Nightcap Hour 1: 49ers HIRE Raheem Morris as DC + Vikings FIRE GM Adofo-Mensah while on PATERNITY LEAVE + ShuShu Carrington joins NIGHTCAP + White Sox LEGEND Frank Thomas UNHAPPY with BLACK HISTORY Post

17:00Shannon Sharpe:He's accessible. He's just not wherever the training camp is. He's not there physically. He's tending to his wife, waiting for the birth of his first child, and his wife is going through a difficult pregnancy, to what I understand. I don't know why. in 2023 they never mentioned this in 2024 they never mentioned this i'm trying to figure out why did it come out now in 25 after you fired him now you get rid of that you're trying to put this on this man's name excuse me it's 2026 so you didn't mention it in 23 you didn't mention it in 24 you didn't mention it in 25 now execs around the league shut the f up i guarantee you if your wife was having a difficult pregnancy and it was your first child, your

17:51Chad Johnson:punk asses would have been there. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm curious why the execs are trying to make this out to be a bad thing. And I'm curious because they tried to make him look bad

18:01Shannon Sharpe:because of the fact of the matter. It's reported that he wanted JJ McCarthy, Kevin O 'Connell was like, I think we probably need to keep Sam Darnold for at least another year. You think that was his decision? yeah

18:22Shannon Sharpe:so with that being said I get it but I think that's something like as a player even as a player Ocho that's something you discuss with your wife or your girlfriend okay babe if this was an important game let's just say it's a playoff game let's just say it's the Super Bowl what are we gonna do no baby you You might not ever get a chance to play in the Super Bowl. You might not ever get an opportunity to make it back to the playoffs. I'll hold a fork down. Or sometimes they'll induce labor before it gets to that point. But that is the discussion that you have with your significant other, be it wife, girlfriend, or whatever the case may be.

19:02I don't, I don't, for me, whatever is best for your situation.

19:08Shannon Sharpe:And I'm. Everybody, I know some guys come hell or high water.

19:12Bruce Carrington:they're not missing that game yeah absolutely some some are like that hey you you're one of them but obviously and those those you're having a child from most of the women in those situations understand listen that what you do your occupation is what pays the bills that's how they got you that private room in that's how we're able to live the lifestyle whatever it is you're able to provide and they would be like baby listen me you better get out there on that field and do what you need to do what you need exactly now i'll do i'll do what necessary on my end and i hold off as long as i can until i actually need you until i actually need you my grandma oh joe you know my granny told me because my granny say baby if i pass and you got to play the game you play the

19:58Shannon Sharpe:game i'm gone ain't nothing you can do ain't nothing you can do you go play i'm gonna be here when you get here i ain't going nowhere so for me and all of a sudden it's frowned upon in cultures it's not frowned upon when their wife going through and have a difficult pregnancy it's not frowned upon when it's their first child man they need to stop this and i get it i under we haven't been a part of the nfl culture we understand right fully i really really do but my problem is ojo is that they're trying to impugn the man's name now because when it happened they didn't say a damn thing all of a sudden they wanted to come out so does this does

20:39Bruce Carrington:this does that hurt him in in a sense and being able to get another position another general

20:44Shannon Sharpe:manager position somewhere else i think what hurts look what's going to hurt him more is that the fact of the matter is that he let sam donald get out of there for little or nothing because then it's everything that seattle gave him he gave he could have given him an incentive laden contract i think it's three years 107 million dollars i think he got 30 plus million dollars to sign he could have done that okay he made a mistake he's not the first okay let that be let that be it now we got to add something to it it's trying to like we're trying to get the situation like oh you know you tell a story you add a little yeast oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah it seems to me this is what they're doing they're adding a little yeast because they want to let the story go because they're trying to make it seem like there are some other things that kind of rubbed the wrong way but this was the straw that broke the proverbial yeah hey the owner you sure the

21:34Chad Johnson:owner ain't the one that had the okay and give the green light to let some sam don't get up out of

21:38Shannon Sharpe:there of course they do ocho but it's the same thing with the nico harrison oh this is why you in that position it's the same thing with roger goodale that's reason why roger could they'll make between 60 and 100 million dollars because everything roger does the 32 owners approve of So he takes the arrow. He stands up there, and every time they have the draft, what do they do, Ocho? Yeah, boo.

22:02Bruce Carrington:They boo him.

22:04Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Okay. They've been doing this for 20 years. He said, well, y 'all booing, you study watching. 48 million watch the Broncos. 48 million watch the Seattle Seahawks. Another record year. Another record year of revenue. So all this, what you see, players getting suspended and all these rules that's implemented. the owners so we trot Roger out there to take all the blows so we stay Scott free so in other words Roger is alignment he's blocking for these owners so he's a left tackle left guard center right guard right tackle he's all that he's taking all the blows

22:43Bruce Carrington:I'm kind of mad too as a GM the fact that you even did that you even let Sam Donald get out of there after the season Sam Donald had as a GM, I'm just saying if I was in that position, I'm not betting on what I don't know. I'm betting on what I've already seen. Whether you were the eighth pick in the draft in the first round or not, I'm going to have you sit because I know what I'm getting out of Sam based on what he just did with us this season. I'm not letting him walk out that door. I don't care how early we picked you. I agree. That's mind-boggling to me.

23:23Shannon Sharpe:if I want to get rid of you, I can find a host of reasons. Okay. They say they want somebody that called plays. Byron left, which called plays. How many job interviews has he gotten?

23:34Bruce Carrington:Yeah.

23:35Shannon Sharpe:Now, how many guys they interview in Phillip rivers? They interview a guy that's never called plays. Byron left, which called plays with the bucks for a Superbowl.

23:46Bruce Carrington:Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. but again we steadily fighting for positions that they really don't want us in have we not do we not understand that yet we continue we continue to fight for positions that they don't want us in and we we consistently beg and beg and clawing and clawing and they're continuously showing you purposely showing you that i mean we really don't we really don't want you guys in these positions of power and being leader of men officer coordinators yes okay

24:15Chad Johnson:defensive coordinators, yes, okay.

24:19Shannon Sharpe:But it's not a whole lot of black offensive coordinators. Most of them, Ocho, are defensive coordinators. Or their position coaches, their running back coach, their wide receiver coach. Or tight end coach that doesn't get elevated on that side of the football. Not as readily as a DB coach, linebacker coach, gets elevated to a D coordinator who then gets turned. But see, let me tell you, look, do you remember, I'll give you a prime example, and Chad, stay with me, and I know y 'all remember this. Bill O 'Brien was the head coach of the Houston Texans. Do y 'all remember when he demoted Romeo Cornell, elevated Mike Vrabel, because it would look better for Mike Vrabel getting a head coaching job as a DC than he would a linebacker coach.

25:12Shannon Sharpe:He demoted Romeo. Romeo was, I think he was assistant or maybe linebacker coach. Vrabel gets the job at Tennessee. What did they do, Ocho? They promoted, re-promoted Romeo Canel to the D.C. You see how they did it? You see how they did it?

25:28Bruce Carrington:They play a game within a game. And if you can see it, if you understand it from far away, you know what they're doing. That's why, for the life of me, I don't understand. I know it would be dope for certain coaches. your Mike Tomlins, your Marvin Lewis, your Hugh Jacksons, all those that have had opportunity to coach at the highest level that have gotten opportunity to do so. But the fact in the game that they play and showing you clear as day, not even hiding it, it's right there in plain sight to see that we really don't want you guys in positions of power as leaders of men. We just don't like it.

26:06Bruce Carrington:We just don't. And we steadily, every year we come around, when the hiring cycle comes around, we sit here and we fuss and we argue oh they didn't hire any well god damn they continuously let you know we don't want you motherfuckers we don't want y 'all there in those positions why y 'all keep crying about it I don't understand

26:24Shannon Sharpe:sometimes I think I talk too much why this is why some of the stuff that we don't get afforded that some other podcasts get afforded I talk too much I tell you some stuff but it's because of this I just got to be truthful. I'm not saying, look, I don't have any gripe because I think Mike Bray has done an unbelievable job. He took the Tennessee Titans to the AFC Championship game, and now in his first year he has a four-win team the year before he got there in the Super Bowl. So there is no questioning his ability to coach. There ain't no questioning that. But I just want to point out things of how they move.

27:10Shannon Sharpe:We're afraid to move like that. Yeah.

27:14Bruce Carrington:Hey, I have a question. I mean, just let's say there's a woman, something that everybody in the chat can relate to to give you better understanding. And you're trying to pursue this woman and she's giving you every sign in the book that, you know what? I don't like you. I don't see you in that manner. I don't even want to deal with you. Matter of fact, I only want to be a friend, let alone date. why am I continuously trying to fill that position

27:40Shannon Sharpe:knowing she don't want me? Yeah, I'm trying to pursue a role that's first of all, I'm trying to pursue a role that's not available to me. It's vacant, but it's just not open to me.

27:52Chad Johnson:So why am I fighting to be in that position knowing they don't want me there? And then if they do put me there, they're not going to give me what I need around me to be able to have success at said position.

28:05Shannon Sharpe:Same thing with Lovie. remember they fired love at 26 with the bears a winning season it was it was it come on man it's and i it's just it's it's uh uh robert uh letale uh any decent man who has witnessed the significant other have a tough time after giving birth would have done the same thing The NFL has made people prioritize the game over their family. You might win, but the bill always come due. Check out that and the Elway doc for reference. He's not lying. And a lot of times what happened is that because the significant other, the partner, the wife, girlfriend, whatever the case may be, common law, because they've sacrificed so much, when you played, the hard part is, Ocho, when you stop playing.

28:59Shannon Sharpe:because a lot of times what they say I want to spend more time with my family you stop playing and you don't spend more time with the family so they said I understood why you was trying to be the best you can possibly be but what are we doing now and a lot of times even if you do try to spend more time because there's so much distance you don't really know that person you're two different people because you spent so much time away you was living with a stranger. The song There's a Stranger in My House.

29:31They do.

29:32Shannon Sharpe:The NFL and most professional sports prioritize winning overall because that's what it's about. Because it's what you made it about. Because every time I say something, y 'all tell Ocho and I, well he didn't win. How many games did he win? How many games did he win? So now, when people want to win at all costs and sometimes you deny Why? Family, friends, and loved ones, you do.

29:58Bruce Carrington:You got to. That's part of the sacrifice.

30:03Shannon Sharpe:But, and a lot of times they use that against you. They use that against players. They know you want to play. And they'll use it against you. I just don't like the fact that I'm at it. I don't like the fact that they bring this up three years after the fact. You didn't mention it in 23. You didn't mention it in 24. You didn't mention it in 25. You could have kept this. You fired the man because you believe he made some critical errors. I said errors. It could be just error. Listen. Singular. There's one big error.

30:36Chad Johnson:There's one big error that he made on that I can't. I can't. That was egregious. That was ridiculous. Okay. If you want to fire him for that, fire him.

30:46Shannon Sharpe:But you ain't got to mention this other speech.

30:47Bruce Carrington:I ain't worried about that. I ain't worried about that.

30:49Shannon Sharpe:But if you. And who else knew about. First of all, Ocho, who knew that? If something happens between you and Cambodia, only you and Cambodia know, but you tell me, somebody in that Minnesota organization had to tell him.

31:09Shannon Sharpe:Because here's the problem that you run into, Ocho. You tell, okay, I told one, I told, man, I told, I ain't tell nobody, but Unk. Unk tell one person, that one person tell 10 people. now there's 12 people that know what only Unk, Cambodia and Unk should have known Ocho Cambodia and Unk was the only one supposed to be know well you know hey let me tell you what's going on let me tell you something man

31:40Shannon Sharpe:because if you want to get any news man one man television that's how you get your news out absolutely Absolutely.

32:17Adofo-Mensah:The award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards.

32:22Frank Thomas:Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and Free Agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stops. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters.

33:04Frank Thomas:From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits. To my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts and all the tough decisions included you got quarterbacks on the move we got teams rebuilding it's hope season yeah absolutely it's hope season we'll tell you what's real what's noise and what it means for your favorite team smart analysis real conversations every week i don't know about the smart but definitely analysis listen to 40s and free agents on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts topic we got a very very special guest

33:41Shannon Sharpe:joining us you see he got the best belt joining us we got shushu he came through hey hey he did what he did what he did he walked him he walked him down and and and and put and put that shot on him and he's like hey dude have 14 seconds left no you hey you gave him the five piece five yeah you gave him a good five but but but he had a patch over that it was closed for the weekend he You can see that left eye was blown.

34:10Raheem Morris:Man, bro, I don't know, but that was just a crazy, crazy, crazy environment, man. Like me winning the world title, me winning the world title in New York City. Excuse me, Shoe York City. MSG, your hometown. Oh, crap. Shoe York City, man. I feel like that right there was just amazing for me to get the knockout like that and to fight up that. It was like a dream come true. Wouldn't have happened any better way.

34:36Bruce Carrington:Hey, shoot, I know you went in the camp. Obviously, y 'all came in with a game plan, going to fight, you know, brother Carlos Castro, right? At any point in the fight, did you think in the early round, did you get hurt? Were you a little bit more cautious? Did you have to change the game plan you went into it with after you got hit?

34:56Raheem Morris:You know, a little bit because I felt like, I think, I can't remember, was it the fourth round where he kind of hit me kind of in the back of my head? Yeah, he clipped a little bit. Yeah, and I lost my equilibrium a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My eyes and everything, I wasn't dizzy, but my legs, my back leg was gone. I was like, oh, like I had to, you know what I mean, catch a back. Right, right. But in those moments, you know, like as a champion, my mom said, like, I know how to, I can't panic. I got to stay focused.

35:22Bruce Carrington:Okay, show it, yeah.

35:23Raheem Morris:I got to get back my faculty together and make sure, like, I don't get hit nothing crazy because he came back swarming. Yes. In that moment, I was like, all right, I'm good. Throw some shots back and just got myself back. But I changed, I definitely did change my approach because I noticed when I was able to give him distance, punches were harder when I was giving him distance. When I was up close, I was able to smother his work, he could get his punches off, and I was getting my shots off real crisp. I was like, all right, that's what we're going to do. We're going to add a little pressure on to him and break him down as the rounds go on.

35:55Raheem Morris:And I think in the eighth round, that's when I knew I was going to get him out in the next round.

36:01Shannon Sharpe:so you you can already so that's because it looks like what you did because listening that you talk now is that you look man i need to get i need to get in range because i'm down range man he teeing off let me get inside and do some of this work to take some of this don't let him put let him get extension on these punches and what and what you got inside bro you started doing that work and systematically you walked him down you broke him down so you mentioned the eighth round heading into the ninth did you know did you know you're gonna get him out of there after that yeah my My mentality was definitely getting up out of here because I noticed with the approach that I changed up, he didn't like it.

36:37Raheem Morris:And he was like, literally, I'm just looking at his body. His body's getting red and his punches are coming up like, you know, a little lazier. And then at that point, his power just wasn't there at, you know, at most because I was smothering him up. And I was like, yeah, like he's really uncomfortable. He don't like that. He don't like that. So the ninth round, that's when I started to put pressure on him and then add more power to my shots and my combinations. And that's when I knew I was going to get him up out of there. And one thing I noticed about him, it was like a little rhythm. Whenever I hit him, he throws right back.

37:08Raheem Morris:I hit him. I hit him with a jab. He threw a jab right back.

37:11Frank Thomas:All right.

37:12Raheem Morris:I threw a jab, caught him. I knew he was going to throw a jab right back. I flipped it. Boom, right hand. And then I knew I caught him.

37:19Shannon Sharpe:Did he try to catch you with a hook?

37:21Raheem Morris:Yeah, I knew I caught him. When I caught him with the right hand, he was already out. That right hand caught him clean. He was already out. Yeah, you caught him on the button. I know he was hurt until his arm fell limp on the back of my neck. That's when I hit him with the forepiece. Boom, boom, boom, boom, and dropped him.

37:36Bruce Carrington:Yeah. That was a wonderful combination. I'm curious for you, Shu, what's next? I mean, you got the WBC featherweight title now. Who is it that you want to see next?

37:48Raheem Morris:Man, you know, I got a fellow champion that's fighting this weekend, Nick Ball. He's fighting over in the UK. He's fighting Brandon Figueroa. That's a good fight. I would like to fight the winner of either one of those guys. I've been calling out Nick Ball for the past year and a half. We sent out offers. They declined offers. But now we got a little intensive now to make the fight happen. And then if not him, I got Rafael Espinosa, the six-foot Mexican man. And he's a really great fighter. I would love to get in the ring with him as well, too. He knows that. And then if not him, Angel O 'Leo.

38:26Raheem Morris:I want to fight all the champions. I want to unify. That's my next question. You trying to unify this thing? In this boxing game, and I'm just sick and tired of it. I'm one of them guys that I want to be in there putting with the best. and it's time to get the show on the road and continue to make boxing entertaining and give the fans what they want to see.

38:45Chad Johnson:I want to be great.

38:46Raheem Morris:I'm going to be known as one of the greats. And me taking that step to unify and become the first undisputed world champion in the four-bell era to do it, I'm going to be putting history books for the rest of the days to come.

38:58Shannon Sharpe:I like that. Shu, but you did something that casual, because here's the thing. The boxing fans are going to stay. You got to get the casual fans so when they see Shu, shoot about that action. Shoot about that action because that's who you got to convince to spend the$60, the$70 for that pay-per-view. The hardliners, the hard, as Ocho say, the people that like the sweet science, they're going to watch no matter what. It's the casual fans that you got to get them to spend $60,$70,$80 on a fight.

39:32Raheem Morris:Well, yeah, that's why I call the Shushu Show. The Shushu Show never did. You know what I'm saying? I bring that action that's what this show is all about it is crowd piece performances it is non-stop action it's real boxing purists that they'll love it but at the same time I got that aggressive Brownsville style Mike Tyson, mixed Zab Judah mixed Riddick Bowe Daniel Jacobs I mix all these different guys in with my style because those are the guys I looked up to since I was a little kid and right there is a match made for like any type of entertaining fight so the Shushu show will always show up and show out every single time

40:16Shannon Sharpe:How did you get the nickname Shushu?

40:18Raheem Morris:I wish I had the coolest story bro but honestly it was just a nickname you know what I'm saying you know how like neighborhood around the hood oh Day Day and Nunu you know what I mean? Miles with Shushu but I learned that the name Shu is an Egyptian is the one who rises above all. And I feel like that name is very fitting for the things that I've been through in my life. You know, with a lot of the doors being closed to my face, me not being able to go to the Olympics when I qualify for it. My brother passing and him missing out on everything that we've promised ourselves that we was going to share with one another in my boxing career and our lives.

40:58Raheem Morris:You know, it's just a lot of things that was taken from me. And I I was able to rise above it because I always have faith. I always talk to God and he always let me know and kept me sure that, listen, you stay on this path, you're going to get everything you're asking for. Just keep working. Just keep working. No matter what I throw at you, these obstacles make you stronger. I'm not closing these doors in front of your face to discourage you. This is to make you stronger and build you. And this is one of those things where I learned, like, I'm one of his warriors. You know what I mean? And God's going to put you through all those obstacles because you're one of those warriors.

41:37Raheem Morris:And I accept that. And I take that on the chin. And now I'm here with the WBC title.

41:42Bruce Carrington:Hey, what's next? You won last night. Very convincing win. You ain't just won. You won convincingly. What do you do now? How much time do you take off when you get back in the gym? How long do you let the body rest? I mean, what do you do outside of boxing?

41:56Raheem Morris:Well, to be honest, I'm always in the gym. This gym is a lifestyle for me. You know what I mean? But in terms of what's next, I got to sit back and talk to my team. You know what I'm saying? We're seeing what's next in terms of who won't fight and everything like that. I'm always down with fighting the best. But at the same time, we definitely got to figure things out to where we can make these fights happen. But yeah, outside, bro, I just be chilling with my wife, my son. And we just be just traveling. And I watch my anime, Jujutsu Kaisen. The new season just came out. Dragon Ball is super coming back out.

42:31Raheem Morris:You know what I mean? I love watching my anime and stuff like that. And just working on myself a lot, too. To be honest, I wasn't like I was not a reader. I used to not really care for reading when I was a school. I've really gotten into reading and strengthening my brain and keeping myself sharp and just learning more things about myself and praying a lot and just doing a lot of self-work. That's what I do when I'm not in camp, just focusing on a lot of self-work outside of the boxing world.

43:01Bruce Carrington:I know you don't want to disclose it here, but after a fight like that, you know, to the naked eye, for those that are boxing fans watching from afar, you look good. Everything you did. But from Europe, from from those that are in your camp, they can see the flaws. They can see the mistakes that were made during the fight. When do you go back and rewatch film and sit down with the team and figure out what what you need to work on as far as weaknesses or flaws that you might have seen in your fight that we can't see from the outside looking in?

43:27Raheem Morris:I mean, well, to be honest, I head back home sometime next week. So right when I head back home, that's when we're going to really sit down and talk and just focus on the little nuances of the games that we can fix. Because it's always something that you can always fix. It's never like a perfect fight. If you get hit at least once in a fight, you made a mistake. And we strive for perfection. And in that fight, obviously, I got caught a couple times here and there. so we definitely want to continue to minimize that so we could have more longevity in this sport and continue to take over and you know continue to shoe world order you know what I mean like that's just you know I like to I'm ushering in a lot of things man you know like what Denzel said shoe program you know what I mean I like it so I'm ushering in a lot of things right now and so So watch next fight.

44:23Raheem Morris:You're going to see an even better procedure for Carrington.

44:26Bruce Carrington:Hey, matter of fact, before the next fight, if you need another sparring partner, man, I can come in the camp with you.

44:34Raheem Morris:Oh, Chou, don't hurt yourself, man.

44:35Bruce Carrington:No, I'm just telling you. Shoot. Shoot, I'm just telling you. I can give you some work, especially if you're fighting fighters that are a little taller. Oh, no, for sure. Yeah, man, holler at your boy. I'm down with that.

44:45Raheem Morris:No, on the real, though, I'm down with that, for real, for real. I ain't going to hurt you. Nah, you can't hurt me I'm just saying I'm not going to hurt you No, no, you can't hurt me

44:58Raheem Morris:I'll be sparring dudes your size too Because, you know, Rafa Espinoza He's like fun Of course I'm getting ready to Fight him in the future So I've had some experience sparring with guys His size, it's a little taller So yeah, nah, definitely We could definitely share the ring at some point You heard that, huh? Yeah, I heard you

45:18Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, that's me. Shoot, you had over two. I mean, you had a bunch of amateur fights. I mean, off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone but Lomo that had as many amateur fights as you had. What did you learn in all those amateur fights? Because you had over 250 wins. So, I mean, to have that many fights, because a lot of, especially now, guys are not having nearly the amateur fights that you have, the 200. I think Lomo's over 300 amateur fights. What did you learn in those amateur fights that you're like, you know what, this is enough. I mean, I think you probably could have learned enough in 100 fights or 150 fights.

45:51Raheem Morris:You know, believe it or not, like, it was all about timing. You know, I was the Olympic alternate for the 2016 team. At that time, I was 19 years old. And I had about 100 and something fights around that time. But I didn't have any international experience. I didn't fully grow into, you know, my power and nothing like that and my style and my identity as a fighter. and to be honest mentally I wasn't even really there you know in terms of believing in myself and everything like that too so there was still a lot of growth that I needed to do physically and mentally around that time I could have went pro because alternate for the Olympics that's pretty good on a resume you know so you can negotiate some decent deals as a pro but it wasn't enough I was being honest with myself so I waited four more years so I went to the 2020 Olympics and with that I grew a lot of confidence grew a lot of experience got the international experience And then on top of that, I got to see so many different styles to where it was like I was so confident by the time I turned pro that I was able to see a lot of things and not feel like I'm going to visit something that I haven't seen before.

46:59Raheem Morris:And that's a scary feeling when you get inside the ring and some dude's doing some things and you be like, yo, I did not see this coming. Like, what type of style is this? I got a lot of experience at this point now.

47:10Chad Johnson:That's dope.

47:12Shannon Sharpe:Well, congratulations. Congratulations, Shushu. You did an unbelievable job last night. You gave the fans, I mean, fighting in your hometown, Madison Square Garden, probably something you only dreamed of as a child. And to get an opportunity to fight in the garden, the most famed arena, and you get to do it in front of your home crowd in your hometown, and you put on a show. You turned the lights out of the building. Congratulations. We're going to wish you the best of luck, and come back and see us again soon.

47:35Raheem Morris:Appreciate y 'all for having me, man. Thank you so much. Shushu. Appreciate it, Shushu. Have a good one.

47:42Shannon Sharpe:Ocho, it's officially Black History Month. White Sox legend Frank Thomas is not happy with his former team. On Sunday, the White Sox posted a graphic in honor of Black History Month, honoring some of the momentous firsts of the organization. The graphic highlighted events such as Minimosa, breaking the franchise color barrier in 1951. Al Smith becoming the first black all-star in team history. But their greatest player, Frank Thomas, was not mentioned anywhere. The Hall of Famer posted this on X. I guess the black player who made you rich over there and holds all your records is forgettable. Don't worry.

48:21Shannon Sharpe:I'm taking receipts. Ocho, Frank Thomas was the first black player to win back-to-back American League MVPs. How in the world do you forget to include him when you're celebrating black history? that's not to say these other guys you couldn't have mentioned those other guys because the first guy to Blake that broke the color barrier um with Jackie Robinson and then you had I think uh Dobie for the Indians later and then he was the first uh uh for the uh the White Sox so that's not to say you put Frank in and take them out I just believe you could have included I mean obviously but what

48:57Bruce Carrington:is Black History Month that the team that organization understanding what he's done for that organization when he was there, when he was playing, they understand what he meant and what he did. Obviously, if he was left out, he was left out for a reason. I'm not sure if there are any quarrels or any riffs with people that are up there in management where he left a bad taste in their mouth outside of that. That's some of the games and things that they do to you. When you burn bridges with people, when it's time to celebrate you in a manner like today, Black History Month, they leave you off of stuff and they know that it would bother you, which is probably why they did it it's probably why they did it i i hate giving people the satisfaction of having control and knowing that they control how i feel i i hate when players do this there's there's no need to react you know what you've done for them you don't need to seek validation based on the black hearsay post because of what you did in the past when you played for a certain organization because sometimes this will let you this will tell you exactly how they feel no matter what you've done for them.

49:59Bruce Carrington:They don't care. They don't care. That's why they're able to have the power that they do when you're no longer valuable to them.

50:11Shannon Sharpe:He's the leader in home runs, 448. RBIs, 1465. Runs, 1327. Doubles, 447. Walks, 1466. Slugging percentage, 568. On base percentage, 427.

50:24Bruce Carrington:seven um can i tell you something everything you just named the all those statistics his resume his accolades they're set in stone they're not going nowhere they're not so the fact that needing for validation because in black history month from them when you know what you've already done

50:41Chad Johnson:it's unnecessary why give them the satisfaction of knowing that you even care that's why they did it that's why they did it that's why those voters that in the hall of fame that's why they do what they do because they know you care having that much power

51:00Shannon Sharpe:i think it's the whole thing i'm just saying in general having that kind of power knowing that

51:06Chad Johnson:they had that kind of power over individuals and knowing they want to be in like come on man let me ask you a question how much do you make as a rookie me yeah oh that's a good question i don't

51:19Shannon Sharpe:even know what let's just say you made okay what if they played you 200 thousands all the way through they don't give you the validation of being a pro bowler they don't give you the validation because money is a form of validation also see you think it's just about mentioning in names and in record books but money is the greatest form of validation so let's just say for the sake of argument the bingos say nah we good we're gonna pay you 200 000 take it and leave it and every team that comes along says oh we paid you 200 000 you okay with that you gonna play because you say you don't need validation.

51:50Shannon Sharpe:That's a hypothetical.

51:51Chad Johnson:That doesn't make sense. You're paying for my services. You're paying for what I'm able to do on the field. Are they validating your services? You're paying for a skill set. Are they validating your services as one of the best and paying you as such? No, I wouldn't take it. That makes no sense. That makes no sense to what I just said. You're telling me you're asking. You're asking. He's upset because they didn't recognize what he did because of Black History money.

52:21Shannon Sharpe:It had nothing to do with it. No, you said validation. You don't need validation. So why would they need to pay you X? Because money is a form of validation. Because you're paying me for my service for the position that I play. What are you talking about? So what are they validating? Your play as what? One of the top what?

52:39Chad Johnson:Receivers. Okay, so they're validating you by paying you what? Money, but I'm still playing. We're done. you don't play for them anymore what do you need the validation for so let me ask your question

52:53Shannon Sharpe:so when they tried to put you up in the ring of honor why did you say no why did you show up they i've never had a problem with it what do you mean but that's a form of validation oh joe

53:03Chad Johnson:into me i've never had a problem with it if i didn't go up i wouldn't give a oh excuse me man

53:08Shannon Sharpe:if i didn't go up i wouldn't care but you showed up so you were appreciative of it right because

53:13Chad Johnson:because of what I did when I was on the field.

53:17Shannon Sharpe:Thank you.

53:18Chad Johnson:Again, if I didn't go up, I wouldn't care. I'm gone.

53:23Shannon Sharpe:That's hypothetical. But you went up, like you just told me, that's hypothetical. You went up. Hey, um, am I in the Hall of Fame? The Bengals, the Bengals Hall of Fame.

53:35Chad Johnson:Do I have a yellow jacket like you do? Do I care? Absolutely not. No, because let me finish. I'm taking your word for it. I don't know if you care or don't care. My numbers, my stats, and what I did is what it is. It's solidified. It's not going nowhere. I'm not giving people the satisfaction of thinking they have control over how I feel about wanting to be a part of something as prestigious as it is. I would never. It's cool. I don't need your validation because what I did is already set in stone.

54:06Shannon Sharpe:Let me ask you a question. if you weren't seeking validation when you put that jacket on the sideline I'm letting them know I don't need your fucking validation no no no no no so why was it a gold jacket why was it a gold

54:19Chad Johnson:listen listen to what you just said if I wasn't seeking validation why would I put my own jacket on because I don't need yours that's why why was it gold

54:28Shannon Sharpe:tell me why was it gold

54:31Chad Johnson:because I'm showing you I'm not waiting on you at this moment I feel I'm hall of fame worthy I don't care whether you put me in or not. That's the point.

54:39Shannon Sharpe:But, but, but, but I'll be, but I'm, I'm trying to figure out. You could have put a red jacket on. You could have put a blue jacket on. Okay. Then so you do.

54:49Chad Johnson:I do not. You wouldn't have put a gold jacket on. You know, look how I conducted myself as a player. Think about how, no, let me finish. Think about how I conducted myself as a player. I conduct myself as a player that cares or needed validation for anybody. Think about it. Did I ever change? Did I ever conform to how they said I should have been? Your play. Well, listen, let me finish. Ocho, if you want to be a part of the Hall of Fame, you need to conduct yourself this way. If you want to be regarded as one of the best to play the game, you need to conduct yourself. Did I ever change in the entirety of my 11-year career?

55:25Chad Johnson:Did I ever change? I'm asking you. I stayed authentically and true to who I was. Letting you know I don't care. That's why I made my own jacket.

55:37Shannon Sharpe:your play was going to validate the Hall of Fame, not your antics, not the celebrations.

55:43Chad Johnson:Oh, that's what I'm telling you. I didn't care. And my play in general, my numbers in general, solidified just that, whether you want to put me in or not.

55:55Shannon Sharpe:But I'm looking at the NBA. They got, like, orange jackets. I'm looking at MLB. They got blue jackets. Why did you pick one of those? Because they have nothing to do with football.

56:05Chad Johnson:And I don't know what their jacket looks like cuz I don't play in the NBA. I don't play in the MLB But I know what the ones that I know the ones in a lot of people jacket

56:12Shannon Sharpe:What why do you leave? Why do you need to let people that need this sense? You know what? I don't need your validation. Why would you choose a gold jacket because that's the jacket that y 'all wear? Why do you care? I don't care. You don't need it. You don't know that which is why I made my own

56:27Chad Johnson:Okay, so why'd you go get a gold jacket? that is why i made my own and i'm telling you and i'm showing you that's i i made the message clear when i was still playing but a part of me thinks that no you know now you don't know me long enough don't do that don't don't come on now don't do that don't do that one thing about that i love you to death i love you to death and you know that's something i don't care about you you know that i'm oh me personally i think i think you're more than one no no no no no no do you see what they did to be a better you see what they did the bill listen listen uh what they did you see what they did the t you see what they did the last i would never ever ever give those that never had to coach against me that never had to try and stop me tell me whether i'm worthy to put on that jacket But my point is, Ocho, okay, let's just say for the sake of argument,

57:23Shannon Sharpe:you're not a first ballot or a second ballot Hall of Fame. But guess what? Whether you're first, second, third, 15th, sometimes they're going to the senior committee. You're in the Hall of Fame. With that being said, I think your resume speaks for itself because I'm basing Ocho on the time that he played. So basically from, I'm going to say, what, 2001 until 2010. that body works. So let's compare Ocho against the other receivers from 2001 to 2010. That's all we can compare it to. I can't look at Ocho and say, well, because people are going to say, man, Ocho numbers better than Liam Swans. Ocho number better than John Starworth.

58:06Shannon Sharpe:But they didn't throw the ball. I got to look at Ocho in the area.

58:09Chad Johnson:You see how you're doing it and you're comparing it? Them folk don't think the way we think. And I understood that. Them folk don't like me. Man, we can't get this. I think they do like you. Some of them do. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no. Remember we went to high school

58:25Bruce Carrington:and there was one bad little kid that was over in the principal's office? That was me. I enjoyed it.

58:30Chad Johnson:Hey, listen, I enjoyed it. I embraced being that villain. I came into the NFL with one thought.

58:35Shannon Sharpe:Yes.

58:36Chad Johnson:With one thought. Get your money. That too. I don't care about that because I kept giving that back

58:40Bruce Carrington:every goddamn week. But I want to be one of the best to play the position. That's it. I wouldn't worry about no jacket and all that good stuff. Okay. That was it. I want to come out here. I want to have fun.

58:50Shannon Sharpe:Where did they send the best to play the position in a particular sport when their career is done? Where did they send the best that play a position when their career is done? No matter the sport, be it tennis, be it baseball, be it football, be it basketball, soccer, whatever the sport. So whatever it is, you said I wanted to be the best. You were. The Pro Bowls in a 10-year span, you went to six Pro Bowls. You were all pro.

59:19Shannon Sharpe:So that speaks for itself. Now, I think the thing is, Ocho, I think that I don't, because you didn't get in trouble. You wasn't getting, you know, look, you had the little hiccup, but your career, I mean, and it ended. But listen to me. You didn't get in trouble when you weren't speeding and you weren't fighting and you weren't doing all this other stuff. Yeah, the dancing, some railroad, all that stuff, that's entertaining. They're not supposed to use – they're supposed to use what did Ocho do on the field. Somebody got that 100 catch, those 1 ,300, 1 ,400 yards. Somebody did that consistently.

59:58Shannon Sharpe:They don't care about that.

59:59Bruce Carrington:You know that. Come on now.

1:00:01Chad Johnson:Why do you think they don't care about it, Ocho? Because I refused to change, and I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't. Man, you know what's funny? What, T.O. didn't change? And what did they do to him?

1:00:13Shannon Sharpe:They did. It was a Tennessee. That's why, look, I'm upset that they did. I'm upset what they did to Coach Belichick. But I'm not nearly, and you know, I was on network television.

1:00:26Chad Johnson:Yeah, absolutely.

1:00:27Shannon Sharpe:I was livid. Yeah. But I just, I knew it from being around. Because when you're on network television and you see these people a lot more, I don't see a lot of the voters like I used to, Ocho. because you got 33 riders that write 14, and then you got 18 independents. So you got 50 men and women that go into a room that never played the game, that at the end of the day try to tell you how great you were.

1:00:57Chad Johnson:You see what I mean? I hate the fact that I'm seeing players that played the game, blood, sweat, and tears. You have 50 people that didn't play the game voting, And I got players that they see no value in their career unless these people let them in. They beg and they cry. No disrespect. Begging, crying. Oh, I should have been. Like, and you got these people over here. They have control over that. I would never give nobody the satisfaction. As great as it is. I would think they like you. As prestigious as it is. Let me, you know. I'm going to do one better for y 'all. What you going to do? Tonight, when I score against the Ravens, I crossed 10 ,000 yards that night.

1:01:46Chad Johnson:I already had my jacket. I pre-planned it. Whether y 'all put me in or not, hell, I'm Hall of Fame. And the jacket I got is 101. I done made a 14-carat gold bust. It's like, no, you're laughing. I swear for God. On my grandma and my mama, rest in peace. Why you need 14 carries? Because that's 101. That's value. listen to me I got I got to sit on I'm gonna show it to you when my room is done it's gonna be sitting right under the under the nightcap sign it says hall of fame and instead of Canton Ohio it says Liberty City under it you're laughing I'm dead ass and listen my jersey under the nightcap sign my jersey gonna be the same jacket I put on on the sideline I found it so I'm gonna have it framed and it man i ain't got time to play that's what now that that to me as great as it is it's awesome because i'm not waiting i'm not waiting on y 'all i'm gonna steal that bus no no no no don't do that come on no come on you know how much that cost me don't do that don't do that

1:02:44Shannon Sharpe:don't do that well i'm gonna melt i'm gonna melt 5900 of it i told you i'm gonna give your money so that might give your money in four more days that might be a ear for more days that might be an ear? That might be an ear? No, I'm giving you your money on February 5th at the live show. I promise. I think I want to steal something. I ain't stole nothing in a while.

1:03:05Bruce Carrington:It's Black History Month. If you want to steal, wait till March.

1:03:09Shannon Sharpe:If you want to steal way till March.

1:03:10Chad Johnson:Don't do it in the Black History Month. You're supposed to be my brother.

1:03:14Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, okay. You're supposed to be my brother. Would you go ahead and chop a ear off? A chop a who? I ain't going to be able to hear. They break it to me. it's a bus you'll be able to hear you'll be just fine

1:03:28Chad Johnson:hey babe hey let me have a red bull please aunt got me in here sweating in the paper towel hey hey chat y 'all see how y 'all see how my neph turned on me quick oh no no we good hey listen we ain't had a comment listen we ain't had a conversation like this since we were talking bud and boots remember

1:03:47Shannon Sharpe:hey hey chad shisey shay i guess he gotta make it no i got no you don't you know you're good i got you i promise you i got you i got you okay i i've waited long enough ocho and i don't i don't i don't want to do this but i think the chat chat what y 'all think the chat the chat understand

1:04:09Chad Johnson:completely it's black history month chat what y 'all think hey black on black violence you don't want that this is a month. And there gonna be no violence. I'm in and out. Where I'm gonna be at? One of your many trips. The next trip, we gonna be in the same place. Ocho, you know I know you be traveling. The only travel I'm doing, football season is over. Unless we have somewhere to go when it's work, I'm gonna be here at home. Oh, no, no, you be traveling. Huh? Mm-hmm.

1:04:39Shannon Sharpe:You be traveling, so I got to get you, Ocho. I mean, you came in my house and stole your plaques. see you see how you do it chat does he kiki kid about that

1:04:56Shannon Sharpe:but he won't mean he told me oh don't do that in black history yeah hey listen wait till mark

1:05:01Chad Johnson:this is 12 months out the year there's one month we should not attack each other we shouldn't steal from each other because they left other months where you could do what you need to do so again in march if you want to come in here and break in and have to deal with security have to deal with you know the alarm going off that's on you that's okay

1:05:22Shannon Sharpe:hey one thing about it god is good way he is he gonna be good to me get me in and out of the house

1:05:31Bruce Carrington:without tripping out oh you're gonna trip it you're gonna trip it i got mo i got motion sensor i got everything ring the ring and all like hey when i'm not here and i hit the alarm I got beams of light and you can't see the beams

1:05:45Chad Johnson:but if you cross the beam, boom, the police would be here in like one minute. You got cameras in that house? Yep. One over there in the corner. One in that corner.

1:05:57Shannon Sharpe:I'm going to take a dump in that game room. I'm going to take a dump in that game room. God damn, I'm going to drink me some milk and some apples.

1:06:08Chad Johnson:I don't do that. Hey, matter of fact, speaking of, you know what that remind me of? You saw the movie Alpha Dog? They be like I smashed a pumpkin. You heard me? You saw the movie Alpha Dog? Yeah. Remember when he took a... Yeah. In his living room? Mm-hmm. Oh. That's classic. What y 'all think, Chad? Oh, the chat definitely not going to agree with that. Absolutely not.

1:06:35Shannon Sharpe:Chad, what y 'all think I should? Y 'all think I should go chop one of Ocho gold, 14 karat gold here off his bus? Nah, don't do that. Don't do that. Hey, that's a one-on-one. Drag me some chocolate milk, eat two apples, just the pills. Cause that's where all the fiber is, just the pill.

1:06:51Chad Johnson:You don't need to do that. I told you I'm paying you on February 5th. I'ma start in the game room

1:06:57Shannon Sharpe:and probably end by the front door. Nah, nah, yeah, don't do that. And then I'ma do like a dog, scooch my butt on the carpet, on that white carpet.

1:07:09Shannon Sharpe:what else you got white in the house you got a couch is white everything everything all white from upstairs down oh yeah yeah yeah yeah no i don't don't do that don't do that

1:07:20Chad Johnson:yeah don't do that i'm gonna find that lv jacket that you wore which one

1:07:25Shannon Sharpe:they're like man this joker took hey somebody the lv jacket took a dump it on your house i took

1:07:29Bruce Carrington:that back i got my money back oh yeah i had the receipt you really man man hey i keep the receipt on everything but it's going right back that was nice that was nice but i wasn't gonna need it no more i live in miami i knew i was going to new york boom got that twitter at 12 went right back

1:07:50Shannon Sharpe:on my card let me get that get what you could you could you could let me get that don't you fit Nah, I probably need a double X. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even though I've been doing cardio like crazy, I still, I ain't been doing X.

1:08:06Bruce Carrington:What you weigh right now you think? About what? 220?

1:08:09Shannon Sharpe:Shit. Probably like 265. God damn, you fat.

1:08:17Shannon Sharpe:265? I'm going to get down to, I think my best, I talked to my trainer, he putting the program together with eating and supplements. I'm going to get down to 247. I think that is the best for my 54th birthday. If you guys see my IG, that is the best. I think that's the best I've looked in my 50s.

1:08:39Chad Johnson:Hold on. What if you get back to your playing weight? Were you like? Nah. No? 228? Oh, hell no.

1:08:48Shannon Sharpe:Were that too small? Boy, somebody go think I'm on crack. Hell no. And I'd have to kill myself. I got to get to a weight, Ocho, that I don't have to kill myself. Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'm eating ketchup with a needle. I'm doing three hours of cardio a day. Three hours of cardio? Yeah. To get back down to 228? Yeah. Okay, okay, okay. So that is my ideal. I think 247 is good. I can maintain it. I'm good. I'm changing. Like, you know, your body's kind of got the nutrients that you eat. You've been eating the same thing for too long. and so I want to put some variety in that. I want you eating cream of wheat.

1:09:31Shannon Sharpe:I want you eating cream of rice. I want you to eat different proteins. I want you to get some fruit. I want you to start eating more apples, bananas, pineapples, things like that, berries. So that's, like I said, if you go back and look at the picture that I took, I was 54 years of age. That's the best that I've looked at in my 50s. Now, I took some pictures. I'm trying to get those that I took when I was about 45. I was about 257. I was about 6.5 % body fat, but I was just like brick. Now, that's too much muscle. That's too much. That's too much. And I don't want to lift like that. I can't handle that kind of weight the way I was handling it back then.

1:10:19Shannon Sharpe:And I understand. And it took me a while to get past that, Ocho. I got my elbows hurt, my shoulders hurt, lifting. you know 365 for 10 12 it's like nah i'm good damn are you strong boy i'm good yeah yeah and squat and i can't i mean i can still squat but i just can't squat like i used to with car gurus

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