Two For The Win - S2.78 - Finally, The Final.. Finals.

Something feels off about sports right now, and it isn’t just the scoreboards. We start by paying respect to Larry Fitzgerald Sr and legendary coach Rick Adelman, then move straight into the heavier reality behind the highlights: BJ Penn’s ongoing mental health situation, the court ruling that he’s fit to stand trial, and why families often carry the biggest burden when a public figure unravels. We also talk CTE and loss, and why “check on your people” is advice that matters long after a calendar month ends. 

Then we hit the action across the leagues with a true June sports roundup. We break down the Stanley Cup Final matchup and that Game 1 swing, roll into MLB with Jacob Misiorowski’s ridiculous run for the Brewers, Aaron Judge dealing with a painful bone bruise, and a trend that needs to stop immediately: gambling-fueled threats aimed at players and their families after a bad outing. From there it’s viral baseball chaos with a Canseco-style misplay, plus the Mariners’ streak, a quick standings check, and a reminder that Shohei Ohtani is still a once-in-a-lifetime show. 

On the NBA side, we react to Steph Curry’s massive shoe deal and the league’s new anti-tanking lottery rules, plus the frustration of trying to find games in the streaming era. The playoff talk gets real with the Spurs sending OKC home and setting up a Knicks vs Spurs Finals that feels like a time warp. We close with NFL headline whiplash: Russell Wilson preparing for a CBS commentary role, Brandon Aiyuk’s speeding warrant and the “don’t post evidence” lesson, Caleb Williams landing the Madden cover, OBJ returning to the Giants, AJ Brown heading to the Patriots, and the stunner of the week, Miles Garrett to the Rams, which kicks off a no-nonsense debate about loyalty in the modern NFL. 

If you like smart sports talk that doesn’t ignore the messy parts, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review with the take you most disagree with.

Transcript

Summer Kickoff And Show Setup

SPEAKER_03 0:08

June 3rd, 2026. Welcome back everybody and thank you for joining us once again. I'm Brian with an eye, and I'm Mike. And we are. Two of the Wham Mike is officially summertime. What are we grilling out tonight?

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Hey, all I know is finally, finally, we're in. We are in the final and finals in two sports. Baseball is doing its thing, has a little bit of controversy and some highlights we gotta talk about, or maybe lowlights. And NFL. It may be summertime. But they are heating up. They got some news and we gotta talk about it.

SPEAKER_03 0:46

But you know what? There's there's always something to talk about when it comes to the NFL, because you know, I feel like there's always something to talk about in sports in general, but the NFL is one of one in its own, okay?

Sponsors And Local Event Shoutouts

SPEAKER_03 0:59

But before we get rolling, uh, let me say take a minute to say thank you to our sponsors and partners. Body by D Gym, located in Yorktown and Gloucester. Uh, Deshaun Wright's a former bodybuilding champion and training future bodybuilding champions of their own right, as well as many other community and youth-based uh-oriented uh activities and events happening out of those gyms. Very uh very committing what they're doing up there with that business, as well as our good friends Caden and Christian, the uh young basketball players who also own Solace Outfitters. Uh and our friends uh over at Mid-Atlantic Territory Wrestling, who, by the way, have their annual uh primetime event, Scars and Stripes, coming up on June 13th, which will be recorded live from Body by D Gym. Uh, and you can catch that on the Right Now TV Network or on YouTube, and uh special one for this one coming. The Geordie Bulldogs ride one last time before they part ways. This could be a very special event for them, and uh I highly uh recommend making it. And our good friends over at Poor Vita and Brian Max Morrison, uh they're playing Elevation 27 June 27th. I know Elevation 27th, June 27th. That's tongue twister, right, Mike? That evening, along with uh Vallette, Bear Crossing, and I think one or two other bands. So that would be a good show as well. Make sure you go make sure you guys don't miss it. Uh Mike, are we ready to dive in, sir?

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Yes, yes, we are.

Remembering Larry Fitzgerald Sr.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

But uh we're starting starting today with a little bit of a down note. I know it kind of seems like a trend, but we cannot pass up these times to mention folks who meant something in the world of sports who pass away. Um, in this case, uh we're I guess uh how would you say it? Just, you know, kind of sucks. I mean, best way to say it, but uh unfortunately, uh Larry Fitzgerald Sr., uh a very popular Minnesota sports writer, has passed away. Uh you may recognize the name. He is the father of Larry Fitzgerald, the former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver. Uh so you if you didn't know when Larry Fitzgerald was just a just a young lad. Just a young lad. He was actually a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings back when they had like Randy Moss and Chris Carter, and you know, they had that amazing team that was just, you know, airing out the ball. Like he was he was on the sidelines, you know, getting getting the footballs out to the field and back from the players. And you know, so uh and I'm I'm sure his father being a sports writer in Minnesota helped facilitate that to happen and probably helped elevate Larry Fitzgerald's love of the game. So um unfortunately the Fitzgerald family is has heavy hearts and but bidding farewell to their father.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Absolutely. He will surely be missed. Um I know we have a couple, you know, notable people who've passed away coming up once again here in the next couple seconds, but uh our thoughts and prayers uh go out to all of them, as well as their families, their communities. Uh you will all sorely be missed, uh, not just in your industry, but in your families uh and in the communities in which you hail from as well. So uh our thought, our our our hearts are heavy for you all.

Rick Adelman Legacy And Perspective

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Yes, and with that said, uh we're also we have lost a Hall of Fame basketball coach in Rick Edelman or Edelman. Edelman. Edelman.

SPEAKER_03 4:40

I think some people say Edelman, some people say Edelman, Edelman.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

It just Well, the point of the matter is he has passed away at the age of 79. Uh he uh he had won 1,042 games in his NBA coaching career, uh, that is spanning over you know, coaching a number of different teams between the Portland Trailblazers, who he took to the NBA finals twice, and uh he also coached with Sacramento, Houston, Minnesota, and Golden State. You know, each each they you know did did very well with those those respective teams. And uh his son is actually the coach of the the Nuggets right now. So I mean coaching coaching runs in the family, so I'm sure his his family is just like the Fitzgeralds, you know, feeling heavy hearts right now and just mourning the loss of their their father, who also in his own right was an NBA player from from uh 1969 to 1975. Uh so as a point guard playing in the league, but unfortunately has has passed away.

SPEAKER_03 5:56

Terrible news.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

I know. I hate having to open the show like this, but I don't want to just pass over the state. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:03

I think it's it's it's important to pay our respects to as as many of them that we can follow and that we can keep up with. Um, but you know, because they are notable figures, uh, especially uh having a place in history in the industry they excelled at. So I think it's important to uh give these folks one good send-off, you know, at least from our perspective here.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

And by the way, he was tenth all time on the list of victories, so that's yeah that's saying something. Yeah, it's pretty significant. Yeah, really is. Um, so moving right along, uh, we're gonna move over into some UFC

BJ Penn Fitness To Stand Trial

SPEAKER_02 6:43

news. And this this kind of uh hits home for me because I was a fan of this fighter. Uh BJ Penn, uh a judge has ruled that he is mentally fit to stand trial. Um, and for those of you that don't know, he has had my apologies, has had a restraining order against him uh from his own family. His his mother um does not want him to be involved or be around um the family uh because he's going through some some stuff mentally. Um it's it's not really a good look because uh they think that he's suffering from uh it's called capgrass syndrome. I think that's how you say it. I'm gonna say it. Capgrass. Cap capgrass or capgrass? I don't know. Anyway. Capgrass. So basically what's going on with BJ Penn is he thinks that his family is been replaced with impostors, that these aren't actually his family members, and he's been really aggressive with them, and you know, has even called the police to investigate claims that his family has been, you know, replaced with impostors, and it's not not a good state of affairs. I mean, BJ Penn towards the end of his career lost seven straight fights between 2011 to uh 2019. So he didn't really have a great stretch run down the end, and he's not really having a great run as it goes right now with his family and this is it's not quite the same, but it's eerily similar what happened with Benoit.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

You remember Chris Benoit?

SPEAKER_02 8:30

I remember that was Chris Moore. Chris Ben Raw definitely had a lot of stuff going on, probably stemming from you know having taken so many blows to the head, but he wasn't even he wasn't even doing mixed martial arts, he was just wrestling. So now you add the factor of actually being a you know ultimate fighter, you know, mixed martial arts fighter. And I mean BJ was a good one. He really was a really good fighter for a long time. And uh, you know, he he won titles. I mean, he was during his heyday, I mean, he won the the lightweight championship and the welterweight championship and had some really stellar matchups um with uh George St. Pierre. Those two fought a few times, and it was I loved watching their fights. It was just so so evenly matched for the two of them, just good styles. I mean I mean he he has his own gym out in Hawaii. I actually saw it when I was out there. I drove past it, I was like, oh, we gotta pull over, I gotta get a picture. You know, but I wish I wish that he would get help if there is help to be had. Yeah. And I hope that you know these things kind of calm down.

SPEAKER_03 9:50

You know. Yeah, it's it's sad to see uh people going through this and seeing their families having to deal with it as well on the flip side.

CTE, Suicide, And Checking In

SPEAKER_02 10:00

You know, this also brings up something that I forgot to add to the agenda that uh Claude Lemieux passed away by suicide not too long ago. And after he had he had carried in uh I think it was a flag or a torch, he was he was part of the opening ceremony for for the Canadians when they were playing playing the curr the hurricanes most recently, and uh a few days later passed away at the age of 60 at his own hand, but his family donated his his brain to be studied for CTE. Yeah, yeah, I recall that, yeah. Because he was a he was an enforcer, like he was a guy, he was the guy that you know people would if you brought him up to opposing teams, they'd be like, Yeah, that guy's a jerk. Like he's the he's the agitator. And even even such when they they mentioned him and did like a little bio thing of him and talked about him, he did like he was the constant agitator. You know, he was that guy that comes in and just pisses off the superstar of the other team. You know, but he was you know, he played for a number of different teams, one uh one a Stanley Cup or two, and you know, was a good player, you know. But he was the goon, the guy that you know roughs people up and gets roughed up. So yeah, I mean, understandably why he would get his his brain analyzed, which is probably what's gonna happen with BJ Penn later.

SPEAKER_03 11:23

Probably, and and uh, you know, hopefully, you know, in in the name of good research and honest research, of course. Uh, but you know, mental health awareness is not just a month, it's all the time. So remember that, everybody. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

Check on your friends, check on your co-workers. Hey, you'd never know how powerful just a text being like, hey, was thinking about you, how you doing, can do for somebody.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

Yeah, everybody is going through something, and uh a lot of people do not have either the confidence or do not know how to bring themselves back from the depths of where they're at. So sometimes people need help. Yeah. And sometimes they don't even know how to get it, you know? Yeah, sometimes people really don't know where to start. So that's what I was saying. Like, check on your people all the time. Smile at people, be nice. Hey, how you doing? Stop being an asshole. We got enough of those in this world. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

Anyway, uh, let's move on in to hockey.

Stanley Cup Final Game One Takeaways

SPEAKER_02 12:25

And we finally hockey, we finally have our final matchup. That's an odd thing. Because the the NHL, they call their championship series, they call it the Stanley Cup final. The final NBA calls it the NBA finals.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

So either way, it's a test you cannot study for.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Hey. Look, all I know is we finally got our two teams, the Hurricanes pulled it off, got through the East, and they are in the championship game against the Golden Knights, and they actually squared off Tuesday night. And what a game. I mean, this game was just man. Okay, so Hurricanes got out to an early lead, and the Golden Knights coach, he basically pulled those guys over and just started just screaming at them like I'm sure some four-letter words and like get it together kind of speech going on. And they fought back, they tied this, you know, in the sec in the second period, it was 3-3. You know, they literally found a way to win in this game. They came back and won this after being down to win the game five to four. And just like that just shows the toughness in your team when you can be down in a game one and go, No, we're gonna win this. We gotta win this. So they come out, take game one, and 65% of the time the team that wins game one in the NHL final winds up winning the whole thing.

SPEAKER_03 14:03

That's a good stat. Pay attention to that for your parlays. I know I will be. But I don't even gamble on hockey, but I gamble on the championship. Hey. Absolutely. And just if you're not comfortable losing it and never seeing again, don't don't gamble it.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

And uh, you know, it's the same thing with loaning money too. Don't loan money you ain't afraid to lose. Exactly. You know, if somebody don't pay you back.

SPEAKER_03 14:40

Look, this is how it is with with m with friends, right? For me, friends and family, right? If somebody asks me for money, right, if it's somebody that I'm gonna give them money, whether they're asking to borrow it, I'm just gonna give it to you. If you pay me back, great, but when I hand you that money, I already have let go of it in my mind. It's gone. It's I have already let go of it. I did a good deed, and if you pay it back, I love you even more. Okay. Brian's like, it's gone. It's gone. Watching it walk away in my friend's pocket.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Anyway, so John Lil Corner hanging out waving at me. So jumping over in into baseball.

Brewers Pitching Surge And Fresh Starts

SPEAKER_02 15:22

What a month for Jacob Mesorowski. So Jacob Mesorowski, who we've mentioned a few times on this show, yes, he he pitches for for the Milwaukee Brewers. And if you haven't been paying attention to this guy, you really should.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Yeah, he's brewing something.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

So for the month of May, this dude put up a 0.23 ERA for the month of May. The month of May. That means people weren't even getting points really when he was pitching. So that's what you want in an ace. That's what you want for the guy that you throw out there to lead the office series. That's what you want. You want to pitch just like that. And look, guys, we already said this guy in one of his last starts put up what was it, 57 pitches that were over triple digits. So he's he's a flamethrower. You gotta see this through a pitch. Rocket arm! But you can't just look at him and not take a take a note from the rest of the staff and see how things are going with the rest of the staff. Because he's not doing it alone. Milwaukee's playing great this year. They're looking at making a push for the playoffs, and sometimes a change of scenery does everybody world of good. Yeah, I mean, we've seen it across numerous sports. Well, in this case, it's in baseball and it's with the Brewers. The Brewers somehow find a way, even though they let people go, like they let Freddie Peralta leave, you know, he was traded away, and they're still kicking along. They sit there with Mesorowski as their lead lead horse now, but they have a situation where they have a pretty good little thing going with Kyle Harrison. Harrison. Kyle Harrison, who hasn't really had the greatest of goes. Like, so for instance, he was 9-9 with a 4.39 ERA over the past three seasons between the Giants and the Red Sox. It's not great numbers. That was not looking so great. And he bounced around for being a starter and a reliever. But Brewer said, we'll take a chance on this guy, we'll bring him in. Well, it's paid off because he right now, as it stands in the season, he has seven wins, one loss, and has an ERA of 1.57.

SPEAKER_03 17:57

Man, they must be the pitching whisperers or something.

SPEAKER_02 18:01

Bro, this is this is like getting the change of scenery and not just that, but getting an organization that believes in you and can help mold you, that's what they're getting. You know, they they get a guy that they see something in and they say, Look, we don't care what you did there. We care about what you're gonna do here. And they get this out of them. You know, like when you can find a guy and turn him into the guy, look, he's not even their ace. We just got done talking about their ace. Yeah, he's putting up ace-like numbers.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

Yeah, that's that's very good for him. It's always nice when you see these players go and it's almost like the game clicks differently when they get out of the shithole they were in, right? Like, not to say every situation is a bad situation, but sometimes a change of scenery. Sometimes you gotta go through growing pains and have take your lumps and take some learning and be like, all right, let me get out of this organization, get out of this city, get my head right, reflect on what happened here. And when you get a fresh start, a lot of times everything clicks differently than it did where you were at.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Well, this can be applied to life too. Sometimes you're in a job, and that job is just like wearing you down, and you're just not happy, and it's like, you know, I come in, I'm busting my butt, I'm seeing these other guys get promoted. I'm not getting promoted, even though I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and I'm doing more than they're doing. Story of my life. But it's like sometimes a change of scenery changes the whole dynamic. And I've had this happen in my own life where a change of scenery and everything gets better. You know, sometimes we don't know that we're in a funk until we go, man, I'm glad I left that.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side, in fact, golden. Well, maybe not golden. That means the grass would be dead. It's like like searching. Yeah, we don't want it.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

Seared grass, we want to get sun, green like go. Green. But what's not green right now, it's more probably more like uh uh blue and black. It would be uh what's going on with Judge? Judge has a Aaron, he has a uh deep bone bruise that he's dealing with, and it's kind of nagging. Now he has it on his ribs, but it's causing additional pain in his shoulder, kind of a nagging pain. And he's going to see a specialist to try to see if they can deal with this a little bit. And for those of you who have never had a bone bruise, you might be saying, What's a bone bruise? It's a deep bruise. I mean, like darn near on the bone. Like it yeah, it hurts. It is worse than a regular bruise. Yeah, regular bruise, you see it kind of in a few days, it kind of stops being all funky colored and disappears, and it's like, oh okay, I'm good. You may have may have got like a little knot or something.

SPEAKER_03 20:47

Yeah, your typical bruise is more surface and towards the surface of your muscles. Bone bruise is like it's the whole tissue muscle, the whole muscle tissue, like almost down to the bone. That's why they call it a bone bruise. Yeah, and it hurts like hell. It's it's not fun to deal with. It is very painful. And if he's got one in the ribs, just breathing is probably a chore, I imagine. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

I've had crack ribs before, and it ugh. Everything you do hurts. You breathe, it hurts. You lay down, it hurts. You roll over, it hurts. You try to get up, it hurts. Yeah, it's just everything. Jimmy cracked corn, and I don't care. And speaking of hurt, some people got some hurt feelings, man. I swear.

SPEAKER_03 21:31

That's every day, bro. Every day.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

No, but this just kind of lends this kind of lends to our our our gambling talk just a second ago. So right now, uh the Dodgers have a pitcher by the name of Tanner Scott. And it's not even really it involves him, but it doesn't involve him. So Tanner Scott's wife actually received death threats about her and their newborn child. Because of her husband's play. Now, Terrace Scott's a former all-star pitcher, you know, relief pitcher. And he kind of blew a lead the other day, or you know, gave up three runs. I think it was on like Saturday's game, and gave gave the uh a four to three uh loss to the Phillies. So not a great look, but I mean it's kind of part of the job. Relievers are supposed to go in there and stop things from happening and not let people score. But you know, they're receiving death threats because of this, and he's not the first one to have this happen. I mean, there's been other players who've had this happen. Liam Hendricks has had had some things said to him, you know, to name to name another. But, you know, it's kind of a upsetting trend because these people are threatening these families, and even even uh Lance McCullough Jr. of the Astros, he actually had to have authorities identify a source for people that were threatening him and his family, and found out it was traced back to some dude who made a bet, which is probably what's going on in this situation. Somebody probably made a bet, lost, and now they're blaming Tanner Scott for the for the Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:20

I mean, I can't I'm never I'm never gonna get behind, and we've talked about it countless times on the show. I'm never gonna get behind fans that are personally attacking players. Uh we've had player we've had fans attack players about their mothers, about family members, now about theirborn children.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

Trash talk between players is one thing, but threatening people's families is is a total mother. Yeah. And even I like what Tanner's wife said. She was like, when did it stop being a game? This is literally a game. It is, you know, and you know, threatening somebody's family because things didn't go your way. I mean, like, look, I'll get upset over a loss, but give me a day or two and I'm gonna be fine. You know, I'll be a little sensitive about it, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

And I mean, when I inevitably lose all my money in gambling, I'll be mad as hell sometimes. I'll be like, dang, I really thought that he was gonna get that. But I don't get mad at the player, I'd be mad at myself betting on this dumbass player.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:24

Why I'm like, why I bet on your dumb ass?

SPEAKER_02 24:28

It's not like they picked up your phone and placed the bet. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

I place the bet on them. They're the you I blame you for causing me to lose confidence in betting on you.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

But that's about it. You know what this tells me? This means that people are not doing research, they're just placing a bet and going, oh, there's no way I can't lose this. Well, even so.

SPEAKER_03 24:48

And we talked about this earlier. Even so, even when you think you have a good parlay, like sometimes things just don't go your way. Sometimes things just happen, right? Like, oh yeah. Sometimes the other team just does the unthinkable, and that's why it's a game, that's why it's a sport, that's the human factor.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

I literally had a parlay one time where I'd hit all seven of the eight legs, and one of the other legs was Kelsey needed 60 yards in a game, and he had 40 by halftime. Bro, I felt so confident. I'm like, I got this, I'm gonna win.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

Yeah, and then he didn't get a single yard after the after halftime. Bro, he got like 10 yards. Yeah, he got like 10 yards.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

He got like 10 yards and a touchdown. Why? Because they threw it up to him inside the five-yard line. So he did what he had to do, but they weren't finding him until they got to the end zone. It's like, come on. Yeah. Like, I was so mad, but I wasn't mad at them. I was mad at myself because I was like, dang. But you know what? It wasn't even like it was a lot of money. I think I I think it was like a $10 parlay.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

So well. I mean, and I know I talk about it, I probably put a hundred bucks, and when it's gone, it's gone, right? I do it at the beginning of NBA season, I do it at the beginning of NFL season, because those are really the only two times a year where I I sports gamble. But uh, if there's anything left, sometimes I put parlay on the masters, on golf, or even hockey. If I got a few bucks in there, but I don't go out of my way to lose money. All right, it's set in my budget, it's play money. You you can do this with it, and I do, and I do it in small amounts, and when you lose it, you're less mad. You be like, dang, I should have put $500 on that. No, you shouldn't have, because now you will probably be out $500. That's how they get you, man. It's the it's the potential. Yeah, it's all about what you think will happen. That's why people place bets on bad odds. You need to stick in and look, nobody likes to bet. Well, not nobody. Safe gamblers bet in the negatives. You walk know why? Because negative odds are more likely to happen, all right? It requires a bigger town payment and you get less back, but at the end of the day, you make profit generally more often than not. But when you bet in the positive odds, you're gambling really hard. Because yes, the payout is bigger, but that's because they're saying that this outcome is not that likely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

And you know, it does happen. It does happen where the odds swing in that favor, but yeah, you shouldn't be trying to chase it, you know. Like, bet for fun, don't bet for like making money. Like, bet for hey, you know, let me put five bucks on it, or you know, like if you if you gotta pay rent next week, gambling is not for you, bro.

SPEAKER_03 27:50

Okay, don't don't try to make a job out of it, it's not gonna happen. Do it for fun, okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:57

The odds makers don't make it in their favor to lose.

SPEAKER_03 28:00

Yeah, just do it for fun. And if you win money, great. Keep it rolling. If you if you lose it, you know, quit while you're ahead. That's all I got to say. Know your limits.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

So, since we're discussing family and getting off the gambling talk.

DeGrom’s 100th Win Moment

SPEAKER_02 28:16

Oh, family. We're uh we got a little bit of a milestone that happened for Jacob de Grohn. Jacob de Gron is pitching with the Rangers now, who was a long time met, was two times Cy Young Award winner. But at the age of 37, he's finally gotten his 100th win, and it comes on a kind of a special day for him and his family. It was actually his son Nolan's third birthday. And he did this in a Rangers uniform. And I gotta wonder, you know, being that his son is Nolan, if that might be a little nod to Nolan Ryan. Maybe, might be, could be, but kind of a cool thing for him and his family. Get his 100th win.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

So yeah, congratulations to him. And only at the age of 37, he has a lot of baseball left to play.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

Well, I don't know. He's not quite the pitcher he once was, but he's still he has flashes of still being pretty dang good. So, bro, I gotta show you this play. This happened the other day with with Joe Adele. We have talked about this dude. He remember he robbed a bunch of home runs from the Mariners back in the back a few weeks ago. Yeah. And he's had he's had some home runs, he's hit himself. But bro, he did something that I didn't think I would ever see again in my lifetime. He basically pulled a Jose Canseco, and I got I gotta show you this play so you understand what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_03 29:41

Brian's reactions. Here we go.

SPEAKER_02 29:42

Brian's reactions. Brian's reactions. Because I love it. One, two, three, four.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

Stupid commercial. This is an advertisement, this is an advertisement, yes. You can skip the ad. Oh, no, you can't skip the ad. You gotta do the countdown thing.

SPEAKER_02 29:57

Gotta do the countdown thing. It's weird. Give me a sec. All right.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

Or now. Flyball right center from Rumfield. Adele's after it in the gap, and he makes the running catch. Oh, it didn't grab it. The ball actually clanked off of Adele. And I believe it might it bounce over? I don't think so. But it hit Adele and landed on the warning track. Let's see. It clanked, it hit him in the head, and oh no. It'd be a home run. That's definitely a home run. That is a home run almost Kenseco style.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Hit his glove right off the head. And right over the corner.

SPEAKER_03 30:40

I love watching it happen over and over again. He just miffed it. Just he was just a little bit low. If he was up, if his glove had been an inch, maybe less, a little higher, he probably catches that ball.

SPEAKER_02 30:56

Yeah, he's trotting over. He's like he thinks he has it. And I you they even mentioned it mentioned it in the play, but I wanted to show you Kinseco's play from back in the day. So let's let's take a look at Jose Conseco doing the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

Checking the wall on the ball, reaches up. He goes over the top.

SPEAKER_02 32:05

So a complete bozo Misteco there. It goes right over his head and over the wall. Canseco bozo Misteco. So this was back, this was way back when Jose Canseco was playing with the Texas Rangers. But Adele basically did the exact same play in right field, both of them playing right field, where the ball comes in and just caroms off their head and over the wall, giving the batter a home run. So like that's just awful. You know, like you make some amazing plays a few weeks ago where you're robbing home runs, and then you have a ball bounce over the wall off your head, and to add insult to injury, he went 0 for 4 in the game. So, like, just not a good game for him. This is one of those he's like, dang, I don't want to remember that ever.

Joe Adell’s Canseco-Style Misplay

SPEAKER_02 32:53

But from a team that is, you know, or a player that's doing ridiculous stuff to a team that's doing ridiculous stuff, and the Seattle Mariners. Seattle Mariners are an eight-game win streak, and they're doing it with the bats. Like they're power hitting, not to not take anything away from the pitchers, but they are swinging the bat well, and they're getting home runs, and it's working for them.

SPEAKER_03 33:20

Yeah, Ryan, they're not using torpedo bats.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

Well, they might be, I don't know. It's possible. Torpedo bats was last season, man. Ain't nobody worried about no torpedo bats.

SPEAKER_03 33:30

I wanted to see them make their way down to little league. What do you mean, little league? I want to see my son use a torpedo bat.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

Oh, oh, oh. So, with that said, uh what? What you got? Are we about to jump to NBA action? No, we're not jumping anywhere. I'm not done yet. I'm still talking baseball. You all trying to jump ahead and shit? Be like that. No, we're talking about this, which is the fact that the Mariners, uh, there was three run homer the other day, I think it was like May 24th, which brought their tally up to like 21 in their la in their last I think what was it? 21 and the last is it 21 in the last few starts or few games. Anyway, regardless, the point of the matter is I'm trying to read this while we're doing the show, which is a bad recipe every time. But the Mariners rattling off eight in a row, pretty impressive. Not bad.

SPEAKER_03 34:30

And with that said, and they had a pretty strong postseason run last season. Yes, they did. They did, they went deep into the playoffs.

SPEAKER_02 34:38

But let's roll over here and take a look at the standings.

MLB Streaks, Standings, And Ohtani

SPEAKER_03 34:41

Standings! I love to see who's standing and who's not.

SPEAKER_02 34:44

So in the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays are leading that division with a 36 wins and 23 losses.

SPEAKER_03 34:51

I'm eager to see how that absence of Judge affects the Yanks going forward with that.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

Well, they've been playing, they've been playing uh well, they're only a half game out, so that's yeah, doesn't mean that they're not gonna still contend. You know, Judge is not like dumb for the season.

SPEAKER_03 35:10

I would have liked to see the Blue Jays a little higher, but it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 35:13

The uh AL Central, the Cleveland Guardians, with a 35 and 35 wins, 27 losses lead that way, with surprise, surprise, the White Sox right behind them from cellar dwellers a few years ago to second in the division. Yeah. And over in the AL West, the Mariners speaking with their eight game, eight-game streak, they have 33 wins and 30 losses. So they're kind of turning it around. They're standing above 500. That streak pulls them ahead of the Rangers there. Exactly. Doing quite well. And moving over to the NL East, the Braves with 41 losses, first team to 41. Atlanta Breezees and 20 losses on the season. Coming over to the NL Central, there's Milwaukee Brewers we were talking about with 37 wins and 21 losses.

SPEAKER_03 36:05

Nice little lead there.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

And coming over to NL NL West, we have the Los Angeles Dodgers with 39 wins and 22 losses.

SPEAKER_03 36:15

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

So it's looking like Dodgers are doing pretty well despite some stumbles.

SPEAKER_03 36:21

Shohei is balling out right now, man. Oh yeah. Shohei is having a great season. He's he's just absolutely bawling out right now. If you thought he was good last season, he's I feel like he's even better this season.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

I think he's great every season. I mean, just personally. Yeah. I mean, I mean, yeah, you can every season he's kind of good. The guy gets 60 stolen bases one year. He, you know, dominates pitching this year, and you know, he hits home runs all the time.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

I mean, just like just a freak of nature. And what a time to be alive to see a specimen like him playing in the young part of his career. So let's transition over to the NBA.

Steph Curry’s Massive Shoe Deal

SPEAKER_02 37:05

The NBA discuss uh kind of a came out of nowhere signing, man.

SPEAKER_04 37:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:11

Uh Steph Curry. You know, we're we're used to NBA players signing shoe deals, but it's normally like, you know, they signed with Adidas or they signed with Nike or Reebok or, you know, whoever. American companies. Well, as American as it can be, but uh here recently, Steph Curry signed a $400 million contract with a Chinese athletic wear company.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

Lien Leaning. Leaning. Leaning. Leaning. L I dash N I N G. I know L I is Lee. It's not Lie. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 37:56

I'll buy that. So anyway, you know, pretty good, pretty good little payday there for Steph Curry, you know, 400 million. That's not a that's nothing to you know be upset about. And it's a 10-year deal. So for 10 years. I mean, obviously they're probably gonna pay it over time. It's probably 40 million a year over 10 years. But I mean, I would imagine this is probably gonna be show up, do some autographs, and you know, maybe come over and you know, do some shooting drills with some some youth uh players and stuff, you know, whatever they may turn it into, yeah. Could be a pretty cool thing, you know, get free chip trip over to China and meet some fans and hey.

SPEAKER_03 38:37

Can we get $400 million to teach people how to start a podcast? Man, they're gonna want somebody better than us. We'll get a we'll get a head, we'll get a headphone deal where we have our own two for the win custom headphones. I'll have my name signatures, which will be gold, and we have your name signatures, which will be probably shit brown. I don't know. You like that classy shit. Shit brown? Why would it be shit brown? Like a wood grain.

SPEAKER_02 39:04

Why why couldn't it be like a like a metallic red or something?

SPEAKER_03 39:07

I mean or a gunmetal grain. They'll probably let you design your own style. Mine's gonna be all gold. We're gonna be blinged out.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

So basically, Brian likes the the outdated tacky stuff.

SPEAKER_03 39:23

Yeah. Gold. It can be chrome. I'm not a hater. So it's gotta be gold or chrome. If you want glitter, you can have glitter. I like options, okay? This is why I love buffets. I have options there. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 39:45

Hey, you can have your options. I'm not a fan of buffets.

SPEAKER_03 39:49

Look, it's less about buffets and more about us having our own private label, branded headphones, okay? We could do b branded microphones, we could do branded production machines. Sure. Sure. We could do branded pens and pencils. Does anybody use a pencil anymore? That's what I want to know. Sure, I mean, like, if you're mad at somebody, you can pick it up and throw it at them. No, to actually write things.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

Oh, you didn't ask that. I mean, like, you know, you pick up a pencil and throw it. It does it does hurt if it hits you.

SPEAKER_03 40:27

I don't think my son even owns a pencil. He's in third grade. How does he write though?

SPEAKER_02 40:36

I don't think they write. How do they take notes?

SPEAKER_03 40:42

I don't think they take notes. I think that just the computer does everything for them. Or he just remembers things. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 40:50

No, I know that's a lie because he's always asking you, where's my phone?

SPEAKER_03 40:54

Well, yeah, I didn't say he's good at paying attention, but hey, you said m memorize.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

There's no way he memorizes if he don't remember where his phone is.

SPEAKER_03 41:05

Anyway, I digress. Let's get back to talking about it. No, we're way off topic.

SPEAKER_02 41:08

Go ahead and talk about this NBA.

SPEAKER_03 41:10

We hit we hit the uh we hit the rabbit hole pretty hard there. That's what she said. Yeah, we hit a swerve there. So this kind of came out just a few days ago. It's just a quick clip here.

NBA Anti-Tanking Lottery Rule Changes

SPEAKER_03 41:20

Uh so this is the it's really sad that the NBA has to design their rules and lottery around anti-tanking. And I have a feeling the NFL may go down this road to you soon as well, but uh for right now, we'll just pretend the sport is natural. Uh and the NBA has approved uh new anti-tanking draft lottery rules, okay? The lottery expands from 14 to 16 teams. Uh so the bottom three teams received reduced odds for the number one pick. So take that however you will. Uh the new 3-2-1 lottery system begins with 2027 draft. So we won't see this this year. This is gonna be next year. Uh, no team can win with the number one pick in consecutive years. Um, and no team can receive three straight top five picks. Lottery odds are flattened to incentivize winning. So basically they want teams to stop tanking for draft position. Yeah. Okay. We'll see how well this works. I don't know. I mean, they've tried to come up with things before. Okay. So we'll just see how well this world works.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

I I I don't know about this. But you know, they've been making questionable decisions. Decisions. Yeah, I can't, you know, talking's hard. Start a podcast. Words are hard.

SPEAKER_03 42:50

Yeah, I know. Why did we start an audio-only podcast when neither of us can talk for shit? I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 42:57

Bored, I guess. Anyway, uh, so the NBA, despite this anti-tanking thing, they also did that dumb thing where, you know, in order to make a trade, you gotta make the salaries match, and you know, there's like trading is almost impossible now in the NBA. Gotta hand it. And it's it is so dumb because, like, yeah, I get it, you don't want super teams, but like you shouldn't handicap the league so much that you can't even move players whatsoever. Like, certain teams can't even make a trade with another team because, hey, guess what? Nobody on our squad makes any money. Nobody because we all suck, you know. Like, let's just go ahead and make it to where you know the teams that are in the bottom stay in the bottom and can't get out of there. Because that's what that sounds like. It sounds like those teams that just they can't seem to get anywhere. How are they supposed to get anywhere now? You know? Yeah. Uh I don't know. I d I don't like it. I don't know. I I agree. I don't really like it either. And then they make the games impossible to find. Now it used to be you knew the games are gonna be on TNT or ESPN or MTV MBC TNA you're getting off the rails. Anyway, the point of the matter is it used to be pretty known where the games would be. Now that it's like which platform do I have to be on to watch this?

SPEAKER_03 44:23

You understand this is from a time, this this complaint is from a time of conventional cable television, okay?

SPEAKER_02 44:30

No, it it's it's proving that when everybody was like, you know, bitching about cable, everybody's now like, man, you remember days when we had cable and you could just watch the games because they were on?

SPEAKER_03 44:42

You know, like Yeah. Now in the age of streaming, you have to pay for everything that we used to get for free. Welcome to Well, not for free, you still had to pay for cable. Yeah, but it didn't. You could get free cable and still get the games. Oh, you had you had that bootleg box. I gotcha. Alright. Yeah, I yeah, I had an antenna. What was it to you? What's it to you? I had an antenna antenna.

SPEAKER_02 45:06

This dude acting like you you never mind. This is the dude that slipped the the cable guy 100 bucks, was like, yo, let me get every channel.

SPEAKER_03 45:15

Mike, you can't do things like that anymore. There's too much technology now. I wish I could have slipped him a hundred bucks. I would have slipped him 200 bucks.

SPEAKER_02 45:23

Look, it's like how it is with the streaming platforms. They cracked down on sharing passwords because they knew everybody was sharing passwords. Yeah. So stupid. Anyway. I hate I hate the greed of some of these streaming.

SPEAKER_03 45:39

Well, the age of streaming really is showing you just how money hungry the world is.

SPEAKER_02 45:45

Yeah, it costs like a thousand dollars to watch every single NFL game now when you used to be able to get Sunday ticket for like 300 bucks and you had every game.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

Yeah. Like shit. Yeah, and I mean streaming's, you know, they're all like $20 now, so if you get five, that's $100 right off the WAP before you even paid for internet. I know. I know.

SPEAKER_02 46:06

But you know what? We're getting off track, and we haven't even gotten to the spiciness that is playoffs.

Spurs Upset OKC And Finals Preview

SPEAKER_02 46:15

We haven't even hit we haven't even talked about because we already knew the Knicks were in playoff drama in the finals. But we need to see what was gonna happen.

SPEAKER_03 46:25

Are you done? No. Oh, never. We promised we'd never say goodbye.

SPEAKER_02 46:32

I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Anyway, we needed to find out what would happen in the West to find out who the Knicks were gonna play. And yeah, by now you probably already know who it is, but we want to discuss. We want to discuss what happened in game seven between the Spurs and the OKC Oklahoma City Thunder.

SPEAKER_03 46:51

Yeah, let's talk about this uh failure to execute an OKC's part.

SPEAKER_02 46:58

Well, just go ahead and give it away. Anyway, since since Brian already mentioned it, the Spurs came away with the 111 to 103 victory in OKC, and basically they ran it from jump street. Like they did not let it go. They had they had control of this game from start to finish. Yeah, and Wimby even at one point was at five fouls, could have fouled they could have fouled him out, but you know, they stopped attacking for some reason, whatever it was. But I mean, Wimby only came away with 22 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. So it wasn't like it was his best performance of the series, but everybody was contributing. I mean, you had Harper with 12 points, you had uh Castle with 16 points, Vessel with 11 points, Darren Fox with 15 points, and Champigne coming away with 20 points. So like everybody was kind of producing on the Spurs side, yeah. But you come over here and talk about this Oklahoma City Thunder side, and the biggest loser over here Hartenstein.

SPEAKER_03 48:15

No Holmgren, that's right. Set Holmgren, Homegren.

SPEAKER_02 48:18

The guy that they were looking at to be kind of the you know, match Wimby, match his energy, kind of be an enforcer, be the guy, be the guy that we pay we're paying you to be. He came up with only four points and didn't even shoot a shot in the second half. He was shook after Wimby slammed a dunk in his face. Like he looked like a man who is shell-shocked. He did not look like the same player, and even SGA said said after this game, which by the way, SGA got his 35 points, was the only real big score on their team, was trying to keep him in it. But he wasn't even really like, you know, foul baiting in this game. You know, he was he was earning it. You know, like it's just crazy. It's crazy to see this team who we all looked at as probably going to the finals. Like we we've got to be.

SPEAKER_03 49:15

Yeah, I thought they I I mean they're they're a young squad, they're one of the highest scoring teams uh two to three seasons in a row. Uh last year's champ. Just straight, yeah. Last year's champs, just straight up, you know. I don't so I'm not a basketball expert, but I do I am watching these games. Uh the Spurs are so I'm I'm eager to see how they switch their game plan, going from a team like OKC, who's a very high-scoring team, to a team like the Knicks, who's a very strong defense and coming off of what, an eight-game win streak in the playoffs right now? 10-game win streak in the playoffs? Something like that. So very red-hot Knicks defense versus the Spurs. Uh, I mean good to see how they switch up going into the finals here, but with this this match here between them, especially uh talk about OKC and the Spurs rewinding a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 50:15

Yeah, I mean, just you're not you weren't really getting much outside of SGA, and it wasn't even like they shot too poorly. I mean, they were they were shooting from three-point range, they were shooting at a 34% clip, you know. That's pretty decent beyond the arc. But I mean, you just overall, I mean, they had the better, better shooting numbers, but you know, it just didn't work out. I mean, especially from free throw, but it just didn't it didn't come out, it didn't compute. Like guys that were that were coming up big barely did anything. Caruso, only 12 points, Jay Will, 11 points, Dort, three points. I as we said, only four points. I think we're seeing the Bartenstein seven points. Like you you're having three of your starters not even getting double digits.

SPEAKER_03 51:12

Well, I think I think we're seeing the effect of Wimby, a player like Wimby in the center of that, well, with at least when they're on defense, in the center of that defense. Well, this report.

SPEAKER_02 51:25

But this this brings up something that you know, because SGA won MVP over Wimby, and Wimby was the runner-up. Now Wimby won they won this game game seven, but they also gave Wimby the uh Magic Johnson Award, which is basically MVP for the for this series. And you know, so he doesn't get the MVP, but he gets the MVP for the playoff victory to send them to the championship. And if they win the championship, he'll probably get the MVP in the championship if they beat the Knicks. Yeah. And it's just it's it's showing it's showing the heart that this team has in the Spurs because they they were not playing around when they got in this game. They were in dudes' faces, they were chirping at Chet Holmgren the whole game, and like Chet Holmgren did not even look like the same player. Like he looked like a man just in shell shock.

SPEAKER_03 52:32

It it I'm just they gotta figure out what I mean. I'm I'm not gonna call it a collapse. They went a few games back and forth, but I I don't I didn't have the Spurs making it this far in the playoffs. And this is what I'm talking about playoff, playoff basketball, right? All sports are different once you get into the playoffs.

SPEAKER_02 52:52

The Spurs were 62 and 20 this year. Well they had a they were you know coming into it looking like one of the best teams, and and their path, they took on some really good teams in the game. They did.

SPEAKER_03 53:05

Yeah, and I mean, don't get me wrong, I've just never been a big Spurs fan. I'm not trying to talk shit about them, but I I legitimately had OKC pulling this one out. But the Spurs are looking very tough, looking very strong. Oh I'm eager to see what you know what the NBA finals is gonna look like, how they're gonna handle the Knicks.

SPEAKER_02 53:27

Well, this brings up some some really hard questions for OKC in the future because the Spurs, they're all young, they're all gonna be there for a while.

SPEAKER_03 53:36

Yep, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:37

So they're not going anywhere. And if you can't figure out how to defend Wemby, and your answer was Chet Holmgren, which he had a he had a bad showing in game seven and looked like a man who didn't even want it. He had a chance to throw up a three late in the game, and he didn't even take the shot. He was wide open. He just kicked a you know, outlet pass. Let me just kick it off to the next guy. Like he just didn't even bother to take the shot. Like he was afraid to shoot. He looked like Ben Simmons out there, didn't want to shoot the ball. It was crazy. Like he just didn't even look like the same guy. So now you gotta wonder, because he's gonna start having his contract hit in where they're gonna be paying him, I think, like over 40 million dollars a year. Are you gonna want to continue to do that or are you gonna want to possibly trade him away? Do you want to keep him? You know, what are you gonna do with him?

SPEAKER_03 54:31

Yeah, I I agree. I mean, what does the future hold for that?

SPEAKER_02 54:34

Um, I did hear I did hear Reggie Miller give his take on it because he said that he went through a similar thing where he faced off against the Knicks in the playoffs, and he got he got beat, I think it was the 99 season, and then the following year he took on again, took on the Knicks and beat them in the playoffs. And for him, you know, after getting so embarrassed, he said that he went into that offseason, he just worked. He went to work, he got he he worked on everything and tried to get tougher, try to get better. And maybe Chet Holmgren's got to really do some soul searching and find out how he can get tougher and better and get his game up a level.

SPEAKER_03 55:21

Well, I'm I'm gonna tell you right now, Mike, this is where they got beat right here in field goals or sorry, three-pointers. Uh, because the Spurs at 43% and OKC at 34%.

SPEAKER_02 55:32

Uh yeah, but anytime you're over 30% at the three-point line, you're still shooting at a pretty good percentage. They were both they were, yeah. As much as the guys on the team, other than SGA, weren't showing up. They weren't making good offensive plays.

SPEAKER_03 55:50

Well, I I agree with that. And and the Spurs were shooting incredibly um efficient. And I'm obviously that I'm not saying OKC was bad, but 34% versus 43%. So field goals there both 45.

SPEAKER_02 56:07

Um Yeah, but they took a bulk bulk more shots than than well, I I well, not a bulk more. It was only it was 88 shots to 83 shots by by OKC. So being at 45% with more shots taken, yes, you're you're still at the same percentage, but a higher higher number of shots.

SPEAKER_03 56:31

So yeah, higher number of shots, but it I just you know, like I said, they didn't show up, but they also lost the I mean they lost the scoring tournament too, right?

SPEAKER_02 56:40

So yeah, I think I think for the most part you just seen where one team came in there, fired up, ready to play, and one team just kind of no-showed. Well, yeah, and I mean not to say not to say they weren't competitive. I mean it was 111 to 103, so only an eight-point difference, but well, you could see the thunder the last couple games had you could see they kind of been starting to they started to lose their wind a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 57:10

I feel like. I mean they played hard, they they both put up a hundred points, uh, and they could have won, but I feel like there were times in these games where you could just see the thunder, they just weren't all there. And yeah, especially in Homegren's part. Yeah, especially in Homegrun's part, especially that last game. So, you know, but you know, moving forward again, we got we got the Knicks and the Spurs, which we haven't seen in what 20 something?

SPEAKER_02 57:38

Not since 1999, which by the way, the game is happening tonight at 8.30. So 8.30!

SPEAKER_03 57:45

I gotta pay my YouTube TV subscription.

SPEAKER_02 57:51

Uh, we just get done talking about how you gotta pay stuff, watch stuff, and here we go. He's already bringing it up.

SPEAKER_03 57:58

Well, maybe I'll just hang out at your house and watch it. Anyway, and then I can put it off for another week. Brian. Let's talk about our favorite subject. Our flagship sport. Are y'all ready? Sorry, I mean to clap there. Is everybody ready? People don't want to hear that. No, you're right. Mike, it's football time on two for the win.

Russell Wilson Steps Toward Broadcasting

SPEAKER_03 58:25

I always wanted to say that.

SPEAKER_02 58:27

Anyway, so Russell Wilson. There's been speculation on what's going to happen with him this year, and we finally got an answer. So Russell Wilson is preparing to leave the NFL to start a job over at CBS as a commentator.

SPEAKER_03 58:44

I think this is interesting you bring this up because he's going to commentate, but this does not signify a retirement. This does not signify an end to his career. He may merely just be stepping away. So he's not.

SPEAKER_02 58:59

I mean, if somebody gets hurt and they want to take a gamble and bring him back in, they can. It's not the first time that's happened, but you know, it's looking like it's more so on the downhill slide, like it's over.

SPEAKER_03 59:14

Yeah. Yeah. Speaking of I mean, I thought it was over. I don't even think he should have been in New York, to be honest with you. I I think after it didn't work out in Denver, I would have hung the cleats up. If it were me.

SPEAKER_02 59:29

Yeah, but some guys they know when to leave, and some guys they hang on for dear life. And it's it's sad to see when that happens.

SPEAKER_03 59:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:39

But this is this is a scenario where I I I I don't want to say that it's necessarily true, but it you look at the beginning of his career, it was trajectory into a Hall of Fame career, right? And these last you know, however many years, it just looks like he's almost getting himself out of the Hall of Fame.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:03

You have to quit while you're ahead, okay? And you gotta look at the facts, right? Okay, Kirk Cousins. Oh, good lord. And uh hold on, I have a few names here. Kirk Cousins, alright? He's still in the game because he's still won and people are still paying for him, alright? He's still, I guess, semi-effective, right? Um, then you go back to somebody like Alex Smith, right? Who was and and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who were both notable journeyman quarterbacks, but they were in the game the whole time. They weren't in and out. There wasn't any question about their ability or their skill level. They just did what they did, and that eventually got them notoriety, right? I think Russell is trying to hold out for this Aaron Rodgers level, uh, Ryan Fitzpatrick level journeymanship, right? And I don't I don't I don't think it's gonna come.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:56

Because I I think it's just ego. I think it's he doesn't want to walk away, he wants to prove everybody wrong, and he wants to show that I am still a great quarterback, and it's like I thought no, no, not really, bro.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:10

And I I I don't even know that you were, quote, a great quarterback ever. All right. Hey, ask Russell Wilson, he'll tell you he's a great quarterback.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:20

That's the problem.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:21

Yeah, I'm sure he'll tell me. And I'm not trying to knock Russell Wilson. I I think he had very I think he had enough skill to be in the NFL. And he had a good run.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:29

I'm not saying I'm not saying that he couldn't play in the NFL or he couldn't be in the NFL. I'm just saying, like, you know, when your teammates kind of like, yeah, he ain't one of us. My opinion? Kind of that kind of signifies something.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:46

Especially when he was drafted. He was drafted, he was drafted to the right place at the right time that made him look good. He made them look good as well, and then as you've noticed, after that time was up, it's just been a rocky road ever since. That's that's how I that's why I feel like he was a system quarterback.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:08

All all I know is Matt Flynn is looking at this and going, thank you, payback, finally. Isn't Matt Flynn the one Green Bay traded to them the year they drafted? No, they signed him in free agency to a big contract after he had a few good games with Green Bay as a backup. Yes. And then, you know, he got outplayed by Russell Wilson in preseason. I remember that. Pete Carroll said, Nope, we're going with the kid. Flynn, catch some pine. You ain't playing. Yep, yep, yep. It was a big controversy, and then they started rattling off wins and got a Super Bowl and went to a couple Super Bowls.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:44

And broke our quarterback's leg in the process. Forget y'all. And Bobby Wagner played for that squad, mind you. Uh, but yeah, I mean, I I think they had a good run. You sometimes you just have a good time when you're in the right place at the right time. I think that was it for Russell Wilson. I'm not saying he's not a Hall of Fame player.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:08

But when you have an ego, and that ego kind of displaces you because people get tired of putting up with it, that's what happened. Well, he was he was being a J and being upset because a lot of credit was being given to the defense, understandably. And he was like, No, it's me. I'm the one doing no, bro. You you had a stellar defense, an amazing run game, and you just happened to throw a few passes once in a while.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:38

You know, we have not really tossed around, we've never really discussed game managers on the show before.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:45

Look, it's not it's not that he's a game manager, it's like, okay, the the real tell here would be if I offer you one quarterback or him, which one you taking? So if I say Dan Marino or Russell Wilson, are you taking Dan Marino or Russell Wilson? Listen, that's not fair. No, no, no, no. That's not fair. If he wants you're gonna if you're gonna consider if you're gonna consider yourself a great quarterback, no.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:15

It needs it needs to be answered a question. Do you want Russell Wilson when he was drafted or Aaron Rodgers now? No. That to me that to me is the comparison.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:25

No, no, it's not it's not a level comparison. People at their heyday, would you want Dan Marino or Russell Wilson?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:34

You'll never pick Russell Wilson if that's the case.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:38

Hey, in his head, he is on the same level. No. Exactly. That's my point. That's what I've been trying to say.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:45

Do you know where Tom Brady was when he was 40 years old? He was already six championships deep. Okay. I didn't bring up him. I know, but I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:53

Because that would have been a clear-cut, nobody's gonna take Russell Wilson.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:56

But just for example, like Russell's 40. He's about our age. Well, my age. I know how old you are. But anyway.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:07

Can we can we can we move on, please? Yeah, let's move on.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:09

Let's stop beating Russell Wilson in the head. God bless that man, and I hope he has. Good luck buying the mic. Yeah. Don't be as awkward and don't be saying go hawks every time you're gonna be. I actually think he'll be good analyst. I think this is one of those things where he'll end up getting up there and he'll be good enough that that he likes it and they like it, and they keep him for years to come. Kind of like how uh what's his name, Howie Long went? Howie Long was just a tryout, and then he was on CBS you know, football mornings for a couple years. Bro, he's with Fox. Fox? God damn it, I don't know. I watched CBS, I lost Fox. Whatever the case, Howie Long.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:45

Good lord, dude.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:46

Alright, good example, Howie Long. Alright, don't worry about mixing your stuff. Don't worry about where, worry about the who. Relax. Calm down.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:54

Anyway.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:54

I know it got me cursed.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:56

Somebody somebody that needs to calm

Brandon Aiyuk Speeding Warrant Fallout

SPEAKER_02 1:05:58

down. We're finally getting. Some idea what's going on with Brandon Ayuk. Brandon, he likes driving fast. He likes to drive fast. Just like a lot of the other players in the NFL. But unlike some of these other NFL players, he decided to post this on social media, which after uh Santa Clara County District Attorney issued a warrant out for his arrest for an incident back in December when he was racing around in his car, actually drove past the Niners facility, you know, Niners Stadium. Levi. And uh Levi? So they put out Strauss. They put out a warrant out for his arrest. And he's like, sorry, y'all. My car, my car content won't come with speed anymore, he wrote in a post. So, you know, he ba he basically posted this up on social media of him racing around in his car.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:02

Exhibition, exhibition of speed. That's like that kid here recently in Virginia Beach and the Mustang. He went to the cul-sac down by the ocean front and they got him on camera doing donuts. He did like two donuts and left calmly, by the way. It was not very clean, crisp donuts, mind you. They put a warrant out for his arrest. I said, damn, Virginia Beach police. Hey. You do something stupid, be prepared to explain. Well, yeah, I mean, cameras are everywhere, okay? It's not like the old days. You can't just go somewhere and do some donuts and leave. It used to be the case, but obviously now not anymore. And in Brendan Ayuk's case, first of all, he's already nipple deep in hot water, okay? Um, exhibition of speeding? I've never even heard that before. This is how I know they got you on camera doing some dumb stuff, okay? Back to what I was saying about.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:51

Well, they probably linked both the video of him speeding plus the video in social media. Boom, gotcha. It's like, it's like you remember when you were a kid and you always had that friend that like you couldn't tell him things because he would he would tell on you. Like, not meaning to, he would just kind of tell on himself.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:14

Yeah, he's that friend you can't tell nothing to because he'd just say it.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:17

Right, right. Well now kids kids uh are posting stuff, and it's like bro, you just literally told on yourself. You're the kid.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:27

You're the kid. All of you are those kids, okay? The ones that post all this shit on social media, you're the kids we can't tell to.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:34

So think twice before you post it. That's all I'm gonna say. Just think twice before you post it. Because guess what? Things could be found.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:43

Look, I'm gonna tell you what, and you're absolutely right about that, Mike. Because even if you put it on private audience, all it takes is one person sharing it with somebody else. Look, people can still see it, people can still find it. Your employers, the government, the federal government can still find it, okay? Once you put it online, it's there forever, even if you go and delete it.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:08

I literally know somebody who got fired from a prominent job from a prominent company because they found they found some ridiculous stuff he had posted on social media. Gay sex. No, no, no, no. Nothing like that. He he just put it No, no, no, nothing that extreme, man. God damn. This wasn't even that extreme. All he did was just I really want a good story. Basically, he took the company logo and drew a bunch of dicks on it. And they found it. This reminds me behold, he got fired.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:46

This reminds me of the office, alright? The episode of The Office, where they did a QA on their paper, and there was just the lightest like penis outline, and it was on all the reams of paper. Like, we have to recall all these pieces of paper. They're like, we don't know what happened. Creed was in charge of QA. I don't know if y'all ever seen The Office, but uh, that's what this reminds me of, and I fully support it because I love dirty uh pranks.

Caleb Williams Madden Cover Debate

SPEAKER_02 1:10:16

Anyway, so it's that time of year where we're all wondering who's gonna be on the Madden cover? Well, we got our answer. Whoo-hoo-hoo! We have Caleb Williams. Barf is on the cover. Now Is he's nails gonna be painted too? I didn't look close enough to see if his nails are painted, but the point of the matter is he's on the cover and he's kind of doing like a Jordan-esque style pose, jumping up in the air, throwing the ball.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:47

This I know he's misinformed because Jordan played basketball. This is already a bad idea.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:51

Yeah, well, it's Chicago and he's trying to do Chicago tribute because there's a little Chicago skyline in it. Anyway, point of the matter is Caleb Williams is gonna be on the Madden cover, but it begs to question do you believe in the Madden curse? This is this is a very good question, sir. Because over the last 10 years, there's only been three people affected since. Early on, early on, the Madden Curse was a thing. Like players having issues one after another.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:27

Well, now Saquon Barkley was on the man cover, and although he still had a good year, he had a what would be considered a down year, a severe down year, in fact. But he didn't get hurt. This is true, he did not get hurt.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:41

You know, you had you had Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes on it a couple of years ago when they went off in the Super Bowl. They both went to the Super Bowl. You know, I'm never gonna what can you say? Nothing happened to them.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:54

I'm never gonna wish injury on any professional player. Um and I'm not gonna predict it. I hope it doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:03

We'll see what happens. You better hope it doesn't. Because a whole whole bunch of Bear fans are gonna be crying if he does.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:08

I mean, they got him some good protection. Um and I I think Ben Johnson's done a good job setting him up for success. I didn't I'm gonna be honest, Mike. I don't you never see injuries coming, but you hope not.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:22

So do you think with that in that vein, do you think Ben Johnson was like, no, why did you why did you do that? Why did you go get yourself on that cover? I think what are you trying to do?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:35

I think it's probably one of those times where he's smiling and looking at Caleb where he's like, Congratulations, and like handing him a copy and like doesn't want to let go of it because he's like, Don't get injured, you know, and then he lets go of it. See you at practice, wink.

OBJ Returns And What It Means

SPEAKER_02 1:12:54

Speaking of injuries and uh some players making their way back, Odill Beckham, a name we have not mentioned in a while. He didn't even play last year, and for good reason because he sucks now. But he is making a comeback and doing it with his former team, the Giants. He's coming back, he has been signed, along with Braxton, uh, I think it's back Braxton Burios.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:19

Braxton Hicks, because they're fake. Yes, I know. Let me dive into this real quick, Mike. Brack Braxton Berrios, yes, you're right. Yeah, Berrios. He's actually a good player, but anyway, that aside, um, so as a Redskins fan and a Commanders fan, fan of both those teams, mind you, um we've seen this happen numerous times over the years, and thank you, by the way. But we've seen this happen many times over the years. Former great players come back and do a quick stint. I mean, even Joe Gibbs came back for a second stint and was not successful. All right. I do not see this. It's not a player, it still counts. I still don't I don't see this to me. This is Odell Beckham's farewell tour. Okay, this is him saying, No matter what, I'm out after this season.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:12

Hey, he must have done something because he came in, he tried out, and they signed him. Regardless, you don't just get a spot if you're washed. So they might not be looking for him to be to me, you know, Odell Beckham, one-hand catch, you know, guy. They might just be looking for him to come in, well, get us a catch or two during the game and just beat Phil Lanid.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:34

I don't even think he's there for utilization. I think he's there for one reason, all right? Uh he's obviously a New York Giants great for some time in his career. They got a bunch of young receivers. I think they're bringing him in to try to rub off whatever he's got onto them. I think he's just there for veteran presence.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:53

Veteran presence matter. Exactly. It does matter, and that might be why they're bringing him in.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:58

I think he's just there for veteran presence. Hopefully not a leadership role because he doesn't have much of that. But uh he does bring good, he does have a good knowledge on skills and what he does. So I I hope he passes that on here. Well, let's go ahead and move on to the next thing here, because that's enough about OBJ, and we'll see what he does in the season. Number 13 coming at you live from Big Blue. Oh, so Oh, yeah, okay. Sorry. Next

Extensions And AJ Brown To Patriots

SPEAKER_03 1:15:24

thing. Yeah, so uh uh Nick Herbig uh lands four-year hundred million dollar extension with the Steelers, Mike. Is this a surprise to you?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:33

No, he's been a good linebacker, and and honestly, I think it's a typical Steeler thing. When they see somebody that's performing on their defense, they sign him up. So he gets a four-year extension.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:44

And let's face it, they've been looking for the next Troy Palomalu for a long time. Hopefully this guy's that I'm gonna do it. I said linebacker.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:53

Oh, you said Palomalu is a safety. Oh, yeah, right. He was safety.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:56

Sorry. See, but he played downhill so much, I don't even know the difference. Anyway, I digress.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:02

Anyway, moving over to the Falcons, the Falcons also went ahead and locked up one of their players in London. Drake London gets a four-year $141 million extension from the Falcons. And I I think that's a really good deal for them because he has been a very productive receiver for them.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:21

If they could just get a good quarterback, this might be the next Megatron. I'm not gonna lie. I don't know about Megatron, but he'll be he'll be productive regardless. He's he's very good with contested catches, going up and getting it. He's not as big as Megatron, obviously.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:35

And while we're talking about productive receivers, we need to discuss this trade, this trade that happened that really did it shock anybody. No, I don't think it shocked anybody.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:45

I think the only shocking thing is where he landed.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:48

No, it's not even a shock where he landed. Everybody knew this was gonna happen. That's because they were talking about it. So AJ Brown got traded. That's who we're talking about. He got traded to the Patriots, and uh he was traded for a first round pick and a fifth round pick. So the Eagles getting some very good compensation for a player who maybe has three years left, you know, really at his prime. And, you know, the question was asked, what jersey number is he gonna wear? Because he's been wearing 11. Well, Julian Edelman wears 11, and Julian said, Look, man, you can wear 11, I'm cool with it. But he said out of respect, AJ is gonna wear number one instead. He's like, Nope, that's Julian's number, I'm not wearing it.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:29

That's because he knows he's gonna flunk.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:31

Anyway, honestly, I don't I don't think so. I don't think so either. AJ Brown is too good, and I think part of the reason he was so frustrated in the Eagles offense is that they were so run-heavy that he was not getting the ball thrown to him. And we've already seen the Patriots want to throw the ball. Yeah. So now you're giving them a true number one throw out.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:50

Yeah, I was I was just about to say the pet the Patriots, they got a couple good receivers, but they really do lack that true number one. I honestly, I know I joke a little bit, but I think AJ is gonna ball out, bro. I I think he's gonna ball out New England straight up. He might only have a couple years left, but I think we see the peak of his.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:08

Well, remember when he was playing at his best was when he was with the Titans. Yep. Who was his coach? Mike Vrabel. And who's his coach with the Patriots? Mike Vrabel.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:20

That's right. So that's a good thing. That's another good correlation. I was talking about this with my supervisor today because he's a Titans fan. I said, because we're talking about the AJ Brown. I said, dang. Didn't AJ Brown come from the Titans during Vrabel's time? He said, yeah, you're right. I say, you know what? AJ Brown about to ball out. And he's getting a quarterback who can actually throw the ball. Yeah, actually, yeah. And he's not really a mobile quarterback, although he can scramble. But you have a true pocket, you have a true pocket quarterback in Drake May, okay? That's something you can't say about some of these other quarterbacks. But I'm eager to see how it plays out. Uh, I think it's a good fit. I think it's a good move.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:06

So we purposefully waited because we wanted to discuss this topic last, because it's got plenty going

Miles Garrett To Rams And Loyalty

SPEAKER_02 1:19:13

on with it. And that's the fact that the Browns and the Rams shocked everybody earlier this week. And Miles Garrett got traded from the Browns to the Rams. And in this scenario, the Browns receive Jared Verse and an additional number one pick and a slew of other picks. I think they got four picks total.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:39

Oh, there's a conditional condition on one of their picks as well. But who won the trade?

SPEAKER_04 1:19:47

How old is Miles Garrett? 30.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:53

Jarrett versus 25. Only two years in the league. Versus a lineman, right? No, he's a defensive end, just like just like Garrett.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:03

So they just basically did a swap with some compensate compensation.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:07

Yes. I mean, it's it's an upgrade.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:10

I mean, Miles Garrett has probably hands down been one of the best, if not the best, in the league. He won defensive player the year. Exactly. Exactly. Vastly overshadowed by a poorly managed Browns organization, okay?

SPEAKER_02 1:20:27

Well, when you said Browns, you thought Miles Garrett. Because he was the only real player of note that you were like, when you said, hey, name name the Browns best player, everybody would say Miles Garrett. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:41

Now you don't even know anybody. I mean, you know Deshaun Watson and Shadur Sanders, but are they legitimately? I think right now it's Judkins. I think Judd, I agree. I think Judkins is their legitimate best player now. Uh, but we'll we'll dive into those. I feel bad for Verse, though.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:57

This is you're sitting there in sunny California playing with the Rams, and now and now you're going to the Browns.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:03

You know, it's funny you mentioned that. I I read an interview today. I didn't add it to the agenda, but I just came across it. Um, Jared Verse actually said he was not happy about the trade. I mean, he understands that that's that's the life, right? But he was like, man, I was out here, he actually said I'm out here in sunny LA. He was like, uh, I love the coaches, I love the team, I loved everything. He was like, next thing I know, I'm being shipped off to Cleveland. He was like, obviously, I'm not happy, but that's the way it goes when you're a professional sports athlete. I'm calling this right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:37

You watch Jared Verse when he's done over there in Cleveland, you watch him come back and play for one of the other teams in NFC West to go stick it to the Rams. You watch.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:49

Yeah, uh if he doesn't find his way back to the Rams somehow, but I don't think he was gonna want to go back to them because he probably feels like he's been done dirty. Well, here's a stipulation for you on the Miles Garrett trade, and you can tell who Sean McVay doesn't like, right? Because if the Rams ever trade Garrett to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens, or the Bengals, the okay, so maybe this is on the Browns side, sorry. Uh, if they trade him anywhere in the AFC North, uh basically the Rams 2029 third-round pick would automatically become a first round selection. So I like this one there's between the one there's between the NFL and the NBA. I like they're now putting this isn't the first time we've seen a seen a stipulation on a draft on a uh trade, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:22:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:42

So um now, if the Rams trade him at any point in his career to anybody in the AFC North, basically they get a free first round draft pick.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:57

Yeah, well, at least I don't see that. I don't see that happening.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:01

At least I don't I don't I don't see it happening. I think they're gonna keep Garrett, bro.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:04

Uh but I tell you what, man, this has brought on all kinds of rumors that the Rams are trying to lure back one of their prodigal sons. They're trying to bring back their boy, defensive tackle. Come on, man, you know the name. Really, you're gonna leave me hanging?

SPEAKER_03 1:23:29

Uh Aiden Hutchinson. No, he's with the Lions. You fail. I know who you're talking about. Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald! A Dizzle, a Dizzle, Aaron Donald.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:40

Look, point of the matter is Aaron Donald's been since he retired. He has been on social media posting all these lifts and all this stuff. And he even worked out with Jarrett Verse. At one point, when Jarrett Verse even posted, he's like, somebody help me. Like, because he's he's working out. He's like, I just want to go home.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:58

Hey, guess what? The Rams helped you. They traded your ass to the Browns. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:03

Well, here's the thing. Now, now they're talking about, you know, what if Aaron Donald wants to come back and play alongside Miles Garrett? And the Rams have said, like, look, we're all for it. If he wants to come back, you know, we can figure something out. So you know, it's like Rich get richer, man. You know, if he decides, I mean, look, he's not that far gone. He's he's he's gonna be 35.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:28

So it's I mean, you're talking you're talking about a defensive tackle, like you could play that till you're 45.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:34

No, you can't. You can't. I mean, you got Clayus Campbell at 39 still doing it, so you can play into to a later age, but it's he's an outlier. You don't typically have guys playing a defensive tackle, like, you know, well into their career. They're usually not with a high motor. Well, they're usually those guys that kind of they kind of have a decent career and they pan out and leave probably around age 33, 34. And and Donald always said, I want to do eight, and I get out. It just so happens in his eighth year he won his Super Bowl and he was like, I'm retiring. Now, with the possibility of possibly making a run again and possibly coming back and playing against the reigning defensive player of the year, all I'm saying is like that defense is gonna look really scary if they get Aaron Donald back.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:23

I beg you this. Do you think the Rams do you think they make a deep run this year? Do you think they're contenders?

SPEAKER_02 1:25:31

Bro, they're the hand they're the odds favorite right now to win the Super Bowl next year.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:38

Every sports book is saying Rams than the rest of the field. Okay. You know, like they rest of the field doesn't really have a shot in most of their eyes. But I will say this though. You gotta really as a as a player on the Rams, are you kind of looking around and being a little more like guarded and a little more not feeling so loyal to this team? Because think about it. They had a quarterback that took him to the Super Bowl, was a number one pick by them in Jared Golf, they kicked him to the curve.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:19

I kind of felt bad for golf because he goes to Detroit and balls out. No, they kick him to the curb, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:26:24

Yeah. Then they had during that time, they had a really good wide receiver who played lights out for him, was a great player. You wanna can you give me the name of this wide receiver? White guy?

SPEAKER_03 1:26:47

Uh I'm I'm drawing a blank tonight. I'm not in a good I'm in a good mood, but I'm not I'm having a lot of things.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:55

He wound up playing for Seattle this this past season.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:58

Yes, the white guy. Frickin' uh Cooper Cup. There we go. Cooper Cup. I knew you'd get there. I was thinking, I had his face in my mind the whole time. I'm like, I know what you're talking about, but I can't draw his name.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:09

They kick Cooper Cup to the side. Then they sit there and they kick Jared Verse, who's been a great player still young, with only two years in the league. They kick him to the Browns. If I'm Puka Nakua, knowing all the crap that's been going on over the years with this team, I gotta start thinking, oh my god, I'm next. They're gonna kick me out of here.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:34

I I like I like your thinking, and I I am inclined to agree with you, but Sean McVay likes his weapons too much, and I think Puka's part of that equation.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:43

He liked Cooper Cup and he kicked him to the curb.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:45

But Cooper Cup is not Puka. Bro. And he's not Devontae.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:49

He liked he liked Higby, and they wound up still drafting more tight ends.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:54

Forget Higby. I don't care. Higby is a blocking tight end, okay? He's not a receiving tight end.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:59

Look. The point I'm trying to make is it seems like they have no loyalty to any player, no matter how good you are. So if I'm a player on the Rams and I'm showing any promise and I hit free agency, you might as well go somewhere else. Because, bro, Tyler Rapp.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:19

They let him go. No, honestly, I think you make a good point because loyalty doesn't exist in this world anymore. And we already know this, but they're in the business of winning, okay?

SPEAKER_02 1:28:31

Right, but I'm not saying I'm not saying that you know that this business isn't cutthroat. I'm not saying that this business doesn't have its ups and downs. But like we've seen where teams have been pretty loyal to players and and taking care of players, especially the ones that have really helped them out. I mean, look at the Steelers with TJ Watt. You know, they they look at what look at what they did for Rhode Island and Buffalo.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:55

But then again, look at New England during Belichick's time, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:28:59

They had their See, that was different. They would get rid of players just before they had taken the fall off the cliff. Now, that wasn't like a, you know, you're still a good player, but we're just gonna kick you to the curb. Right. You know, like I the point I'm trying to to convey here is there is absolutely no loyalty to any player, no matter even if they're in their prime, is what I'm trying to point out. It doesn't matter who you are, we don't have loyalty, period. If I was a if I was on the Rams, if I was a player on the Rams, I'd be looking around right now, going, bro, you seen how they didn't know what you're doing. Yeah, I mean, unless you already did that, man. Even Matt Stafford should be looking over his shoulder. They just draft a quarterback. No, no, no, no, no. It ain't like that. Matt Stafford's Matt Stafford's year to year until he decides to retire. That's why they drafted.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:55

Well, yeah, I I agree with you there. But what I'm saying is, I don't think even he is immune, right? Because what I'm saying is, I think you make a good point. Um, I hate it, but I I do think you make a very good point. They're they're not loyal, they're all about, all right, we think this player gives us the better chance to win, and you don't. It's very cutthroat. But I I agree with you. Like, I feel like there should be some level of loyalty, especially when you're a high performer.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:23

Well, I'll give you an example. Look at the Titans. The Titans knew they were going nowhere. And when Derek Henry was coming up and to free agency, they simply said to him, They're like, Look, man, like we we love you, we want to have you here, but this is your time to go somewhere else and do something because we just don't have enough to make a push with you. Well, Derek, we respect you, we love you, you always be a Titan, but we want you to be able to go where you want to go and do what you want to do and get yourself into the playoffs and play for some of these other teams.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:57

Well, I feel like I feel like Derek wanted out.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:01

And he thought he was gonna get a ring under Harbaugh. But the point of the matter is they it wasn't like they just blindsided him, they were mutually, you know, he didn't get a Saquon Barkley treatment where he's like, hey, you know, you can find a better offer, go ahead. And we found a better offer. No, this was a you know, the Rams have been doing this business where it's like it don't matter, like this is all faceless. This is this is sorry, bro. You're still good, we still like you, but we like this guy a little bit more. So bye.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:42

Yeah, and that is the epitome cutthroat of the business. I agree with you, it sucks because even when you think you've earned your spot, you still get shipped off. That's what I'm saying. I agree with no loyalty, it's just like bye. Well, I I agree with what you're saying, but I I feel like it shouldn't be a negative thing for Jared Verse, right? I know they acquired Miles Garrett.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:10

No, I I know it shouldn't be a negative thing for Verse because look, I look at it this way, and he will eventually look at it this way. This team, meaning the Browns, this team actually wants me. The team I was playing for, that I was playing well for, shipped me off at the moment's notice that they could get somebody that they think is better than me. Well, yeah, that's how you don't get it wrong. I mean, yes, Miles Garrett is better than him, obviously, because he was defensive player last year and had 23 sacks. His win rate is way better in Versus, but that's not to take anything away from Verse because Verse was playing at a Pro Bowl level since he's gotten in the lead.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:50

Well, well, yeah, you're right. And he will probably take that initially like that, but when you think about it big term, okay, yeah, he's a little slighted, and he should be, because the Rams are saying we want to make a push now, but you're not part of that. But at the same time, he's going to a flailing Brown's organization where he has the opportunity to now be a um cornerstone, right? Yes, he now has an opportunity to be a cornerstone piece of what they're trying to build. And granted, it might not lead to a Super Bowl or a or a Pro Bowl career or a Hall of Fame career.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:31

I think that what the Browns did was a very smart move because not only do you get a blue chip proven player, but you also get an additional number one pick for next year when that's supposed to be a quarterback heavy draft with really good quarterbacks, so now you can move up the board any way you want when you have multiple number one picks, which they do. Look plus if you don't wind up like for some reason don't get a quarterback, now you have all these picks to build. Now, granted, it does take having the right people making the picks, which we've seen time and time again, the Browns haven't been able to. But let's let's keep it in context. They did draft a Miles Garrett, so they had they've gotten hits once in a while. They did draft a Joe Thomas, who was one of the best offensive linemen in the history of the NFL. So like they have hit on picks before.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:26

They got that running back, I forgot his name again. Judkins. Judkins, they got Juddkins, who was a risk, kind of like uh what's that running back they took a long time ago? I don't know. Back in 2020, back in 2012.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:40

I don't know. But they had they had uh they they had uh Njoku, but he left in free agency. So like they can they can make picks for good players, you know, and they they have a pretty pretty stout defense. It's not anything to be no slouch here. I mean they're they're making good moves here lately, and I think it's kind of been under the radar. But if you start, you know, building on these good moves, you're gonna start building something good. Now, if they ever get a quarterback to figure out the quarterback situation, they might be cooking with something.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:18

By the way, when I was talking about Judkins, the situation I was talking about was Trent Richardson, um, who inevitably eventually went to the Colts from the Browns. Uh had a good initial race season. But I agree with you, like I think Verse, I think there's opportunity here for him. Obviously, it's not the Rams. Uh, but he came to the Rams during a time when they were already successful. So he wasn't part of their initial success. So now he's part of them just trying to keep it alive. So it's a to me, it's a like slightly smaller part.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:51

Well, the other thing that comes out of this trade is the fact that the Rams are showing their their motto of F them picks, is uh working for them because they really have not used a first round pick in a long time. And the last player they did really draft in the first round was Jared Burr.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:10

I'm just reading the tea leaves here. They know Stafford's ready to go any minute. McVay's gonna be right behind him. When those two people go, the Rams are gonna be right back where we remember them all in the cellar of the NFC West, okay? Well, yeah, because they're gonna have no money and no picks. Exactly. So they're gonna all these people to come. McVeigh and Stafford will suck all the equity out of it that they can, and when it's done, they're both gonna be out, and the Rams will be right back where we remember them. Uh at least in recent times.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:45

Well, I mean, they were the greatest show on turf when they had Kurt Warner and they were back in St. Louis.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:51

Yes, yes. Um, and and I agree with you there. Uh so I to me, I feel like there's some notable people in the organization whose times are getting ready to run short and they're trying to make a run now. That's why that's the only reason you go after a player like Miles Garrett. And the Browns, Miles Garrett must have really wanted out, okay? And on top of that, the Browns probably really like Miles Garrett and want him to be successful.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:17

I don't like look, they paid the man so he would stay, is what it was. And when he got that new contract, he wasn't being moved for anything until they restructured his contract back in March. Exactly. Restructured it, it was almost like, you know, sending out the the signal to the rest of the NFL saying, look, we're open for business, give us an offer. Yes. And from what from what has been said, the Rams, even back before the draft, were trying to get something done. But instead, they got McDuffie. So there was a situation there where they figured it out. You know, they figured out the trade compensation and it wound up working. So it is what it is. You know, they gotta they got both sides, I feel like came away with some good compensation in the end, and it works out for everybody.

SPEAKER_03 1:38:09

It does, I feel like as well. And Verse is still a young player, he still has a lot of football left ahead of him. Yes, he does, and he will he will be good. He will be good, he'll he'll still be good, and I I think the Brown, they might parlay him into another trade. He might find himself somewhere else. We'll see what happens. Uh, because if you're a good enough player to send off somewhere, that means they're saying, hey, this guy's reliable. But let's go ahead and uh wind down the show for the evening, Mike.

Closing Thanks And Sign-Off

SPEAKER_03 1:38:36

And before we close out, I just want to thank our sponsors and partners one last time Body Body Gem, Solace Outfitters, and MATW Middleticks Territory Wrestling. Thank you guys. Uh, thank you for joining us. Uh, I'm Brian. Last time tonight, I'm Brian Kai. And I'm Mike. Here we are. Two for the win. Thanks, everybody.