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John Holmberg
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Dale Hellstray
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John Holmberg
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Angry Patriot
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John Holmberg
All right, it's time once again for the sports thing. A John Holmberg podcast from the empire of Holmberg podcasting is known only as the greatest in excellence in podcasting. I am the host of morning sickness on 98 KUPD here in Phoenix and I am joined once again by my cohorts, Dale Hellstray, three time world champion of the Dallas Cowboys and co host of the main event with Steve McCullough. And then the angry fan. Slash angry. Just angry human.
Angry Patriot
Angry.
John Holmberg
The angry guy. The angry human, yeah, is sitting next to us. The angry patriot from the real matrix. What's his name over here it's doing its thing and I want to say thanks again to the people that reminded me. They bring us this deal. Tactical black reactdefense.com if you're looking for self defense training, that is, bar none, the best in the world. Reactdefense.com Tactical Black will help you. Gun, knife, machete. God knows what's going on in the
Angry Patriot
world in this day and age.
John Holmberg
Yeah. How many times have we watched a video where somebody stops the guy?
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
It happened again in San Diego here recently. A security guard did it a couple weeks ago in a school. Dude, I jumped all you got Principal bang on the coward and the coward falls. And it's pretty fun to watch. And they can take care of it. Tactical black reactdefense.com look into it. It literally saves lives. Speaking of lives that need saving, let's get right into it. These here Arizona Cardinals.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
Already making a mess of the 2026 season. How can a franchise be so miserable that they can take May and already make you feel like the season is hopeless and over. And the only thing they can do after the schedule release and what's going on with their quarterback situation is overachieve. And somehow the Cardinals won't. Let's break it down. The Cardinals after the schedule release, everybody kind of did their work. Vegas gets involved and does the first early lines, which is crazy. The first week of the season has betting lines. They haven't even made cuts.
Angry Patriot
They haven't all the way through week 17.
John Holmberg
If they want to, they'll go through the whole thing. But the first week they got point spreads and I have a ticker at my house that rolls that. And most of them are two and a half points. Nobody's really looking to get. There's a couple games and the Jets I think are like 10 point underdogs already. And the Cardinals are in there too. Cardinals somehow or another. And the NFL kind of got them here. And it's just happenstance. Have the toughest schedule in the league.
Angry Patriot
And for those people who don't understand the NFL tries to make it.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
They want everybody nine and eight. Eight, nine.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
And so that's why the first place. Get first place. Teams play first place and then you play another division. Yeah. Well, it just so happens that the Cardinals are the toughest division in the NFL by far.
John Holmberg
Oh yeah.
Angry Patriot
And so they have to play them no matter what place you finish. And then you play a conference in the afc if you're in the NFC and you play those teams. And so some of. Some of the scale. Most of the schedule is already set up and then you're. You get maybe one or two games depending on where you actually.
John Holmberg
Yeah, you get your others. But. And I don't even know who else is on the schedule. But I mean you happen to get the three best team in the NFC in your division.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
So that's six games of your 17 that are against 36 wins last year.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
That's huge. And that's what it's based on. Toughest schedule is based on last year's Record.
Angry Patriot
So you're so, so you're telling me that the NFC west won 39 games last year?
John Holmberg
Something or 39 or 40, something like that? Yes. Oh my God, when you put it that way, that's brutal. And then, and so you got that twice.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
So you got, that's, you know, teams that going to be in the playoff
Angry Patriot
hunt all made the playoffs last year.
John Holmberg
Then you swing over to the AFC east, who they play, which had the other super bowl representative and a team that probably could be in the super bowl in the Buffalo Bills, Patriots. Bills. You get a little break with the Dolphins and Jets. They're still not favored 17 games. And Nash, you say this all the time. Vegas knows what they're doing. Oh yeah, 17 games early spread. The Cardinals are not favored in one game.
Angry Patriot
Not only not favored, John, that's crazy. But double digit underdogs in at least a handful of them.
John Holmberg
Yes. And there are not more whispers that this team won't win a game. Now come on. I don't believe that to be true. But the fact that it's like being thrown back and forth and there's an argument to be made that maybe. And they've been picking in the top 10 at the very least for a decade.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
How badly managed is this mess? And throw on top of this, a little cherry on top. The quarterback that won one game for him last year in 12 tries after giving Kyler Murray the heave ho, what was he, 2 and 4 with the team last year still had a 68% or something like that. Completion percentage, decent numbers, touchdowns that he just wasn't what they wanted. So Jacoby Brissette's the answer because it's cheap. And he's like, no, it's not going to be that cheap anymore. It's not going to be Kyler Murray money. But if Gardner Minshew is going to get cash and you go and draft a quarterback, I need some guarantees that I'm going to be on this team. And there's a million and a half guaranteed. He wants more, right? Blame him for that because the Cardinals will maneuver. When I worked at a restaurant in the late 80s and 90s, it was early 90s, we had the Cardinals had their Tuesday fun game show radio show at the restaurant.
Angry Patriot
Okay.
John Holmberg
And Steve Berline came in one week and Steve Berline was about to break like a number for his bonuses and they were talking whether or not he was healthy enough to play. And he's like, I'm fine. Like he's on that. And they're like, oh, you're maybe not. You're fine. And I. And it raised. I didn't know about this stuff. A couple years later, Boomer Esiason came in. If you remember, he had like a 500 yard passing. And next year it was 480. And he was going to break because they didn't expect him to do anything. He was going to break a number. They sat him for the last week and I forget who they started over him, but he was.
Angry Patriot
So they don't have to play incentives.
John Holmberg
There was no risk of them paying for that. This is not new. So Jacoby Brissette comes in and recognizes. I've seen this Cardinal operation over the years. They won't pay me if they don't have to. And I'm only guaranteed a million and a half dollars. Now, to average person, that's pretty nice chunk of change. But you're putting your knees, your future, your. You know, and when the money is
Dale Hellstray
out there, he doesn't have a big
John Holmberg
future, 10 or 11. And there's the other thing he's got to protect. He's worth about nine to ten million dollars to another team.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
The Cardinals are him and ha over this whole thing. I'm guaranteeing whatever. They don't have a leg to stand on.
Angry Patriot
Well, here's the thing that I always, will always argue. And it's hard with the Cardinals. It's hard with the Cardinals. What is he asking for? Yeah, yeah, I give. I would give him if I believe he's going to be my starting quarterback, at least for the first half of the season. I'm going to guarantee him $12 million next year. Something along that I'm not giving him. I'm not giving him Aaron. Aaron Rodgers money.
John Holmberg
He doesn't deserve it.
Angry Patriot
No.
John Holmberg
Even at age 42, 43, Aaron Rodgers still gets 20 million.
Angry Patriot
But here's the thing you gotta understand. So what he's concerned about is that they go into training camp and he gets cut before the season starts. Because as a vested veteran, once you're on the roster for the first regular season game, your salary is guaranteed for the entire year.
John Holmberg
Oh, is that right?
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
Beyond the guarantee.
Angry Patriot
Yeah, yeah. Your salary, once you're a vested veteran. Yes.
John Holmberg
Okay, I didn't know that.
Angry Patriot
And so it. But they could cut him August 15th.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
You know, and does he. Can he catch on with somebody? Can he. And those kind of things are what's going through. But what is the number that he wants?
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
Because you're seeing crazy numbers.
John Holmberg
Well, there was a parody side I didn't know that, but I saw something pop up that said he was looking for Lamar Jackson money. But again, if I'm his agent, why not? Like you don't. The Cardinals. You do not have an option. If you do. No, you don't. Gardner Minshew is not your option.
Dale Hellstray
What's his record? What's his record?
John Holmberg
He's as good. But here we go with your. Your Tommy DeVito.
Dale Hellstray
Okay, you know what?
John Holmberg
You're gonna trade for him. Oh, man. Because I don't disagree that Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissette aren't that different.
Angry Patriot
Right.
Dale Hellstray
Okay.
John Holmberg
You're 1 in 11 with Jacoby last year. Yeah, but why not throw it out there? If you're Jacoby Brissette and you say, I'm going to play the Cardinals for all they're worth, and if they cut me, they'll cut me now, and I have a chance to go to a camp for someone else, well, that was
Dale Hellstray
what I would want. If he's there in camp. And if. What is he still. He's still kind of young. He's got one more contract in him. 33, 32. 33, something like that. So if he comes in and plays decent.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
On a crappy team, he's gonna. He's gonna. He's gonna sign for a whole bunch of money next year somewhere.
Angry Patriot
Maybe not a whole bunch of money.
Dale Hellstray
Come on. If. If he has a good year. I mean, his numbers last year. I think. I think I saw it.
Angry Patriot
No, he had a decent number, right?
John Holmberg
Yeah. But if he puts on whatever he puts on, and the Cardinals are. And he goes 1 in 11 again, and he's getting beat up, people are going to look at him next year and go, if he. He's in the cycle of a million and a half. And let's keep this. Just tread off the tire with the
Dale Hellstray
sounds from Las Vegas. They're not going to be favored in one game this next year. If he wins one game, he's had a great year.
John Holmberg
Well, that's in May. But it is kind of weird that Vegas is saying, I could see you being an O and 17 team. That's crazy.
Dale Hellstray
Okay, so. So he has a very low bar to step over.
John Holmberg
But. But they're saying that because there's instability at the starting quarterback. Jacoby Brissette's not here. So Vegas is looking, going, all right, he's there. But is he. Carson Beck, the starter?
Dale Hellstray
I'll bet you this. If he comes back and says they sign him those numbers. Yeah, those. Those lines Pre. Pre year. They're not going to move.
John Holmberg
They probably won't move.
Dale Hellstray
They're not going to. Exactly.
John Holmberg
But here's what. Here's what I'm asking all of you, all the sports people, everybody in the city, everybody in national news is saying Carson Beck will be the starter for
Angry Patriot
this team at some point.
John Holmberg
Five, six, seven weeks. Right. Why not just start him? Because if I'm Jacoby Brissette and I've already got. I'm already like, can't win, and I'm going to be the scapegoat for this team being terrible. And they're not good in a lot of positions and not just quarterback, although that's huge. If I want out of here, I don't want to be the. You know, where are you going to
Angry Patriot
go with this stage?
John Holmberg
Anywhere. You'd be a backup somewhere and make the same money. So why. Why risk your knees and next year when you can go to, like. I don't know if the Rams have a pretty good situation behind them, but, I mean, there's plenty. Do they? Well, I mean, they do now. They got Ty Simpson and I think. No, I mean, they're.
Dale Hellstray
They're. I don't think. I don't think.
John Holmberg
I think Jimmy might. So, I mean, you're looking at.
Angry Patriot
I'm looking at teams like, whether to retire or not.
John Holmberg
Yeah, right. But I mean, you're still looking at stuff where you're kind of like, Eric, there's some teams out there that could pick him up. And, you know, Carolina's got Kenny Pickett backing up Bryce Young. I think that would be an upgrade. You got a lot of places that'll take you, and you can. You can run behind somebody else for the exact same money. You're going to risk your knees and back on with a Cardinal team that's no good. I mean, if they're going to start Carson back and you're going to play this game with Jacoby Brissette, why are the Cardinals just like, all right, get them ready. We're going to. We're going to throw them to the wolves because they're going to screw up Carson Beck in week six or week one. He's not going to be any good because of why they're doing this.
Angry Patriot
Well, let's hope this new coaching staff is going to have a little difference in that. Say, but we'll see.
John Holmberg
That's very.
Angry Patriot
The thing is, they've guaranteed more money to Gardner Minshew, who they've said is the backup, than they have to Jacobi Brissette. Who they said. They said is their starter.
John Holmberg
Is there anything more Cardinals than that?
Angry Patriot
No, there's nothing.
John Holmberg
There's. I don't think there's anything more cardinal descriptive than what you just said, is there?
Angry Patriot
If there's any. It all, to me, all came down to this one thing. When I think it was Carson Beck was being interviewed after the draft.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
The Cardinal on his shirts going one way. The Cardinal on their banner behind him is going the other way. It's. That's the Cardinal.
John Holmberg
It's butting heads with itself. I think back to the 49ers in the early 90s. Managed to have Joe Montana and Steve Young on the same roster. Kind of make it work.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
They weren't, you know, Steve was obviously like, I need to play. I need to get in on this thing. And they made it kind of work. The Cardinals can't make Minshew and Brissette.
Angry Patriot
Yes. Work. And I'm sorry, those names don't all belong.
John Holmberg
They do not belong in the same league. It's amazing. They played the same sport professionally. But the Brissette Minshew battle.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
Should be pretty much cut and dry by a general manager and a coach who come in and go, shut the F up.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
You're going to battle for the starting job.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
And your. Your agent will get you your money. And I don't want to hear from you. And if I hear from you, neither of you are that important to this team. I'll give you a million and a half to not play here.
Angry Patriot
Now, the other thing you got to remember is Brissette is his own agent, so.
John Holmberg
Well, that's huge. And those are fun moments.
Angry Patriot
Yeah, those are fun.
John Holmberg
I didn't know that, actually. That's. Oh, that's Lamar Jackson.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
I just look at this and I'm like, you just can't stop shaking your head. And it leads me right into the next thing, which is a. It's a transition you'll like. Dave, I've been thinking about just living in Arizona. It's pretty nice. Like, we got a pretty good situation here.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
Sports aside.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
I watched the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7, lose to the Montreal Canadiens. And that was a really good game. Overtime. And it's in Buffalo. And you watch the fans when Montreal puts the goal in at the end and it's over. And Buffalo is again, second place. Barely missed the next level.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
And those fans in Buffalo have to be the most hard luck fans in all sports. And I started thinking about it, and I'm like, The Cardinals by themselves make Phoenix second or third. Cleveland would be the only other one. And the Cavaliers keep them busy.
Angry Patriot
Well, but I would. What I would say though is. And I developed a moniker the Valley can't have. Nice.
John Holmberg
No, you're 100% right.
Angry Patriot
Because yes, the Cardinals, they're more about franchise. They're an embarrassment. Whatever else. What other things you want to say. But the Phoenix Suns. Okay, the Phoenix Suns, they've been good a lot. A long time.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
90s, 70s.
John Holmberg
I think they had the best record in the 90s the whole time through.
Angry Patriot
Yeah. And the last five years, six years, they've been good.
John Holmberg
Yep.
Angry Patriot
But they now have won a championship.
John Holmberg
I've done a thing. Hard luck fans.
Angry Patriot
And they broke our hearts.
John Holmberg
But in Arizona it's easier because I don't know a. Other than the Suns, people haven't invested their childhood. Right. You know, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s in the same team.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
Cardinals are 40 plus. Sun's been around for 60 or 55 years. Something like that.
Dale Hellstray
I think Diamondbacks have been very successful.
John Holmberg
Diamondbacks have been a successful franchise, but they don't have the hearts and minds of older people. They're building their base with the young guys who are finally, you know, in their 30s and 40s and they're like, now you got a fan base that's been around for 20 years. They haven't bled like a Cub fan, like a Yankee fan even, you know, who's had tons of success. But you. This city is, is Buffalo, I think is number one. I have a friend who's appointments. It's got to be. I don't know what's worse. Would you rather have a team that's an eyelash away all the time or a team that just stinks all the time? You know what you're getting like, like the Cardinals.
Angry Patriot
But see, and that's my argument because I've talked to other people, my other, other friends about the Suns.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
When they were battling San Antonio, seven seconds or less and they're winning 60 plus games a year. I absolutely loved.
John Holmberg
It was the most fun you could have in the city because they had a chance.
Angry Patriot
Now they didn't get it done, but they had a chance. Give me that over. I'm going to trudge over to the west side to go. I wonder how much Cardinals are going to lose by or what they're going
John Holmberg
to do to screw it up. Here's the thing that I think about. Because when the Cardinals are bad, we go, all right, Cardinals are bad. And we climb Camelback Mountain, or we go to Sedona, or we go to all the great restaurants, go to Old Town, just screw around downtown. We got comedy clubs all over the place. It's a fun city to be like, man, Buffalo, they've seen Niagara Falls. The Bills lose.
Dale Hellstray
They're.
John Holmberg
That's it.
Angry Patriot
They bill lose in early January. They still got the rest of January, February, March, and April snow.
John Holmberg
Then you got the Sabres, who are like, well, at least we got Sabers. And they take you all the way into May for the first time in years. They won a playoff series. They go in and they. They hammer the fans into the ground. I don't know if it can get worse than being a Buffalo fan, except for if I'm a Cardinals fan and I'm not. If I'm a Cardinals fan, I'm like, hey, hold my beer. Like, it's never good here.
Angry Patriot
You guys are close, but you're right. But the huge difference is in Buffalo, you don't see the sun for the entire month of October and into November, right? And out here, well, we're happy to.
John Holmberg
We can go outside and forget stuff. Distractions. There's pickleball, or you outside and play a game. You go in the pool and swim the summer away. Buffalo's just like, let's just get in while we can. The Bills are going to disappoint us. And it takes 10 months. It takes 10 months for them to go from. From, you know, oh, it happened again to, hey, there's hopes back. They get ruined. And the second city I put on that list is Cleveland. Cleveland's up there. The Cavaliers are in the Eastern Conference finals right now, but the Cavaliers are without their LeBron. Years are kind of another one. It was always hard luck with the Craig Elos, and the. The Bills are. The Bulls, always knocking them out. And then you got the Browns.
Dale Hellstray
The fumble.
John Holmberg
The fumble. I mean, Ernest Biennial nightmare. The drive that are the Browns.
Angry Patriot
When you have. When you have multiple games named after you, as far as a loss against you.
Dale Hellstray
Yes.
John Holmberg
Yeah. And that's the thing. When you say the drive, you don't think. Unless you're in Denver. Oh, man, that was always great. No, you think all those Browns, how did they blow that fumble?
Angry Patriot
That's 95 yards.
John Holmberg
Twice against. I mean, twice. The fumble and the drive. I mean, the 49ers have the catch, and Dallas doesn't sit back and go, oh, that hurt us. Because they had championships. It's like, yeah, we lost a great game to a great team that had a moment, right? It's just, and it happens to these teams like crazy. These hard luck cities that seem to be consistently off and it seems like
Angry Patriot
rust belt cities, especially because you don't have that out. You got, you got, you got six weeks in the summer where it's nice
John Holmberg
to be outside and then there's bugs everywhere.
Dale Hellstray
Yes, well, it's because we have a great life here. Sports is secondary. I can't, I grew up in Detroit. There was nothing to do. You follow teams. There's nothing to do in Buffalo.
John Holmberg
Does it. It's a commonality.
Dale Hellstray
And I wake up. But, but when you say like, how come they always have the bad luck? Think back to the Cardinals Super Bowl.
John Holmberg
Oh, I remember that.
Dale Hellstray
The Cardinals. Yeah, of course you do.
Angry Patriot
Bastard.
Dale Hellstray
The Cardinals are going in for a touchdown with seconds left in the first quarter or first half.
John Holmberg
Then, then the greatest defensive play in super bowl history.
Dale Hellstray
What's his name? Harrison.
John Holmberg
James.
Dale Hellstray
Harrison, James Harrison. Debo runs a, runs it back for a touchdown. That is a 14 point swing. And nobody, you know what I never hear someone say? Oh, what bad luck. The Cardinals, how did that, how did that turn on them? That is a, to me, a bigger play than the fumble, the drive and everything else. And no one talks about it because you know why.
John Holmberg
Oh, people talk about it, trust me. No, we talk about it or they'll
Dale Hellstray
talk more about did, did what's his name get his toe in for the,
John Holmberg
for the catch on to. They had two great moments in history.
Dale Hellstray
But, but if you talk to Cardinal fans, a lot of them forgot about it. Sergio Lav. Because hey, even after the game, you know what, oh, hey, it's 80 degrees, there's palm trees.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
Life's great. What do I care?
John Holmberg
It's Cardinal fans. Don't talk about it. Something called denial. It's repressed memories. You don't want to remember these things because it is depressing. So what they decide to do is create their own reality and hang banners that say NFC champions in their garage. Well, and you're celebrating another team Super Bowl.
Angry Patriot
Yeah, yeah.
John Holmberg
And I love that they do it because it's just so accepting of, you know, teams that are really good. Don't hang AFC north champion banners when you're really good. That's not the goal.
Angry Patriot
No, you're right out of room fast.
John Holmberg
Can you imagine the Cowboys ever did NFC east champion banners. That place would be mostly banners.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
They don't care about.
Angry Patriot
You know, real quick, Steve on the main event this morning asked me this question. So I, I, I, I won three Super Bowls yeah, I lost two championship games. I lost an AFC championship game in Buffalo and I lost the 94 NFC championship game in Dallas. And he asked, well, which one hurt more? I'm like, you know, I never really thought about that. And I'm like, you know, probably the buffalo one. Because number one, we've been horrible.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
Through most of the 80s. Yeah. And then we get to this and Cincinnati went on a nine minute drive in the fourth quarter. We never saw the ball again. We're down one score.
John Holmberg
You're on the sidelines.
Angry Patriot
On the sideline for nine minutes and they didn't score.
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Angry Patriot
They started their five, they ended up
John Holmberg
at their five and nine football minutes. Is 30 real minutes?
Angry Patriot
Yes. And in Dallas, we'd won two Super Bowls. We probably look back at the loss to San Francisco. One of our proudest moments because we were down 21 nothing before you got your popcorn and we came back and made a game of it. But it's when you talk about. I'm trying to look at a player's perspective. The Cardinals, that game, I guarantee you the players remember because Harrison wanted to get tackled. He was looking to go down. He was looking to go down.
John Holmberg
There's two great moments from that play too. It's just that Coach Tomlin did a cut up two nights earlier of in the practices. The Steelers weren't running back interceptions in practice. They were kind of just loafing around and nobody's blocking and a guy would run out of bounds and you did a cut up of like you guys, you guys had like seven picks in practice and not one of you ran the ball back right. And I want to see you blocking. If you go back and watch that interception, the blocking from the Steelers on that thing was unbelievable.
Dale Hellstray
I think didn't time run out? So if they just tackled them, it
Angry Patriot
would have been over.
John Holmberg
Oh, yeah. It's huge. Isn't it great?
Dale Hellstray
And like I said, I never think about it, but when I think about it, it's annoying. That's why this might be the first
Angry Patriot
time I thought about it. Larry Fitzgerald not catch him. He's running to the sideline.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah.
John Holmberg
Cheating the whole way.
Dale Hellstray
It's true.
John Holmberg
And he still got him on the one. And it was like A half a foot from James Nugget. It was the. It's the greatest defensive play ever. But that's the best part. And you know who doesn't have those moments? The Bills, the Browns and the Cardinals.
Dale Hellstray
Well, you.
John Holmberg
Tennessee is probably a fourth I'd throw.
Dale Hellstray
You talk about Tomlin with the cutout. So. So you're saying the Steelers listen to him. But when Jonathan Gannon did the cutout, about that. Stop, don't drop the ball before you get in the end zone. The week before, what's his name did
John Holmberg
it for the Cardinal third string running back.
Dale Hellstray
I guess that's the difference between a guy that coached 17 years and decided to.
John Holmberg
That's culture.
Dale Hellstray
Retire. And a guy who's.
John Holmberg
Yeah, that's culture. Yeah. I looked at it and I see the Cardinal schedule and I look at this and I'm like, you know what? They're not. They're years away. Literally years away. And I don't see it changing. I don't see it changing at all. You can get a good coach in here that'll sit back and go, I'm doing the best I can. But until you fix that franchise, my God. And then the NFL just giving them
Angry Patriot
the schedule, that schedule on top of that, and real quick. And then you can go, you got a longer memory than I do. But the Cardinals have tried to address it. They had number one overall pick. They take Colin Murray. They had the top 10 picks. They take Rosen the year before, you know, and it's like so much. And you know this now in Pittsburgh, unless you get a quarterback you miss,
John Holmberg
it's a five year miss. Yes, at least.
Angry Patriot
And you can be, if you got a great organization, a good defense, you can be just a little before below 500 or a little bit above 910 wins or 7, 8 wins. But unless you have a quarterback who's a difference maker, really doesn't matter.
John Holmberg
Not at all. No, I agree. Staying on football a little bit here. I'm watching scooch it over to the ncaa. Brendan Sorsby, we talked a little bit about that last week, but he is becoming my hero. I have in every iteration of the ncaa, despised the ncaa. You especially have to hate it because they took away SMU's everything for what everyone else was doing. The hypocrisy is the one thing they can't change. They can change the playoff structure. They can change from the old bull system to the BCS to whatever they have now to this whole thing. And now the NIL comes in, they allow all the Gambling money to come through, and one of their guys starts to gamble and they crash down on it. Meanwhile, they're running ads about while they're accepting all this gambling money that it's a mental health disorder. You gotta stand behind anybody who does this. The second they have a guy, it was like, maybe I do have all that. And I love that he leaned in and said, you know what? Your words, not mine, to mental health disorder. You should back me up. And he's now suing the NCAA basically for hypocrisy, which isn't against the law.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
But for making up the rules and moving the goalposts on them as they go. And I love every second of it. There's nothing the NCAA has ever done that has fixed the problem of the hypocrisy before when they didn't pay players and they said, golly gosh darn, it's all about the education these kids play for the love of the game. We'll break them and we'll throw them away, and it won't matter.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
They just throw away anybody that breaks their stupid rules. You go back to Reggie Bush, Pryor at Ohio State, and Jim Trestle, and all these people have lost their jobs and lost their reputations based on the NCAA going, oh, you gave away gold pins. You're fired for good.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
It is unbelievable how bad this is. And the Sorsby kid might be the one that finally breaks that because it's advertisers he's basically siding with, and that's huge.
Angry Patriot
It'll be fascinating because I think the NCAA is famous for putting a band aid on it. Yeah. Like, okay, there's a lot of cheating going on. College football go back to the 80s. It's. It's rampant.
John Holmberg
Yep.
Angry Patriot
Well, let's pick one school. Let's make an example of them. They chose smu. It seems like they try and put a band aid every five, six years or something new that comes on. And now they have no idea what's going on with NIL and the transfer portal. It's all made up and all that stuff. And they're just trying to catch up to it as they're going along.
John Holmberg
But they're taking money for. In the past, all the cheating and stuff was based on loopholes to the rules that they'd created. Then after that, the bcs, which was the most crooked business in the history of business, it wasn't part of the ncaa. You don't even realize it. BCS was its own entity, like the Federal Reserve Bank. It's very true to get you going, but that was a complete catastrophe of corruption. But it was self made. Now they're accepting tons of advertising to DraftKings Caesar's FanDuel. And they've got a kid on there that will make DraftKings FanDuel. And Caesar's very nervous. If he's like, oh, you invited the gamblers in and now look what happened. Now you've got a sick kid. You did this. And they can't punish themselves out of this. They can't punish Texas Tech. They can't punish him. Because everything they're doing is like, you should do this. You should do this. You should do this. But do it responsibly because otherwise you've got a mental disorder. He's playing them like a fiddle. And he might be the first one that. And they did it to themselves. Again. This is advertising dollars. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars for the NCAA with gambling. Advertisement.
Angry Patriot
Oh, yeah.
John Holmberg
Never before has it been a sponsor. That has been the problem. Brendan Sorsby might be the one that changes that whole thing. And then to what it's gonna be.
Angry Patriot
It's gonna be fascinating because I know he's filed a lawsuit.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
Wants to do it quickly because one way or another, he has to make a decision here in about the next month. Yeah.
John Holmberg
To go to the supplemental draft.
Angry Patriot
Whether they're gonna have a supplemental draft or he's gonna be eligible to play this year.
John Holmberg
I'm giving up my first round pick to get this. This magnificent bastard in my locker room. He is. He's a great player. First of all, he's a top 10 pick. If he plays the way people think, he's a really good quarterback. In a good quarterback draft. If he goes supplemental.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
Do it.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
Make the run at Sourcebee. This kid's got all the tools. He's good and he's smart because.
Dale Hellstray
And he's a good.
Angry Patriot
Better.
John Holmberg
And you know what? He's not discreet, but he's good. Look, he didn't have to be. They said, hey, look, all over the stadium. I've always marveled.
Dale Hellstray
No, I think as players, players knew you can't gamble on game. You definitely can't gamble on your own team, of course.
John Holmberg
But they invited the gamblers to the party and then act shocked that the gamblers talked to a few of their guys. For the last 60 years. These. These guys, these boosters, they can come to the parties, but don't let them talk to the kids. And next thing you know, Eric Dickerson's got a Rolls Royce going to practice. Half the team's got Trans Ams. Either way, it was like, where'd you get that? My mom.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
They found ways around it.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
They always will. The gamblers are no different than the boosters. They're guys who come in and go, oh, yeah, we'll get you in on this.
Angry Patriot
More than disappointed because you know the easiest way to fix the game.
John Holmberg
Long snapper. Yes. Your people have been avoiding the Italians. Never talked to you.
Angry Patriot
It's like you're talking to the wrong people. Yeah.
John Holmberg
Do you take a chance on Sorsby if you're a supplemental. Let's say the Cardinals, for instance. They're probably going to have a really high draft pick, so it would be dumb for them to drop that for their one or two. Probably goes out the door for. You have to give that up.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
But Cardinals did it once before and ended up with Kelly Stauffer.
Angry Patriot
Yeah. Well, the Cowboys or Tim Rosenblack. I think it was Rosenbaugh.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
The Cowboys did it with. Took Ackeman number one in the regular supplemental and then they took Steve Walsh number one in the supplemental draft.
Dale Hellstray
I'm sorry, something just popped up and I just got a question. This guy's brain. Rashid Rice or the chief's wide receiver, is going to serve 30 days in jail for testing positive for marijuana because.
Angry Patriot
Probation.
Dale Hellstray
He's on probation for the big. He didn't. He. Wasn't he driving like 150 miles an hour and they got in an accident. Yes.
John Holmberg
He's used to that. Yes.
Dale Hellstray
But you can't. You can't put down the. The piece. Pipe for.
John Holmberg
I've never understood for, for, for whenever, however long. It's not that great a high. It's okay at best. So I've never understood a dude.
Angry Patriot
There were guys on the Cowboys that knew when the drug testing was coming and they knew how many days they had to be clean.
John Holmberg
They learned in the NCAA how to get around all that because that's what they taught him in college football. We don't need all this. And Laramie Tunsil put that. That gas mask on and changed.
Angry Patriot
Now he's one of the best tackles.
John Holmberg
It's just. I just love the hypocrisy. I love when the NCAA takes one in the shorts. And I think this kid's going to get him. Now if he does make the decision to move on, it won't matter. And I think that'll be his lawyer saying, all right, we're going to get into a mess here. They're going to fight back. So let's just get you in the NFL. But if I'm an NFL team, if I'm the Steelers and I'm looking at that, why not?
Angry Patriot
Because I. Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
Why don't you draft another guy that you don't know?
John Holmberg
Well, no, because you're going to be worth a crap. You're probably not going to be a top 15. No, I'm going to be 10 and seven again. Picking 18 to 27.
Dale Hellstray
Can I. Can I remind you Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round. I'm just saying.
Angry Patriot
Was Tommy DeVito. You know what?
Dale Hellstray
He was drafted, I think third round.
John Holmberg
I love that argument because I can name if I wanted to just go through 460 quarterbacks over the last 20 years have been drafting the fifth and sixth rounds that didn't do anything.
Angry Patriot
Yeah, yeah. Brady and Pie. I mean, you know the name Purdy,
Dale Hellstray
the last pick of the draft.
John Holmberg
Right.
Dale Hellstray
No, I'm going to go on yap like you normally. Yeah.
John Holmberg
Terrell. I'm going to Terrell Davis. We get it. Tom Brady and Brock Purdy are the three outliers in hundreds of guys picked in the sixth round.
Angry Patriot
Especially at the quarterback.
John Holmberg
And very rarely do they amount to even backup stats.
Dale Hellstray
Right.
John Holmberg
Very rarely. Everybody uses that argument with the Steelers Will Howard 5th round, 6 round picks like Tom Brady was. He's not everybody's. You can't keep using that as the argument for why your six round quarterback might be the best ever and you screwed it up as Brock Purdy by being good again and like oh no. Now everybody thinks they can steal one. That is a. That is the luckiest you can possibly be.
Angry Patriot
Yes, you're.
John Holmberg
That just tells me your scouts were wrong. All scouts wrong. NFL scouts drafted Achilles Smith first.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
They don't always get it right.
Angry Patriot
No.
John Holmberg
Dante Culpepper or not Dante Culpepper. Who's the dude with the Raiders? Demarcus Russell.
Angry Patriot
Oh yeah.
John Holmberg
Or jamarcus.
Angry Patriot
Yeah. Brian Lee Leaf was a.
Dale Hellstray
What round was Dak Prescott draft third or fourth.
Angry Patriot
Okay.
John Holmberg
Well no, you can. You can find one or two.
Angry Patriot
That's how you're building your franchise. But we're gonna take our franchise quarterback in the sixth round.
John Holmberg
Arguing the outlier as your point is an ignorance argument.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
How dare you.
John Holmberg
I'm just saying it's a fool's errand to go. There's been one good one.
Dale Hellstray
Well, because I'll tell you this. And, and as a player I realize if you're a number one draft pick, you're Going to get all the chances in the world to succeed. Even if. And if you're like a third or fourth or fifth round pick, you got about like one day to prove yourself when you get the opportunity. And so of course, first round draft picks are going to look better in the course of time because they're going to get chance after chance after chance and eventually, God, you've got to succeed sometime.
John Holmberg
Sometimes, though, you get in there too early. Carson back and your first round draft pick, Josh Rose, and he wasn't very good to begin with. Kenny Pickett, you go down the list of these first round guys that didn't make it.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah, yeah, first round guys.
John Holmberg
Right. Because they got thrown.
Dale Hellstray
You never know if the third or fourth rounders would have been better because they're not getting the opportunity.
John Holmberg
It's probably better to. To kind of make your argument better since you're doing a terrible job, is to say third, fourth, fifth, sixth round quarterbacks have it easier going into the league because they're not going to play the first couple of years.
Angry Patriot
And you can impress during practice and during the week.
John Holmberg
Yeah, they can put it out there and go, this kid might have something.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
And we're not going to throw him to the wolves. You draft him in the first round, he might not be ready. He's going in, right.
Dale Hellstray
Kirk Cousins, what was his.
John Holmberg
I wouldn't want Kirk Cousins on my team at all. He's a fantasy footballer.
Dale Hellstray
He's only played, what, 15 years in
John Holmberg
the NFL, but he's a fantasy football quarterback and that's all hindsight, so I won't say that. But again, Kirk Cousins was. Nobody's like, this is a guarantee. He sat there for a couple of years like, this kid might have something. But if he was a first rounder, Kirk Cousins would have been dead in the water the first year. He's not ready. Too many guys, they'll do it. Mark my words. Right now, what is it, 1225 on May 19th. Carson Beck will be terrible if he plays too many games this year. He's not ready. He's not ready. He's a year away. But let him run a lap around the track before you shove him in the race.
Dale Hellstray
I'll disagree just because I don't know if I believe this, but I don't believe anything you say. So if you think it's true, then I'm pretty sure I'm comfortable going the opposite way. And that is. He has had so many college starts.
Angry Patriot
I was going to say he has
Dale Hellstray
more experience than, than a number of
John Holmberg
guys better to let him sit then to say, you have so much experience now I'm going to let you sit and watch this game and see how practice works in the NFL. See how the coaches work. Get acclimated to your new city instead of, ah, you've played enough. Get in there. You pro like guys who Jacoby, Brissette, Gardner, Minchu played for years and all
Dale Hellstray
the snaps in practice in high school, in college, everything he's done. And you know what? Hey, you might just have to watch more.
John Holmberg
I'm going to go to Dale on this. Get out of here. I heard from everybody who played pro football, every single person I've talked to that's played pro football said that the difference between college and high school isn't anywhere near what college and the pros is. It's almost the same. Like you don't feel it's, it's harder. Yeah, but it's not like, oh, this is a different game. College to the pros is a different.
Angry Patriot
Even in college at smu, I probably had half the schedule of guys that were really good that I played against. We played Rice, we played North Texas, we played, you know, teams that, that didn't have the guy. You go to the NFL. That's why I always laugh when people go, oh, whoever. Who won the national championship this year?
John Holmberg
Indiana. Oh, they can be, they could be.
Angry Patriot
They could beat the worst team in the NFL. No, they can't.
John Holmberg
They have nine guys in the field that won't sniff the NFL.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
And that's an Indiana team that's going to get about eight guys drafted when all said and done. Yeah, it's a ridiculous argument, but yeah, I, it's, it's to put him in there and do this to quarterbacks and things like that. It is ridiculous. But football is, you know what, it's a year round sport and it's great even with hockey going on. And again there's the Vegas Golden Knights sitting there staring at Colorado. That's going to be a great series. All Colorado win it and then Carolina and the Canadians. So you got one Canadian team fighting real hard to keep this thing alive.
Dale Hellstray
I can't see the Canadians having any success.
John Holmberg
I think the Sabres would have had a.
Dale Hellstray
Whatsoever, oh 100% I thought for sure.
John Holmberg
But they cannot.
Dale Hellstray
Younger, bigger, faster, stronger team.
John Holmberg
Carolina.
Angry Patriot
But now the thing is that you always, I think you have to keep an eye on. Just like last night in basketball. I know we'll get into that. Oklahoma City had a week off and maybe a little rust, maybe not Hitting on all cylinders. Sga, the MVP struggles so. And I hear in baseball and hockey, the rest can throw you off more than in basketball. And so Caroline's been sitting there for what, a long time? Ten days.
John Holmberg
Yeah. And you gotta, you know, you're not messing around with some chump. It's just you're supposed to beat him. You look at the Vegas Knights. Is that the most successful new franchise in the history of sports?
Dale Hellstray
Yes.
John Holmberg
They're going. It's no question at this.
Dale Hellstray
Yes.
John Holmberg
Right. They're. What are they in there? Their fourth conference championship and it's unreal. They're a seven year old team or something like that. I don't even know. Six, seven, eight years.
Angry Patriot
They've already won a Stanley Cup.
John Holmberg
They've been to two of them. They've won one and they're in their fourth. I mean they're, it's insane. You know, they're doing this again and they've rebuilt.
Dale Hellstray
Once I talked to my wife about it, that, you know, they're, they're close to us now that we don't have a team. It should be the team you, you adopt.
John Holmberg
It's fun. Have you been to a game? You know what though?
Dale Hellstray
I, I can't get behind them. Why not? I. I don't know. I have no idea. Well. Well, I'll tell you, I too British.
John Holmberg
Is it the Knights that bother you? It's the outfit.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah. I'm not a big British fan. They don't remind me of the British.
John Holmberg
Okay.
Dale Hellstray
I don't know.
John Holmberg
The Golden Knights. So maybe it's too much gold. Makes you think of Elon Musk. Makes you think of the enemy. You go down, you go to too many rabbit holes. They just should call in the Vegas chemtrails and get it off your, off your desk.
Dale Hellstray
The golden showers.
John Holmberg
Oh, there's one. That's one. Trump's or not. The fun thing about hockey, which I love, is that it's going to come down to these two series and hopefully the ratings are huge because they did get what they needed. Which are really fun teams that are left as the final four. I mean this is, this isn't a goof. And that's what hockey always ends up with.
Dale Hellstray
Buffalo would have been a better time. And you know what? So would Anaheim. A young side of team that, I mean they're scoring, they're. They're scoring or giving up six goals a game.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
But the NBA had the opposite problem until game one of the Western Conference finals, which was the best game of the year. Basketball, that was a phenomenal game. Now the referees and the NBA's rules tried as hard as they could to make it impossible for fans to like it by reviewing nine different plays and trying to get it right. And I loved that the, the ref would go, this isn't a flagrant one. It would have been all year.
Dale Hellstray
There was. Was it the late call and, and believe it or not, I probably watched more basketball. Look at you last night that I watched all year. But the play where Holmgren kick kicked the ball out when him and Wemby were going after ball. I saw it for like a split second. I go, oh, that's.
John Holmberg
Yeah, it was easy to see.
Dale Hellstray
That's. How long did it take to.
John Holmberg
Way too long.
Dale Hellstray
And then the, the one about the. They were going to call a bigger foul. The flag on, on SGA when he smacked. And then I swear I, I think I, I went to the bathroom, came
John Holmberg
back and still reviewing.
Dale Hellstray
What do they do? What. I mean, how hard is this? He. He didn't say anything? No, it was barely a hit.
John Holmberg
I always look at the NBA and like.
Dale Hellstray
So when I was, when I was, when I finally watch it and finally got the. I was thinking, are they trying to drag this out and get more commercial time sold it?
John Holmberg
Yeah, maybe.
Dale Hellstray
I don't know because no, the game goes longer. That's overtime. Game goes longer. Those, those overtime.
John Holmberg
Yeah, the spots, they're not free. No, no, no, no. They're actually like. They're not free throw in.
Dale Hellstray
They try to drag this out and get more commercials in there and make more money.
John Holmberg
It's not a bad idea. But if you got overtime, let's drag it out.
Dale Hellstray
Of course Satan wants to screw, but fans over.
John Holmberg
Well, the fans are getting screwed over by an awful lot of things. Here's one thing about the wnba. I'm tired of that. I just can't deal with the WWNB or the NBA. I called it WMA because it feels okay sometimes. All these dudes that talk about growing up in the mean streets, all these guys are like they had the roughest childhoods. Yeah. I mean it's absolutely like they had to fight their way to survival.
Angry Patriot
Survive.
John Holmberg
And you get through and he gets smacked in the face and they lay on the ground. It's a great thing they didn't take up boxing because not a one of them can take a slap. There was an open hand slap to a man who's 66255 across the nose. And he laid on the ground for 21 seconds holding his face.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
It Was an accident. Maybe it hurt a little. You keep your feet. I don't understand. They've got to stop talking about how tough.
Angry Patriot
Well, I promise you. And maybe I said it on this program. I said, on other programs. I talked with Bryce Drew, the Grand Canyon University head coach, and I did ask him one interview. I said, do you guys have a fake foul period in practice? And he laughed. And he didn't say, no, you have to. The way these guys shoot threes and kick their feet up and try and draw contact. And like you said, the acting part the way. And I heard somebody say this other night on one of the broadcasts, the way that you curtail this is that if a guy hurls himself backwards on minimal contact.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
Give him a technical, he gets a whistle, too. Yes. Yeah, I agree with that. Technical foul.
John Holmberg
I agree with that, too. I mean, Chet Holmgren had one they reviewed last night where he was holding his eye like it got torn out of the socket. And even in the review, he's like, was an accidental brush across the chin. Like, he watched the review. And there's Chet still holding his eye. I'm like, we just saw that. We all saw. Nobody hit you in the eye. If they did, it was a glancing blow at best. Have you not seen the MMA Ronda Rousey in 17 seconds, and she stood up better than these guys do to getting bumped. There was a fan who caught a guy diving in. It didn't go back 15ft and slide up the stairs. It's ridiculous. They've got it. I'm with you. I think there needs to be a technical foul or some sort of warning.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
Next Tech or next time you do that, you're tapped out of this thing. Yeah. But that said, still the best basketball game I watch. Victor Wembanyama is sick. What, 7 4, £240. And he's probably two years away from being about 265. He's not done.
Angry Patriot
No.
John Holmberg
Chad Holmgren is 7 1. 213. He's all done. I'm watching that last night. And like you've said, Dale, on this show, if you're in the Western Conference, this mountain to climb is not only Oklahoma City, but this team that's probably two years ahead of schedule that might just find themselves in the finals accidentally. Because they even said at the interview last night, it's like, how did you guys keep your composure and know how to win this playoff game against a team like that on the road? They're like, I don't know. It's our first time.
Angry Patriot
Ignorance is bliss.
John Holmberg
Sometimes what they're doing is making it up as they go.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
And growing up in front of us and this team is horrifying. If women get your licks in now because this dude adds 20 pounds and turns into answer compose shot a logo
Angry Patriot
three in rhythm unreal at a very important part of the game.
John Holmberg
Stupidest shot in the world when he I'm like, you're an idiot. Once the ball went there, I'm like, you're an idiot. Went in and I'm like, I'm an idiot. It was unreal. And then some of the plays down the stretch between sga Now I think the one thing after watching that the only analysis of the game I have that I'm like, oh, maybe that was it. Throwing Jalen Williams back in the starting lineup seemed to kind of screw up the Oklahoma City start because the guys that Mitchell and even Holmgren, I think they had one shot, not even one make one shot between them going into the middle of the second quarter.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
Because the flow was off Jalen and played for a month. Right?
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John Holmberg
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John Holmberg
Start your free trial today. He gets it. But then they started to kind of come together in the third as they do and that team's just I don't see this is a seven game series. What I watched last night. Oh, this is a seven game series. And I don't think Oklahoma City. I also think a little bit that Wemby looked at that, you know, as a bit of a smack in the Face when they did the MVP announcements and Wendy's like, I'll show you who's the MVP.
Angry Patriot
100. Well, so many things. Again, Oklahoma City sitting on, sitting on the sidelines for a little over a week.
John Holmberg
Yep.
Angry Patriot
And San Antonio having to play another game or two after, after Oklahoma City sat down. I think you in San Antonio now they're starting point guard.
John Holmberg
No, that's the big thing. Fox didn't play.
Angry Patriot
Yeah. And but Wemby, the, the athleticism that he had. He's spin move.
John Holmberg
Oh, 41, 24. Last. Yes. I mean, the rebounding over Chad Holmgren. Yes. The second best defensive player in basketball and a great rebounder.
Angry Patriot
It's. It's crazy. And you're right. Well, when you. If you're another Western Conference team. Yeah. When's our turn? Look, maybe 20, 30.
John Holmberg
And you got to make some moves. And I don't know that anybody's coming out of the draft that's, you know, maybe Cooper flag down there in Dallas is a guy who steps up. They have a terrible roster around him. So their years out. This is a. This is amazing. Now, who do you think is the catalyst for each team going forward after watching that game last night? Like somebody has to step up outside of sga. Who came around at the end of that thing and started playing. I love watching him play basketball. And who for the Spurs. Who do you think is the Spurs? Besides Wemby aside. Has to be the guy. Wemby's going to get you his. I mean, they proved that last night.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
Wemby's not going to be stopped. 41, 24 is probably an exaggerated overtime too. But still, who do you have in the Spurs?
Angry Patriot
Well, I think if I'm looking at San Antonio, the Castle kid, he's amazing and I think he's going to play bigger and bigger roles. Now, again, I think you throw away game two, Oklahoma City. I told Steve, Oklahoma City wins double digits. I think so too, in game two because they're coming out angry. And you go, hey, if you're San Antonio, you go, we go to Oklahoma City if we can get one.
John Holmberg
Yeah, that's true.
Angry Patriot
And we got it.
John Holmberg
But they're too dumb to go. Why can't we get two?
Angry Patriot
Well, that's such a ridiculous argument. I still remember we went to our first super bowl when we were going to San Francisco to play them in NC Champ. Dallas is too young. They're two years ahead of schedule. They're this. We didn't know any better.
John Holmberg
What's that? We're Here.
Dale Hellstray
Yes.
John Holmberg
Yeah, we're the drunk.
Angry Patriot
We might as well win this damn thing.
John Holmberg
Exactly.
Angry Patriot
And we didn't even think about, oh, we're young.
John Holmberg
No.
Angry Patriot
You know.
John Holmberg
Yeah, there's. There's something about that San Antonio team that if I'm Oklahoma City, I thought the playoffs would reveal who each team was and where they were.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
Because everybody's like, san Antonio beat him four to five times a regular season. Yeah, that won't happen in the playoffs. San Antonio just said, we don't know.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
We don't care. We're playing tonight and that's the most dangerous animal in the world. They don't care about tomorrow and they're not thinking about now.
Angry Patriot
Santos starting a port guard is another point of interest to me. Do they play him in game two because they said it was just a one game thing or since you won the game, do you give them three or four more days rest?
John Holmberg
Man. Does it mess up everything Oklahoma City wants to do, just keep that up until an hour before games? Yeah, it changes everything. Because their point guard play was suspect at best. San Antonio was a little messy.
Angry Patriot
Well, that castle guy had 11. 11 turnovers.
John Holmberg
They were a mess at the. They almost had 2 or 310 second, like they couldn't get the ball over in a good way.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
Fox comes back and everything's different. Chet Holmgren is the one that I was going to say for. Oklahoma City has absolutely got to be a factor. He can't sit back and be 13 and 8. He has to be a guy who actually participates in clutch moments. Caruso did it last year. And watching that for every bald white guy that plays basketball in his backyard, Caruso's a hero, that dude. If it wasn't for him, they looked
Dale Hellstray
you just like him because he looks like you.
John Holmberg
He doesn't look like me. We're not. We all don't look alike. I put the headband on, I could get away with it for a minute.
Dale Hellstray
I bet you could.
Angry Patriot
Here's example number A about why no white guy should ever wear a headband.
John Holmberg
The headband thing is so weird. It just looks like a bad, like, bottle cap. The crazy part for that is, though, it made me think of Bruce Bowen, Robert Ori, all these guys that would, you know, back in the. Vinnie Johnson for the Pistons, all these dudes that are like these, they called Vinnie the Microwave Instant offense. These guys that come off the bench. All championship teams have one of those guys. Yeah, I don't know that the spurs do, but I don't know the spurs well. Enough. I don't think they know.
Angry Patriot
I can tell you I watched more spurs basketball last night than I did all year.
John Holmberg
Yeah, well, you watched. You got a good amount of it.
Angry Patriot
Yes.
John Holmberg
Recorder. Yes. Yeah, it's all right.
Dale Hellstray
So I'm, I'm with you guys. I think Oklahoma City wins.
John Holmberg
I think I'd take 10 or 11 points on that one.
Dale Hellstray
So I either you can either pick it -6 and a half or if you pick them just to win the game, they're minus 250. You got to put up 250 to win 100.
John Holmberg
Matt.
Dale Hellstray
It's really a high. Odd.
Angry Patriot
Yeah, no, I think they're going to cover. I already did.
John Holmberg
I'm with you. I think I go. Yeah, I'm with you on that one. And then in the, in the east, good matchup. The Knicks are on fire. Their offense is strangely as good as it gets right now and they're not letting off. And then James Harden, who didn't show up in game seven, but got bailed out by the rest of the team, is in another championship. Championship. Like he's in a. He's winning.
Angry Patriot
Well, let me tell you about the Knicks, which is fascinating. I did watch a little bit of them.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
They changed Carl Anthony Towns as a rule.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
And he's not like a point center.
John Holmberg
He was begging for it.
Angry Patriot
Yeah. And he's perfect for that because he can hit the 15, 16, 17 foot jump shot, but when he has the ball in his hands now Brunson is free to roam around.
John Holmberg
Brunson's a monster.
Angry Patriot
And cat can pass a basketball.
John Holmberg
Yeah. He is the real deal if you put him in the right position. I think they had him like playing traditional center forward before and it was a little off because he'd be standing in the wrong spot looking for threes and the, the new role. What the Knicks have done in the playoffs since that Atlanta game, they won by 100.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
They haven't let off the gas and they haven't let that plan go. And it's working. I don't think Cleveland has a chance.
Dale Hellstray
I know it's been like this for a number of years, east, first West. But how come I just feel watching the spurs and Oklahoma City is the champ.
John Holmberg
That's the championship. Although the Knicks.
Dale Hellstray
When's the last time you, you feared a Eastern?
John Holmberg
Last year, Indiana gave Oklahoma City all they could.
Dale Hellstray
That was. When did you fear them, though?
John Holmberg
Game one. Really? Yeah. When Halliburton was out team was. That was. That was a series like you didn't realize how Good. They were.
Dale Hellstray
No. That. Well, obviously, because everyone in the media, never. No one. No one said. Thought Indiana would get there. Zero.
Angry Patriot
So you're one of the seven people that watched last year's.
John Holmberg
It was a tough one to sit through, but I did. There were good games, but Indiana was playing until. Until the. The. You know.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
So how many games does the East Eastern Conference champion win in the finals?
John Holmberg
Oh, man.
Dale Hellstray
Tell you right now, two. Really?
Angry Patriot
Yeah, I think.
John Holmberg
I think if it's the Knicks, if it's going under that. No, because you get. You got good size and physical play. I think two. Both those two.
Dale Hellstray
I think I'm going to be able to bet that. And again, if you said two hours,
John Holmberg
you think it's a full sweep, you don't even think they have a chance backdoor?
Dale Hellstray
No, but I. I don't know if they'll moon more than one.
John Holmberg
Yeah, I'd say two. We'll get into the others real quick. You wanted to talk about the PGA championship and Rory McElroy. PGA Championship was actually really entertaining until the final round. Well, that guy went nuts.
Dale Hellstray
Aaron Rye, the back nine. There was zero.
John Holmberg
Nobody could do anything.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah, it was like.
Angry Patriot
Except for Rye.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah. And. And you weren't expecting it. Sort of like he did what?
John Holmberg
Again, it would have been fun to have everybody stay stagnant because they were all at 6 and 7 under. 7 under was like, oh, my God.
Angry Patriot
Well, they had, like, 18 people within a stroke or two of the lead.
John Holmberg
And then when Rye hit that gigantic birdie putt on what?
Angry Patriot
17.
Dale Hellstray
17.
John Holmberg
It was like, oh, okay, that's it. It's over. So over. And then you had to sit and watch the two other groups finish, which was brutal.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
Just. Just to hear the kid talk. But that was. That was pretty impressive. But Rory McElroy, once again, the center of the attention. Rory McElroy.
Angry Patriot
Well, hold on before we get into that. That Garrett Higgo. Yeah.
John Holmberg
Oh.
Angry Patriot
Late to his tee time the first
Dale Hellstray
day, two stroke penalty.
Angry Patriot
And. And guess what he did yesterday.
John Holmberg
He showed a plate again.
Angry Patriot
No, yesterday was Monday. Oh. Fired his caddy.
John Holmberg
Oh.
Angry Patriot
Even though his caddy was screaming at him.
John Holmberg
Is that true?
Angry Patriot
To get to the T. Get to
John Holmberg
the T. I didn't see that. I just saw that he was supposed to be close, and then they went to tape because he said I was there and he wasn't.
Angry Patriot
No.
John Holmberg
And so his caddy was there. Yes, I did see that. So he was saying we were there. Yeah.
Angry Patriot
Fired him. Well, what do you got to do?
John Holmberg
Handcuff the dude, maybe the caddy at the end was like, you're an idiot. I don't want to work for you. No.
Dale Hellstray
Or, you know, those. These guys are so touchy that if. If he heard the caddy say, well, I tried to get him there and he wasn't listening.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
And he's pointing fingers at.
John Holmberg
He'll boot you might. Employee. That's insubordinates. But let's talk about Rory for a second because Rory decided to start yelling at fans again. Real convenient time he did it too, is after a drive that went into the. That hay that they're hitting out of in Philadelphia. I don't know how you. Dave, you played a lot of golf hitting out of that thick, uncut grass that was ankle high, at least. And these guys are doing all they can. You watch a pro hit out of that. And Rory McElroy basically missed the first one and stayed in the rough. I mean, hit it as well as you can hit it, but it wasn't going anywhere. And then the next one in the rough, he tries to just, you know, feather one over the end. It goes right into the bunker. And right as it does, the dude that's been following around all. All day shouts something and he turns and he goes, shut the F up. And then a USA chant started. Reminder of the Ryder cup that caused all the trouble. I loved it. I loved that the fan did it. I love that. I love that Rory showed mental weakness because that's what that was.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah, you can't. You can't. You can't yell at fans. It's just the.
John Holmberg
Just walk away.
Dale Hellstray
You. You know, in. In this. In my short little career in the Miners, we'd go to ops and towns and, you know, visiting towns and people yelling at. This day, as soon as you start put. Putting your head up in the stands,
John Holmberg
it's gonna get worse. Yeah, it's gonna get worse. Did you see Pete Crow Armstrong of the Cubs? Yes. Ugly. He started yelling at some lady in the white side. What? And just calling them horrible names. And the league's like, all right, everything's on tape, Pete, she might have been awful. Just walk away. There's a fence.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
But same thing with Rory. The guy was getting under skin. Now I'm. I'm about tired of everybody screaming what they think is hilarious after each drive. It's just annoying. And maybe there should be something to the idea of not everything's the Phoenix Open, so keep it down.
Angry Patriot
But you're in Philly.
John Holmberg
Yeah, in Philly. You're going to get yelling.
Angry Patriot
It's 14 miles outside of Philly. I know. And it's a nice golf course and all that, but Philly can make the trip. Yeah.
John Holmberg
It's. It's Philadelphia. It's not a fun.
Angry Patriot
Got to get yourself mentally prepared.
John Holmberg
Yeah. So I watched it. Did you agree with Rory yelling at the guy, or was it time to wander off? Because it was after a bad shot. He tolerated that dude all day, and then he duffed one into the sand. And that was right when Rory was at what, 4, 5. Agree.
Dale Hellstray
You can't say anything bad. But, but the fact that if, you know, during the Ryder cup and everything's, you know, pro USA and against Europe and whatever, I think it should be let alone after that. I mean, and I am no Rory McElroy fan.
John Holmberg
No.
Dale Hellstray
0. But. But, you know, I mean, keep, you know, USA chance and, and, and hope.
John Holmberg
That was just a complete. Like, we've gotten you before. And Philly, of all places, like, we know what gets in your head.
Angry Patriot
They remember again, what's interesting, because you said about turning. Acknowledging the crowd we're in. We're playing the jets, my, My rookie year. Yeah. In Buffalo. And one guy's name is Mark Tranowitz, and I'm hella stray defense on the field. We're standing on the sidelines and people start, yeah, Cat come making fun of our names.
John Holmberg
Plenty to do there.
Angry Patriot
And I just. I kept my eyes straightforward. And Mark turned around.
John Holmberg
Don't look.
Angry Patriot
And now you got the whole section.
John Holmberg
Yep. You look. You stared the eye. The Eye of Sauron. It's going to just erupt with. Yeah, it's. Ignore it.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
Fans are allowed to do one thing, and that's shout.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
And if it gets out of hand, walk away. I mean, DK Metcalf punched a guy last year. It was the stupidest thing I've ever seen. There's barriers in place. There's friends that are there. Rory McElroy doesn't have that. Golf doesn't have that. And it does probably get pretty annoying. It's a frustrating game. It's you against you. You can sit and look at the scoreboard all day, but it's up to you to get on that board and move it. Nobody's standing in front of you. Nobody's pushing you around. It's just you against you. So when a guy's in your head and you just duffed one in the sand, I love that. I don't like when dudes overdo it, but that was a moment to me because it's like, all right, you're weak. We gotcha. And it was the end of his tournament. He was not going to win after that shot, and he knew it. And I think that was the moment Rory knew. I can't catch him now, so I'm playing for second. That's the other thing. That kid from. Was it Germany? Was it?
Dale Hellstray
No, he's English.
John Holmberg
No, no. Who's the German guy?
Dale Hellstray
Oh, Schmidt.
John Holmberg
Was he in second? Who came in second? I think he did, and he hit that putt at the end.
Angry Patriot
I think him and Rahm tied for second.
Dale Hellstray
And. No, I think it was Smally.
John Holmberg
Smally Smalley. That was a $35,000 putt. Is that it? Yeah, that was a smaller one because they had to split with the twos. If he'd have gone by himself, it would have been like 600 grand.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
It's crazy when you think about those 18 people.
Angry Patriot
When I talk about pace of play, her guys talking or backing off a shot because a gust of wind comes up, it's the three of us knuckleheads out there. Yeah. We're getting on each other. Hit the damn ball. But when you're talking about. That could be a $500,000 shot.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Angry Patriot
Or putt.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
Ah, well, my feeling. Hey, taking more time over shot doesn't mean you're gonna hit a better shot.
John Holmberg
No, but it is. It is the idea that it's like each shot means so much.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah.
John Holmberg
They all swing means. Especially when you're talking about third and fourth place, which fans have quit on it. We don't care. But those last two foursomes that came are.
Dale Hellstray
Oh, no, no, I cared. I made a bunch of bets on top 20, and thank God, I. I bet the guy. Who. His name was Pug or Pugh. Whatever. Yeah, Puig.
John Holmberg
Puig.
Dale Hellstray
Yeah. I bet him top 20. Fantastic. He finished top 20 because he was tied with about 100 other guys at 20th.
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
It's crazy.
Angry Patriot
Well, that. And then not only is it the money that week, but now a bunch of people get qualified for more tournaments and things like that.
John Holmberg
It's huge. Those last putts that people just kind of go, hurry up. Get it over with. Those were monsters. And I. And I may have gotten the number wrong because I remember reading that or hearing that right off the bat, but if two other guys tied or if one other guy dropped out of there, and I don't remember how many were tied for that position, it changed literally half a million dollars. Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
Well, I've got bets going in. I had Shoffley top 10. And I didn't know where he was because they never showing him.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
And he's, he's sitting at three under, I think. And I'm going. Is he going to birdie? He's going to bogey. What? I, I'm, I'm, I'm more that he, he birdied the last hole. Thank God he's in the top 10 and. Great.
John Holmberg
I'll lose. You got your money? That's.
Angry Patriot
You bet your $10. You're worried about it.
John Holmberg
Yes.
Angry Patriot
And he's spotting for half a million dollars. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
John Holmberg
The last thing, and I want to kind of take Dave's thunder before it's five Minutes with Madman is Mark Fuhrman died. He was the main, like, reason OJ. He was the OJ's get out of jail free card guy back in the 90s. Did you know? I just found this out and I've got to look deeper into this. That there was a referee that made a bad call in a game. It was, it was basically admitted that was a bad call. That put the Bills, and I forget the other team flip flopped their pick and kind of changed the course of history that OJ went to Buffalo instead of somewhere else because of where that one bad call in the last game of the season before I got to look into more of it. But I read a little bit about that this morning. The serendipity of all that occurred with the O.J. simpson case was because that would be a great movie if the referee in the game is like, I made a bad call. The draft order changed. OJ goes here rather than Miami. I don't remember if that's the team or not.
Angry Patriot
Right.
John Holmberg
They go somewhere else. Never meets Nicole.
Dale Hellstray
No.
John Holmberg
Never has any of this, like, it's like a sneeze changed the universe. Isn't that crazy? Did you ever meet OJ in Buffalo? Was he hanging around the team?
Angry Patriot
He wasn't.
John Holmberg
Never was up there.
Angry Patriot
He was doing some games for NBC,
John Holmberg
but never legend status. Wandering around the stadium doing no see, that would have been great. So tip of the cap to that conspiracy that, you know, it was all supposed to happen, but Mark Furman passed away and OJ got out of that because it changed the whole trial. Pretty amazing. My name's John Holberg. 98 KUPD. Phoenix, Arizona. That's stale. Hell astray. The main event he hosts with Steve McCollum. Now we're gonna leave you with five minutes with a Madman. Here he is, the Angry Patriot. Go.
Dale Hellstray
I don't know if I Need five minutes. But the show we did today was on data centers. They're going in everywhere. I mean, and the whole point of the show Real Matrix is to question kind of everything. We've been lied to about everything. So why are they pushing data centers? I hear that. We've got to keep up with. We can't let China.
Angry Patriot
Right.
Dale Hellstray
I mean, I showed information today where we have like 4,000 data centers. China has 300. What are we worried about China?
John Holmberg
The new data centers, the ones that have 6,000 giant engines, whatever.
Dale Hellstray
I mean, we got 4,000. And one of the things we showed is they're. They're planning a. How big was it? 48, 400 acres. I don't even. It's just massive. Yes. Oh, the, the data center that they're planning in Utah will take up double the amount of energy that the whole state is. Is using right now. The whole state is using half of what they will need.
John Holmberg
Yeah. And that's on top of the thing they've got for storage center in Utah that's bigger than any building that would stand straight up and down. It's under the ground.
Dale Hellstray
So. So the question is, is this just so that I can look back and have a copy of my text or I can have photos in the cloud before these data centers because they're all popping up. I mean, huge the last couple of years. What did we do before this? I mean, it's our need going growing exponentially every second.
John Holmberg
It's not our need. I don't think. It's the tracking need.
Dale Hellstray
Correct.
John Holmberg
That's where you're going to go with this. Keeping an eye on every keystroke you ever make.
Dale Hellstray
Correct.
John Holmberg
You know, the data center in Utah not only keeps track of what you did text, but what you erased.
Dale Hellstray
Oh, I'm sure.
John Holmberg
So if you ever go to court and they go to a data center or an AT&T thing, you can write. I'm gonna kill you, Dale. I better not say that. It's in there.
Dale Hellstray
Sure.
John Holmberg
Everything you do on your phone is recorded and kept through that center. So that massive storage facility and how
Angry Patriot
does that help us?
John Holmberg
It doesn't. Right. It only helps safety.
Dale Hellstray
And so, and, and these data centers will be using up. Weren't we worried about like climate change and how that's all gone now? Forget that. And it's using tremendous amounts of water.
John Holmberg
Yeah.
Dale Hellstray
That cannot be cleaned up after using
John Holmberg
planet Earth loaded with that.
Dale Hellstray
Okay, we're good. Okay. So. But, but again, we've been told how. Oh, we have to conserve our water. We have to, we have to conserve our energy. And now we're going to be using boatloads of it. And everyone's like were we talking about conservation?
Angry Patriot
I can tell you one other thing that came out of that. Pulte is going into business with one of these people.
Dale Hellstray
They're gonna put their plan to.
Angry Patriot
They're planning to put a mini data center on your. On these new houses.
John Holmberg
Oh, inside the house and boom somewhere. Smart house, right? Yeah.
Angry Patriot
On the side of the house. And it can. It will take the energy you don't use. Unused energy, the little bits of energy you don't use and send it to the big data center.
John Holmberg
Really?
Angry Patriot
Yeah.
John Holmberg
Well there you go. See, this is why I don't listen. I'm just gonna, I'm gonna go wander around. I don't blame you. Have a nap or order an Arby's.
Dale Hellstray
We need to be aware of this and hold our boobs accountable that are. That are making these decisions.
John Holmberg
That's what I'm gonna do. When I say take my pants off, take a nap. I'm going to still hold boobs accountable and not think about anything you're saying. The real matrix, you can check it out anywhere.
Angry Patriot
You get on Rumble Rumble.
Dale Hellstray
It's actually on podcast on Apple.
John Holmberg
I don't know the other day.
Dale Hellstray
I don't even know where it's found it cuz I don't really care. I just do them and I'm done. I. I don't necessarily. I don't necessarily want everyone to be.
John Holmberg
You just get it off your making
Dale Hellstray
a big deal out of this. Because I don't want to be. I don't. Yeah. I don't want to be a target for Palantir and always say his name. Right. Thank you.
John Holmberg
Something else.
Dale Hellstray
Good night.
John Holmberg
I'm John. We're done.
Dale Hellstray
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In this lively episode, John Holmberg, Dale Hellestrae, and Dave "Angry Patriot" Nash dig deep into the ongoing misery of the Arizona Cardinals, discuss the hard-luck sports towns of America, analyze current developments in college sports and the hypocrisy of the NCAA, and take a look at the NBA Playoffs, NHL semifinals, the recent PGA Championship, and conspiracy-laced worries about data centers. Throughout, the hosts mix local flavor, irreverent banter, and sharp insider commentary on all things sports.
[02:33 – 14:24]
Hopeless Before Summer:
The hosts marvel at how the Arizona Cardinals manage to kill their fanbase’s hopes as soon as the schedule is released. "Already making a mess of the 2026 season… a franchise so miserable that they can take May and already make you feel like the season is hopeless and over." – John Holmberg [02:33]
Toughest NFL Schedule:
Discussion on the Cardinals having the toughest schedule in the league, forced to face dominant NFC West teams and strong AFC East squads. "That's six games of your 17 that are against 36 wins last year." – Holmberg [04:21]
"The Cardinals are the toughest division in the NFL by far." – Angry Patriot [03:54]
Vegas Lines and No Favoritism:
The crew points out Vegas has the Cardinals as underdogs in every single game, some by double digits. "The Cardinals are not favored in one game." – Holmberg [05:12]
"Not only not favored, John, that's crazy. But double-digit underdogs in at least a handful of them." – Angry Patriot [05:19]
Quarterback Conundrum – Brissett, Minshew, and Beck:
Analysis of Jacoby Brissett’s contract and possible cut before the season; discussion of guaranteed money for vested veterans, and how the Cardinals, historically, maneuver to avoid paying incentives.
"[Jacoby Brissett] recognizes...they won't pay me if they don't have to. And I'm only guaranteed a million and a half dollars." – Holmberg [07:43]
"I would give him, if I believe he's going to be my starting quarterback...at least $12 million next year." – Angry Patriot [07:57]
Brissett vs. Minshew – A Cardinal Mess:
"The Cardinals can't make Minshew and Brissett work." – Holmberg [13:35]
"They've guaranteed more money to Gardner Minshew, who they've said is the backup, than they have to Jacoby Brissett, who they said is their starter. Is there anything more Cardinals than that?" – Angry Patriot [12:45-12:59]
"If there's any...it all, to me, all came down to this one thing...The Cardinal on his shirt's going one way. The Cardinal on their banner behind him is going the other way. That's the Cardinal."
– Angry Patriot [13:13]
[14:24 – 24:57]
Buffalo's Eternal Pain:
Sympathy for Buffalo fans with repeated heartbreaks and the relentless winter. "[Buffalo fans] have to be the most hard luck fans in all sports." – Holmberg [15:04]
Phoenix & 'The Valley Can’t Have Nice...':
Dave Nash lays down his moniker that Phoenix is doomed by near-misses, especially with the Suns:
"The Valley can't have nice." – Angry Patriot [15:22]
Fan Distraction vs. Rust Belt Agony:
"When the Cardinals are bad...we climb Camelback Mountain...Buffalo, they've seen Niagara Falls. The Bills lose. That’s it." – Holmberg [17:23, 17:46]
"Does it...Detroit—there was nothing to do. You follow teams. There’s nothing to do in Buffalo." – Hellestrae [20:04]
Super Bowl Sadness – The Cardinals' Big Swing:
Reflecting on the Cardinals’ Super Bowl heartbreak.
"Then, the greatest defensive play in Super Bowl history. Harrison runs it back...That is a 14-point swing...and no one talks about it." – Hellestrae [20:37–21:11]
Cardinals Culture & Banner-Worthy Moments:
Joking about Phoenix fans celebrating division championships: "When you're really good, that's not the goal." – Holmberg [21:53]
[26:23 – 34:38]
Brendan Sorsby Lawsuit & NCAA Contradictions:
The hosts highlight Sorsby’s suit against the NCAA for their double-standard on gambling:
"He’s now suing the NCAA basically for hypocrisy, which isn't against the law..." – Holmberg [27:30]
"They can change the playoff structure...but the hypocrisy is the one thing they can’t change." – Holmberg [27:29]
"The NCAA is famous for putting a Band-Aid on it." – Angry Patriot [28:22]
Gambling Influence and Laxity:
"Never before has it been a sponsor [gambling] that has been the problem. Brendan Sorsby might be the one that changes that whole thing." – Holmberg [30:04]
[34:00 – 38:13]
Sixth-Round Quarterback Myth-Busting:
Debating NFL teams' hope of hitting the jackpot with late-round QBs.
"That is the luckiest you can possibly be." – Holmberg on drafting another Tom Brady or Brock Purdy [35:01]
First-Round Pitfalls – College vs. Pro Transition:
"If you're a number one draft pick, you're going to get all the chances in the world to succeed. If you're like a third or fourth or fifth round pick, you got about one day to prove yourself." – Hellestrae [35:43]
"College to the pros is a different [world]." – Angry Patriot [38:42]
[39:42 – 54:29]
Game 1 Review – Oklahoma City vs. San Antonio:
“The best basketball game I watched. Victor Wembanyama is sick…7’4”, 240lb. He’s not done.” – Holmberg [45:54]
Youth Movement & Teams Ahead of Schedule:
"Sometimes what they're doing is making it up as they go. And growing up in front of us and this team is horrifying. If you're another Western Conference team, get your licks in now." – Holmberg [46:48]
Coaching Tactics, Rotations & Player Flopping:
On NBA acting: "Do you guys have a fake foul period in practice?" – Angry Patriot [44:26]
Calls for technicals against floppers and commentary on how today's NBA differs from legends’ toughness.
Eastern Conference & Championship Odds:
Knicks’ and Cavs’ chances discussed. "How many games does the Eastern Conference champion win in the finals? ...I think two." – Holmberg/Helstrae [56:06]
[56:34 – 63:12]
Final Day Drama & Small Details with Big Money:
"[That putt] was a $35,000 putt. If he'd have gone by himself, it would have been like 600 grand." – Holmberg [62:29]
Rory McIlroy vs. Hecklers:
The guys dissect Rory’s mental state after shouting at a fan, calling it a “moment of weakness.”
"You can't yell at fans. It's just...walk away." – Hellestrae [59:09]
[66:15 – End]
Big Data Centers & Privacy Paranoia:
Dave rants about data-center sprawl and its environmental impact, worried about energy, water, and privacy:
"So the question is, is this just so that I can look back and have a copy of my text or I can have photos in the cloud before these data centers? ...It's not our need. I don't think. It's the tracking need." – Holmberg [68:05]
Smart Houses and Energy Use:
Nash shares concerns about new residential ‘mini’ data-centers tied to homebuilders, siphoning unused home energy.
"They're planning to put a mini data center on these new houses." – Angry Patriot [69:28]
“If there's anything more Cardinals than that, I don't think there's anything more Cardinal-descriptive.”
– John Holmberg [13:01]
“The Valley can't have nice.”
– Angry Patriot [15:22]
"Sometimes what they're doing is making it up as they go. And growing up in front of us and this team is horrifying."
– John Holmberg, on San Antonio Spurs [46:48]
“You can't yell at fans. Just walk away.”
– Dale Hellestrae, on Rory McIlroy [59:09]
“We need to be aware of this and hold our boobs accountable that are making these decisions.”
– Dale Hellestrae, on data centers [69:59] (Malapropism for "boobs" instead of "boobs"‘bureaucrats’ is part of the show’s humor.)
The show mixes local-fan pessimism with wry humor and sharp, sometimes jaded, sports analysis. There’s a radio-vibe with plenty of inside jokes, self-deprecation, and nostalgia, along with reflective moments from Dale’s playing days in the NFL. The banter flows rapidly and is full of sarcasm, especially regarding the persistent woes of Arizona sports.
Even if you missed the episode, the panel’s blend of brutal honesty (Arizona’s sports ineptitude), nostalgia (painful fans and playoff heartbreaks), and keen analysis (NBA rookies, NFL contracts, NCAA contradictions) gives you the essential flavor and content. Every segment brings new irreverence—whether breaking down Vegas odds for a hopeless Cardinals season, laughing about technical fouls for NBA floppers, or grilling the NCAA’s latest hypocrisy. The “Madman” closer, as always, injects a dash of conspiracy and big-picture worry to wrap things up.
If you want the essence of Arizona fandom, the love/hate of sports, and brutally honest takes, this episode is a near-perfect capsule.