Nightcap Hour 1: Cade Cunningham & Pistons SNEAK by SHORT-HANDED Thunder + Odds for NBA MVP have TIGHTENED + NBA sends DOCTORS to CHECK Lauri Markkanen

17:44Chad Johnson:He a Razorback. Oh, Joe.

17:45Shannon Sharpe:Oh, yeah?

17:46Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, yeah, plug and play. Look, he ain't got no – he ain't looking over his shoulder. He know he's going to get all the minutes tonight. The man played 35 minutes. He normally get like 15, 20. Yeah, he can play. He can play. And I think what helps is you see he was five for 10 from a three. He can shoot the three. and he can put it on the floor and make some plays. So he a great piece, man, to that championship team. These dudes ain't stiff just playing behind Cech, Hungry, and J-Dub. You know, these dudes can play.

18:14Shannon Sharpe:He knows his minutes. Look, Hartenstein and Cech going to get the lion's share of the minutes. Now, as long as they don't get in foul trouble. Now, Hartenstein has a propensity to getting in foul trouble, so he might get a few more minutes. But tonight he knew he was going to play in excess of 30 minutes. So now my mind is already fixing. I already know I'm going to get me 30 tonight, Joe. I'm getting 30 minutes in front of the run.

18:37Chad Johnson:Hey, look, you know for sure you're going to get them attempts. You're like, if I make a couple now, somebody in trouble. Yeah.

18:45Shannon Sharpe:Somebody got to get them. They got up 96 shot attempts. So it wasn't nobody bash with Joe. Listen, that's a center. He shot five for 10 from three. That's your center shooting 10 threes. Damn. You know what I mean?

18:58Chad Johnson:That says a lot, Uncle Ojo.

18:59Shannon Sharpe:And also he was 7-7 from the free-throw line. So, yeah, I know he had 14 shot attempts, but that tells me he was able to put the ball on the floor and get some fouls because he was 7-7. They were 20 or 21 from the free-throw line. This is a good team. But I think the thing is, in order for them to go far, I agree with you, Joe. They're going to have to have that third option to give them consistent. Now, we don't know. Look, it doesn't have to be Tobias, but they need a third option, somebody that can consistently give them 16 to 20 points. Now, whether it comes from Tobias, whether it comes from Duncan Robinson, or Sue Thompson, I don't – Ronald Holland, I don't care who it comes from.

19:37Shannon Sharpe:I know my two big guns are going to give me what – my all-stars, I'd write them down. My all-stars are going to give me somewhere – they'll give me 45, 55. They're going to probably – K is going to give me somewhere like 9 to 12 assists. Between the two, they'll give me maybe 18 to 20 rebounds. I done wrote that down.

19:59Chad Johnson:Right.

20:00Shannon Sharpe:As long as they give me those numbers and everybody else do what they're supposed to do, we're going to be great.

20:04Joe Johnson:I mean, hey, listen, it's easy for us to say it, but listen, in needing those people, in needing those players to show up when it matters most in the playoffs, for them to actually have a chance, if they haven't done it at any point during the season on a consistent basis, the chance of it happening when the games matter more, it ain't going to happen.

20:21Shannon Sharpe:No, I think, but they got here, Ocho. I mean, like Joe said, they're 43-14. and I know we got the two guys and we talk, look, that's the way it works on the team you're going to talk about your two best players more so than anything just like J-Dub and Shea gets all the credit people don't really, Chet Chet was an all-star, J-Dub was an all-star last year, Chet is an all-star this year they got guys, Lou Dort, Isaiah Joe Wiggins, Wallace, they got guys oh, we ain't mentioned Caruso, the Caruso he's a three-day guy He can knock down shots. Put it on the floor. He can defend at a high level. All these guys can defend at an extremely high level.

21:04Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah, all of them. And they play extended defense. That's why they pick you up 94 feet to weigh you down. And when that fourth quarter get here, Ocho, that's when we going to pull it. We going to pull it when that fourth quarter get here. And that's how they be winning, bro. That's how they be winning. But Detroit is pretty much the same way. They picked up – they've kind of mimicked that same motto as far as extended defense, wearing you down, and Cade and Duren got to be special, bro. They got to be special every night.

21:33Shannon Sharpe:Joe, you look at the Thunder. They got McCain now. Remember how the kind of start he got off last year in his rookie season? Yeah.

21:40Chad Johnson:He became – He got something to prove.

21:42Shannon Sharpe:When they got Edgecombe. So now all of a sudden they don't need him. But he was – Hey, and so now you got another guy that can give you 20 because I don't know if people remember, he was doing tremendous. Before he got hurt last year, he was doing an outstanding job. So now you got another guy that can give you 20 in a spot. Yeah.

22:02Chad Johnson:Yeah, they got some guys over there, Uncle Ocho, who can get to it now. Oh, yeah. I wonder how bad Shea is injured or, like, how much longer he going to be out, Uncle Ocho. Well, he can only win, like, six more games.

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26:20Shannon Sharpe:Okay, let's go ahead and get into that right now. Speaking of injuries, the NBA regular season MVP has tightened in recent weeks with the two top betting favorites, SGA and Nikola Jokic, at risk of not qualifying for the award because of the NBA rule. Tonight's was SGA's 11th missed game of the season. So he'll need to play at least 16 of the remaining 22 games this season to be eligible for the second consecutive MVP award. Jokic has already missed 16 games this season. He will be ineligible if he sits out two more games. That's why the race is tightening up because Jokic can only miss two games and SGA needs to play 16 of the last 22.

27:01Shannon Sharpe:So now you see Cade Cunningham, he's rising. You see JB, he's rising. Because now your two favorites might not be in the situation. Lucas is hovering around. We'll see how they finish. They're going to probably need to finish in the top four in order to get some serious consideration. Go ahead, Joe. What you thinking? I think I don't got Jokic missing no more games.

27:26Chad Johnson:He going to be eligible. Yoke leading the league in rebounds and assists.

27:32Shannon Sharpe:He's second in – well, I think Cade was leading. But I think Cade is leading for the simple fact Yoke hasn't played enough games yet. But with that withstanding, so he's what? Seventh or eighth in scoring? Ninth in scoring? First in rebounds and second in assists?

27:47Chad Johnson:Yeah. Hey, he got another MVP coming this year?

27:53Joe Johnson:Or they won't give it to Cade?

27:56Chad Johnson:I think it's going to determine these last some odd.

27:59Joe Johnson:20-something games?

28:00Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah. It's going to determine a lot. I think as far as like the MVP race, obviously we're going to see who's going to be able to finish, who's going to be in line to even compete for it. Right. But it's going to come down. It's going to probably come down to like the last week. I'm going to be honest with y 'all, man. These dudes playing some ball. And I'm ready to see Shea get back. But I've been watching Jokic. I mean. He ridiculous. He's still putting it down.

28:25Shannon Sharpe:He's ridiculous, man. It can't be a numbers because you're going to lose a numbers battle to him because his numbers are going to be so exemplary. I mean, he's at what? I think he has 21, 22 triple-doubles this season. He just passed Oscar Robinson. When it's all said and done, in the next two, three years, he'll pass Russ.

28:47Chad Johnson:Oh, man. I mean, like I said. The game comes so easy to him.

28:54Shannon Sharpe:He does, Joe, and it's not like it's a lot of strain on his body. He doesn't play above the rim. He got a freak injury, which is somebody fell into him and hyperextended his knee. But when you look at the numbers that he's – I mean, man, he ain't supposed to be doing this. And it makes it look so easy. Did you see the shot he just hit tonight? A one-leg step out of bounds? Yeah. And people are like, oh, that's – Hey, hold on. Y 'all better go back and watch him when he played the Lakers in the playoffs and see how many times he hit that one leg AD. Hit it on AD several times. Hit it on bronze several times.

29:29Shannon Sharpe:That's his shot.

29:30Chad Johnson:Hey, I'm on here looking. K averaging 9.8 assists. Jokic averaging like 10.5, something like that.

29:39Shannon Sharpe:But had he played enough games to qualify?

29:42Chad Johnson:Oh, you're saying he ain't played enough games to qualify.

29:45Shannon Sharpe:If he played enough games, yeah, he's averaging a triple-double, Joe, again. So that's why I'm saying you're going to lose a numbers game to him.

29:55Chad Johnson:Right.

29:55Shannon Sharpe:Because you're looking at what he's averaging, 25, 25, what, 25, 12, and 10? 25, 13, and 10?

30:03Chad Johnson:Yeah. He's disgusting out there, bro.

30:06Joe Johnson:Well, hell, at that rate, at that pace, shit, they basically might as well give him the MVP now.

30:13Shannon Sharpe:It's only 20-some games to go. He's averaging basically 30, 13, and 11.

30:20Joe Johnson:Yeah, Joe. We might as well get to him that, Joe.

30:22Chad Johnson:I'm saying where they going to finish up at because winning is going to, honestly, he's going to probably be in the top five or six.

30:29Joe Johnson:Right.

30:29Chad Johnson:But if you got Cade now finishing, they got the best record throughout the entire league. Right. A lot of it's going to swing his way. That's how Shane went. Okay.

30:38Joe Johnson:Based on the record.

30:40Chad Johnson:Yeah.

30:41Shannon Sharpe:Because a lot of times they look at best player on the best team. Who's the best player on the best team? Last year it was Shane. They had the best record, and they were clear. They were, what, 10, 12 games clear of anybody in either conference. Yeah. So, but he's going to be, for the next three to four years, he's not falling out of the top three as far as top three, four, as far as MVP. He's going to be on the street like LeBron. Every year, LeBron either won it. He was second or third. One, one, second, second, second, third, fourth, third, third, second, second. That's how Yoki's going to be.

31:17Shannon Sharpe:He's just that good. And now he has Murray. Murray, the playoff Murray has showed up in the regular season.

31:24Chad Johnson:Yeah.

31:25Shannon Sharpe:Because we know what that duo does in the postseason. That pick and roll is committed.

31:31Chad Johnson:I like the Watson kid too. I got Ocho. They got over there. What is it, Pat? Yeah, yeah.

31:35Shannon Sharpe:He hurt right now, Joe. Is he?

31:38Chad Johnson:He's hurt. He was getting money over there.

31:41Shannon Sharpe:He's hurt and they've been out without Aaron going for a while, like a month.

31:46Chad Johnson:Oh, yeah. He should be.

31:47Shannon Sharpe:What's wrong with AG?

31:48Joe Johnson:Is it hamstring?

31:51Chad Johnson:Yeah, hamstring.

31:52Joe Johnson:You know that hamstring, that's something you do not want to play with. Nope.

31:58Chad Johnson:But they're going to be in the hunt, though. They get health at the right time. Everything about basketball is you want to be clicking going into obviously the March and April. You want to be playing good basketball, man, going to the playoffs.

32:12Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Look, I get it, Joe. I understand why they implemented the rules because you got these streaming services and everybody paying max dollars, and it's a very important game, and the best player, they sitting out two, three players. They said, no, no, no, no. Okay, y 'all want to load manage your ass out of an all-NBA selection, all-defensive selection, and F an MVP or sixth man of the year. You're going to load manage yourself out of that. Now all of a sudden they're crying and slinging snot. Because, oh, man, that everybody would, okay. Play. Play.

32:50Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah. You got – because you got guys, Uncle Ocho, who will play a couple games, get their average up real high. Next thing you know, they sitting out the next two, three games. Well, look, you ain't never going to be 100 % throughout the whole season. Everybody going to have knickknacks. Everybody going to be a little banged up. It's just throughout the duration of a season, six to eight months, bro. Like every other day, you know what I mean? Like it just adds up. So it's wear and tear on the body. But, yeah, man, they've made it to where you really got to go out there and compete for what you want.

33:25Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

33:26Chad Johnson:I like it. And you're right, Joe.

33:29Shannon Sharpe:I mean, and I think you see that a lot more in baseball, especially with guys with a batting average. I'm a couple of points in front of somebody, and I don't want to go over and drop my batting average. If somebody passes. So.

33:42Chad Johnson:Yeah.

33:43Shannon Sharpe:Because that's what you used to have. Hey, look. You got a car. I think in the 20s and 30s, if you won the batting title, you got a car. Yeah. When you guys got the lead, like, well, I'm good. I don't got to be enough games here. You know, back there, the car probably would cost like maybe$1 ,500, Ocho. But that was a lot of money back in the 20s and 30s. $1 ,500?

34:05Chad Johnson:Yeah. Hey, listen.

34:10Shannon Sharpe:boy it'd be a time if we if we get to get it like that again but you get it like that again you ain't gonna be making the money you ain't gonna be making the money there's a reason why prices wages went up so because prices went up i'll be the home the home cost you 30 000. you ain't getting no you can't even be in a down payment on the house for 30 grand

34:32Shannon Sharpe:hell i'll be i'll be uh my grandfather bought a brand new i think caprice classic back in 73 three, 74, they were like 2 ,900, 3 ,000. Yeah. Big four, 54. Big boy. Yeah, so nah, but I agree. I think the thing is it's gonna lie to fire front of the guys and get guys like, you know what, this load, man. And plus, man, Joe, you making 60, 70 million? And you mean to tell me you be sitting out? Especially on national television. You can't sit out no game that's a Saturday or Sunday. Man. Joe, everybody's sitting around watching.

35:19Joe Johnson:Hey, what if players are really hurt, though? What if something's really wrong and they really need to take that time off?

35:25Shannon Sharpe:Well, you can't sit out Saturday or Sunday and then play on Monday. Well, I can't play back-to-back. Huh?

35:32Joe Johnson:Yeah.

35:33Shannon Sharpe:You want the season to go year-round? Because the only way that you're going to be able to get a lot of 82 games in is that if you have to have some back-to-backs. What you have, Joe, about seven, eight back-to-backs in the season?

35:45Chad Johnson:Probably a little more than that. But, yeah. Yeah. Man, listen, it was one year. Okay, Ocho, we had to play – you had to play three games in three nights, back-to-back-to-back. Yeah. Like, we played a back-to-back-to-back. We played three games, three nights, and then last night we went into three overtimes. oh man got us a couple days off though but you know sometimes Joe they play back to back they stay in the same city they play the same team

36:12Shannon Sharpe:yeah yeah yeah so that's easy you know but back then they didn't do that you play back to back you might play Atlanta then you had to go down to Orlando or you had to go to Miami and play but now sometimes they'll play back to back and you play that same team back to back

36:27Chad Johnson:yeah yeah they've been doing it now

36:29Joe Johnson:oh Joe I thought you meant y 'all y 'all played back-to-back but had to fly different places yeah they did yeah we did we had to play

36:37Chad Johnson:three different teams three different cities yeah holy you i mean it wasn't no east coast to west

36:42Joe Johnson:coast or west west coast to east coast nothing like that no no they probably were not not with

36:46Shannon Sharpe:a back-to-back coach okay okay they have got to have it on the east coast so you might play okay okay you might play the knicks brooklyn and toronto or something like that that's not bad

36:57Joe Johnson:Yeah, that's not bad.

36:57Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, yeah.

36:58Joe Johnson:Yeah, that's not bad. Okay, okay.

37:00Shannon Sharpe:Or you play Atlanta, Orlando, Miami. Yeah. So they keep it close. Nah, they're not finna send you to Atlanta, and then you gotta go to Portland, and then you gotta play. The ways of the, yeah. And then you gotta play Phoenix, or Houston, or Dallas. They're not finna do it.

37:17Chad Johnson:Yeah, nah, they ain't gonna do us like that. But boy, it's rough. It's rough, though. They'll give you San Antonio, they'll give you Dallas,

37:23Shannon Sharpe:they'll give you Houston.

37:24Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

37:27Shannon Sharpe:Speaking of the NBA is sending their own independent doctors to verify Laurie marketing's MRI from an injury into practice today per NBA Porter. Tony Jones. Joe, is this what it's come to?

37:39Chad Johnson:Yeah. Cause the NBA say, man, we ain't going, we ain't going. Matter of fact, we've been sending our doctors down there to see what's going on with these dudes. Cause this ain't this tank of stuff, man. And they got out of hand. And I think that's what the NBA think. That's why they said we sending our own doctors down there to check on Laurie and mark him and see what's going on.

37:57Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, this is what it comes to. But the thing is, Joe, you know your body. I mean, the doctor say you seen five, but no. My ish hurt. So what do we do? What do we do, Joe? I mean, most guys, I mean, a lot of times if it's something serious, they go get a second opinion. They don't never take the guy's first opinion. I mean, you got something going on, Joe. I don't know if you missed any time during the season, but if somebody said, well, Joe, you got this, you're like, you know what? Let me go grab that second opinion.

38:26Chad Johnson:Yeah, you're going to get a second opinion for sure. I guess this may be the second opinion. I don't know, but the NBA say they want to know. Hey, they're starting to investigate a lot more, man. It's been a lot going on. You see they just shut Jaron Jackson down. He had to have surgery. He hasn't surgery for something.

38:45Shannon Sharpe:Yo, you mean to tell me you're going to trade all that, give up all those picks for a guy that you got to have surgery? What they do that at? Think about what they gave up to get him. And now you get a guy who played a couple of games. Now, he played a couple of games going off, and then the fourth quarter you sent him. Lauren Barkley was going off, sent him in the fourth quarter. NBA said, man, y 'all full of caca.

39:08Chad Johnson:That's why they sent them people down there. Yeah, we ain't trying to hear all that. Yeah, yeah, we going to be able to determine this here.

39:14Shannon Sharpe:Hey. Yeah. And you see the NBA said, you know what? Ain't no more lottery protected. Y 'all want to take? You do the game with the picks. Let somebody land them top three picks. Somebody got it. Because you know how to joke. Top three protected. Top five protected. NBA said, hell no. Ain't nothing protected.

39:35Chad Johnson:Listen, because I think Utah can still, I think they can get the number one pick. Yes, they can.

39:44Shannon Sharpe:And I believe if they get the number one pick, they're taking the bonzer.

39:47Chad Johnson:That's what I think. I think for whatever strange reason, I feel like. He's gonna stay in Utah. Yeah. I don't know why. It's just...

39:58Shannon Sharpe:So, I get it. I mean, I think the thing is that when you play, and it's like, they're playing too many games. Well, damn. Okay. They'll... Too many. I'm sure the NBA won't have a problem cutting the game, but they want to cut that pay too. So, because... There you go. See what the players want, Ocho, is that they want less game, but we still want to make 70, 80 million dollars. It may say, oh no, here you go. Yeah,

40:22Chad Johnson:I don't think we need less games, man. It's been like this since the 70s.

40:28Shannon Sharpe:As long as I can remember. And I've been a lot longer than both of you, so as long as I can remember, Joe, they played 82 games.

40:34Chad Johnson:Hey, listen, them dudes playing in Chuck Taylor's and Converse out there. They didn't have technology.

40:41Shannon Sharpe:Shell Toads. They didn't have, like Joe said, the shoe technology, the eating technology, the training technology, the medical equipment technology, the doctors, everything is so much more advanced. So can you imagine? And if you look at track and field, Locho, when these guys were running these fast times with just regular shoes.

41:01Joe Johnson:Yeah.

41:01Shannon Sharpe:Just imagine if they had those carbon fiber shoes and they had these Mondo tracks like they got right now. Man, you say both by the man nine three. Yeah. Ain't no telling how far Jonathan ever would have jumped. He jumped 60 and a half feet. Bob Beeman went 29, two and a half of the altitude in Mexico City. But they have no technology like they got now. And I'm not saying athletes, but when you combine athletes getting better and technology right alongside it, you got the perfect storm.

41:33Chad Johnson:Yes, sir. Hey, look, I kept me a fresh pair of orthotics in my shoes on that Ojo. What?

41:40Joe Johnson:Man.

41:41Chad Johnson:A pair of who? Orthotics. Orthotics. Orthotics. You ain't had that, Ojo? Nah, here.

41:47Joe Johnson:Uh-uh. I had them. Hey, Joe, I had, obviously, I was a Reebok during that time. I had them take all the lining out my shoe. I had no support. Why is that? So basically, because I need to feel the floor. You know what I mean, Joe? You ever had on a track spike or like a waffle shoe?

42:09Chad Johnson:Yeah.

42:09Joe Johnson:That's what I wanted my cleats to feel like. I need to feel the floor. Every time I step and touch and when it's time for me to break down, I don't want no support I don't want nothing restricting my ankle damn yeah it's weird I gotta feel the floor I don't know it's weird

42:24Chad Johnson:again you used to get taped oh yeah I got taped directly to my skin

42:29Shannon Sharpe:my bad hell nah man I look at these guys right now that man out there playing with he playing out there with footies and no tape I say what

42:41Joe Johnson:yeah same Same. The only time I put on tape, Joe, it was more for like fashion. It wasn't for my ankles or nothing. It was just laid on there. Cause I wanted to make sure everything was able to roll and be real smooth. It was weird.

42:59Chad Johnson:Oh Joe, I had to have some tape. Yeah! I had to be taped. I had that pre-wrap jumping. Nah. Joe, you can't feel nothing, Joe.

43:08Shannon Sharpe:I need to be secure. Yeah, I'm - Boy, my ankle bone be on the ground. Baby. Oh, nah. Ocho, you gotta understand, I was a hard planner. I'm talking about - Right. And you're talking about, I'm not like you, Ocho, under 200. That's 230, getting moving and having to stop on a dime? Oh, no.

43:28Joe Johnson:Right, right, right, right, right.

43:31Chad Johnson:I forgot, Ocho, a little dude, he wouldn't understand.

43:34Joe Johnson:Yo, Joe, Joe, don't do that, Joe. I had a little size of him when I was playing. Hey Joe, if you take my cleat, right? If you take my cleat, you get bended like this. And you can fold it.

43:45Chad Johnson:Oh no, oh no.

43:46Joe Johnson:You can fold it. But if it felt just like a track shoe, I just had a cleat bottom on the bottom. Nope.

43:52Shannon Sharpe:Oh man. Man Joe, I had mold skin, you know one of those strips that you put up there like that? And then I had the mold skin taped around directly to my skin. Yeah. That's what I had. Hey listen.

44:04Chad Johnson:I needed mine to feel secure. Hell yeah. I'm telling you. Man, listen, I ain't play, boy. I used to get heavy tape. I didn't get it like that for practice.

44:11Shannon Sharpe:Now, Ocho, you know I just go out there with pre-wrap and regular tape. Right. When it came down, I go out there for warmups with regular, like practice tape. Soon as I come back in there, I take that off. All right, let's get it.

44:24Joe Johnson:Yeah. Yeah, I don't understand how people I don't understand how people wear ankle braces on. They tape up their shoe, then they put on the ankle brace, then they put their shoe on. That's why I'm gonna do that. Everything is restricted. I'm like, what are you doing? It made no sense to me, but it made people comfortable.

44:44Shannon Sharpe:I said linemen tape up all that stuff. Cause you know them linemen, they have on high tops. You know, they have rubber bottom shoes on. They don't do studs. Most linemen don't do studs. Right. I played with Zim. He's the only offensive lineman I've ever seen wear low tops. For real?

45:06Joe Johnson:I've never seen an offensive line. You want low time. In no span.

45:10Chad Johnson:Is it mandatory to wear knee braces if you align? In college?

45:16Shannon Sharpe:Most guys, if you wear a knee brace, you've had a knee injury. Like you look at Brady, Tom Brady, I'll be stupid, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, John. John played his career. John never had an ACL. He tore his ACL in high school, and they removed it. So he didn't have an ACL at all. damn when I first got there he didn't used to practice with a brace no as a matter of fact he really didn't practice with a brace he only played in the brace but he practiced without it but most of the time Joe if somebody's had especially linemen offensive linemen they'll continue to wear it quarterbacks will wear it Tom Brady once he tore his knee I don't think Brady ever took any brace off Peyton you know guys like I mean, I could imagine a skill position player playing with a big old Dunn Joy on.

46:06Shannon Sharpe:Nah, I couldn't.

46:07Chad Johnson:But I noticed a lot of them linemen dudes. I know they be – because they always getting rolled up on. Yeah, exactly.

46:12Shannon Sharpe:I think in college it might be mandatory. Most college teams have all their offensive linemen wearing knee braces because of that what you said, Joe, they get rolled up on. But – Yeah. Nah. Mm. Damn. But nah, I don't know how y 'all do it. I be looking at them guys in amazement with no tape. I'm like, man, that must be real. I do too.

46:31Chad Johnson:I could do it in football. Hey, I be thinking the same thing because in football, especially the way they be tackling the receivers, the ones who be out there with them little no show socks on, I be like, man, how this dude, it's like every play, it's almost a career and they play.

46:47Shannon Sharpe:Man, and especially cause the hip drop. That's what got me, Ocho, taping my angles like that cause guys with hip dropping you. Yeah. And see back then, they didn't call the high ankle sprain. They just called it an ankle sprain. And so you're like, man, this thing taking forever to heal. This ain't no typical ankle sprain. Ankle sprain, yeah. And I never roll my ankle. Like, most people roll their ankle over the top. Roll it like that. I pro-made it in. I roll mine in because I got dragged down from behind on you like that there. Mm. Ah. Man.

47:24Mm.

47:25Chad Johnson:I know that.

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51:16Shannon Sharpe:Well, that must have been real nice to be able to run no tape, Ocho. Huh? That must have been real nice.

51:25Joe Johnson:And you know what? Honestly, for me to be able to do that, playing at that level, as quick and as fast as I was, it all had to do when I was little, running around with no shoes on. I could not play throw up tackle in the street you know when you play freeze you had a car coming you know I always either had on socks or I had on no shoes so I needed to be able to feel the floor even once I made it it's weird

51:53Shannon Sharpe:but you played in molded bottoms you didn't play in studs though did you

51:58Joe Johnson:oh yeah molded I don't play no studs even when we played the Steelers remember how the Steelers purposely had that bad I feel as an advantage to them, I still wore - You still wear motor? Yeah, still wear motor. I never slip, I never slip. I'm always over, what's the word I'm looking for? I was always over my - Oh, the ball in your feet. Yeah, always. Yeah, I never extended.

52:21Shannon Sharpe:I never extended. Or you're playing on your inside foot and slip, like, bro, you know it's wet out here, you're trying to speed cut like it's dry.

52:30Chad Johnson:Mm-hmm, yeah.

52:31Shannon Sharpe:Man, drop your hips and get up, put that weight on. The guys start skating, putting the back of their foot down, Ocho. I said, man, you're okay. But my first, I think my first like 10 years, Ocho, I wore molded, and then I went to the Speed TDs.

52:55Joe Johnson:Speed TDs molded too, ain't it? Okay, okay.

52:58Shannon Sharpe:What they actually called tempo bottoms.

53:01Joe Johnson:Yeah, I know you're talking about it. That's what they call it. Nice boy.

53:05Chad Johnson:Hey, so how often did y 'all go through like different shoes? Every week. You playing a new pair every game? Yeah, every week.

53:14Shannon Sharpe:So what I would do is that I would wear a new pair of shoes on Friday to get them broken in, and then I would play in them. Then I would practice in those Wednesday and Thursday, break out a new pair for Friday, playing those on Sunday. Yeah.

53:30Chad Johnson:I like new shoes. I hate it when my shoes got too broken. Brand new shoes? Oh, hell no, man. I probably played in a new pair of shoes like every three games on the Ojo. Because I hate it when they got too broken and too loose. I like my shoe to be snug, tight. Yeah, okay. Yeah, I was going to say you play in a new pair of shoes,

53:52Shannon Sharpe:but I think Jordan played in a new pair of shoes every game. Yeah. Yeah. Damn. Man, you know our brand new shoes hurt your feet? You know, Shade said it hurts like brand new shoes.

54:04Chad Johnson:Yeah.

54:04Shannon Sharpe:Hey, you remember when you was a kid, Joe, your shoes too small, you hitting the bottom of it in the heel,

54:08Chad Johnson:trying to get them toes down from the mouth. Oh, yeah. But I hate that. I hate that. That's how I got that. That's how I got this old hamletoe I got over here. From winning two little shoes.

54:24Joe Johnson:Yeah, you know, you can go get a little surgery for that too now.

54:26Chad Johnson:Nah, I ain't hurting, man. I'm playing. It took me through my whole professional career.

54:30Shannon Sharpe:ain't no need to get me jose he ain't no surgery unless he have to what no voluntary surgery

54:37Chad Johnson:cosmetic surgery oh i don't know how many hey look i don't know how many times i ever been under that knife but i done been under it quite a few times it ain't pretty yeah i ain't never been i ain't

54:47Joe Johnson:never been under that joe that's probably why i'm suggesting it my bad hey man look at i had broke

54:52Shannon Sharpe:my collarbone and it almost broke the skin so i got a knot right here ah mr sharp we can file it down i said man do you know how i pay for that to be the foul foul bone down i said ain't bothering nobody always hurt right right and if i don't i don't really walk around i ain't at the beach i ain't walking around with no shutoffs ain't nobody gonna notice it right like when i do a photo they just switch it to the opposite side so if i'm facing this side they'll take the bone and put it on this side so you won't even notice it damn okay i see what you mean okay okay yeah man uh Nah, nah, hell nah.

55:27Chad Johnson:One of that knife ain't no joke, boy. I got 18 screw, three plates in my face, man.

55:33Shannon Sharpe:Oh yeah, you got the fractal orbital.

55:35Chad Johnson:Damn, but you got elbow, Joe? I went up to dunk the ball and Stackhouse tried to block it and he kind of bodied me and I slipped off the rim, hit face first.

55:45Shannon Sharpe:Woo! I saw that guy happen to a guy in high school. He tried to dunk the ball and the guy undercut him. and the first day we hit was this.

55:55Chad Johnson:Ooh. Yeah. Yeah, I was in bad shape. I was in bad shape. How much time you had to miss, Joe? We was in the playoffs. It was the first round. It was the first round of the second round of the playoffs. And that was the first game. Damn. Man, I missed the rest of that series. I think we beat them in six. Right. I was out about two weeks. And that was early. I came back early, whole hour bloodshot red, you know, just from the surgery and all that. Like, it took a minute for their redness to get out my eye. Hey, you had the mask on? Yes, I had the mask, I had the mask. I still got the mask, I still got it.

56:36Chad Johnson:Batman Joe, whatever that I'm talking about. Well, you can't breathe in there. That was back in 2005, you couldn't breathe with that mask on.

56:43Shannon Sharpe:I had to have a thing.

56:44Chad Johnson:You had to wear one up.

56:46Shannon Sharpe:I was blocking down, doing a combo block, power block on 16 power. I'll never forget it. Lyman come around pulling. Fizz go right through my face mask. Bop. Damn. Fractured my orbital.

57:03Chad Johnson:Yep. I don't know about you, but mine hurt. What? That one hurt. Man.

57:07Shannon Sharpe:Hey, I remember I was laying on there. I had my face hand like this here. I was like, oh, man. And Greek. My head hurt. Steve Antelobos, we call him Greek, though. He got it sharpie. What's wrong? I said, Greek, it just felt like my face exploded. So he said, let's start, you know, hey, can you get up? I said, yeah, but I don't want to.

57:27Chad Johnson:Hey, listen.

57:28Shannon Sharpe:Man, that thing was hurting on you. So they got me that X-rated. Had a complete blowout on the floor. Because your eye sits in the socket, the whole floor. Yeah.

57:38Chad Johnson:Ooh. I know I was in pain, boy. I'm telling you, I would tell them, give me morphine, give me something. Y 'all got to give me something. Nah, I ain't want nothing.

57:49Shannon Sharpe:I don't do the pain medicine,

57:51Chad Johnson:cause the pain medicine have you constipated. Oh, I had the, my head, listen, listen, I came down, I hit my head on the floor, so I don't know if it was from there.

58:00Joe Johnson:Yeah, probably.

58:01Chad Johnson:My head was ringing so bad.

58:04Joe Johnson:Yeah.

58:05Chad Johnson:Yeah, and you know, like once that, once something like that happened, they don't want you to fall asleep. Nah, that was, yeah.

58:09Joe Johnson:Yeah, they keep you up.

58:10Shannon Sharpe:That was when they say, you know, you okay? Don't fall asleep. I said, man, as soon as I get home, I'm going to bed. Right.

58:24Shannon Sharpe:I think my orbital was more painful. I don't know. Maybe I dislocated my elbow too. Because you see how my elbow bent like this? It bent like that the other way. So it's bending like this. It bent like that the other way. Damn. What the hell happened? Tried to catch a pass. And Romo had my arm. I couldn't get my arm. through. So he, I landed, he landed on top of me and bent it up.

58:54Chad Johnson:Oh God. I had elbow surgery. I had elbow surgery too. I had elbow surgery too. I had three, I had three chip bones in my socket. I woke up one morning. My arm was stuck like this here.

59:11Shannon Sharpe:I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't. Oh, you had loose bodies. You had loose bodies in there, huh?

59:16Chad Johnson:Oh man. Yeah. Dr. Andrew got me right over there in Alabama.

59:21Shannon Sharpe:He died in Mobile or Montgomery?

59:23Chad Johnson:I think he had. Birmingham, yeah. I think so.

59:28Joe Johnson:God damn, boy. Y 'all been on the table like the little Operation. Remember the little game, Joe? Yeah, yeah.

59:36Chad Johnson:Remember Operation?

59:37Joe Johnson:Yeah, old Joe. But y 'all had everything done, boy. Man. Speak it up.

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1:00:57Joe Johnson:Janice Torres here. And I'm Austin Hankwitz. We host the podcast Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks. We're back for season four to talk to some incredible small business owners. The big thing about working at tech is that it's ever evolving, ever changing. Everyone's a rookie. That's how fast the industry is changing. So what I'm really excited about is to be part of that change. So listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The sound of a seatbelt.

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