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This week on we fixed it. You're welcome. We're getting personal about a very beloved company. I'm the grandson of H.B. reese and I have no interest in buying another Reese's product. Our guest, Brad Reese has the world's attention and he's got ours too. It's laughable. I mean, you're paying more for a product that's inferior. Of course we're going to try to fix this situation. Hopefully Hershey will pay attention. Hopefully Hershey will address it. Go listen to this very special episode wherever you get your podcasts. We fixed it. You're welcome. By my friend Dale Hellestray, three time world champion and host of the main event right here with Steve McCollum. And that is found on TME.
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You can find at tme sports on
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all your you almost did it platform tmesports.com right?
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Yeah, you got to say that. Type that into
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the computer.
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Yeah. And. And it'll come off.
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All right.
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Beautiful.
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And also no idea the rest. Dave Nash is also a, a component of this show. The third member of the sports thing. Welcome to another edition. And we had a weekend of sports that maybe is the best three day weekend of sports in the season, in the year. Is there a better time for sports than what we just watched? Playoffs, championship. College basketball's in full swing. Now it's official. Hockey, if you love hockey's just blazing along. The only thing missing is baseball and of course, the wnba.
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Wow. Golf starting to heat up.
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Golf starts to go. We're close to the Phoenix Open. I mean, this weekend was ridiculous. And let's start by diving back into the real matrix and ask the question, why does the NFL hate the Bills so much to rig a game like that?
B
If there's, if there's something bad that can happen, it's going to happen to the Bills. I mean, you can talk ad nausea about, was it a catch, an interception.
A
It was a catch and he's down.
B
Yeah. Okay, so you can say that. I can say that. But I'm just saying, just as egregious of what that first pass interview.
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Horrible.
B
Was horrendous.
A
Now, pass interference to me is one where you're like, okay, it's gray. And I understand there's going to be some human error in that one because it is a. It's charging blocking and basketball. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. You've always complained at a 95 whenever it was the Dion.
B
Yeah. That was generation. Yeah.
A
All right, all right.
B
You know, there's blatant and Then there's questionable. Yeah.
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Because it was Irvin who barely got touched and just dropped it.
B
Yeah. Michael's never been.
A
No. Ever had interference.
C
Well, you've probably heard me say a couple of times how much I despise the NFL.
A
You're starting to get, like, really loud about it. And they're not helping with games like this weekend.
C
And my, my, my question is, if you're a fan, why aren't you insisting on a standard for pass interference? There's no standards. There's no nothing.
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The standard needs to be the elimination of replay. I mean, but has to go.
B
And it'll never, ever.
A
Because it's a soap opera. The NFL loves what's happening. And the proof of that was in the Rams Bears game the next night. The exact same play happens. And they get that one right and explained it and reviewed it. I don't know what happened in Denver, but you're right. I blame O.J. simpson. I think it's because of O.J. they said, look, you're always going to be associated with O.J. simpson. We can never put you in the big game.
B
Good things. So Buffalo and Phoenix have some similar.
A
Yeah, well, I mean, I don't want to compare Buffalo and Phoenix in any ways at all, but I mean, come on. And then to watch that, I started thinking with all these people having handheld gambling devices now, that if the NFL and Dale, you've been part of games when they did this, writes a letter to the team saying, really crucial call we missed in a crucial time that could have changed the outcome of this game. Now, nobody cares about holding in the first quarter because you've got three quarters to overcome. That bad call that ruined the season. That call, a couple of them. There was the hold in the end zone. That should have been a safety, but you know what? Swallow the whistles. I'm for that. That's cool. But my God, when you make a call that bad and then just say, we don't need to review it, we saw it once. That's it.
B
Right.
A
Come on. I thought the idea was to get this right. And then a day and a half later, the exact same play happens in another game. You're like, oh, it's clearly a catch. I mean, it's down his knee, up like it's the same play.
B
Well, the thing is, which one of you said, I already forgot, but define pass interference. Yeah. Well, now you're getting into define a catch. And NFL will somehow someway convolute it to make it more complicated than basically should be. If I impede you from catching the ball by grabbing your arms, yanking you. It's pass interference.
A
Take away the replay. Allow human error, and we all have to live with it. Then the soap opera becomes. And the NFL loves the soap opera. The soap opera becomes. Oh, and replay. We saw that, but it's not in the rules. And then. I don't know anybody that loves replay. I don't know anybody.
C
I like it, but why? Because I just like. But I have yet to see a pass interference call go to instant replay.
A
Well, because I can't.
C
Well, okay.
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Not reviewable.
C
So there you go.
A
So eliminate. What are you complaining about? I'm complaining about the catch, not the pass interference. The one with the interception. The interception in the Broncos game where I forget who. He catches it.
B
He hits the ground receiver for the Bills, catches it. He's going down, his knees hit.
A
They roll and he. And the defender has the ball and they took. They. It's an interception. The pass interference one, I'm not that mad at. It was bad, but it happened. Those patterns when it's a turnover, the whole purpose of it was nobody has to throw a red flag, right? We called it a turnover. So we review it. We make sure. Well, the call in the field. But it's indisputable. Or you can't tell. And the call in the field stands. No. So I've always said. I've always been a proponent. If we're going to have human error be part of the game, let the referees have human error, too. And if you're going to have replay review it all, if you're going to mess around with crucial calls again, pass interference that you guys are talking about,
B
I disagree with and I real quick, I know you laugh at it, but you know, I do. Indoor football league game.
A
Yeah.
B
And you can. You get. Get a certain number of challenges. I think it's two or half.
A
Hate them.
B
But you can review offsides, you can review in. In the. Ifl there's an illegal defensive call, you can review everything.
A
But why just let the people you pay make the refs full time?
C
Why? Because they're terrible. They're horrible. Whether they were full time, part time, or they never get to leave the field, they're not going to get any better.
A
But. But that's fine. If we all agree that we can't fix it, they're human error. And then at the end of the game, like they do baseball umpires, you grade their performance. If it comes up less than B, they don't get to go anymore.
B
Right.
A
That's it.
B
I think the game was better before. Instantaneous.
A
It hasn't fixed anything because at the
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end of the day, John and Dave, most seasons are going to end up with. You're going to be about 50, 50. You're going to get screwed on a couple and you're going to get a
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couple and I mean, I'll go back to my team. The Steele and the Mike Renfro play with the Oilers back.
C
That's what started it.
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Oh, my God.
C
That was started it.
B
He.
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That's a touchdown. The Steelers shouldn't have gone to that Super Bowl.
C
Correct.
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They won that game.
C
Correct.
A
It was a terrible call.
B
Right.
A
But back then we couldn't argue it. It just was what it was. And we got screwed earlier in the game. They got screwed later in the game. The Steelers in 95 going to see the Cowboys there. The touchdown Cordell Stewart caught in the back of the end zone wasn't a touchdown because he ran out of bounds and then came back.
B
Right.
A
I mean, there's tons of them that get miss. Replay has not fixed everything.
B
No.
A
That it was supposed to make better. It's actually added. It's become more convoluted. If anything, it's worse. And I say go back to the old way or my one plan that everybody loves and nobody pays attention to. Refs are not allowed to watch in slow mo, you get three replays, all fast motion. If we're asking you to call this in in regular speed, you get to watch it in regular speed. And then us, we as fans can do all the bitching and crying and screaming, but what we see, we'll be like, well, I compare it to when pot was illegal. I always got mad at people. I didn't care. It shouldn't have been illegal. It's an easy drug. Right. I don't think it should have been illegal, but it was. So when friends would go, I got caught with a bunch of weed like, well, you know, it's illegal, but it shouldn't be.
B
But it is. Yeah. Right.
A
So if you just said to people, well, there is no replay. You can bark and yell all you want. It's human error. We like human error.
C
Along the lines of you going away from instant replay, I will agree. Why don't we go away from driving cars? We'll all get back on horses.
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It isn't technologically superior electricity.
C
Just use candle.
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I'll give you. That's fine. I'll give you this.
C
Let's go backwards.
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What's superior in the game since replay?
C
The Game is garbage.
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One.
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Okay, but that's.
B
That's a.
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That's a crap argument because that's just dismissive.
C
That.
B
That is like a Democrat.
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That's right. That's just dismissive. You can't just be dismissive of it. You have to say why. It's comparative to car on a horse.
C
You can't go backwards when you. When you.
A
But it isn't backwards. Explain to me how it's technology. How's it backwards other than a TV and electronics being involved? How is it technology. How is it technology to have a thumb start for your car rather than a key? It's the same thing. It's not that much different. But people are like, oh, this is the way it needs to be. Because this is more technologically cute. It doesn't make it better.
C
It's easier. I don't like to carry around a key.
B
Is it?
A
Yeah, it's easier. All right, well, maybe. Maybe I'll give you that. But it's arguable that it was just for the sake of technology. I'll go.
C
Go back to the fact that what we're doing when we're bringing an instant replay is we're trying to eliminate the mistakes that referees are making, and they're
A
making them all the time, but we're not eliminating them.
B
Right.
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We wouldn't be having this argument if they were being eliminated. They're more gray than they've ever been.
C
I'm kind of saying. I'm kind of. Well, I'm agreeing with you that it's brutal.
A
You're being kind of a dick about agreement.
C
Of course. And I will agree that there's something needs to be done, but how about this? Why don't we make the rules more simplistic?
A
I don't. I totally agree.
C
Okay.
A
Take the tax code down to a couple.
C
I mean, how many times are you watching a great play happen? And then it was something because there were two people in motion.
A
Yeah. Or the guard wasn't on the center's head.
B
Right.
A
Yeah.
C
I mean, it's all nonsense.
A
I still don't understand. Dale, Explain it to me. When they say, oh, the tight end wasn't covering the well. And I understand why you can line that up, but it's. I mean, literally, sometimes it's an inch different from the last.
B
Yes. You'll actually see him line up in the same spot the next play, and
A
I get called or. Exactly.
B
But usually the officials will come up to you and say, hey, you're pushing it.
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You're tight.
C
You want to you want to. You want to do a. A fun show or at least let's do a fun thing between us.
B
Okay.
C
You said you get the tapes of games.
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Raw games, the all 22s.
C
How about this? You go through a tape and watch how many times you can call a penalty. Every one play.
B
Every play.
C
That's exactly right. At least one exactly right. I mean, the thing popped into my head when Indiana punted to Miami last night in the national championship game. And the Miami guy, that. That Young receiver, number 10, he made a pretty good return. But I watched. There were two huge obvious blocks in the back. Obvious blocks in the back. No calls.
A
Right.
C
I mean, you can call it every play. And. And to me, that needs to be done away with because when. When you're talking about that you can call a penalty on every play.
B
Yeah.
C
Then this is not a sporting event. This is a wrestling wwe.
A
You're saying is more replays
C
to at least give a fan a chance at saying, listen, this ref is terrible and he's screwing me. Hey. In instant replay you might find that we can call that back, but that
A
they would know if the system I had was. We're going to review you after you're getting the replay. And if the refs don't get better, they go. And then it. The cream rises with guys who have good scores.
B
They grade officials I know with. With. But.
A
But the official grading is bad in game by the guys watching in New York.
B
Right. Or whoever.
A
When. When they. They don't even get it. They don't even agree. Blandino is in the booth, former head of officiating disagreeing with the guy who's sitting there in the tent.
B
And they're. And they're told not to.
A
Don't disparage. Loud.
B
Yes. Disagree. And so. So.
A
So just get rid of it.
B
Right.
A
It's not made it better. And I don't think the argument that it's technological.
B
So tell me this when you think about that. So to me, they're protecting quarterbacks at a record rate and too much.
A
Absurd.
B
But kind of like your pot argument. Yeah. You can't touch the quarterback's head.
A
Right.
B
You keep. You can say that sucks.
A
I agree.
B
But it's a rule. So it seems like it should be pretty easy to call. Caleb Williams got smacked. Yeah. His hand got bent back and then the dude came through, hit him right in the. In the. In the face and knocked him backwards.
A
Yeah.
B
No call. And you have an official standing right there. And that's all his. That's all he's supposed to do.
A
Drilled into his head for the last five years. Can't hit him in that. The year that rule got implemented, Ben Roethlisberger took an arm through his face mask and had his nose broken.
B
Right.
A
And no call. And so. And Cam Newton used to get killed because he's huge.
B
That goes back to the Shaquille o'. Neal.
A
Exactly.
B
You can't foul Shaquille. He's so big and strong. And whatever you slapping at him, it's not gonna.
A
So simplifying, like what you said, simplifying the rulebook. It becomes dependent on who's getting fouled. Michael Irvin's not going to get as many calls because he's a physical receiver compared to somebody small.
B
Right.
A
Who's, you know, an Adam Thielen and Cooper cup. Who. Who will flail. And then, you know, the one thing I will give the players in the NFL is they're not flopping. And I will some. Some fake. Not like the NBA.
B
No, no. Not like the NBA.
A
And that's. That became that because the rules got so weird. They're like, oh, we can manipulate this.
B
Right. And guess what? They get rewarded. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing that was starting to bother me a little bit. I saw it more last year than this year where defensive linemen, you know, they're getting pass block. All of a sudden, they're flailing their hands up.
A
Yeah.
B
Like I'm being held sometimes. They got a flat. Yeah. I.
A
The Broncos and Bills game was brutal because the calls at the end determined the victor.
B
And think about who that affects. Oh, you know, so you go from. If Buffalo WINS that game, McDermott still has a job.
A
Yeah.
B
His assistants still have a job. Families.
A
Yeah.
B
Don't have to move. You think about.
A
You just think the dominance.
C
They're keeping the economy going.
B
Yeah.
A
Trump talking about how the employment rate's going up. The. Yeah. That. That was huge. And then, you know, not to take away from the Bronx. I mean, it was the fifth turnover of the game for the Bills. So they were sloppy to begin with and still make that catch. Make that play. That wasn't a turnover. And they locked that game up. That was a game deciding change. But not to disparage the Broncos performance because they were in that game, ends up in overtime. They win the thing. Then the other thing that got weird was the bo. Knicks injury. So I don't know why maybe Dave would be on this because you got the brain for this a little more than us. Why they would hide the truth on this. But he was not injured at the end of that game. If you have a quarterback going into an AFC championship game, he's not going to be allowed to bounce around on the field. If his foot hurt two plays earlier, he comes off the field and goes, something's not right. And they go, okay, what? I don't know. I'm limping. And they're going to kid glove that. He's doing post game interviews on the field. He's running around shaking hands. He busted his foot in that locker room. He might have tweaked his ankle on the field. He broke his foot in the locker room.
B
Well, see, that, that's what's interesting because we, we talked about it with Steve and I did this morning on the main event, the fact that you can see in the replay, his right ankle buckle tweaks on, on, on his run to the left, it tweaks. And then I saw him on the sidelines. He was grimacing.
A
Yeah, he twisted his ankle. Something was wrong. But if that's the case, you saw it, the camera saw it. Not a trainer over there with Bo Nicks. Not the.
B
If you're having surgery three days later.
A
Right. If the coach in the press conference says, oh, he's out for the season, something else happened in that locker room,
B
it's going to be more pronounced on the field.
A
If, in fact he should be concerned more. I mean, you don't have to tough it out to go do an interview with Pam Oliver or whoever he's talking to after the game. I'm like, wait a minute. He needed to run right into that training room and say something's wrong. Like, even if it's, even if it's rolled, you know, rolled ankle, you got to get on that now.
B
Yeah.
A
Especially if you're the quarterback. You got to go see that. You didn't do any extensive. If you. Every basketball time I've rolled my ankles, you lace it up tighter. And you just know, because I'm not treating this tomorrow's going to be horrible. If I'm the quarterback of the team going to the AFC championship game and I'm an athlete, I've rolled my ankle before. I know this isn't good. I'm not risking it. I'm going and getting treatment immediately. I'm not even taking that last snap. I'm going to tell them, hey, guys, I rolled it. We've got this. I'm going into.
C
I don't know about that.
A
Have you ever rolled an ankle to the point where it might be broken?
C
Well, I tell you What? I've broken my leg.
A
Same.
C
Rolled an ankle. Thing is, I didn't go to the doctor for a week.
A
You weren't playing in the AFC championship.
C
I mean, when you. When you. When you.
B
When you.
C
When you roll an ankle or sprain an ankle, you just think, all right, it'll be good in a couple days.
A
No big deal.
C
At least I did when I was not.
A
When you're the quarterback of a team going to the championship. Listen, if.
C
If the quarterback rolled his ankle, goes.
A
That's it.
C
I'm out of here. I'm going into the locker room.
A
There was a playlist.
C
I don't wanna. I don't want that guy.
B
What you're saying is you have to get in your car and you have to make an appointment to go see a doctor. Right? There's. There's a doctor in that locker room.
A
Yeah. Okay. And you tell him, hey, then he saw it. We just locked this game up. I'll down the ball.
B
Put.
A
And maybe I'll down it. Watch the kick. Then I'm running over to that trainer immediately and going, hey, something's not right.
C
I'm not.
A
We gotta fix this now that maybe
C
something happened worse in the locker room.
A
I'm not arguing that celebration.
C
I'm not arguing that. But. But I have been hurt in the past. Yeah. And, oh, I've. Everybody took a while before a day or so to make me realize, whoa.
A
Broke my ankle and drove home on a stick, a clutch. And I was a moron doing it. And I learned that day, if you roll your ankle, don't do this again. Because it added about a month and a half to my life of being in pain.
C
Well, I was stupid enough that I didn't go to the doctor for a week and it started to heal incorrectly.
A
Right.
C
They have to go back in and break it.
A
Well, making my point for me, there's no way that they wouldn't know.
B
The thing that's so fascinating about that to me, guys, is the fact that we saw that happen right here in Tempe during the football season this year. The quarterback, Sam Levin. Oh, that's asu. Healthy on the field. Have a bye week, come back, and he's out for the rest of the. Yeah, they. Rumor was he was playing basketball. Yeah.
A
And they don't like that.
B
Not during the season. Not during the season. Oh, goodness.
A
Now, all your Cowboys championships, Dale locker room celebrations, do you remember each one being a little bit safer than the one before?
B
Well, the thing about an NFL celebration, if you'll notice, no Matter if it's super bowl or AFC NFC championship.
A
Yeah.
B
There's no alcohol in there.
A
What's on the field?
B
Not.
A
Well, the Super Bowl. I'm not saying the alcohol. I'm saying the celebration. Everybody just kind of mills around.
B
By the time you get in there, you're hugging.
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
B
You know, you hug and you stand around and. And coach gives you a little whatever. By the time everybody gets in there. Yeah. You know, some people are already showered. Some people. Whatever. No, it's. It's not a wild jumping up and down and. And jumping on each other kind of thing.
A
Yeah. Unless you're a team that shouldn't be there. And I think that's what the Broncos knew. And here's the worst part. Jared Stidham is a quarterback in the AFC championship game this weekend. And the NFL fixing that Bills Broncos game sure backfired on them because now the Patriots have managed to rebuild in a matter of four years and one goof coach. They bring variable in, get that whole thing straightened back out to the point where they are 90% going to the super bowl again.
C
I'm going to boat bet a boatload on Denver.
A
Are you really?
C
That's five and a half.
D
Yeah.
A
We'll take some points. Maybe their defense pulls something out. Say this one thing the Patriots do is turn the ball over.
C
I believe that Vegas really has a say so in what's going on.
A
Yeah.
C
And forget about. Forget about what? The line is now five and a half. And if I asked you, well, how, how. How much should New England win by?
B
10.
C
Okay.
A
Yeah.
C
10.
A
10 or more.
C
10 or more.
B
Yeah.
A
I wouldn't take it.
C
Five and a half.
A
Yeah.
C
Doesn't make any sense. Vegas does not make mistakes.
A
No.
C
Because they have money on the line. They don't have.
A
Well, I mean, they did have the Steelers as three point underdogs and they lost by forever.
C
Get it? But. But you want everyone to kind of.
B
Yeah.
C
Be. I would say. I would say more than half of the people out there would say that's not enough points.
B
Yeah.
D
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C
to have a lot more money on New England and that doesn't make any sense that Vegas would allow that unless they think it's going to be till
B
later in the week. Place that back because they'll probably go up.
C
I will definitely wait and I but I will definitely be betting New England. That does not mean.
B
But again so I bring it full circle back here to Phoenix. Still looking for a coach. But you have Chicago last year.
A
Yeah.
B
New England won four games last year. Four games.
A
And everything was in question.
B
Yes. Yeah.
A
It was shambles. They had a quarterback and a couple of guys are like they were pretty
B
sure of not sure not. Oh he's going to be in the MVP conversation.
A
They had 120 million in the cap so like if we spend wisely. Boy.
B
Wisely not to spend.
A
Yeah.
B
And. And now. Now they're have a chance to go to the super.
A
They're going and.
B
And the Bears go from a more bound franchise in one year. Yeah. To a couple place away from possibly going to the NFC championship game. It's.
A
How much do you think Bill Belichick had to do with Bo Nix's injury Because once he. Once he found out who was where. Okay. Broncos are going to win. I'm going to head over this way. And then he took his leg out. He was going to do the same thing to Josh Allen if the Bills pulled that off. He was in the building. There's no question my mind the Patriots are going forward. I put nothing past him. You think the real matrix with Dave is a thing this I'm convinced of.
C
Belichick only would have went there is if his girlfriend allowed him.
A
She might have been there. She likes Denver. She wants to ski.
C
I'd watch those choice. It's. It's.
A
It's either way he was going to break the ankles of one of the guys going on so the Patriots move forward. He likes it.
C
He is. You think he cares about the Patriots?
A
No. He's deep down he Loves every second of this and he's fine with his boy Mike vrabel and Josh McDaniel. Maybe Josh McDaniel is a true disciple and he went in there and did it. But somebody from the Patriots is behind this Bo Nicks thing.
C
I don't think it's Belichick. He hates the page. He, he, he is going to be holding a grudge for the Patriots maybe until.
A
Patriots are always going to be associated with cheating, lying and stealing and winning. Him at the head of it and winning and. Well, that's what you call it, I guess if you call it winning, that's fine. But man, oh man, every turn they were doing something crooked and then Pho Nix hurts himself after the game. Come on, McDaniel was there. Someone was there. Let's talk NFC for a second too, because let's give Davis flowers here. The Rams. That was a coaching win. That was an outrageously good coaching win in that weather with guys who shouldn't have been there. Now, keep in mind, I think the Bears were a little bit over their heads at this point with all the youth, but Caleb Williams showed me this year that I was wrong about Caleb Williams. I thought he's a typical USC guys, flash, he'll put up numbers, but he's not clutch. He's the opposite of that. That dude is clutch and he is deep clutch. He's done it too often to have it be incredible year.
B
Yeah. And in one year under the new leadership. Yeah. Okay. I, yeah, I, I imagine how much more he's gonna prove. Another full off off season going into next year. No, that's crazy.
A
That was an outstanding showing for a guy who you're like, all right, put him in the top seven because he is somebody that I like. He's getting to that point where, like, who do you want on the floor with five seconds left? He's that guy. He's the last shot guy, man. He was.
C
I'm already, I'm a caller right now that they're not going to make the playoffs next.
A
The Bears. Yeah. Why? Barring injury, the teams are so close.
B
They want a lot of close game.
C
They do want a lot of close game. They're not going to be able to repeat that. And, and I. Dale, one of the incredible things about your team in Dallas is that you won and then you kept winning.
B
Yeah.
C
Usually when you win, you start getting a bigger head. You start thinking you're better than you are.
A
Yeah.
C
You start doing the things you need to do to be successful. And because Chicago has had so Little success. That is a thing you have to overcome for a while to change that. And I'm not. I think they're going to be up against it next year. I mean, listen, I think Detroit will be better.
B
They're going to be learning. No, hold on. Do you see who they hired? An offensive coordinator?
C
Yeah.
B
They are not who they get.
A
I didn't see it.
C
They got the old Cardinal offensive.
A
Oh, geez Louise. What were they thinking? You never hire from the Cardinals. That's where people get. That's where you don't eat out of the trash.
C
Yeah, No, I just trust Dan Campbell turning that team back around. That's a team. And, and Minnesota will be better.
A
Dan Campbell has to turn it around because at this point now, his success is now tied to his. To, to Ben in Chicago because now if he can't fix it, it's like, oh, it was him the whole time.
B
Yeah.
A
You know, you got those moments where. And I think the Lions are a really good roster, but I mean, they got snake bit and beat up by
C
a lot of injuries. Chicago's going to be up against a gauntlet next year and they're going to be the favorite playing in a. On a first place schedule. Yeah, that's a big difference.
A
And the Patriots had that same thing. They had the easiest schedule in football in like 30 years.
B
Right.
A
Hey, they're going back to the super bowl now. Let's let.
C
We'll go ahead every year. How many teams who didn't make the playoffs make it the following year? I think it's a minimum five or six every year.
A
Well, this year was a huge split
C
spin, but that's just a minimum.
B
Yeah.
A
The usual suspects are usually back and then you get the players that kind of come and go. There's always that.
C
But this year, okay, the usual subsys. Like. Like the Kansas City Chiefs.
B
Oh, no.
A
This year was a complete Baltimore Raven. Completely different than most. And they'll be back. Probably. We don't know for sure, but you assume. So now you've got a couple more teams in there. So it's just more parody.
B
It's just like the NFL coaching cycle. There's an average of five to six new coaching jobs every year. This year there's eight.
A
Yeah.
B
And now you can. And now it's been proven you can win a playoff game.
A
Yeah.
B
And get fired.
A
Yep. You can go to the second round and lose your job because it was super bowl or bust for the Bills. And that I agreed with with nine years. And you keep losing the same ways now again you're on the road. That's your fault. You didn't win your division. That's your fault. The coach, they had that thing, you had an MVP quarterback. If he's not, that's all you have. That's all you have. And then so if I'm McDermott, I'm like, you know what, I don't want to, I don't want to lose Josh Allen. But this is, this is an uphill battle for any coach.
B
Yes.
A
So we'll see if Jesse Minter or Brian Flores or whoever ends up there.
B
But that's where you wonder where these multi billionaires decision make. So not only do they fire McDermott but you can make an argument, hey, it was time. He's been there nine, 10 years and a new voice.
A
Right.
B
But they promote the general manager who's made some really questionable draft picks. I give him more power.
A
I look at the Bills thing too with the way McDermott went out as those coaches that are there and win used to always get that pass. But with that, with the super bowl or bust mentality, that to me is GM Also like you can't have coach go that far and have it tied to a general manager who says it's his fault.
B
Right.
A
Whoever they bring in and all Bills fans are screaming or I want a defensive coach, Mike McDaniel be the OC. You're not getting that in Buffalo. It's not going to happen. But you, you watch this stuff and you think these coaches are untouchable for winning. And now in a year's time, the coaches that are wrecking it are the same as rookies that came on like Joe Burrow and Cam Newton and those guys that won in their first year. Now everybody's got that standard, right. So these coaches can come in in their first year. And if you don't win now, what's going to happen now? This cycle's going to get even shorter.
B
Everything's been accelerated.
C
Yeah, well, yeah, you got at least be going in the right direction.
A
Well, and are the Bills going in the right direction?
C
I've said, I've already stated. I like coaches that are. Go for it.
B
Yeah.
C
Fourth down, go for it. That, that, that play to win. Sean McDermott for me was very conservative, old fashioned. I'm out on any of those coaches. I'm out on Harbaugh. Yeah. I'm out on McDermott. They're very conservative. They're, they're from an era, it's a different era. Who didn't go for, go forward on Down. Very conservative. Let your defense win BS We've talked
A
about that last time. I'm a punt fan. I like pun.
B
You also got Dan Campbell, who goes for it all the time.
A
And yeah, there's, there's a, there's a happy medium there somewhere where you're gonna
C
lose some games like Dan Campbell did, maybe against Philadelphia Eagles when he went for it five times and came up empty five times in the red zone. I get that. But I feel you're gonna make more first downs on those tries. Then you don't. You're gonna. You're gonna win more games.
A
I think there's a guy who used to coach the Chargers that would disagree with you completely because he went for it all the time on fourth down and that team lost almost every time. He was stupid of a. Staley was horrible with the Chargers constantly going, nope, it's the new era. It's the new era.
C
Staley an offense or defensive coach?
A
Well, that's the thing, though. It doesn't matter. He's the head coach. If you, then, if you're a defensive coach, punt.
C
You have to figure out, okay, we need a successful play. When we need one or two yards, you need. And Staley was a boob.
A
Yeah. He turned out to be a complete.
C
And he was a defense.
A
Because he went forward on fourth down as often as you want to.
B
He.
A
He's.
C
Well, if, if you're, if you're not able to. To get down, get it on fourth down, you're not going to win the game anyways.
A
You don't know that. If you get a strong defense and a good punter, you can pin guys and myself in a better position.
C
Hey, have you not watched game after game after game this year where guys have less than a minute to go, they're down on their 10, 20 yard line and they go down the field in 30 seconds.
A
Yeah.
C
You can make up 20, 40 yards in a flash of an instant, and that's all you're making up on a punt.
A
And that's no chance. Not true.
C
No chance.
A
There are plenty of times when you've pinned guys with punts that you. You've made their night. Yeah.
C
If you're pinning. If you're pinning a team, that's no good.
A
No one remembers the pin and then the punt back the field position. It's boring. You'll remember every time a team got the ball got out. Doesn't happen anymore.
C
In the NFL when two good teams
A
play each other, you're talking about a team that's going to go 55 yards to kick a 60 yard field goal. Now, it's not like some length of the field drive in a close game. So many times you punt, you pin, game's over, you go out and you stop that. I, I watched it with the Steelers all year. I watched it both sides. We would pin. I love the punt. Not all the time, you're right. But somewhere in between. Hey, be smart and. Okay, now's the time.
B
We've got that one. In your own territory.
A
No, I don't agree.
B
From your own 30s. Come on. Okay.
A
Side the 45 of your own. Okay, you're still.
C
I'm not recommending that.
A
Yeah, but that's what, that's when you
C
get to the, when you get to the 50 or beyond, you should go for it almost every time.
A
Oh, terrible. Flip the field.
C
I'll take that back. And it, it depends on each individual situation, on how the offense playing, how the defense is playing. But I want guys that, if they have a feeling and they think they can make it, I want them going for it. That's how you win games and it's
B
also how you lose.
C
Great. To do it. You have no masculinity. You need to come to Summit Male Medical Center. We can help you with testosterone therapy. We can make you a man again.
B
And I don't mind that, that, that, that mindset, but again, there, there are certain situations where you can get yourself in trouble when you do go. And the other thing is analytics now I'm seeing it on, on. You're watching on tv. And yeah, analytics, probabilities or analytics says don't go for it.
A
Yeah, we don't need to know that stuff. And, and, and then, but then you look at a team like Seattle who clearly said, we can do this to San Francisco all day. If you've established that you're pushing somebody around. Yeah, Chuck Knowles, old thing. Impose your will, but push it down their throat. You guys used to do, the Cowboys used to tell, you know, the famous Nate Newton thing. We'd go up and tell them what our play was. Stop us, we dare you. When you can push it. I bet you didn't do that a lot to the Giants at the time. You didn't do it to the teams that could push back 49ers, but you went up against bad teams that you knew, if it's 4th and 4, we're going to go for it and we're going to run it down your throat.
C
Did you just not see last night Indiana win the game by going for it? Well, it's fourth and five college in easy field goal range to go up by.
A
What was it?
B
It would be six.
A
Yeah, because like you said, they won the game because of it circumstantially. And they'd get crucified if they didn't.
C
You know what? And that's the difference. I'm. I want my coach not to be afraid of criticism from boobs that don't know what they're talking about.
A
If you lost that game because of that call. I know, but if you're. You're doing. You're doing as many hypotheticals and if
C
my aunt had balls should be my.
A
All right, but you're doing as many hypotheticals as anybody else. If this, if that, I'm giving you another one back saying, had they lost that game, that fourth and five bad snap, fumble, whatever.
C
If they don't make it, that has no bearing on the defense stopping them down there. And they'll get another said.
A
It's so easy to go downfield. Yeah.
B
You can't have both ways.
A
You can't have it both ways.
C
Listen, I always want my offense to be on the field, going in, trying to score. Man, I'm the other, pure and simple.
A
I like defense. Stop.
C
Hey, get out of the 70s. Or actually that's where the championship 60s or the 50s.
A
No, it's not. Because Seattle's proving defense wins titles. Yeah.
C
And they're going for it on fourth
A
down all the time because they got a group of guys that they can trust all day.
C
If you've got a defense, you can go for it.
A
No, if you've got a team that take the play, I agree. I agree with that. But you have to have good defense more than good offense. And if you've got a decent offense and a good defense, pin people.
C
And if you have a bad defense, you're going to get run on anyway. So you better keep scoring. Bad defense better be outscoring them.
A
Run a hook and ladder. And all the time you get a bad defense, throw everything against the win. You're playing a video game, you got a bad defense, you don't matter if you got a good defense, pin people and then don't worry about that one minute.
C
I never felt I have been more right in my lifetime ever.
A
Because it's so rare. Maybe that's why Seattle, though, we didn't even talk about them. That is a team. Hot at the right time, healthy at the right time, playing both sides of the ball. Special teams, I mean, they got the best punter. Everything about. And I love punting. They got everything about them right now. Screams, get out of our way.
B
Well, and the thing is, you look at it. And here's Sam Darnold again. Yeah, you know Sam.
A
Oh, he hates this. We got Dave's number today.
B
He's one, I believe. 27 games over the last two years.
A
Crazy.
B
27 games over the last two Years. Might be 28 after this past weekend, but 27, 28. And. And for the San Francisco 49ers, they just. Right. Hey, Holmberg, Hell and Nash were playing for.
A
I don't know how they did it. Look, Cinderella had to turn back into the pumpkin, and they did. And, I mean, they got beat by a better team. Yeah, Soundly. They lose guys. I mean, they lose that Tongus guy, he's Kittle's replacement. Like, how many people. McCaffrey goes out, it's like, come on, right this team. You almost tipped your cap to him. Losing that badge, going. I'm just proud of you guys for standing out there.
B
Think about it, because I've heard people go, oh, well, the Cardinals had as many injuries as the 49ers. Well, the 49ers were losing. Hall of Famers.
A
Yeah, hall of Famers.
B
Hall of Famers. Not Joe Schmuck.
A
I remember Randall. Tex Cobb fought Larry Holmes in November of 1981. Yeah. And. And this dude ran out there with a heavyweight champion in his prime. And Larry Holmes was a bad man. And he stood out there and got beat up so bad, almost. The Bayonne Bleeder, which was Chuck Wepner, who got slaughtered by Muhammad Ali for 14 rounds. And no one remembers Muhammad's performance. They remember Wepner standing there bleeding, giving him the wave. Inspiration for the Rocky movie. Tex Cobb did the exact same thing where Howard Cosell said, I will never call another fight again. This is such an egregious just bombing of a human skull. And they will not stop it because of television. And he said it as it's going, and Larry Holmes is laying into him. The dude stood up and took it for the whole. The 49ers were that. I remember that being. You know what? Tip your cap to these guys. They are out there with you and me and Dave. Do you hear theory about them about the 49ers? Oh, here we go.
C
That they had more because of their injuries, and they also had more Achilles tendon snaps than anyone, really.
B
You know, it's built right next door to them.
C
Oh, you've.
B
He's heard it.
A
What is it?
B
No, you're going.
C
It's It's a big electrical plant.
A
Yeah. Oh, boy, here we go.
C
Well, that. That's the.
A
That's that Achilles just pop off because, I don't know, Silicon Valley.
C
Someone. Someone made the comparison.
A
I don't mind it if it's there.
B
I don't know.
A
As long as it's not in Pittsburgh, it's fine with that. So let's get into the other parts of the NFL and we'll get to NCAA game, which was phenomenal. The Cardinals here locally have managed to somehow or another lose the coach race. They were already the worst job in town somewhere or another. It got worse to coach here since McDermott's out in Buffalo. Now you've got Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson sitting without a coach. Salah just got hired by the Titans. I forget his name of the guy from Green Bay. The DC down there just went to Miami. So those coaching spots are filled. Not sure Troy Aikman's approach with Miami, why he was consulted to come in and fix that. And the one thing the Dolphins were okay with was defense, don't you think? I mean, get a good DC there. You've got decent players. The offense was a. Although they had a chain. The running back was fourth, number four or five in the league at the end of the year.
B
Right.
A
So, I mean, they've got some pieces. But you go defensive coordinator down in Miami and you need. You need a lot of help there.
B
But what's fascinating to me, because we've talked about it on the main event a lot, teams in my mind seem to take on their surroundings.
A
Yeah.
B
You play in the Northeast. You've kind of tough. Right. Mostly pretty good defense.
C
Yes.
B
Things like that. Now you're down south beach, everything's, you know, pomp and circumstance and beautiful and all that. And maybe you're trying to bring in a new attitude as far as they
A
had it with Brian Flores. And it worked for a little bit.
B
Right.
A
Do you go back to defense, though? I mean, Miami. I don't know. I guess I just looked at that.
B
Daniel was so the opposite going, you
A
know, that you've got to bring in a hammer.
B
Yeah.
C
That's what I fire him just for the fact that he wore those Capri. Capri pants.
A
His offense a couple years ago was really good and very creative. I'd love to see him as an oc but now you get the Bills, the. The Ravens. You've got the Steelers. Look at these storied franchises looking for a coach.
B
Well, speaking of Steelers, has anybody been mentioned for them?
A
Oh, yeah. Mike McCarthy interviewed Jesse Mentor Brian Flores.
B
Heard Mike McCarthy name and he's like Pittsburgh through and through.
A
Would you like to see that as a bridge to. I think two things about Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh. Good chance Aaron Rodgers comes back to bridge this quarterback problem that is going to persist because there isn't one in the draft. Will Howard's an OSU kid from last year.
C
Take up Terry Bradshaw.
A
I'd take it. He's a legend. So, yeah, I agree that it's not going to be anything but we are going into a bridge year without it. Without a quarterback, you don't win. It's not a thing.
B
But you can quarterback and all the salary that you're spending on the older. Yeah. Aging defense.
A
Steelers have 13 draft picks this year and in my mind, you start looking at the idea of learn from your past mistakes. They should have cut ties with Ben Roethlisberger before his last two seasons. And they drug it out there because it's legend. Cam Hayward's and he's a cost of money. TJ Watt is replaceable at this point because they've got young kids behind him that are ready to go.
B
Well, a little hole in the lung keeps.
A
Now, that ain't helping you. Yeah, that's no good. You can't have holes in your lungs. Bo Nix at least knelt on the ball once with a broken foot. But the. So I wouldn't be against that trade T.J. watt thing, although I love him. I think he's great. He's a Steeler legend if you keep him there. So I don't know what they're going to do with that. But all that said, the phone's not ringing in Michael Bidwell's office at all.
B
Nobody.
A
And you're getting guys who aren't getting hired by anybody else to agree.
B
So the answer is either they've got their guy and they think it's Vance
A
Joseph from Denver, but he's someone no one else wants.
B
I understand that, but I'm saying it's either Vance Joseph.
A
Yeah.
B
Or they're waiting for the other jobs to get filled. And then whoever gets left over will
A
say the worst time ever to be in this coaching pickle is this year for the Arizona Cardinals. The jets turned out to be pretty smart to just hang on right to Aaron Glenn one more year. Because it's like, yeah, don't do it. We'll wait till next year. Tomlin will be available probably next year. You got a couple other guys are probably going to bounce out. I'm looking at the Cardinals and I'm like, again, we talk about this ad nauseam. It's time that the city started to openly mock and boo Michael Bidwell in every restaurant he's in, make him not want to leave the house. We didn't know he was going to be there. It was supposed to be surprising. And now I should. Now I regret that. And I'm not even a Cardinals fan. This city's too passive. This dude hit him in the ego. His ego. He walks into rooms thinking. People go, oh, there's Michael Bidwell. But what's happening is there's Michael Bidwell. Nobody likes him, and he doesn't seem to mind that. But if they. If he got verbal confirmation everywhere he went in this town, like the guy from Carolina a couple years ago, people followed him from his car to his office, booing, screaming, sell the team. Carolina had more passion to get rid of their owner than the Cardinals. And I don't know who you're going to get to coach, but it isn't going to be. It's going to be choice f and say.
B
But what I'm telling you about Bidwell is I was hopeful. Yeah. When he took over for his dad because his dad was the guy who'd sit in the back of ihop.
A
Yeah.
B
And face away from people and have breakfast.
A
Little neurodivergent.
B
But Michael, I thought, was a guy who wanted to walk into Ocean club, walk into stake 44.
A
Yeah. And people go, michael, become a hero in the town. And all he's got is that. No, I'm very. I'm recognizable, and I do a lot for the community. Good for you. That's great.
B
Right?
A
Do something for your football team. Your fans suffer annually. And, you know, I started a campaign on my show. If you see him, you know, boogers right on his back. Anything you can do, make him physically sneeze on him. Make him physically uncomfortable to be out with us until he says, oh, my God, they hate me. Michael Bidwell to me, is like those guys that ride Harley Davidson's past outdoor cafes. They think everybody really likes them when they go by. But really everybody's. Everybody's screaming at him, and he thinks, oh, everybody thinks I'm awesome, but they're screaming f you. He doesn't hear the noise. He just knows there's noise and he thinks it's good. He's delusional. Jerry Jones at least has the old days to lean on, but he's also delusional. And I give Cowboy fans credit to go. So we're stuck with him until he's gone.
B
Well, he said he's going to win more than Robert Crash.
A
He said he's going to get to seven before he dies. He's going to live to be 98.
C
98, yeah.
A
If he starts winning them every year, that's if he starts winning every year.
E
My name is Mackenzie and I started to go fund me for the adoptive mother of a non verbal autistic child. The mother had lost her job because she was able to find adequate care for this autistic child. So she really needed some help with living expenses, paying some back bills. So I launched a GoFundMe to help support them during this crisis. And we raised about $10,000 within just a couple of months. I think that the surprising thing was by telling a clear story and just like really being very clear about what we needed, we had some really generous donations from people who were really moved by the situation that this family was struggling with.
A
GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising platform, trusted by over 200 million people. Start your GoFundMe today at gofundme.com that's gofundme.com gofundme.com this podcast is supported by GoFundMe. I look at this Cardinal thing and I feel, I actually feel sorry for them much is the same way I felt sorry for San Francisco in that game against Seattle. Going, you guys just, you know what, keep your chin up because you're standing up, taking all the Cardinals don't even. They just lay down when the, when the bell rings.
B
Well, tell me this. If you're sitting there and you're trying to sell the Cardinals to whoever be
A
your Matt Ishbia son's owner.
B
No, I'm saying, but if you're the Cardinal, try to get head coach right now.
A
Oh, head coach, I thought you said sell the team. I see what you're saying. Sell it to Matt Ishbia too.
B
Coach, Coach, what's your selling point? Your quarterback quandary, right? You know, you, you now Denver's proved, hey, you can jettison a highly paid quarterback. And if you make it right, selling
C
point is, hey, no one knows what you're doing here. No one watches us. So if you fail, no one even will care.
A
We went to the Gruden thing a couple weeks ago. I was a big fan of it. I'm no longer a fan of it because I don't want John Gruden have to go through it. I like Jon Gruden too much to say this is, this is somehow now worse. I would Love to see Gruden go to Buffalo.
C
That's a. That's a different story.
A
I'd love to see Gruden go to Buff Buffalo. I think that is a great match.
C
I think the next coach is a. In a no win situation because whoever comes in here, people are going to question what's wrong with you for taking this job completely.
A
100 something is he is flawed coming in.
B
Yes.
A
Because, wow, you had all these options and they didn't want you.
C
So something who's flawed. That will make Jerry Sandustrator.
A
Oh, my God.
C
You can bring him in.
A
You know what? They're gonna be flawed. Just hire anyone. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Gannon came back, like just. Or Cliff Kingsbury. Just get him in here one more year and then we're gonna do it again. You talk about a bridge.
C
Still has a house here.
A
I hope so. It was a beautiful house.
C
Yeah.
A
And he liked it here. I look at a lot of that. So, I mean, I'd like to see. You know, I don't know if his girlfriend would allow it. Get out of here. Still better than college.
B
No, no.
A
Why not?
C
Why don't we hire her?
A
Bill Belichick, what you'd be doing, that's what you'd be doing.
C
And then. And have Bill do the defense.
A
What needs to happen, though, is the. The city needs to fire up against the bidwell.
B
But see that. And that's the one thing, no matter what you think of Dallas and Jerry Jones, what you go around the country and the press itself, the hardest probably press conference I ever heard was. Was when they announced the firing of. Of Gannon. Oh, yeah. He was asked a couple tough questions. That's. And everybody's like, so uncomfortable.
A
Yeah.
B
It's like you're in Philly, you're in Pittsburgh, you're in Dallas. Those are happening every time you lose,
A
the media will chant you suck.
B
Yeah.
A
Like, I mean, this is a. It's too soft and he's getting away with everything. And I don't know. I don't know what kind of coach comes here, but it's not going to be better than Gannon. Probably going to be Vance Johnson and. And man, that's Joseph. Yeah. No.
B
Yeah.
A
It's just. Anyway, congratulations, Cardinals. We tried to say they were the worst team. They prove it.
B
The sixth worst job.
A
Yeah.
B
And. And then when Pittsburgh fired Tom seventh.
A
Yeah. It just kept getting worse. I saw a thing the other day where they're like, here's three other teams that might fire their coach now. That McDermott and all these guys are available and the Cardinals slip below them. Tampa, New Orleans, you're like, oh, my God. And if I'm one of those teams and I see McDermott now Harbaugh's gone to the Giants and everything. I think Harbaugh's kicking himself a little. If that Buffalo job is better than the Giants job.
C
If Purdue fires their coach, what's a better job, Purdue or the Purdue.
A
Purdue.
C
Because I think Purdue's pretty poor job.
A
It's a terrible job, but I would. I would at least live in anonymity and keep my. Keep my hopes for having a job in the future. Jonathan Gannon has to rebuild his resume because he was a head coach for the Cardinals. They're Vance Joseph. The only place that'll take him is here. Because you don't have to have a good resume to come here. You just have to be a sycophant for the Bidwell way. And I don't know how Austin Fort the G. You could go on and on about how. How unbelievably toxic and damaged this team is and more so. And you know what we talked about a couple of weeks ago? The jets and them were tied. Browns and then were tied. No, they're not. I think I. Look at that. What job would you rather have? I'd rather have the. I'd rather be in Cleveland than Phoenix, Arizona in the winter.
B
Come on.
A
It's turned out to be. You know what? At least I got Miles Garrett and some of this stuff seems to be panning out. There is nothing here that sweats fantastic for the Cardinals. He's going to end up getting mad. Buddha Baker is probably the greatest teammate in NFL history to not have exploded by now. The dudes asked to do everything. I can't imagine the coach coming here and have. If he has success, he might as well just bronze it.
B
And when you bring all that up and I'm. Again, I'm trying to come up with selling points. I'm looking at that off offensive line, other than left tackle has to be blown out. Your wide receivers, you've got to keep Marvin Harrison. And he's. He's a. He's a.
A
Do you. The other guy's better, right?
B
Yeah. And so. So you got your running backs. The guy who broke his leg this year now James Connor. James Connor, he ain't gonna be the same next year. He's 32, 33. He's an older back quarterback situation.
A
It's just like, what are you selling?
B
What can I do?
A
What am I coming here saying, okay, I'm in competition with a storied franchise like Pittsburgh, Baltimore and like, you know what? It may be tough sledding a little at first, not in Baltimore, but in Pittsburgh. But I'd rather have that job because history says they're going to fix this. This is not going to be.
B
And John, at the end of the day, any coach is going to look at, okay, what division am I in? And they finished out of third place.
A
Yeah, here we go.
B
Out of third by nine games.
A
John, they were in last by nine games.
B
Yeah, games.
A
That says everything. That's all you need. NCAA championship last night. Miami, Michael Irvin and Ray Lewis murdering it on the sidelines if you ask me. But it was very funny.
B
And then what I wanted because I tried to run it back and even figure it out. So. So Irvin was the honorary captain from Miami. How they chose him over. But I don't know.
A
They didn't. He just went out.
B
Yeah, and I could see that. Hey Ray, you're on her. Yeah, I'm gonna take this.
A
Remember I played basketball on Michael Irvin's team and he stole the ball from me. We were on the same team.
B
Give me the ball. Yes. I couldn't ever figure out who the guy was from Indiana.
A
No.
B
Was it Antoine Randolph, a defensive end or whatever?
A
I have no idea but.
B
But I forgot where I was going with that.
A
It's all right, Dale. You played a long time in the NFL. There's money for this. There's a check coming for this. You're going to get paid for that exact thing right there. But yeah, I was watching the Miami team and what I saw first off, Indiana played Indiana football. I guess that's a thing now. And, and they played it to the 10 nothing. Stalemate for a while that you should call it.
C
They played non Indiana football.
A
Yeah, exactly. They played the opposite of what Indiana football has become.
C
And, and it's fantastic.
A
And it's 10 nothing. And they're playing well, not great. Miami's defense putting up what I saw on the field last night and again a fantastic game. The right team won. They broke the nil by doing this three star recruiting 24 year old thing. I think it's great how they got there. Other, other schools can now go, oh, we don't have to be Alabama, LSU and spend all this money. We can do it the right way for you know, it's almost moneyball the first year. So they got that figured out. It was fun to watch. Fun to watch that whole Disney, Hollywood Story. But what I watched last night was four guys on Miami become NFL players. And that one kid, the running back, number four. Name just escapes because we're a name thing. I forgot Fletcher. Yeah. Fletcher became Eric Dickerson and Eddie George.
C
I'll just say this. I like that kid. Kid from Indiana, number eight. Better black.
A
Oh, they. Both of them. But, I mean, Indiana had their guys kind of established as, like, that Fletcher kids going back for another year in Miami. He's going to be a top five pick. I mean, he looks every bit of Derrick Henry. He's 250. And he says sophomore or junior, he's a beast.
C
Give me.
B
You're not catching him.
A
No.
C
That kid, black in Indiana, who reminds me of Emmett Smith. Small guy, hits the holes hard, is hard to tackle. Always going forward. I love everything about.
A
Do you like Carson Beck going forward as a quarterback?
C
No.
A
I don't either. And I don't know why. He's just done nothing but win.
B
Well, we. We were watching him on the sidelines. There's something wrong with his face. The.
A
The Internet has made him Christopher Walken from the Deer Hunter. He looks just like. And.
B
But he looks. He looks. His girlfriend is.
A
No.
B
Oh, he's dating some porn star.
A
Oh, I did see the porn star. And they showed her, which is just classic.
B
Brett Musburger was doing the game.
A
Oh, my. Can you imagine that? Yeah.
B
But I will tell you this. Since you crushed my boyhood dream of the astronauts going to the moon. Killed it all and all that. Give me Fernando Mendoza. Once, twice, three times a lady.
A
Really? You liked him?
B
I absolutely. I absolutely love the dude.
A
I kind of started to not critique the way he was. The Ohio State game, which I saw him dropping back too much in shotgun. Like, he's in shotgun. And still took three steps. And he did it consistently. And he started it again the next game. And I'm like, that's a thing he does. His first move is back. His default is run away the wrong way. But, man, the last two games. Yeah, he didn't do that.
B
No.
A
And last night he stood and took it.
B
He took some shots last night.
A
Yeah.
B
I mean, again, so. Because people I was watching the game with were like, you know, Miami has this reputation. All I said, I've always hated Miami just because of the extracurricular bs. And the.
A
Fletcher went and punched one of the guys after the game for the game.
B
Saw that. And that's Miami.
C
Yeah.
B
Show the punch.
A
Here's the thing, though.
D
Okay.
A
Go ahead.
B
But. But early in the game. Yeah. He has the Ball off. It's just. It's a dive play. Yeah. And the Miami linebacker. Debris comes off the edge crown of the helmet under him. Hits him underneath. There's official. That's all he's supposed to look at as the quarterback. Doesn't call it. Bleeding from his lip.
A
Yeah.
B
Doesn't faze him. And then that freaking fourth and final.
A
Oh, my God, it was legendary. I mean, fourth, it looked like it was scripted the way he came around that end and he's just got the jog and like, if you put that in slow motion, it'd be like this is a Disney movie. They're filming this.
B
And he makes one guy and he's not athletic, but not that athletic, but he makes a guy miss, lowers his shoulder on another dude, and then he's literally parallel to the ground, knowing he's taking a shot. Yeah.
A
He was unbelievably impressive.
C
And we would have missed that event if one of your feminine coaches would have been coaching Indiana.
A
He kicked field goal and we'd have still had a nice game. It was a great moment, I'll give you that. It was a great moment. I watched that. Do I think Miami had four guys? Really? Draft stock went through the moon. The linebacker, the defensive end, that running back who's not even coming out. And there was a. There was. And obviously Indiana's got their guys, but those are, those are stout, plug and play players from Indiana that I don't think will ever be superstars. Maybe the running back a little bit, but for the most part you're looking at offensive linemen that you're like, wow, he's been with our team for 13 years and you just know the name. The Alan Fanica thing, which was always amazing to me is like his first holding ever was 12 years into his career.
B
Right.
A
I mean, just dudes like that. That's what Indiana was. I know, it's unreal.
B
They were the most well coached team in all three phases of the game. No question of any team in the country in college football.
A
It was impressive and they deserved it. The best, the best team won the championship this year, which tip of the cap to them getting the playoff system to be entertaining and right. I still don't like how it works, but in the end, nobody's arguing that Indiana was the best.
B
It was a great game in Miami.
A
Miami, though, goes back real quick to how we all say, oh, resort towns can't be tough in the NFL. You're like, oh, it's Miami. The players go there. I don't know if it's the money. And that may change as Nil gets to Miami. They are the toughest. When they're good, they lean into it. They're mean, they're gritty, and they're known for it. It's so weird how Miami has the reputation in pro sports of being laid back. Phoenix to resort town. It's possible to be a resort town. And keep in mind these guys are all 20, 21 years old, so they should be the ones most distracted by the lifestyle and that whatever's going on in Miami is. And maybe recruiting. They got some coaching mean dudes down there.
B
I think Crystal Ball's a very, very good coach. Coach. He's learned along the way. I'll say this. Yes. Nil. You hear Nil for certain people. Not Everybody's getting paid $2 million on the university. That stadium. I've done games there. It's not in a good neighborhood. No. University of Miami. It's not South Beach.
A
No, that is true.
B
It's got its ass a little bit different than I'm making $15 million a year. I might have a house in south beach and things.
A
So it's a little Dolphins a little bit. Yeah. It just seems to me that that excuse goes out the window when people are like, oh, you live in a resort town. It's soft. It's soft. I'm like, miami, isn't that. That for 40 years they've been. And they just found a way to do it.
B
The thing that jumped out to me, one less thing. I don't know where you go after that. But Miami had more athletes than Indiana did. Oh, a lot more speed. Need more athletes. But Indiana just kept. It's like, hold on. You're handing it off inside again. Come on. Oh, seven yards. Okay. All right. So second three. We. We.
A
It was the old Joe Bugle. We're going to run this till you stop it. And then we've got another one you can't stop. It's like one after another. It was impressive. So.
B
Yeah.
A
And will the Hoosiers be back? Can you keep this up?
C
Yes.
A
Can you? Yeah.
C
And great coaching. Great coaching. And if Mark Cuban's money's going to
A
be there, that's the big thing.
C
Money, coaching.
A
But again, you got to go out and find another 43 star dudes.
B
Yeah. Yeah. But. Yeah.
C
Where are they going to find that?
B
Supposedly they. Their classes in the top five.
A
Yeah.
C
So far.
B
And if you're Mark Cuban, they show him a couple times during the game, just ear to ear, and he kind of he kind of likes when are
C
the rest of the shark tank.
A
They said. They probably told him that and said, you know what, Mark? For that reason, I'm out because it was Indiana and they won't play along. It's an impressive thing what happened there. I don't understand how it works. Maybe we'll get into it another show, my friend. His son graduated from Stanford. His last name's Libman, and he graduated From Stanford like 20, 24. Played another year at Stanford last year and he's going to New Mexico State next year. And I'm like, you've been out of college for two years.
C
You do a red shirt.
A
He did too, because he had Covid
C
and the COVID year. Everyone got an extra year.
A
But still, don't you have to go to school?
B
Next year will be the last year
A
of the COVID Yeah, but don't you have to go to school? Like, even if you had a red shirt, don't you still have to be.
B
You still have to take a certain amount of classes.
A
First semester you get your master's and stuff. I don't. Yeah, that's crazy.
C
Double master.
A
This will be his sixth year and he graduated from Stanford a little early. Like, man. And he's moving around. He's like, he had a couple offers. I'm like, this is. It's better, right, for those guys.
B
If you're going to be a fringe, maybe not making the NFL, hey, yeah, I'll get another 500 grand.
A
He's a maybe. And they give him a nice amount of money. It's just, it's, man, it's different. So Indiana's got, you know, dudes just walking on the streets, don't even go to college.
B
Got a red shirt. Three years ago. Yeah, three years ago, Indiana was the drag of the Big Ten. I mean, you could say Indiana, Rutgers,
A
it was the team. Yeah, it was the team. Ohio State wanted on their schedule to tune up the 77 to 7 game with the backups playing the second half is crazy. Before we get into the last five minutes with a madman, I have to say, what kind of animals are. Are we dealing with up here at the old 726 Studios at the Arizona center that I go to go to the bathroom and I see somebody says, puts on every stall, no paper towels in the toilet. Who's cleaning up back there with paper towels? Where you get paper towels in the bathroom?
B
She takes a shower before it goes to the bathroom.
A
I take one after. Yeah, but paper towels back there is nice. Not a readily available you had to bring those from home.
B
Yeah. They're not in the bathroom.
A
So who's doing this? It's an animal. It's an animal.
B
See, your mind goes in places that
A
it shouldn't be a sign in any bathroom in America.
B
And they're big signs.
A
They're on every stall. So it's a problem.
B
Yes.
A
There's nobody else.
B
It's happened more than once.
A
Oh, it's happened a lot.
D
Yeah.
B
Yeah. But your Phoenix sign. Yeah. You can start selling your tickets this year. You can start selling this don't do. And make it some cash.
A
Yeah. No, it's.
B
It's. It's. They're so fun. They're so fun.
A
The Detroit game, when they went there without Booker, I text a friend of mine and I said, there's something primal about the Detroit Pistons team. When you watch me, like, these guys aren't from the NBA. Like, they get on the court and they just look like, oh, you know, when you get on a. A basketball court in a pickup game, you look across, you're like, ah, this is a team that we just don't. Without Booker, I'm like, okay. Expect the slaughter tonight. This is. Okay. Detroit's a team that's just. They stomp on weakness. Suns almost won the game.
B
Almost won the game.
A
And they played bully ball. Mark Williams is. He reminds me of Mark west with a shot he runs down the court going, I've got a job to do. I've got a job to do.
B
I'm more athletic.
A
Much more. Because you have to be. Mark west couldn't make it in today's game because he was just a single defensive.
B
He was big daddy.
A
He was. Daddy would take care of things if things. This dude's. That plus offense. Like, he'll get you 10, 12, 15 if you want it. He'll get you three or four block shots if you want it. He can do it.
B
Get you 12 rebounds.
A
He is magnificent. And came up and I'm like, you know what?
B
I'm wrong.
A
Like, the Sun's team can play tough. They can be a tough team. They are fun to watch.
B
And if there's. I don't know if there's really ever been. I'm sure we could sit down and come up with some instances.
A
Yeah.
B
Addition by subtraction.
A
Ridiculous.
B
Traden Durant. Yeah. Dylan Brooks. And you put him and Durant in, like, the same conversation as a basketball player. Durant's hall of Famer Dylan Brooks is.
A
Yeah.
B
Maybe a possible all Star.
A
Maybe Bruce Bowen with a shot.
B
Yeah. And and yet this team has responded to Dillon. They look like they have fun. They care about each other. They lost two in a row. They go to New York and I mean, and the old sons, that turns into a six game losing streak.
A
Yeah. Now we've got a problem here. Somebody. Somebody just solved us.
B
Yeah, yeah.
A
That didn't happen. And they went to. And they. And they were competitive, you know, I mean, that Detroit game, I said without Booker, you guys just walk out of here and go, yeah, it was close. That was closer than it needed to be. And it wasn't because it was fluky or Detroit played bad. 48 minutes. Detroit had their hands full with whatever Ott threw at him. Jordan Ott, if I was in central casting in Hollywood, would be the first guy I picked for my next serial killer Netflix special. That dude's face is perfect for the stuff of Nightmare's neighbor. That you're like, all right, he looks kind of normal with everything.
C
I'd throw you in that mix.
A
Oh, I definitely would be cast as that.
B
How about. How about Curtis Signetti and his.
A
He's got that, too. He's got a little of that.
B
Yeah. And he's not trying to make me. That's.
A
He's more of the authorit dad in a sitcom. But you look at him, he'd be a funny, dry, kind of angry dad.
C
The guy who's in the Godfather, he played the father. He was throwing the basketball at his kid.
A
Oh, oh, oh, yeah, that's Robert. Robert Duvall and the Great Santini.
B
Yeah.
A
Look at his sports fans. He doesn't. You can't take it. I remember, it's one of the best movies of all time. We get a cry. You leave it. He's very much the Great Santini.
C
Right.
B
You're a Santino.
A
We do not leak from the eyes. Oh, it's a great movie. Five minutes with the madman. Dave Nash. Go.
C
Well, we just did a show in regards to the moon landing. I tell you what, I don't know if we landed on the moon or not, but there's enough information out there that Elon Musk said for him to get to the moon, he'd have to refuel his rocket six times. Now, I don't understand how it can be harder to get to the moon now than it was in 1969, so that doesn't make any sense.
B
Yeah, well, and then that Buzz guy tell a couple people.
C
Buzz Aldrin said he's tried to tell people on TV and in Conan o',
A
Brien, he was on all sorts he
C
was and, and in and in lecture halls that, that it would have been great if we were to win, but we really didn't and no one's really listening.
B
So are you gonna have any shows about conspiracy things in America that are good?
A
Yeah. Where's the conspiracy that benefits us?
B
Good gosh.
A
I think they did that so we slept better. I'll look.
C
Oh, actually, well, boy, you know we're gonna do a bunch of health shows.
B
Yeah.
C
Everything you've been told health wise.
A
Oh, boy.
B
Is bad.
A
Sorry. Here we go. There's those five minutes.
C
It's a lie.
A
It's hard to argue with you.
B
A lie.
A
It's hard to argue with you. And my house looks like a pharmacy
C
with wellness doctors prescribed have and we'll do it soon. Maybe we'll do it next. Show information regards to health that you hear health officials who who are not getting paid by big pharma. They're not getting kickbacks and are not on the payroll saying the real health issues. That salt is good for you. Cholesterol is good for you. I can go on and on and on on. We, we'll do that.
B
All right.
A
We'll get back to it. Five minutes with a madman. Not so mad today. No, the moon landing thing is. Look, I'm going a little crazy.
B
I challenge him and maybe you can. You think about these things more than I do to find a positive.
A
Yeah. This, this is a. A little underground thing that makes us all like have better sleep. I, I something good. Know somebody puts something out there when ha ha. We'll knock them out and they'll love it.
C
I'm a dread.
A
I don't think it has no.
C
I don't think I'm as fun as cancer without a Larry.
A
On that note, we're done. Dave Nash, Dale Hellestray. I'm John Holmberg. It's the sports thing. We'll see you next.
Episode 23 – January 22, 2026
This episode of the Sports Thing Podcast dives into one of the most exciting weekends in the sports calendar—NFL playoffs in full swing, college basketball heating up, hockey underway, and the Phoenix Open approaching. John Holmberg, Dale Hellestrae, and Dave Nash break down controversial NFL officiating, the fallout for coaches and players, unusual injury conspiracy theories, and local Arizona sports narratives, with signature humor, strong opinions, and the camaraderie of seasoned sports fans. Special focus is given to playoff controversies, the coaching carousel, the state of Arizona sports franchises, and college football’s championship outcome.
This episode is a classic blend of irreverence, sharp sports insight, conspiracy garnish, and Arizona fandom. With lively debate, the team exposes the drama of modern football—both on and off the field—while refusing to let local franchises or dubious officiating off the hook. The hosts’ banter keeps things both hilarious and real, making it clear why Arizona sports fans (and anyone who relishes genuine sports talk) tune in each week.