Hour 3: Bill Connelly, ESPN

Summary

The Paul Finebaum Show – Hour 3: Bill Connelly, ESPN

Date: July 27, 2026
Main Theme:
This hour features a deep dive into college football’s most defining games with ESPN’s Bill Connelly, focusing on his new epic list covering 157 years of the sport. Finebaum and Connelly explore how legendary matchups have shaped college football, while the rest of the hour captures wide-ranging reactions from callers about the sport’s direction, realignment, and current headline topics.

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1. The "Most Defining Games" in College Football History

Guest: Bill Connelly, ESPN
Segment: [00:42] – [10:22]

Background and Methodology

• Bill Connelly discusses creating a list of 100 games that "define" 157 years of college football, aiming to balance legendary moments with games that changed the sport’s direction.
  • “I started to realize I probably needed to put the whole piece together with, why do we keep watching if it’s so frustrating?...Wanted to touch on the big legends…all the way through to Reggie Bush’s Fresno State game in '05 and your classic endings, the upsets we still talk about.” — Bill Connelly [01:32]
• The list spans from the earliest legends (Jim Thorpe, Red Grange) to dramatic modern games; places importance not just on championships won but on how losses shaped programs and generated lasting narratives.

Key Games Highlighted

• #1: Carlisle vs. Harvard (1912) – Jim Thorpe Game
  • A major early upset underscoring college football’s mythic roots.
  • “Jim Thorpe is responsible for most of the points as Carlisle upsets Harvard. Harvard wouldn’t lose again for four more years.” — Bill Connelly [02:55]
• Red Grange’s 1924 performance against Michigan
  • Grange scored 5 touchdowns, turning the Illinois-Michigan game into legend.
  • “It’s hard to beat Red Grange’s five touchdowns and the game that produced Grantland Rice’s poem about the four horsemen…” — Bill Connelly [03:58]
• USC-Texas (2005)
  • Frequently cited as the greatest modern game, emblematic of college football climax.
• The "Camback" – Auburn vs. Alabama (2010)
  • Cam Newton leads Auburn from a 24-0 deficit.
  • “Cam Newton was the ultimate one season wonder there at Auburn…Even though they went on to win a national title, it’s hard to top the 24 point comeback against the defending national champs.” — Bill Connelly [05:54]
• 1970s and Beyond
  • First major inclusion from the ‘70s: Archie Griffin’s standout game for Ohio State (Griffin remains the only two-time Heisman winner).
  • “Somehow we’re approaching 100-year anniversary of the Heisman Trophy and we’ve still only had one guy do it twice…” — Bill Connelly [04:52]

Reflections on Losses, Upsets, and Program Defining Moments

• “Alabama fans… I apologize. I think they have like nine losses on this list. It’s a compliment of sorts because it means that your losses were important to the growth of the sport because you usually win.” — Bill Connelly [05:54]
• Callbacks to key program-shaping upsets, including:
  • Kentucky over Alabama (first since 1922) [06:44]
  • Notre Dame’s 1973 win over Alabama [07:44]
  • BCS Championship milestones and title game innovations [08:49]
  • Iconic upsets like Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl win and Appalachian State’s upset at Michigan [09:37]

Closing Thoughts from Connelly

• The unpredictability and eruptions of drama are what keep fans invested despite frustrations.
  • “We’re always going to see something we haven’t seen. So being able to pull up highlights of…‘Bluegrass Miracle’…all the way to including the Tennessee, Georgia, 2016 Hail Mary. Lots of really fun stuff.” — Bill Connelly [09:38]

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2. Callers React: Realignment, Congress & College Football's Future

Segments: [12:04] – [23:12]

SEC & Big Ten "Super League" – Realignment Scenarios

• Mark (Augusta): Suggests an SEC-Big Ten breakaway to form a de facto national championship; neither Congress nor other conferences can derail a super league [12:12].
  • “Would anyone really miss Texas Tech or some random ACC school? The answer is no.” — Paul Finebaum [12:43]

Skepticism Toward Congressional Involvement

• Brian (Tulsa): Asks about the Ted Cruz college sports bill, expressing little trust in politicians; Finebaum expresses realpolitik view:
  • “I would trust Tuberville’s bill because it’s simple…The only problem is it is late…There are so many other issues facing the Senate right now.” — Paul Finebaum [14:02]
• Callers and Finebaum agree that real progress from Congress is unlikely due to political gridlock.
• Vance: Strongly critical of the idea that Washington can or should fix what college sports have failed to regulate themselves; believes outside control would be disastrous for CFB tradition [17:50–23:12].
  • “If they get in bed with the government, they have not seen one second of what will happen with all the money this sports generates.” — Vance [17:50]
  • “It feels like college sports has failed. For them to have to go to Washington and literally beg, cajole and sell one’s soul to get Congress to clean up the mess that you created.” — Paul Finebaum [18:50]

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3. Modern Conference Debate: SEC vs. Big Ten

Segments: [24:15] – [25:55]

Best Conference in College Football?

• Travis (Mobile, AL): Rebuts Stephen A. Smith’s claim that the Big Ten is the "best" conference; points to SEC’s seven consecutive national titles (with four different teams) as the gold standard.
  • “Wake me up when the Big Ten wins seven in a row.” — Travis [25:55]
• I Man: Counters with “what have you done for me lately” argument, stating the Big Ten’s current streak gives it present bragging rights, but acknowledges historic SEC dominance.

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4. Community, Remembrance & Colorful Personalities

Segments: [15:41] – [30:24]

Judge John Remembers Lost Friend

• Touching moment as Judge John remembers local sportswriter Matt McLeod and reflects on the importance of community voices in sports coverage.
  • “He always bragged on the young players…gave a lot of young people a real good feeling about themselves, the way he wrote stories.” — Judge John [17:04]

Show Regulars & Inside Jokes

• I Man: Delivers a comedic, meandering call referencing show “black hat” hall-of-famers, pop culture, and inside jokes about callers and hosts [26:03–30:24].
  • “You just park that damn Clydesdale because it ain’t Clydesdale. There’s a damn Doberman. You got ripped off when you bought that horse. You shouldn’t have been drinking that much.” — I Man [26:03]
  • Celebrates community, welcomes new “black hats.”
• Bash: Discusses wrestler Ric Flair’s complicated relationship with Finebaum, sharing an anecdote about a recent encounter and Flair’s past social media outbursts [30:34–36:41].
  • “He said, tell [Kirby Smart] to kiss my ass.” — Ric Flair (as recounted by Finebaum) [36:09]

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5. Reflections on Coach Tenure & Instant Gratification in CFB

Segment: [37:05] – [39:35]

Firing Coaches Too Soon

• Andrew (Dallas): Addresses impatience with college coaches, referencing Tom Osborne needing 20 years at Nebraska and noting firings today would not allow such a slow build.
  • “He took Tennessee from a nuclear winter under Jeremy Pruitt…Sarkisian is on very solid ground. That program is clicking. It’s just a matter of when is he going to deliver.” — Paul Finebaum [38:35]
• Finebaum critiques media narratives that make it seem like it’s “championship or bust” for coaches after a short stint.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

On Why We Love CFB Despite the Chaos

“We’re always going to see something we haven’t seen…that’s half of why we always tune on Saturdays.”
— Bill Connelly [09:38]

On Congress Intervening in College Sports

“It feels like college sports has failed. For them to have to go to Washington and literally beg, cajole and sell one’s soul to get Congress to clean up the mess that you created.”
— Paul Finebaum [18:50]

On Ric Flair’s Feud With Kirby Smart and Finebaum

“He said, tell [Kirby Smart] to kiss my ass.”
— Ric Flair (as recounted by Finebaum) [36:09]

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Timestamps: Key Segments

• Bill Connelly Interview & Game List: [00:42] – [10:22]
• Congress & Realignment Debate: [12:04] – [23:12]
• SEC vs. Big Ten Caller Showdown: [24:15] – [25:55]
• Community & Regular Callers: [15:41] – [30:24]
• Ric Flair Story: [31:05] – [36:41]
• Coaches and Modern Patience: [37:05] – [39:35]

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Summary and Takeaways

This hour exemplifies what makes The Paul Finebaum Show essential for college football fans: a unique blend of historical perspective, passionate debate, and the personalities that shape the sport’s unique culture. Bill Connelly’s segment provides must-hear insight into how individual games have determined the trajectory of college football—for better or worse—while listeners’ calls reflect the ongoing tension between nostalgia, change, and the sport’s uncertain future.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Paul Feinbaum]

the pride, passion and pageantry of college football lives here. This is the Paul Feinbaum Show. Our three podcasts this Might be College

[Caller]

Football

[Paul Feinbaum]

we like lists and the one we're about to talk about is a little bit different than best games of All Time. Bill Conley has written this piece. The headline says it all. That's Jim Fort, by the way, in Fisherman wondering in the picture 157 years of college football. These games define. So these are some of the top ones. Carlisle and Harvard. I mentioned Jim Thorpe, he played for Carlisle. And Pop Warner was also in this game. So more than just a little bit of history. Bill joins us now. Bill, I didn't mean to give away your lead, but even before we get to 1 through 100, explain the protocol as you went about putting this together.

[Bill Conley]

Started off with my editor and I just talking about, you know, how do we get here through realignment, how did we get here through how do we end up with the playoff, the games that kind of led us down that road. And I started to realize we were kind of talking about all the frustrating things and the things that make us argue that and you know, frustrating finishes and whatnot. I started to realize I probably needed to put the whole piece together with why do we keep watching if it's so frustrating? So kind of bounce back and forth a little bit here but wanted to touch on the big legends, the, you know, Jim Thorpe and Red Grange back in the day and all the way through to, you know, Reggie Bush's Fresno State game in 05 and your classic endings, the upsets we still talk about. And it turned out to be a pretty fun list. I didn't know where it was going until about halfway through and then it turned out pretty nice.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, I mean it's so easy to forget things like you mentioned, you know, sometimes when you're I've been a part of TV shows when you're doing a list and you say, well what about the 39 Tennessee team? And the producer says that's great, but we don't have any video. This is a little different in Your situation. So let's talk about that first. Number one, because the history there have been, there have been books written about the Carlisle. So take us through. Just, just had to be really fun putting all this, that game in particular together.

[Bill Conley]

Yeah, yeah. Obviously not, not a lot of YouTube clips from Red Granger or Jim Thorpe back in the day, but yeah, it just started with the legend section. Figured that was as good a place as any. You know, Jim Thorpe is responsible for most of the points as Carlisle upsets Harvard. Harvard wouldn't lose again for four more years. They were the, you know, obviously the heavyweight of the day. But then we go through Red Grange's five touchdown performance against Michigan in 1924 when college football was as. Was bigger than pro football at that point. It didn't, you know, pro football didn't catch up until Red Grange became a pro, you know, the mid-40s, you know, army, Notre Dame games and like I said, you know, wanted to tie it to the present. So we had obviously USC Texas 05 in there and yeah, the camback made an appearance in, in the legend section as well. So figured that was a nice, nice little place to start.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I am so fascinated by one thing. Two and three. You talk about a tough place for game day to decide to go. Two and three happened on the same day.

[Bill Conley]

Yeah. Yeah. You want to talk about all time best days in college football. It's hard to beat Red Grange's five touchdowns and the game that produced Grantland Rice's poem about the four horsemen and whatnot. I never realized that was the same time. But yeah, that would have been tough. You know, ESPN and Fox would have had to battle it out for those two, I guess.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah. And every sports writer back in the day knew, knew that outlined against a blue gray October sky. Probably a few, a few of us have used it before, hoping nobody picked up on the fact that it was, it was the great Grantland Rice. So moving, moving through, you start to ease into. Not contemporary yet, but you work your way through the four. You finally get a game in the seventies in the top ten at number six.

[Bill Conley]

Yeah, the. Where is it? Oh yeah, this is Ohio State.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Conley]

Arch Griffin. You know, somehow we're approaching the 100 year anniversary of, of the Heisman Trophy and we've still only had one guy do it twice. You know, there, you know, if we had different attitudes towards underclassmen, we might have had a couple in there. Herschel probably would have had a couple as well. But however it played out, Archie's the guy and so I tried to pick out what, what I thought was Archie's best game and I went with UCLA in his senior year when he put up 160. Pretty much clinched the Heisman at that point. But yeah, that was, you know, the 70s were where a lot of the legends kind of came together too. And really the brands of the sport really, really coalesced into big rivalries and big TV matchups and everything. So needed, needed. The 70s accounted for.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, I love number 12 because it wasn't that long ago. Alabama fans may want to turn the sound down, but that game was in Tuscaloosa. Everyone knows the narrative. 24 Nothing lead for the Crimson Tide. And here comes Cam Newton.

[Bill Conley]

The. Yeah, the Cam back. I will say, you know, I apologize to Alabama fans. I think they have like nine losses on this list. But you know, if you think about it, I think it's them in Michigan with the most losses. That's a compliment of sorts because it means that, you know, your losses were important to the growth of the sport because you usually win. So that's going to be my. That's the way I'll justify it. But that one in particular that was, you know, Cam Newton was the ultimate one season wonder there at Auburn and it's hard to top that. Even though they went on to win a national title. It's hard to top the 24 point comeback against the defending national champs.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, one of them. And 97. I remember this game. Mike Dubose's first season at Alabama. I'm pretty sure I was there. And Tim Couch came of age first.

[Bill Conley]

First Kentucky went over Bama in 75 years with. With how mummy Colin. Well, not how mummy Colin plays. Mike Leach Colin plays.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Right.

[Bill Conley]

Kind of, kind of momentous there too.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, there's a lot to that game as you work your way through and again there's 100. So I'm not going to go like we're doing the spelling, baby. But. But you also mentioned the first BCS championship game. Bobby Bowden was in it and so was Tennessee.

[Bill Conley]

Yeah, that was a kind of a fun section to put together. All the times that we, you know, thought we were moving towards the playoff and then we didn't and we got the bowl alliance, so we got this and that. And along the way we did finally start to get an annual 1 versus 2 game there in 98. That would have been, you know, perfect year for a 14 playoff if we're being honest. But we got a two teamer out of the deal and that was a massive, massive step forward for the sport. So for all the problems we had with the BCS not being able to choose more than two teams, we got, we got one versus two and that was a new thing.

[Paul Feinbaum]

In 1998, you also had number 30. Not to make Alabama fans even matter, but you have a game that I know some Alabama football players and some fans that still haven't gotten over this game, New Year's Eve, national championship game era versus Bryant came down to really almost the last play when Notre Dame just came out and come out of that came out of their own end zone. I think it was Tom Clements just, just literally to hate to call it

[Bill Conley]

a miracle, but it was, yeah, third and long. Long pass to the backup tight end to clinch the game. That was also interesting just for the fact that Notre Dame didn't need bowls for 50 years, but they started going to them again and they won a national title in 73 because they chose to go to a bowl. So that meant the dawn of a new era, so to speak as well.

[Paul Feinbaum]

You did get a Bama win in there at 32, 31, 13 over Miami. That's a famous game. It's the only national championship Alabama had between Bryant and Saban.

[Bill Conley]

Yeah, yeah. And first year of the bowl, whichever one that was coalition or alliance coalition, I think, you know, that was designed to give us a better chance at a one versus two matchup. Didn't really succeed all that much, but it gave us that first year. And I think the SEC championship game was on the 92. SEC championship game ended up on the list too for the gamble that took. We're going to play an extra game. We might screw over our national title team and everything worked out and title games were born as well.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, that was a line all year long on that. Gene Stalling said, you know, we're. We're 11 and 12 and, and we still haven't won anything. And he was right. So take us through. I'm going to get out of your way here. Just. There's so many more. There's so many interesting aspects, but what really stood out as you were putting the whole thing, put a boat, putting a bow on the whole thing.

[Caller]

Bill.

[Bill Conley]

Well, I really did enjoy leaning into the upsets. Going back to Carnegie Tech over Notre Dame in the twenties to the present and you know, all the, the Boise States, 06 app state of oh, seven. And then I, again, I got to the end, I was like, man, it does kind of feel like, you know, why are we doing this if it makes us so crazy? So it just ripped off a big run of of classic finishes that we'd never seen before because that's half of why we always tune on Saturdays. We never we're always going to see something we haven't seen. So being able to pull up highlights of Cornell, Stewart's pass against Michigan and the Bluegrass Miracle and, you know, so on and so forth all the way to including the Tennessee, Georgia, 2016 Hail Mary. So lots of really, really fun stuff. It was a fun list to put together.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Even, even the Grave Digger made it at 99, so it wasn't all bad. Alabama fans, that was a pretty good one. Bill, great to have you on. Thank you. Always enjoy talking. Bill Conley was a fascinating list. You're welcome to read it on ESPN.com we'll get your reaction to all of this when we come back.

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[Caller]

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[Commercial Narrator]

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[Paul Feinbaum]

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[Paul Feinbaum]

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You're listening to the Paul Feinbaum show podcast.

Great to have all of you here. And Mark is up next in Augusta. Hello, Mark. Hey, Paul.

[Caller]

I got a quick thing on the Congress getting involved. They won't. And if they do, I wouldn't trust it. I think that the SEC should pull out.

And you know what?

In time, it could be the SEC and Big Ten. There would be a national championship played somewhere along the road. That way number one would play number two. And that's the way it was before we got to bcs. When number one played number two, one of those was the national champion. Anyway, it's just my thoughts, Mark.

[Paul Feinbaum]

The SEC and The Big Ten can't form a super league because they would violate antitrust. But they could leave behind everyone else and just at the end of the season, winners have a tournament and it would be. I mean, would anyone really miss Texas Tech or some random ACC school? The answer is no. I think you. I think you've identified a really workable situation. I'll make sure powers that be. Hear that Brian is up next in Tulsa. Hey, Brian.

[Caller]

Hey, Paul.

First of all, happy birthday, my friend. Hope you had a great vacation. Let me ask you this about the guy the caller before me just mentioned about Congress. And I know this Ted Cruz bill.

It says a truck of crap.

So let me ask you this, Paul. If you had Tommy T. Bill came up with an idea or bill and he wanted you and Dick save his ideas, which one do you think will look better? His. Because he's been in the college game? He knows about the college game, how, how everything works? Or would you trust some snob from Harvard that thinks he's a genius and lion Ted Cruz, what do you think, my friend?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, I would trust Tuberville's bill because it's simple. It deals very specifically about transfers and things like that. The only problem is it is late. Tuberville's bill has to go to a committee, which it won't. And even if it got to a committee, it would have to get out of a committee and get to the Senate floor, which it won't. This bill is not dead. The majority leader John Thune said today it is steering in the right direction. There should be some news overnight on what that means, but it is getting very late. There are so many other issues facing the Senate right now.

[Caller]

Yeah, I mean, I don't. I don't trust the Congress, anything being involved. Just like I don't trust any preseason post bowl. One more thing before I let you go. On the SEC media days, how did John Mateer look and sound when you got a chance to talk to them?

[Paul Feinbaum]

I saw him for a second. I was racing through a hallway from one hotel to the other and all of a sudden I looked up and Matier said hello. We said we talked for a second, but we both had to get someplace very quickly. I was sorry we couldn't talk longer. Not that you want to hear this, but I had a much longer substantive talk with Arch

[Caller]

Paul. You have a great day. I'll talk again, my friend, but we're sooner.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I'm out. Thank you very much. Judge John is up next.

[Caller]

Hey, Paul, first of all, during your hiatus period I lost a great friend and our county lost a great sports rider, Matt McLeod, that I've mentioned to you before.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Oh, my goodness, I didn't know that.

[Caller]

And we lost. We lost. I lost as good a friend as I had.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Sorry to hear that, John.

[Caller]

The other sad thing I wanted to talk about was when Herschel Walker ran over Bill Bates in his freshman year. And I guess the first time Herschel had actually got in and played and scored a touchdown, they ended up beating us like 15 to 16 or something like that.

That was a sad day.

I was sitting in the end zone and watched it right in front of me. And it was, it was sad for a Tennessee fan.

[Paul Feinbaum]

John, number one, I am so sorry about your friend. And I didn't know him, but I knew of him. And as you have told me and others have an impeccable reputation and appreciate you mentioning that.

[Caller]

Well, it, it's, you know, we, as

we get older, we lose a lot

of friends and I'm 83 now. He was 81 and he lived a great life and, and was a good man and he always bragged on the young players and they did interviews with them instead of with the coaches and that. So it really gave a lot of young people a real good feeling about themselves, the way he wrote stories.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Well, thank you, John, for mentioning that. You be well. You take care of yourself. Let me check in next with Vance. Hello, Vance.

[Caller]

Good afternoon, Paul. I'm sorry to hear about Judge John's friends. Wait, he's right. We all get older and guess what? So many of them are gone. And it's, it's unfortunate, but it's life. Oh, I keep hearing this talk and yes, I did barely watch Greg Sankey, who really seems to be in a no win situation, in my opinion. But I've said this, let me assure you, with all the money and this I'm confident of, if they get in bed with the government, they have not seen one second of what will happen with all the money this sports generates, then Congress will take these things up real quick. What do you think?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, I mean, I mean, I mean, it's so easy to talk about Congress, but it's also true. It feels like college sports has failed. For them to have to go to Washington and literally beg, cajole and sell one's soul to get Congress to clean up the mess that you created.

[Caller]

To me, it's utterly pathetic. And the more I hear talk about it that's almost gone on for five years now, the more it sickens me because this port needs A hero, somebody needs to stand up and do something. And it's like if you have an argument with a woman you're divorcing over children and you turn that, those kids over to the government, you don't know what might happen to you. I'm telling you, if they do this, it'll be the worst mistake they ever made. I firmly believe that.

[Paul Feinbaum]

But hey, Vance, let me direct you at the last brilliant move that the collective world of college athletics did about a year ago. They made a deal with some judge out in California to pay. This is individual. Every school individually paid $20.5 million to the plaintiff in this case. And this was to avoid going to

[Caller]

trial

[Paul Feinbaum]

where they feared having a worse verdict. Tell me, what has changed in college athletics since this billion dollar buyout?

[Caller]

Nothing.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Nothing?

[Caller]

No, Paul, it's getting to be. I called you two years ago and said, I'm tired of listening to Commissioner Sankey. It wasn't anything against him. It was the same subject year after year. And now it continues and it's like, you know, you just don't want to hear it anymore. You mentioned, you mentioned to Chris a little while ago about that crying wolf. That's what you hear. Because it's not worth listening to, Paul. It's, it's, it's. They, they have not accomplished a thing. And, and it's no fun to listen to anymore. You know, I'm going to agree with the head coach at Texas A and M. I don't got time for this crap. I'm just going to coach my team and play football. I mean, what else are you going to do?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Well, advance back to my point about the House settlement that, that, you know, you know, and I know you can delay a trial and even. Let's say that they came in with a $5 billion. Let's say they came with a 5 billion dollar verdict. What do you do? You appeal it and appeal it and you just kick the can down the road and at some point you make a deal, probably the same deal you just made. And college athletics is just so quick to tuck and run. Oh, let's pay them off. Let's make a deal with Congress where we lose any autonomy. We're giving Ted Cruz the authority and Cody Campbell out of Texas and Randy Levine, the president of the New York Yankees. We're giving these three people the authority to tell us what to do. And if you think you're ceding your responsibility, you are. You don't think Congress isn't going to get something out of this? They're not trying to be heroes. That's not the way Congress works.

[Caller]

They're going to get money out of it. That's what they're going to do. And they're going to appropriate it to other places. But I just, if they get in bed with them, they've made a terrible, terrible mistake. And they'll learn it. They'll learn it. And us out here that have loved and adored the sport so much, we will see it change to where we almost won't. I just have no faith. I don't have any faith in my government. Hell, we can't even fight wars right anymore. But anyway, I'm not going to get into that. Hey, my friend, thank you for taking my call. And I hate this subject, but Paul, it just won't go away.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Thank you. Van Some sobering thoughts and some accurate thoughts. We will take a short break. We still have another guest a little bit later on, Chris Lowe and more of your phone calls.

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[Paul Feinbaum]

You're listening to the Paul Feinbaum Show Podcast.

Come back. Travis is up next. Good afternoon.

[Caller]

Yes, my name is Travis Myers, longtime listener, first time caller.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Thank you.

[Caller]

Yes, I'm from Mobile, Alabama, and I would like to talk about what Stephen A. Smith said about the Big Ten being the quote, unquote, best conference in college football. Well, Stephen A. Smith, in my opinion, I'm a big fan of his, but he must have forgot that the SEC did win seven national championships in a row with four different teams. And he was saying that the Big Ten is the best conference because they won three national championships in a row with three different teams. But so in my opinion, the Big Ten has a long way to go before they can call themselves the best conference in college football because the SEC won seven in a row with four different teams. And I just feel that nobody caught call Stephen out on that fact. They don't call him out on that fact that they want that. We won seven in a row with four different teams and they won three in a row with three different teams. So wake me up when the Big Ten wins seven in a row. I would like to hear your response now, Paul.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I think you'll have a good nap because that's not going to happen. Travis, thank you very, very much. I Man is up next.

[Caller]

We'll roll up. Roll up. All aboard for the mystery tour. Roll up. The world's axis is all planned and. Travis, wait a minute. Let me back you up there for a second, bud. This is a what have you done for me lately world. And we've always said that. And you know what? You were saying that three years ago. I mean, what have you done for me lately? Big ten. Well, guess what they've done lately. They've won three in a row. And right now they, they probably qualify for that. And, and you holding on to all these records and all that. I mean, you know, I could go to several fan bases and say you remind me of somebody, but I'm gonna be polite and not do that. I'm gonna be a polite man because I'm trying to be a good man. And I'm gonna give you a break, but just park that damn Clydesdale because it ain't Clydesdale. There's a damn Doberman. You got ripped off when you bought that horse. You shouldn't have been drinking that much. You know, Paul, all the global warming and everything's back to the norm. I mean, everything's fine. I tell you, it's great to have you back in the driver's seat. I mean, you opening the door telling everybody to shut up and sit down and take their damn place. And it's great to have everybody back at least in their comfort rage, if range, if you will. You know, Paula, got a great announcement today. We've had retirement from the black cap community. The old school says he's going to stand down a little bit.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Oh my goodness.

[Caller]

We love old school. We love old school. We adopted old school. He's a good guy, he's got great intentions, he's fascinating fellow, but he's got a lot of things going on and he can't participate as much. And so he said he's going to sit back and then just enjoy it. And we love old school. Now we do have an announcement. I mean, the, the original black hat himself nominated these guys and they went through the, through the vetting process. I like that word, the vetting process, if you will. And we got two announcements here. We got two new black cats. We got Dylan from dirty Sports, you know, the dirtiest player in the game. And we got Chris from Mountain Brook. And I'd like to congratulate them both on well deserved black hats.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Well, congratulations to two new black Hatters. Those are both worthy, worthy additions.

[Caller]

Well, and I tell you what? There's a strategy, Paul, because I told you before, I'm the most calculating guy on this program.

Outside of you, of course.

And I mean, you see through. You see through calculations. You see through my simple math. I mean, you.

[Paul Feinbaum]

You.

[Caller]

You want them guys out there with them big word.

You side.

You a sidebar type lawyer. I'm just a guy sitting in the cheap seats watching, you know, you. You know the movie. What was that movie down in Monroe.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Monroeville.

[Caller]

Gregory Peck.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Harper. Harper Lee's famous book.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah, there you go.

Yeah.

[Paul Feinbaum]

You know, To Kill a Mockingbird.

[Caller]

Yeah. Fat dad's favorite book. Uh, and author. And, uh, yeah, I'm just that I'm just a little kid sitting up here with my chin on my hands on the handrail watching you. And you a magic addict. And. And I do like that quote, Steven. What's his name, talking about his mama.

[Paul Feinbaum]

That was a good one. I hadn't heard that one in a while.

[Caller]

Yeah, that.

That's good. I like that. I mean, I appreciated that because it's. It's the truth. And. But Paul, there again, I'm so glad you're back. And I know that. That. And, you know, I was looking at that picture of Vance and I knew I'd seen Vance somewhere before. There's a program that comes on Discovery Channel, and it's like Homestead revitalization or something. It's a dad and his daughter and his son, and he wears a cowboy hat and got that porn stash kind of like I got, kind of like he's got. And Vance kind of reminds me of that dude and got that kind of look. But, I mean, I know Vance has

got a lot of issues and stuff.

We pray for Vance.

We.

Hey. And prayers out to Judge John. I mean, my condolences to his friends and family and to him and everybody, but welcome aboard. Get on board. You know, it's the magical mystery Tour. Damn eagle. Have a great day.

[Paul Feinbaum]

One of the all timers, Mount Rushmore. Caller right there. I'm in. Calling. Thank you. I'm in. Appreciate it. Bash is up next in the Zoom.

[Caller]

Man, it's good to see you, Paul. And hey, looks like the dirtiest player in the game has just joined the Black Hatters. But aside from that dirtiest player. Paul, let's talk about the real dirtiest player game, because I didn't know about this Friday, so I know you've talked about it to an extent, but I wanted to ask you one more time, what was the story about your sitting in. Yes, thank you. You're sitting in the restaurant and Ric Flair is sitting at the bar. Is he with anybody or is he just by himself with a painting of himself next to him?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Okay, so let's go back a week ago today. We did our show, and the entire SEC Nation crew, the producers, our bosses, we all went to this restaurant. We walk. I got there late because everybody had already gone there. And I walk in, and Barry and Tebow are literally talking to Ric Flair. I walk in, and the next thing you know, he's hugging me. You asked me, was he with someone. He was sitting next to a young woman. I would only describe her as between 25 and 35. Okay? I know nothing more than that. So we talk, we have fun, you know, kibbutz. And then I go in the very back where we have a table, which you see right there. About 40 minutes later, here comes Ric Flair with that painting. And then he signs it. So I have northly idea whether he's at this restaurant every night and he keeps these in the back. I don't know whether he. It was in his car. I've been to a lot of places, so have you, Bash, I've never seen anybody. And I don't need to tell you, Ric Flair is one of the most famous sports icons around. Where he is. That's something that he carries with him in case he runs into somebody he wants to give it to.

[Caller]

There's a story now that's interesting, Paul. It becomes the point of maybe he was planning on giving it to somebody else that night, but then he sees you there so that it's like it's an opportunity for him to, I guess, maybe, you know, all the burn bridges, build them back up so that you two can actually have a decent, not trashing each other relationship. Because sometimes, Paul, you do say some things that cross the line. But he says so many words. Things like when he called you an absolute clown last year. Because remind me, what did he call you a clown for last year after the first week of the season?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Well, most of his animus toward me concerns Jim Harbaugh. And I'll go ahead and say this. I don't care when it was. He wanted to come on the show, but the very last thing he told me was this. He doesn't like Kirby Smart. And he told me the story again. He's on the sidelines of a Georgia game a couple of years ago, and Herschel Walker's there standing next to him. And Kirby ignores Flair and hugs Herschel Walker and then keeps on going to the locker Room before a game. That's when he turned on Kirby, became Jim Harbaugh's biggest flunky, and it all came down. So he goes after Kirby one day. He goes after Kirby one day. Bash and I read it and I'm like, going, come on. So I sent Flair a text. I was trying to. I was trying to be nice. I said. I said, rick, I said, I sent him a. A print, a photo of Kirby Smart. Of Kirby Smart, of what he said about Kirby Smart. I said, rick, you're immensely popular in the South. I don't think this is a good idea.

[Caller]

Just giving him some friendly advice.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I mean, you know, somebody who knows a little bit about the sec. Within five minutes, he sends my. My text. Not a tweet, my text out as a tweet, and goes on a barrage against me and Kirby Smart. And then that was it. I would never talk to him again or have anything to do with him again. I mean, he. It got so bad that one time he was telling me. He was telling. He was tweeting about how much money he has, which most people know is not true.

[Caller]

Absolutely.

[Paul Feinbaum]

He said. He said, you know, let's. You know, come on. Fine, Bomb. Let's. Let's. Let's. Let's show who has the biggest one. And then he said, W2 form. So, like, I'm going to put my W2 form on social media against Ric Flair. I mean, and you know, you know this. I never responded to a single tweet. The only time I've ever communicated with him was when I tried to help him with what I just got through

[Caller]

telling you, especially not last year, when I remember what it was. He came after you because of your Arch Manning prediction.

Right?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Right. You called.

[Caller]

He was going to be the Heisman winner, and then he lost to Ohio State first week.

[Paul Feinbaum]

So one more thing. He wanted to come on the show. He said, you're gonna see Kirby. I said, yeah, he's gonna be media days tomorrow. He said, I got a message for him. I said, sure. He said, tell him to kiss my ass.

[Caller]

Oh, man.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Ric Flair said that about Kirby Smart now?

[Caller]

Yeah,

[Paul Feinbaum]

I'll take Kirby Smart as a friend over Ric Flair. Okay.

[Caller]

You ain't making a mistake with that decision. Bash Brother, thank you so much for the blast down memory lane. I hope this bond between you and Rick, we'll see how long it lasts, but hopefully it's not one of those. Like, you see. Paul's predictions are right because I gave him my painting.

[Paul Feinbaum]

The painting has not yet gone up. I'M trying to think about. I'm trying to find out how much I can get for it. If I can get more than 100 bucks, I'm going to sell it. We'll take a short break. We are coming right back.

You're listening to the Paul Fine Bomb show podcast.

[Bill Conley]

Welcome back.

[Paul Feinbaum]

And Andrew is up next in Dallas. Hello, Andrew. Hey, Paul.

[Caller]

Hey.

I just wanted to bring something to your attention. I want to say without a equivocation that I have never called into this show with the script.

[Paul Feinbaum]

That is great.

[Caller]

You admit something about our backup quarterback. He's actually an Alabama kid from Saraland and Cole said that's a pretty strong program. But I wanted to talk about a lot of people talking about firing Steve Sarkeesian. We are not in a hurry to

get rid of him.

We just came out of the dark ages. We're not in a hurry to get back to that. Okay. One thing that I'll tell you is interesting.

[Paul Feinbaum]

You remember that coach, Tom Osborne?

[Caller]

He was pretty good.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Sure do. One of the greatest of all time.

[Caller]

Well, it took him 20 years before he started getting things rolling and rolled off, you know, three titles in four years. I don't think he'd survived today. So the only thing that, that I'd have to say is all these people that want to fire their coaches, especially DeBoer, I mean, the guy knows what he's doing. He's produced a lot of NFL talent. He's having to make an adjustment in this league. But I think firing him, that might

be a huge mistake.

I guess people have forgotten what it was like when Bama wandered the desert. And I tell you what, Paul, I'd love to see him wander the desert because, you know, don't think I forgot about 2009. We're still pissed about that game. So that's all I got.

[Paul Feinbaum]

You know, Andrew, thank you for the call, but here's what I'm. I'll criticize myself because I'm part of this world, but I think we get into these. You go on a show, which I do, and the question is, is it championship or bus for Arch Manning for Steve Sarkeesian? And the answer is yes. That doesn't mean he's going to get fired. I tried to explain a few minutes ago, there's no way because of what he's accomplished. And I think the same thing is applicable to Josh Hyple. He took Tennessee from a nuclear winner under Jeremy Pruitt. That's not the case for other coaches like DeBoer, but Sarkeesian is on very solid ground. That program is clicking. It's just a matter of when is he going to deliver. A lot of people think it will be this year. We're heading home. One more hour to go. We'll be right back.

Thank you for listening to the Best of the Paul Feinbaum show podcast. Watch the Paul Feinbaum show weekdays from 3 to 7 Eastern on the SEC Network. Plus, you can listen and watch on the ESPN app.