried chicken is great. What else do we got?
Tony Dungy
Fucking apple pie.
Sean Shapiro
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Oh, my God. We killed the game of that one. Yeah. What were they doing with pies before?
Conman
Not that I don't think. No, at all. Burger King.
Pat McAfee
God, we're the best. See, this is part of the problem. Whenever people start hating us, like right now, Canada's trying to maybe show appreciation. And then all of a sudden, we just start rattling off like we got it all. And even we're gonna claim Elon, too.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, sure.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. So we got spaceships, too. Yeah, we got the entire thing.
Darius Butler
Donut. Bacon. Not stupid Canadian bacon.
Tyler
True.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, exactly. Ham. Okay. We got what you guys have. We call it ham. Now, granted, I will say what you guys did with that ham, perfect for the egg McMuffin.
Tony Dungy
I was gonna say Canadian bacon is fire, but. But it pales in comparison to regular bacon.
Pat McAfee
Agreed. I would much rather.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly.
Pat McAfee
But the egg McMuffin with the Canadian bacon.
Tony Dungy
Top notch.
Darius Butler
Yuck.
Pat McAfee
That's maybe what.
Tyler
Yeah, I'm with you. Never had one. Actually. You guys are choosing that over a sausage McMuffin? Yeah, it's just an option, boys.
Pat McAfee
So you've never had an egg McMuffin?
Tyler
No. No, I have not with Canadian bacon. Of sausage, 100 of the time in my life.
Pat McAfee
That is what the egg McMuffin is. That is just what it is.
Tyler
Sorry, What?
Pat McAfee
The egg McMuffin is Canadian ham.
Tyler
No, it's sausage.
Darius Butler
No, it's not. Don't do that to McDonald's. Don't do that, boys.
Tyler
Sausage, egg and cheese.
Conman
Guys, we're fighting the same fight here.
Pat McAfee
Buffalo told us last night.
Tyler
American sausage, over or under Canadian bacon.
Pat McAfee
No. So I will double down on that thing. I will certainly get multiple meats on there. But the Canadian bacon, AKA ham, with that egg, how they perfectly cook it every single time. And then that muffin. I'm more of a croissant guy or a bagel guy. Not really a muffin guy.
Tyler
No, no.
Pat McAfee
But boy, McDonald's muffin has that perfect crisp little edge. A little bit of cheese kind of
Tony Dungy
hanging off the side, lightly buttered.
Pat McAfee
And then I unwrap it.
Tony Dungy
Yep.
Pat McAfee
Put the wrap on the bottom of it, and it's just perfect. And that Canadian ham.
Darius Butler
Can't relate.
Pat McAfee
I'm with you.
Conman
Yeah, the sausage is better.
Pat McAfee
All right. I will. I will say I love the sausage one.
Conman
Yeah.
Sean Shapiro
You know what else they screw it? The Bloody Mary. They have their version, the Caesar. Oh, this. They were. They were
Pat McAfee
Bloody Mary guy.
Tony Dungy
Molten triple X and cheap vodka.
Tyler
No, you asked many people. They prefer the Caesar over. What is the Caesar.
Tony Dungy
What's in the Caesar?
Sean Shapiro
They use clam juice instead of tomato juice.
Pat McAfee
Oh, clam juice.
Conman
This place sucks.
Pat McAfee
Canada. Yeah.
Conman
Let's go back to before last night.
Pat McAfee
No, no. Last night told us the place was good. Come on. What are we doing?
Conman
They don't. No, no.
Pat McAfee
Timmy Horton, King Timmy.
Conman
Yeah, yeah, Timmy, Timmy host for sure. No doubt about double.
Darius Butler
Double.
Conman
I mean, even when they started doing the next song, I. I think everybody thought, oh, wow, this second rendition is much better than the first one they let off with.
Pat McAfee
Okay, so let's follow up. Did the king stop by your guys's country too? Because I already stopped by our standing ovation. I like that. Did he stop? Back to you guys. Oh, yeah.
Conman
Still owns.
Tyler
They're still paid him.
Conman
He ain't my king.
Pat McAfee
We don't like us.
Tony Dungy
No, no, we don't.
Pat McAfee
Okay. No. No way. Let's move along.
Tyler
Okay.
Pat McAfee
Prince of insighting for the NFL at espn.
Conman
Part of the royal family, ladies and
Darius Butler
gentlemen, the king of my.
Pat McAfee
He once was.
Conman
You better watch.
Tyler
Like this.
Conman
You better watch.
Pat McAfee
He moved to a new manor.
Conman
He did the dog bites, ladies and gentlemen.
Pat McAfee
He was once a duke. Now he. He was once a king. Now he finds a home as prince of the royal inside family at espn. Ladies and gentlemen, Ian Rapaport. What's up, junior?
Ian Rapoport
What's up, guys? How you doing? Appreciate it, Pat. That was. That was something. That was something.
Pat McAfee
Which part? What's going on? You're talking about Canada all the way in. Because I thought that was a pretty smooth transition. I was trying to figure out how to get to you. The king was the only way because you being prince now. First of all, congratulations.
Ian Rapoport
I appreciate you guys. I appreciate it.
Pat McAfee
We are very proud of you, genuinely. We think this is a great thing for ball. We think it's a great thing for espn. What does this mean for you, actually? And how has it kind of been laid out on how this will all work? Because we understand that insighting is a team game. We have been very fortunate and lucky for our Schefter relationship. He has always shown up for us whenever since we've come here to espn. Ty hosts a podcast alongside of him. So we've gotten a chance to kind of see the inner workings of insighting. And this feels like a big deal with you two seemingly coming to join the same team. Is that how you're viewing it or how's this kind of work?
Ian Rapoport
Yeah, well, a couple of things. First of all, I appreciate you guys very much. I mean, I've. I'm. It's good to be back on here and I appreciate the kind words. I didn't really like the non love for the Bloody Mary because I love Bloody Marys, but it's. That's a whole different.
Pat McAfee
You did a lot of booze get to this deal.
Ian Rapoport
Listen, you got to do what you got to do. Yes. Not everything.
Pat McAfee
Okay.
Ian Rapoport
Yeah, but Bloody Mary's, drinking, boozing.
Pat McAfee
Boozing. Can we get back to Paul?
Ian Rapoport
I know, sorry.
Pat McAfee
Right now. Well, we appreciate you and we're proud of you. Well, thank you.
Ian Rapoport
As far as how it will work, my first of all, nothing has been like laid out as far as what the next six months are going to be like because it's a transition and everyone's trying to figure their way and kind of see what's going to happen. My assumption, based on kind of what we've been told is there's going to be a lot of things that are going to look pretty similar. Like I'm still going to be on NFL Network a lot. I'm still going to be doing our shows with my guys, Mike and Tom. Now, like, as far as like working with Adam and first of all, he has been great in this whole process and a lot of the, you know, I sort of. You never quite know what to expect. But a lot of the ESPN people I've encountered from Burke Magnus, who's been awesome all the way on down, you know, guys like Seth Markman, I mean, everyone's been really, really good. I'm excited to be here however it happens. Like working with Adam, like, you know, I like the team part of this. You know, I like working with. I like working with Tom, I like working with Mike. I will enjoy working with Adam because, like, this is a hard world and it should be fun and teamwork is fun. And so like, whatever that gets, however that happens, whatever the way that gets laid out, like, I'm looking to have a lot of fun in the next many years.
Pat McAfee
We're happy for that. NFL Network, obviously not anywhere. It's just coming under a little bit new mannership and I, I think a little bit more support coming in there as well as what has been. So I'm excited for that relationship between ESPN and NFL Network and how it continues to evolve. I'll tell you though, you and Schefter have a little bit different ways of going about doing business. I. I'm excited for you guys to kind of get in the same room.
Darius Butler
Yeah, we still have source offs. Need that. That can't go anywhere.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, we need source off. We.
Ian Rapoport
No, we can have them. Let's do it. It just won't be me versus Schefter.
Pat McAfee
Oh, because there's other.
Ian Rapoport
There's other people.
Conman
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Pat McAfee
This is. Hey, Kevin Durant won the Golden State PA okay. Braun went down to the Heat. That is what we're looking at here.
Tyler
Yeah, that.
Pat McAfee
That is the situation we have. And guess what? They're gonna hang banners, these boys.
Tony Dungy
That's right.
Conman
No doubt.
Pat McAfee
One,
Tony Dungy
not three, not four.
Pat McAfee
Crazy. I'm wearing bronze right now, actually.
Conman
Nice.
Pat McAfee
Thought he had a pretty good little. Thought he had a pretty good little interview.
Darius Butler
Are we gonna dedicate an hour to that piece? That was a good piece, by minimum.
Pat McAfee
What one?
Darius Butler
It's a good piece.
Tyler
Brian McMan.
Pat McAfee
Which one?
Darius Butler
Compare himself to Jordan. I mean, you saw it all.
Pat McAfee
He wasn't comparing himself to Jordan. He was asking others to not do it. We played different games, dude, and you got on me, and normally I'm the one getting on this entire thing.
Ian Rapoport
Wait, we're not allowed to compare them now?
Pat McAfee
Just shut up. Rap. Yeah, you just joined espn. Don't do it. Don't. Don't do this. You do inciting. Okay? We don't need you to start taking my back. Why did you. Do you have a take on LeBron versus Jordan now that you're an ESPN guy? Rap sheet. Is that what you have?
Ian Rapoport
No, but I really should get one.
Conman
Yeah, I mean, that's better.
Mike Tannenbaum
That's.
Ian Rapoport
Yeah. I got to figure it out right now. I really don't care. But I. I'll. I'll figure it out. I'll get something.
Pat McAfee
You better get a source. It's Cowboys too quick. There you go down there. I don't know. You already got one. He said. Yeah, we know. We know. That's why you signed that deal. Okay, let's talk about a couple things that have happened around the NFL, shall we? So you can showcase your gig. Jennings visiting with the Minnesota Vikings. Obviously, there's a situation with Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers. A.J. brown is still looming. There's only been 12 receivers who had 15 touchdowns or more over the last two seasons. Eleven of them are currently on teams. Juwan Jennings is the only one not on. Coming off a career high year where he had nine touchdowns, career high amount of yards. He's also an absolute dog. I think I would love him on the Colts. Minnesota Vikings are interested. What's going on with Juwan Jennings? Why is he still available? Is this his choice or team's choice?
Ian Rapoport
So we'll start with Jennings, then we'll get to some of the other, like IUK and. And all of that. Now with Jennings, like, there's a couple of these guys every year where you have a price that you want to get to. And in free agency, for whatever reason, the. The deal does not come together. Either the price is not right, or they want a different number of years. And you can either really sign quickly, like we see a lot of guys signing, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or you can wait. And what he decided was just to wait. And there are some teams in the draft who are like, all right, we're going to get a receiver, maybe second, third round. And then if you don't, all of a sudden you have a need. And so there's a couple veterans, like, I would say, like, Najee Harris is one of those guys. You know, Jennings is another. There's a couple of these guys that, like, didn't quite get the deals they wanted. And now all of a sudden teams are like, all right, we gotta, we gotta have them. So my guess is generally when you have a veteran player and an agent who's pretty good, like Drew Rosenhaus, they probably already know what the deal is going to be. So if he's visiting, my guess is he's at an okay place with the deal. So if all checks out, like, I wouldn't be surprised if they signed him. And to me, that would actually be a great, great spot for him and would be a good signing for them.
Pat McAfee
Tyler Murray at quarterback. Jordan Addison just got his fifth year option, I do believe. Justin Jefferson still there. Juwan Jennings doing all the dirty work. That's a lot of good.
Ian Rapoport
That's a lot of good receivers right there.
Pat McAfee
All of a sud thinking maybe the Minnesota Vikings. Then you look at the defensive side. It's like, well, they just traded their captain away. Fascinating. Minnesota Vikings are kind of in a interesting predicament. Speaking of interesting predicament, let's go to the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Iuk. What is going on there? You know, because lynch was basically like, we don't have to do anything. It sounded like, but everybody's expecting them to move on from iu. How do you kind of see this whole thing working out?
Ian Rapoport
This is like, kind of weird. What I thought of is like, you know, when you're like, young, and you're like in high school, and you're talking to someone on the phone, let's say a girl on the phone, and you're kind of like, all right, hang up. No, you hang up. No, you hang up. Kind of like that. You know, that's like what this is like. Because I think the 49ers are kind of like, well, just trade for him, right? I mean, he's. He's got no guaranteed money left. He's do a big number 27 or something like that, but he's got no guaranteed money left because he stopped showing up for rehab last year, and they took his guaranteed money away. And then if you're a team, like let's say the Commanders, you're like, who has. Who have interest? You're like, we'll just cut him. You're going to cut him anyway. And the Niners are like, we're not going to cut him. You got to trade for him. And then Commanders are like, no, you're not. Just cut him. And that's where we are. And so it's like kind of like a funny little talk about source off. This is like a standoff. And so he's just kind of like waiting and like, all right, what are we going to do? And then some. One of those things will happen. I just don't know who's going to blink first.
Pat McAfee
And what's the trade going to have to be for like a seventh or a sixth or a fifth? Because it feels like nothing.
Ian Rapoport
Yeah. And then he would have to redo. The reason why IUK would have to be involved is the Commanders wouldn't take on his huge contract. They'd pay him a lot less, and then he'd be able to capitalize, like, in other ways. Or it'd be a one year deal, whatever it is, but he'd have to adjust his contract.
Pat McAfee
So that goes though. A one year, $15 million deal.
Ian Rapoport
I mean, that would be a lot, but my guess is it'd be less. But yes, like, something like that. He'd have to adjust his contract to do the deal.
Pat McAfee
Okay, Colts. I mean, we can get Brent maybe one year, 10 mil. Yeah. He'll wanna come.
Darius Butler
Nope.
Pat McAfee
He'll wanna come.
Darius Butler
Speak for Colts Nation on this one, though. We're fine.
Pat McAfee
All right.
Darius Butler
Takes you on.
Pat McAfee
What about Kevin Durant? Pacers?
Darius Butler
Nope.
Pat McAfee
What? What?
Conman
I get that one.
Tyler
Oh, yeah, I get that one, too.
Pat McAfee
Come. No, I get the iu. Yeah. All right. That was a great comparison. You really throwing. First day at espn. You hang up, you Hang up.
Tyler
That was good rap.
Pat McAfee
Pretty good.
Ian Rapoport
It's the only thing I can think of. I'm sorry, but I just. It's. It's literally what it is.
Tony Dungy
Bizarre.
Pat McAfee
You're so clever. So funny what you do. That was pretty good.
Sean Shapiro
I agree.
Pat McAfee
That was pretty awesome. Let's get another update, shall we? Go ahead. Debug.
Darius Butler
Yeah. Denver Broncos, their quarterback, Bo Nicks. We all remember the injury late in the playoffs. What's the update on him and his ankle?
Ian Rapoport
Yeah, so he had surgery, had another procedure. I think it was last night or yesterday. Went down to see Dr. Waldrop in Birmingham, Alabama. Used to be Andrews. Now this is kind of like the next really good foot and ankle guy. So basically a little bit of a. Kind of a clean out, kind of just make sure it was healthy, get some stuff out of there and just, you know, I think when. When he had it most recently examined after the obviously fractured ankle, they thought, all right, maybe there's going to be another surgery just to make sure it's healing properly and to clean some stuff up. So that's what happened. You're not going to see him very much at OTAs or minicamp, which, like, honestly, who cares? But I would expect him to be ready for training camp or very close to training camp. So, like, it's, you know, second surgery sounds bad. I don't really think this is that bad. It's kind of more like Dak had the same when he was coming back from his ankle and went on to play great. Like, I don't think this is a. It's a thing, but I don't think it's anything that's going to derail his season or anywhere close.
Pat McAfee
Okay, we hope Bo Nicks is obviously back under center. What a special run they went on. That was a. Just a rude ending.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
To a season. I would say a rude ending to a team that went on a run. And what a fortuitous bounce for the New England Patriots as they.
Ian Rapoport
I wish I would have seen how it would have ended. Like, how it would have ended if he was help.
Tony Dungy
You know what I mean?
Pat McAfee
I mean, that Patriots defense was so good. They didn't have to play anybody, make it all the way to Super Bowl. They didn't have to play anybody.
Conman
Yeah. Top five defense. Actually the most top five defenses in one playoff run in the history of the NFL.
Pat McAfee
And they're focusing on ball now. Right?
Conman
That's all, baby. That's it. We don't have to hope. We've heard from the players.
Pat McAfee
All right, well, The Patriots potentially in for a wide receiver trade post June 1st is what we're hearing. Might be another wide receiver that is currently available on the market as well. Go ahead, con man.
Conman
Yeah, rap sheet. Speaking of standoffs, George Pickens seems to be in a standoff with a pen because he has not signed the franchise tag yet, even though it was reported he did and then he intended to and he actually has not signed it yet. Do you think he's playing for the Cowboys? Is it safe to assume he's playing for the Cowboys, or is this a situation where he might actually sign it but then get moved immediately? What's your read on this entire situation?
Ian Rapoport
Okay, a couple things. So he has told the Cowboys that he intends to sign it. Now, I think it's, you know, it's a weird thing because we all imagine, like, them faxing him or whatever people do, emailing him a piece of paper. I don't know why I said fax. Emailing him a piece of paper and then just signing it. But it's actually a little different. You tell them, hey, we intend to accept this, and then like, eventually you physically sign it, I think after like a physical. So, like, like he is accepting the, the franchise tag. So to me, not physically signing it is not that big of a deal. I would be surprised if he's traded, but I wouldn't be like, beyond stunned because I've seen this before. Right. Like, the Cowboys have been adamant they do not intend to trade him. Stephen Jones has said on the record he is going to be playing for them, and I agree that is the most likely scenario. But everyone has a price and there is a possibility that someone could say, you know what, I'm going to send a. A what would be a good price? A two for George Pickens? The problem is that's for next year. So if you're a good team trying to be good this year, that actually doesn't help you. So trades for franchise players are really hard and usually they happen before free agency and before the draft so you can replace him. And that hasn't happened. So my guess is he's playing for the Cowboys, plays great, and then next year either signs a huge deal with the Cowboys or walks and signs a massive deal somewhere else.
Pat McAfee
Okay. I like to hear that.
Tyler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Especially if George Pickens gets an opportunity to play under a franchise tag. We assume it's going to be Showtime every single time he steps out there. Not that it hasn't been his entire career, but we're just saying a little bit of A bag driven season is. Could be great for George Pickens and Dallas Cowboys and us as fans. They can franchise tag him again though, can't they?
Ian Rapoport
They can, yeah. And that's a, you know, that's a
Pat McAfee
big commitment by George Pickens if he was to do the one year under the franchise tag. Tag. Because then they can just run that thing back and do it the second year under the franchise tag as well. So then he's actually two years out. But also if he wants to be a Cowboy and enjoys his time with the Dallas Cowboys and he's played his best ball with the Dallas Cowboys, maybe he'd be willing to do one year and then hopefully they sign him. That's an interesting. And so Rap just said that he thinks he's going to be playing under the franchise. I know, that's what I just heard right there. Right.
Darius Butler
You would know about me being a former franchise player, how much players hate.
Pat McAfee
I signed that thing as soon as I could. I was told I was getting $2.4 million guaranteed. Give me that much different situation for George Pickens and, and everybody else.
Darius Butler
Yeah. And he's, you know, entering the prime and what you want is long term commitment money wise for these wide receivers especially what the market is, four wide receivers at the top of the market. And the big difference is playing on the tag. The tag is what, 27, right?
Ian Rapoport
Yeah, something like I think 27, four or something like that.
Darius Butler
Yeah. Then the top of the market is 40 now. So with chasing those other deals that have been done and he's playing his best ball and he got to actually showcase everything that he can do in this Dallas offense with Dak Prescott. Because, because coming into this that last season, like I thought he was a good receiver. I didn't know he had all the things that he has in his bag as far as you know, his route tree, being able to play in the slot, his run after catch. Like when he was in Pittsburgh it was a lot of him lined up at X and running deep balls to kind of have. Yeah. Kind of have that full wild. Yeah.
Pat McAfee
He blocks guys, he hits guys.
Darius Butler
He was long term commander. I know people, you know, and we hear stories and about him maybe being a head case or what's going on between the ears. Do you trust him giving that type of money? But, but I don't remember him being any like real trouble, you know, off of the field. So I mean I hope he gets his money. He's earned it.
Pat McAfee
It seems like his trouble is like he is I want the ball And I want us to win. And I'll tell you what, I know a lot of wide receivers that are like that and the offenses that he was playing for in Pittsburgh, whenever he's saying a lot of these things were statistically and optically ass terrible. Yeah. You know what I mean? They were actually chanting Fire Canada all over the place. But because of how lame it was
Darius Butler
historically, especially with that position, you know, you pay, you know, wide receiver ones, and if they aren't being successful or things aren't going their way, you can become a cancer in that locker room. When you become one of the highest paid players in your cancer, when you want to be like a pillar guy, you can run into trouble there. I'm not saying that these are the things that George Pickens is, but this is what people around worried about giving the deals to. Absolutely.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. You put a lot of money to somebody that's potentially not like the great, greatest positive influence for your entire team as a whole. That's what everybody looks at, like, who's getting rewarded? Those are the people getting the money. That is what I'm going to try to do here. You're 100% right now, granted. On that note, do I think Dak Prescott will ever let George Pickens get pissed? Because it's all kind of hit on him, right?
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
On who gets the ball, who doesn't get the ball?
Darius Butler
Kind of. Because defense, you could, you could just shade them. You saw some games, you saw some games where people were like, oh, he's not running routes. Because sometimes as a wide receiver, you see the safety shade over top, you're like, okay, I'm not getting the ball here. Let me just kind of half ass this route. You know, all receivers don't do that, but you can kind of get taken out of the game. And then as a defender, like, I'll give Brandon Marshall for an example. For us as defenders, coming into the game, we're like, hey, take 15 out early. some point in the middle of the first quarter, second quarter, you're going to see him on the sideline dog cussing Josh McDaniels or whoever it is, the head coach or play call, is he like, okay, got him. So that's what you want. So can you stay encouraged like Justin Jefferson? It doesn't matter who's playing quarterback, how much production, he's running routes, full speed, he's doing his thing.
Pat McAfee
And if you don't stop Brandon Marshall early, he'll have 20 some receptions.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, that happened.
Darius Butler
If he gets going early to like Those type of receivers, they get going early, it gets ugly for you, but if you take them out early, you. It can possibly impact that whole game.
Pat McAfee
So. And team. But on that note, it feels like Dak has probably warranted a lot of trust and respect, potentially from George Pickens. Like, hey, if I don't get you someday days, we will definitely get you the ball late. It's a big deal. Wide receivers are dependent on a lot of other things.
Tyler
Very much so.
Pat McAfee
And they are judged harshly on a lot of little things. So it's like they know exactly what they're going to be judged upon. Okay. Yards, touchdowns, championships, okay? That's what the wide receivers are going to be judged upon. And it's like, there's a lot of other things that have to happen for them to get anything. And that's why you hear A.J. like, you know, A.J. brown's like, yeah, I need the ball.
Tony Dungy
Right?
Pat McAfee
Okay. Like, this is what. What everybody has told me. I'm going to be judged upon. So let's go ahead and make that happen. It's like that wide receiver position is an interesting one because it feels like all the ones that are. I mean, I guess Justin Jefferson, but he. He'll have 180 yards in the first half every once in a while. But all the guys that are at, like, the top, they want the ball. Oh, yeah, they. That's why they're there. That's why they're in the NFL.
Conman
Yeah. And for, like, Jerry as well and the Cowboys, it's like, hey, we kind of saw this experiment already with the Cincinnati Bengals where you pay two guys, wide receiver won money and, like, granted, the Bengals had injuries and Joe Burrow went down and stuff. Like, there's a reason that their defense has been not so great the last few years because they just haven't had the money for it.
Pat McAfee
Okay, let's pivot away from the Dallas Cowboys. Shout to us. We did LeBron and Jordan. We did Dallas Cowboys.
A.J. Hawk
We're thinking ratings.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, well, espn, baby. You know? Espn, baby. I don't know about our. I don't know about our ratings. Some. Some of the stuff we talk about. Everybody else talks about. We. We actually, I think, see a little bit of a dip. I think the OG Digital fans are like, nope, you sell out. We're not doing it. We will turn it off. Check back in. Still doing it.
Conman
Come on.
Pat McAfee
The other day, we're doing LeBron and
Tony Dungy
Jordan for what, like 11, 12, 10, 10, 15.
Pat McAfee
Still the amount of times people are checking back in. Come on, dude. Come on. Have to do it. Cowboys are a big time story. Dak Prescott looked light walking into that building. Okay, let's pivot away from the Dallas Cowboys and let's talk about some contract stuff. Go ahead, Todd.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, she just curious. We saw yesterday that the Lions are not going to exercise the fifth year option on Jack Campbell. Is there any potential changes coming to this whole formula? Because we saw it again with Linderbaum last year where it was basically like, hey, listen, we want to resign you, but financially it doesn't make sense at the number that you would be, you know, franchise for. And then kind of the same thing here with Jack Campbell, and it kind of just opens the door for a shittier team to maybe overpay for one of these guys that, like, are there any changes coming to this potentially? Or is it kind of just. It works so the formula is going to stay the same.
Ian Rapoport
This is a great question. I think about this stuff all the time. And there's. There's not that many examples. Like, Jack Campbell's awesome, obviously Linderbaum was awesome, but just like, positionally, it didn't make sense. And I'm sort of like, can we just fix this so every position has one. Like, we're like, as a collective football world, like, we're smart enough to figure this out. It would have to be in the new cba. Like, this would have to be a topic that the NFL and the nflpa, which are several years away from a new cba, unless they decide to do it earlier with the TV deals, but several years away from taking a look at it. But it makes sense that somebody could figure out a center should have his own franchise tag, a guard should have his own franchise tag, or they could just do away with the franchise tags, which teams would never do, and then everyone could get just paid, whatever. But for a couple of these guys, it's just doesn't make sense. Like off the ball linebackers or like outside linebackers who aren't rushers. Like, sucks for them, but, you know, no, no fifth year option. On the other hand, you know, Jack Campbell's gonna be in a contract year and, like, probably gonna make a huge ton of money anyway because he is an awesome football player. But that's a good question.
Pat McAfee
That's classic. Like, tight end who has 100 receptions and only is down on the line like 3% of the snaps. He's a tight end, though. Yeah, we're paying him like a tight end.
Ian Rapoport
That's also ridiculous. Yes.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, that happens all the time. You know, just Like a running back who potentially also plays slot. It's like, nope, running back. Oh, actually, he's a returner. Yeah, this guy's actually. Yeah, this guy's actually with tj.
Tyler
Back in the day, they were like, you're a linebacker. You're not an edge. You're not a defensive end.
Pat McAfee
Oh, yeah, but, yeah, that was the thing. Yeah. Who did that?
Tyler
The whole league?
Pat McAfee
No, but was it the Steelers doing that? What's going on with the Steelers, Ian?
Conman
Good business making up tags.
Tony Dungy
It is good business.
Pat McAfee
Well, yeah, we. We're using a alpha.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
And an alpha. Last year, they're using the alpha tag. I mean, ain't nobody ever heard of
Conman
the hall of Famer. Show him some respect. More money.
Pat McAfee
23, 22 years, putting Alpha on him. What. What does this mean, rap in your eyes? What do you think ends up happening inevitably with the Aaron Rodgers Steelers situation?
Ian Rapoport
Well, two things. One, I would say overall, this probably doesn't affect what ends up happening. Like, I have not thought he was going to play anywhere else besides the Steelers. I've never thought money was going to be an issue. So if he wants to play, he'll probably play for the Steelers and he'll probably. Probably play for. Similar to last year. So, like, in the end, I don't think it has that much to do with anything, but it is weird. Like, I saw this yesterday and I was kind of like, huh, like, it makes sense, I guess, if you're allowed to sort of, like, I guess, loosely retain the rights of a player who you like but hasn't signed. I guess it makes sense to do it. It's just like to do it to Aaron Rodgers. You just never quite know how he's going to react to things. Right. And so, like, this was very. It was very interesting. I don't think he's going to be like, all right, well, screw those guys, I'm done. But it does limit him a little bit because, you know, if he wants to just not sign and go, you know, sign with. With someone who loses a quarterback in week two, it either makes it much harder or impossible.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, we've heard impossible, but I guess it could be a work impossible.
Ian Rapoport
Right. But I guess it's. Honestly, it's complicated. It really is.
Pat McAfee
Well, I guess what Aaron would probably have to do is sign with the Steelers and they would have to trade him to that team or whatever, which would probably become.
Ian Rapoport
Yes, I think that's right.
Pat McAfee
Okay, I'm just piecing that together in real time. Shout out me love everything that did There, my ears. Thank you, brain, for doing that. But you're right about. Who knows how he's going to take this because we are so confused by almost disrespected for him. And then you, like, look into it. It's like Steelers just trying to get a compensatory pick if he was to play anywhere else. This is also them making a public announcement of a formal offer to him. This is what we want. And also would like to have him here. So there's a lot of things the Steelers could say, say like, hey, we. We kind of had to do this. Like, this is kind of something we had to do. And I assume Aaron understands that. And maybe we'll see him slinging a pill for the Steelers once again.
Mike Tannenbaum
Oh, mama.
Pat McAfee
They put the UFA on him, dude. They did.
Ian Rapoport
I heard that song so many times and I came back like singing it. It's. I mean, it's ridiculous.
Conman
Yeah, dude. Sticks are legendary.
Tony Dungy
You're singing Sticks.
Pat McAfee
Oh, no. Oh, my life is really terrible.
Sean Shapiro
Not a good song again.
Pat McAfee
I sing Renegade all day. I'm not a renegade. I'm kind of a. Kind of a junior. Junior.
Tony Dungy
Bit of a junior.
Pat McAfee
All right, all right, all right, all right.
Conman
Country club change.
Pat McAfee
We appreciate you, dude. Congrats, junior. Congrats, dude. We're proud of you.
Ian Rapoport
Thank you guys. Appreciate you guys for everything. I am extremely pumped for all of this. Cannot, cannot wait.
Pat McAfee
You're the greatest, ladies and gentlemen. That's unwrappable. Yeah. All right, Junior.
Conman
Deuce. Yeah.
Tyler
Yeah.
Conman
Big deuce.
Pat McAfee
Ladies and gentlemen. Let's go from junior to a senior. Wow. From the league to the association, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to go ahead and get it all in a nice quick bite. Yeah.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Thank you. It's a Sean's drive by. Just need a high five. What's going on in hoops? We don't need a deep dive.
Ian Rapoport
Senior.
Pat McAfee
NBA Insider for espn. A lot happening around the NBA. Shams, we appreciate you taking the quick time to let us know what's happening over there in your world. Okay? We're not tanking anymore. We're not tanking anymore is what's happening. They know that. That's a big deal. There's a 25 point spread this season. There was numerous games where people would pay their hard earned money to go watch and their team was clearly to not win. There was a lot of teams doing it this year. You asked the owners of the teams that were doing that, they're saying, are we tanking or are we trying to rebuild Here it's not easy to rebuild a team. Free agency is basically dead, especially with the stars, unless you can trade for them and they're picking where they want to go. And if you can't get a top four, top five pick, you're not going to get a pillar. So all we can get is try top 1, 2, 3, pick. The lottery is the only way to do it. That's what ownership says. From the teams that are seemingly losing on purpose, the winning teams say, why aren't you trying Shams, what is this going to do do? How is this going to change the game? And are we done with tanking over there in the NBA?
Shams Charania
The the NBA hopes so. This is Adam Silver's crack at trying to basically deincentivize losing. And you know, the term relegation is the one to keep an eye on right now. It's the NBA. This is their version of their of relegating the bottom teams in the NBA. And so in all of American pro sports, the NBA has now if once this is implemented May 28th in an Owner's vote, they'll be the first league in American pro sports to penalize the bottom teams in the draft or town acquisition. It's not that you can't acquire players or can't build through the draft. It's just if you're openly trying to be at the bottom or if you are at the bottom, you're going to be punished by it by losing lottery ball. So basically in this format, if you're a bottom three team, you will have two lottery balls. If you're four through 10, 10, you actually have three lottery balls. So in a lot of ways, if you're one through three, you're incentivized to win more in at least enough that you're not at the bottom. So you're going to be trying to win. And then if you're 4 to 10, your goal is to try to win so you don't get out, get get sent to the relegation zone. So this is the NBA. And, and I was told, and I said on get up this morning, Adam Silver had a call a couple weeks back and he told the owners, he was very forceful with the ownership. Owners, not gonna lie, there was a couple F bombs in there. And he told whether it was owners, GMs, everyone, you should hate to lose. Losing should be uncomfortable. People are now taking it as a badge of honor. And so this is the NBA. They are trying to take the step to crack down on this. And a lot of people might look at this As a radical approach, as an overcorrection in a lot of ways of what's happened in Utah and other leagues.
A.J. Hawk
Leagues.
Shams Charania
So this is something that's obviously going to have major impact not only this year, but years to come. There are two elements to this, Pat, I do want to point out. This now means moving forward. You can't pick number one back to back years and you can't have a top five pick in three consecutive years. So that means teams like the San Antonio spurs right now with Wemby, Stefan Castle, Bill Harper wouldn't exist. A team like Oklahoma City back in the day with KD and all those guys wouldn't exist. This the Rockets right now with the men, Thompson, Reed, Shepherd, Alper and Sengun Jabari Smith Jr. Wouldn't exist under this new policy. So this is the NBA trying to basically say F you to teams that are trying to lose.
Pat McAfee
All right, thank you. Seams. That was a hot five. What's going on in hoops? We don't need a deep dive. Just need a hot five. What's going on in me of front? We don't need a deep dive. Hi. We're not actually going to kick you off. That would have been funny for you to send you out your way right there. Okay, so fun, fun little question here. The bottom three teams get a lesser chance to get the number one overall pick than four through ten in theory. That makes sense. What if the bottom three teams are actually asked though?
Tony Dungy
Boom.
Pat McAfee
Like what if they're.
Conman
This is the dumbest thing of all time.
Pat McAfee
I agree because I think they're saying that the teams who have been to bottom three over the last however many years, I would assume that they've researched this. Those teams are trying to do that like they were trying to become the BO teams. So they're trying to get rid of the attempt at becoming worse team in the NBA. But what if you are just the assiest ass team and put the ass in association of the NBA?
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
For multiple times in a row. Like what happens if that happens? Because I assume people are going to be.
Shams Charania
What happens in soccer? What happens in soccer? Don't you get relegated to another league like Adam Silver?
Pat McAfee
Soccer. Soccer's been going on for like 100 years over there, 150 years over there, like a thousand.
Shams Charania
Silver has taken a lot of models from the soccer. You think about the play in tournament, the in season tournament, there's been a lot of like crossover, at least from an ic.
Pat McAfee
So what are they going to do? They're going to kick These teams out of the league, Doug. That's right.
Shams Charania
You're not, you're not really going to get relegated to the G League, although that might be what's, you know, I had a couple people relegate, you know, so and so to the, to, to, to the G League. But I think what it is, is you. Yes, it's, it's punishing teams that are losing. Like there's now going to be a level of punishment, a level of penalization that goes to the team that are at the bottom. Teams. There are teams, right. Like Sacramento went into the year trying to compete and be competitive. They just had a bunch of injuries and they just weren't. The Dallas Mavericks went into this season trying to be good, trying to be competitive with ad. They had injuries, they pivoted, they went to another direction, and they just weren't good. And so I think there's going to be teams like that. There's going to be unintended consequences. There's going to be teams that, that end up getting the number one pick that might be the 10th seed that, you know, maybe people will feel like, hey, this team didn't really deserve or need the talent and a team that really isn't good. So there's going to be a lot of randomness in all this, and all 16 picks are going to be from a lottery drawing. And so that means 15, 16, 14, 13. With flat nods, they could in theory bump up to 1, 2 or 3.
Pat McAfee
But what, what did Adam say about Giannis getting traded in this whole thing?
Shams Charania
I don't know if the NBA, NBA trades.
Pat McAfee
All right, let's do quick. Austin Reeves is back tonight. Yes.
Shams Charania
Austin Reeves is expected to play tonight. From everything I'm hearing, all signs point to him playing tonight. Unless there's some setback that he has. He's now about four weeks removed from a grade two oblique strain. He's gone through all of his progressions, one on ones, three on threes, five on fives. Multiple times. Times. He was basically a game time decision the last couple games, but they were up 2, 0. Then they were up 3 0, and they decided to sit him out. He wanted a little bit more time, but he is on the way back. Big boost for this team. He's obviously a star all star for this team in his role with Luka Doncic. We're still a little bit ways away from Luka Doncic.
Pat McAfee
Okay, a little bit away from Luka Doncic. But Austin Reeves and LeBron play very well together. Right. That should go swimmingly. We don't think there'll be any issues on how the Lakers are on the floor.
Tony Dungy
No.
Shams Charania
And this is the exact piece that they need. They. You know, it's crazy when you're without Luca and Austin Reeves, you, you, you know, you need at least one of those guys to be ball handling for you. Shock creation. So much of that onus has been on LeBron the other night. I think he had what, 10 points, eight turnovers or whatever. Like he's had a lot of responsibility and he's done great over the three games, the first three games of series, leading this team to a 3, 0 series lead. Now Austin Reeves on his way back. This, this. They actually need Austin Reeves really bad right now.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I'd say every team, if they get an all star back, they would certain yet. Magic Pistons tonight. This is going to happen. Huh? The Stones, the number one seed, are just about to get kicked out by Orlando. Is that what we're expecting tonight? Any, any news on anything we should know other than Franz Wagner?
Shams Charania
Franz Wagner I can report right now. I literally just got a text. He is not expected to play. Franz Wagner right now, as of this moment, is not expected to play. He's got a calf strain. Right? Calf strain. And you know, anytime you talk about calves, those are tricky injuries. And Paolo Banquero actually said at shoot around this morning that he doesn't think Franz Wagner goes tonight, that they should be careful with this calf injury. And so, yeah, they built this 3:1 series lead. But now you could be without and likely are without your star forward here in Franz Wagner. We'll see if they can get the job done. I'm sure as, as you see right there, with no Franz Wagner, the Pistons, you know, are probably favored today.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, they certainly are. Raptors, Cavs, anything in that game that we need to think of before we back it?
Shams Charania
This is a big game for the, for the Cavs, like they need to take care of bit. I've talked to a bunch of people around the situation like they need to win this game, obviously get back control of this series. Toronto's playing with a lot of momentum. Cleveland should have had Game 4. And so Toronto's playing with a lot of momentum. Momentum, big comeback win. They've tinkered with their lineup a little bit. They, they, they played their, their center, Murray Bos a lot more at the 5, essentially reduced the role of Yakob Pertle. So I do think Toronto's going to be coming in with some momentum.
Pat McAfee
The man that's senior NBA insider at ESPN with A drive by. A sweet hot.
Shams Charania
Congrats, rap sheet. Congrats. The rap sheet. I do have to say congrats. He's Ian. Ian's a good friend. Good dude.
Pat McAfee
You and Ian knowing each other for a long time. Look at you now, both just sitting there in the kingdom.
Shams Charania
I mean, we're in different parts of the kingdom. I'm in the back office, you know, I'm in the back office in the dark.
Pat McAfee
Oh, no.
Shams Charania
Look at that laptop blaring. With the brightness, my eye is probably getting strained.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I like it. You look good. You got good tie today. You've been sitting on the studio shows in the morning looking really good. Posture is phenomenal.
Conman
Yeah.
Tony Dungy
Great.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Also talking to Greeny and then talking to camera and then back to Greeny. Be concise. It's kind of like you're kind of directing that pro. You're the man. Congratulations. We appreciate you. That's Sean Sharon. Just need a hot five. What's going on? We don't need a deep dive. Just need a hot five. What's going on in hoops? We don't need a deep dive every time. It is pretty deep though. It's a deep end of the pool. It's me coming off that thing with Miami.
Conman
Yeah.
Ian Rapoport
Isn't it?
Tyler
It's hard not because deep subjects.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Well, it's hard not to talk about the tanking situation because that's a lot.
Darius Butler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Conman
Especially when they come up with a stupid change. Yeah. Especially when it's the possibly the dumbest thing you've ever seen in the history of things to be seen. Suggested it.
Pat McAfee
It does leave.
Conman
That's coming for me.
Pat McAfee
It does leave out the teams that are just like.
Tony Dungy
Just bad ass.
Conman
Several of those teams also the. The worst team should get the first pick because the. The best player is going to make the worst team better. Like if Cooper flag goes to the worst team. They're not going to be the worst team. Utah the next year. Yeah. Utah will probably get it this year because they are the exact team who has had the lowest odds but have never been in the top five.
Pat McAfee
I like that. It's. This is the last year of it because the Pacers are dancing down here.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, exactly.
Pat McAfee
Last year ever. Maybe. Maybe Picer Steel number one.
Darius Butler
I do like how aggressive Silver is with his changes though. He's like, I don't know what's going on, baby. I'm changing it.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Lowest three. Can't. Yeah. To hell.
Darius Butler
Make it like soccer in season chair.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Sean, the big word here. Relegation even though they're not Sean's guess. What's it mean?
Tony Dungy
I don't know.
Pat McAfee
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Pat McAfee
Are the greatest we're so incredibly thankful tonight. We have three NHL playoff games and we have three NBA playoff games as the, you know, the off season schedule continues to cook. Last night there was an overtime thriller that kept Boston Bruins alive as the Buffalo Sabres look to stab them directly in the heart and kill them and move on. First time, long time, but in overtime pasta. Hi hi. Hits the brakes, little bit of dangle. How you doing? Keep it moving. Stares at the crowd as he's celebrating the NHL showing up every night for us. The NBA also doing the same. Tonight the Lakers are playing. That means LeBron James and he probably by most accounts has Austin Reaves back joining him and his boy and many others who have certainly taken the Rockets to task. Even though the Rockets coming off their only win of the series, Kevin Durant still injured, he would not be playing for the Rockets. Obviously that has been a massive piece of the story. Cavaliers James Harden what?
Tyler
Spider, it's a big game.
Pat McAfee
Hey, huge James Harden in Cleveland is a little story that has not been talked about at all. Obviously alongside Donovan Mitchell who's a superstar and the Cleveland Cavaliers last year were supposed to be the team they lose to the Celtics or to the Pacers and back to back years. Whatever the case, Cavs always been good. They bring in James Harden, James Harden fully committed. James Harden playing great basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Obviously that series is tied and then the Pistons are about to get their dog walked out. No stones. Need to go, need one stones. Yesterday I was bummed out. Today we got a little slice of optimism. No Franz Vogner. I think we can win this one tonight, boys. As they're reporting somebody's going to miss a game because of an injury. Don't need you on a microphone going yes. Remember Franz has a family. Yeah, sorry Franz, that was on me. I'm just a Pistons fan here needing a little bit of hope here. You have been the best player in the series by far and away. You being out tonight is absolutely huge. Thank you for making up for it there. 1/2 of the hammer done Cowboys AP Tone, what are you saying?
Tyler
The spread on two of those games are interesting. Stones being 9 1/2 point favorites when they are down 3:1 is interesting.
Pat McAfee
10 and a half.
Tyler
10 and a half is interesting. And then the Cavs, that series being 2:2 and that one being 8 and a half is also very interesting. It's still like hey, we're going off of these teams and the regular season and not what we have seen in the postseason. These feel like regular season line lines. But I could be super, super wrong. It's just there those are heavy lines for T for series that are you're either down or tight.
Pat McAfee
Okay, so who are you?
Tyler
I think I'm gonna go with the dogs tonight and as I say that the favorites will cover. But you know, that's just what I'm saying.
Pat McAfee
Tony, come on.
Tyler
I wouldn't say NBA is my best betting sport.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, well, I don't think any sport is my best betting sport other than ball. Been watching the ufl nine year NFL vet Darius J. Butler. Hey, what UFO team is really the one that has got you captivated the most?
Darius Butler
I mean it seems like gets the DC defenders kind of tied to loose, you know in a four game win streak right now.
Conman
Yeah, but who else?
Tyler
I'm a Houston Dynamos guy.
Pat McAfee
You like the Houston Dynamos? I don't think that's their name. Houston Dynamo. The Houston Gamblers is team you were talking about. Todd Haley, I believe is the offensive coordinator for Houston.
Tony Dungy
I thought he was a Columbus Aviator.
Pat McAfee
No, I, I think Ted Ginn is with the Aviators.
Tony Dungy
But didn't he stop in and be the head?
Pat McAfee
You're right. John A. Is with the Aviators. Yeah, I love everything he's about. Of course Orlando Storm, they're sworn second.
Darius Butler
Are you Second place.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, they are in second place. That's a good call. Dallas Renegades. They're currently sitting in third. They got three wins and two losses. A lot of parody in this league. St. Louis Battle Hawks 3 and 2. They're tied obviously with the Dallas Renegade Louisville Kings. They're kicking off Kentucky derby weekend on Thursday night.
Darius Butler
Finally know the quarterbacks in this league.
Pat McAfee
Let's see. Listen, I'm about done with the UFL fans are iwc.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Tyler
Who's leading the passing of ufl?
Darius Butler
Anybody?
Pat McAfee
DTR probably. Maybe Desmond Ritter.
Conman
He's up there. I think maybe Desmond.
Pat McAfee
Oh yeah. Okay. All right. I saw Austin Reed play. You guys know him? Remember him?
Tyler
Western Kentucky.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. And former before that. Oh, Tony. Western Florida. This guy doesn't know ball. UFL fans get him
Tony Dungy
Bean.
Pat McAfee
Great player. Obviously no take backs. Obviously ufl. So we're in on the UFL and then we all said we hope it
Conman
does well and I'm taking mine back.
Tyler
What?
Pat McAfee
No take back.
Conman
I just did.
Tyler
You don't want to do well.
Darius Butler
You want to dread it. Repoli.
Pat McAfee
You can't do that.
Tyler
Holy Farms Poly Stables.
Conman
And I know that I'm saying this and repole he see it and he's. And he. All he's thinking is bingo. Exactly. I need more doubters. So I think I'm helping rapole out.
Pat McAfee
Okay, so you're motivating Rapole.
Conman
Exactly. Yeah. And that's why I'm taking it back.
Pat McAfee
We will say the co owner of the UFL has been on the record as stating I'll go bankrupt for this league.
Conman
Exactly.
Pat McAfee
And we're going to hope that that doesn't happen. We hope that UFL does well for the good of football and also for the good of gambling during the spring on something that we understand because the NBA is very fascinating to gamble on the NHL. Tough.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, very tough.
Pat McAfee
Empty netters at the end are decided riding so many things in NHL every single night. Obviously MLB first five we can get a chance. What teams are good right now in mlb? Obviously I know the Cincinnati Reds last night earned all of their fans that were in the stadium some free pizza. They said 325 people won free pizza last night. Are the Reds on fire right now?
Tony Dungy
Yes, the Reds are actually very good. The NL Central which the the is the division that the Pirates are in is probably you could argue is the best division in baseball right now. I think they're a couple games over five. There are a couple games over 500 would be leading multiple divisions. They are in the cellar Right now, but they're playing good. Dodgers obviously very good. Yankees very good. Padres, very good show.
Pat McAfee
Hey, pitch last night yet again he's doing a full season of pitching. They haven't been having him play in the field. Right. Or I'm sorry, hit whenever he pitches. But he's looking to do that right now.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, I think so. Last night was one of the first times that they just wanted him to focus on pitching and then they end up losing 2:1. He takes the loss even though he pitched unbelievably well. And he basically just said like, hey listen, I'm going to listen to what the document Dodgers want me to do. Obviously me being healthy by the time the playoffs comes around is the most important thing. So if they think this is going to be more strain, like I'm good with going out there and just pitching on days when I'm slated to pitch.
Pat McAfee
Can you put into perspective what a 60 era is and what Shohei Ohtani is to the humans once again that maybe haven't heard us Glaze I believe would be, you know, we do a lot of show Glaze Ohtani around here because how could you not with this guy?
Tony Dungy
Yeah, I would say like a very good season long ERA in the majors would be any more probably like around three. So like that average like you're giving up three runs per start or you know, or per however many innings you pitch. Him being around, you know, 0.6 is basically saying like there's a good chance that if this guy goes out and pitches, it's almost guaranteed that if he throws six innings he's probably going to give up zero earned runs or if he does like last night, you know, by, by comparison like that maybe wasn't that great of a start but that that's considered a quality start. That's unbelievable. He gets the loss, but it's. Yeah, pretty much. I think in his last 180 batters he's faced, he hasn't given up a home run. Like he, you know, that was kind of always the thing that was dragging behind was, hey, this guy's pitching stuff is unbelievable. For whatever reason, you know, he's still kind of hit or miss there because the hitters are so good. But he's been absolutely lights out on the bum.
Pat McAfee
What's the best pitcher in, in the league called? Cy Young.
Tony Dungy
Cy Young, Yep.
Pat McAfee
Is he potentially in Cy Young conversations here early in the season?
Tony Dungy
I would guess he's probably, well, he was probably not the favorite in the nl. I would assume skin still is because he's been unbelievable since his first start against the Mets. But yeah, sh is pro. I mean it's like a ski is the clear number one. I'd say Shohei is probably number one or number two. And I bet the odds bear that out as well.
Tyler
Skins is plus 175. It's actually then Yamamoto, Chris Sanchez, Chris Sale and then Otani plus 800, which is actually very surprising.
Tony Dungy
I don't know if it's because, hey,
Tyler
they're not going to give him MVP and psych.
Pat McAfee
Well, he's minus 350 to win the MVP I guess obviously because he plays on both sides of ball there for baseball. So MVP is obviously a better award than Cy Young.
Tony Dungy
I guess it depends. Sometimes pitchers have, have won MVP too. The, the other thing that kind of kills him a little bit is that the Dodgers typically have a six man rotation, so he's not getting as many starts. A lot of other teams only have five or four man rotation, so their starting pitchers will get more starts during the year.
Pat McAfee
I think those four man rotation teams, they need take a look. I'm working. Okay. I didn't like my performance against Clayton Kershaw. I didn't like how I was pitching against, you know, in Thunderball. So I'm trying to figure it out right now. I got a lot of experts telling me a lot of things, all of it revolves around you need to use your legs. I'm like, well, I'm trying there. They said take the jeans off.
Ian Rapoport
Okay.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, it's tough to pitch in jeans.
Pat McAfee
That's what a lot of people told me. And they say I need to transfer weight from ash cheek right to ash cheek left while going down towards. And we got some really high level baseball people sending me ideas on this entire thing. I got a lot of optimism there from the baseball world saying maybe I figure it out. I will say this little wiffle ball thing we've been doing in here, it is a good time.
Conman
Great.
Pat McAfee
If you can pitch. Sure, sure. If you know where the ball is going, it's great. It's been tough for me to figure out. We saw it with Clayton Kershaw, almost killed a couple people in the stands as I was trying to pitch strike there. I just never really have done that in my life. So I'm trying to learn here. At the ripe old age of 38, about to be 39, you look pretty good.
Tony Dungy
The other day when I watched your kind of mini bullpen sesh out here, looked like you were kind of tunneling your pitches a Little bit, you know, mixing up your. Your fastball with your kind of off speed repertoire. I think you're a lot closer than you think.
Pat McAfee
I'm starting to get it straight, which is. I used to have to aim 6, 7ft left for it to go straight. Because I think early release potentially when it was coming out. Now we got everything going straight. Just can't get to height. I mean I'm hitting basketball hoop every once in a while. I think it's kind of going out there. We don't really know where it's going. It's kind of like me kicking field goals. We don't know exactly where it's headed. But boy, if we're a grooving zone, we can really be a threat. Give me about a year. I think I'm going to be able to throw some strikes. And I guess there's a wiffle ball game here in Indy that's pretty big deal. And we obviously got invited too. Would love to see Thunderdome team take on those. But I see some people on the Internet doing some crazy with these whiffles.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, you remember the ball we were kind of dicking around with a little bit yesterday that only has the slits on one side. Like you can make those things dance like you would not believe. And that's typically what they use in those kind of wiff ball games.
Pat McAfee
See, I gotta get that out. I can't just throw gas the entire time.
Tony Dungy
Right.
Pat McAfee
I can't be a gas station like Paul Sche.
Tony Dungy
Exactly.
Pat McAfee
I need to get a little bit of the cutter. The sweeper. The stinker.
Tony Dungy
Exactly. You gotta have the funny stuff.
Pat McAfee
The dropper.
Tony Dungy
Yep.
Conman
The swerve.
Pat McAfee
We'll get there. Love baseball still. We haven't talked about it much. Obviously we're at the draft and we're there in the. They're nowhere near the dog days of baseball yet. No, we're not even close to that. But we are still invested and we appreciate them. Joining us live from Anatican, Ohio. Cincinnati Reds fan might have worn himself a piece of pizza last night because of what happened at the end of the game. Catcher called for a review. It was a strike. Everybody in there won pizza. We don't know why, but they showed the crowd. A lot of people dressed like seats. It was the end of the night. It was work night. It is Cincinnati, so maybe people went home.
Tyler
Anytime The Reds get 11 strikeouts, they get pizza for the fans. So that was the 11.
Pat McAfee
A man who will not experience free pizza because he won't support the Cincinnati Reds. A.J. hawk is that accurate?
A.J. Hawk
I believe there was a few lightning delays. I mean, I had kids. Practices delayed, canceled because of lightning. So, yeah, credit to those fans that did stick around for the free pizza because The Reds are 19 and 10 and we all know the World Series runs through the NL Central.
Pat McAfee
Okay, it certainly does. We agree with that. But it runs through the shittiest steel just a couple hours east of Central. 19 and 10 is a great record early in the season. I didn't know there was multiple lightning delays. They said there's 24,000 people that went to that game.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, that was the early gate number. That's right.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. And then at the end there, as we get 11 strikeouts in the back, it doesn't look bad. They pan to the side and it's just empty seats everywhere. And it's like. That's what the Pirates look like before Paul or Skeens and the boys got there. At night game day games, you can catch a PNC park looking like Tuesday night. Yeah. Especially in working town like Cincinnati. But I like that the catcher called for this and all of a sudden we got freaked. There she is. She's getting pizza. He's getting pizza. They're getting pizza. I like that they're doing that. And shout out to the Reds, doing our thing. And for the catcher saying, it's me, it's me. You ump stink. And that's what I like about abs. Let's move away from baseball. Did you see my pitch, A.J.
A.J. Hawk
yeah, you look pretty good, but you're. You're right. You got big, strong legs, man. You got to use them. Like back in the day, especially the Juice era. Remember some of those pitchers, they had gigantic anti.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. And you know, I don't know what that means, though. I'm trying. I think I do.
Conman
But push.
A.J. Hawk
All you gotta do is push off.
Conman
I mean, you're good.
A.J. Hawk
Wiffle ball is a little different, I think you're not really trying to throw full gas all the time in a wiffle ball game.
Pat McAfee
I am, though. Yeah, I am, actually.
Tony Dungy
And if you're.
A.J. Hawk
Well, then you can really. You get guys to fall down, then when you hit him with the old curve or change up.
Darius Butler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Oh, we're nowhere near that, brother. The junk ain't. I just. I'm trying to get the thing just in that facility right there. It is. It's hard. Hard. It's hard for me to do that. I got two. I pitched a couple times in this game. I get a couple strikes and then bang, right in the back of the head. I mean, right in the back. And then they were walking. They weren't trying to get out of the way to get on base. It was like, all right, I'm never going to be able to put three strikes together before four balls. Like, there's just no chance I'm going to do that. So I'm working. That's what I'm trying to do here.
Tony Dungy
It's also very tough using your lower body on the mound we have out here, because if you're really, you know, exerting a lot of force, that thing's going every which way. And we don't need you blowing your knee out coming down off the the bump because you're, you know, just trying to gas someone out of the building.
Pat McAfee
That's right, A.J. the next time you come in as Thunderdome and you step in that batter's box, just know that there's some gas and juice coming right through, pal. Okay? Who knows where it's going? Keep your head on a swivel. We got some breaking news out of Ian Rapaport's Twitter account. The Texans and Pro bowl linebacker Aziz Al Shayer have agreed to terms on a three year extension. Nice payday for a big time defender and Walter Payton, man of the year nominee in a deal negotiated by Jason Chase at Sports Stars New York City. That's a huge deal. He's one of the leaders, obviously of the Texans. He's also a guy that Nick Caio who was just on the show yesterday. He said, we're trying to get a certain type of player here in Houston. And he has referred to him as the type of player that they were looking to have in years past. Remember, he got into a fight a little bit, a little bit of a skirmish. Then d' Ameco Ryan comes out and says, hey, they don't want. No, there won't be no shit. Our guy's getting suspended. We don't like that. And then Casario came out and was like, hey, this is our guy. We do not like what's going on right now. So they've loved him publicly before they sign him. This comes a couple days after Will Anderson, incredible draft. How do you feel about what Nick Casario and the Texans are doing down there, A.J.
A.J. Hawk
i think it's great. I mean, I'll shy if you watch him. The guy is an absolute tone setter from the first snap every single game that he plays. And I assume he's that way in the building and walk through and practice as well, but that's what's cool. The guy's Walter Payton, man of the year. And he's also the most violent guy that plays through the whistle, like play in and play out. So he's a. He's a great guy, I think, for the NFL. I'm a huge fan of watching. I want to show young kids his tape and say this. You think you're playing hard? No, this guy is playing hard. There's certain guys that you can turn on the tape and they're always playing hard, playing through the whistle, not dirty, not cheap, just very physical. Old school football. And that's what I'll show you.
Pat McAfee
Walter Payton, man of the year, playing old school football and not being scared to fight. I mean, that's football in a nutshell. D, buddy. That's Nick Casario finding exactly what he wants.
Darius Butler
Yeah, he's a perfect example of what Bill Cow always talks about when he. When he coached his guys of kind of toeing that line or having to pull him back. Like he toes the line every snap that he plays. I love him and that defense. I would love for him to be the play caller, the green dot on the defense that I'm playing on. Great. Another great signing by Concerio.
Pat McAfee
Okay, let's go to a guy who's had to make these types of decisions in the past, former general manager, former executive vice president of former football, a guy who's been around ball his entire life, started something called 33rd Team, which Bill Belichick and Lombardi kind of said, actually, that's UNC football. So I kind of jacked that thing. And also ESPN analyst who was so kind with his time that he came to our event on Wednesday to welcome everybody to Pittsburgh. Ladies and gentlemen, hopefully long term friend of the program, Mike Dannenbaum. Yeah, Mike, how you doing, man?
Mike Tannenbaum
Great. Good to be with you, Pat. Thanks for having me.
Pat McAfee
I'll tell you what, Tannen bomb, you had a hell of a performance Wednesday night. You really turned an entire. We were in a sprinter van. Okay. We're in a sprinter van. And hey, let's talk about tonight. What all do we think immediately? Tannenbaum's the man, and I didn't expect that. But I appreciate you taking the time to come hang out, chat with everybody, and we appreciate you taking time today, Mr. Former GM.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, no, I appreciate, you know, we had some emergency frozen Gatorades, and I think I started win Connor and Ty over, but, you know, I didn't draft Darius. I did draft AJ. I passed on AJ in 06, so I thought it'd be a Long time coming until I got this invite.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I mean, obviously you didn't draft me either, you fucking pricks. So let's get them out of here. Let's get them out of here. Cannonbaum, thank you for the time. We appreciate it. You love ball, so we appreciate you. Let's talk about what Casario just did. This comes through the wire, through Rapid X account, literally as we speak. They just signed Will Anderson. Whenever we had him on yesterday. Talking about the type of guys that they want, they want dogs. Keelan, Rutledge, the guy didn't have like a draft party. He kind of did his own thing. How do you feel about what Kasaria has been able to do, do you think with the new generation of players, it is vital to continue to seek the guys who are violent and who are dogs? And do you think long term success is coming to Houston with what they've been able to put around C.J. stroud? See, seemingly.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, Pat, I agree with what Adri was saying. Like the juxtaposition of Aziz Alshayer, where he's the man of the year off the field, and he is a tone setter that been around guys like Rex and Belichick, guys that love those types of players. And that defense is a championship defense. I think one of the underrated picks the other night was Hayden McDonald. He really is going to anchor the middle. If they had a vulnerability, it was that defensive tackle. That is a championship defense. Defense. And then, Pat, when you put that next to hopefully an improved offensive line on the other side of the ball, if C.J. stroud could get back to where he was, they could compete for a championship. And you're right. In this day and age, you got to look for guys like a Keenan Rutledge who loves ball that would play for free. You know, we used to say, anytime
Pat McAfee
anywhere, anytime anywhere is seemingly going to be a place where. We will talk to you going forward. AJ Has a question for you, Mike.
A.J. Hawk
Yeah, Mike, what do you think the Pittsburgh Steelers are thinking right now with the whole. As, Pat, what do you call it?
Pat McAfee
The.
A.J. Hawk
The UFA tag that they threw on him? What's the plan there?
Conman
What.
A.J. Hawk
What's the reasoning behind that? How do you think it all plays out big?
Pat McAfee
Oof.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, A.J. that was a rare thing. And basically they just kept their rights to be able to sign him into July. He gets a 10% raise. And you know, Pat, you mentioned it earlier. If he's going to play this year, he's going to play in Pittsburgh. I'll tell you What? Like, to me, there should be a sense of urgency. He's going to be 43 in December. We know he's closer to the end than the beginning, but if he is there, that means everybody else has to be there. He knows the offense because he's been with McCarthy for a long time. Green Bay. But there's players like a Rico Donald, Michael Pittman that they would benefit from being around Aaron. And I'm assuming this is not if, but a when. And if I was Omar Khan or Coach McCarthy, we saw him at your event. They certainly didn't seem worried about it, but boy, if I was them, like, let's get this thing signed and let's get rolling.
Pat McAfee
I appreciate that coming from a former general manager. Hey, let's make our decision and now let's get to work. You know, we're all trying to win here. A lot of things have happened. Coach McCarthy, obviously not on his front nine of his coaching career, back at home, obviously wanting to win. Right now, they're paying a lot of different players. Having Aaron Rodgers as quarterback would certainly be special. The Pittsburgh people, the Injers, which you learned a lot about, I think probably during the draft week. They're about sick of waiting around. It's two years in a row now. We're waiting for one guy. Okay, that's how Yinzers feel. But as soon as he gets back in the building, gets to work, throws one touchdown, all of a sudden we're all the way back, back in. I'm excited to see how Aaron kind of handles it all. They draft Drew Aller in the second round. Third round, third round. Drew Aller. They have Will Howard, who everybody from within the building has said he is a guy. We like the way he carries himself. We just have to see him in live rounds. Drew Aller, McCarthy guy, I guess. What do you think about the backup plans that they have in case Aaron Rodgers says, oh, you want to put big oof on me? Well, actually, I'm going to go ahead into jungle in South America for next six months. Boom, there's a chance that happens.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, well, first of all, that's why, hey, Aaron, if you're going to do that, that's great. Tell us six weeks ago. So we go get Kirk Cousins. But if that's where we are, look,
Pat McAfee
Mason Rudolph, we could go win games
Mike Tannenbaum
with him and then Will Howard is an interesting guy to me. And look, with Drew Aller, you're getting somebody going to last year, Pat was probably going to be a first round pick. He looks the part he has a great arm. And then, look, we all knew that. We. We know that fell apart against Oregon, got. Got hurt against Northwestern, and that was it. But he has high upside. Coach parcels used to stay all the time. Like, when you draft the quarterback, not only do you want starts and you want the physical aspect, but you want to know what the upside is. And he has great upside. So if Coach McCarthy could invest a year in him, they may have something in Aller and where they took him. It's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, it feels like the entire draft is actually like that, even though people don't judge that immediately. There's been ashes picks everywhere in the draft, and there's been, like, hall of Famers everywhere in the draft. Such a crapshoot, man. It actually is. You've been in that room, obviously, making actual decisions. But when we do the draft, spectacular, everybody that gets picked, we're like, could be. Because it actually could be, you know, like the big shocker of Ty Simpson going to the Rams. Okay. Could be a great decision. Michael Penix, two years ago, obviously immediately shit on the situation, and then as soon as you look at. It's like, might end up working out for him. Isn't that kind of how the draft should be viewed? And how do you kind of view it? In a nutshell, yeah.
Mike Tannenbaum
Pat, you know who agrees with you is my knucklehead son Jacob. Because anytime I yell at him, he goes, I can't listen to anybody that drafted Charles Harris before T.J. watt. And then he walks away.
Pat McAfee
So it is absolutely. Jacob Tannenbaum. That is awesome. That is awesome. But you can't. I mean, T.J. watt, I think we should have known, probably. I don't want to shit on you alongside your son, Josh, Jacob, but it really is such a crapshoot, especially situations and everything like that. Minimizing that is really all you can hope to do, I assume, especially at the top of the draft. Is that how you view it?
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, I think the whole aspect of it goes back to, like, what parcels Belichick. They always talked about, like, the tape sets the floor character sets the ceiling. Like, if you get good players from good schools and you draft them and ask them to do what they're what you saw on tape, within reason, they should work out. And those first three rounds, you have to be airtight. And, you know, we did pass on AJ Hawk, which we probably shouldn't have. You know, he's exactly what we're talking about. Like Darius Same Thing, of course, Pat, you as a punter.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Mike Tannenbaum
You know, you can't draft specialists. By the way, Jacob's a long snapper, so he's in the same family as you are. But you have to draft players that you have a distinct role for. And when you see the teams that have sustained success, they have lockstep between the head coach and gm. They have a vision for the player. And if you want to take a shot or project injection, that's fine. But you should do that fourth, fifth and sixth round. Those first three rounds really need to be airtight and physical. Airtight and physical prototypes really minimize your chance of making a mistake.
Pat McAfee
AJ wouldn't let anybody see the scans from his knees. That's probably why you passed on him. Now that we know how big of a deal that whole thing is, it did work out. But at the time, they're like, this guy's hard headed. Look at his head. He has no conversation.
Tony Dungy
No.
Pat McAfee
He just says, where's the wind way room? Like this guy might be. Actually, I know where I'm supposed to be. They got a caveman coming out of Ohio. I don't know if that's what we need. You weren't the only one, boss. Don't worry about that. Only four others or three others. DBut has a question for you about one of those reaches maybe or surprise picks that happened the other night.
Darius Butler
Yeah. Talent wise, it was. No doubt it were. Kaden Proctor coming out of Alabama. He was one of the most talented offensive linemen in this draft. What? Some questions when it came to character. And then Miami took a shot on him early in the first round. I hope it, you know, pans out. Obviously, as a lifelong Dolphin fan, you were down there in their front office in Miami. What are kind of some of the challenges that come with building a winning culture down there in Miami?
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, it's going back to what Pat mentioned earlier. Darius, like, you gotta love ball. You gotta love the process. There's a lot to be distracted with. I think Proctor is going to be really good. You look at, he lost weight for his pro day. So when they're out of structure, you know, what's their innate discipline? So I was really encouraged by that. He really moves great for somebody his size. He has position, flexibility, the right or the left side. And I'm sure that Jeff Halfley, John Eric Sullivan did a deep dive on his character. It's their first pick that's meaningful and I still remember mine. It was the Berkishaw Ferguson who was really the backbone of A lot of good teams, and I think Proctor has a chance to be a good player. You know, weight's going to be an issue, but I'm sure they're going to manage that.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, but that. That could be a massive motivation for him. Yeah, yeah, that could be a massive. But you've been in Miami, obviously, in that building at a really high level. I wonder if you can win in
Darius Butler
Miami the 26 years since they won a playoff game. I was a freshman.
Pat McAfee
That's what I'm saying. I wonder if you can. Like, there's a lot of options there, man. It is only becoming more and more.
Tony Dungy
Yeah. Getting bigger.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Like Miami's becoming. I think since COVID Miami has become an even more Vegas, desirable distraction place, you know, for professional athletes. Basketball. Eleven guys, right? Twelve guys.
Darius Butler
Oh, yeah.
Pat McAfee
We can kind of corral, hopefully Ben
Conman
riley,
Pat McAfee
tight ship NFL. What's it, 60 guys on the roster. 60 guys with practice squad, everything like that. And you need what, probably 30 of them to be good?
Tyler
Oh, yeah.
Pat McAfee
Like very good. That's a lot of people at an age with a lot of. I think it's tough down there. And I'm just strictly judging off of if I was drafted down there as a 21 year old, I'd be dead. I. I don't think I would still be on this earth at this exact time. I. It's a lot of distra. You got to find the right people, I guess is of kind. Kind of the way you have to view that because it's awesome. The city is just filled with awesome everywhere at all times.
Mike Tannenbaum
Pat, you got to draft guys that love football, that would play for free, and it's really important to them. Look, we just saw the University of Miami play for the national championship game. You know, Mario Crispal is doing a great job, I think Jeff Halfley, if you go back to B.C. and what he stands for, San Francisco, Ohio State, obviously, what he did in Green Bay, I think he's a really good coach. He'll get the types of guys that love ball, that really want to work hard in the off season. And look, there's distractions everywhere. You know, we got a team in Vegas now, so I think it goes back to, like, you know, how important is football, you know, how are you willing to work and are you committed to the process?
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Vegas is like just this area right here.
Darius Butler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Conman
A lot to do, though.
Pat McAfee
Still lots in the.
Conman
In that area.
Pat McAfee
A lot to enjoy. Miami, though, is just like a pretty sprawling.
Tyler
I mean, all.
Pat McAfee
Everywhere.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Always something to Do. That's why if like a Miami guy's available to play for the Dolphins, you would think this guy's already been here. He's already done that.
Darius Butler
He knows Junior.
Pat McAfee
That's who I'm talking about.
Tyler
Yeah, yeah.
Pat McAfee
But Proctor going down a guard.
Darius Butler
I mean the rest of the draft too. Chris Johnson, he's a great guy. Jacob Rodriguez, everyone's favorite part. Yeah, that's. We hope the second coming to Zach Thomas in the middle of that defense just up the Chris Bell is unbelievable. They made some good picks.
Pat McAfee
All right, let's talk about some moves that were made. Obviously that's their first draft over there. There's some other people that kind of exiting interestingly. Go ahead, con man.
Conman
Yeah, Mike, Kind of weird timing here for the Titans and the Eagles. The Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker steps down and then for the Eagles, their assistant GM Alec Halaby is also leaving. What does that kind of mean for both those teams? And is that timing not weird? Wouldn't that be something you expect before the draft or free agency right after the season? Season, like what. What does that tell you about what the Titans and what the Eagles are doing for the Titans? Is it kind of like, hey, this is Borgonzi's team. He's just kind of making some decisions over there. And same for the Eagles is Halaby just want to go and be a GM somewhere else. What is this?
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, Connor, I was. I'm with you. I was a little surprised because typically that would happen like when you see coaching changes. So with Tennessee, obviously Salah comes in hired by Borgonzi and I felt the same thing that Chad Brinker was the president of football operations. But clearly this is Mike Borgonzi's team. He came over from Kansas City, talented guy. So I'm sure Chad Braker felt like, hey, you know, there were. It just wasn't a good fit for me because I wasn't running the show and we'll see where he winds up. But I was caught by surprise from a timing standpoint. And Alec Alabi has been with the Eagles a long time, part of two super bowl teams. Really smart, capable guy. I know he has big aspirations, so maybe he felt like by going someplace else you get more of the credit. I'm really not sure but I'm sure both those guys will land on their feet.
Pat McAfee
Okay. I appreciate in Paul Kuharski always on the Nashville beat South pal in Philly down there. Yeah. Paul Kowarski though, the whole setting up for maybe son in law who's chief of staff to potentially become president of football. There's a president of footballers, chief staff football, there's general manager as a head coach. A lot of titles, obviously. But it feels like a lot of people, Paul Koharsky included, think that chief of staff son law of Amy Adams Strunk could potentially be stepping in there. He's been around a long time and if you got Borgones there, which is what Brinker kind of alluded to, he's got faith in Borgons. Feels like we're in a good spot here. Maybe the setup for the Titans in the future is great. And maybe Brinker says it's time for me to go somewhere else. You know, maybe it's time for me to do some other program, some other organization.
Mike Tannenbaum
Pat, it's better to leave too soon than too late. So maybe he wanted to be on the front run into that.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, you can open the door as opposed to get kicked through it.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Speaking of, I. I got little wood shards coming out of my hand still.
Tony Dungy
Yep.
Pat McAfee
How many days WrestleMania go?
Conman
9. 15.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Long time ago. Still got wood coming out because Jelly Roll thought he should put me through a wooden table. Come on. I don't like that. I should have got out of there before he kicked me out. Should have. There's a lot of writings on the wall. There was an entire thing. Let's continue to move around the NFL. Let's go to Cleveland, shall we? Tannenbaum, that's a fun place to talk about football. Todd Monkins in there. That's great. Deshaun Watson is the QB one coming out of voluntary minicamp. Mary Kay Cabo. Cabot is Mary Kay. She has corrected us to our face.
Conman
Cabot. Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Mary Kay Cabot. I'm so sorry, Mary Kay. You've been serving Cleveland Brown football goods for so long. So we are very apologetic. Potentially pronouncing your name wrong. Mary Kay from Cleveland is saying DeSean Watson started in the NFL in 2026, basically coming out of voluntary minicamp.
Darius Butler
Wow.
Pat McAfee
Tannenbaum, your thoughts on somebody not playing NFL football for as long as he will have played. Obviously played a couple games and he got hurt again. How do you feel about what's brewing over there in Cleveland? And I see the head shaking back and forth. Does that mean your mind blown that this is potential potentially happening?
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, Pat, that is the most improbable development we've seen in a long time given the amount of time he's missed. And you talk to quarterbacks that torn in Achilles. It is a skill diminishing injury. He's done it twice. And when you talk to quarterbacks at the end of their careers like the Brett Favre, the Dan Marino's, it's not their arm, it's their feet and their legs. And I would just be surprised like when the bullets are flying and he has to show some short area quickness movement in the pocket. I would just be surprised given the amount of time that he has that he could still move. I have no doubt that he could throw the ball effectively. And by the way they had a heck of a draft. When you look at Spencer Fano should be a 10 year starter tackle, great player. Then they were able to get Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston like this offense should be way better. But I would just be surprised that desean Watson could start and play at a high level for 17 games given everything he's been through.
Pat McAfee
A.J. he has the edge coming out of voluntary minicamp. Says Mary Kay, who knows everything happening with the Browns seemingly for the last 20 years you've kind of been on the Deshaun Watson's going to be the starter in Cleveland beat since the beginning. AJ saw the first couple videos of DeShawn working out and going hold. Are they still paying DeShawn?
A.J. Hawk
I said I, I what I said, I said DeShawn wants to be the he wants to he's still there, he's still on the team and he wants to be the starting quarterback. I've been saying that for months and it looks like, I don't know. I mean are we going to have an open QB competition in training camp? Is that what we're looking at like
Conman
Dylan Gabriel Shador Dylan Gable won't be involved. Why is that?
Tyler
Cuz Taylor Green's already passed him got
Darius Butler
a Pro Bowler on the roster as well.
Tony Dungy
It's a good point position.
Pat McAfee
What are we talking tool Sean Watson? No Shador.
Darius Butler
Reigning Pro Bowler still got jersey in his there is locker right now.
Pat McAfee
Yeah Shador I understand Shore hey brought a spark to that Cleveland Browns. He was a rookie quarterback too excited to see what he could potentially continue to grow upon and become. And Todd Monk can say hey I wanted you. I was the one that wanted you in Baltimore. You know when you said I'm not the doing it I was actually the person saying I'd like to do this. So we got a lot in common. DeSean Watson though former what almost MVP in the league.
Darius Butler
I mean you know in this business you follow the money first. So he's still earning a lot of money. So if you are Haslam that's the guy you want to see a return on your investment. So if he's. If it's even close, desean will probably be the guy. Shador, you know how it is with your draft position, those other things, you got to play that much better than the guy in front of you. So I'll be interested to see how it is in training camp, how those reps are being split up.
Pat McAfee
Tannenbaum's worried about the movement. You need to check him running the running back drills. Yeah, he's going over. He's running sideways. Good. Yeah, he's doing it all. Mike T. I mean, he's out there moving and grooving. Okay, let's talk about another quarterback situation that is brewing. The New York jets, obviously a building you are familiar with. Russell Wilson, I believe was in the building kind of looking around. We got a stat signing into us that no quarterback has ever started for the Giants and the jets in consecutive seasons.
Tyler
Okay, nice.
Pat McAfee
Okay there. That could be Russell Wilson's journey from the Giants of football to the other team that's also in the same stadium, the jets, who much like the Miami Dolphins and much like the Brownies, obviously have not had the most amount of success. But they also have fan bases that expect them to suck. And jets certainly are one of those fan bases. Bases we got a chance to meet a lot of them whenever Aaron Rodgers signed with him. They have been the worst team in football offensively for the last 10 years.
Tyler
Yep.
Pat McAfee
Yards and points stats, the worst. Geno Smith now going to be the quarterback. Feels like they did the right stuff through the draft. Them not leaking who they were going with at number two, I thought was a big deal for the Jets. I think nobody knowing was a big deal. I think. I think that's a good sign for the culture. How do you feel about the quarterback position over there? How do you feel about Russell Wilson taking a vision it. And what are, you know, your realistic expectations of this particular jets team?
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, I think they're ideally win for today with Geno Smith, give credibility that program. I think they're much improved. Give Aaron Glenn, you know, more Runway and then develop for tomorrow. See what you have at Kate club. Nick who if we were having this conversation a year ago, guys, we would say, hey, within reason he could be a first round pick. You know, let's see what Frank Wright could do with him. And if you bring in Russell Wilson, you know, that's another one year band Aid. So that makes a lot of sense. Sense. You know, in this day and age, it's hard to develop players, quarterbacks and head coaches. So jets have to make improvement. I think they will based on, you know, what they've done this offseason. You know, if they win six, seven games heading into next offseason with three first round picks, they are well positioned. I think Aaron Glenn will have a much improved team and you know, if they do that, that'll buy him time. And I think Geno Smith given the offensive line specifically Armand Men Fashano will be better than what he had last year in Vegas.
Pat McAfee
He also got incredibly unlucky. I knew three lot of interceptions, but I mean there was. Every single interception was like somebody making the play of their life. On Geno he had to wonder what the hell was going on out there in Las Vegas. Pete Carroll was wondering the same thing. He gets another opportunity where it all began. Good for him. Good for the Jets. Did you see Russell Wilson playing banana ball? Good eye on it. Gets good contact. That's good, Wood. Is he going to run it out? No, behind the back, through the legs. Toss, you're out.
Tony Dungy
Hits into a trick play and then
Pat McAfee
hold on, look at the ump. That might be the most dazzling ponche in history. Can we run that back from the top? Everything there is pretty special. That's between the legs, behind the back. Toss over there. Look at the up. Ninja. Russell Wilson. They almost missed it.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Can't be missing that. He knew Russell Wilson getting tossed out at first was certainly going to go viral. Let me go ahead and hit the side flip. Yeah, it's Mr. Banana. Atlanta coming. Kind of tell him whether or not he should come or go. Russell Wilson, good swing. Looks like he's in.
Conman
He's jacked right now. Biggest he's ever been.
Tony Dungy
Muscle say yellow isn't the most slimming looking Jersey.
Pat McAfee
Whoa, excuse me.
Tony Dungy
I'm sorry but listen, I nothing against
Pat McAfee
other than stilts guy who looks thin out there. You know who in the Banana?
Tony Dungy
You know who did? Yankee legend Tino Martinez, who was also playing for the bananas. But nobody cared because Russell got out there and hit a little blooper off.
Pat McAfee
He's about to be quarterback for both the Giants and the jets, pal. Yeah, New York legend won five World Series.
Tyler
Look to your right.
Tony Dungy
Okay, forget about this disrespect.
Pat McAfee
That here you didn't calibrate it.
Tony Dungy
I know. That's why that pissed me off. You got Tino Martinez, you got a Yankees legend there and then all. All I see it takes me three days. There you go. There he is.
Tyler
Russ is a Yankees Legend.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Tony Dungy
Standing ovation. You think Russ got one of those for going, you know, 3 and 14 for the Giants last year?
Ian Rapoport
I don't.
Tony Dungy
I don't think so.
Pat McAfee
You think he played 17 games? You're out of your mind.
Tony Dungy
I didn't even see this. Tino.
Pat McAfee
I assume he did. No, I can't find it. Oh, no. Is he poncho?
Tony Dungy
65 years old.
Conman
Let's watch this in real time.
Pat McAfee
Let's watch. Let's go full screen on this. Oh, Swinging.
Darius Butler
That's why we haven't seen it.
Tony Dungy
No kidding. No kidding.
Pat McAfee
Russell Wilson, well, he hasn't stepped in batter's box in years. That guy's a New York legend about to be a quarterback for both New York. Boom.
Tony Dungy
Next.
Pat McAfee
Good solid contact.
Tony Dungy
No wonder I didn't see it. I feel like a real.
Pat McAfee
You forced us to do that.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, I know.
Pat McAfee
You forced us to do that.
Tony Dungy
No, I just saw Tito. I just saw a picture of Tino, you know, giving a. Man, that stinks.
Mike Tannenbaum
Hey, guys, who would win a race between Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson?
Tony Dungy
Good question.
Pat McAfee
We don't need that on this show. Okay. We don't need to start fighting on who would be. DeShawn would win. DeSean would have beat that out, I think probably. I think I've been seeing his running back drills. Tannenbaum. I've been seeing.
Conman
He looks good.
Pat McAfee
He's been doing. I mean, he's been really moving, man. And. And the camera's like. And I don't think there's any AI. Trickery to any of it. I think he is feeling his best. I think I saw him. Nope. Not going to say it.
Conman
What's that?
Pat McAfee
Well, no, not going to say.
Conman
What was he doing?
Pat McAfee
He's getting better. He's getting better. He's just throwing a ball around. Look at this, look at this. Look at this. You tell me. Tanner. Mom. This is posted by him, I believe. Yeah.
Tyler
Whoa.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. He's getting to first base, I'd say.
Adri
Holy.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Watch this. And the sound effects are actually.
Conman
Yeah. Guy. Guy. Phil Coleman's on a scooter. He's going like 10 miles an hour.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. So I don't think the guy's going behind the back against him.
Tony Dungy
No, I.
Pat McAfee
Not. I don't have time. I think he's trying to scoop that thing and he's trying to shovel that as quick as possible. And then DeSean's got the football in hand, actually, if he plays this year. Good football. Holy. Yeah. What a wild football life.
Tyler
Big.
A.J. Hawk
If that's Gonna come back part of the year. Is he eligible?
Pat McAfee
Has to be. They've been giving it to the non ass. To super ass guys. Like, you know, if you're a super ass and then you're not ass. Yeah, he tore his Achilles.
Tyler
He could be come back.
Conman
But yeah, okay, definitely, yeah.
Pat McAfee
Injury and not.
Tyler
I don't think he would have been after the other stuff but like after the torn Achilles.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, he's an AP voter. Thank you for breaking that down. Let's go to another situation that is brewing. Tannenbaum cannot wait to hear your thoughts on this. And we don't need any of your what ifs, you know, I don't need any of those. Who do you think in that particular race the first base would get there faster?
Mike Tannenbaum
Oh, I'm going Russell Wilson. That's because he's dive head first.
Tyler
Yeah, you're right.
Pat McAfee
Good point.
Tony Dungy
He definitely would.
Pat McAfee
Seriously.
Mike Tannenbaum
And he was a baseball player. He could have.
Pat McAfee
DeSean Watson was the Michael Jordan of football. Okay.
Conman
Yeah. Michael Jordan was playing basketball.
Pat McAfee
It was a long time ago. Those highlights we seen JJ Watts been retired for what, a hundred years?
Tyler
Yeah, you're right.
Pat McAfee
His quad's still gigantic. J.J. watt, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson. Who's winning a race?
Conman
J.J. watt.
Pat McAfee
I think JJ, I'm still going, definitely.
Mike Tannenbaum
J.J. still going to Sean.
Conman
JJ freaking what?
Pat McAfee
I don't think desean's losing to jj. Right. Is he? Because they're like kind of.
Conman
I don't think JJ's. If JJ's about to lose, he's tripping both of them and he's crossing first
Pat McAfee
and that's what we're looking for in the draft.
Tony Dungy
Okay.
Pat McAfee
That's what we're looking for in the draft. We want that type of competition, competitive spirit whenever we're bringing somebody in. Speaking of a competitive spirit, there's a man down in Dallas that got a chance to showcase who he is. But now there's something brewing. Tannenbaum. Go ahead. Ty.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, Mike. We were trying to figure out yesterday if George Pickens is going to be on the roster week one for the Cowboys. Listen, we heard everything with the franchise tag. He intends to sign it. He hasn't signed it yet. No big deal. He will. I don't want to say. What would you do if you were Jerry here? Because I don't think anyone thinks the way Jerry does. Does. But what do you think will ultimately happen with the George Pickens situation? He's he going to be a Cowboy this year and just kind of play on the tag or do you Think they'll end up, you know, maybe moving on and trading him at some point in the off season here.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, Ty, I think what was really important was, you know, Adam Schefter came out and announced before the draft that he had signed the tender. Turns out he didn't. So he cannot be traded until he signs that franchise tender. So I think he's on the team this year. Year. I think if they were going to trade him, it would have been before the draft and obviously then they could have drafted a receiver. I think for a team that really thinks they have a chance to win it all this year, I just can't imagine they would trade somebody as productive as George Pickens was a year ago at this point in the off season. So I think it's just a matter of time until he signs it and then they'll get through this year and then figure things out. But I think Stephen Jones basically laid it out like, hey, we'll pay him $27 million for this year on a one year deal and then we'll go from there.
Pat McAfee
Okay. It seems like today's words from Rap Sheet and Tannenbaum are he's playing for the Cowboys here. This is probably going to happen. Mulaguetta is his agent. We understand how great of an agent Mulaguetta is. We're just talking about Sean Watson. Still getting paid, hasn't played football in a long time. That contract, the biggest of all time. He doesn't just have the biggest deal in quarterback history. He has a lot of different positions history as well. If GP was to hit the market, there's a chance he could get broken off in a massive way. But instead there's a chance he'll play under a one year franchise tag, under another. Prove it. But then they can't they franchise tag him again after that. Tanner Bond, that kind of a scary predicament there, business wise.
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, I don't think they will though because that's 20%. So you know, back of the envelope that'd be, you know, 34, $35 billion, which is a lot to pay on another one year deal, especially when you got CD on the other side. So I think you get through this year, let them go and then go draft somebody else because I just can't imagine they're going to move on from, from Dak, break up that Dax CD combination. So I think they hit on Pickens. It was a great move and I think if you were going to extend them, now would be the time. I just can't imagine that they would go back to back years on the franchise tag.
Pat McAfee
All right, we'll be excited to watch it. We love G.P. downer and Dallas because they're on national television every week. So it's nice to have a guy that can jump over a human standing up. You know, a lot of people can do the hurdle over people that are going to tackle.
Tyler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
George Pickens can get you if you're trying to. Trying to hug him. He can jump right over top of your head.
Conman
Right Athlete.
Pat McAfee
And he will. And he'll hold the ball like this. Yeah.
Mike Tannenbaum
He's unbelievable. Yeah, I don't think DeSean Watson could do that either.
Pat McAfee
What's this guy's problem?
Conman
He just doesn't like him.
Pat McAfee
What's this all about? I mean, I bet he can't either.
Tyler
No, I don't think so.
Pat McAfee
That's why GP is one of one. Okay, let's pivot away from current NFL stuff and let's get the thoughts of a former gift PM on something that is currently brewing in all of college sport, but definitely in college football as we speak. Go ahead, Tone.
Tyler
Yeah, Mike T. I'm not sure if you saw, but projected first round quarterback for next year, Brendan Sorsby, who is at Texas Tech, has decided to step away from football because of a gambling addiction. And everything that is coming out is he's probably not going to play college football again because of what he did. The NFL does have a supplemental draft. Chris Carter's coming out of the supplemental draft. Josh Gordon's coming out of the supplemental supplemental draft. Do you think there's a situation where NFL teams would be interested in this? I don't know if Soursby would have to go through the supplemental draft, but do you think NFL teams are looking into this situation because of a guy that's so talented that they might be interested in who would be a first rounder next year if this did not happen?
Mike Tannenbaum
Yeah, it's a great question. First of all, let's hope Brandon Soursby gets the help that he needs with a really serious issue in our country now. And we did check with the league and basically, basically he would have to be ruled ineligible to play college football to even be considered for the supplemental draft. So the NFL is not going to do anything until his situation gets, you know, sorted out, which we all know sometimes takes a while. You know, we saw Trinidad Chambers go to court amongst many others to get his eligibility. You know, he, he was successful. Others haven't been, so we may not know for several months. Typically, the supplemental drafts in Late July. And the way that works is if you draft the player, you would lose that draft choice in the corresponding round the following draft. He's extremely talented. He's a borderline first rounder. So there's a lot to unpack with this story. I think we just saw the beginning of it and it all the biggest issue is going to be is whether or not he's allowed to play this year in college football. And once we know that, that's when we know if the supplemental draft could become a possibility.
Pat McAfee
Okay. That's obviously a very serious situation. There's more information coming out, I believe. Pete Knockoff.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, Pete Knockos. Yeah, sure.
Pat McAfee
Pete Knock three.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Was able to see what investigators saw about his gambling lot, and they were talking about it, but I think it said $10,000 was the gambling. And obviously all this information is flowing and fluid in real time. I assume there'll be more information that is released or whatever. He placed more than 10,000 in wagers, so it was at like 10,500. And at one point he was averaging twice 20 bets per day. Sorsby placed bets across multiple states using a range of gambling apps. Now, it did come out that he was Indiana when he was a freshman on the Indiana football team, but then we also saw like he was doing balls and strikes and they were like dollar bets, 250 bets.
Tyler
So that's how you get to 10,000.
Pat McAfee
I think the. Exactly. Pretty quickly I think the NFL is going to want to know. Like, obviously the NFL is going to want to know, but I'm, I'm very. I don't want to say intrigued because I guess that would be a proper descriptor. But this is a huge point of a lot of things here because this is projected first rounder, this is gambling. But is it on his actual team? Is it actually on his sport? Is it on other sports? Mostly? Is he allowed to do that if he's a football player? Is he allowed to gamble on baseball? Have we already decided that? Have we evolved the rules for what he's allowed to wear? And if he did gamble on his own sport, on his own team, I think there's a lot of NFL teams that'll be like, we don't want that guy on our team. And then where sports gambling is right now and with where it's headed, you know, it's just like, it's very fascinating how this is going to be a pretty big indicator, I think, on what's going to happen in the future if this situation pops up, which we Assume at some point it will definitely going
Darius Butler
to set a huge precedent. But you, you mentioned being a, a decision maker if he gambled on his own team. I don't know if it would take him off everybody's board. But I want to know if he gambled to win, if he, you know, if he's betting to lose or if he's betting to win. I'm sure the report was that people.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, yeah, the report was he was. Indiana was not playing and bet on the win every game. Right. Just one little action while I'm standing over here on sideline now. Can't have that happening.
Darius Butler
Can't have it.
Pat McAfee
Cannot have that, that happening. But in the grand scheme of whether he's sick of it, he's disgusted.
Conman
His phone die. He's bummed out.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, he is a little bummed out. We're all kind of bummed out about the situation.
Conman
I am bummed out about it.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Conman
Texas Tech is, I mean, they became one of the darlings of college football last year.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, still are.
Darius Butler
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
To be honest. Let's put him up here. Actually. Let's get a shot of him in the back wall there with. We put him on the back wall there. Split. Let's get a photo. Thanks for coming on. Tannenbaum killed. All right, see you, dude. That's Mike Tannenbaum.
A.J. Hawk
All right, Mike.
Pat McAfee
Rich Eisen here. PayPal is now the official peer to peer payment sponsor of the NFL. Which means all the money moments that fandom creates, whether splitting tailgate costs or chipping in on tickets and game day food between friends are covered. Wherever the game is played or watched, PayPal moves with fans. You can send money through text, email or directly to your friends with eligible accounts on Venmo. Just download the PayPal app and share all the moments that matter. Account with PayPal is required. Not available in all regions where PayPal operates.
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Pat McAfee
That was a good app. Yeah, it was memorable. I think it's very Mike Tannenbaum exit.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Perfect, don't you think? Yeah, Yeah. I think if. If there was any other way, I think it would have been worse than that. In the Tannen Bomb brand. The Tannin brand.
Tyler
Exactly.
Conman
Maybe another Watson shot.
Pat McAfee
He is. Dude.
Conman
What was up with that?
Pat McAfee
I mean, obviously there's a lot with that. But on that note, if he was come back after four years of not playing football, really played some football, it was ass. But if he was to come back after not playing great football or not playing at all, especially with everything that has happened and played good football, that would be insane to think.
Conman
Insane.
Darius Butler
Have you ever seen that?
Pat McAfee
No.
Tony Dungy
No.
A.J. Hawk
That big of a break? Yeah, probably not.
Pat McAfee
That's why when Colin Kaepernick was trying to get back into league, like, six years after he hadn't played, I was like, good luck out there. And then there was people like, oh, they're gonna hold it against him. They're not gonna sign him. It's like there's no way he's able to play six years away from the game at that position. That is a very difficult position to just be away from the game. Not getting reps, not getting in there, not getting action. It's like punter. If I was to step back in, I mean, that's the bottom of the totem pole. That. That is the lowest level of everything. Just dropping back in there would be a crazy move. After stepping away from it. There's only so many jobs. I mean, there's only 32 quarterback jobs. There's so much talent out there. To just step away, not play, and then drop back in there as if nothing happened is insane. That's. That's an insane thought that it could happen.
Tyler
He played in six games in 22, 6 and 23, and then 7 and 24 before tearing the Achilles. Obviously none last year, and they didn't really look great in any of those games, so.
Pat McAfee
Ladies and gentlemen, wrapping it up here. Mike, Cannonball. Like, you had a great exit. What are we doing? You come back for round two here.
Mike Tannenbaum
I just want. You know, I didn't hang up. You know, my video froze, so I wasn't trying to thumb out or anything like that.
Pat McAfee
All right, we appreciate you. Ladies and gentlemen, that's Mike Tannenbaum. Yeah, Mike. We love that guy.
Conman
Good clarification.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Darius Butler
He's just trying to throw him up.
A.J. Hawk
Do you really think that? Does he really think Russ Wilson's beaten Desean in a 40.
Tyler
It's a good question.
Pat McAfee
I mean, let's run that banana ball run again one more time just so
A.J. Hawk
I can look pretty fast. Like he honestly looked. He looked quick.
Pat McAfee
And no hamstring pull. Looked like he was going.
Tyler
Time it down the line.
Pat McAfee
We should try to get the Deshaun Watson video up next to please. If we can kind of go back to back here as Russell Wilson stepping in for the bananas. First pitch he sees gets wood on it. Oh. In between the legs. Behind the back pitch of the p. He's fat and punch. He did run though, a little bit. I appreciated the reach too. And then here's Sean Watson. He's kind of rolling too.
Tony Dungy
That juke move was lightning slow, so I don't know.
Pat McAfee
Slow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Conman
But the.
Pat McAfee
Didn't have a chance.
Tony Dungy
I don't know if the agility's there,
Shams Charania
but straight line speed maybe.
Pat McAfee
I mean, we'll have to see it. I mean, why don't we. Yeah. Cuz Russ. Like a knee drive too.
Conman
Taking Russ.
Tony Dungy
Russ actually is moving.
Pat McAfee
Ah, you know what? I don't know. I was.
Tyler
He almost beat out a hit the first.
Pat McAfee
My first response was Deshawn Watson, obviously. What are we even talking about here? Yeah. Can't go back to Rusty.
Darius Butler
Yeah. This ain't time, Russ.
Tyler
60.
Darius Butler
Real quick.
Pat McAfee
I'm go three.
Darius Butler
That's.
Pat McAfee
That was.
Tyler
That's a three. Eight. One. 60. That's 60ft.
A.J. Hawk
60ft.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Tyler
Sorry.
Pat McAfee
90. What you just did was accurate for sure.
Tyler
What do you mean?
Pat McAfee
You got a good thumb. I know you're not. Time him. 1.
Mike Tannenbaum
7.
Pat McAfee
2. 3.
Tony Dungy
Okay. Pretty even.
Conman
I'm taking Russ.
Pat McAfee
1, 2. He's not.
A.J. Hawk
He's going 70%, right?
Conman
Yeah.
Darius Butler
Yeah. He's.
Tyler
He ran a 3.
Conman
5.
Darius Butler
40, though.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. But he might be going 70% because he's scared his hamstrings are going to pop out of his legs. That's why Russell Wilson should not be going 100% right here. Maybe I pull something. No, he's full out because he's in the best shape he's been in.
Sean Shapiro
I'll tell you what. They both look slow as dirt, but I would not want to be in the hole when Russ came barreling through like that.
Conman
He looked.
Sean Shapiro
He looked like the bus right there trucking down the lane.
Pat McAfee
The bus, the wheels on the rust. Go. You're right. And that's why he was such a good baseball prospect. Because you might get him out, but you might be knocked out. Yeah, that's right. That's the wheels on the.
Tyler
Russ, is he in Monument Park?
Tony Dungy
What do you think, Tony? Man, I cannot believe that happened to Tito. I'm gonna think about that for the next 20 years.
Pat McAfee
What is Monument Park?
Tony Dungy
It's where all like the Yankees legends. Where all the numbers are retired.
A.J. Hawk
Is there?
Pat McAfee
I don't know. He spring ball. He's always clean in the stripes. And then they always got him. He's boom. He's even doing the. The magic trick with the palm.
Darius Butler
Yeah, you bet.
Pat McAfee
Somebody out over there. And then he gets in the batter's box. Takes a little bp. Come on. And you saw him with the Banana boys. He had a very comfortable eye on that ball, didn't he?
Tony Dungy
Oh, yeah.
Conman
Great hack.
Tony Dungy
First swing trying to go the other way. You know, just hit the ball where it's pitched. God, Tino.
Pat McAfee
Hey. 62 wasn't even close.
Tony Dungy
She would have just shut my mouth.
Pat McAfee
I didn't even know the guy was in the stupid mouth. I knew he existed. Of course, I knew who Tino Martinez was before you said his name.
Darius Butler
Five time wor.
Pat McAfee
All over. He was so good when he held that back. He was at lefty.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
And when he played lefty, 340 clear holes.
Darius Butler
Wasn't a shortstop.
Pat McAfee
This guy's great.
Tony Dungy
If he wasn't first base.
Pat McAfee
First base.
Darius Butler
Boom.
Pat McAfee
That's right.
Darius Butler
You knew.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Yankees fan in the back. Kind of left me out to drive right there. I would like to let you know. Yeah, that was a lefty. A lot of bombs. Okay, quick. How much do I know about baseball? That feels like a first baseman right there.
Sean Shapiro
I got a little worried that I was going to destroy my own credibility
Pat McAfee
and give the wrong answer.
Darius Butler
Good call.
Pat McAfee
It's got a Yankee had on.
Ian Rapoport
Good call.
Pat McAfee
Oh my God. And he also. I'm about sick of you guys just making things up. He. He won four.
Tony Dungy
Yeah, I know. I just tried to gas him up a little bit. He wasn't there for the first one. I know he was with the Mariners still. That's okay. It's okay. No, no.
Pat McAfee
I mean, you know Tino Martinez though. I knew that legend before today.
Tony Dungy
Legit legend. So that's why it really bums me out.
Pat McAfee
He made that bad. Yeah, but the cosmonauts have some good pictures.
Tony Dungy
They did. That guy was throwing a little gas and Tino is. I mean, can we. Is Tino 60 plus? Is he not 58? 58. Yeah. So he's getting up there.
A.J. Hawk
Battling injuries too. I bet he's got injuries that he. He probably played through some stuff to Play in that game.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. But all the excuses, the pictures.
A.J. Hawk
He didn't make them. I'm making it for him.
Pat McAfee
He didn't make Meatball. I'm saying I think Tino would say Scott can really move the rock.
Conman
Oh, yeah.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. I think Tino would be impressive. Call him up.
Darius Butler
Nibbling the edges.
Tony Dungy
He wasn't able. In the edges a little bit.
Pat McAfee
Do we know how many good baseball players there are out there who are all these super duper cosmonaut?
Tony Dungy
A lot of good guys are playing for the Banana. So much so that, like, now it's kind of starting to get to, like, the really good guys are getting plucked and they're going to the big leagues.
Darius Butler
What?
Pat McAfee
Banana ball.
Mike Tannenbaum
White Sox.
Pat McAfee
That's awesome.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Once again, cannot say it enough. Congrats to the Banana Boys. That's an unbelievable thing that they're selling out stadiums and entertaining the masses with a sport that we love now. So I enjoy it mightily. We'll continue digitally. Sports center will cover after us. We'll see you tomorrow. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. By chance. Life Go back. I think I got it. Oh, yeah, you did. That was me trying to get the first, like Russell Wilson, but I don't know if I.
A.J. Hawk
Now, is the other team really called the Cosmonauts?
Conman
No. Party animals.
Tyler
There's the fire.
Mike Tannenbaum
Okay.
A.J. Hawk
I thought they might add a team I didn't know about. I didn't.
Conman
They added the Indianapolis Clowns. We know that.
Pat McAfee
Don't love that. Tough to be a fan of them. But I do appreciate that we got added into the Realm because we do sell out for them all the time. I. They got cosmic baseball now, though.
Tony Dungy
Yeah. At night. That's right.
Pat McAfee
That's crazy. Rogers Realm is playing for one of the teams.
Darius Butler
Really?
Tyler
I saw that actually.
Pat McAfee
He actually hit a double, I believe last night or two nights ago. Did the Rogers Nipple celebration and then did the pinky hang.
Tyler
He's a good ball player.
Pat McAfee
He is actually a player. And he can throw pretty good. Oh, are these pitchers just good pitchers from lower divisions that aren't tall enough?
Tony Dungy
No. Probably just don't have quite enough velocity would be my guess.
Tyler
V's probably.
Pat McAfee
So do we think size? Because I saw a guy wearing Daisy. Dude. So I was watching. Watching. I was watching the LA Angel City.
Tony Dungy
Yep.
Pat McAfee
Angel City.
Tony Dungy
Where are you talking about? The Los Angeles Angels of the MLB soccer team. LAFC or whatever.
Pat McAfee
La angel fc.
Tony Dungy
Angel fc.
Pat McAfee
And they were playing Portland, I think.
Conman
Okay.
Tony Dungy
Timbers, Timberttes.
A.J. Hawk
What sport? This is soccer.
Pat McAfee
We're talking Women's soccer was on Sunday. Good game, by the way. Lady who just returned, I believe from having a baby, scored in her return. That's pretty big deal. One of the storylines before the game. Hell yeah. Was that her? And then she ends up scoring. I believe it was pretty good. Then they had the women's sports on. On. This is all on ESPN too. And it was on tv, obviously. We had hockey, we had NBA. It was just taking up all the place. We had. Yeah. It did replace Sunday Night Baseball. While I was watching that, they had interviews with Flo J. Flaw J. And crushed it, by the way. She always does. She's incredible content. And then right after that show was over, there's a guy wearing a cowboy hat. Daisy Dukes, right on the bump. And he is so. And I hadn't seen that. You know, there was something going on over here at the TVs. And all of a sudden, corner my eye, I think I see an ash cheek up here.
Darius Butler
Oh.
Pat McAfee
I'm like, what? I don't know what's going on. I look up there, a cowboy hat, Daisy. Dude, gas in that thing. And he was throwing. Unbelievable. And I'm like, that's banana baseball right there. And also they're on ESPN too, right now. Yeah.
Tyler
Sign a contract.
Tony Dungy
Legit.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, they're like on. It was.
A.J. Hawk
I saw. I saw professional air guitar competitions on ESPN too.
Conman
Those are.
Pat McAfee
Who won? Who won? I. I think I could guess.
A.J. Hawk
I know one of the gentlemen with. With a long wig on one, and
Pat McAfee
he was a Caucasian, Asian fella.
A.J. Hawk
You know what? I think it was a very diverse crowd. Like that was that entered? Yeah, yeah. From what I remember.
Pat McAfee
I like that because that, you know, sometimes you'll see like the horse competition or like the human pet dog.
A.J. Hawk
What is the horse competition? What would that be?
Pat McAfee
You know which one?
A.J. Hawk
Mr. Hands.
Pat McAfee
No, the ones that are actually doing the galloping with their hands in their feet.
A.J. Hawk
Oh, you're for like humans acting as horses on all fours.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Not Mr. Hands.
A.J. Hawk
I've never seen that.
Darius Butler
He's a fuzzy.
Conman
These aren't the Fuzzies
Mike Tannenbaum
Furries.
Pat McAfee
They're. And I don't think they're ever going to get on ESPN too, but never know if they'll start competing. Yeah. Congrats to CW, by the way. Becoming a part of the ESPN+ family. More sports coming over. Certainly love that. Appreciate that. Shout out to cw because remember, I believe there had been an arrangement between ESPN and CW for a of years. Couple. Couple things. College football playoff game. I believe in years past that it had kind of been subleased or whatever. So who knows how long the negotiation has been going on. CW Sports finds a home in the ESPN Unlimited app. And it feels like ESPN is continuing to do what it has done for a long time, which is gather as many sports rights as possible and try to recruit sports fans however you possibly can, because they have some interesting contracts over there to cw, you know, so it's like pick it up. And I'm not saying it's like the Ocho, but it does feel like ESPN is like, hey, if you're a sport, we would love to be and we would honor to be a part of your presentation. And I'm happy to see that they're still investing in that. I think that's good news for the future for espn.
Tyler
I know they have ACC Football because what's his name's calling it. I was listening to it last year. It's pretty good.
Pat McAfee
They got NASCAR or some race. Is Liv Golf gone now?
Tyler
Well, they're backing out of 20 tournaments, buddy.
Darius Butler
Postponed New Orleans.
Conman
They're returning. They're returning a hosting fee. So I don't know if it's people.
Pat McAfee
1.2 million is owed back to New Orleans.
Tyler
He's going to get his money.
Pat McAfee
3.2 million in total. And we have given say we held up our end of the bargain. We'd like to say 2 million of that one into a park to make it better. Okay, we'll keep that. But the other now. And that came out after he said would love to thank the PGA for a phenomenal weekend with dessert Classic. On that note, leave us postponed. We'd like about a million back. And we'll see you as we go down.
Darius Butler
I'm a little worried.
Tyler
I think it should be.
Pat McAfee
I'm a little worried.
Darius Butler
It should be.
Mike Tannenbaum
What about what?
Darius Butler
I'm a little worried about the future of. Of that league.
Pat McAfee
What they just got on espn.
Darius Butler
Yeah, see, we'll see.
Conman
This might save them, but legit nxt Massive.
Pat McAfee
There's like six debuts last night on nxt. Evil huge in also.
Darius Butler
Who's that fat man?
Tony Dungy
Yeah, I can't remember. Bone was going crazy this morning.
Pat McAfee
Ghost, I believe. Ghost or Goss. British lad. Yeah.
Tony Dungy
British lad.
Sean Shapiro
Yep.
Pat McAfee
Supposed to be the next ko.
Tony Dungy
That must be the next ko.
Pat McAfee
I think they said that. He's big man.
Tony Dungy
Okay.
Shams Charania
All right.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Cruz is his name.
Tony Dungy
Okay.
Pat McAfee
Cruise's name. He's big man. Tony.
Darius Butler
He's an athlete.
Ian Rapoport
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. He can really move. KO Bigger man who can move.
Tony Dungy
Absolutely. But yeah, Evil is kind of The. The prevailing story there. I don't see anybody in NXT being able to stop this guy.
Conman
That sucks. So.
Darius Butler
Whoa.
A.J. Hawk
What are you talking about?
Darius Butler
Evil or what? Evil or just.
Conman
I think just in general. But I am excited for live if Liv continues to go on ESPN.
Pat McAfee
We turn off the music off on the 18th hole, though.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Okay. We need to do a civilized golf tournament if we're going to do it. We need golf but golf. Not golf but louder. That's what we need. Okay. Golf but golf. Golf but golf.
Conman
And ESPN might do that for him. Like, hey, you guys have good golfers. You need to stop with the gimmicks. We're going to bring you in, and we're just going to make it normal golf but live.
Pat McAfee
How about this? Empty golf courses. We don't care. Okay. Just get them out. We'll play at night, actually, at nighttime.
Conman
That'd be awesome.
Pat McAfee
Prime time golf is what you guys are doing. Doing. That's awesome. Good luck out there. We're pulling.
Darius Butler
They don't play on it. They bring the crowd. Nick, can you speak to your experience at a live event?
Pat McAfee
I had a great time.
Sean Shapiro
It was very sparsely attended, so there was a lot of room to be able to see everything. You could get right up against the ropes.
Tony Dungy
I thought.
Sean Shapiro
I thought the music was going to be terribly distracting. It wasn't bad, but it was only really at one or two holes, so
Pat McAfee
the 18th and the first.
Tyler
Apparently you guys didn't spend enough money while you're there.
Darius Butler
Maybe.
A.J. Hawk
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. I think they were spending a lot of money, and then all of a sudden, some. Some real stuff started happening, like.
Ian Rapoport
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Oh.
Tyler
Force majeure.
Pat McAfee
How's it doing over here? Not good. Right.
Tyler
Oh. Is there a way out of this train wreck? Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Oh, yeah, there's. There is.
Tyler
Maybe they started the whole thing.
Pat McAfee
I'm kind of bummed out about that, though.
Darius Butler
We'll see. We'll see what happen.
Pat McAfee
Congrats.
A.J. Hawk
You think they got it still? Deba. You think it's going to keep going?
Darius Butler
I'm hopeful. You know what? I don't care.
Pat McAfee
Why.
Tony Dungy
This.
Darius Butler
Golfers with an engagement as much as possible.
Conman
You did this gimmick for this long, and now you're jumping.
Pat McAfee
I can't wait for you just to turn on F1. You had to do an entire F1.
A.J. Hawk
He will.
Pat McAfee
Wait till you see the Indy 500 this year. These cars are bringing it this year.
Darius Butler
All respect to Indy 500, okay.
Pat McAfee
The pinnacle. The pinnacle is the pinnacle Indy 500, the grandest spectacle in racing.
Conman
Yes.
Pat McAfee
The number. Number one of a bunch of number ones.
Tony Dungy
That's right.
Darius Butler
How many people go? Like 400,000?
Pat McAfee
Yeah, 400. 500.
Conman
Yeah, it was like 550 last year. I thought they're talking about like 700 this year.
Darius Butler
Did you go start to see the flags? I went.
Pat McAfee
When I play here, where'd you watch from? How'd you experience? Maybe you need to get out the field a little bit. Yeah, but maybe you need to get
Darius Butler
down there and get the bricks.
Conman
You need to stay inside the trap.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, but don't you think you need to feel the. Wait, wait, wait. That one's just going. So they get the money for the laps. They got no chance. And then there's also another. They crashed early. They're five laps behind. They're just playing catch up. And then you sit there for a couple more seconds, 30 more seconds. You watch as Jumbo try. It's like, holy, these things are flying. Then they come around corners. That's what it is.
Conman
Remember New Garden last year? Remember he was all the way in
Pat McAfee
the back and he
Darius Butler
always electric.
Tyler
Do you see what Sig said?
A.J. Hawk
No.
Tyler
He said he told his AD or whatever it is. FBI, whatever the person who runs called Villages are. I'm not doing anything. Except for the Indy 500.
Pat McAfee
That's right. He's driving a pace car.
Conman
So what does that tell you?
Pat McAfee
Yeah, he said. I told him, say no to everything except for any 500. We got football games to win. We're perfect. Last year, people asked me how we get better. Well, it ain't gonna do anything other than any 500. I can't wait to see them expect it. Yeah, absolutely. That's because it is pinnacle.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Tyler
Yeah.
Darius Butler
Out here.
Pat McAfee
And Sig kind of wants to feel the. That's a big part of it. You need to get out there, and it's just the.
Conman
It's just an oval.
Tyler
What do you mean?
Conman
It's not just a freaking.
Pat McAfee
The oval, brother.
Darius Butler
Oval like sky.
Tony Dungy
I'll never get it.
Darius Butler
I need some.
Pat McAfee
Oh, they got a road course, too. Come on. We need some.
Darius Butler
I need some. Whoopty wolves.
Conman
Well, they actually pass each other, so you probably won't even like that tune.
Darius Butler
I thought you were. I thought you were on my side.
Conman
Why pick a side? I am on your. I. I can like both, but I don't have to with deal. Disrespect the Indy Five. This is just like the LeBron jersey. Okay, yeah. I don't have to disrespect the Indy 500.
Tyler
Be nice.
Pat McAfee
Member?
Darius Butler
I Respect. I put my flag up though.
A.J. Hawk
Isn't it one or the other? I feel like it's one or the other.
Pat McAfee
I feel like it's that way. It's either American racing, which is better than their racing. That's what it is. So I got nascar.
A.J. Hawk
It's either racing or it's like single file line.
Conman
You're rubbing or you're racing.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I got sprint racing all of them.
Tyler
And that's why NASCAR is a goat.
Pat McAfee
Hey, go kart racing. All of it. I'm not going to say the word cuz Michael Cole said it about the group that Danhausen was with and it is a style of racing. But nobody will really respect that. I know that much about racing to say it, so I'm not going to say it. But that style of racing is awesome.
Darius Butler
Could be get sm.
Pat McAfee
What do you know about the drivers?
Tyler
Aren't that the car?
Tony Dungy
Funny car.
Pat McAfee
The cars are. It's not funny car. The little person racing. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about is they are. I believe. I mean we're. We're.
A.J. Hawk
They're drifting, right?
Pat McAfee
Yeah, we're doing a lot of.
Conman
Okay, they can drift.
Tyler
The driver. The drivers are normal.
Darius Butler
Cletus gonna have some of those out there.
Pat McAfee
Hey listen, I gotta message from somebody not named Cletus. Might have gave up the kayfabe. I don't know if it's the actual person. I have to do some more research. Yeah. But I think there is some car happening out here in Indianapolis this weekend. Certainly a lot of happening this weekend. We'll try to make it. But if Cletus would like to come in here once again, we would like to say we'd love to talk to Cletus about the event he's got going now. Not 100. Sure if we're going to be able to make it to that. No, a lot going on right now. A lot going on right now.
Tyler
I apologize.
Mike Tannenbaum
Schedule
Pat McAfee
Ton. You were the one that was supposed to be boots on the ground for us. No, that was you and Bailey.
Tyler
That was Beal.
Pat McAfee
Didn't. Didn't he say.
Tony Dungy
You said you were jacked up to go.
Conman
That's why you wore that sweat.
Tyler
If I have to break my ankle to not not go, I will.
Pat McAfee
There's no reason for all that.
Darius Butler
All right.
Pat McAfee
Let's talk about some. Let's talk about some college sports news. That's outrageous. You know, it felt like March Madness had it figured out. Feels like a lot of people had been chasing the feeling that March Madness has brought to so many over the years. Obviously, the NCAA runs March Madness. They don't run any of the other championships at D1 level, but they do run the basketball, men's and women's. They see a lot of profit. They see a lot of greatness come from March Madness. Every single year. We all shut down what we're doing to watch this sport that we don't watch all year and buy into what's happening because the chaos is spectacular. What is the madness of March going to bring? It's different now. Obviously. There's not as many Cinderella stories to be told with NIO and transfer portal and everything like that. But this past season was electrifying. We were lucky to be a part of numerous games here in Indianapolis. And now the NCAA is trying to change it. 70, 16, too many.
Darius Butler
When does it stop?
Pat McAfee
What is it? They got it figured out. Don't they age? I thought we had it figured out in this entire thing. Now I will argue against myself saying that we have it figured out. More games at the beginning doesn't matter. Okay. That's basically what this would change. Because once sweet 16 elite, that's only so many teams. Yeah. So more games at the beginning. More maybe play in games at the beginning. Certainly something like that we would get excited. Excited about. But I think everybody's natural reaction to this is how many teams are 130, 76 of them are getting into the term. What do we even. Why do you even play a season? It's just. It's an interesting thing.
A.J. Hawk
It's like winning six games and becoming bull eligible in college football, like now. I guess. So we're gonna have multiple 500 teams in the tournament. Are we gonna have teams that are, you know, 15 and 18 that are gonna make now? Is that how it's gonna work?
Pat McAfee
Was it Coach K that told us this? I forget who.
Tony Dungy
I think it was Coach K speech
Pat McAfee
that was basically like, what this is going to do is only get more big conference schools in that are way down in Auburn. Yeah. So like, yeah, middle of the pack, big conference here are going to get in. Like, that is what this is going to become if they get to this point. But this is just like a natural tendency, I think, of a lot of people that make decisions. It's like, oh, we got a good thing, let's do more of it. As opposed to, we got a good thing, let's cherish it. Which I think is what people get mad about with everything. Which is why when college sports changes as much as it does and as drastically as it does, you're going to get the uproar immediately. As long as the electricity remains, nobody will care. But all anybody cares about is the fact that we're probably going to lose electricity because of this move. So why would we want to do that? That is kind of the immediate backlash that this type of shit sees.
Tyler
Yeah, I mean, you're. You're right. I mean, it was perfect. No one was complaining about the size of the NCAA tournament. Yes. It's going to be the big.
Pat McAfee
It's.
Tyler
They're probably going to take all the teams that were in the crown. So WVU could have absolutely made a run because they did. I don't know if you guys remember, won the crown. So they were getting hot at the right time.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, we remembered.
Darius Butler
Absolutely did not remember.
Conman
Yeah, thank.
Tyler
Forgot you didn't remember that.
Darius Butler
No. Thank you for the reminder, though. That was big.
Pat McAfee
Let's go ahead and revisit. Maybe they moved the crown before the tournament. You win the crown, you get the Elite Eight.
Tyler
Now we're talking.
Pat McAfee
Now all of a sudden it's a special seven. Yeah, that'd be cool. Yeah. Special seven. The Crowns got the eight seed, like shoots and ladders slide right in.
Darius Butler
You know what's next, though? CFPS next.
Pat McAfee
That's what everybody's like, come on.
Tyler
But that hasn't been figured out. 50 years.
Pat McAfee
Agreed. Which is the difference. We had this conversation earlier. The college football playoffs are still being kind of tweaked and figured out right now as we speak in real time. Bad decisions are going to be made, good decisions are going to be made, and then 10 years from now, it probably sticks. Settle in to what it's supposed to be, the amount of teams where they're playing, when they're playing, how they're playing, which is all getting worked out. Moving the calendar up to week zero, being actually week one, so that we don't have to go all the way into January or whatever the case is so it can get done before the new year. So it's not absolutely absurd with how long everything is. That's going to change. The amount of teams going to change. It already has changed. So it's like the football one still being figured out. Okay. I don't think we've had a home run success of saying you. Yes, that is the perfect way to do a tournament. People have done that for March Madness for a long time. So, like the football one still going to have some ass decisions made. But I think it's still trying to get figured out.
Tony Dungy
And the. The Bubble itself. Like, last year, we had the big thing with ND where it's like, you know, hey, if Notre Dame got in, like, there's a chance. I mean, who knows, Maybe they could make a deep run and potentially go to the championship. Like, no one is saying that with any of these teams that are on the bubble currently. It's like, hey, a team that went 17 and 18, meaning, like, they're not going to go win a national championship. They're just not. So if that's all we're going to do is just, hey, we want to take four more teams from the Big Ten and four more teams from the SEC and get them in, like, then just come out and say that that's what we're doing.
Pat McAfee
And the Big 12.
Conman
Sure.
Tony Dungy
Definitely. Absolutely.
Pat McAfee
Definitely a Big 12. We know that. And I still think we should not completely rule out the crown, getting one of the elite eight spots, and it should be from last year, so we
Tyler
should already have an automatic bid. The crowd should be an automatic bid.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. I think. Something to think about. Let's go to some NFL news. There's still a lot of great free agents out there. Juwan Jennings is the one that we have chatted about, obviously, the most, because I think we would all like to see him on our team. An absolute dog and fantastic wide receiver. He's with the Minnesota Vikings today. Kyler Murray, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Kevin o'. Connell. Maybe the Vikings do start piecing something together. Hasn't signed a deal, but he's certainly visiting. Who are some other free agents? Agents. Well, don't forget about Kyle Van Noy.
Conman
Ever.
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
Tony Dungy
Oh, yeah.
Conman
Ever.
Pat McAfee
You forgot about him?
Darius Butler
Never.
Pat McAfee
You forgot about him. You forgot about. You forgot about me.
Conman
He's a legend. Two of those. Never forget about him.
Pat McAfee
Oh, aj. You forgot about him?
Tyler
AJ did, actually.
Pat McAfee
For sure. Oh, no.
A.J. Hawk
He came on here talking about bunk bedding or whatever it was called.
Pat McAfee
So you call it earthquake, quake and bunk bed.
Sean Shapiro
There it is.
A.J. Hawk
Yeah, the. You know, where you demonstrated how you laid on your back and you. You kick the bed.
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Listen, you soak and then you quake. It's different evolutions of, you know, having sex without having sex.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
Because somebody else is kind of bouncing your penis up inside of what's going on, you know, so it's not actual sex, but he said a lot more on our show than just quaking, AJ Okay. He has been a great friend of the program around here, and I like the fact that he is seemingly nowhere near done. It's like, for the last four Three, four years, it's been like, what's he gonna do? Where's he gonna go? Went down to Miami and end up not working out. Goes back to New England, obviously gets released. Then he's a free agent. Comes on this show, bodies con man in the side yard. Then he gets signed to the Ravens. That becomes like a real home for him. He loves. He's with the Chargers in the meantime in there, it's like Kyle Van Noy loves ball. I think he's always been productive, especially during these years where people probably have overlooked him a bit and he's saying, hey, I'm so free aging and out here, I'd like to continue to play football. I think he's earned the respect to be able to put on the list. And why not? Right at the top there. D butt.
Darius Butler
Why not? You know pass rushers, you can never have too many pass rushes. He still got some, some tread left in that tire. I'm surprised in Joku is still out there as well. He is a weapon at that tight end position. And Sneed as well. Sneed was one of the highest paid corners on the market a couple years ago. Did not work out at all down in Tennessee, but I wouldn't be surprised if the team kind of kicks the tire on sneak.
Pat McAfee
Huge names on this free agency still available. Huge, huge name. And this doesn't even have Aaron Rodgers on here. And Aaron Rodgers is now under the oofa tag. See, even one of these, we're not 100% sure. AJ any names on here that kind of stick out to you? How about Bobby Okaray?
A.J. Hawk
Okay, no question. But what about Tyreek Hill? What's his status? Will he be healthy at the start of the season? Do we know anything about him?
Pat McAfee
That's surgery, right? Yeah.
Conman
I didn't think he was going to be healthy. Yeah, he needed another surgery. Was kind of the last rule report. And he would be like a mid year towards the end of the year, but still worth it.
Pat McAfee
Kanan Allen will get you a first down.
Tony Dungy
Oh, yeah.
A.J. Hawk
Bobby Wagner will get you 140.
Tyler
Had a really great year last year.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I. I like the names that are out. Cam Jordan is available. That's crazy because normally he's just a saint.
Tyler
Joey Bosa.
Pat McAfee
We wish all these boys good luck. Good luck, boys.
Conman
Boys good luck.
Pat McAfee
Clear. You Kyle Van Noy. New York Knicks are winning basketball games. Don't look now. Celebrity row pact. Yeah.
Tyler
Okay.
Pat McAfee
Juiced packed to the gills. All the celebs are out to see the New York Knicks Play basketball in warm weather. There's a lady, you know, there's Ben Stiller. There's Kylie, There's Shalamet.
Tyler
Same cruise last year.
Pat McAfee
There's Tina Fe. And there's. Look at us.
Tony Dungy
That was a good bit to.
Pat McAfee
Rico is phenomenal, by the way.
Tony Dungy
Yes.
Pat McAfee
I'm very happy that he's back doing things in prime time on a regular basis in front of us. Chalamet obviously died hard Knicks fan. Okay. Actually, die hard Knicks fan. He's not the only one. Tracy Morgan, obviously die hard Ben Stiller is an actual die hard New York Knicks fan.
Tony Dungy
Every game.
Pat McAfee
Okay. Sorry.
Tyler
At least we know.
Conman
We know. Well, we know what? Yeah, we know what line of the house he stands on.
Pat McAfee
Jeez. Yeah, certainly. What?
Darius Butler
All right.
Tyler
A.J. was distilled, disgusted.
Conman
I'm not talking about this guy. Not after that tweet the other day.
Pat McAfee
Well, that's what I'm saying. I think people need to understand that Ben Stiller is a die hard New York Knicks fan. Flew to Indiana multiple times. He has been a die hard Knicks fan. He wakes up in the morning, tweets like, good luck to the Knicks tonight.
Tony Dungy
He is.
Pat McAfee
Ben Stiller might be the biggest Knicks fan on earth. He is all in, all the time. So whenever the Knicks get a win in the series and says, got it done, he tweets it out there. Then what happens is, happens. Especially because everybody knows kind of his political views and everything. There's. Yeah, that's because everybody was like, hey, asshole, son of a bitch. But I would like to go on the record as somebody that I don't think Ben Stiller is necessarily like, I like Pat McPhee. Like, I don't think he's saying that. He is a loyal, active, die hard Knicks fan. And there's a lot of these celebs that we all immediately want to go fake. That's not real. You are just doing this for public publicity. I think Ben Stiller is willing to die for the Knicks. Yeah, I think he would be willing to do that for the Knicks. So he did it again last night. Obviously. It's like, I would just. I would like to extend a public a. Ben Stiller does this on a regular basis. I don't think he meant anything by it, although it was terrible timing. And I appreciate the fact that those celebs over there that we've gotten to meet, especially from the whole call out situation where John Mellencamp took their side.
Shams Charania
Yep.
Pat McAfee
Never forget that they are. They are feeling the way we feel about our football teams and I have massive respect for that. I have massive respect for that. And I couldn't have expected, especially if I was outside, never met these people. I would just call that all bullshit. Like, that is all Ben Stiller, though, is in Chalamet. At least those who are all in all the time.
Conman
Yeah. Like, Ben Stiller is as big of a Knicks fan as Bradley Cooper is Eagles fan. Like, Ben Stiller is watching 82 regular season games and then he's going to every single one of these playoff games. Like, it is one of those things where you have to respect it because no matter what it is, just as a sports fan, if you are willing to sit through a, you know, November Knicks game against the Washington Wizards and watch the entire thing, just hats off to you. And Ben Stiller is actually doing that. He's like in the dirt sheets reading about stuff with the team. Like, you have to understand how big of a fan he is and just kind of tip your captain.
Pat McAfee
And I think Timothy Chalamet rescheduled some, like, numerous things.
Conman
Oh, yeah.
Pat McAfee
That. Just so he could get to like a potential preseason game. Like he. I respect how much they love sport.
Conman
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
I like how much they love sport.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
And on that note, you guys ain't winning this year.
Tony Dungy
We'll see.
Pat McAfee
We'll see.
Sean Shapiro
You might be right. I mean, mean, Brunson's too short. Cat's too soft.
Pat McAfee
No, no, I didn't say any of those things.
Mike Tannenbaum
I do not want to put that.
Sean Shapiro
We hear it all. It is really cool though. Ben Stiller, he's kind of like, yeah, the leader of the Knicks Twitter community. He's connected with like the Knicks Twitter content creators and had him out courtside. He pulled up too. There's like a Knicks influencer, like pickup basketball tournament. He pulled up to that. I think he played in it. So he. He is as real as it gets. There are a lot of fake Nick fans out there, but. But he's the man.
Pat McAfee
Okay. And everything that he said about the Knicks.
Sean Shapiro
No, no.
Pat McAfee
Is not what I. No, I'm just saying. I'm just saying in general, what I'm
Tony Dungy
hearing, what the Knicks fans say when they lose.
Pat McAfee
This coach sucks.
Tyler
Mike Brown needs to be fired.
Pat McAfee
Knicks fan. That.
Sean Shapiro
That's not true at all.
Pat McAfee
And a part of why the Knicks
Darius Butler
community is so awesome every day is cuz we're.
Sean Shapiro
We're Pro4Now of being good. Before that, we were the Detroit Lions of the NBA. We are one of the, if not the biggest, laughing stock of the league. And because it's a Big name, you know, Madison Square Garden, all that. It's a block. Why do the Knicks suck? It's. Isn't it hilarious? Dolan stinks. Like all that is a huge part of why we are so obnoxious. When we're up and we are up and we are outside and we'll see how it goes with the seas, baby.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I enjoyed. I enjoyed two.
Tyler
Two with the Hawks.
Ian Rapoport
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
But I enjoyed. I enjoyed the Knicks and the Pacers last year a lot. I mean, I enjoy. And we were in New York, I think, for a couple of those Knicks games. Not when they're playing the Pacers, maybe the series before. And I think Jaylen hit a game winner and we were in New York hat very low, obviously, in that entire thing. Just amongst kind of the city. And it's like this place loves the Knicks. Like they.
Conman
The league's better when they're good.
Pat McAfee
Yeah, true. But New York people actually genuinely, I think they love the Knicks. And obviously Jalen Brunson gets to a point where he never misses. It was outrageous to watch him do that. I think he'll only continue to do all that. But if the Knicks go, we will be pumped for you guys. But is Missoula still up there and running 13 deep on his roster? Because I heard some chatter about this Knicks team. They're not deep enough.
Sean Shapiro
Feels like that's always the way deeper than last year. Last year with Thibodeau, it was true. We did not play our bench. We had not no bench this year. You know, we got Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench. Deuce McBride is. Is healthy as well. So we are. We played nine last night. Real minutes. Jose Oliver Olvardo there. Grand Theft Olivaro. We're deeper than we have been. We're fully healthy right now and much better than last year. And you know, that sees Knick series last year. There were a lot of meltdowns down the stretch. If we're doing stuff like going over 14 in the fourth quarter, it could
Mike Tannenbaum
be a bit of a Repeat of that 3:1 lead with Jason Tatum last season.
Pat McAfee
They bop the wood up there in Boston, though. I'm excited to see how it goes. I enjoy the Knicks, I enjoy their fans. And I thought Ben Stiller getting crushed the way he was is just tough time. That was just terrible timing. But he is consistent. I believe we should give him a little bit of leeway for being an actual sports fan, which he certainly is. Welcome back, A.J. tonight we got three NBA playoff games. Magic at Pistons 7 on Amazon. Pistons favored by 10 and a half. Still, is it 10 and a half. It changed because the Franz I could
Darius Butler
see hammering the Magic.
Pat McAfee
Ten and a half. Okay, ten and a half is the spread at this point because the Franz Wagner News leading player for the Orlando Magic is out this evening. That feels pretty big. Raptors at Cav 7:30 on ESPN. Cavs favored by eight and a half. Okay, that's at nine and a half. So the odds have changed since the show has started. Rockets at Lakers. Lakers favored by four and a half. Austin Reaves, by all accounts returning the late show. Lake show could return here 10pm Eastern on ESPN. Can't wait to be up till 1am Again, actually. Especially if Braun and Austin Reeves start going crazy and if the Rockets fight back and make this three, two, all of a sudden it's like, whoa, back to Houston. People are going to say a lot of things about LeBron.
Tony Dungy
Yeah.
Pat McAfee
If this doesn't get closed out, he. He knows that.
Tony Dungy
Especially if he has another game like he did Game four.
Pat McAfee
It did look like he was kind of chilling.
Darius Butler
No, he's playing with house of Money. He plays great. He's like, oh, he's 41. How the. He's still doing this? He plays bad. He's like 41.
Conman
How's he even doing this?
Pat McAfee
They were also up 3. 0. It felt like in that game four, he was like, let's see if the other guys could do it. I'm gonna. It looked like he was chilling. Conserve a little bit. They were also missing shots early. It was. You could tell almost like immediately that, ooh, this doesn't look like the same Lakers team. LeBron not as kind of maybe dominant early, but then also every shot not fallen, and it's like, oh, gonna have to make shots. I think with all the injuries that you have. Rockets get a huge win. LeBron still absolute stud. Can't wait to watch that particular evening of hoops there. And then hockey. Canadiens, Lightning, ESPN2. That series tied 2, 2. That should be phenomenal stuff. Lightning heavy favorites. You like them?
Conman
I mean, it's just. It's been the best series. They both score a lot of goals. We talked about Swayman, how absurd he's been. I think Vasilevski for the Lightning is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which is the best goalie. And the fact that the Canadians are even getting that many pucks on that and scoring with the Lightning, where the Lightning were kind of like the runaway. Don't want to play that team in the playoffs. That series has been unbelievable.
Pat McAfee
Mammoth and Golden Knights at 10pm on TNT. That series tied 22 as well. Exciting stuff across the board there and then. Penguins fly Flyers right there at 7:30 on TNT. That. That's a big one. Oh yeah, the Penguins have woken up. It appears the Flyers are a very talented team.
Conman
Come on boys.
Pat McAfee
Is this thing going to 7? Is this thing going to. Is it Sidney Crosby in seven? Or will the Flyers in that stupid mascot shut the door tonight? We shall see. We'll be back tomorrow to talk about it all. We can't thank you enough for allowing us to do this for a living. You're greatest the of people on earth. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. We're in this thing together. Aj. Great work today Paul.
A.J. Hawk
Great work guys. Appreciate you Debug.
Pat McAfee
Great work this week.
Darius Butler
Great world brother.
Pat McAfee
Hey, congrats on the golf course. Big time Dub.
Darius Butler
Thank you.
Pat McAfee
They were saying you lost it and dirty was about to beat your ass for the rest of your life.
Darius Butler
He's, you know, 1 in 27.
Pat McAfee
Great work this week. Way to get back on top. Had to be a friend. Tell a friend something nice might change your life. We're understanding together. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team. Good luck.
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Pat McAfee
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Big Sports Wednesday with Ian Rapoport, Shams Charania, Mike Tannenbaum, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk
Date: April 29, 2026
Host: Pat McAfee
Co-Hosts: AJ Hawk, Darius Butler, Tony Dungy, The Toxic Table (Conman, Tone Digs, Tyler, Sean Shapiro)
Special Guests: Ian Rapoport, Shams Charania, Mike Tannenbaum
This "Big Sports Wednesday" edition of The Pat McAfee Show delivers classic Thunderdome sports bar banter and sharp insider takes across the hottest sporting events and storylines of late April 2026. Pat leads a rollicking crew—joined by high-profile guests Ian Rapoport, Shams Charania, and Mike Tannenbaum—through breaking NFL moves, NBA playoffs drama, NHL overtime heroics, league policy changes, and a chunk of irreverent sports culture commentary. If you want to catch up on everything buzzing in sports with hearty laughs and some major scoops, this is the episode not to miss.
[00:00–24:57]
"Nothing has been like laid out as far as what the next six months are gonna be like... My assumption... things that are gonna look pretty similar." — Ian Rapoport [22:12]
“We still have source offs. Need that.” — Darius Butler [23:45]
[05:48–24:20]
“This is Adam Silver’s crack at trying to basically deincentivize losing.” — Shams Charania [46:50]
[74:21–109:55]
“If he’s going to play this year, he’s going to play in Pittsburgh... There should be a sense of urgency.” — Mike Tannenbaum [76:41]
Scattered throughout
| Topic | Description & Takeaway | |-------|-----------------------| | Ian Rapoport to ESPN | Returns as “Junior NFL Insider.” Will collaborate with Adam Schefter, expects continued “source-offs,” and describes the transition as friendly but fluid. | | NFL Hot Stove | Free agency moves and holdouts (Jennings, Pickens, Aiyuk), inequitably structured franchise/5th-year tags. | | NFL Draft Philosophy | Tannenbaum advocates physical prototypes, team fit, strong character; “tape sets floor, character sets ceiling.” | | Deshaun Watson’s Return | Tannenbaum doubts significant success after such a prolonged absence/injury. | | NBA Tanking Reform | Shams outlines Silver’s radical new lottery penalties—bottom teams now less rewarded, signals an anti-tanking era. | | NHL/NBA Playoff Highlights | Bruins OT heroics, Swayman & Pasta shine; Oilers’ Draisaitl makes history; NBA sees key injuries and probable shifts with Reeves’ return. | | Authentic Fan Culture | Segments on what makes a “real” fan: Knicks supporters like Ben Stiller and Chalamet celebrated for active, life-long loyalty. | | College Sports Gambling Scandal | Sorsby’s betting issue: possible supplemental draft eligibility and wider impact on NCAA/NFL relations. | | NCAA Tournament Expansion | Panel is skeptical; consensus is expansion mainly benefits middling big conference teams, “don’t mess with what works.” | | Sports Culture & Humor | Throughout: debates on egg sandwiches, Bloody Mary vs. Caesar, MLB stadium pizza promos, cosmic banana ball, playful rivalries.|
“This is Adam Silver's crack at trying to basically deincentivize losing... This is the NBA saying F you to teams that are trying to lose.”
— Shams Charania [46:50]
“Tape sets the floor, character sets the ceiling.”
— Mike Tannenbaum [80:30]
“If you have a vision for the player... those first three rounds really need to be airtight.”
— Mike Tannenbaum [80:59]
“Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. Might change your life.”
— Pat McAfee [145:22]
It was a loaded show packed with the fire sports fans crave—good-natured trash talk, honest insight from inside sources, serious debates on policy and contracts, and plenty of the relatable everyday-sports-fan goofiness that makes Pat and crew must-listen content. With the NFL off-season heating up, NBA and NHL playoffs in full swing, and seismic changes afoot in how leagues operate and reward teams, today's show had its finger squarely on the pulse. Congrats to Rap Sheet on the new gig, and here's to more wild Wednesdays in the Thunderdome.
Missed the episode? This summary keeps you in the arena, with all the laughs, analysis, and headlines that make The Pat McAfee Show an ESPN institution.