52. Pick Six: Touching Grass, Beers with JJ Watt and Braxton Berrios on Beauty Products

0:23Hey, it's Victoria. Welcome back to another episode of the game and another installment of Pick 6, your weekly roundup of the top six stories in and around the NFL. Today is a cheeky one, pretty lighthearted stories, which given some of the craze in the offseason, actually feels so nice. So excited to bring you six stories today. Thank God, no arrests and no DV because although I love the gossip. Sometimes those get a little heavy. And honestly, there's too much going on in my personal life right now to be dealing with court records to share with you. So before we get into it, I have an update about the game and the Fantasy League.

1:07The Fantasy League pre-registration is going to be dropping towards the end of this month, and then the actual league will open back up in August. So most of you guys were probably in it last year, but if you're new, we have an all-girls fantasy football league called Living in a Fantasy. We had 17 ,000 draft picks last year. And as I was going through, I was honestly just shocked by that number specifically. Having 1 ,300 girls in the league is obviously way more than I ever anticipated when I started the whole thing, when I started posting on TikTok. But then seeing number 17 ,000 on the draft picks truly blew my mind.

1:51Also, fun fact, the number one pick in that league was Jamar Chase. He was in 100 % of leagues. And the league's QB one, you could probably guess it, but was Josh Allen with the bills. And honestly, I'm anticipating the exact same number one QB going into this year. That being said, the big announcement that I have is the game is getting a name update. And I'm going to be doing a formal announcement on social media and email through Substack. The whole nine as I am working my way into calling myself an integrated marketing professional after hosting a podcast, having a newsletter at Fantasy League, all of that on multiple channels.

2:34I digress. We are changing from the game to her game days. And the reason I'm doing that is because I think it's more all inclusive of everything that we're doing. It's not just about the game anymore. It's about the community around it, which I think is more true to who we've always been, but didn't quite have the name for. So all of that communication will be coming out. But I wanted you, because I feel like you guys are my besties, I wanted you to know before anyone else you'll be seeing that and all of the social will be housed in one place under Her Game Days, which I'm really, really excited for.

3:15And given that it is called Her Game Days, we have at least one formal event happening this season, IRL, to get the girls together. The biggest win of this entire thing would be girls taking friendships out of it that can go beyond just the football season. I already have a few of those, which I'm so grateful for, and I hope that some girls in the community end up in that same situation. So all of that being said, make sure you're following. It's currently at HeyVictoriaHenderson, but by the end of the month, it will be at her game days on all of the platforms, thegamethepodcast.substack.com. That is where all the emails come out, and that will be getting a little update as well.

4:02But for now, you can follow, and then you'll just see when the names change, etc. You don't even have to worry about it. I hope I did justice in giving that update. I feel like I'm rambling. So now let's go into some rambling about the top six stories that you should be up to date on this week around the NFL. All right. Story number one. J.J. Watt is retired but had a very sweet moment with a fan in a New York City bar last week. So if you don't know, J.J. Watt is 37. He's an Aries. He has not played a snap since retiring after the 2022 Cardinals season. Now, he's not on NFL payroll anymore, but he is under contract with CBS Sports as the color commentator in the network's number two broadcast booth alongside Ian Eagle.

4:53The cute part of this story is a fan named Douglas Sandstorm posted on Exit. He sat next to Watt at breakfast in Greenwich Village on July 18th, but didn't ask for a photo out of respect. So he posts online saying, oh my gosh, I was trying to be respectful. I didn't ask for a photo and said that Watt was somebody that he idolized growing up. And then JJ saw that post and DMed him asking if he was still in the area. Luckily, Douglas, the fan, was hiding from the rain with a beer at O 'Hara's. And then JJ Watt replies, order me a Guinness. I'll be there shortly. He shows up the bar to get the photo together.

5:38And then the fan calls his dad to wake him up at 1.30 a.m. saying that he met, which is just so sweet. I love it when players show us that they're real people and not everyone can have that experience. Obviously, they're not going to respond to every comment DM request for their presence or even kind DM. But I just love the story. I feel like it's so cute and just shows how relevant players are and how much impact they have even after they are retired. Plus, I feel like J.J. Watt is just so famous, so well known and beloved that this story could probably happen every single year for the next 50 years.

6:13and we'd feel the same way about it. Really interesting though, after I started researching this, J.J. Watt is actually joining Shark Tank as a guest for the new season on ABC and Hulu. He said he's been a fan for all 17 seasons, but now he is going to be a guest on Shark Tank as a guest shark, which I'm so excited to watch because if you have that much money, why not invest in great companies, especially with the backing of the Shark Tank franchise and all of the knowledge and things that come up for that. I also think that's a really interesting crossover because we're probably going to see a lot more athlete and sports-focused brands on his episodes than we would see otherwise.

7:01And obviously, we're sports girls. We're interested in these types of things and athletics. Okay, moving on. Story number two. This is one of my favorites. because you know a good man and a good boyfriend when he can tell you what's in your makeup bag. So the Giants, TikTok, and social media team, which shout out to them, they decided to test whether Braxton Berrios still knows Alex Earl's entire skincare shelf. And he got 11 out of 11. If you don't know, Braxton Berrios is 30 years old. He's born on October 6th. He's a Libra. He's on a one-year$1.3 million deal with the Giants. And yeah, now teammates with Cam Scadaboo, foreshadowing for later.

7:56He was with the Texans and was pretty quiet. Six catches, 37 yards, eight targets, 81-yard kickoff return, and 25 punt return yards across four games. So this is a prove-it deal for him. However, so Braxton Berrios and Alex Earl were dating for quite some time. And he went on the social media team, gave him a kind of like little bucket of beauty items, including zip patches, makeup cleaner, one of the little makeup brush cleaner pads that you like rub your brushes on. They had a slick back stick for a slick back ponytail or bun. They had setting spray and he got 11 for 11. And then fans have been commenting like, Alex Earl, did you see this?

8:51And she commented, I see everything. So that video is now at multiple millions. I think it's 18 million views at this point. So congrats to whatever giant social media girl is getting a raise. And in the video, Braxton is like, he's like, oh, my God, I hate that I know this. He's like a little embarrassed that he knows it. But it was really, really cute. So I thought that was funny. If you didn't know, Alex and Braxton broke up earlier this year. And then that was right when Alex and Tom Brady were seen at a bar together. I think it was within like three weeks striking up all of the Alex Earl and Tom Brady drama.

9:30But I do think that they're both at the celebrity status that they're going to be at a lot of the same events anyway.

9:41So that's that. All right, moving on. Speak of the devil, Tom Brady. Tom Brady's getting some heat right now because he slapped Logan Paul in public. Then is seen doing this publicity stunt. And people are saying, is Tom Brady just damaging his image by doing all of these crazy things for publicity? Like, Tom Brady is arguably the most famous football player in the last 30 years. And also one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest of all time. Like, does he need to be involving himself with Logan Paul's antics? And on the other hand, like, should we just let him have fun? because like if LeBron was involved, it just seems so crazy that LeBron would be involved.

10:33But like Tom Brady and LeBron are kind of on the same height of fandom or even think about like Lewis Hamilton. Like it seems so crazy that Tom Brady is engaging in this type of behavior. So anyway, Tom Brady, he's 48. He's a Leo born on August 3rd. He is two years into his 10-year$375 million Fox Sports broadcasting deal, which is the richest in sports media history, and has a 5 % ownership stake in the Raiders as a part of a$220 million joint purchase with his business partner Tom Wagner. So the YouTuber turned WWE, dare I say star, I don't even think I want to say that, but WWE fighter, we'll call him, said he is just as athletic as NFL players.

11:29And Brady really did not let that go. They were both involved in the Fanatics flag football classic in Saudi Arabia on March 21st. And Paul scored a touchdown on Brady's team and then taunted him. Kind of classic Logan Paul antics. Then at Fanatics Fest in New York, Tom and Logan were kind of like facing off, not in a fight, just kind of at each other. And Tom Brady hits Logan Paul in the face. Then on July 19th, they were sharing a suite at the World Cup and exchanged middle fingers. seemingly like bickering, but also hanging out together. So which is making it feel more like a publicity stunt than anything else.

12:15But then Logan Paul's younger brother, Jake Paul, posted a warning aimed at Brady saying revenge is sweet. So as of yesterday, July 20th, or two days ago when you're listening to this, TMZ is reporting that the WWE and Tom Brady are in real talks about having Tom potentially step into the ring. And now people are debating, is this bad for his brand? Okay, full transparency. I was not at the height of my NFL fandom when Tom Brady was in it. I think he's done actually an excellent job at reporting. I think it's really cool to watch him get better at the commentating side of things. But personally, I think that Tom Brady is literally on a tear to diminish his personal brand.

13:08Because first we had, I mean, the Alex Earl thing came out, which honestly, I don't know how that looks for Tom Brady. I didn't really love it. I'm like, she's young and you're old. And like, I don't know. Also, Tom Brady like feels older than 48 in my head. Like his vibes are just so dad. But I thought that that was weird for his personal brand because it just seems like kind of creepy for 50 year olds to be hanging out with 24 year olds. I mean, I know there's like some sometimes there's an exception to the rule for like true love, but that just felt off to me. and I know the news cycles loved it, but then he had some like weird Instagram stories from his couch that were a little bit off.

13:55And now we have this. I think what's happening is he's very bored in the off season and he doesn't know what to do with all his energy, but I think Logan Paul is just messy in general.

14:09So I don't know. I think it's, I think my final feeling on it is that It's not, it might not necessarily be damaging, but I don't think it's good for Tom Brady's like professional image. But then on the other hand, like do things like this really matter? Just Tom Brady doesn't need any money. He has all the money in the world. He can kind of do whatever he wants. So if he's having like a, I've been regimented my entire life and I want to be a little nuts moment. Like he could be doing a lot worse stuff than like getting into a fight with Logan Paul. So I guess I'm cool with it. We'll see how it unfolds.

14:44I don't really want to watch that fight. I feel like it's just two amateur fighters fighting, which is not interesting to me. But also, I'm not really into fighting per se, only, you know, classic tackle football. All right, moving on. Number four, our story. The NFL is getting just absolutely ripped on for the grass problem, especially after MetLife gets real grass for the World Cup final. So MetLife is home to both the Giants and the Jets. And they had the World Cup final on July 19th on real hybrid natural grass installed specifically for FIFA, replacing the stadium's usual field turf, the artificial surface.

15:33And MetLife is one of seven NFL stadiums, also including AT &T, Gillette, Lumenfield, Mercedes-Benz, NRG, and SoFi. They got temporary grass for the tournament. All seven stadiums are now taking that grass out and reinstalling their turf in time for the 2026 season. But the NFLPA Players Association is making a case called hashtag or coordinated with hashtag worth the cost campaign, pushing every NFL stadium to switch to grass permanently, citing player safety. They have kind of so Oren Burks summed it up on social media with if it's good enough for the World Cup, it's good enough for NFL players.

16:19In the NFL Players Association's own survey, 92 percent of NFL players say they prefer grass fields and only half of the league's 30 stadiums actually have them. And it's 30 stadiums, not 32, because the Chargers and Rams share a stadium and then Giants and Jets share a stadium. And people do say that the turf is a reason for injury. It's kind of also one of those, like, why hasn't this been fixed already? And I think FIFA just being like the world's biggest stage. And FIFA actually makes significantly more money than the NFL because it is so world-renowned that them having this standard of real grass is really making people look at it differently because the NFL, even though they make less than FIFA, have so many people who want real grass and a lot of players that would prefer that as well.

17:18And injury rates are so high. The NFL is going to have injuries no matter what, but is turf a bigger reason for the injury? I think that's probably what people are weighing. And then also the money of it all. Bree, she has the Instagram account, Hot Girls Talk Sports. She made a reel saying that injury percentages are higher on turf and showing kind of all of the players that have notable injuries there, Aaron Rodgers, etc. And she mentioned that the cost of having real grass is higher because it's higher cost to maintain it. And it makes it harder to bring in concerts, other events at the venues on real grass rather than turf.

18:08So it could potentially be a financial loss for stadiums if they go into real grass. But I mean, it costs$9.2 billion to even own a team. So it feels like the couple million or so, however much it costs to get real grass and change that around per necessary. That number feels to me trivial at a multibillion dollar price tag. All right, moving on. Story number five, Kans Gadaboo tries to show off his surgically repaired ankle by doing a backflip at Fanatics Fest. People are freaking out because he kind of fell backwards onto his butt after it. And now people are really talking about him. So as a rookie last year, 410 yards, 24 catches for 207 yards and seven total touchdowns a week before or I mean before week eight hits.

19:01And he has the injury against the Eagles. I don't even want to say this. It makes me a little queasy, but like an open tibia fracture, ruptured deltoid ligament and a dislocate. Oh, my God. Dislocated right ankle, which required emergency surgery. So really, really, really bad injury. He goes to Fnatic's Fest, he does a backflip, and he falls on his booty. Now, the thing that people aren't realizing about this, I was a gymnast. I know flips very well, still do them to this day, if you didn't know that about me. But basically, he overrotates a little bit. And overrotates just means that you flip a little bit more than what would lead to a kind of normal on-your-feet landing.

19:41He's also on a squishier surface, so it's probably a little bit bouncier. And he was going big for the flip. He obviously doesn't want to like under rotate it and land on his face or land what we call a gymnastic short, which means that your ankles would kind of be flexed a little bit more. So you typically would rather step backwards or if you are going to over rotate, fall backwards, then fall forwards because falling forwards does like not hurt as an injure, but just like stings a little bit on your ankles. So to me, there really wasn't anything concerning about it. Watching it, this guy's nuts.

20:15Like this guy runs through walls for fun. Like I've seen kids put helmets on, like run into the wall, say they're Cam Scadaboo. Like this guy's nuts. So if Benson Boone is doing like flips off of six foot platforms, I'm not really concerned about Cam. This is all part of his shtick. I am really curious to see how Cam matures in the league and if he can stay healthy just based on his level of like intensity. and almost rage play without the emotional rage behind it. So we will see how he does next season. All right, final story of the day. Aaron Donald may come out of retirement to reunite with Myles Garrett, previous defensive player of the year.

21:09and Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald on the same team on the same defense would be absolutely terrifying so Aaron Donald is now 35 he is a May baby a Gemini he retired from the Rams in March 2024 after a career that ended with 111 career sacks his final season which was the 2023 season He had eight sacks, 53 tackles, and was age 32. He's currently unsigned. He's retired. But there has been serious contemplation of a return. It has been stated that the Rams are not pushing for this, but he is training. So there are multiple sources that are saying he's training as if he is making a comeback. And yeah, having him and Myles Garrett on the same defense would be insane.

22:03Sean McVay has said he'd welcome Donald back and the two have kind of remained in contact. But Jared Burse, who was basically traded away to make room for Garrett, has publicly said he doesn't think Donald unretires. Do we think that Jared Burse is being petty? I'm not sure. An NFL insider, Albert Beer, did say Donald is training now as if he's going to play. And he seems to think that he could be good. One of the things that I love about this, though, is that I am so impressed with Sean McVay just overall in his demeanor and him in the press. kind of from the Puka Nukua drama to this, the way that he speaks about his players, just really seems to me like he cares about his players and believes in his players and also trusts his players.

23:02And I don't think that every franchise has that level of trust for their players coming across in their conferences. So I've not always been the biggest Rams fan. I'm a Lions fan. So the Stafford-Goff rivalry is super real. But I think that everything that I've seen Sean McVay say, I'm super impressed by. I'm also going to Rams training camp early next month, which I'm so excited to go and witness and see in real life. I feel like being there and always like anytime you're around players in the actual game in real life in a proximity that's not in the 300 section, you just realize like how intense and technical the game is and how big these people are.

23:47and seeing it in action. I'm really excited. I've never been to training camp before, so I'm so excited for that. Let me know if you guys have any questions or any, if you feel a different way about Sean McVay or if you also see what I am seeing. That's all we have for the top six stories that you need to know in the NFL this week. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being a part of the league. If you're not following at HeyVictoriaHenderson, again, we are making a little change to her game days and we're going to be inviting all of our girlfriends, etc. If you have a friend or a favorite brand who would want to partner so that we can give away something for free, hopefully as many weeks of the NFL season to overall winners of the league or people with great team names or just giveaways each week to make the fantasy league that much more fun, please connect me with them, send them to me on Instagram so I can reach out and we can get some brands, a little bit of exposure, as well as get some great stuff into the girls' hands.

24:54That's all I have for you. Thanks for listening to another installment of Pick 6 by the girls at the game. Love you, bye!

25:13the games on the game is oh my god the game's on games on games on games on games on games on