Vince Wilfork and Daniel Cormier, Plus Michelle Smallmon Hangs Out for Life Advice

Summary

The Ryen Russillo Show — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Vince Wilfork and Daniel Cormier, Plus Michelle Smallmon Hangs Out for Life Advice
Date: February 5, 2026
Host: Ryen Russillo
Guests: Vince Wilfork (NFL legend), Daniel Cormier (UFC champ), Michelle Smallmon (ESPN/Unsportsmanlike), plus the Life Advice Crew (Ceruti, Kyle)

---

Episode Overview

This episode offers a classic blend of the Russillo Show's strengths—deep-dive sports conversations, candid storytelling, and listener advice, all delivered with trademark wit and candor. NFL legend Vince Wilfork discusses his draft journey, Patriots career, and being a “dying breed” at nose tackle; UFC icon Daniel Cormier reflects on the fears and thrills of combat sports, his unorthodox late start, and pivotal moments in his fighting life; and Michelle Smallmon joins Russillo, Kyle, and Ceruti for a Life Advice segment balancing comedy and genuine insight—with audience emails on friendship, infidelity, and fashion after forty.

---

Key Segments & Timestamps

• [00:00] — Opening & Episode Structure
• [02:56] — Vince Wilfork Joins: Draft stories, Pats culture, positional evolution
• [17:30] — Vrabel as a Coach & New England transitions
• [35:09] — Daniel Cormier Joins: UFC on Paramount+, origins, striking success, Bigfoot Silva & beyond
• [62:34] — Life Advice with Michelle Smallmon, Kyle & Ceruti: Relationship dilemmas, style tips, and more

---

1. Vince Wilfork: Draft Memories, Patriots Brotherhood, and the Death of the Nose Tackle

[02:56 – 33:56]

Falling in the Draft & Early Pats Experience

• Wilfork recalls the bitterness of being the 6th Miami Hurricane taken at #21 overall in the 2004 NFL Draft, certain he’d go higher:

  “When I did get drafted, I was so pissed off… I’m like, there’s no way in the world I’m the sixth worst first rounder.” [03:34, Wilfork]

• He candidly shares how teams like Atlanta, Houston, Chicago implied they would pick him; when they passed, he had “no idea” where he’d land.
• On initially rebuffing a Patriots workout:

  “I was in Vegas. Patriots called... I’m like, man, F the Patriots, they never draft nobody from us anyways. Hung up. Now they on the phone to draft me!” [07:39, Wilfork’s draft roller coaster]

Culture Shock & Transition

• Struggling to locate “New England” on a map – learned it meant “Boston Patriot” not some new territory.
• His adjustment was smoothed by the Patriots’ family-like culture, also reminiscent of his Miami experience.
• Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon told him:

  “You gonna have a better career and you gonna win the most Super Bowls… you might not think it now, but watch me.”

• Reflects with pride on winning two Super Bowls, playing in four.

The Nose Tackle: Evolution and Extinction

• Wilfork discusses being among the “last of a dying breed”—the massive, two-gapping nose tackle—at a time when offenses changed to more passing, lighter personnel, making the position obsolete:

  “Nose tackle is extinct… doesn’t make sense, because you only play base defense a handful of times now.” [11:35, Wilfork]

• Why the job was so tough:

  “Two-gapping is hard. I don’t care if you’re 400 pounds. It’s mentally challenging… you have to want to do that.” [13:47, Wilfork]

Praise for Defensive Lines, Coaches, and Self

• Breaks down defensive front matchups for New England and Seattle—emphasizing the Patriots’ depth and togetherness, especially with key returns for the playoffs.
• Lauds Mike Vrabel’s transition from player to elite coach, citing trust and directness.

  “What makes Mike so special… he’s a great teacher, and he actually cares.” [18:13, Wilfork]

• On being the best athlete among ex-Patriots (with strong evidence—returning kicks at 300 lbs, shotput records, etc.)

Notable Wilfork Quotes & Moments

• “I returned kicks in high school… 300 pounds!” [21:58 – 22:00]
• Bill Belichick’s media rules and how Wilfork defied them by just asking permission respectfully, asserting his independence:

  “You’re a man just like I’m a man… I will make sure I do it the right way… but, you’re not gonna tell me I can’t do it.” [24:31 – 26:29, on media hits in New England]

• Belichick’s “punt catching” challenge for big guys—Wilfork catches several, holds multiple balls, and still makes the clean catch.

  “To track a ball with three balls and catch one… that should tell you what type of athlete I am!” [28:42, Wilfork]

• USO Tour: Deep appreciation for the military, describing visiting 11 countries in 3 years, seeing “true heroes”:

  “We just wanted to make sure that we always show the love and support… because of the sacrifices they make daily.” [29:25–33:38]

---

2. Daniel Cormier: UFC Nerves, Combat Mindset, and Finding a Voice in the Booth

[35:09 – 61:29]

The Lure (and Terror) of the Cage

• Cormier articulates the emotional rollercoaster pre-fight—the blend of fear, anticipation, and adrenaline as a fighter:

  “As you get close, I hear Lil Wayne starting to bump… in the ring, main event, the crowd’s going crazy… I only miss that feeling of, ‘God, I’m on the verge of something great.’” [37:46–38:52, Cormier]

• On the irrationality required to choose fighting:

  “To go out there and fight, you’re not normal. There’s something in you that’s different.” [40:56, Cormier]

• Explains transformation from fear (thinking “maybe I can just run away”) to pure competitive nerves as the cage locks.

Late Start, Wrestling Base, and Career Growth

• Cormier began MMA at nearly 30 after a decorated wrestling career. Coaches never expected he’d be elite, but his ability to “make punches land” won them over.
• His wrestling gave him the foundation “most people starting out don’t have,” but learning to strike meant learning “while someone’s punching you.”
• Recalls suffering a broken nose by Cain Velasquez while trying to switch stances, but refusing to quit:

  “Most people would have quit… blood was everywhere. I got kicked in the face by Cain Velasquez.” [42:56–44:19, Cormier]

Turning Point: The Bigfoot Silva and Barnett Fights

• Bigfoot Silva fight: Cormier, a huge underdog and short-notice replacement, beats a massive, imposing opponent with speed and movement.
• His confidence solidifies after taking a beating and winning a grueling tournament final vs Josh Barnett:

  “If I can get through this, I can fight just about anybody in the world… I was always, like, that kid that when I got around my mom, I would start breaking down.” [46:14–47:47, Cormier]

• Growing up in Louisiana, being underestimated, and using speed and “bear-like” strength (per Khabib) despite build.

At Peace With Legacy… and In the Booth

• Russillo asks about losses to Stipe and Jon Jones; DC is philosophical about “the shot at doing it the right way,” not bitter—resigned (and honest) about aging, injury, and the realities of retirement.
• On the viral post-defeat interview with Joe Rogan, and how sharing raw pain led to an unlikely business connection:

  “I wasn’t the one doing the wrong thing… the guy called me because of the interview with Joe… your passion made me relate to you.” [53:00–54:32, Cormier]

• Glowing description of the UFC broadcast booth with Rogan and Jon Anik:

  “It’s the best… we’re hand fighting. I’m grabbing him, he’s grabbing me, John’s screeching at the papers… and when you love what you do, it’s not work.” [55:31–57:11, Cormier]

• Surprising Fact: Turned down an LSU football offer to pursue wrestling:

  “I like having the ability to control my destiny… if I do everything I’m supposed to do, it’s going to lead to me being a good wrestler. That’s why I wrestle instead of playing football.” [61:16, Cormier]

---

3. Life Advice with Michelle Smallmon, Ceruti & Kyle

[62:34 – 99:46]

(Timestamps here are approximate due to conversational flow)

Venmo, Listeners, and the Crew's Chemistry

• Banter on listeners Venmo’ing the guys, Michelle getting random friend requests, and the inside jokes and dynamics among old colleagues.
• Russillo notes the show’s “male perspective” and welcomes Michelle for a balance of viewpoints.

Dilemma #1: Should I Go To My Friend’s Wedding When I Know He Cheated?

• Guy (and his wife) knows a friend ("Larry") cheated pre-engagement; wife refuses to attend wedding unless the truth comes out.
• Michelle’s take: “It’s not our business… let the groom handle his situation. Who are we to get involved?” [72:07, Smallmon]
• But: “I would be really mad if I was getting married and people knew…”
• Ceruti and Kyle echo that the storyteller probably shouldn’t have told his wife everything, or underestimated her reaction (“bad read on your wife or bad picker on what you share”). [74:29, Ceruti]
• Conclusion: Mind your own business, especially if you don’t know the bride well. “Let Larry and Sandy be, man.” [75:24, Russillo]

Dilemma #2: College Guy’s “Husband” Effort Goes Unappreciated

• College student went above and beyond in a relationship (handwritten notes, flowers, scheduled texts), got minimal effort in return, breakup messy.
• He asks: “How long do I wait before telling friends or dating again?”
• Michelle: “You dumped her, so who cares? Be transparent… You have no loyalty to her.” [84:07, Smallmon]
• Advice: You’re 21 at a fun college, don’t rush into another long-distance commitment, enjoy the last semester.

Dilemma #3: How Should a 40-Year-Old Dude Dress?

• Listener worries he and his wife "dress too youthful"—t-shirts, hoodies, hats, Air Force 1s, but wants to “surprise people once in a while.”
• Michelle: “If you’re not a ranch hand, people may take it as a costume… go get some staples so when you’re out, you feel good.” [91:17, Smallmon]
• Steve: “You reach an age where you just walk in your closet one day and go, ‘Is any of this my style anymore?’” [92:48, Steve]
• Ceruti: “Spend the money once on a shopper and get a good baseline.” [93:25, Ceruti]
• Takeaway: It’s okay to be yourself, but for a special night, invest in pieces that fit, look good, and feel authentic.

Dilemma #4: The In-Law Digital Picture Frame Power Play

• Listener’s in-laws visit for weeks, gifted a digital photo frame but want “admin control”—refuse to let him post his own family’s pictures.
• All: This is nuts! Michelle: “Your wife has to tell her mother, ‘We’re adding pictures we deem great for our child.’” [96:45, Smallmon]
• Steve: “This is like… you only use it when I come over. What's the point?”
• Suggested response: “If you can’t get the code, hide the frame when they’re not around.”
• Russillo: “First time someone could use the race card and everyone would have his back!” [97:54, Russillo]

---

Notable Quotes & Classic Russillo Moments

• “You need to be confident in what you’re wearing. Look good, feel good, play good.” [91:41, Smallmon]
• “I’m just being honest – the nose tackle is extinct.” [13:45, Wilfork]
• “To go out there and fight, you’re not normal… There’s something in you that’s different.” [40:56, Cormier]
• “If I can get through this, I can fight anybody in the world.” [46:14, Cormier]
• “Let Larry and Sandy be, man – go see your relatives!” [75:24, Russillo]

---

Tone & Takeaways

Russillo’s show remains a space where big sports figures drop their guard, with guests encouraged to own their stories and offer candid perspective. There's humor and warmth in the camaraderie—whether among NFL legends, MMA royalty, or a panel navigating life’s curveballs.

• Wilfork embodies self-belief, unselfishness, and an old-school football mentality, blending humor and humility.
• Cormier is refreshingly open about the psychology of fighting and the pains of loss, and exudes a “be accountable for your destiny” ethos.
• Life Advice is never just jokes; it’s a mix of empathy, realism, and not taking life—or yourself—too seriously.

For fans, the episode is a perfect snapshot of why the show works: deep sports talk, personal growth, and the sense, above all, that friendship, curiosity, and a little bit of irreverence make everything better.

---

Transcript

[A]

Hey Priscilla listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcast and Spotify Prime. Members can listen AD free on Amazon Music. The Ryan Rosillo show is presented by DraftKings. We did an earlier version of this day because we have almost two parts on the show today. With NBA trade deadline just 24 hours away. We have reaction on Harden and AD which you can check out from the earlier episode on today, talk to a former coworker and also won a couple of Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. Vince Wilfort on his time with the Patriots what he thinks about this matchup and also how mad he was that he fell to 21st in the NFL Draft. Daniel Cormier, the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion of the world. His background combat getting ready those fights and we go back to Bigfoot Silva in Strike Force because I watched it again today. And Michelle Smallman, special guest on a special edition of Life Advice. The biggest star at ESPN joins the Show Super Bowl 60 deserves a sportsbook built for the moment. DraftKings sportsbook and official sports betting partner of Super Bowl 60 puts you right in the center of the biggest game of the year. Anything can happen during the Super bowl, and DraftKings has you back with Earth. Early exit if your player goes down in the first half, you still get paid in cash when your bet settles. No bonus bets, no waiting. While other sports books don't offer injury protection, DraftKings covers the entire first half, even the second quarter, and early Exit works on live bets, too. Pregame or in game, DraftKings has you covered. New to DraftKings, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if your bet wins. Download the DraftKings app and use the code RYAN that's on the DraftKings sportsbook app. That's code Ryan R Y E n to turn five bucks into 300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins in partnership with DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler, New York call 877-8-HOPE and why or text HOPE and why Connecticut. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas. Wager tax pass through may apply in Illinois 21 and over in most states. Void in Ontari apply that must win to receive bonus bets which expire in seven days. Minimum odds required. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng Co Audio limited Time Offer. We'll keep cranking here Super Bowl Week A guy that knows something about Super Bowls. And I don't know if he knows this. And this is where I'm going to start it. Vince Wolfork here with USO Patriots. Great. It's great to see you. We actually used to hang out in the green room at Comcast before we would go on air back in the day. And then there's no way you remember this, but April 2004, the first person that interviewed when you were drafted was me.

[B]

Really?

[A]

And Kevin Winner. And you came on, you were on the phone, you got drafted. We were doing a live show from Foxborough and so I was along with Kevin, the first guys that talked to you after you were drafted.

[B]

Wow. I did not.

[A]

There's no way you shouldn't have remembered that. It wasn't as significant.

[B]

It's good to know. Now. That's pretty cool.

[A]

Yeah. 20, almost 22 years.

[B]

Here we are now.

[A]

I know that's crazy, man. I loved when I interviewed you. I also loved you as a player because I remember what if you would come out in the 03 draft, where would you have gone?

[B]

Oh, oh, three. I think our power would have been.

[A]

In New York because we got higher than 21.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

[A]

Because that was the whole thing with you.

[B]

Yes, yes. If, if I believe if I would have came out in 03, I would have went in New York because William Joseph, the other defensive tackle, went to New York. And you know me, we were very competitive. I'm like, I'm better than William. You know, that's just what it was. So I think I would have been to New York before William, but I think I landed in the right spot. And crazy thing is, when I did get drafted, I was so pissed off because I was the sixth Hurricane drafted that year. And I was so mad because I'm like, there's no way in the world. I'm the sixth worst first rounder at, um, you know, and.

[A]

And that was also one of the great rosters the game has ever seen that you're coming off.

[B]

So I'm like. I'm like, okay, yeah, I get, you know, in that time, Chantel, I get it. Kellen Winslow. I get it. Vilma, I get it now.

[A]

D.J.

[B]

Williams, Vernon Carrion in me. I'm like, come on now. Like those three, like, come on now. So it was always a running joke and it.

[A]

I always see Vernon in the stands now because he had had his other son and now he's got. Yeah, he's cooking. When you came on, you did a great job of hiding how mad you were.

[B]

Oh, Yeah, I was. I was. I was livid.

[A]

Like, how so? Give us a draft story. Like, give me. Give me somebody that thought you thought you were telling. They were telling you they were going to take you.

[B]

Oh, it started. It started at, I think, Atlanta. Atlanta was 8, 6 or 8. And then I had the Texans. I think Texans was either eight or 10. Okay. And then we had Chicago, where they were 13 or 14. They took Tommy. Those three, because I met with those three. All right. Me and Lovey Smith, we had a real good conversation. Atlanta, I was talking to Atlanta. The Falcons. Every day, I was talking to them. Atlanta loved me. And Houston came down. That's when. What's the coach name? I see his face right now. But the Texans, they had a dinner with all the Hurricanes, and we all was there, and they was like, hey, we. You know, if you there, we gonna get you. So those three. So when those three kind of passed, I was sitting there. I was. I had no idea where I was going. No idea. So I'm sitting here like, holy smokes. Okay. I went to Buffalo. And then I just started being, you know, taking a little personal. I'm like, okay, Buffalo. I grew up a Buffalo Bill fan. I hope they get me. But they had Pat Williams there, right? So I'm like, okay, not Pat. And then it's Minnesota. I said, okay. Oh, Minnesota. I can go to Minnesota. John Randall. I like Randalls. No. So at that point, it was like, I don't know. And then the Dolphins came up. I hated the Dolphins. Growing up my whole life, I hated them. And then I get drafted to New England. I even hate them more. Right, Right. So then the Dolphins come up. I'm like, ooh, I can stay home. Dolphins. Yeah. Now I'm a big fan of the Dolphins. They didn't take me. They take Vernon Carey. So at that point, I had no idea where I was going. And next I knew, the Patriots get on the clock, and boom, I get a phone call. And, you know, Bears was calling me. Hey, this Bears from New England Patriots. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm going to nick you in, Bill. Bella J. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Bill, get on the phone. Adventure. You know, we would love to be. Love for you to be a New England patriot. You think you could do that? I'm like, yes, sir, I can do that. Wooda woo woo. So I became a pageant. So I hung the phone up. I'm saying, dang, New England. Like, where's New England? I'm like, is that the new part of England? Like, where is New England? They was like, no, it's where the Celtics play up in Boston. I'm saying, okay, well, just say Boston then. You know, not. But so I'm thinking. I'm like, I had no idea. You know, I'm like, New England. I just knew Boston. Like, Boston Page. Like. So the funny thing about the Patriots was I remember I was out of town leading up to the draft. I was in Vegas, and the Patriots called me. They said, hey, Bill, wanna fly you in to work you out. And I'm like, this is Bears. I'm like, man, f. The Patriots, they never draft nobody from us anyways. I ain't coming to hang up, blink. Hung up. Straight up. I hung up. Now they on the phone talking. They want to draft me. And I'm like, holy smokes. I hung up on this dude that was trying to get me to come work out for Bill, and I hung up on him. And now I'm a New England Patriot. And the good thing about being a New England Patriot, honestly, I grew up a Celtics fan. My whole life. I grew up a Celtics fan. And when they was like, this is where the Celtics fan, I'm like, oh, that's music to my ears.

[A]

So.

[B]

And I remember my defensive coordinator telling me at University of Miami, he said, I had buddies to come over. Like, John Vilmer came over to my party. Cause I was raising money for diabetes. D.J. williams, he was coming over, raising. And they just saw, like, the disappointment in my face, and they were just, like, lifting me. Like, man, you're gonna be good. You're gonna be straight.

[C]

You gonna get.

[B]

Don't worry. You're gonna. And I'm like, man, I'm sitting there taking the person. I'm like, I'm not the sixth. I'm still sitting there saying, I'm not the sixth best out of all of us. Like, I'm personal. I'm like, that's just. That's where I'm at, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Right. So I get drafted. And then I remember my defensive corner, Randy Shannon, he said, vince, you gonna have a better career, and you gonna win the most Super Bowls. He told me that. Said, you gonna have the better career. You're gonna win the most Super Bowls. You might not think it now. He's like, but watch me. And sure enough, my rookie year, I won my first one. And I remember calling him, I said, coach, remember you told me, I'll win the Super Bowl? He's like, yeah. He said, I told you. He said, you not done. And that was my first one. And I ended up Playing in four, winning two, losing two. And I just remember, you know, just, you know, going to New England and just having the team that I had around me and the players. It was similar to, um, because we was a brotherhood at, um. We played together, we ate together, we did everything together. I get to New England, it's the same thing. It's like, it's a brotherhood, and it's. Now we're adults. You know, you got, you know, grown men over there now with family and kids. So we all grew together, we played together, we hung out together, but we was just a huge team. So it was easy for me to transition from college to pros because I seen the same thing come from a winning culture. I came from teammates holding each other accountable. I did all of that. So Patriots was the same way. They just won a Super bowl against Carolina and Houston. They had probably the best nose tackle that ever played the game and Ted Washington. So they get rid of Ted to bring me in to draft me. So now I'm going into this thinking like, holy crap. Like, they picked me first round, they had this nose tackle. Now they bringing me in. Then they bring in Keith Trello that never played nose. So he had two new guys that never played nose tackle before that. He had to teach us how to play nose tackle. And when I tell you, I look back at just my growth and just how things were and the teammates I had and stuff like that there. It was a. It was a great career.

[A]

You know, when you came out too, like, I think what. What got a lot of people that were excited about the previous year was like, hey, there's. I think today, like, we don't even think about that nose tackle. And the three, four of, like, you have to be this body type. You've got it. Like, we're just not. You're an endangered species. Right? It's just. There's not any kids in college that are like, hey, hand in the ground, lining right up over the center, and then we're staying in the three front the entire time. And granted, like, look, you can. You can get some stuff. And like, hey, we're just playing two of these guys. They don't have to be you. They don't have to be. You know, just. I think of these bohemists that used to come up here, right? Well, Ted Washington, obviously. You know, I mean, it was ridiculous the size that he was at. And then it's like, okay, then you're gonna move this guy around a little bit. So I really felt like you were like one of the last ones, even if they got a little creative with how they would move you around. Why do you think that happened to the position? That it just there weren't enough guys?

[B]

No, I think offense changed. It went more to a passing league and now you have to match up defensively to what offense is putting on the game. So now when I played, we played a lot of base, you know, a lot of teams came out and 21 personnel, two backs, one tight end. Receivers out there now it's more 11 personnel, one back, you know, one tight end. And that tight end now is a receiver tight end. So you have to match and you can't be sitting with a 350 pounder in the middle when you know it's a pass, you know, that's, you know, big boys is known to play the run. So now I just think it comes down. It's so much nickel played at the college level and the NFL level now that no sacker is instinct. It just don't make sense because you only going to play base defense a handful of time now because a lot of times people playing in nickel, they come out first down, they unlever personnel like, so you match it up with right.

[A]

And that's why a guy like you might even still run off the field on third down if it's third and long, because it's third and long, you're.

[B]

Putting, you know, four defensive ends in the game at that point. But that's why I think that position is kind of extinct. What's going to happen is it's going to take a team that's going to be like, I'm going to run, come in and I'm going to go old school, I'm going to run this, I'm going to pound this ball against you and force you to play your base defense and see if you can stop us. And once you start getting teams start doing that again, I don't know if it'll happen or not, but once you start having that, that's when you'll probably start seeing more of a transitioning back to okay, we got the play, the run. But I don't see that no time.

[A]

Soon, honestly, no, But I think all this stuff is cyclical. At some point it's just, will we see the 350, the 370? Will we see that guy in the.

[B]

Middle of the season? Unless he's like a freak athlete. Like if he's one of those freakish players, he's 350 and can move and can do this and can do that. But if you not having that and a lot of people don't understand, like two gapping is hard. I don't care if you £400, it doesn't matter. You can be £400 and can't two gap.

[A]

Right. And that's picking which side of the ceiling.

[B]

Yeah, it's like it's mentally challenging and it's mentally tough and it's physically because you have to be knowing and willing to go and get beat up every down, every single down you're going to take double team, sometimes triple team. You're not going to make no plays. You know, the plays you make is going to be, you know, it ain't gonna be no crazy outstanding plays. You're not gonna be on Sports Center. It's just one of those unselfish players that you have to want to do that. But physically, I just think there's a lot of people physically can't do it because they're not tough enough to do it physically. I'm just being honest.

[A]

What do you think of the front then on Seattle side? Because I love. Leonard has become. And then the Murphy kid, you know, again, they're playing a different thing. They're playing for.

[B]

They going to get it.

[A]

What's that mean?

[B]

They hitting and getting and they ain't sitting down two gapping. And even the Patriots, they're not sitting in two gapping. They play good technique, but they're not two gapping like. Nah, they handing the dirt. They going. And I think both of these sides, you know, defensive fronts are really destructive. I mean, they can change the game up front.

[A]

Yeah. Like Seattle all year, I was like, okay, that makes sense. And then once Barmore and Williams. And Williams getting back, like, Barmore has probably been the guy through the last couple years where I'm like, he's the most talented guy on the roster until this year's bit of a.

[B]

And our Milton comes in, right?

[A]

Like, Barmore's the one guy. Two years ago I was like, well, at least they have him on the roster, you know, but go ahead.

[B]

Yeah, no, you're right. You're right. Now, you know, you got. You go out and you get Milton, Williams and he come in and now you add some pieces around them, you know. You know, you got. What's his name? Tonga. You have guys that play very well together in there, right. They're not a bunch of superstars. They just a great bunch of guys that love to play football that's going to play hard and going to play tough. Right. You got Bar One Williams, those are two headliners. But you got the guys that rolling in behind them, come in and make more plays just as much as them. So I think adept defensively, especially the front for New England, I think I'm pretty happy with where we at, you know, and being in the playoffs, getting these guys back, getting Milton Williams coming back, you just see how it changed the flow of the game because he changed the whole tempo of the game, the mindset of the game when he came back in the playoffs. Now our defense is the top defense in the playoffs because of him. With him coming back, it just raised everybody level of play. So that's what happened when you have that much of a dynamic player back in the rotation because it brings so much to your team, you know, and he carried him. So I'm looking forward to it both of the. I'm a defensive guy, so I'm looking forward to see who's going to be able to win the match up front, who it's going to be and how it's going to look, you know, for, you know, the four quarters. But you got two good defensive mind coaches that understand what this game means and know how to get it done. So we gonna see.

[A]

The gametime app gives the advantage back to the fans. It's the hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps. It's incredibly easy to use, and the gametime guarantee means you can trust you'll get 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price. Plus, fees are always included. So what you see is what you pay. And now with the big game coming up, there's no better way to buy tickets than through the gametime app. You can save even more when you choose a section and let GameTime choose the seats. So download the GameTime app today and get started. What's it like for you seeing Vrabel do this in his first year?

[B]

Man, I love it, man. Listen, I vouched for Vrabel when. When Houston was looking for a coach. I vouched for him down in Houston, you know, when he left.

[A]

Because your last two years were there, right? So you were.

[B]

I knew. I knew, but I knew since I was a player with Vrabes, I knew he was going to be a coach. Then I'm like, y' all letting the best coach that you have on this team go. And he going to Tennessee. I told him that and I was public about that with the Texans, and sure enough, he go to Tennessee, he takes them to the AFC championship and then he loses The AFC championship by a couple, you know, points. And I just. I'm like, he's going to be a hell of a coach. I know he will. So when he was available to become the Patriots head coach, I'm like, this is actually a good move. If we going to get rid of Gerard Mayo, this is the best thing that could have happened to us. Bring a mic in. You know, he knows the organization, understand what it stands for, understand the city, understand the culture, understand how to get through the players. He just understand the game. And I just knew what makes Mike so special as a coach. He's a great teacher. He's a great teacher, and he takes the time and he shows that he care about his team this morning. Football. It's not just football for him. He cares, actually cares about him. And that's why they play the way they play for him. They run through a wall for him because he's shown them like, hey, I'm going to be with you throughout this whole journey. I'm going to be with you. I'm going to have your back. I'm going to be there. You know, my word is bond. And he's proved that to these players, and that's why he getting the best out of this team.

[A]

That's why when you left New England, there had to be an easier transition, though, because, like, Romeo's still the D coordinator those first couple years, right? Bill o', Brien, there's probably some relationship there, even though it's a different side of the ball on it. So, you know, with. With this team, it wasn't like, the Patriots are going to go, hey, you know, the last couple years for able, like, don't come in here, because it's just like, no, come in here and, like, turn the table over. Like, you could have. You could have shift this whole thing. So your story is a little like, the inverse of, like, now going somewhere else. But there is familiarity. I. I wonder. I wonder if his style, like, gets the attention immediately because there's trust or if there wasn't really anything to be prideful about with the Patriots the last couple years. So it was a little bit easier for a guy to come in and go, hey, whatever you've been doing here, you've been doing it wrong.

[B]

Well, I just think it's the whole makeup for Mike, because Mike knows football, and you know how you can get around somebody, and soon as they start talking, you can gravitate to them, be like, okay, I feel what this guy is saying. Like, I could feel it that he believe in me, I could feel that he believe what he's coaching. And I just feel. I feel like he's very matter of fact. It ain't no second guessing, hey, we screw up, we're going to screw up. It is what it is. That's Mike. And for me, I like a coach that's going to. I don't like a hesitant coach or a coach that's on the bubble or scratch his head. I have to scratch my head and be like, I don't know if this right or wrong. If a coach come to me and they confident in what they're telling me, I'm automatically confident because I put so much trust in my coach to give me what I need. And if he's coming and telling me, hey, this is how we're going to do it. Even Bill did it before. Bill done it before, plenty of times before. Where he'll come into a meeting room and he'll tell us straight up, this is what we going to do. This team sucked. And this is how we going to do.

[A]

Simple, right?

[B]

Okay, coach. Yeah, you're right. You are right. And I think that's what Mike brings to the table. He gives the confidence right away on, this is how we going to play this game. We going to attack here. We going to attack this person. We got to stay away from bad football. We can't do this. We have to execute. And he hold people accountable. That's what it is.

[A]

Who is a better athlete? You were Vrabel better.

[B]

Me, man. Listen. See, you got to understand. Listen to me.

[A]

But he does. How many touchdowns do you have, man?

[B]

That's okay, but that was biased because you gotta understand. I've been £300 since I was in high school. I returned kicks in high school.

[A]

You were returning kicks at £300.

[B]

I returned kicks in high school. See, this is what you have to understand. I was dunking it in seventh grade. I still probably. I still hold a shot put record in high school for Florida, 68ft. You understand me? So that was biased. You see what I'm saying?

[A]

Because, you know, I'm bringing this up because I heard you with Jules talking about who was the best athlete.

[B]

I'm the best athlete, man, because you, you were awesome.

[A]

Because I was like, I wonder who he's going to say. I wonder who's going to say. And he's like, oh, he picked him. He picked himself. But then you mentioned, like, Jamie Collins, right?

[B]

Jamie Collins is nice.

[A]

I was like, he was a freak.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And I guess so. Moss doesn't Count Moss is a great.

[B]

Athlete, but I put myself because, you know, I could do multiple things, right?

[A]

Okay, state your case. I'm not saying you're wrong. So like I said, shot put, 300.

[B]

Pound, kick returns, kick return, punt returns, kicker, running back.

[A]

You dropping coverage a lot.

[B]

Linebacker, db. I played all of that. I tried all of those positions. I did all of that. My coach can do that to me because of who I am and what I was. It ain't like they just throwing out because. No, I produced at those positions. Okay, now, throwing a football, right? Throwing a football. It ain't nobody other than the quarterback got an arm like me. And I'm not talking about. I ain't talking about.

[A]

I'm not really special. We could have been doing the.

[B]

Vince, man, let me tell you something. Bill Belichick had one year, he had me do a seven on seven. I was a quarterback. So what that tell you about me?

[A]

Well, it tells me a lot. It tells me a lot.

[D]

You can ask.

[B]

You can ask.

[A]

This is an international show.

[B]

You can ask Jewelry, you can ask Randy, whoever you want to ask about me throwing it. Throwing a football.

[A]

I'm gonna ask.

[B]

Ask him about me throwing a football.

[A]

I'm gonna ask Gronk.

[B]

Ask Gronk. Yeah, ask any of those. I'm not down.

[A]

I just. You need to do more research.

[B]

Yeah, throwing a ball, I can. That's one of the things I grew up doing, is throwing footballs. I could throw a football. I put that needle on the thread. Like, listen to me.

[A]

Like, yeah, and by the way, Moss in coverage, right? If he had a drop back and be a corner, he'd be taking some plays off, right? Moss would be like pointing to the safety like they do on tv, being like, I thought. I thought you had the deep coverage here. You know what I love? And I'm going to close here and then get a pick from you and then talk about USO a little bit.

[B]

Here, right.

[A]

When you first got drafted. And then I'm a Comcast doing the Celtics stuff. And then all of a sudden, Vince pops on the scene and he's doing like once a week hits with Gary and. Was it Gary and anyway, yeah, and then it was Felger, right? And so I'm sitting with Vince and like, they would. They would always get like a little, like, worried, like, oh, is Rasula gonna bug the guys? Or whatever. Because it was like, you know, we're just supposed to sit there. I'm going on after you or whatever. So we got nothing to do. So I Remember I just asked you. I was like, I didn't give a shit. I was young, too. Because everybody was so conditioned to the idea. Like, Belichick doesn't want anyone doing any media. Belichick doesn't want anyone talking. Like, you're not supposed to have any kind of voice. Almost like, yeah, let's just be militant and brainwashed in the same. Which, for. If I'm a football coach, like, great, yeah, I don't want any of you guys having thoughts or freedom or, like, I don't want you thinking outside of what I'm doing here. I'm trying to control 53 guys all rolling in the same direction. So it was. It was mind blowing to us in New England and in the media to go, this guy just get drafted. Now he's going to be up here doing weekly hits on fucking tv. Like, are you kidding me? So you and I were just sitting. We were waiting for something else to be done. I was like, how did you do this? Like, what did you just do it? Did you say something? How did you get permission? And this is like my favorite. It's something I've obviously never forgotten 20 years later, because it just spoke to, like, who you are as a man, who you are as a person, and why you and Bill probably loved each other as much as you did is you were like, ryan, I just went to Bill and I said, hey, you're a man. Just like I'm a man. And I was offered to do this thing, and it's a little bit extra, and I will make sure I do it the right way. But, you know, you kind of hinting at, like, you're not going to tell me I can't do it. You're not telling me I can't do it because I'm fucking doing it and I want to do it. And you were great. And again, you never said anything got anybody into trouble. I remember you complimenting players that I.

[B]

Know you thought stunk.

[A]

Yeah, you were good at it, but because you would tell me something I don't know about that. I just thought it was incredibly impressive. And it was when you were really young and you had this mindset that even, like, you know, I'm older than you are, and I was like, oh, my God. Damn. So. And I know, like, your background and everything kind of forced you in a spot, too, where, like, you had to be your own man very early on, but it's why I know how, like, everybody who. All your teammates and the reverence they speak of and why you and Bill hit it off. Is that you did something that I don't. Nobody did that back then. Nobody did that. And that's why I always love that story.

[B]

Yeah, man, I appreciate it. I just. I am who I am. And like I said, I don't. I don't fake the funk for nobody. You know, you either like me or you don't. But this is what you're gonna get. You gonna get my authentic Vince Wilfort. And I think that's why people love me. Like, a lot of people really gravitate towards me. Cause I'm real, and that's all I know how to be. And, you know, life is just what it is. Life is for the living man. You have fun, you live and you learn. If you screw up, oh, well, get up, dust yourself out, do it the right way the next time. And that's how I operate until this day. I still. But I'm gonna leave you with this one before we move on. You talking about athletic, Right?

[A]

Still, I love it.

[B]

I'm just gonna tell you now. So you remember when Bill used to make the big guys go back and catch punch? Right, Right. Okay. So you know he tried that with me, right? You know that, right?

[A]

Well, I assume.

[B]

Okay, so he.

[A]

I don't know this exact story.

[B]

Okay. So Bill tried it with me. He put me back there to catch a punt. Okay. I went back, caught a punt, caught it, Boom, boom. And I punted it back to him. Cause he was like, hey, if Vince catch this punt, the night is off. I'm like, well, guys, the night off, you know, I'm going back as a rookie. So I catch the punt. Boom, night out. So Bill's like, oh, I can't do this like that no more. I got to make it up. So now he had me hold the ball. I had to hold the ball and catch another punt. I did that. So I had to hold two balls, catch another. I had three balls. I had to hold and catch a punt. That's. That should tell you what type of athlete I am. To track a ball with three balls and catch one. I'm gonna leave it at that. And you could. And you can.

[D]

And you could.

[B]

You could. Hey. And you could research and talk to whoever you want to talk to. All of them was there. Tom was there. Matt Light was there.

[A]

We're Ask Lonnie Paxton.

[B]

Lonnie was there. Ask him. I mean, they. And then we had a lefty, Bill try to add. He's a different. It's a rotation going up, man. I don't Care. But yeah, I take myself athletic over anybody. Pound for pound.

[A]

I love that when I interviewed you when you got drafted and you were like, larry Bird's my favorite player. And I was like, he's so full of shit, but man, is he doing a good job. And boom, you were like, then I ran in, you were like, no, I actually did really like the Celtics, the original big three. Yeah. And then you were fired up, you were like, I can't wait to see the snow. So this is awesome. Anyway, uso, you're here this week. You're here with all the alums, but what are you doing with those guys?

[B]

Uso, you know, we've. We've done three USO tours for our military and service members. And we go in, you know, around holiday times, we go and we spend time with our military family because a lot of these guys and ladies are away from families for a long time. And it get kind of lonely, you know, it's, you know, can you imagine just being 18, 19, 20 years old and you've been away, you haven't seen famine over year, over year or two years and just you getting ready to go protect and for us to go to these places and just put a smile on their faces just to show them that the support we have for them, the love we have for them back home, how important they are to us and our families, they the true heroes. And just to be able to just go hang and just talk and just ask how their day is or ask, what do you do in here? What is your specialty? It's Amazing to hear 18 and 19 year olds spit out right on the spot about this machine that they're in charge of or this jet that's $40 million and they're 19 and they're in charge of this jet. And they have to know this ins and outs of the jet. And not only they have to know it, the pilot, he has to make sure this jet is safe for the pilot to drive it. Right. And you talking 19 years old. So I wish everyone can experience once in their lifetime, just go and just sit down and have a conversation and just sit down and talk and let them just tell you about what they do and understand for us to do all of this, to play the super bowl and all of this, this can't happen without them. It can't. My great career I had, yeah. All the accolades, it couldn't happen without what they do for us daily. The dedication that they have to make daily while we sitting over here getting ready for the biggest sport Event. There is. There's people 24, 7 making sure that this event be taken care of, that we can go out and have a great time. And I think we need to start doing a little bit more and showing and actually talking more about the respect and the love and the support that we have for those guys that make our everyday life a lot easier. Because it's easy for us to come to work and not think about nothing but what we got on ahead of us. But not knowing, like, when we sleep, they working. They work for our freedom. And you talking, like I said, 19 years old, 20 years old, you talking about the young babies that have basically the world in their hands to make sure that we're safe at night. So we've been to 11 countries in three years. We've been to Romania, we've been to Italy, we've been to Poland, we've been to Greece, we've been. You name. We've been to 11 countries in three years. The last one we just did, coming back from, we was in Kuwait, we was in Djibouti, Africa, we was in Jordan, we went to. We was in Sicily. So we go to these places. And right around after Thanksgiving, heading into Christmas, because that little break you want to get them after Thanksgiving and then before Christmas. So you want them because a lot of times they get deployed, so that's probably like the last time that they have like, you know, contact or anything with. So they did deploy. So we make sure that we go in and bring in the holiday season. Just give them, get their spirits high and. And just let them know that we hear that we love. They are the true sacrifice. They are the true patriots. You. They look at me as this great who. Nah night. No, it's you guys. So we just wanted to make sure that we always show the love and support that we have for our military family because of the sacrifices that they make on a daily, daily, daily. Right. And it doesn't stop for them.

[A]

And I know that you and Aaron Jones, the Vikings ambassadors throughout the week, and it sounds like full time in a way with the uso. Vince, always great catching up. It's been a really long time since we saw each other. So when you came on, I was like, let's see. Let's see and hang out, man. So congrats on everything.

[B]

Thank you very much. Thank you for having me, man.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Raising Canes. I'm a huge canes guy. I've been smelling it all day in my studio and I love it. I wish this was a cologne. The crispy chicken fingers, the crinkle cut fries, grilled Texas toast, and of course, the Cane sauce. When I'm watching any sport, but especially the big game this weekend, there's nothing better than a Cane's box combo. There's also nobody better than Cane's founder, Todd Graves. Todd's always at the big game with a star studded crew in his suite. Never know who's going to be there with him. Me personally, I'll be watching the game and enjoying some Cane's. I'm a simple guy. All I need is some of their chicken fingers and cane sauce and I'm good raising Cane's chicken fingers. One love fired up to have Daniel Cormier in studio with us, former light and heavyweight champ of the ufc and also here on behalf of USC and the new partnership with Paramount. Plus we had Dana on not that long ago. So an awesome start. The main event with Patty and Gaethje was, was. Was awesome. So it was just kind of cool, like for the unveiling of the whole thing, to have that kind of fight, because that's one of my favorite. Not from a technical standpoint, but just the sheer toughness of what those guys are doing.

[D]

Well, you, you know when it, when this whole thing started, right. Forest Griffin and Stephan Bonner had a fight on Spike tv. And at times they look like they were fighting outside of a bar. But if you were a casual fan and you turn that on, you were like, oh, my God, I want to watch this. And so it really did help to spring the UFC forward. The fight that we had a couple weeks ago, I think it did the same thing. Because if you're a casual fan and you go, well, Paramount's throwing all this promotion into this new thing that they're doing. Let's check it out.

[A]

Right?

[D]

And you watch that, you got to see everything. You got to see two tough guys. You got to see both guys have their moments. You got to see an older guy who was supposed to lose win the underdog. It. I thought it was as good a fight to start this new partnership as there could be.

[A]

And when I say, like, the technical part of it, I think it was better for a new audience coming in being like, I won't know. Like, it takes a long time to learn any of this stuff, right.

[D]

If it's too clean. If it's too clean, it can get boring.

[A]

You kind of just want to see a fight, you know?

[D]

Yes. Especially to the blind eye, like, if you're not someone that's watched it. If you watch Justin and him, there are moments in that fight where Patty might dip his head to the side of just. You're like, well, I could do that. You want people to feel like they could do it because they're like, well, I can relate to that. But they can't do it.

[A]

Well, just think, every Buffalo Wild Wings pay per view, there's like 30 guys in there thinking they can do that.

[D]

Thinking they can, right?

[A]

Especially back in the old Affliction T shirt days, one of my friends owned a Buffalo Wild Wings, and he was like, the pay per views, he's like, they come in and drink waters because they're worried about doing workouts in the morning. He's like, it's a tough crowd. Tough crowd. I'm gonna say this, and I hope I say it in a clear enough sense to you and the audience is that I'm in awe of. Of anyone who's a badass. All right? And what you guys do. And it's funny because I was down at Mavericks yesterday, south of here, that big surf, right? And it wasn't cranking yesterday. It may go tomorrow, so I might check it out again on Friday. And I was waiting at this dive bar for my Uber to show up, and I. They had all these pictures of these guys had done stuff in Mavericks, in these massive, massive waves. And I'm sitting there and I'm looking at these pictures, man, and I'm like, you're never going to do that. And when I watch you guys, I'm like, obviously, you're never going to do that. And there's this. I don't even want to turn into a negative thing. I think it's just this amount of respect that you have for guys that do things that put themselves in positions where it's all on the line that 99% of us walking around will never do. And so when I think about your career, like, what was it inside of you? What was going on inside of you that you needed combat and that you would be one of those guys?

[D]

You know, I love that question, man, because you always try to explain to people what you're feeling, right? And honestly, I always. I said, I always say, I wish I could let you experience what I experienced. The range of emotions that I would go through every time I went to a fight, from that excitement of walking into the arena to the fear that you get right when you're there, to the warmup and then the excitement again, and then the combing of the nerves before they call your name. And there's always this moment where they go, all right, D.C. walk in in five, four. And then you walk. And as you get closer to the arena, bro, the music gets louder because you're in the hallways, but as you get close, I hear Lil Wayne starting to bump. And then you get excited. And then when you get into the ring, it's like, bro, the main event, the crowd's going crazy, the things there. And it's like, that's what I miss. I only miss that feeling of, God, I'm on the verge of something great.

[A]

And once you're like, is the fear lingering the night before and in the morning?

[D]

And then when it's in the cage, you're still scared in the cage, you're still nervous. Like, when I didn't feel that nervous energy, I was like, man, what is wrong with me? But then I came to realize, as I got older in my career, those weren't fear nerves. They were competitive nerves. I needed to fear that competition. That thing that you said that lived inside me, that made me go and pursue fighting another man in front of thousands and thousands of people, that's what I was missing. If I didn't have that thing in my stomach. And then I remember, I always tell people, I don't care how many people was in there. Bruce Buffer's there, I'm here. The other guy's there. Usher's everywhere. Herb Dean, you're ready to fight. You're ready to fight. You turn. When I would turn back around, everybody was going, and it was just me, that guy, and Herb Dean. And there's a pin inside the octagon. Seriously. Which is crazy to me, because that cage, in those heavyweights, Tom aspinall in Cirogon, 250 and 260, they hit that cage, there's a pin that keeps the door closed. And I could hear that pin drop every time. I could hear when they walked out there to the blue shirts, blue shirts, and they dropped that pin, and it would go clink. And I'd be like, okay, somebody's got to die. It's going to be me or him. One of us is not getting out of here. And you got to look at it like that. And they would say, fight. I was scared until the moment I'm like, listen, if you're scared now, what are you going to do? Jump over this thing and run? You're stuck in there. Go, fight. It's the best man. It's like you recognize very early that there's something in you that makes you different. And you know, I always tell people, I go, hey man, we are nice guys, but we're not normal. To go out there and fight, you're not normal. It's just too much to be normal. There's something in you that's different because.

[A]

Even when you're thinking about maybe younger and the nerves of it and how do I fit in? Is this even a good decision? All these things and then getting a little bit older, it's like, can you even set your fantasy lineup the morning of a fight and be like, all right, let me see who's on waivers? It's like you're fighting, wait a minute, you're fighting a 250 pound guy tonight. Can you do, can you be normal in the morning of that day? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. Could you do it when you were younger?

[D]

As I got older, I got better. But when I was younger, like I. Everything was so new. But, but you got to remember, like, I started when I was 30. I was almost 30.

[A]

That's what I want to get to.

[D]

Yeah. Cuz I was older.

[A]

For again, the audience, they know the deal. Incredible juco record. Go to O State wrestling powerhouse, the Olympic run. And obviously with the, the medical stuff, obviously, probably really disappointing. But then you're what with American kickboxing academy at 30.

[D]

Yeah, 30 years old. I turned 31 six months after I started fighting.

[A]

So what did they say to you when you showed up?

[D]

Well, this guy can really wrestle, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

But even coach Javier said, if this guy isn't a great fighter, at least I know I have a great coach on my hands because he loves coaching. And he's 31 years old about the, you know, he's an Olympian. And then I started to fight and they were like, well, he knows how to make punches land. He don't know what he doing, but he hasn't the real ability to hit people. And they're like, you know, we got something here.

[A]

And you were what, you were wrestling at like 185, all the way up to like plus 200. So what was your, were you thinking, hey, I'm going to be in the 205 range?

[D]

When I cut, I started heavyweight.

[A]

You started at heavyweight?

[D]

Yeah, I started heavyweight. Cain Velasquez was the heavyweight champion. And I was like, I'm in the weight class with this guy because he's going to make me better and that's why I started there. But yeah, you learn to deal with all that emotion as you age. But I had these things, man, to settle myself and all that wrestling helped me. Right. Like, I was much different than most people, starting because I had wrestled at Oklahoma State, I'd wrestled the NCAA Finals, I'd wrestled for a medal in the Olympic Games.

[A]

That's probably the best foundational thing to have. And then it's probably way harder to catch up in the other direction.

[D]

Absolutely. Because we got grappling, right? Like, jiu jitsu comes kind of natural. It's the striking that gets hard. Like, striking's hard because you're figuring all this stuff out while someone's punching you. And honestly, three months into my career, I used to always try to switch southpaw. Right. If you ever watch any fight videos, you'll see the guys fighting with their right hand in front because it's your power. It's your dominant hand. So you. If you throw a punch, this feels faster than this, so you want to put it in front, when in reality, you have to switch because you want the power hand coming from behind. So I would always switch. And then Cain kicked me in the face. I didn't realize that when you switch, it opens up that window for them to kick you. Dude, he kicks me in the face, I turn and I grab the ropes and I go, oh, my God. Oh, my God. I had no idea that I even had that reaction inside of me to turn away from the fight. I go back to Oklahoma because I was still living there at the time. I go to my doctor, they fixed. They reset my nose, and I said, I'm never doing this southpaw thing again. But, you know, I didn't quit. Most people would have quit. Blood was everywhere, dude. I got kicked in the face by Cain Velasquez. I got. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. They say, wait, wait. Kane was going to. He was coming to finish me. He was gonna finish me, man.

[A]

Time out, right?

[D]

I was like, time out, time out. Please stop, stop, stop. White flag. White flag. Man, he was a killer, man, he was so crazy. When. And when he was the world champion, his training habits were so. It was. They were legendary. And I. I realized I'm not doing that no more, and I'm gonna just keep getting better. And that's. That's how I progressed through my career.

[A]

I was watching the Strikeforce fight against Bigfoot today.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

So, you know you're in Strike Force before the UFC and just making sure I know you know that. And I think there was always still this kind of, like. Because even in the broadcast, like, you catch Bigfoot a couple times, but you don't want to Go to the ground with him. Which is shocking with your wrestling background. But then the announcers are like, man, this kid is sick. And they're calling you a kid just because you're newer on the scene, 33 years old. You take it on show, short notice. And that, I thought, was the time with you where it's like, okay, so wait, what are we doing again here? He's shorter. His reach isn't even close to some of these other guys, the heavyweight class. Like, he's kind of this stout, but it doesn't seem like he's naturally going to carry, like, 250 and. And be as big as some of these other dudes. And again, Bigfoot looked like he wasn't even from this planet. On top of everything else, I mean, he's scary if you don't have to fight him. And you were so quick around him. You were so quick. And then you get him with the uppercut. And I don't know if that was a moment, because it was short time. You're a massive underdog in that spot where, you know, I'm sure there's plenty of times you're like, okay, I'm good now. I'm just wondering what that fight meant to you as far as confidence.

[D]

I was there. I was there. He had just beat Fedor.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

That's why I didn't go on the ground with him, because I just watched him destroy Fader, and I'm like, he's so good on the ground, when in reality he wasn't. He probably wasn't. He probably wasn't. He wasn't as good as I made him in my mind.

[A]

You wanted nothing to do with him on the ground, which is so shocking to watch, that because of you.

[D]

Yeah, I know.

[A]

But then when he tried to take you down the Sprawls, you're like, oh, here he is. Here's the rest of it.

[D]

Yeah, it's a little bit different, right. Defensive wrestling. But I made him so scary that when I fought him, he wasn't. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm ready. I think I knew when I was ready more than ever was the next fight. I fought Josh Barnett in the finals of that tournament, and I had only been fighting. I mean, I fought him in 2012. April. I only started fighting in September of 2010. 9. 9. I hadn't even fought three years yet. I fought Bigfoot Silva in less than two years of fighting in my career, and Josh had been a UFC champion. I fought him for 25 minutes. He cut Me. He elbowed me. My face was cut, my head was cut. And I was like, man, if I can get through this, I can fight just about anybody in the world. And that's when I knew I was it. It hurt bad, though, Ryan. It hurt bad, man. I. I remember being after the fight, I got this belt, and I'm taking pictures. I'm the man. And the moment I walked into the room, my mom was sitting there, and I finally made some good money. I started crying. My baby. She said, my baby.

[A]

He tried to kill me.

[D]

He tried to kill me. I had blood. I had cuts here. My eyes were all cut. I was like, he tried to kill me. And then my mom just, like, made me feel better. I was always like that kid that when I got around my mom, I would start breaking down, man, that was a mama's boy. I grew up in Louisiana, man. You got some experience in Louisiana. You know how people are. It's like, I just love my mama.

[A]

I. I love that fight so much against Bigfoot, because I can see all your boys are in the crowd.

[D]

Oh, they were so happy.

[A]

They're going nuts. And they have all that early. Like, they have, like, the great outfits from back then, too. Like, I think there's a guy decked out in the all white cap, and I'm like, this polo's on. Yeah, right, right.

[D]

Tommy Hilfiger.

[A]

And so I. I. The reason I again, like to that fight, because there's. There's a sequence where he throws a bunch of combinations into the cage, and you duck all of it, and then you kind of, like, laugh, like, did I just get away with that? And then you. Cat leg. And then there's this spinning kick, and you're kind of putting together all of this stuff where I think you're like, okay, this is just going to be. If you go with the traditional matchups of, like, you know, when the guys stand next to each other in the cage sometimes, it's crazy. Even at the lighter weights, we're like, hey, this guy's 185. That guy's won. Even, like, that guy looks so much bigger than this guy. It was just. You were too quick. You were too quick for the. For so many of the guys you went up against.

[D]

Well, growing up, growing up down in the south, it's like we were constantly outside, like, always playing sports. Whether it was football, wrestling, basketball, baseball, track and field. We just were always playing sports. So while I may have. I didn't look like the greatest athlete. Right. Little bit soft around the belly. Shorter, like you said, stocky. But I was always able to move. I was so much faster than the heavyweights. Khabib said. This one time, Khabib goes. You look at him, and he looks like he's just fat guy, right? He goes, but he's like, bear. You grab this guy, he's like, bear, right? Because it was like, muscle and strength, and it's like, yeah, it was funny. That fight gave me a little bit of a false idea of what fighting was going to be at the highest level, because it was so easy and I beat him so bad. But I learned very quickly once I got to the ufc.

[A]

Yeah, but that's harder. That's the thing. Like, when you look through the record, it's the two losses to Stipe at the end, it's the no contest with Jones, and then the other one.

[C]

You.

[A]

Know, you go, man, like, that's an incredible, incredible run. Because, like, you can go like, all right, well, look, I don't know how you felt about the steepe ones at the end. If you felt like you were done, right?

[D]

Money was too good, though. I was done.

[A]

Did you know, even the first one, you were like, I shouldn't take this fight.

[D]

Well, my back. I remember. Remember when I was fighting Derrick Lewis in November the year before, I sneezed and my back went out on the day of the fight.

[A]

That's always a good sign.

[D]

I sneezed while I was running, and my back went out. So then the UFC team came, and we did therapy, and we did stim and ice and we massaged, and I was able to go fight. But then the next month, I went to practice and I kicked Cain Velasquez, and he checked it, and it just sent a shock all the way up my leg to my back. And I ended up having surgery on my back. And then I was gone until August of the next year, right? But I was never the same. I could recognize that I was never the same. But then I just felt like I was better than Stipe. Honestly, even that second fight, I was beating him three rounds to zero. I was killing him. And then he. I got tired, and he finished me. And then the last fight, I mean, the UFC was good to me. So when they said, hey, do you want to fight him the third time? We're going to still pay you as the champion. We're still going to give you pay per view. I'm like, absolutely. And then I got Covid three weeks before the fight. I didn't. I tested positive for Covid until, like, 10 days before I fought Stipe, so. But I was done. I was 41 years old. So when Dana goes out and goes, I thought D.C. retired too early. I'm like, bro, you could have wheeled me out there.

[C]

I was done.

[A]

The. The Jones fights, I remember after the second one, I think. What did you say? You were like, hey, there's no rivalry, right?

[D]

If he wins them all, right?

[A]

And Joe, which is a really odd dynamic because usually, like, the media just gets. Because we're not as cool, and yet Joe's your partner, but then he's interviewing you after the kick, and then he got all sorts of shit for interviewing you after that. That time. It's like, I don't know, man. These guys are like, I bet you DC's not going to have any problem with Joe, so why are we gonna all, like, get really. But maybe it was kind of like a really cool thing that people in the fight community were so protective of you, you know, that they were like, hey, why are you doing this to him? But I think specifically, like, that matchup with. With John, I. I could probably guess again. I don't know you, but as a fighter, you're not gonna be like, oh, yeah, cool. I have a ton of pride in the no contest after the fact. I don't. I don't think that would necessarily be the case. But there's probably a part of you that it's still kind of pissed.

[D]

Well, yeah, it's upsetting because I feel like. I feel like. Like a lot of the decisions he made affects your legacy, and that sucks outside. If you'd have beat me the second time. Hey, man, the guy got me, right? I've lost wrestling matches. I've lost in the Olympic Games. Like, I can deal with loss. It's just the other stuff, like.

[A]

And those losses, too. Historically, you're like, right? It's a cuss.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah. Just give me a shot. Give me a shot of doing this thing the right way. That's what sucked. And that's why when they called me, man, I'm like, in Hawaii with my family on vacation, right? Trying to decompress, and Dana's calling me. I'm like. I'm like, finally out of the house, man.

[C]

Dude.

[D]

Beats me. It's like, July, three weeks, I'm at home because I always deal with loss. Very bad. Like, very, very bad.

[A]

Which is a good sign, by the way.

[D]

It's a good sign.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

I don't.

[A]

I think. I think you should be miserable, depressed, ruined.

[D]

These fighters today, they go to social media when they're in a locker room, wasn't my night. So then everybody that loves them go, you're still my champion. Whereas me, I don't want to see social media. I want to go live in a dark room. So I don't deal with this no more. I finally get up, they convince me to Hawaii. Dana calls me soon as I'm checking into the hotel. Next thing you know, I'm back in the room for six hours crying. Because now I know what's going to come with them giving me that belt back. But, yes, I didn't mind the interview. I thought Joe did what he had to do. And it changed, though, because now we don't interview guys that get knocked out. But let me tell you how the world works, right? I wasn't the one doing the wrong thing. This company, Anderson Ord, is the company that sponsors me with all my golf apparel and everything. The guy called me on a blind call to start a partnership because of the interview with Joe. He goes, because I could see, because I'm crying in the octagon, because I'm so. I am so hurt by losing because I put so much on myself that you saw me at my core. It destroyed me. And he was like, your passion. He goes, it was your passion that made me relate to you. And now I've got a partnership with a company that I love, that I've been having for years now. So it's like things happen for a reason. Joe interviewed me because he had to, because it's going to lead to me getting the relationship that I have today. You know, it's like that. That's how things work.

[A]

And I love you. And Joe and Anik, it's like a really good combination. It's hard to do that, man. It's hard to pull off with three people. And I know you mix it up every now and then, but like, your stature, your resume, Joe's passion, and then also the fact that he has a combat background, you know, but he's not. But he's also not one of those guys that thinks, like, oh, you know, who knows? When I was 30, I could have, like, he's the first guy to tell everybody you're not tough. And then Anik, who I knew right after college and his first on air gig was with us, it doesn't feel like you even have to prep. I mean, I know you do because of the fighters and everything, but it, it's. This is the part of the partnership of Paramount that I'm excited about for you guys, because Again, Anika is such a close friend, but that's an unbelievable, like, group that figures out how to educate and also how to get out of the way. But then also have it be natural, because there's nothing more natural than losing your shit when somebody else knocks somebody else out.

[D]

It's the best. Let me tell you. I loved some of the calls that we've had where people like, oh, my. There's this one meme of, like, Joe's like, this. My head's on his shoulder. John's like, it's like when Benell Dariush was fighting. But the one, to me that mattered the most. I'm pretty sure you were. When Amanda Nunes lost, dude, I made a sound. I made a sound that I did not know that I was capable of screeching at that pitch. But the whole time, dude, seriously, we're hand fighting. You don't even realize. I'm hanging on Rogan's arm like, oh, my God, she's about to lose. And John's, like, leaning into the table. Like, he's like. John's hands are, like, on the table grabbing at his papers. Because we're watching a woman that's a minus 800 favorite look like it's about to happen. And Julianna Pena is doing exactly what she said she was going to do. She goes, I'm just going to be a mean, and that's going to be enough. And you're watching the greatest female fighter of all time just melting. Julianna, she's punching Giuliana, but Giuliana's, like, punching her back. And then she bulldog chokes her. She grabs her on the side and chokes her. Like you choke your little brother when you try, dude, me. And we're hand fighting. I'm, like, grabbing him. He's grabbing me. John's, like, screeching at the papers. And then I go, oh, my God, she's gonna lose. I was like, this is. It was. It's like. And when you're a fan, that's what it is.

[A]

It sounds like three guys that are incredibly educated.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

But are also, like, the biggest fans.

[D]

And when you love what you do, it's not work. It's not work. We're getting to hang out with, like, our friends.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And do a job. That is just awesome.

[A]

Well, I. Like, I said I'm biased because Annex my guy. But I. I think you three guys are like, you know, you think about football booths and basketball broadcasts and all these different things. And I'm like, I actually think this might be the best booth in all of sports.

[D]

Thank you so much. Hey. John is like our parent. He keeps us in line. He's the. For him to operate as professional as he does in that situation is crazy, isn't it? Sometimes Joe and I will talk for five straight minutes and they're like, let in again.

[A]

But that's the thing is you need like, he's ready to go. He's probably using less than 5% of his prep because I know he's a freak when it comes to the prep, which is one of the, like, the core things that made him so good. But he also is not remotely, like, egotistical.

[D]

He has no ego.

[A]

Right. He's like, I know, I know what, what? But if I need to get in there and fix something, or if I need to get in there, give like a little bit more. His instincts on it are incredible.

[D]

That, that, that, that right there. So if like sometimes we get quiet, right, because we have so much energy. Early middle of the fight card, you might think John will ask a question. But dc, what if he. And then all of a sudden, bam. I'm back in the game.

[A]

Exactly. And like, look, fights are fights. Like there can be, you know, just an undercard where your second round, minute to go and you're like, oh, this is a dud.

[D]

We're sitting there and John will hit you with a question. It's like, oh, wait, prom. I'm back.

[A]

No, he's got incredible instincts. And I'm glad that we're having a love fest for an. My last question for you. Did you really turn down an LSU scholarship for football?

[D]

Because I wanted to wrestle. Yes. Dude, it's, it's, it's, it's hard though, right?

[A]

Because it had to be hard to be a Louisiana kid and say, no necessarily.

[D]

First off, I had bad grades and back then there was the Clearinghouse and all that.

[A]

Right? Yeah. Somehow that all went away.

[D]

Yes. It just gone. No more standard.

[A]

Do you remember. Can we, can we do this for a second? I remember when Huggins used to get for those Cincinnati basketball teams on their graduation record.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Somehow, literally no one cares about. I need to do a segment on this. That used to be a thing. It's like, oh, Cincinnati's ranked number one. Be like, what's their graduation rate? And like, people used to talk about this kind of stuff. So I just. Cuz with your juco thing, I meant to be like, granted, maybe since the basketball players are leaving so soon, but the football thing, like, did everybody just get smarter?

[D]

They were just letting Them go to school, they're just.

[A]

Everybody's just getting in now.

[D]

Crazy. But, well, they don't do them anymore. They don't take the test.

[A]

They don't take the clearinghouse.

[D]

No, they don't do none of the.

[A]

Clearinghouse because it was the Prop 48.

[D]

I think it's coming back, though. I think. I'm not exactly sure.

[A]

I'm not educated enough on it, but I think we're. We're like.

[D]

And so when I was going to junior college, it's like, well, junior college wrestling sounds a lot better than junior college football if you can't go and play football here. Also, I was having a ton of success in wrestling. I was a state champion. I had made the United States under 16 team, and I was good. And then I was by myself because in Louisiana, wrestling's not huge. So I'm running by myself. I'm doing all the things that I need to do to go and become a guy that got third in the world when I was 16 years old. But then I come back to football, and while I'm good, my team's bad, but because everybody thinks they're freaking Kevin Falk. You're not Kevin Falk.

[A]

Great.

[D]

Very few of us are right Kevin Falk. And I would say this in the locker room after my junior year, I'm like, guys, I say not all of us are going to go play football at Mississippi State or LSU or any of these schools, right? That we're talking to. Kevin Falk did. Because when we couldn't score, we're fourth and one and we go for it and they stop us. Kevin runs a 99 yard quarterback sneak. That's why he's better than us, right? That's why he's going to the NFL, not the rest of us. Like, so when all that was weighed, right, I'm like, I don't want to be responsible for 10 other guys or 11 other guys. I want to be able to go and run and train and lift and wrestle and do the extra work. And if it. If I do everything I'm supposed to do, it's going to lead to me being a good wrestler. And that's why I wrestle instead of playing football. And there's too much pressure to play football in Louisiana. It's crazy, man. These coaches are out of their minds.

[A]

You like, the solitary part of it.

[D]

I like having the ability to control my destiny. And that's what I did. And every loss is on me that I've had in fighting, in wrestling and everything else. It's always been on me. That's why I can live the life I live today.

[A]

And the overall record tells you it doesn't happen that often with yours. Thanks so much for letting us get to enjoy your careers, fans. And thanks for today, man.

[D]

You are the man. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

[B]

Out on the course, they're the PGA Tour's best players.

[A]

But in the arena, they're prime time.

[B]

In season two of the TGL, presented.

[D]

By SoFi, is back.

[B]

With lights, cameras, action.

[C]

We're talking big moments, big personalities, big.

[B]

Names in the stands, all on the big screen.

[A]

Big time matchups with shot clocks, camera drops, timeouts, overtime, and playoffs. It's city versus city, squad versus squad. This sport just hits different under the lights. It's TGL, presented by SoFi.

[D]

Keep up.

[B]

It's golf.

[C]

Tune in to every match only on ESPN.

[A]

You want details, buy I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet.

[B]

What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the south fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine.

[A]

And best of all, kids, I am liquid.

[D]

So now you know what's possible.

[B]

Let me tell you what's required.

[A]

LifeAdvice. LifeAdvice. Rrmail.com from ESPN. From ESPN Radio, Michelle Smallman. Unsportsmanlike morning show, Monday through Friday, 6am Eastern Time. Early early starts for here on the west coast. She's here with Kyle. Suri. It's great to be reunited again. I know Kyle. You don't feel a little like. Because this was. This was our crew for a while.

[C]

I gotta say, without the Chinatown dinner last year. Two years ago, I think I might have just, like, begged off of this one.

[A]

But she really made me feel like.

[C]

I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here.

[E]

So now this is no lie. Michelle just like randomly text be like, Kyle's like, low key, hilarious. I'm like, it's not low key. Like, Kyle's like, life advice.

[A]

He's the blush.

[F]

No, I would text Ryan when I would listen. I'm like, I think I'm Kyle's number one fan. So that's great. We were the crew member. But I'm your number one fan.

[A]

That is true.

[E]

Kyle's been getting venmos from random people. So he might not be his number one fan. But you're up there.

[F]

How much?

[C]

I don't want to say.

[F]

Okay. Is it substantial, yes or no?

[C]

No. When I first started getting to venmos, it was substantial, but at this point, no, it's not. It's not making as big a dent as it used to, but it's still really nice to.

[E]

I got a pity one this morning. Somebody was like, hey, don't. Hope you don't feel left out. Here's five bucks. It's like, I'll take what I can get.

[A]

Sure. You never get any venmos.

[F]

I.

[A]

Never mind.

[F]

I had to make mine private because I kept getting people requesting to be my friend on Venmo. Dudes that I did not know.

[C]

See, this was my issue, is I didn't like it as a way of communication. That's why I didn't like to acknowledge the venmos, because I didn't like that you could get to me that way. But he made me feel bad for.

[A]

Not saying thank you. That it could have got out of.

[C]

Control with you is what. This is the point I was trying to make.

[F]

But I love money, so that would be.

[A]

I denied them, like, you know, hey, how'd you guys meet? Oh, we met on Venmo. Everyone's stories. This could be a life advice email. Yeah. Hey, there's this girl I've been Venmoing with. She seemed to totally. We totally get along. She laughs at all. My. Was not really a lot of discourse on there, though.

[E]

So look, resort guy. That's his. In his other end.

[A]

Is he resort? Did you listen to our most recent one?

[F]

I did not.

[A]

That's okay.

[F]

Sorry. I was traveling here. I was flying here.

[A]

No, but that was a good one for you because that's why you're here. We need. We need to buff out maybe some of the rough edges every now and then. It's generally a male perspective on the show. So we have a couple kind of. I don't know. They're not all dating ones, but we did have a dating one from a guy who had met a girl. He started teaching her how to snowboard. He said that she wasn't texting back as soon as he was texting. He also said he had been a bit of a rut, which made me wonder if, like, you were hypertexting because you were just in such a great mood. You met somebody cute. They spent the day snowboarding together, realized they lived kind of close to each other. And then she was like, hey, I'm not a great texter. And then didn't text for, like a day. Apologized for the delay, which is fine. It's a bad texture, which I understand. But then she said something along the lines of like, maybe we'll see each other at the moment.

[C]

Mountain.

[F]

Oh, that's a. I'm not interested.

[A]

Yeah.

[F]

Thanks so much. Take care.

[E]

But it didn't make any sense because they. She could have. I guess she couldn't have. I mean, they. They had a one on one, basically all ski data themselves. And, you know, they were texting afterwards. There were like, other signs that would suggest that she was. That, like, she was kind of interested in him. And all of a sudden it was like, actually, no. Like, I'll see you out there.

[C]

But have you ever just given somebody your number because you didn't want to have to say no because it's awkward?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You're like, I'll just ghost you later. And then I don't have to deal with.

[F]

So in college, I had a college boyfriend and guys used to offer to buy me drinks. And I, of course, was poor. I would not turn them down. And this is. I think this is still karma coming back to me today. I'm not proud of this, but I used to give out Mike Jones phone number 281-33-08004.

[D]

Damn.

[C]

Nobody caught that in college.

[A]

Not one guy.

[F]

You are not for me. If you don't know I'm giving you Mike Jones phone number. You're obviously not for me.

[A]

You could actually call Mike Jones for a while.

[D]

I did.

[B]

I called him.

[F]

They went to voicemail.

[C]

It's still active, I think it is.

[B]

I may or may not recently.

[A]

I know. I went to go see him in concert.

[F]

How was he?

[A]

Not great.

[F]

Oh, that hurts me deep.

[A]

Yeah. It actually led to, like, my own little conflict because there was somebody that I was talking to and I was like, okay, whatever. And then I called. It was like, hey, I know. I said. I was like, shutting it down. I was like, I'm actually going out last minute. And then she's like, well, you lied. And I was like, I didn't lie. I didn't know Mike Jones was playing seven minutes from my house. And I recently was talking about Mike Jones again. I was like, I think there was some sort of. He reached out about him coming on the show. I was like, I feel like I have to go see Mike Jones. Like, this is. And then she's like, well, you lied. You said you were going to bed and not doing anything tonight. I'm like, again, I didn't lie because I didn't have the full palette of information on what was available tonight.

[C]

And that was probably right above the bar that it would take to get.

[A]

You out of bed.

[C]

Seriously, that's probably right near the bar, right almost under it.

[A]

I had Just moved. So I was a little, little bit more active.

[F]

But isn't this the same as me if I'm giving out Mike Jones phone number and the dude doesn't realize it that like maybe she wasn't for you because she doesn't understand. Hey, when Mike Jones is seven minutes down the road, I gotta go.

[A]

I. That's what I, you know, that's a good point. See, Michelle's good. She's here. She's just reading, reading the map. She didn't even need the. The compass on this one. So yeah, then I went to go see Mike Jones and it again was not. It was my. My hopes weren't super high.

[F]

Sure.

[A]

And yet it was still rap nonsense. Are hit or disappointment.

[E]

Like very.

[A]

Although I will say it was sort of over and then it wasn't. I mean it was bad.

[E]

The all time miss by you.

[F]

Oh, I know.

[E]

Better than Ezra is when you guys, for some like Lil Wayne was playing in Baton Rouge and you guys stuck around. Nothing against better than Ezra.

[F]

Shout out to them. Shout out to them.

[A]

It was.

[E]

I don't remember how he got in.

[A]

Did you get tickets?

[F]

Who? Yeah, I got a tickets to Lil Wayne.

[E]

It was at like a high school gym. Who opened? Was it like Lil Uzi?

[A]

I can't believe I turned this down. It was.

[F]

The. Remember the guy with the backpack on? Who was it that opened?

[E]

Also great little backpack. But like Lil Wayne at a high school gym in Baton Rouge. That was. That was an all time miss by you. Michelle and I had a great time.

[A]

I'm sure you guys had a great time, but it was, it was my friend's bar. Kyle, what about your favorite time from that weekend? All right, good transition then. Good transition. Let's get right into it then. Friend cheated on fiance.

[F]

Oh, no.

[A]

All right, so we'll defer. We'll let Smallman go first because I think she'll probably be able to handle all this.

[F]

Okay, let's do it.

[A]

63235. No impressive gym stats, but consistently go five, six days a week. Great job.

[C]

That's right there, buddy.

[A]

Yeah. Mix of strength, cardio, ski one, two times a week. So here's the situation. Back in the fall, I learned that a friend of mine, Larry, name's changed, cheated on his fiance, Sandy. Sounds like a terrible couple. Anyway, it's Larry and Sandy during the summer of 2024. For context, Larry proposed a year later in the summer of 2025. And the wedding is scheduled for September 2026.

[C]

Patterns.

[A]

After learning this information this past fall, I Still processing what I had learned, shared it with my wife. That seems a little creative writing ish. But we'll keep going here. As I learned this information came out, Larry was informed that I knew. All right, you're spreading the news. Right? Right. After speaking to Larry about it myself, one of the things that I encouraged him to do was talk to Sandy about what had happened so that she could make the best possible decision before getting married. Whoa. Fast forward a month or so. My wife and I were chatting about the situation. She told me that she would absolutely not attend the wedding if Larry does not talk to Sandy about what happened. That she feels it is morally wrong to support this marriage knowing that we know. Adding, if Larry does talk to Sandy about it and Sandy's cool to go through with it, then my wife's fine going to the wedding. Being that my wife is a cool wife, as Cerutty always labels his wife Michelle, you can back that up.

[F]

Maddie's the coolest.

[A]

There you go.

[E]

Thank you.

[A]

Also a fan. She told me that I could go to the wedding if I wanted to, but she wouldn't be going until we know if Larry has talked to Sandy. However, after sitting with this information for longer and hearing my wife's reasoning for not going, I now feel like it would be disingenuous to attend the wedding without her. I also don't want to be put in the position where I have to lie about why she's not there. To complicate things, family that are invited to the wedding are excited about going back and visiting, and they're excited. I don't want. He's giving away some locations here. So I don't even want to do that because then it's similar to Sandy's that he won't. Yeah. So basically just like, travel stuff and like, hey, aren't you coming here? Everybody's excited to reunite. In my most recent communication with Larry, he shared with me that talking about this brings up a panic response and he doesn't want to talk about it. Sounds like he doesn't want to talk about it with Sandy then, buddy. I recognize that we may never know what happens with this information between them and it's not totally our business. However, having recently gotten married. Bingo. Good job of not making it your business. However, recently got married. My wife feels that Sandy should know before making this big decision. So here's my question. One, how can I support Larry and him having this conversation with Sandy? I don't know if this is real, knowing it's the right thing to do. For Sandy. Two, if we don't find out if he had the conversation, what should I do about attending the wedding with or without my wife? Three, is there any way I can convince my wife to go, hmm?

[F]

Okay, just a quick context here. Is the wife good friends with Sandy or just know Sandy through the guys? Okay. Because that's huge here. If it was. If I was. So I'm very good friends with Steve's wife. Steve's obviously my guy.

[A]

I don't like where this fictional scenario.

[F]

I'm just saying it. It changes the dynamics if I am actually friends with that person.

[C]

Don't you think she would have just cut out the middleman if that was actually. If they were that close?

[A]

Let's operate that they're not super close because they don't say that they are.

[F]

Just wanted to get that out of the way.

[A]

Okay.

[F]

Oh, this one is so tricky because if the wedding is on the horizon, things have been paid for. This could really cause a big situation with a big ripple effect. You guys are married. You understand. I would tend to lean on the side of saying, this is not our business. Let the groom, soon to be groom, handle this. It's his situation. It's his relationship. Who are we to get involved? I understand wanting to be a girl's girl because I am one. I would be really mad if I was getting married and a bunch of people knew that my fiance cheated on me and they didn't let me know. It's a tough moment.

[A]

That's a bad wedding time. Like, if you are getting married and everyone knows. I mean, give me a break. That would be awful.

[F]

It would be.

[A]

But you might not ever find out.

[C]

Super muddy.

[F]

Yeah, but also, especially if they're not really good friends, you also don't know the full dynamics of their relationship. And you don't know necessarily everything that's happened behind closed doors. You don't know what Sandy's been doing in her extracurricular time. Do you know what I'm saying? So you could be inserting yourself and your wife into a situation where it could blow up in your face. Because what if he tells Sandy and then she's like, well, I didn't want to know this, et cetera. So I would just err on the side of caution and err on the side of minding my own business, even though I totally respect the wife's position of wanting to be a girl's girl and making sure that Sandy doesn't walk down the aisle without all the details and enter a relationship that maybe she doesn't want to be in.

[E]

Yeah, it feels like, who's the closer friend? Like you're closer to Larry. So you make the rule. You make the rule here. Like, it's your call. And I would stay out of it 100%. But like, she's still not gonna go to the wedding, though, it sounds like. So it's gonna be our guy just going solo and having to explain why she's not there. Or you could just say she's sick or whatever. I guess you could lie. But it's. To me, it's your call. If it's your friend, it's less her call.

[A]

Your wife's call.

[E]

Even though she seems like she's inserting herself pretty aggressively into the situation.

[C]

Gonna take this in a little different direction. There was no part of this email where this, this guy was like, I wish I just kept my mouth shut. Well, yeah, sorry for cursing. I wish, I wish there was a little. I hope there was a learning thing here where you want to learn. You could just deal with this information with. I get wanting to tell your wife everything, but I think if you're looking at like, would your wife be hurt? Would this really. Was this super deceptive or is this just nice and clean and. And like, I'm sure he didn't think that his wife would be like, well, I'm not going to the wedding unless all this stuff happens.

[E]

I would tell my wife, though, but I know my wife wouldn't. I know Maddie wouldn't.

[C]

Like, so clearly bad read by this guy.

[B]

If.

[E]

Okay, so, well, hold on.

[F]

What about option C? What if our guy facilitates a sit down between his wife and Larry where she can air out her grievances, yell at him, tell him how mad she is, and then maybe he'll be like.

[E]

Okay, on behalf of the bride.

[F]

On behalf of the bride.

[C]

Maybe Larry would rather she just not.

[A]

Show up to the wedding and go.

[C]

Through this because she's going to have.

[F]

A couple vodka sodas and be like, I know what you're did.

[A]

I just can't imagine caring enough about anyone's wedding unless it was like a sister or mine. Or I'd be like, I don't respect. I don't respect the agreement up here because you guys haven't been right.

[E]

Yeah.

[F]

What if she objects? What if she shows up and objects?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, part of me, whenever we get an email like this, like, if you're living your life to this kind of standard, then maybe you are doing better than me. Like, maybe things are really are working out that you're like, no, no, no. Like, this is the standard and this is like, if. Need a better not.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

If this is not the contract. We're talking about love and like, are you serious? Let Larry and Sandy be man like. And go see your relatives. Like, what? You know, you. I know the dynamic of, like, your wife not being there muddies it up a little bit. But you're not in charge here. Yes. So why do you care about this this much?

[F]

Unless they're friends, which is why I asked that question. Because that I can understand.

[A]

If the wife is that close with the fiance, sure. But he never says that. So, I mean, do they. Maybe the assumption should be that they are close because they care enough to be involved in all this stuff. But I don't know. I can't. Managing myself is hard enough. I'm not in a hurry to add a bunch of people to the list. List of things that I have to be, like, giving you approval on.

[C]

I'm upset at this guy.

[F]

That's a heavy responsibility. If you break up a wedding, that's a heavy responsibility.

[C]

I'm upset at this guy. I like to usually take our email or something.

[A]

You don't like this guy? This is an assault of the.

[C]

Well, it's like she was like, oh, I would certainly tell my wife, but my wife wouldn't have reacted like that. So this guy either has a bad read on his wife or he's got a bad picker with what he should.

[A]

And shouldn't be telling.

[C]

So either way, this is almost all your fault. Obviously, Larry is the number one see in the troublemakers here, but you really are cutting it.

[A]

Well, it also sucks, though, too. Like, in fairness to Larry on some of this, though, we have so many of these emails where it comes along. It's like, I found out that so and so did this thing and now I'm in this dilemma where, like, my wife is mad I didn't tell her, and you're like, okay, I get that the idea is you're married and like, I'm. But it's like, hey, guess what happened today? Drop your bag.

[C]

Sometimes it's like, oh, how's Larry?

[A]

Good. Yeah.

[B]

And that's fine.

[A]

Right?

[C]

It's okay.

[A]

Can you check in with all your honesty right now before we get dinner? So that one's. Honestly, it feels like you're making it more complicated than it needs.

[F]

But any guilt, though, that we're letting Sandy get into a union with someone that cheated on her and she doesn't know?

[E]

No. Because you don't know, maybe.

[A]

Maybe 24. Yeah, 24 could suck for him. Yeah, they figured it out. They Got engaged in 25. Quick turnaround. Doesn't even sound like they're gonna be waiting.

[E]

Yeah.

[F]

What was the severity level of this relationship then?

[A]

You know, 12, 13 months later, they're ready to walk down the aisle. They get a reservation the place people are booking flights.

[E]

I mean, Larry's conscious is fine, apparently.

[A]

So I. Yeah, Larry sounds like. As much as we may be frustrated with him, you keep living life to your level of.

[C]

Interesting that he basically claimed mental health when he's like, I actually don't wanna talk about this with you, dude. It's freaking me out.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah.

[F]

Anxiety.

[A]

Okay, like, pull up, Paul George. Like, I'm just not ready for this. All right, all right, Here we go. 5, 10, 180. Looking to cut about £10. Aren't we all nice by early March or spring break. Oh, he's 21. Yeah. Chest and buys, buddy. I get it. Right before spring break last year, college bench, 245 times 5. That's pretty great. Look at that. Run a marathon. Sub 4:30, no training. Bad idea. Sore for a week.

[F]

No training. Shout out to you.

[A]

Okay. All right. Because with Wargon gone, you're a resident runner.

[F]

Yeah, I ran one marathon full. I did the New York City Marathon this past fall. I'll never do it again. It was horrific. Awful. My entire right leg seized around mile 18. I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance. I didn't think I would finish it. So sub 4:30, and you didn't train.

[E]

Wow.

[A]

Sore for a week, he said.

[B]

All right.

[E]

21 is crazy.

[A]

Yeah. Player comp. Drew Timmy at Gonzaga. I like to be creative around the rim because I've been this height since sixth grade, so I'm not good at guard, but I like to score and post and rebound. That sucks. When you're enormous in for basketball purposes.

[C]

Just big for no reason.

[A]

Right. But then also, like, you don't learn any guard skills. And then you're like, hey, you're also full size and you're 10. Yeah.

[B]

This is it.

[E]

Yep.

[A]

And so now you're not gonna play. Yeah. You're not gonna learn post, buddy. Yeah. You have to get real wide.

[B]

All right.

[A]

So I broke with my girlfriend at six months. We moved fast. We were long distance, but visited a lot as I'm in college in Arizona and she's in college back home. Broke up with her for a lot of reasons. Effort was a big one. I'd send Handwritten notes. I know a stationary place not north of San Francisco if you guys need any stationary.

[F]

I said handwritten market, so thanks.

[A]

Handwritten notes, flowers, scheduled texts for 7:13am Our anniversary was 7:13.

[F]

He was in deep.

[A]

This is always a bad idea. I'd pay her sorority to buy her coffee and flowers as a surprise. When I was at school in Arizona. Broke up with her because I was getting minimal effort back. Yeah, no shit. She's 21, buddy. You're.

[F]

And in a sorority.

[A]

Right? Like, you know, great for this guy. This guy doesn't win in college with these moves. That doesn't work. That wouldn't work on sorority. Smallman back in the day.

[F]

It did not.

[E]

Okay, all right.

[A]

All right. Broke other. Because I was getting minimal effort back. She was distraught and handled the breakup terribly. Even though I tried to let her down easy. Blaming the breakup on me and taking blame work on myself type stuff. After the breakup, she was Venmoing me. Maybe people are meeting on Venmo, emailing me, sending me Megan Maroney songs. Break it right back.

[F]

Unfamiliar.

[A]

Sorry.

[C]

Huge blind spot in the music. Wow.

[F]

Seriously?

[A]

0 for 4. I was leaning on you guys. They're sending me TikToks. I had a blocker on every single app possible, even the Bible app. Safe to say I dodged a bullet. I've been nothing but respectful. Even though she said some heinous stuff that isn't true. Hey, brother. Been there. It's nice that she's been blocked on everything for a week and now we can't talk. I even deleted my Instagram account because I don't want to be on social media. There's some context, and it gets me to my question. Is it okay that I've told a lot of my good friends all these details of the breakup, Specifically her saying doing what wild things part? It's making me significantly easy to get over her knowing I dodged a bullet. But she was always hard to deal with in arguments anyway. But this has been a whole new level. How long do I have to wait to get back out there in the dating scene? I got four months left at one of the most attractive colleges that exists. Yes. He's not going. We're not going to share it, but you're in a good spot. I'd love to find my wife here. Thanks, guys.

[D]

Wow.

[B]

All right.

[C]

That's a different type of dude.

[A]

Yeah, that pivot is a different type of sentence. Told us a lot.

[F]

Yes, I agree.

[C]

I think you should join a church immediately. It seems like that's where Another one. Type it.

[F]

Find your wife Bible app.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, he just can't wait to get back into another thing right before he's done with college and then going to move somewhere else. Right?

[A]

We are like, today is the standard life advice. Like, people are living a very regimented standard. Know what you want. So, like, look, we get a college guy who's running marathons, no training, he's throwing around 245 like it's nothing. And he wants to be married, obviously. Right. So.

[F]

And by the way, acting like a husband. Scheduled texts, flowers calling her, scheduled FaceTimes. He's acting like a responsible and lovely partner that did not get reciprocity in this relationship.

[A]

Yeah, you're just not. To your credit, you're not going to be appreciated in this age group doing these things.

[F]

And if you are, then maybe that's your wife, because I promise you sorority smallman's like, what day is it? What time is it? I need to buy a toga for tonight. I'm not that focused on the 7:13am FaceTimes.

[A]

And no offense, if she's at, say.

[C]

Arizona State, she's probably on like a mandatory date with another fraternity, right?

[A]

Whatever happens in the water down there with females at Arizona State. Female women.

[F]

Female women.

[B]

I mean, there's one in here right now.

[A]

She'S trying to pick out the first guy she's gonna divorce.

[F]

Well, let's not go there. She's just trying to enjoy her youth.

[A]

Sure, fine. But I'm just saying there's a mindset when you drop somebody off at Scottsdale where it's like, it's a little different. They're built different there.

[F]

So what's the question? How long does he have to wait to talk to his friends?

[C]

No, no. To get back to dating.

[A]

I think it's another high standard guy where he doesn't even feel comfortable telling his group of friends why he broke up with her. Because one, he said he wasn't getting enough effort back, but then also him saying, hey, she said these terrible things about me. And he's like, almost feels like he's defying their trust by even sharing some of these details.

[F]

But you dumped her, so who cares? You blocked her on everything. Who cares? Be transparent with your friends as to why this relationship ended. You have no loyalty to her anymore. You just said, she's not my wife, so why do you care if your friends know that she wasn't responding to your texts and didn't appreciate your flowers? I will say this. He says, how long till I Get back out there. I would encourage our guy to take a page out of his ex's book and take a beat and enjoy college. I know you are ready.

[A]

He doesn't sound like that.

[F]

I know you're ready to be booed up for life. Locked down.

[A]

Never said that on the show before. Boot up. Yeah.

[D]

Oh.

[F]

First time for everything.

[E]

What's up? T shirts.

[F]

But you're never going to be this age again. You will never be this age again. You said you have four months left at a great university. Why don't you take those four months and hang out with your friends and have a good time? If you meet somebody, drop 10 pounds, dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[F]

Yeah. Get in the gym, maybe get some abs. Maybe meet a girl there. Have some fun.

[A]

Because 170 should have abs.

[F]

But you have. You have the rest of your life to get married and be in a relationship. Have some fun.

[C]

But isn't this like a total setup for another long distance? Unless you guys are moving to the same place.

[F]

Great point.

[C]

Especially you meet someone younger, they're still doing college, and now you're like, interning, maybe in a different city. Like, that's like a bad time when you. You got to break up with your high school girlfriend and you kind of have to break up with your college girlfriend.

[A]

Not always.

[C]

But I just think those are like the worst times to be getting into something. Right. When you're, like, fresh heading in separate directions. Like, we got this. Because you probably don't got this.

[F]

No. And he's 21. I mean, I'm in my 30s. 21 year old. Michelle. I don't know her. Stranger. I mean, I am so different now than I was when I was 21.

[A]

Oh.

[E]

I tell Maddie all the time, if you met me in college, we wouldn't be married.

[F]

Exactly. So you're in a rush to lock something down and enter this next chapter of your life. But you still have so much growing to do.

[E]

Right?

[A]

All right, let's bang out a couple more here. How should a 40 year old man dress? This could help. We have a question here. Michelle looked like she was. We've never done that before. Answered one before. We ran any words on the end.

[F]

I was ready to go. But go ahead, let's hear it.

[A]

5, 10 and a half. Closer to 170 than the 185 I prefer. All right, so this guy's going the other direction. Thinking about turning the home gym into a sports bar game room.

[C]

I think you should totally do it.

[A]

It would get used. I'd like to have done that before this summer pushups for now.

[C]

Pony keg there.

[A]

I'm 42 and I'm in the East Phoenix metro area. 10 years married together 2020 and sniffed well and not shy on sharing details.

[C]

Scoped her out for 10 years too. This is going to go all the way.

[A]

My wife and I both work corporate jobs from home but also still live like we're in our 20s with money. Not a ton of money, but we're on track for an early retirement. Don't have kids. My wife and I. Sorry, my email thing's getting messed up here. I can definitely dress for the occasion, although that usually includes some last minute purchases. My question is more about casual wear. Some of my best friends are in their 30s having their first kids and they still have a ton of swag. I do all right without trying too hard. I also have friends in their 50s and 60s. I don't want to dress like a dweeb or like I'm going to a boat when I'm in the middle of the desert. Boatwear though. I can go cowboy every day even though a cowboy hat a bolo tie is top tier wouldn't make sense to me. So I end up in hoodies this time of the year. T shirts year round. It's more stylish than others. Oversized, uncommon brands or off brands that I like. Shorts and pants are always a struggle. I usually have one or two pairs that I really rely on for a season or two or three. Shoes are either white Air Force ones similar, some other boot or shoe that fits well with bottoms and matches. I buy cheap shoes. Also, I'm bald. God. And I'm almost always wearing a relatively cheap snack back like a Bass Pro or something obscure that I found. Anyways, how should I be dressing? Am I crazy young at heart? But I'm also successful uncle and unc. The answer may be that my wife and I should just enjoy our youthful spirit and freedom, but I'd like to surprise people once in a while and stay ready for anything. Also, my wife dresses the same way. This email could have been hers. Probably not the bolo.

[E]

Oh, you never know.

[A]

Maybe formal nights. So I guess he feels like he's dressing down Too youthful.

[F]

Yeah, too youthful.

[E]

What's he trying to accomplish exactly? Who's he trying to impress?

[F]

This is all over the map.

[A]

I heard a lot of things.

[F]

Bass Pro cowboy hat. It sounds like you don't know what your style is, so maybe you go.

[A]

To an Uncle Cracker show next week.

[F]

Seriously.

[C]

They both work from home, right? So they're almost never impressing anyone at the office.

[A]

So I think that's the reward. Honestly, like if you've set up your life to have this kind of thing, then you shouldn't care how you dress at all. Like I went from. I'm just telling you, I went through the cycles. I was like, I'm gonna wear dress shirts all the time and I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this. And then the second I got like real comfortable with myself, I was like, I don't care. Sandra.

[E]

Right?

[A]

Yeah. I don't want to be full time sand. Yeah, no, I know. I was dressed nice last night.

[C]

I thought you totally were.

[E]

Thanks.

[F]

What's nice? What did you, what were we wearing?

[E]

You had like that, that was it. That like, it's like a shirt that's also maybe a jacket thing.

[F]

Yeah, a shirt that's maybe a jacket.

[E]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Oh, that was a couple nights ago. Yeah. James purse shacket. Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Jacket.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, that thing last night I had some Brunello on so I went for it. Yeah. Jean jacket. I bought it in London. I know you guys been in London. Anyway, so the way you dress though.

[E]

Now compared to like when we first met when you were on SCP and Priscilla and doing things like you were, you were button down, tucked in, sometimes jeans. You love the Cole Han shoe. Yeah, that's right.

[A]

Oh my God, poor Michelle. We unloaded all the game worn dress shirts and Michelle's like, we're going to sell all these.

[F]

Oh, I thought we were going to be so rich, Kyle, because I was.

[A]

Going to give you enough.

[E]

Well, there was some like pattern.

[F]

Oh yeah, there was a couple of rabid fan base. I was like, yes, people are going to buy his game worn night out. Resell a button down. Not a bite on the Internet.

[A]

I think we sold one and you signed it.

[C]

Oh, but so you wanted it to be game worn. You weren't accepting like buffalo exchange rates. You wanted it to be like, no.

[F]

He had worn them all, he just didn't know what to do.

[A]

Yeah, but we weren't pricing them even bad.

[F]

No, they were like 30 bucks.

[A]

We were trying to get rid of them. And you were like, this is going to work, this is going to work. And then we cataloged all of them and I was like, look, I just want you to know that I can't believe you're doing this for me. But yeah, I'm going to whatever the end game is like, I'll hook you up on the cut. Right, right. I just feel I Just don't think I can throw them away. And it was. We sold one, and it was so depressing because you come by the office, you're like, no one's biting. And I'm like, ah, it's early. And then, like, a week would go by, like, nothing. I'm like, how does it work? Like, bids? You're like, dude, there's zero traffic. No one wants any of them. It's awful. And then you came in, you're like, we sold one Lacoste one. And I was like, how much? You're like, 30 bucks. I was like, well, I think right now you just keep the 30 bucks and we won't worry about the. So it was a lot of hours for me to put in without any real return. And then I think we just ended up donating all the shirts, and it sucked.

[E]

Yeah.

[F]

You were like, you could keep them. I'm like, what am I going to do with all these shirts?

[A]

Who knows? They're vintage now. That's true. Maybe the. Maybe they went up in price.

[F]

That's true. Maybe we could send them to our guy. Maybe they're back in style. Too late. I already gave him away.

[A]

I know, I know. You get stuck with that. You were actually. If I didn't thank you enough, I'm thanking you again. So do you have. All right, give me what you think this guy should be wearing, Michelle.

[F]

Okay, well, first of all, are you a cowboy? If not, why are we dressing like one?

[A]

What about Weekend? I think you just can't.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[F]

I don't know, because as you get.

[A]

Older, I'm doing this bougie construction thing right now that I love.

[C]

That's a great way to put it. I couldn't put my fucking finger on it.

[F]

Okay, is this. Is this today? I'm just saying I'm not getting that vibe today.

[A]

Today's. I'm going to be here for six hours taping today.

[C]

Correct.

[F]

But here's why I say that. Because he's obviously concerned about how he's presenting to the world. And if you're not a ranch hand, people may take it as a costume. They may be like, oh, yes, appropriation. That's Jimmy. He dresses like a cowboy. You know what I mean? You don't want that following you around. Here's what I will say. You need to be confident in what you're wearing. You need to look good, feel good, play good. So if you are not good at curating your style, call in an expert here. Okay? Get a personal shopper or have your Wife take you out, try on some things, get some pants, and when you put them on, they fit right. Get a shirt that you can wear out and you feel good. And maybe a jacket or a blazer. And just slowly go get some staples so that when you have a night out with your wife, you're not panicking and being like, it's. It's formal, but can I throw on the bolo tie? The answer is probably no.

[E]

Tight. I do think though, like, so he's 40, I'm 37. You do reach an age in which, like, you just walk in your closet one day and you're like, is any of this. Who is this style anymore? Like, yeah. And then it's like. And then it's, like, overwhelming because you're like, do I need all new clothes, like, ever? Like, and. But you got to kind of slowly do it and do your thing. And obviously now it's like, hey, buy more pieces that are like, you know, that'll last longer, that are better made.

[F]

Yeah, invest.

[E]

Because I feel like we kind of grew up too, like, little. The fast fashion era was like, just a bunch of bullshit all the time that was like, that would last you a couple years and go away. So I've kind of been in this thing because, you know, I'll be honest, I want to be. I want to be cool looking dad. Right. You know, I'm not.

[C]

I think you're doing a great job.

[E]

Yeah, thanks, man. I appreciate it.

[F]

This is great, Steve.

[E]

Thank you. I don't know, sometimes I feel like the quarter zip is like a boring thing, though. You know what I mean? Like, I don't.

[F]

But it's a staple and you don't have to think about it. And I think that's where our guys get into trouble is.

[E]

But then he wants people to notice him, right? And I. And I. I think I could. I. I understand where he's coming from, but it's, like, hard to be. Like, what's the step? Like, I don't want to look like somebody who's just trying to be a 25 year old either.

[C]

You know, I like the shopper thing.

[A]

I really do.

[C]

Like, I'm gonna think I'm gonna have a tax guy for the first time. I got screwed up with the New York, California. I was almost gonna push the button. I was like, I might. Might actually have to pay a guy this year. And like, it's one of those things where, like, yeah, you could go through life doing your own fashion thing, or you could spend the money one time and Get a good baseline. Yeah, I really like that.

[F]

I'm sure they're out there smarter, not harder.

[A]

Right.

[F]

Like, let somebody else take it off your plate and then you'll walk into whatever event or dinner with your wife and you're like, my stylist picked this out.

[C]

No big deal.

[F]

It gives you a little bit of added swag.

[C]

Yeah, I'm worried.

[A]

My tax thing.

[C]

All my friends are like, dude, my guy's going to get you like 20 grand back. And I'm like, now I think that's not the direction he's not going to go.

[A]

You know, I think it's just kind of lame that you don't want to pay higher taxes because I'd heard recently that it was just cool.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Anyway, get back. Yeah. Just make sure.

[E]

Got to give as much back.

[A]

All the extra money just means things are better. All right, let's see here. Last one. Boom. Mother in law Christmas gift right around the corner.

[B]

Okay.

[F]

Never too early.

[A]

Unless it's probably Christmas wasn't that long ago. Man.

[E]

This seems like a.

[B]

Do I return it?

[A]

Yeah, right. Names change. My wife and I just had a baby in December. We have no family in the state. So when in laws Susan and Bob visit, they stay for three to four weeks. Oh, man.

[D]

Oh, wow.

[A]

My in laws came for the birth of our child and left right after Christmas. The visit went decent.

[C]

Stay on the property for three to four weeks.

[A]

That's insane. Playing games, drinking and surviving the life of a newborn with no contention. For Christmas they got our newborn a digital picture frame with a bunch of preloaded pics of the in laws family. I crested the code to become an admin and be able to load pics. Took Susan over a week to reply via text. So I figured out how to load pics anyway. Susan did not like that. She thinks she should be the only admin of the picture frame and only load pics she likes I. E. None of my side of the family. Oh my God. Susan says the gift for her grandson so I should have no control. I think it's in my house and want to add picks from my side of the family. To be clear, I just wanted to add picks and leave the preloaded picks there. I have no issues with Susan being able to control to load random picks as well. Also, I think it'd be ridiculous to have a digital frame for one side and have to get another frame for the other. Get a bigger one to add another layer.

[B]

Oh God.

[A]

This is so to add another layer as an interracial couple two frames for two sides of the family would look even worse. What an engagement. Incredible email. Am I wrong to think I should be able to add photos to a digital frame that's in my house or as a gift to a grandkid out of our control? I.

[E]

Incredible.

[A]

I couldn't agree with where our guy's headspace is anymore. Right now.

[C]

The fact that they're coming for three to four weeks every year means that he has no control over what happens in his house.

[A]

I think.

[C]

And I think he might even lose this one, too.

[F]

No, there's. There's a clear cut answer here. Your wife has to be the one to tell her mother. We're adding the photos that we deem to be great for our child and we want to be able to add pictures from any trip with any side of the family. It has to be the daughter. Right? Steve, you're married, you have kids.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

No, I mean, this would be like.

[A]

I'm trying to think of the equivalent.

[E]

Of this, like buying someone a coffee maker. It's like, you only use it when I come over. When I come over. I can only use it when I come over.

[B]

Over.

[E]

And it's like, what's the point of me having this thing then? So you can just control it. I, I agree with you. The wife is. This is, this is like, hey, this is, these are your parents. You need to figure this out. Because that's kind of like, you know, I, there's been some in law things here and there on both sides for my thing. And it's usually just like, hey, you talk to them. You need to figure it out yourself because otherwise, like, you don't want to be, you don't want to put your significant other in a bad spot with their in laws, you know, so.

[C]

Or you know, those are like bad stats that stick with you. It's like, you remember that one time he was weird about Christmas or whatever you could do.

[F]

Susan's being weird here. Susan's the one.

[E]

Or will you just be really spiteful and just don't just like put it in a closet and don't have it out. Just be like, hey, if you're controlling it, it's not going to be visible. She doesn't think the double frid's in our house. Like, we're not putting out.

[A]

I think history was made here on this email. I think it's the first time somebody could use the race card and everyone would have his back. Think about it. He goes to the wife and be like, we can't do this. Honestly, I have people coming over. Oh, you want to see our black frame?

[C]

I agree. You know, Ruby Bridges was at the freaking game last night. Black History month just really puts it in perspective, right?

[A]

That's right. I know. And it was off Black History month.

[C]

I left my hat under the seat.

[E]

You have mine.

[A]

Maybe that's the perfect time to nipple.

[F]

To bring up this conversation. Black History month.

[A]

Yeah, I know. I just feel like we.

[B]

We're doing our part.

[A]

I don't even know that we need anybody else's perspective on this one because I think it's straightforward. I mean, it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous the mother in law saying to you I need to be the admin on the picture frame that's in your house. And by the way, it's a gift to the grandchild who doesn't know what is going on for a couple years. So I would either hide it when they're not there, but the three, four weeks thing, Kyle, that you said is right on. Because you're going if you're willing. Granted it's birth of a child and it's like, hey, we can't just leave for Christmas.

[C]

Sounds like they do this every time.

[A]

Yeah, it sounds like scheduling wise you kind of perfect storm did here of conditions that were going to lead to something that you weren't necessarily going to love. But they kind of feel like they're in charge probably when they show up to your house a little bit more than anybody else. So they're a little comfortable being in charge. They're going to stay longer. Next visit will probably be long. So I would just hide it if. If you can't get the code. As I was reading this, I'm like, what is this picture frame?

[C]

I have one of them and they're actually pretty cool. And I'm bummed out for him that he can't.

[A]

Yeah, it sounds like you're having a blast. Oh, yeah.

[C]

I'll give codes to you guys if you want. I get a little bling and every.

[A]

Once in a while. Who's checking?

[E]

He's just here solo.

[A]

Okay.

[F]

I'm on Steve's group family album.

[A]

You are?

[F]

It's Steve, Maddie, both of their families and me.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

For our daughter. Yep.

[A]

Yeah, well, we should have moved the seats around now. I didn't realize family, you know.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Unsportsmanlike. ESPN radio every morning Monday through Friday with Evan Cohen and Chris Canney. So check out Michelle and all the other stuff that she's doing as well. And you can venmo her if you want. To, but I don't know that she's going to get back to you. Thank you, Michelle.

[F]

Thanks for having me, guys.