S E25: The Sports Thing Podcast w/Holmberg, Hellestrae And Nash - Episode 25 - 02-03-26

Summary

The Sports Thing Podcast w/ Holmberg, Hellestrae & Nash

Episode 25 | February 4, 2026

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Episode Theme:

“Super Bowl Week: Predictions, Storylines, and the State of Arizona Sports”

The week’s episode is a classic pre-Super Bowl roundtable featuring host John Holmberg, 3x Super Bowl champion Dale Hellestrae, and Arizona media personality Dave Nash. The trio dissect the lead-up to Super Bowl 60—discussing key matchups, storylines, Super Bowl media circus, halftime controversies, and coaching changes across the league with a special focus on Arizona’s teams. The show is peppered with nostalgia, analysis, running jokes, and the panel’s signature mix of cynicism and insight.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Super Bowl Week: Memories & Media Madness

[02:13–07:40]

• Evolution of Super Bowl Week:
  Dale reminisces about how the week has become an increasingly overblown spectacle since his playing days, recalling when “media day became kind of a thing.”
  “NFL just continues to grow…then all of a sudden, you get these people coming from England and from other countries to interview people, and it just kind of took a growth on its own.” – Dale Hellestrae [03:23]
• Personal Stories:
  Dale shares a quirky story about dodging Super Bowl team selfies and headshots:
  “There was one guy in the Dallas Cowboys who didn’t go. Me.” – Dale [04:28]
  Holmberg: “What if there was an injury and you got thrust into play? …and freed Emmett 75 yards scamper.”
  Dale: “I’ll take that chance over a bad snap and then showing me with a goofy look on my face.” [04:46]

2. Super Bowl Hype vs. Game Analysis

[07:41–11:25]

• Halftime Show & NFL ‘Soap Opera’:
  Holmberg laments the halftime spectacle and off-field controversies, suggesting the league targets the youngest demographic with little regard for longtime fans.
  “They already got your money and you’re not going anywhere.” – Holmberg [08:00]
• Marketing & Betting:
  The crew discusses the explosion of novelty bets even on what broadcasters will say—“There is a market for that.” [11:25]—and reminisce about prop bets like number of punts in the Super Bowl.

3. Game Matchup: Patriots vs. Seahawks Analysis

[13:00–29:10]

• Strength of Schedule Argument:
  Holmberg notes that “the Patriots are getting disrespected” over their easy schedule but points out recent top teams have faced similar scrutiny.
  “In the NFL, you don’t pick your schedule. The schedule picks you.” – Dale [14:33]
• Position-by-Position Breakdown:
  • Quarterback:
    Slight edge to Seattle’s Darnold, but panel cautious of “that pick six.” [16:18–18:21]
  • Running Game/OL:
    Consensus: Seattle’s O-line and Kenny Walker garner the advantage. [22:05]
  • Receivers:
    Edge to Seattle, mainly due to JSN; Patriots receivers considered anonymous in this era. [23:17]
  • Defense:
    “That defense is the real deal.” – Dale, on Seattle [25:39]
    Patriots’ only chance: scheme confusion and ugly, low-scoring football.
  • Coaching:
    Vrabel’s “drunk uncle” role; panel agrees New England can only win “if they make it ugly.” [26:36]

Panel Super Bowl Predictions:

• Dale: Seattle 17-14
• Dave Nash: Seattle 24-17
• Holmberg: Seattle 20-14 [57:24]

4. Tangents: Nostalgia, Super Bowl History, & Sports Culture Critique

[19:43–36:42]

• Holmberg recalls sitting behind Stevie Wonder at Super Bowl 30 (“You could have put him in the top row and faced him the wrong way. Wouldn’t have mattered.” [20:00])
• Discussion of blowouts in past NFC-dominated years and the desire for a competitive, if ugly, Super Bowl.
• “If I bet the under, I’m looking for the punt festival too.” – Dave Nash [34:18]

5. Coaching Carousel: Cardinals’ New Hire & NFL Changes

[37:04–57:21]

• Arizona Cardinals’ Head Coach Search:
  Mike LaFleur is hired amid skepticism and awareness that he wasn’t the team’s first (or second) choice.
  “Somehow the Cardinals made the guy that they want feel like they didn’t want him.” – Steve (quoted by John) [43:25]
• Job Attractiveness & Quarterback Crisis:
  Nash claims “the bar’s so low, you can’t fail.”
• Other NFL Coaching Moves:
  Debates about the Giants, Harbaugh’s potential in New York, and the pitfalls of “promoting from within,” especially referencing Pittsburgh, Dallas, and Buffalo.
• Cultural fit and the stress of interviews:
  “Limerence”—overanalyzing each part of the process after the interview, according to John [43:36]

6. Olympics and Other Sports Threads

[58:02–63:44]

• Winter Olympics:
  Panel excited about Olympic hockey but discuss rumors of a “shorter rink” due to construction mishap in Italy.
  “No one measured this. This seems to be…” – Dave Nash [60:32]
• Athlete Spotlight:
  Lindsey Vonn skiing with a ruptured ACL, contrasted with NBA star Jalen Green out with a “sore buttock.” [60:15]
• Boxing:
  Highlighting Jerrell “Big Baby” Miller’s toupee flying off mid-fight—leading to laughs and a tangent about hairpieces in sports. [63:44]

7. All-Star Games & NBA

[67:06–68:53]

• The panel collectively shrugs at All-Star selections, lamenting the lack of effort and diminished player interest.

8. The Real Matrix Segment: Wellness, Sunlight, and Conspiracies

[69:51–76:49]

• Nash closes the show with his signature contrarian segment, arguing for the health benefits of nicotine (in foods and patches, not cigarettes), and advocating for moderate sun exposure over sunscreen.
  “Most of what we’ve been told in our life’s a lie. They don’t want us prospering. They don’t want us healthy. They don’t give a crap.” – Dave Nash [76:11]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dale’s Selfie Dodge:
  “I’ll take that chance over a bad snap and then showing me with a goofy look on my face.” [04:56]
• Super Bowl Curtain Call:
  “Be the drunk uncle. We’re not supposed to be here…be at the end of the party going, is that guy still here?” – Holmberg [26:36]
• On Sun & Nicotine:
  “Nicotine is a nutrient…in all of our nightshade vegetables.” – Dave Nash [71:05]
• Coaching Hire Realism:
  “If he Cardinals five games next year and they’re out of third place by five games, he’s had a success. He’s…moving on up to the East Side.” – Dave Nash [48:09]
• On Watching Super Bowl Halftime:
  “You’re going to watch every second of that halftime show and you’re going to do a whole…this America-hater in a dress and the agenda.” – Holmberg [32:51]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Start | End | |--------------------------------------------|---------|---------| | Super Bowl Week & Media Memories | 02:13 | 07:40 | | Super Bowl Hype, Halftime Show | 07:41 | 13:02 | | Schedule Questions & Game Analysis | 13:02 | 29:11 | | Nostalgia, Super Bowl History | 19:43 | 36:42 | | Coaching Carousel & Cardinals Search | 37:04 | 57:21 | | Olympics, All-Star Games & Boxing | 58:02 | 67:05 | | Nash’s ‘Real Matrix’ Wellness Wrap-up | 69:51 | 76:46 |

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Tone & Style

Easygoing, sarcastic, occasionally irreverent and conspiratorial. The panel blends deep football analysis with old timer anecdotes, local sports focus, and the sort of banter that only rooted friendships and a lifetime in sports media can deliver.

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Summary

If you missed this week’s episode, you missed a whirlwind tour through Super Bowl lore, current matchups, Arizona’s perpetual football dysfunction, the state of modern sports culture, and conspiracy-tinged wellness advice. The panel is skeptical about the Super Bowl being a blowout, forecasting a close, ugly contest. They’re united in skepticism about the Cardinals’ direction, laugh about the missteps of franchises past and present, and close out with the kind of oddball, unfiltered authenticity that is The Sports Thing’s hallmark.

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Panel Super Bowl Picks:

• Dale: Seattle 17-14
• Dave: Seattle 24-17
• John: Seattle 20-14

Closing Wisdom:
“Be the drunk uncle…Make them wonder how the heck this guy is still standing there.” – John Holmberg [26:36]

Transcript

[John Holmberg]

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.

[Dave Nash]

reese, and I have no interest in

[John Holmberg]

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.

[MacKenzie]

My name is MacKenzie and I started a GoFundMe for the adoptive mother of a nonverbal autistic child. The mother had lost her job because she wasn't 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.

[John Holmberg]

GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising platform, trusted by over 200 million people.

[Dale Hellistray]

Start. Start your GoFundMe today at gofundme.com that's

[John Holmberg]

gofundme.com gofundme.com this podcast is supported by GoFundMe. Hey, welcome, everybody, to the sports thing of John Holmberg podcast. Very successful. We should start over after Dale made that noise. But we're not gonna. I am the host of 98 Kup's Morning Sickness. Wildly successful, wildly successful show here in Phoenix, Arizona. Dale Hellistray joins me, three time world champion, co host of the main event with Steve McCollum. And there's Dave Nash over there. He doesn't like to be told he's. He's the real matrix, the angry fan, the angry patriot. He moves.

[Dale Hellistray]

He's angry at something.

[John Holmberg]

He's always angry. Well, how can you be angry this week as we.

[Dave Nash]

I'm certainly loud.

[John Holmberg]

You're very loud. And you say that's because you're deaf, not because you're angry. Bingo.

[Dale Hellistray]

Look at the size of those ears, though. How can they be. How can they be deaf?

[John Holmberg]

They're attached, too. There's something about. I think that's sociopathic when they're attached or a sociopath. And when they're detached or I.

[Dale Hellistray]

Not real sure.

[John Holmberg]

I'll look into that later. You'll do a show about it next week. It is a good week to be a sports fan. It is the culmination of the football season. It's the last of it. Also, it's the pinnacle of the season and also the recognition as fans that this is it. We don't get this for a while. The good news about football is that it is every day of the year now, which is fun, but we lose our weekly habits of Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and we try to fall into other sports, and we'll get that together. But the super bowl is the most important thing. Dale, I turned to you right off the bat. Super bowl week has changed quite a bit since you guys used to go. But I think it was right around the time the interesting Cowboys were there. That super bowl week took like. People knew what it was like you had on the field. Everybody got interviewed. They had media from everywhere.

[Dale Hellistray]

Media day became kind of a thing. Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Was it because of you guys or because of what happened to Doug Williams when they asked him, has he always been a black quarterback? I'm not sure. Which made people go, hey, they do this every year. Let's see what else stupid they can do.

[Dale Hellistray]

I think that it was a culmination. NFL just continues to grow and grow and grow, and then all of a sudden, you get these people coming from England and from other countries to interview people, and it just kind of took a growth on its own. There's so many great memories. As a guy who got to go

[John Holmberg]

through three of these, did they get tiring?

[Dale Hellistray]

No.

[John Holmberg]

No.

[Dale Hellistray]

Because understand some by Tuesday, you're completely out of all the nonsense.

[John Holmberg]

Okay.

[Dale Hellistray]

You know, you usually had media day on Tuesday, and then your regular kind of work schedule started on Wednesday and you were through the game. But I will tell you one quick story. You guys are going to kick out. So last super bowl out here is when they first started doing these goofball selfies to where you're tossing a ball and looking like a dork into the. Into the camera and all that. So you made it play or whatever.

[John Holmberg]

They show you everybody on the team.

[Dale Hellistray]

Everybody on the team. You're supposed to go there Monday, get your head shot. There was one guy in the Dallas Cowboys who didn't go, me.

[John Holmberg]

This guy right here.

[Dale Hellistray]

And then Tuesday morning, Rich Dalrymple, our PR guy, said, dale, you're the only guy hasn't gotten. You need to go get that done. I said, all right, Rich, I'LL do that. I didn't go.

[John Holmberg]

No fines.

[Dale Hellistray]

No fines. But think about it, John. Think about this day. When are they going to show me?

[John Holmberg]

What if there was an injury and you got thrust into play? I'll take and made an amazing block. And freed Emmett 75 yards scamper.

[Dale Hellistray]

I'll take that chance over a bad snap. And then showing me with a goofy look on my face.

[Dave Nash]

This was a. I think that's brilliant that you didn't go.

[John Holmberg]

I think it's.

[Dave Nash]

I think it's one of the smartest things you've ever done in your life.

[John Holmberg]

This goes against you say why? Because go for it on fourth down. I don't want anybody playing with fear. This guy spent the whole week going, when I snapped that ball over the punch, it goes over his head. They'll have a picture of me.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

He should have went with a bag over his head.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

I would have done that.

[John Holmberg]

He said. And then just put long snapper on the bag and it would have been funny. But then you're forever the laughing.

[Dale Hellistray]

The other thing I want to point out to you guys that's always fascinating to me is so I played in three of them. Two of them were the two week like this year. Super Bowl. Yeah. Off week last week. Which tends to drive fans and whatever crazy for some reason. But what you don't understand. I played in 1. Where NFC championship game on Sunday. Super bowl next Sunday. So in that particular year. Wow. We had to sit down on Tuesday as we're going to play the 49ers in the championship game.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

And make all our plans as if we had won. Yeah. The hotel rooms.

[John Holmberg]

Really.

[Dale Hellistray]

Tickets.

[Dave Nash]

It's hard in one week.

[Dale Hellistray]

Travel.

[John Holmberg]

Man.

[Dale Hellistray]

All this stuff that we had to like. Okay. We've already won the game just in case. But we haven't played it. And so when you get the extra week, you get to do that on a Tuesday after you know you're going. So there understand it's. It's for the players that. That extra week.

[John Holmberg]

And this is why you felt so much stress that you were going to snap the ball into the ground or do something stupid.

[Dale Hellistray]

I didn't figure I was going to, but I knew they weren't going to show me for anything good.

[John Holmberg]

Was that the Arizona Super Bowl? And that's where it lives. Is because it was your hometown Super Bowl.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

People here would remember you across the country. You're going. You're going to be forever remembered as

[Dale Hellistray]

the guy who's very unforgettable.

[John Holmberg]

That's Very true. There's no arguing that. Well, super bowl week is always, to me it's now it's become, and I hate it because everything has, it's become the political, let's get in front of it thing, right? So now all you're getting is questions about like, is Bad Bunny going to do anything political at halftime? It's like they've set this up again, the soap opera of the NFL to put something minorly controversial in at halftime. So day one, Roger Goodell's State of the Union is all about. I don't think Bad Bunny's gonna say it was such a great. In one way, it's amazing marketing that he stood there and said, I don't think Bad Bunny's gonna do anything controversial. But he didn't say, I told him not to.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

He just said, I don't think you'll do it. He's gonna go out there in a dress and he's gonna make every 55 year old person plus go, what in the hell is happening to my Super Bowl? And then you've got. It's just silly. The whole thing's become soap opera week.

[Dale Hellistray]

But like, but John, I said it on our show this morning with Steve back that it's like bowl games. I hear people. Oh, too many college bowl games. Too many games. Just we take the. You don't have to watch them.

[John Holmberg]

That's true.

[Dale Hellistray]

I don't have to watch the halftime super bowl if that guy's going to bother me.

[John Holmberg]

But as a super. Well, that's very true. The super bowl halftime show has gotten to the point where it's. And again, they don't care about anybody who they've gotten money from for 20 years. They're looking at 24 and 25 year olds who are coming into jobs that now they have expendable cash and they're like whatever they like, cater to it because they're going to start buying jerseys, they're going to have kids, they're going to throw money at their kids. That's who we care about. 50 year old guys. Plus, yeah, they already got your money and you're not going anywhere.

[Dale Hellistray]

Think about last week, the off week. Yeah, there's basketball going on, there's hockey going on, there's baseball. Off season. Spring training is getting ready to start. Awesome. And what did everybody talk about? Yeah, the NFL, Bill Belichick, you know, this, that, the other. It's like coaching changes.

[John Holmberg]

Us included. Yes, us included on the Bill Belichick thing, which I'm sure Dave is still Wrong about. But.

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, now he's got another one that's not in. Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And now that was. I was going to get good transition. Dale, get into the fact that Robert Kraft has now been dodged as an owner.

[Dale Hellistray]

I asked question this morning. I want your just quick snippet go the Brady Belichick and the owner in order. Give me from number one to three of the most important people in that

[John Holmberg]

Brady Belichick, the owner.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay.

[Dave Nash]

I can't argue.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, that's about right.

[Dale Hellistray]

I mean, you gotta take away that Kraft had $500 million or whatever to buy it.

[John Holmberg]

But somebody would have. And he's. But some had. You run into those things and saw what you had. I think just pay for it and sit back and let it happen. Execution planning, paying and staying out of the way. Execution planning, paying are the three biggest things. And. Yeah. And who knows? I think Belichick and Brady could be interchangeable parts there.

[Dave Nash]

How dare you that we're gonna get him going.

[John Holmberg]

I think Robert Kraft will be the one most shunned by the hall of Fame because he's what, 90? And I think they're gonna posthumously put him in the hall of Fame.

[Dale Hellistray]

Really?

[John Holmberg]

As the punishment. Yeah, because now's the year.

[Dale Hellistray]

Getting a massage, Sean?

[John Holmberg]

No, no, no.

[Dale Hellistray]

You can't get a massage.

[John Holmberg]

No, no, no. He can get as many of those as he wants. Evidently, nobody talks about it. It's the other thing.

[Dave Nash]

Oh, you think. You think Kraft came down from the owners and said, hey, let's deflate the balls. Let's do spot.

[John Holmberg]

He was. Look, Buck stops here. He's the owner. He's a representation of the.

[Dave Nash]

For an example here in Arizona with the Cardinals. I'm sure Bidwell knows nothing of what's going on.

[John Holmberg]

Positive of that.

[Dave Nash]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

But if the team happened to win Super Bowl. Look, if the team happened to win Super Bowls and get caught banging around screwing up the rules, and Bidwell's like, he's not.

[Dale Hellistray]

They get caught screwing up the rules and not winning Super Bowls. Oh, that's.

[John Holmberg]

That's. Yeah. Somehow they've managed to not win and still do that.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

But. Yeah, so look, you're the face of the franchise when you are the owner above and beyond the product on the field. So I think that's the punishment when I watch that go down. We had the argument about Belichick and just take him on. Hey, we're going to embarrass you a little.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

This craft thing is like you're going to pay the ultimate price. You're not Going to get a speech. You're not going to see the bus. You'll have a family member take that thing off.

[Dale Hellistray]

You really think it's.

[John Holmberg]

Look, they. So much money was played with that I guarantee you there's somebody named Veto that's behind a lot of this gambling going. You know, if you guys are going to manipulate this and not let us in on it, there's going to be

[Dale Hellistray]

some ramifications real quick, and I don't want to make it a big topic, but did you see that there's millions of dollars now spent on what Mike Tirico and Chris Collinsworth are going to say Super Bowl. They have. Yeah, they have terms.

[John Holmberg]

If you say, I don't know where you can bet on that.

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, either do I. Big article on ESPN about. There is a market for that.

[John Holmberg]

I think that's a thing where, like super bowl parties, you can do that, but they can't actually have it on any of the better because then Tirico and Collinsworth could call a friend.

[Dale Hellistray]

That's what I. That's what I said. But there is a. There is a place in front of me because that's what I would do. I'd go, hey, John.

[John Holmberg]

Absolutely.

[Dale Hellistray]

We'll split this. Hey, for sure. I'm going to say Lumen Stadium. Yeah, it's coming out.

[John Holmberg]

It's happening.

[Dale Hellistray]

Hey, that reminds me of Patrick Mahomes.

[Dave Nash]

I wouldn't trust him because he'd forget. You'd say, I'm going to say this and you get there.

[John Holmberg]

That's all you need is the Chris Collinsworth growl going. You know, here's a guy who looks an awful lot like Patrick Mahomes when he's running outside. And yeah, it's easy, but. And they always say, like, here's how long the national anthem is going to last. And it's with a few seconds. If I was singing the national anthem, I hold that last note for an extra seven seconds. I'm taking the over and we run. But you can only do that at super bowl parties. And they give you the odds, right, the prop bets. There's plenty of them. That the best prop bet I ever won was the 2000 Super bowl between the Giants and Ravens. And I looked at both defenses and both offenses and I said, there's going to be 30 punts in this thing, whatever the punt line is. And it was 11. I think they had 19 in the first half. They had a punt line and I took the over on a punt line with a bookie because you couldn't do it back then, right? Find a guy. And I won 500 bucks on like a 20 bet because I'm like, it's way over that. And they had, like. They set the record for punts in a Super bowl in the first half.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay.

[John Holmberg]

It was perfect.

[Dave Nash]

Exciting.

[Dale Hellistray]

It was.

[Dave Nash]

I love punts. Exciting.

[John Holmberg]

I love puns.

[Dave Nash]

You know what?

[John Holmberg]

I've won a lot of money on Puns.

[Dave Nash]

Anyone listening to this? Do you realize what kind of lunatic you're listening to?

[John Holmberg]

I love punts. Let's get to the super bowl itself. Patriots are getting sort of disrespected. I'm fine with that. I'm not a big fan. They're getting sort of disrespected on that whole easiest schedule of the year. But I. I recently been kind of looking at that. They had a horribly easy schedule. Not a lot of people are talking about how simple their schedule was. But it's hindsight after I didn't know the Eagles and Chiefs, the last two super bowl champions, also came into the super bowl with the easiest schedule of the year. And what was it? Four of the last six teams that have won the super bowl have had the easiest schedule going.

[Dale Hellistray]

Oh, I did not.

[John Holmberg]

Weird little stat. Okay, so the. But the Patriots is drastically lower. I may be wrong on the Ford, something like that, though. But the last I know, the Eagles last year had it as well. So that can get thrown right out. And again, everybody's saying the Seahawks are going to run away with this. This is easy. They match up better that that game against the Rams. They look like a powerhouse. And the Patriots kind of, you know, tumbled into the super bowl against a Denver team, and they shouldn't have won this. They had the number one scoring and number one point differential in football this year.

[Dale Hellistray]

And everybody's gonna say, but.

[John Holmberg]

But, yeah, but what?

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[John Holmberg]

Look, the jets show up in your building and you put 42 on them. You're supposed to, right? So why can you be mad at them for not only just beating, but whipping bad teams that are in front of them and they're not getting the respect they deserve at all?

[Dale Hellistray]

In the NFL, you don't pick your schedule. The schedule picks you. So you play whoever.

[John Holmberg]

Whoever's there can't fix that.

[Dale Hellistray]

You know, again, I just go back because it's kind of near and dear to my heart. The Cardinals march to the Super Bowl. Yeah. They got beat by 52 times in December.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. Huge loss.

[Dale Hellistray]

Somehow, some way, they ended up hosting NFC championship.

[John Holmberg]

The NFC was a little Messy.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes. Everything was hunky.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

And then it goes, oh, they're the worst team to ever make the Super Bowl. And yet they were one. They were almost there, toe touch away from winning.

[John Holmberg]

God, you remind me of the best day ever to kind of.

[Dale Hellistray]

To kind of actually forgot who they

[John Holmberg]

were, take it away from them the way it was taken away.

[Dale Hellistray]

So I throw out always the entire regular season schedule.

[John Holmberg]

It's totally different. You know who this Patriots team reminds me of? The 01 Patriots walking in against the Rams. This is a blood hug. These guys are nobody. Who's Tom Brady.

[Dave Nash]

They're not that big of a huge underdog this year.

[John Holmberg]

They're not that big.

[Dave Nash]

No.

[John Holmberg]

But that was a. That was a team everybody looked at and went, I don't know anything about

[Dale Hellistray]

this Greatest show on turf.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. Oh, you're going to get mopped up. Kurt Warner's perfect. Now. What you didn't pay attention to is the week before the Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game held that Greatest show on turf to what, 13 points or something like that?

[Dale Hellistray]

I can't remember.

[John Holmberg]

They had a game that was like 13 to 6 in the NFC championship against the Greatest show on turf, and they were shown the way.

[Dale Hellistray]

And there's a guy named Bill Belichick. You probably watched a little bit of

[John Holmberg]

film, definitely saw the tape on that. But I want to go through what you guys think, the advantages. When you start to say the Patriots are being disrespected. And I think they are. Quarterback advantage.

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, I. I would say slightly towards Sam Dar. Slightly. Slightly. Because I Still in the back of my mind, if I'm an ardent Seahawk fan. Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Still.

[Dale Hellistray]

I still want to see him get through this game without that pick six.

[John Holmberg]

Something stupid.

[Dale Hellistray]

Without that something stupid again. Yeah. I. I'm the first one to stand up on bridge and yell out, sam Darnold's had amazing two years. Yeah. But yet they're still.

[John Holmberg]

You're just waiting for the.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

To turn it into a.

[Dale Hellistray]

And if it doesn't happen, there are no. No pics. I'm fine.

[John Holmberg]

We know Nash's answer to this. With Darnold in May. This is a May all the way, right?

[Dave Nash]

No, no, no. I. I would think.

[John Holmberg]

Have we talked you into it?

[Dale Hellistray]

No.

[Dave Nash]

You guys. You know what? You guys are total morons.

[John Holmberg]

When.

[Dave Nash]

When I say something, you take it.

[John Holmberg]

No, take what you say.

[Dave Nash]

Sam Darnold is a very competent quarterback.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

So with Drake May, with more experience, I put them both in the same boat. I say, May hasn't been around long Enough. And he had a very easy schedule, so it's much easier to be a quarterback that way. He didn't go through the gauntlet that Sam Darnold did in regards to the schedule this year. Niners

[John Holmberg]

four games right there, the Cardinals twice.

[Dave Nash]

You got a couple of breathers.

[John Holmberg]

To actually not fall asleep in the middle of those games was impressive. Correct.

[Dale Hellistray]

So

[Dave Nash]

he's.

[Dale Hellistray]

And.

[Dave Nash]

And he's older. He's seen more, and he's so Advantage Darnold.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

I. I do say that.

[John Holmberg]

Isn't it funny that everybody's waiting for Sam Darnold's wheels to come off and nobody's talking about Drake May like nobody's trepidatious about going into the super well,

[Dale Hellistray]

because I think it's kind of fresh in your mind from last year, the last couple games from Darnold.

[John Holmberg]

True.

[Dale Hellistray]

A magical regular season total. And last game of the season, the playoff game, he kind of pooped the bat a little bit. And I'm the first one to say, hey, let bygones be bygones. But yet you have to. I'm still going. That's in the very back of my mind.

[John Holmberg]

Let's go, running backs. Who is an advantage?

[Dave Nash]

I didn't realize that 2000 NFC championship game. It was 11 to 6.

[John Holmberg]

It was 11 to 11.

[Dave Nash]

11 to 6 with a safety.

[John Holmberg]

I thought it was 13. 11 to 6, 11. It was a. I had to.

[Dave Nash]

I had to look.

[John Holmberg]

Could not move the ball.

[Dale Hellistray]

So here's a BL blueprint.

[John Holmberg]

And. And they gave it to him a week before the game. And the Patriots ran that same blueprint. And. And everybody's like, why can't the Rams get going? We didn't know Bill Belichick then.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

Tom Brady played a good game. Nothing special, but a good game. They won with the field goal at the end. And everybody's like, they squeaked through this thing. That team and this team are very similar to me.

[Dale Hellistray]

Look at it.

[John Holmberg]

Nobody gave the Patriots a chance. Nobody looks.

[Dale Hellistray]

They.

[John Holmberg]

They won the game against the Steelers in the AFC championship game the week earlier with two special teams touchdowns.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay.

[John Holmberg]

A Troy Brown return. And Troy Brown picked up a blocked field goal.

[Dale Hellistray]

Really?

[John Holmberg]

And it's like, man, I mean, how lucky can you get against a team on the road that you find these little accidents?

[Dale Hellistray]

That game was in Pittsburgh.

[John Holmberg]

In Pittsburgh. That was the cheating game. When they talked about that, we already talked about. Ask any Steelers.

[Dale Hellistray]

I do games for a living. I broadcast games. I pulled up my thing and I forget mostly. You still remember 2000. I remember you remember 1995? You remember about 95 than I do.

[John Holmberg]

I remember that. I remember quite a bit. I was sitting behind Stevie Wonder at the Super Bowl. That's the truth.

[Dave Nash]

That's one. That's a hard one to forget. If you haven't told a story, it's pretty funny.

[John Holmberg]

I sat behind, just told it. I mean, think about it. You're sitting in worse seats than Stevie Wonder. Why, you could have put him in the top row and faced him the wrong way. It wouldn't have mattered.

[Dave Nash]

That's correct.

[John Holmberg]

Now, he's played fake blind for a long time.

[Dale Hellistray]

Shaquille o' Neal swears that he's not blind.

[John Holmberg]

I've got a comedian friend. Well, I'll say who it is. Well, no, I won't. It is just in case he's the Old Spice guy. He's in the Old Spice commercial as Cole. So he told me a story. He was at a Stevie Wonder concert with his date.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And somehow or another, Stevie pointed at her and said, come here. And took her backstage.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay.

[John Holmberg]

And he had to wait for them to come out. And I'm like, how did he know? And he goes, I don't know. But I waited. And he said, you come with me. And she was the prettiest one of the people standing there. And he brought her with without touching or grabbing a wrist or touching her face. Anyway, I sat behind him at Super Bowl 30. I left the super bowl not because Stevie Wonder, but I left because I didn't like being at a Super Bowl. My sight lines were. We had good seats, but they were like, downtime is 30 minutes per. I mean, the commercial stuff, the halftime took forever. Diana Ross and a bunch of dancers. And so I went over to a party in a tent that was in the riverbed at the time. And I'm like, I'd rather watch it over here. It's easier to see. I don't know what's going on, what are the stats, who's doing what. It was terrible being there. And also, Stevie Wonder was four rows ahead of me, just, you know, everywhere but the game. And I'm like, well, somebody move him and at least give a sighted person Shaq.

[Dale Hellistray]

Tell the story. He got on an elevator at a hotel in Los Angeles. And he said. He said. I did. I didn't say a word. Yeah, he's gone. Elevator. And Steve goes, what's up, Jack? Yeah. How you doing, Stevie?

[John Holmberg]

What the heck's going on? How'd you see me anyway?

[Dale Hellistray]

Hey, the other thing about that super bowl, that's really crazy. That was the opening weekend of the 202.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

Just. Just open.

[John Holmberg]

People forget it was in a ditch.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

There was no parking lots or they just paved what is now a lake.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

It's crazy. Let's get back to that. Running backs, who do you give the advantage to, Seattle or New England?

[Dale Hellistray]

I'm going to give the edge. I'm not going to say running backs, but running game. Okay. Because I think Seattle's offensive line is a little bit better than New England. So I would give the edge in the running game to Seattle.

[Dave Nash]

Dave, I think. Is it Kenny Walker?

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

I think he is one of the best running backs. He's great in the league.

[John Holmberg]

I think it helps. Like what Dale said, they've hit on every move at their line. That O line, the old line. Definitely in favor of Seattle.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes.

[John Holmberg]

And I think the running backs for the Patriots have a little fumbleitis and terrible situation. Well, that's what they need to do. If Brable was following the footsteps the. Because the Steelers when they played the Patriots and beat him. And I think that's kind of played into why the Patriots get disrespected. Lost to the Raiders to start season, then lost the Steelers in week three. They start one and two. Nothing's too impressive. They're dropped. They're putting the ball all over the floor. Five turnover, six turnovers against the Steelers in Week 3, and they barely lose it. But they just look sloppy and it wasn't altogether good. And then the next week they go to Carolina and they put 42 on the board. And then they didn't lose again until the Bills game.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

They do fumble in weird times, though. I'd still give the advantage to Seattle. I'll write that down. We all agree Seattle wide receivers. It's hard not to go with Seattle on that one because they've got the. Yeah, come on. I mean, guy's amazing. I mean, you got between Nakua and him.

[Dale Hellistray]

It's.

[John Holmberg]

I mean, it's a toss up as to who the best receiver.

[Dave Nash]

Well, I'll take Nakua.

[John Holmberg]

Well, you love everything Rams, though.

[Dave Nash]

No, I really.

[John Holmberg]

You're more. You're more biased towards the Rams than I am the Steelers.

[Dave Nash]

I mean, that guy is. He.

[John Holmberg]

He's incredible.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay. But he's not playing on Sunday.

[Dave Nash]

Well, he's made the comparison.

[John Holmberg]

Stop comparing. I'm saying it's someone better. Hard to say who's better.

[Dave Nash]

No, no.

[John Holmberg]

Say yes. Well, it is because I disagree. I would take JSN right now. And I'm not saying that That's a. That if I got Puka, I'd be upset. I'm just saying those two are the. The two best receivers probably in football. There's. Obviously. It doesn't mean everybody else stinks. You've got good receivers.

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, that's the thing that's so. Isn't that interesting when you argue about something?

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

I'm not saying that this guy sucks.

[John Holmberg]

Right.

[Dale Hellistray]

I'm just saying he's a tad bit below.

[John Holmberg]

Well, that's because of people like Nash do those political talks and if you disagree with him, all of a sudden you've taken the side of everything he' of just having.

[Dave Nash]

I said about Darnold in the past, you guys are.

[John Holmberg]

You're still crazy about.

[Dave Nash]

All right.

[John Holmberg]

But JSN in this particular game is better than NUA because NU is watching it.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes.

[John Holmberg]

So we'll go with jsn. Name a Bill or a Patriots receiver right now. But outside Troy Brown. Yeah, exactly. You've got Diggs, right? Yes, that's it. Am I wrong on that?

[Dale Hellistray]

I don't know. In any threat. Tight end or what? Now they got guys who.

[John Holmberg]

Tight ends. Hunter Henry.

[Dale Hellistray]

Is that right? Hunter Henry is there. But come on.

[John Holmberg]

I mean, is he scary?

[Dale Hellistray]

No.

[John Holmberg]

But is anything scary? And was anything scary in 2001 when the Patriots rolled into town with nobody?

[Dale Hellistray]

When you think of all Troy Brown.

[John Holmberg]

Troy Brown played defensive back.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah. And moved also.

[John Holmberg]

No. He did both in the playoffs. He was playing on both sides and running.

[Dale Hellistray]

He's original wide receiver. Everybody talks about. The Patriots are. I remember. Oh, when Randy Moss got there, guess what? They didn't win the Super Bowl. Randy Moss. Yeah. They went undefeated during the regular season.

[John Holmberg]

That was so satisfying.

[Dale Hellistray]

But anyway. Yeah. When you. When you look at the Patriots seem to have the most success with the Holmbergs, Nashes and hella strength.

[John Holmberg]

So wide receiver advantage. Seattle.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes.

[John Holmberg]

Defensive line, Seattle against Seattle. I think all the. You go down the list of Seattle. I agree. Their linebackers, their secondary, their pass rush.

[Dale Hellistray]

That defense is the real deal.

[John Holmberg]

Better.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And the Patriots have a good defense.

[Dale Hellistray]

They have. They have a good defense. I think. I think Frable will come up with a scheme. There you go. All I'm counting on for it to be a close game is that they're going to confuse Darnold. Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

On one or two, do something weird and make a mistake and keep them in it and then have the Seahawks kind of rattle. There's where it comes down. I think every position favors Seattle on paper, except one. And it's not a position. It's coaching because I know Vrabel has that we can make. He's got the right attitude going into a game like this going, nobody expects anything from us. All we have to do, and I love this phrase, and I use it a lot, is be the drunk uncle. We're not supposed to be here, right. So let's be at the end of the party going, is that guy still here? And make them wonder how the heck this guy is still standing there. They're that boxer in the 12th round that you can't put away, that somehow still has sting.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

This could very easily become one of those 16, 13 messes. The design of this for the Patriots is to make it ugly. Clinch, get close, punch body. Just don't let this. Don't run, but don't let this guy hit you.

[Dave Nash]

And if that's the case, then I

[John Holmberg]

like the unders on. The unders on this are very intriguing because I think they've got it around 44 or something. And it was. And it's a. That was the first one I saw. And I'm like, that's an under to me. Because I could see this one either being one of those 38 to 6 games, which would be tight, or 16, 17, 13 or 20 to 13.

[Dale Hellistray]

Rabel has played in those type of games.

[John Holmberg]

That's what he wants.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes.

[John Holmberg]

And the surprising thing, the only thing the Patriots, Patriots can do to surprise you is have an offensive juggernaut day.

[Dave Nash]

Currently 45 and a half.

[John Holmberg]

It's a 45 and a half. Okay, so that seems about right. But I would, I would be. I would be intrigued by the under because Seattle's defense is very good and the Patriots have a. A very underrated, good defense.

[Dale Hellistray]

And they'll scheme some stuff.

[John Holmberg]

They're going to make this ugly. They're going to get in. In Jackson, Smith and Jigba's face.

[Dale Hellistray]

They're not going to see JSN running wide open.

[John Holmberg]

You've got. Was it Christian Gonzalez? The corners are going to be very physical. This is going to be a physical game for New England. It's the only way they can win.

[Dale Hellistray]

And will the officials apply?

[John Holmberg]

There's the thing. There's the. There to me is where we can go down. Seattle. Seattle. Seattle. Seattle. Seattle. Coach goes to the Patriots referees if it leans one way as far as style of play. And they let that thing be physical like a snow game.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah, well, like that national championship game.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

They let those guys bang and push.

[John Holmberg]

They didn't pull flags at all. And there was A lot going on. If the Patriots get that crew that's not whistle happy. And I don't know who the crew is until I see it the day of. Well, no, because there's the dude that looks like Steve Carell from the office. And I'm like, we're going to be watching him on TV a lot. He loves throwing that flag. So he loves being on tv. But if he's not there and he's probably the guy that's going to be there because he's their main dude. If this goes to a finesse game, Seattle's going to run away.

[Dale Hellistray]

But if they're.

[John Holmberg]

If they're. If they get handsy early and they get PIs early, Seattle's going to steal a couple touchdowns. So long as Darnold doesn't make mistakes. But if it gets sloppy, a tip ball comes into play, one of those weird things happens. I don't know what. I just don't see this being the blowout everyone sees.

[Dale Hellistray]

No. And again, you're sitting around for. For two weeks, you're the Patriots and all you're hearing is they shouldn't be there, they shouldn't be there, they shouldn't be there.

[John Holmberg]

And I think Grable just use that as fuel.

[Dave Nash]

You think there'll be a flea flicker?

[John Holmberg]

Oh, is that on there?

[Dave Nash]

You can, you can bet yes to a flea flicker and get 185 back

[John Holmberg]

to the Rams, Bengals, Super Bowl. I got a touchdown thrown by anybody but the quarterback.

[Dave Nash]

They got that here too. 2700 or something total players for a pass attempt. Well, I did hear over is just plus 180.

[Dale Hellistray]

I did hear national analyst say that. And this does make sense. So many teams you. You have built in special place. Oh yeah, there are a lot of times it never comes up during the regular season. It's just that it's not the right situation. Right. But it's in your arsenal.

[John Holmberg]

It's there.

[Dale Hellistray]

And what are you going to do? You're going to go die with it or are you going to run it?

[John Holmberg]

Well, if you see a team crash in the run, if the Patriots are going to be upwardly aggressive and say, well, if Drake may has to beat us because this running game is not going to go anywhere, then the flea flicker starts making sense. And that's exactly what the Patriots kind of thing would do. Varel's been that way in Tennessee. He did that. He beat the Patriots in a championship or in a. It was a divisional round to. To be that guy.

[Dale Hellistray]

I think Vrabel's caught 12 passes in his career. All 12 for touchdowns.

[John Holmberg]

All of them are tricky. Yeah, he's 12 for 12 with touchdowns. I don't think he ever dropped one. So you look at that. Vrabel's got such a. It's almost the Belichick smirk. Just waiting to go. You'll see. We're going to this. This. We are going to trash this hotel room and you won't recognize the game. We don't care if it's pretty. We don't care if it's entertaining. They don't care about anything other than who's going to have more points at the end. We can run the ball for 35 yards and pass for 112 if we get a sneaky touchdown. That's all he's looking for. He is that guy. Where I think Seattle will walk into this one thinking if we're not buzzing early like they did against the Rams. The Rams are a perfect opponent for Seattle and the. Seattle's a perfect opponent for the Rams because they both just get hot and the others just kind of heal up and, you know, Ben don't break and they both have good defenses, but, man, this is a different.

[Dale Hellistray]

I think it's going to be a much better game than anybody. I hear talk.

[John Holmberg]

I think it's going to suck as entertainment, but it's going to be close.

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, you can watch Bad Bunny and have after.

[John Holmberg]

I will watch Bad Money at halftime. Is there an over under? Whether or not he wears a dress or a bustier?

[Dave Nash]

I'm sure there is. I haven't seen that. I don't know where I would.

[John Holmberg]

Are you guys gonna tune into the Puppy bowl or the Turning Point America, Kid Rock something or anything? I'm watching Bad Bunny.

[Dale Hellistray]

No, I'm not. Well, I'm not watching Bad Bunny, but I Probably not watching anything. I probably. That's when I'm.

[John Holmberg]

You're watching it. It's too interesting. They've done an amazing job of making it.

[Dale Hellistray]

I don't understand his. His music or what he's saying.

[John Holmberg]

You haven't understood any music at the halftime show for 20 years.

[Dale Hellistray]

Give me some country music.

[Dave Nash]

They put him in. He's freaking hater.

[John Holmberg]

He's an American, though.

[Dave Nash]

Yeah, he hates America.

[John Holmberg]

He's from Puerto Rico.

[Dave Nash]

He hates America. Okay, so you know what I'll make. My NFL is making their statement. I'll make my statement by now.

[John Holmberg]

But you watch the game. They don't care.

[Dave Nash]

I. I don't even know if I will.

[John Holmberg]

You're not going to watch the thing watching The Super Bowl.

[Dave Nash]

What? You're not going to be able to get my rating point because everyone watching a rating point. Right?

[John Holmberg]

You're going to watch the super bowl and you're going to be in the back of the room going, he hates America, this guy. You know what? You're going to have it on. You're going to be barking at everybody

[Dave Nash]

at the party, tea time someplace.

[John Holmberg]

Not golfing on Super Bowl Sunday. Not during the game, you're not. Because it starts at four.

[Dave Nash]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

You're going to watch every second of that halftime show and you're going to do a whole. Oh, he's going to lose his mind. This America hater and address. And the agenda. This I'm out this and nonsense. And Ivermectin, you're gonna have it all. Vaccines. Cause this. He's in a dress for vaccines.

[Dave Nash]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

It could be. And I would be right there with you laughing.

[Dale Hellistray]

What are you gonna watch?

[John Holmberg]

Well, I'll watch that.

[Dave Nash]

I am dead.

[Dale Hellistray]

You love. You love dogs.

[John Holmberg]

I do love dogs. Well, I can watch that online. That's the best thing about the modern ways that I can sit and watch that online line. Tomorrow I'll watch the puppy Bowl. My heart will melt and I'll. And I'll, you know, fire up the bad bunny thing and giggle.

[Dale Hellistray]

Funny how you have such a disdain for human beings. Yeah, but you loved how much you love.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, I don't have a disdain for them.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah, you just do not have other people around.

[John Holmberg]

I'm like, no, you might be right. I think you might. I think. I think they'll say, I saw that the. Yeah, so it's. It's going to be interesting.

[Dale Hellistray]

I think it's going to be a lot closer game, I think. Think again. If you're looking for artistic beauty, you're not gonna. You're look for 3127. Yeah. Pretty game you're not gonna get.

[John Holmberg]

I think if you get artistic beauty, it's going to be. It's going to be Seattle like 38 to 10.

[Dale Hellistray]

And that's. And that sucks too.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, I think that's bad. So I would rather have a clumsy, ugly punt festival than I would a 38 to 6.

[Dave Nash]

Well, if I bet the under, I'm looking for the punt festival too.

[John Holmberg]

I've got a few Seahawk fans who are like, this is going to be the Denver game all over again. When they just mopped them.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah. From the first snap.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. From snap one. And it just went sideways and kept.

[Dale Hellistray]

I'm hoping it's 16, 13, one way or the other and the other team has the ball with about a minute 40 and yeah. With a chance to win. Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And plus Seattle's got the whole still probably reeling from 10 years ago on the non Marshawn Lynch, Malcolm Butler situation that that took another trophy away.

[Dale Hellistray]

What would you do if was it the same situation? I said I'd run a slam pattern.

[John Holmberg]

I would, I would, I would, I would, I would. Yeah. I would run the play that didn't work the first time and go didn't get it this time. What are the odds?

[Dale Hellistray]

They put no way that they can't do that twice.

[John Holmberg]

It's the same if the Cardinals played the Steelers in the Super Bowl. Chances are you're going to drop back and run that exact same play and hope that a James Harrison outside linebacker doesn't read the pre snap. Awesome though. And that's what we're hoping for. It's just a good game. We've had some great ones. Last year was a bit of a clunker so we're due up for you know, a good one this year and. And are we maybe. I don't know. It tends to go very good. It. We've had some great Super Bowls lately. In the last 16, 17 Super Bowls we've had about nine really good ones.

[Dale Hellistray]

We have some really good ones. You know the Cowboys and The bills.

[John Holmberg]

The 90s. Yeah. Yeah. Actually yeah.

[Dave Nash]

Remember nothing.

[John Holmberg]

What was it a 13 or 14 year run for the NFC and every game was a bloodbath until the Steelers, Cowboys. That was the first one. You're like well actually the Bills and Giants was Bill Giants and then they

[Dale Hellistray]

only lost by 10 to the Redskins or Commanders now.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, yeah, that's true. But they weren't good games.

[Dale Hellistray]

No.

[John Holmberg]

And then you had the few that

[Dale Hellistray]

were like that 52 to 7 game was. That was artistic beauty, Johnny.

[John Holmberg]

That was just. How bad can this get? It actually became interesting because it's like this is. Are you going to put 100 on this team?

[Dale Hellistray]

I was so happy when Leon that got that ball knocked out.

[John Holmberg]

Would have been like a minute 60 points.

[Dale Hellistray]

I don't want to freaking go out there and snap. Everything's good. So.

[John Holmberg]

But it would have been nice to hold the record.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Most points in a Super bowl because then you remember what was The Chargers were 55, 10 on the Broncos and then came out and got the Chargers in 94 the same way. It was just like one after another.

[Dale Hellistray]

49ers or the 49ers.

[John Holmberg]

I'm sorry. Yeah, they Just blasted every.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah. For, for about 10 years. There was all. Whoever won the NFC championship game, not

[John Holmberg]

only were they going to win the super bowl, they were going to stomp out whoever was in front of. Usually it was the Broncos. John Elway kept going and getting stomped. Well, the Bills, they, they managed to make it even worse because they got close and then fell apart. Super Bowls are fun, but we got to start thinking about other things. Although we do have to talk about the Cardinals new coach. All the, all the coaching vacancies are filled.

[Dale Hellistray]

Correct.

[John Holmberg]

And I think everybody's got questions and everybody's got answers. And I think a lot of people in Pittsburgh have kind of calmed down about the McCarthy thing. A lot of people in Baltimore are excited about Todd Monken. There's a lot of stuff in New York where they just think they're going to be a Super bowl team immediately. It's Harbaugh and I, I might, I might bet.

[Dave Nash]

I'm betting them or they're good.

[John Holmberg]

Not for the super bowl.

[Dave Nash]

No. But I'm gonna bet them to be over their win total, whatever it is.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, no, I think they're an eight or nine win team immediately with.

[Dave Nash]

I think they make playoffs next year.

[John Holmberg]

That I wouldn't. But that division, though. Oh, it's just.

[Dave Nash]

Yeah, yeah. The Cowboys, the Eagles. You know what, listen, commanders.

[Dale Hellistray]

You don't think the commander commanders will be back?

[Dave Nash]

I think, I think with a healthy Jaden Daniels.

[John Holmberg]

Didn't you say Jaden Daniels was top fiver last week?

[Dave Nash]

I think. Listen, all I know is this, as a rookie, he took his team. A, A team that. Yeah, if you name me, five guys on that team other than him, I, I'll, I'll buy you dinner.

[John Holmberg]

So did Robert Griffin III as a rookie take his team?

[Dave Nash]

Okay, so, so maybe, maybe it was a one and done. I don't know.

[John Holmberg]

But.

[Dave Nash]

So I'm willing to see. I'm not, I'm not betting my life on the fact, but, but that was a very impressive first year for him.

[John Holmberg]

The more impressive thing with Washington no one talks about and Daniels was one, is their defense, which was getting good as they went in and again, the stats wouldn't back that up completely. But they were a physical, strong. Oh, watch out for them in a couple of years. Defense, it got ahead of it because their offense got good. That, that division's too hard for me to say the Giants are ready to just take depends though.

[Dave Nash]

I actually thought I bet them to have a good year this year and I think I was just a year with no quarterback. I'd like Jackson Dart and I thought.

[John Holmberg]

But he wasn't even. It was Russell Wilson going.

[Dave Nash]

I thought they were going to go to. I was pissed at the coach for not putting making dart the quarterback from day one. That was a pisser to me.

[John Holmberg]

Well, it turned out he was good. But they still only won like what, three, four games?

[Dave Nash]

Well, he's hurt. Everyone's getting hurt. And the coach, who is nonsensical. They've got a lot of talent on their defensive lines loaded.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[Dave Nash]

So, I mean, you know, somebody put this stuff together.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. They're a player or two away on both sides of the ball from being more than just competitive, especially with Harbaugh.

[Dave Nash]

I, I, I love them going into this year and I, I have no reason to say that they're not going to be remarkably or much better next year.

[John Holmberg]

Buffalo's got a weird question. Market coach. They're not sure they're happy with it, but here we go with that.

[Dale Hellistray]

You know, I, I've told you about the promoting from within.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, yeah, it's trouble. And this is Josh, just Josh Allen's higher. And the more you read about it, the more you're like, he's calling the shots even with the coach there now.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah. Yes. And again, I guess I can't blame the Bills because he is your franchise. Right.

[John Holmberg]

Let him be the star and for

[Dale Hellistray]

the next five years he will be your franchise. So I, I don't think I can blame them. But the whole promoting from within, whether it's in Dallas when I was there and they promote Dave Campo.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

Who was.

[John Holmberg]

It doesn't work now.

[Dale Hellistray]

Dave Campbell. We went somewhere else maybe, but he

[John Holmberg]

was your, the, the Steelers always promoted from within for their assistance. And it just got to be the point where you're like, these guys aren't ready to be two positions lower than the one they're taking. An offensive coordinator that should be a quarterback's coach.

[Dale Hellistray]

Plus, it was just terrible as a player. I'm looking at you as my offensive line coach. We have a certain relationship.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

Offensive coordinator. That's a different relationship. I don't talk to you very much.

[John Holmberg]

Right.

[Dale Hellistray]

And then the head coach is another different relay. But if I have the same relationship with you as my position coach now as a head coach and I'm calling you Johnny or, you know, whatever, nobody can do that.

[John Holmberg]

I have to come down on you. And then everybody else sees like, oh, there's a difference of people. Yeah, I see that that way. So the Cardinals new coach is Minnie Lafleur. They have Matt's brother, Mark. Michael forgot his name.

[Dale Hellistray]

Mike.

[John Holmberg]

Mike. Mike LaFleur.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Interesting, because no one else had him ahead of Shula or even Shieldhouse coming off the Rams as a serious contender for head coach.

[Dale Hellistray]

What happened to Shula? Well, I got interviewed by about eight different teams.

[John Holmberg]

Nobody said, he's ready. And in the Steelers camp, they're like, it did not go well.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And I remember when the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin, they interviewed Russ Grimm and Ken Wisenhunt. And I remember watching the post game when Grim sat there with the owner, Dan Rooney, in a fishing vest.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Like, this is my job.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

And a friend of mine who worked for the press in Pittsburgh called and goes, that didn't go well.

[Dale Hellistray]

I can imagine.

[John Holmberg]

And he said, russ Grimm not only isn't getting that job, he's not going to be here no matter what.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

I'm like, really? And Russ Grimm didn't do any. He came here for a little while and coached with Wizen Hunt.

[Dave Nash]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

As an assistant. He couldn't. Like, that interview went so bad, he never got interviewed again.

[Dale Hellistray]

Correct.

[John Holmberg]

And he never got a job. No. And Wizen Hunt was evidently a poor interview, comparatively to Tomlin, who was the surprise. So maybe the Shula thing has been like, you know, those guys talk.

[Dale Hellistray]

Oh, yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Like, the Steelers are like, how did yours go? Because ours wasn't great.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

And did he have this? And like. Yeah, you kind of miss. And some of those GMs. And some of the owners for sure, would say, we weren't. He's not ready.

[Dale Hellistray]

But the interesting thing about LaFleur here in Arizona, they had him in for two days last week. Two days. You. You keep a coach from one day interviewing for three, four, five hours. Hey, let's go have dinner. We'll put you up.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

And they supposedly went to the Ambassador. I've never been there. Don't know what it is.

[John Holmberg]

Lovely.

[Dale Hellistray]

I'm sure you have Global.

[John Holmberg]

The Global Ambassador.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah. Gorgeous. Okay.

[John Holmberg]

They wouldn't let you in? Well, no, they wouldn't. No, they wouldn't. But no circulation.

[Dave Nash]

I've never even heard of it.

[John Holmberg]

44th street campus.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah. Because it's 50. 50 grand to join and whatever.

[John Holmberg]

Well, if you want to go. If you're. If you're watching. I love it there, and I think it's an awesome place. I would love to be.

[Dale Hellistray]

John does the dishes there.

[John Holmberg]

And I promise that I won't take Dale with me. I promise.

[Dale Hellistray]

So they take him. Spends the night now. I hope they put him up with Cal back in.

[John Holmberg]

Or they put him up at the global ambassador.

[Dale Hellistray]

Oh, okay.

[John Holmberg]

It's 5,500 bucks a night for the nice room.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay. I was told, like, the roadway in on night 10, but they do that. They meet with them the next day.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

And then they say, we'll get back

[John Holmberg]

to you and make two offers.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes. And it's. It's like. It's. It's like Steve said earlier this week. He's like, so somehow some of the Cardinals made the guy that they want feel like they didn't want him.

[John Holmberg]

They made him. And then think about it. There's a thing in love called limerence. I'm going to teach. I'm going to teach you something. When you first like someone, you get in limerance with them, where you analyze every word they say. You wonder about each text, you wonder about each interaction. You're like, oh, and you love your time with them. And then when it goes away, you feel like they hate you. That has to be how a head coach feels when he wants the job. I love the idea of this. And the team gives you the. The interview and the. And the dinner, and we're there, too. I was there for two days. And then he had to get on the plane and go, what did I do wrong?

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

I did and had to just weigh on him. And it becomes an OCD thing where you're constantly obsessing over every word that was spoken.

[Dale Hellistray]

We got one more interview to do. And. And on top of that, John, they went to interview a guy who they had no chance to get and offered him,

[John Holmberg]

sort of subtly. You interested in this? Because if you are, we're going to throw it your way. And he said, I got other stuff to do. All right. We're going with the other guy. Yeah. That has to make you, as the hired guy, go. This was a coin flip.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah. This whole limerence.

[John Holmberg]

I like that look up limerence. We've all been through that. Where you start and then she says hello again. You're like, oh.

[Dale Hellistray]

They send you a text. You're like, hold on. I can take that two different ways.

[John Holmberg]

Well, you're thrilled at the text. And then, like, five hours go by, she hasn't answered the text. Oh, what do I do now? You're losing your mind. That had to be what the Cardinals did to this guy.

[Dave Nash]

I don't think that's that big a deal, because throughout my lifetime, I've. No one's ever welcomed me with open

[John Holmberg]

arms, including my wife.

[Dave Nash]

You don't understand any girlfriend. I want Any job.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yourself. Yeah. And try and think of it as normal, human.

[Dave Nash]

I'm just saying as a person. Not ever, you know, being wanted anywhere. Yeah, I'm still. Okay. I'm still happy where I'm doing.

[John Holmberg]

Sure. You have to accept that. That's called just radical acceptance of. So, hey, yeah, that's a big, important thing.

[Dave Nash]

Mike LaFleur probably has.

[John Holmberg]

He has to.

[Dave Nash]

He. He's in the same category.

[John Holmberg]

But here's also what he.

[Dave Nash]

Who else wanted Mike LaFleur?

[John Holmberg]

Look, the bottom line is if you and another guy are going for a girl and you get her, the other guy has to go away. You just keep him away for a while and then you kind of work on this. That's the. LaFleur has to be with the Cardinals now. Like, you made the right choice. You made the right choice. So now he's kind of a simper. He's a little bit of a guy who's like, going to overdo it for the team. I like the hire in a weird way, but I think it might be a couple years ahead of schedule. The. The reason why is because this dude's track record isn't terrible. Except for that jets time. And I don't think that's fair. We've talked about it.

[Dale Hellistray]

You can't hold that.

[John Holmberg]

Hold the New York jets against anyone. He was there as Salah's offensive coordinator with Aaron Rodgers blowing up in four plays.

[Dave Nash]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

And then God knows what. Zach Wilson is his quarterback and you're like, who's a bad offensive coordinator when he's calling the plays? I'm like, don't. Not fair.

[Dale Hellistray]

Have you heard Sam Darnold say he's seen ghost ever since he left New York?

[John Holmberg]

No. Exactly. Right. It's like, Jesus, this whole thing's in it. Maybe there are ghosts in MetLife.

[Dave Nash]

So, you know, when I think about the Cardinal job, I actually think week it's a pretty attractive job.

[John Holmberg]

You're out of your mind.

[Dave Nash]

Because. Because how can you do worse than what just happened last year? I'm seriously.

[John Holmberg]

Think of the four guys before what happened last year.

[Dave Nash]

I listen, he could have.

[John Holmberg]

He.

[Dave Nash]

He can't do worse than what happened last year. I mean, if he. If he. If he. If he does worse, then he's the worst coach in the history of the NFL.

[John Holmberg]

This is a franchise that year in and year.

[Dave Nash]

No, I get it.

[John Holmberg]

It's.

[Dave Nash]

It.

[John Holmberg]

I don't want any up to get Rosen. Josh Rosen. And the next year had the number one overall pick and picked a quarterback and traded Josh Rosen to Someone else for nothing and still managed to make people forget that with what they put on the field from that point forward, they managed to make that normal.

[Dave Nash]

The Cardinal is a dumpster fire. But if you're looking at your career going forward, if, if, if you have any semblance of confidence. Yeah, you, you, you need to be going in there saying, you know what? No matter how bad I am this year, I'm not going to be as bad as what they were last year. And that gives me time to turn this around.

[John Holmberg]

I don't know, Steven.

[Dave Nash]

I'm just saying that's the only benefit of taking that job.

[Dale Hellistray]

Do you realize that the Cardinals finish nine games? Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Out of third.

[Dale Hellistray]

Out of first place.

[John Holmberg]

It's brutal.

[Dale Hellistray]

Not out of second place.

[Dave Nash]

I know.

[Dale Hellistray]

Out of third place.

[Dave Nash]

That's what I'm saying. You can't.

[John Holmberg]

You can.

[Dave Nash]

If he Cardinals five games next year and they're out of third place by five games, he's had a success. He's, he's, he's moving on up to the east side.

[John Holmberg]

The bar so low. You're saying that you can't fail. It's the New York Jets. You can't have it blemish your resume too badly to fail here.

[Dave Nash]

Right. If you, if you have, if you, if you have like someone have been somewhere and maybe not done well, like Sala or someone, and it's your second time around, this is not the place to do it. But if this is your first job.

[John Holmberg]

Salah went to Tennessee. Yeah, I know. Which isn't as bad, but is terrible.

[Dave Nash]

I get it. So this.

[John Holmberg]

And he didn't even consider the car.

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, tell me this. What do the Cardinals have to offer? Because I can go to every other team. I can go to Tennessee. You got a second year quarterback now, whatever you think of him. But you also got seven $80 million sale of cap room. Oh, you go to Vegas, you're getting the first pick and, and you're going to take Mendoza and you're going to roll the dice with them. And you also have salary cap, right? Yeah. You come to the Cardinals, there's going to be some movement and things like that. And who is your quarterback?

[John Holmberg]

You're stuck for Kyler for another year. I think probably it's not a good quarterback draft class.

[Dave Nash]

You know who I like? I'm telling you right now, you guys, whenever I throw some out?

[John Holmberg]

Sam Darnold, basically. Malik Willis.

[Dave Nash]

No, the guy that followed him a couple years later and was with the jets and he's got all the talent in the world. Zach Wilson.

[John Holmberg]

Oh my God.

[Dave Nash]

Oh my God. What? He was, he had a better record when he was at the jets than maybe that that Aaron Rodgers had with him.

[John Holmberg]

But back to your point, he could. The bar was so low that winning four games looked okay.

[Dave Nash]

He has a gun for an arm. He can move.

[Dale Hellistray]

Got a good looking mom. Yeah, whatever.

[Dave Nash]

And, and you know, I've been around enough athletes who maybe had a bad, had a bad stretch. And, and the second time around, the second chance, they are way more prepared and they are.

[John Holmberg]

But how many times have we watched,

[Dave Nash]

for instance, Sam Darnold?

[John Holmberg]

Okay, but that wasn't his second chance. Okay, Baker Mayfield got like four chances.

[Dave Nash]

Do you think Zach Wilson's going to be hard to acquire?

[John Holmberg]

Oh, no, it would be cheap. But you're still stuck with Kyler, so. You know, I look at Malik Willis, I look at even Justin Fields, who I'm not sold on. Oh, no, I.

[Dave Nash]

If you think Justin Field is the answer over Zach.

[John Holmberg]

I'm not saying answer. I'm saying if you don't, if you, if you need a bridge year and you got to get rid of Kyler and you got to eat all that salary, give me somebody that's at least athletic or give me, give me somebody that's a prototype of what offense you want to run.

[Dave Nash]

Athletic.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, he is. And if you want to run an offense, if you just want to eat a season, I'm fine with the Zach Wilson.

[Dave Nash]

But it's not the eat a season they're going to have. There's no way I'm not betting them to make the super bowl next year.

[John Holmberg]

They're a four win team. Unless, unless they go bananas and free

[Dale Hellistray]

agents, a couple things. And again, we've forgotten about it because of the way the season ended. Their first five, six, seven games were all one score game.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, they were close.

[Dale Hellistray]

And, and if they win three of those, which it was, that's not like going, oh my gosh, we need a miracle. Yeah, they win three or four of those games, it could take a whole new turn.

[John Holmberg]

But again, all six of those games you're talking about, those one score loss were their fault.

[Dale Hellistray]

I, I'm not arguing that point, but what I'm saying, they're in the game. So, so now, and this is what I wonder, when Cardinals are interviewing the 20 people that they interview. Yeah, it's the first question, what do you want to do a quarterback? Like, does this new coach, as the coach, have the wherewithal or does he have the authority to say, I want Kyler or I don't want.

[John Holmberg]

And is that a turn off in the interview process to ask them, what are you doing?

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

I don't think you can do that.

[Dale Hellistray]

See, I've always just looked at it as I would interview quite a few people. I want to get John Holberg's thoughts.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

On what we are. You've played against us for the last two, three years. What are your thoughts?

[John Holmberg]

What do you guys talk about?

[Dale Hellistray]

Planning for us and, and, and, and glean some information.

[John Holmberg]

Do not sugarcoat it.

[Dale Hellistray]

No. Are we.

[John Holmberg]

Are we okay? This is easy.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Was the scheme bad? Was it certain positions you can run over?

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

I don't think the Cardinals put fear in anybody, but they were one of those teams just like, don't take them lightly. They can sneak up on you.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

And that, that to me was Gannon until it wasn't like, he's got a talentless roster for the most part. That will play hard for him. Up until they just.

[Dale Hellistray]

That's that going into the season, I said ASU and, And the Cardinals.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

One in the same. Both. They play hard. They play for their coach. They're.

[John Holmberg]

You love tough outs.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yep. And something happened this year and it just went sideways.

[John Holmberg]

So do we like. Do you like the new hire for the Cardinals? Is it something you guys are like or is it so kind of.

[Dave Nash]

I don't think they had any choice who wanted to come.

[John Holmberg]

Right. And. And I saw, I saw a thing. Of all the coaches that were replaced, the Cardinal, they ranked him 10th with their choice and said it was. It was a stretch. It was way too. Yeah. It was like, they're like, this one is a stretch. He may be okay, but he's not there now. Why wouldn't you go with Shield House or Shula? But again, Shula. Shula may have, you know, planted some dead grass there with these interviews and then learn how to do that. You got to learn how to interview, too. It's different for me with a team like the Cardinals, who's kind of bad at it? The Steelers, who've only interviewed two guys in 50 years.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

So maybe the Steelers aren't good at interviews, but when they say it's bad, you're like grain of salt. When a team that's gone through this a bunch of times is like, no, you were right. It's. That's a bad interview.

[Dale Hellistray]

What's so interesting to me is today's his opening press conference and everybody's going to judge it. And did he win the press conference? I don't give A damn. No, I mean, the guy in Jacksonville, Liam Cohen, last year, made a mockery of himself.

[John Holmberg]

Is a mess.

[Dale Hellistray]

Duval. Whatever he was doing. Hey, I don't. We were saying this morning with Steve and I. Maricopa. Yeah. You know, hey, if you win 12 games next year, I don't care what you do.

[John Holmberg]

Fine. I find the Shula thing fascinating because Miami didn't even want.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah, but the shoe. The Shula name. Like I said, Mike Shula was our offensive coordinator.

[John Holmberg]

It didn't live past Don.

[Dale Hellistray]

No. And I will tell you this. I said it on the show this morning. So much is. Is partly luck and the fact that we had Mike Shield as our offensive coordinator. And I'm not. I'm not a rocket scientist, as both you guys know, but I'm also not the dumbest guy. But anyway, we had Mike Shield. Most complicated offense I've ever been a part of, bar none. And Jimmy fired him, Went to hire another coach. Coach. Not one.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

Not first interview, not second interview, not third interview, not fourth, not fifth. The sixth guy really interviewed was North Turner. There it is. And he said yes.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. You just know when.

[Dale Hellistray]

You know, if. If Troy was sitting right here, he'd say, I wouldn't be in the hall of Fame without Norv Turner.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

So what would happen if he had hired 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. You. You don't know.

[John Holmberg]

You don't know.

[Dale Hellistray]

No.

[John Holmberg]

Until, you know, until it's on the field.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

You know, I'm. I'm just. When the hire, I. I wanted a culture changer. And the only guy left that wasn't hired, that was out there available was the defense coordinator from the Vikings.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, Brian Flores. But he made an announcement a couple weeks ago, said he was going back to Minnesota and didn't want a head coaching job. And he's another one who can't interview like he's another one that nobody wants. Head coach in Miami had a few chances since Steelers assistant head coach took a lateral position.

[Dale Hellistray]

He.

[John Holmberg]

So weird.

[Dave Nash]

You're telling me if the Cardinals went to him and said, hey, you want the job? He's saying, I'm.

[John Holmberg]

He taken it. But something's not right with Brian Flores. That's. But it's. It's the Byron Leftwich. It's the Eric B. Enemy. He's a hot candidate until people talk to him, and then he's not. And I. And I don't know what the deal is with Shula on that. I don't know that the Cardinals had a choice. I don't. I don't think I don't.

[Dave Nash]

They didn't have a choice.

[John Holmberg]

But again, you should be thrilled because he's rubbed up against McVeigh's five o' clock shadow and everybody loves that he has Shanahan. Look, he's seven years old years with Shanahan, who kept grabbing him going, you're coming with me.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And Salah, who worked with him with Shanahan, said, you're going to be my OC when he was just like a quarterbacks or an offensive line or a wide receiver, score whatever he was with San Francisco. He's like, you're coming with me to the OC he sees something. And then you go to New York and they light you on fire and you don't realize you walked into a trap and you leave. And it's not bad. Cardinals are 1A.

[Dave Nash]

They're all good points.

[Dale Hellistray]

And the one thing I will say that was refreshing, that I think slipped through a lot of the cracks of the Microsoft Michael Bidwell, when they let Gannon go, said, I'm seeing all these other teams turn around. In a year. Yeah, in a year. And you go New England. Yeah. Chicago.

[John Holmberg]

The coach.

[Dale Hellistray]

Oh, you can just. And, and that's the only, you know, big time thing that you see. The coach was changed. Now obviously Chicago went out and signed the interior of their offensive line. They made some changes.

[John Holmberg]

Both the teams that you're talking about also spent a hundred million in free agency and happen to hit.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah, but, but, but not huge names.

[John Holmberg]

Just no, Smart.

[Dale Hellistray]

Not some Bulls. Yeah, Smart.

[John Holmberg]

Do you have a prediction for the Super Bowl? Total prediction.

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, what you just said sparked my interest. I think it's going to be a 1713. Okay. 14 Seattle. Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

2417 Seattle.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. All right. I'm about same about 20 to 13. 2014. I'll go with Seattle. So we could all be wrong next Tuesday. We'll be sitting here just going what

[Dave Nash]

I'm sure we will.

[John Holmberg]

Of course we will be 5 betting. I'm betting Patriots all day with this.

[Dale Hellistray]

We're the.

[John Holmberg]

We're all in agreement.

[Dale Hellistray]

Hey, there's, there's a guy we have on Uncle Lou and he says whenever. And I think Dave said this whenever everybody's going one way, I'm going the other. Go the other way.

[John Holmberg]

I'm with you on that. The Olympics are also starting this week. Does that hold interest for you guys at all? I like the Olympics a lot. The Winter Olympics are fun. Summer's great thing about Winter Olympics is an NHL hockey has never capitalized on it is that we'll see this year. Well, the Canada USA Hockey is the best thing going in sports outside of maybe the NCAA tournament. Throw Sweden in the mix, my peeps, and you've got three spectacular games. Now you've got the other Scandinavian countries. Soviet. Soviet Union, Russia. There are.

[Dave Nash]

Russia's not in it.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, that's right. The IOC team.

[Dave Nash]

Again, it's nonsense either way.

[John Holmberg]

You've got, you've got the top tier and then the second group is unreal. Hockey is a huge awesome part of the Winter Olympics. It's different. The rinks a little bigger. It's a little less physical.

[Dave Nash]

Not this year.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, they go back.

[Dave Nash]

Well, this is just what I heard and I apologize. Rumors that they miss. Built the rink that it's like shorter than what it should be.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, they goofed.

[Dave Nash]

The new rink four feet shorter in the, in the, in the, in the zone between the blue lines. Oh, and it's gonna be like zip, zip.

[Dale Hellistray]

You're.

[Dave Nash]

You're through there. Yeah, that's what I heard. They. I mean, someone measured this. That's what I heard. Maybe, maybe it's just no one. I don't know.

[John Holmberg]

When they put the ice rink down,

[Dale Hellistray]

that's kind of like Jerry Jones brand new stadium having a scoreboard too long.

[John Holmberg]

When they said this doesn't fit here. When we're trying to put the.

[Dale Hellistray]

Can't you eyeball like a football field and go.

[John Holmberg]

Isn't it one of those.

[Dale Hellistray]

Doesn't look a hundred yards. This is wrong.

[John Holmberg]

There's no three yard line. There's a. That seems a little.

[Dale Hellistray]

He's looking up.

[John Holmberg]

I think he'll do it on the Real Matrix next week. The conspiracy behind shrinking.

[Dale Hellistray]

Oh, I know what it is.

[John Holmberg]

It's ice out.

[Dave Nash]

I get it.

[John Holmberg]

It's one of those political moves. Here's what we're doing. They don't like saying ice.

[Dale Hellistray]

The one thing I wanted. I'm going to watch is very fascinating to me is Lindsey Vaughn.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

You see, she ruptured.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

Ruptured her acl.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

And she's going to ski.

[John Holmberg]

She's going to.

[Dale Hellistray]

And we got, we got Jalen Green with the Sons. Who's got a sore buttock.

[John Holmberg]

Well, he fell hard.

[Dale Hellistray]

A sore buttock.

[John Holmberg]

A ruptured acl.

[Dave Nash]

From Associated Press.

[John Holmberg]

Okay. Allegedly. The.

[Dave Nash]

The rink will be shorter than the regular NHL rink, which is smaller than the Olympic rink.

[John Holmberg]

No one measured this. This seems to be.

[Dave Nash]

It's going to be three feet shorter. Allegedly on purpose. I thought it was four feet. Feet between both.

[John Holmberg]

Is this an accident? Is it a foot? It's still a lot. Is it a foot and a half on both ends? 3ft total or 3ft.

[Dave Nash]

They're going to shrink the middle of the ice. They're gonna. It's gonna be the same distance behind the net. It's gonna be the same distance to the blue line.

[John Holmberg]

So blue line to goal line.

[Dave Nash]

So blue line. The gold line is the same. They're gonna shrink.

[John Holmberg]

Okay. They're gonna. Okay.

[Dave Nash]

Middle of the ice.

[John Holmberg]

All right, so the neutral zone.

[Dave Nash]

Now, I heard four feet by each blue line. They say. Yeah, I know. They saying it's three feet.

[John Holmberg]

That would mean the neutral zone is like three and a half feet on each end.

[Dave Nash]

Hey, obviously, I can't even tell that's truth. Because if they built it wrong, how do you know if they measured it wrong?

[John Holmberg]

The real matrix next week dives deep into the lack of ice production in Italy next week. I like that. And I always end up watching curling, but I always wonder why NHL never capitalizes with, like. I'm sure they do a little bit. The ratings. They got to start putting like. Like the schedule has to be, you know, after the Olympics. They need to do just a reshuffle and play top teams against top teams on TV for about three weeks after the Olympics, because you get to know names. You get to see these guys. And the NFC drops the ball on this every time they get a spike from it. But then everybody's like, I'm not watching Utah and Carolina.

[Dale Hellistray]

Come on, the man.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, I'm not. Yeah, I'm not watching Nashville play the Sharks. Even though you're in good, it's just like. Like, give me the bigs. Give me the black. And the Blackhawks aren't good enough, but you get these big teams. And down in Florida, the lightning. Nobody knows who the Panthers are, and they've won. Been there three years in a row.

[Dale Hellistray]

Right.

[John Holmberg]

Edmonton should be like. They should have these guys as marquees for weeks after the Olympics. And they never did.

[Dale Hellistray]

The fascinating thing to me about the Olympics, whether it's winter or summer, is that you train for years and you go and you get one chance. Yeah. And we're talking hundreds.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

Of a second.

[John Holmberg]

Hundredths.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah, hundreds. Imagine getting up that morning and, you know, hey, your stomach doesn't. I've been trading for years.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. Imagine everything you had to do, Dale. You practiced and practiced and practiced. Never played games. Practiced and practiced and practiced. Occasionally a little scrimmage. And then you played in the super bowl, and that was the only chance you had. That year.

[Dale Hellistray]

Crazy.

[John Holmberg]

It's nuts. It's just nuts. Now, let's talk about one other thing. I wanted to talk about college, but we won't do that. The Olympics. And then, of course, boxing had a great moment with Jerrell Big Baby Miller. I don't know if you saw that on Saturday night, but I've never seen this. As a big boxing fan, I was thrilled to watch. There was a good fight going on. Stevenson was fighting that weekend, but it was a different fight in Madison Square Garden. Jerrell Big Baby Miller had his toupee knocked off in the middle of the fight, which was an absolutely fantastic moment in boxing.

[Dale Hellistray]

Why are you wearing toupee in a boxing. Exactly.

[John Holmberg]

Now, you look out in any other sport. Has this happened? Has anyone's toupee slid off during a fight or a football game? Did you ever see a guy in football, like, why do you wear that thing?

[Dale Hellistray]

Well, I. I've seen people pull.

[John Holmberg]

Imagine if they'd have pulled Palomalu's hair and it all came off. It was a weave. We'd been fooled the whole time.

[Dale Hellistray]

All those shampoo commercials.

[John Holmberg]

So then we go into this. He laughs, takes the toupee, rips it off, throws it into the crowd. It's a souvenir, one of the greatest souvenirs in sports history. Flashback last year to the Mercury game, where that girl's weave fell off and she ran from the court. Live game with her weave on her head, embarrassed all the way to the locker room, stops the game. A member of the crowd makes fun of it, is removed from the crowd. This is proof that the WNBA needs to be seen.

[Dave Nash]

No arguments.

[Dale Hellistray]

Keep going, start paying and what they're worth.

[John Holmberg]

Then when your weave falls off, be like Jerrell Big Baby Miller and chuck it into the crowd. If you're wearing fake hair. I. I've. I've not. I'm not saying that it's anything special. I have loved boxing and boxed for about 20 years now. I absolutely love getting in the ring. I love playing the game. I know for certain as a bald man, if I decided to wear a wig in the ring, that's all I'd be thinking about. Do not come off in front of people.

[Dale Hellistray]

Why are you trying to look good in the ring? You're trying to win.

[John Holmberg]

And he got punched and it flapped back and forward so badly that the guy who hit him started laughing. He won the fight, by the way.

[Dave Nash]

Well, because he laughed, he said, you

[John Holmberg]

know, what do I have to lose? I've already lost a lot. He's getting endorsement deals now.

[Dave Nash]

How old is he?

[John Holmberg]

He's probably in his mid-30s. I don't know. Big baby's been late. He's probably at 33 or 4. I don't know for sure.

[Dale Hellistray]

I don't know.

[John Holmberg]

But he's. It was the best moment I've seen in a long time. And. And I mean, imagine Dale, you've got a glue hair to your head and go try to take your helmet off and hope no cameras catch it. And if you're too that comes out. That's all you would be thinking about.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes.

[John Holmberg]

It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

[Dale Hellistray]

So you get your gloves on, taped. You're all. You're getting warmed up. Loud it up. All right? Click the tail.

[John Holmberg]

At least staple it down. Take a punch there too. But it came off. And I would love that and my curiosity and I don't want to forget this, so you guys don't let me. We have to over the years, I mean, Dale won't be here, you and I. It will have to over the years monitor the value of that toupee because I think as time goes on that thing, I think it's going to be a legendary stock.

[Dale Hellistray]

You don't think somebody just threw that in the garbage?

[John Holmberg]

I'd have it in a shadow box at my house. I'd be talking to Jerrell, Big Baby Miller's agents. I would have that toupee prominently displayed. In fact, I promise you this. I'll buy it from the guy and I'll put it behind me and it'll be the theme to this whole show. It's awesome. Dave. Your toupee will never come off. That thing's beautiful. It's strong.

[Dale Hellistray]

He's got good looking.

[John Holmberg]

But I thought that was the best moment of the week in sports.

[Dale Hellistray]

Are we going to. Okay, so you talk about that. How much time do we have left?

[John Holmberg]

Two minutes.

[Dale Hellistray]

Devin Booker, All Star Game. Good. Bad. You're okay with it? Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

I don't care about All Star Games anymore.

[Dale Hellistray]

The players don't.

[John Holmberg]

The players don't. So why do I. All they. All they want to do is go for the contract bump, right? They don't want to play those. Those are the worst. Actually, the NBA All Star Game might be worse than the. The NFL.

[Dale Hellistray]

Terrible. Just because your boy should do or got in.

[John Holmberg]

Justin Fields just said, no, thank you.

[Dale Hellistray]

Really?

[John Holmberg]

Yes. They can't find people to play in the Pro Bowl. The NBA, they have to show up or they get a little bit of a fine. It's like, all right. And they half hearted, you know, it's the dunk contest and all. And they're, it's, it's a terrible product,

[Dale Hellistray]

but it still is an honor. Booker's five time All Star.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, that's, you know, Devin Booker deserves it. He's good, He's a, he's a good player and he deserves that.

[Dale Hellistray]

You go to either every son's game or almost all of them. You have season tickets. Who's there? Who's their most valuable player? So not Dylan Brooks.

[John Holmberg]

Dylan Brooks.

[Dale Hellistray]

This year it's not Dylan Brooks. Should he not be the All Star?

[John Holmberg]

And that's why All Star games are just dumb. It's. LeBron James is going to be there again.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

He is not even having, he's okay.

[Dale Hellistray]

He's a, he's a special case.

[John Holmberg]

He's a case.

[Dale Hellistray]

He's 24 years in the league. So what? Come on, Johnny.

[John Holmberg]

So longevity is more important to the.

[Dale Hellistray]

We give you a bump on your radio show. You've been around for 25 years ago.

[John Holmberg]

And I don't expect to be given awards at the end. It's like, look, I'm barely trying to be number one.

[Dave Nash]

Let me ask you, do you think you're better now than you were when you started? I think you're probably better now.

[John Holmberg]

I think I'm a lot better than I was when I started, of course. But I don't put the energy and effort into this just like this. I mean, come on. This is energy. I'm putting a lot in this. I got notes doing. You think I take a note for that other show? Come on.

[Dale Hellistray]

You don't put any energy. Yes.

[Dave Nash]

Last week I brought like a whole booklet and then all you guys did was, well, you were wrong.

[John Holmberg]

Was wrong.

[Dave Nash]

It was statistical. You guys, I'm tired of talking.

[Dale Hellistray]

You started your statement. I was, I don't, I, I, I, I'm not, not trying to diss Bill Belichick, but he's the worst coach in

[John Holmberg]

the history of football.

[Dave Nash]

It's another way to look at it. Everybody listens to mainstream media.

[John Holmberg]

Remember the 10 minutes of searching for a coach with no quarterback and what'd he come up with? Billy Kilmer was his like. Yes, that's the support to my argument. All right, well, that leads beautifully into the end. I'm John Holmberg from kupd. Wildly successful. Dale is from the main event. I'll get it. The main event was Steve McCollum. Here's five minutes with a Madman, Dave Nash.

[Dave Nash]

Well, we did, we did our show. The Real matrix. Today we talked about the fact that it's your show.

[John Holmberg]

That's right. Dale just sits and watches.

[Dave Nash]

I appreciate that. That nicotine is good for you. So when you hear all these. With all these. See all these people with nicotine pouches. Nicotine has been proven through. Through studies and scientific studies to.

[Dale Hellistray]

To.

[Dave Nash]

To cure glass glaucoma. Brain cast.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, that's not it. Oh, geoblastoma.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yes. Okay.

[Dave Nash]

I'm sorry. Alzheimer's, Parkinson's. It fights that. And what we have been told all our life is, nicotine is bad for you. And it's. And it's addictive. And it's. It's. It's not the truth. It's a lie. It's not addictive. The 15 chemicals, the pyrazines that are in cigarettes, that's the addictive part of it. Nicotine is a nutrient, and it's. It's in all of. Most of our nightshade vegetables. Matter of fact, all of our nightshade vegetables the most.

[Dale Hellistray]

Say that again. What kind of vegetable?

[John Holmberg]

Nightshade.

[Dale Hellistray]

Nightshade.

[Dave Nash]

Nightshade. Did I what?

[Dale Hellistray]

I say, give us a couple examples. Potatoes. Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

The most product you're going to find nicotine in is tobacco. Then next is eggplant. Next is tomatoes. And then potatoes and bell peppers. Bell peppers and cauliflower and celery.

[John Holmberg]

Sounds great.

[Dave Nash]

Nicotine is in our food.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

So what. What they're telling you is nicotine is. Is addictive. So are you addicted to celery? Are you addicted to eggplant?

[John Holmberg]

It's in front of me.

[Dave Nash]

Do you wake up and you go, my God, I have some eggplant sometimes. Okay.

[John Holmberg]

The texting world has changed my desire for eggplant because it represents the penis now.

[Dale Hellistray]

Oh. Oh, truth. Yeah. What about sunlight?

[John Holmberg]

That's a night shade.

[Dale Hellistray]

What about sunlight, Dave?

[Dave Nash]

Well, and.

[John Holmberg]

And.

[Dave Nash]

And. And again, when you go to a dermatologist, dermatologist says, stay out of the sun. Stay out of the sun. Stay out of the sun. Sun's good for you. Sunset. It creates vitamin D in your body. And without vitamin D, our body doesn't work as well. As a matter of fact, studies show that if you're low on vitamin D, or at least you have high vitamin D levels, you have a 50% less chance of getting cancer or heart disease. If you have high vitamin D levels, which you get from the sun. And you can take vitamin D, but. But getting it from the sun, your body works better with it that way. So.

[John Holmberg]

So start smoking and stand in the sun.

[Dave Nash]

No Smoking is smoking. Nicotine, nicotine patches.

[John Holmberg]

Eat eggplants. Like it's going on like you're.

[Dale Hellistray]

You're right.

[John Holmberg]

Oh. Eat the nicotine gum.

[Dave Nash]

That's why he's still here. He should have been dead years ago.

[John Holmberg]

That is the best argument you've ever had.

[Dale Hellistray]

I did not know that.

[John Holmberg]

That is strong. That is the lifeblood of one Dale Hellester.

[Dave Nash]

Correct.

[Dale Hellistray]

And I do know this as a guy who's had basal cell.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

Carcinoma. Have you ever had basal cell?

[John Holmberg]

No.

[Dale Hellistray]

You've never had anything?

[John Holmberg]

No.

[Dale Hellistray]

No skin.

[John Holmberg]

I'm. I'm a machine of health.

[Dale Hellistray]

Don't say that because you're dead in front of us.

[John Holmberg]

Beautiful.

[Dale Hellistray]

I. I've had basil cell.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

And obviously they either just burn that off or cut that. But then I had a melanoma.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Dale Hellistray]

And my melanoma was back.

[John Holmberg]

Your ear.

[Dale Hellistray]

Behind my ear, it gets no.

[John Holmberg]

Never gotten any sun, no sunlight. So.

[Dave Nash]

And. And that's the point in regards melanoma, which is the dangerous one that you die from. That's from lack of sun.

[Dale Hellistray]

Yeah.

[Dave Nash]

The other cancers, you get basil and squamish from sun. Yeah, yeah, you get them, but. But they're not dangerous.

[John Holmberg]

But like anything else, way too much of the sun for me. I'm Swedish. Standing outside is going to cause some. Your body tells you, hey, I can't control this anymore. I have to start burning.

[Dale Hellistray]

Okay. Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

So, I mean, that is not a healthy amount, but I totally agree.

[Dave Nash]

You're not going to die from a sunburn.

[John Holmberg]

No, but it's multiple.

[Dave Nash]

It's gonna be very, very uncomfortable. You're not gonna die if you keep

[John Holmberg]

going out and burning and burning and burning and burning. Your skin will eventually start fighting back by not being.

[Dale Hellistray]

You will.

[Dave Nash]

You will look like 78 when you're 30 if you keep getting sunbathe.

[John Holmberg]

But I think also overexposure to anything healthy is also unhealthy. But I agree with you. I'm not gonna.

[Dave Nash]

I'm not gonna argue.

[John Holmberg]

The sun is the. Anytime you tell me a chemical made by man is safer than the sun, I tell you you're crazy.

[Dave Nash]

And that's in. In the. In the. The skin. Sunscreens.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, yeah.

[Dave Nash]

Very dangerous.

[John Holmberg]

You were talking about addictive.

[Dave Nash]

You're putting chemicals directly in onto your skin, which seep into your body, which get in your bloodstream, and they have

[John Holmberg]

also completely designed to stop your body's natural ability to block sun's. You know, the ability to burn you or hurt you. At your body, Your. Your skin adapts to it as you get sun and sunscreen when you don't wear it. You wear it all the time and then you don't wear it one day. It doesn't know what to do. So it jumps to worst case scenario, it is it. That's proven too. There is zero. I'm with you on this one, Nash. There's zero correlation to the invention of sunscreen and the decrease in skin cancer.

[Dave Nash]

As a matter of fact, cancer's gone the other way.

[John Holmberg]

You know who doesn't have it? The Middle East. Africa. And I know that's different because their skin's a little darker. But the Middle east doesn't. Here's the one thing they've got over us when. When it comes to this. They don't have ego and pride when it comes to that. They cover up with light clothes to say, I don't want to stand out here in this 112 degrees all day. We are in tank tops and shorts and half the country comes from Ireland, Sweden, Norway and everything else. And we're in Phoenix and you're starting to torch yourself. Your body's not built to handle that. It's like taking a Prius four wheeling. You're not supposed to do it. But we don't have. We have too much ego and too much. I don't know if it's ego, vanity. Vanity to where we have to look good rather than be smart. So tank tops and stuff like that. Yeah, that's a good one.

[Dave Nash]

So. So to wrap it all up in a nutshell, it's too late again. What we've been told through our government, our health officials are kind of. Kind of a lie. If you really look into it and look and listen to doctors who are on the front line who are treating this and say, hey, here are answers here. This is what you've been told is wrong. And that's the whole point of the show.

[Dale Hellistray]

Not.

[Dave Nash]

And basically most of what we've been told in our life's a lie. They don't want us prospering. They don't want us healthy. They don't give a crap.

[Dale Hellistray]

They want. They want us to have to spend money.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. Sell products to remain a little bit.

[Dale Hellistray]

And they're not gonna cure cancer. I don't care if you give a

[John Holmberg]

hundred gazillion too much money and carrying it. No, not carrying it. Agreed. There you go. The Real Matrix with Dave Nash. You can find that one where like rumble.

[Dave Nash]

Now.

[John Holmberg]

Rumble.

[Dave Nash]

And you can find on Robat tv. It's a local Internet tv, but it's everywhere.

[John Holmberg]

Well, we'll put you anywhere.

[Dave Nash]

Get out there eventually. I don't really care.

[John Holmberg]

The real Matrix. And your eyes will just be like, what the hell?

[Dale Hellistray]

Get a haircut.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, get your haircut. That's enough.

[Dave Nash]

We're coming.

[John Holmberg]

That's it for us. We're done. We'll see you guys next time.