MLB Playoffs With Jeff Passan, CFB With Matt Leinart, Bears Beat Commanders In The PMT Bowl + Guys On Chicks

35:45Like Ben Johnson in the bye week, we talked about it on Sunday. It was clear that the running game was a focus because he got that thing fixed, and DeAndre Swift was an absolute monster, and Theo Benedict making his first start was really, really good, and it was one of those games like, hey, the Bears usually fuck this up, and they weren't the team that fucked it up. The Commanders were the team that fucked it up. Yeah, I mean, it was a winnable game, and it was not the best game. Like, our run defense was pretty bad. Our rushing game was not good, especially going up against – we thought that the Bears – I mean, by the numbers going into this game, the Bears were last in rush defense, running defense.

36:22And the commanders were first overall with our ground game. So did not take advantage of that. Bill didn't have a great night. Bill fumbled. Didn't have any really, like, super explosive plays in the running game. There was a lot to like. Like, Jaden made some great throws. Cliff, I thought, called a pretty good game on offense. He schemed up a few big plays. Like, the touchdown to Luke, went back and watched that again. That was a great play design by Cliff where he had him, like, pretend to block on a screen to Debo and then take off after starting the route off slow. That was a great play. I should address the fumble at the end.

37:02He's the best handoffer in the league. I wish that I had not proclaimed Jaden Daniels to be the best quarterback at handoffs in the league. I think we can say he's not the best. I shouldn't have said that. You have made mixtapes exclusively of Jaden Daniels' handoffs. Will there be one from last night? No, I'm going to leave that up to the people. Listen, I've got to sit in this. I've watched the botched handoff several times. He fucked up. He knows he fucked up. am i out on jayden because he dropped a ball when he was trying to hand it off no i mean he he still made some great plays the interception was bad but he made some great throws last night i i'm still like i'm very confident in jayden moving forward i think he's a great quarterback i like watching him play i'm not i'm not wavering on my jaded stance you pause there for a second um you were complimenting cliff's play calling yeah on that fumble play call who do you think there's any blame on him for calling a shotgun on when you need one yard uh yes because like it was raining in general i don't think that i i don't like running the ball out of shotgun i don't but it has worked for us and when you have jaden back there that's doing like a read option historically we've been able to convert those plays so it's worked in the past i don't love the shotgun uh just i don't i don't love running out of shotgun in general uh but in terms of like snapping the ball to shotgun when it's raining outside jayden just fucked up yeah jane fucked up i i if you can't catch a ball and then hand it off to your running back if it's raining outside then you that's that's on you as a quarterback that's not the play caller was the fumble worse or like the uh fact that you you thought you thought in your heart of hearts you guys were going to beat the bears i thought or the game yeah no i i thought wait what's the question like what's worse the fumble happening or the fact that like the whole thing like you you you thought you were going to beat them you thought the bears probably weren't good and you were going to win this game i thought that we were going to win the game yeah yeah i mean at home on a monday night i like our chances it was a close game uh the fumble was tough i mean that if you don't fumble that ball you probably win a game that you shouldn't have won and i don't think the commanders were the better team last night.

39:18I think the Bears were the better team last night. I think the commanders are a very average team right now. Our defense is big time suspect and we, we lack a lot of explosiveness on offense right now. So I, I, I still think when all is said and done, cause it's a long season, we do have a very hard schedule from here on out. Uh, I still think that we're going to make the playoffs at three and three. I think that that's definitely a possibility. Uh, but I don't think that we're a very good team. We're just not, I don't think anybody, did anybody watch that game last night and think to themselves damn i'm scared of the commanders no nope yeah you shouldn't because it wasn't it wasn't that good if the refs if they if they get you know the calls they were getting that's scary but yeah that's true that is actually a really good point if you can bring that crew with you yeah then they would be very scary yeah i mean it was a it was a it was a bad game bad bad fumble at the end bad fumble by bill bad interception by jayden but there's still you can look at the game and be like yeah there's some stuff on offense that was that was really good last night yeah i'd be happy with that uh the bears are i mean the gateway game i the gateway is wide open i i said to you if they beat the cowboys there's a chance they could be sitting there at six and three they got to win their you got to win the games you're supposed to win especially like against the saints next week at home the best way i'd put how i feel about the bears right now i am not ready to say they're they are a good football team because there's a lot of stuff that still needs to be cleaned up the defense is secondary is banged up and they are big time ball hawks where it's like got to take away the ball and if they don't we can get gashed caleb played okay not great he was he was had moments that were good moments that were bad uh but i would say the bears are not a good football team but they are unequivocally no longer a bad football team and that is a very important distinction to make in the progression of a team yeah i mean the running game looked awesome last night they said the bears found something against the commander's defense which was exploit the outside run the ball to the outside and it worked really really well yeah and ben johnson's awesome coach because that's he's you know again these are it's not a coincidence that we have now won two games that the bears normally never ever win because ben johnson is a coach and the culture has shifted so i'm very excited i'm staying six out of ten excited but i'm very excited because again no longer a bad football team we've graduated from that class is ben johnson a 25 to 24 merchant yes those are the games that we win that we never supposed to win and i know that we know that people didn't think the bears were going to win that game because if you were thank you for everyone who was watching on the stream i think we had about like 13 to 15 000 people watching for the majority of the game And then as the Bears went to line up for that kick, it went to like 26 ,000.

42:04Those are the sickos and perverts. After the fumble, it's just there's people sick at their house. Showed up. And then they just I thought he was going to miss a kick because I was like, I've seen him miss 38 yard kicks, but I was very excited. I'm excited about the Bears like they are. Again, I'm not getting ahead of myself where I'm like, oh, man, this team is awesome. I'm thinking about thinking about playoffs, so I'm not thinking about playoffs yet, but not being a bad team feels really good. It feels good to no longer be a bad football team. Yeah. Now we got to be a good football team. And that starts with beating the Saints who you should beat at home.

42:39So I said 25 to 24 merchants. That's back to back games for the Bears winning 25 to 24. Exactly. That's the first time since 1926 that an NFL team has won consecutive games by one point with the exact same final score. Hank, you have any idea who the previous team to do it was? I don't. 1926 probably the Bears. it was the frankfurt yellow jackets and they beat the detroit panthers twice they beat uh them seven to six and then they beat the bears seven to six pretty crazy wild yeah pretty crazy uh yeah shout out to dan quinn though maybe the challenge of the year uh he he's a complete psycho he challenged a one yard completion uh i did not know what he was doing at the time i don't think any coach in NFL history has ever charged or has challenged a non-first down one-yard reception.

43:34He got the call overturned on the field, and then it ended up actually making a big difference because we held them to nine yards. I knew exactly what he was doing. I said it on the stream. I was like, the Bears are going to get stopped at fourth and one. And then they got stopped at fourth and one. Yep. Congratulations to Hank also. Hit the hater parlay. Thank you. What was in the hater parlay? It was Jane Daniels to throw an interception, Jane Daniels under passing yards, Bill under rushing yards, and Bears money line. Wow, that is a hater product. It is a hater product. But it hit. And it was...

44:09Jane Daniels needed like 30 yards in the fourth quarter, and Bill needed like 10 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. And they got the ball twice, and the only yards they gained were basically penalties in the third and 13, and that was it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think McNichols might have had a good run sprinkled in there somewhere. But yeah, I saw the sidelines and Bill did not look happy with himself. It's two games in a row with a fumble. And yeah, it wasn't a great night for the commander's offense. It wasn't, but like I said, there were some good things that you can take away that you can look at and be like, okay, they did this well, they did that well.

44:42I'm not going to say the sky's falling. It's Monday night football. It's under a microscope. It was a bad loss. some bad mistakes but i'm not i'm not like the season's over last year after the bears and commanders played the season was over for the team that lost yeah does that play a factor into anything are you slightly worried about that that that the result of this question just impacts the other team like i'll be i'm just going based off history question i'll be like that it was lucky as shit that the commanders beat the bears last year that was i mean it was a great throw it was you you have to set up the hill mary correctly that was a good drive at the end but like to win on a Hail Mary that's deflected.

45:18A lot of things have to go your way. That was a lucky win. This was just, we weren't the better team. So I don't, I'm not, no, I'm not saying that the season's going to fall apart because we lost to the Bears. I think that what you're seeing right now is a team that in this iteration, if they don't improve, they're going to end up like eight and nine, nine and eight. Max, you just looked up the NFC East standings. Did you think the commanders were lower than you? you thought they were going to be lower? No. What were you looking up for? The NFC East could just not be very good this year. Yeah.

45:53That's the thing is, yeah, we're, what, one game behind the birds? Just one game. And then, well, here's what I'll say. This week, Cowboys. There's going to be like 60 points in that game. Must win or can't lose? I feel like it's going to be, how would I describe this game? Because you do have, what, the Lions and Chiefs after that? This is a can't lose. Yeah. You can't lose this game. You need to get the offense looking right against that defense, and you need to see some signs of improvement. Now, if we lose to the Cowboys... Will the sky be falling? The sky might be falling. I think the sky's going to fall.

46:29The sky might be falling. The sky might be falling. If you dip below.500... With the Chiefs, Seahawks, and Lions on deck. On deck, yeah. And then for the rest of the Seahawks... I mean, we have a hard schedule. If you look at it right now, the one game that you would point at and say, this is probably one that we should win, would be the Dolphins, but that's in Madrid. So who knows what's going to happen over in Spain. And you lost one that you looked at before the season thing you'd win with the Bears. Yeah, yeah. Bears at home. I definitely thought that that would probably be a win. And it was not really.

47:00I mean, it's 25-24, and we should have won the game, but we didn't deserve to win the game. The Bears won the game. Yeah. Any thoughts on tattoo? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I thought maybe I'd just get Zach's tattoo. That'd be sick. Get the eagle, the giant eagle on there. We tattoo twins. Maybe a tramp stamp eagle. I don't know. I'm open to suggestions about the tattoo. I want to get it done soon. Plaid sleeve? Plaid half sleeve. I'm going to get that at some point. What better time than now? What better time than now? You talked about it. It'll probably take a while. I don't know. How long do they let you stream for?

47:38You don't have to stream it. We just do a PMTV. Okay. Get it in pieces. Time lapse. Yeah. Easy time. I'm going to get a plaid sleeve at some point. Yeah. Sounds like you're not. No, no. Listen, I've been playing this out for years. I can only see there's only one example of a plaid tattoo that I've ever seen. And it looks pretty sweet. It's like you're in constant flannel. By the way, one last thing about the game. Trey Ekman just hates Caleb Williams. It's fine. Just say it. Just let us know. So we were watching. The sound was really low. So I didn't get to hear what he was saying. He just every throw he was like, that was a bad throw.

48:13he's got it like the one that uh Zaccheaus dropped yeah like which that was a drop I don't know what else and I don't think I'm not here saying Caleb played incredible he played I the way I described is he played fine he played there was some good there was some bad he's wins or wins and like stacking those wins it was this throw he's just like oh he threw it in the wrong place like okay but you that's a catch everyone should catch that he fumbled a snap and it was a pretty bad snap objectively and he was like that's all Caleb Williams it's like yeah it is obviously you should catch the ball but it was not a good it's not like he'd fumbled a good snap it was a it was a subpar snap it was crazy that was also a mistake that Ben Johnson would make snapping the ball with when you could take it to the fourth quarter it was crazy yeah those are the little things you got to clean up after the game I did I found myself in a dark place last night when I went home I just laid down on the couch before I went to bed and I was just watching as much of this game as I could and then re-watching the fumble and then watching the fumble again and then watching it again and it took me it took me to a website that I'm not proud that I visited last night browsers no I would be very proud pound my chest yeah I went to no not to brag I got a password tankathon no no question max uh there's I was looking up Jaden's hand size which I found out was completely normal, regular hands.

49:34It took me to a website called qbgrip.com. Okay. These perverts over at qbgrip.com have an archive of every quarterback's grip on the ball in NFL history, like a zoomed-in close-up of how they grip a football. And I spent like 10 minutes just looking. Yeah, and they got stories about the grips. These people are just obsessed with quarterbacks' hands. How is this grip? It's a fine grip. It's a good grip, but it's only hands. It's crazy. That is nuts. But I love the fact that there's a guy out there that is so dedicated to quarterbacks' hands that he made an entire website with everybody that's ever played.

50:12That's cool. Yeah. Tony Romo's got a little pudgy hands. Gino, scroll up to Gino. That was the one that stood out to me a little bit. He really extends that pinky. Yeah. He's like trying to make his hand bigger than it is. Yeah. That might be some of the weird fumbles and interceptions. Yeah. I would fix that grip. Okay. So, yeah, that was Monday night. Thanks for everyone who tuned into the stream. PFT is going to get a tattoo. Also, speaking of footballs, we were playing for Shane's football. I have returned the football to Shane, so it's now Shane's football again. I thought it was the rightful thing to do because Shane loves that football.

50:50For people who don't know, Shane, one of our graphics guys, has a football he absolutely loves where he doesn't let anyone touch it, plays with it all the time. pft won it from him and then pft fake fucked it and it i think it bothered shane a lot it really did bother and i i couldn't see him be in that much pain so i as soon as we won i gave him the football and he now has the football there there is something about that football though like after i had custody of it for a week like i it's like the ring in lord of the ring it turns you into golem like it turns shane into golem now i i miss that football i just knew that that guy I love that football more than I'll ever love that football, so I had to give him the football back.

51:30He needs the football. You can do whatever you want with the football. Yeah. Now, when the Chargers play, do they play the Eagles? I don't know. They do. They do play the Eagles. Do you want that football? Do you want that football? Yeah. Yeah. We're going to have to put that football back up. Well, Shane doesn't have to if he doesn't want to. No, he does. Yeah. No, he does. No, he doesn't. Yeah, he does. No, he loves that football. Yeah, no. Now he's a ring guy. All right. Should we talk? Let's talk a little brief college football, and then we're going to have more with Matt Leiner. I got some big, big ideas I want to throw out there.

52:01The first is America, be ready and maybe have a sit down and have a conversation with your children, with your loved ones about 12 and 0 Indiana, because Indiana is so fucking good. And they went into Oregon. And I know that that score was only a 10-point game, but they handled Oregon, which was shocking in the way. I was like, oh, yeah, Indiana could win this game. But the way they handled it, this team is for real, for real. They're not what last year was where it was like, hey, if they play a good team, they're going to get smushed. That was, I mean, Fernando Mendoza's awesome. The way he bounced back from the pick six.

52:43Indiana is really good. Indiana's going to go 12-0. Get prepared. we'll see what happens when they're in the big 10 championship game but this team can hang with anyone yeah like last year indiana the knock against them was they're not an elite team yeah i i in retrospect that wasn't really that much of a knock against indiana because indiana has sucked for it feels like generations obviously michael pennix played pretty well when he was there but like they have not been good at football and then last year they have the most losses in in football history yeah college football history they were in the conversation amongst being um with the great teams.

53:16They weren't a great team. They were a very good team last year, but it was year one of what Signetti was doing. Now this year, I don't think you could watch that Oregon game and think anything besides the fact that, yeah, Indiana just outplayed them in just about every facet of the game. It was not a fluke. They dominated Oregon. I guess you could say, like, was Oregon's win over Penn State that great? You could look at that. I still think Oregon's good. Indiana's better. And it's just now a two-horse race. It's Ohio State and Indiana in the Big Ten. Indiana is, yeah, they are a legit threat.

53:47I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this postseason with Indiana because I do believe in them now. Yeah, big time. And then we had, so the other big, there's a lot of big games, but Bama, I love Ty Simpson. He is so good. I don't know if he's going to end up winning the Heisman. He probably should. The Heisman was very difficult this year because it was all over the place. Ty Simpson is awesome. He is just like every time you need a big play. And Alabama did what they didn't do last year where they were. You remember they beat Georgia and then they lost to Vandy this year. They beat Georgia.

54:26Then you have two games. You know, Missouri's good. So it's not like a letdown game in that respect. They have a number next to their name. But they got up for the big Georgia game and then they beat Vandy. They beat Mizzou. Alabama. Alabama and Texas A &M in the SEC in terms of right now? Who's going to be the race to see who gets to go to Georgia? Yeah. I mean, they do trust Ty Simpson a lot. They're like fourth down. Yeah, Ty's got it. I'm not even concerned about that. In the SEC, I do feel bad for Auburn, though. I feel bad for Auburn. Oh, they got so screwed. Auburn just keeps getting screwed week in, week out.

55:00They should have been up 17-0. I know everyone's talking about the Kirby Smart timeout, fake timeout, clap gate. it really is more about the fact that Auburn should have been up 17-0 in that game. Yeah. And that fumble was ridiculous. Yeah. And that kept Georgia in the game. It was. I do feel bad. Who knows what exactly happened with Kirby Smart? Because he was saying that the safety on Auburn was clapping, and that's what he was telling the refs about. And when you watch the replay, yes, the Auburn safety was clapping. And Kirby was probably telling the refs about that. But then my question is, why did they not burn a timeout there?

55:33Why did they just say that timeout doesn't count? Right. Like that part doesn't make sense for the refs. Yeah. And did they issue a statement? I think they said, I think they might have said sorry. So that now they've been apologized. Auburn leads the league in being apologized to. Yeah. Which is something that you can take some solace in. They actually should make the apologies like an official count as a win when judge who gets in the playoffs. Tiebreaker. You can turn it in. I think it should be a tiebreaker. Yeah. For sure. Hey, we collected six apologies. Yeah, we only have seven wins on the season.

56:01But check out these six apologies. Yeah, you're in. As me and Big Cat publicly said, Ole Miss was in trouble against Washington State. We no ball. A lot of people were saying, what are you guys talking about? Big Cat pointed out, like, hey, I feel like this is a letdown spot when Ole Miss has – Georgia. Georgia next week. Georgia on deck this week. Big time letdown spot for Ole Miss. I didn't think that the boys were going to follow the coach's instructions and be hydrated on Friday night. 11.45 kickoff. Like, that's an early, early game for the boys down in Oxford. Student section sucked. Me and Big Cat no ball.

56:32We know ball. Other big games. Ohio State's defense is so fucking nasty. I don't really know what else to say about that. Like, Wisconsin plays them on Saturday. I think Luke Fickle is fired, by the way, soon. And maybe McIntosh, the AD. I think they're rightfully not sending someone to be the interim head coach with Ohio State and Oregon on deck. Yeah. Which actually is a correct move because you don't want to have, like, a new guy just be like, hey, here you go. The two toughest, Wisconsin's a dumpster fire, maybe worst program right now in power four. But Ohio State is awesome. Their defense is awesome.

57:12Illinois scored a touchdown in the red zone, and it was like the most shocking thing ever. Yeah. It was like, holy shit, they actually did it. Every time you get in the red zone against Ohio State, they just absolutely smush other teams. This would be a, Ohio State is so good. You're right. They are better than last year. They are better than they were last year. I don't see anybody beating Ohio State. I don't. It would be a huge disappointment for the Buckeyes if they lost the game. What about Red River? Red River. The shootout. I'm going to say it. I don't think John Mateer should have come back that quickly.

57:45You know what it reminded me of? Remember when Russ Wilson was like, yeah, I got this broken finger, and it usually takes guys five weeks to come back from it. I'm going to come back in two weeks because I'm built different. I think that had something to do with what John Mateer was going through. I feel like, yes, credit to Dr. Shin for getting him out there. But maybe there's a reason why it should take a little bit longer than that to come back. Yeah, I would say so. He had a really bad game. Arch played okay. The Texas defense was awesome. Awesome, awesome. Yeah, Arch had that nice backyard football touchdown.

58:24I'm not a big Brent Venables. I mean, the guy can only think through defense. I think I saw a press conference where they asked him, like, hey, what's wrong with your running game? He's like, well, it's our defense. Like, all right, dude, there's two sides to the ball here. It was very funny that there were articles coming out about Arch being like, is he the first bust in the history of college football? Yeah, I know. There have been a few other guys that haven't performed up to their expectations. I'd say so, yeah. One would be, like, there was a guy named Jimmy Clawson that committed to Notre Dame at the College Football Hall of Fame.

58:54Yep. He did his, yes, I'm going to Notre Dame there. didn't really work out that well for him. But yeah, like give Archer a little bit of time before being like, yeah, this guy sucks. He's going to be out of college football. Yeah, we're kicking him out of college football. We're not even talking about the NFL anymore. We're just kicking him out of college football. Yeah, he's young. And then LSU held serve at home. There's nothing worse than flying out of Baton Rouge on game day, by the way. Yeah, that's brutal. It's the most FOMO that you'll ever get. is you're the only asshole that's driving to the airport in Baton Rouge on a Saturday for a Saturday night game in Death Valley.

59:31And then you just see all the tents set up. People have been cooking gumbo since like 8 p.m. the night before. Everyone's hammered at 9 a.m. Yeah, being in the empty... I've done that a few times where we've even done the college football show back in the day where it's like you do the show and then you get to the airport and no one's in the airport. Yep. Everyone's at the game and having a great time. Yeah, I ran to Paul Skeens and his girlfriend on Friday night and he says hello. Oh, nice. And he is a listener of the show. It's the first time that he'd seen me without my sunglasses on. He was like, I didn't know you had such beautiful eyes and that's a man that knows beautiful eyes.

1:00:05Wow. Yeah. I like Paul Skeen. Yeah, he's the man. Good guy. Great routine. Yeah, we've run into him twice, man. We ran into him at the UFC fight. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, should we do some hot seat, cool throne and then we'll get to our interviews or talk some more college football with Matt Leinert. We also have Jeff passing on to talk some more baseball. It's just so many sports right now. It's awesome. It's a lot. There's just college football night too. I was like, woke up today. I was like, damn no football. And then I forgot. Yeah. We're in like a 40 day stretch of every day has a football game.

1:00:32It's awesome. Okay. Before we get to hot seat, cool throne, it is brought to you by our friends at body armor and the flash IV. This segment is brought to you by body armor, flash IV flash IV delivers faster, longer lasting hydration with over 2000 milligrams of electrolytes and no artificial dyes flavors or sweeteners like those other drinks so whether you're training traveling or just feeling the heat work hard hydrate hard with body armor flash iv and grab yours today at your local 7-eleven convenience store it's delicious rehydrate with body armor flash iv okay hank my hot seat is cookies oh why i'm sick of them what i had three oreos for breakfast what is this what are you doing what are you doing i I don't know what law passed or whatever happened, but every time you go on a website, there's just so much, so much.

1:01:29Like the full screen cookies. Like I know there's cookies. I don't even know what cookies are. Yeah. I wish there was a feature to just accept all cookies. But I don't know if you guys have noticed this or if it's just me, but it seems like there's been a phenomenon in the last six months where you can't go on any website without just getting a massive, massive. script about the cookies and you just have to click accept cookies i don't know what cookies are I always accept them. I don't know anyone that would ever reject cookies. Well, yeah, that's the big trick that they pulled was calling them cookies.

1:02:00Right. If they called them what they are, like devious little tracking devices. Poison pills. Hey, do you want these spies on your computer? You're like, no, get these spies. But they call, hey, you want some cookies? Oh, yeah. But you would still probably accept them. You want to read the article. You've already committed to clicking something. Yeah. Yeah. You're accepting them. Yeah. I reject all. And you can still read? Yeah. Oh. Yeah, I just reject all every time. Sometimes I just say fuck it and accept. I accept them all. No, you can reject all. It's been like that in Europe for a while. If you ever went to Europe for the last 10 years, they made you opt in to every website, and now it's over here in the States, and it's everywhere.

1:02:34Yeah, reject all. It's annoying. Minor complaint, but it bothers me. That's fair. My cool throne. Real cookies are fine. Real cookies are fine. Rank your top three. Top three, chocolate chip.

1:02:49Snickerdoodle. Yeah. You know ball. oatmeal raisin oh okay white chocolate macadamia oh i don't like white chocolate oh white chocolate macadamia like chocolate chocolate yeah i like chocolate chocolate white chocolate it's a good combo just get chocolate bro really good combo how do you feel about peanut butter cookies delicious also really good sometimes a little too dry that's my problem with them yeah they do get like there's a lot i love the best are the ones with the Hershey kisses in the middle yeah yeah what do you think about the cookies that have cookies inside of them in the cookies that have like an oreo inside yeah or the reese's that we have with the cookie inside those are good so good yeah so good i just like regular cookies i mean you can't you can't can't beat a nice warm chocolate cookie yeah standard sugar cookies also pretty good yeah you don't you dunk cookies yeah what are your thoughts on the not usually cookies with i dunk my oreos you wash your oreos wash my oreos do you still do that no yeah i i brought the uh reese's oreo uh hybrid home for my kids being like call a special treat and there's four of them so my three kids and then my wife had one and i was like i'm fine i don't need one and then i got correctly called out for having like eight of them at work that day and i was like yes that's why i can that's why i'm going to pass because i had eight have you guys have you guys had a single stuff oreo recently no they they've they've they've changed them all yeah the double stuff is now the single stuff right right there used to be more cream in the in the double stuff and now if you get a single i looked at a single stuff oreo the other day and i was like that is some that's that's a bullshit cookie yeah that's a bullshit oreo so cookies we're in we're pro cookie podcast pro and anti well you can reject them all but you yeah but you don't want to reject all cookies no but i'm saying like dude the online cookies reject all the real life cookies eat them all right so pro and anti or anti and pro okay yeah uh my cool throne i got a couple first one is just the nfl nfl rigged there was a study you tapped at a study oh yeah i had this that uh it's you know statistically proven that the chiefs who are the highest draw in the nfl since i think it's like 2015 to 2023 in the playoffs which is obviously the highest rating sign for the nfl have gotten way more favorable calls in that time frame and they did the research that that did not happen with other dynasties uh in the past you know a couple decades aka the patriots so it's just the chiefs if you felt like the nfl is rigged it is jared goff also that just it crushed me absolutely crushed me wait his press conference after he did a press conference we talk about the chiefs yeah yeah you that was a genius move by utep i believe Yeah, to have that headline because everyone saw it and only read the headline.

1:05:41And then if you clicked on the article, which I did, it said evidence that the NFL officiating subtly favored the Kansas City. Subtly feels like that's probably doing a lot of work there. Yeah, it was subtly. And it was so minor that you can almost see it, but you really can't put the headline. That headline hit in the article. It says the study shows that during the playoffs, the research team identified NFL's most commercially valuable period. penalties against the opposing defenses of Chiefs offense were significantly more likely to result in first downs, cover more yardage, and fall into subjective categories.

1:06:12That's just Mahomes scrambles. It was Mahomes scrambles and pass interference. Yeah, rough in the passer, pass interference. It was the subjective stuff that's not so cut and dry, unchallengeable stuff, where the referee might throw a flag, might not throw a flag. The Chiefs get more of those than any other team. Yeah. Which is true. But also, the Chiefs put themselves in position to capitalize on a flag that goes in their favor better than any other team, too. Yeah, you got to count when the game is rigged for you. You got to capitalize. You do. You do. That's the thing about the NFL. They can only do so much.

1:06:47Yeah. But yeah, Jared did a press conference, and he was like, yeah, I cannot understand how that was illegal. I wasn't under center. He did, you know, he was stopped before and then went in motion. so that just hurt that was just insult to injury what was the um reaction from the awls they enjoyed it yeah yeah i did too that's fine yeah i mean that's that's fair it was just happening in real time it was just couldn't work out better yeah it was the highest of highs lows to lows um and then my other cool throne is cape verd second smallest country to ever qualify for a world cup and i heard you i overheard you saying we got a bet on them do we i will have to bet on them yeah Hank's got a hometown connect.

1:07:32Yeah. One of my best friends is Cape Verdean. I grew up going to his house a lot. So a little bit. It's just cool. You may seem like there's a lot of people from Cape Verde. There are. There's a big Cape Verdean community in situate. That's cool. It's cool. They're probably going to beat the United States. Are we in their group? We don't know yet. You want to talk about the ultimate rigged sport. Oh, yeah. Let's wait to see what that draw looks like. That's going to be an intro. Listen. What do you mean? Well, whenever they do the groups for the World Cup, if the host country is playing friendly with FIFA, the host country always gets in a sick-ass group.

1:08:06Oh, no, we are. Like an easy. We're automatically as host country in the top tier, so we're not going to have another top-tier country. We already got it rigged for us. But sometimes they give those teams the bottom of the second tier and then the bottom of the third tier. Because we're not a tier one team. We're not a Tier 1 team, but what's happened in the past is you get the team that should be, they would not be in Tier 1, and then they play against by far the last place team in Tier 2. Love it. Give it to us. That's what, hey, that's what Trump's here for, right? If anyone can pull it off.

1:08:38Trump doesn't care about soccer. Oh, he does. He took the ball from FIFA. He's been bragging to everybody about how he got the World Cup. Yeah. Yeah. Make that happen, buddy. Iceland is the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup. Thanks. I was talking soccer. My hot seat is Tua. Because after the game, Tua gave that press conference where he said that guys haven't been showing up to players-only meetings. They've been late to players-only meetings. Yeah. And then Mike McDaniel seemed like he had his back when he talked after the game. But then he addressed the media again on Monday. And he said, I think you guys caught me before I heard his comments.

1:09:20regardless of his intent and what was on to his mind after loss as a franchise quarterback that's not the form to displace that i think he knows that now i do honestly believe there was no ill intention but you're talking about i think a misguided representation of player orchestrated film sessions that's as that's as tough on a player as mike mcdaniel will ever be and we said it on sunday but like to it you're the franchise quarterback going up to a podium and saying hey we don't have guys showing up to players only meetings look in the mirror you're the guy who has to make sure that everyone's showing up to players only meetings yeah he said it starts with leadership yeah i think two is probably a leader on that team this is a it's a problem with mike mcdaniel though where he it's easier to become less of a hard ass than it is to become more of a hard ass so like when he started out being like hey i'm not like the other coaches i'm the cool coach and now he's got to like say something that criticizes to a publicly i don't know if it's going to sit well but to uh talking about the players only meetings like they happen all i think they might be having way too many players only meetings yeah and i think that a players only meeting is like probably not it's good to have once in a while because you get like kind of toxic with it and people yell at each other and you get it in the open but if you've got a regularly scheduled meeting where everyone on the team is screaming at each other i could see why guys would maybe start to think about missing that occasionally yeah yeah the calling out the someone not sure for players only meetings if that happens from like an offensive lineman you're like okay that makes sense he's like he's not the leader of the team he's calling out the rest of the guys but yeah the quarterback like you can't it's like a boss getting in front of him like how did we fuck this up yeah no dude you're the boss yeah if you if you hear guys talk about players only me like yeah a lot of things got said we need more accountability imagine doing that twice a week Yeah.

1:11:09That would get... You know what? I think I'm hitting the players only meeting. I'm hitting the button for the commanders. I want that this week. Okay. Now's the time. Okay. My... Before a bye? No, they have a game. Playing with the Cowboys. Game of the week. Yeah. It's game of the week. Do you disagree with the timing? No, that makes sense. You got to get ready for the game of the week. I think this is a good... Yeah, good time. My cool throne is Breece Hall. Because he posted on Instagram, hashtag free 20. So I think Brice Hall is actively now looking for a trade. Has he requested a trade, memes?

1:11:45He hasn't requested a trade. But people have been calling. Yeah. Maybe he's doing one of those subathons that Zach was talking about, free 20. Just giving out money. Is he? I don't know, is he? I got my finger on the giveaway post. Do you have your finger on his post? I think he wants to be traded. Yeah. Yeah. I think he should, too. Yeah. This could be a giveaway. Does this qualify as a trade request if you post free 20?

1:12:21No. Why not? I think he just wants the ball more. All running backs want the ball more. That's true. Okay, so it could be just like, unleash me. Free 20. Yeah, instead of just walking up to the offensive coordinator, you just have to post it on Instagram. Yeah. Okay. All right. My hot seat. I have two. The first is Sean Moore because he had a press conference where he got in front of the media and was asked about the loss to USC where they got absolutely smoked. And he has his blue collar jacket on. And he basically was like, hey, I'm back to work. He said the message is pretty simple. We got to go back to work.

1:13:01That's why I have the blue collar jacket on. I'm going to say it. It worked for Jim Harbaugh because Jim Harbaugh had won at Stanford. He changed the culture there. He'd won at the 49ers, changed the culture there, came to Michigan, changed the culture there. This feels like a cheap knockoff, and it's not going to work. Yeah, it worked for Harbaugh because he meant that. And Sharon Moore's just doing what Harbaugh did. Yeah. Jim Harbaugh actually believed during that week that he worked in a garage somewhere. Correct. And that he was going to bring his lunch pail. He probably did bring a lunch pail.

1:13:30Correct. I would like to see, you know what, if Sharon Moore is actually bringing his own lunch inside of either a pail or some sort of thermos this week and eating out of that then i'll kind of believe it yep but i think he's just wearing he's wearing the blue collar costume to a press conference yes he's appropriating working man culture early halloween yeah uh my other hot seat is new york sports because we've been 5 000 days since new york has won a championship wow it's not true oh new york atlas pll okay liberty liberty okay wmba what are we talking 5 000 days since a major four sports team from new york has won a championship and they have a lot of them that should be like 10 000 because they have two teams in like every sport i when you say don't look it up how many days how many years is 5 000 days because i can't ever conceptualize these things?

1:14:22Six. No. This is good. 11 years? 15. 18-ish. 14. 13. Okay. 13 years. That wasn't that bad. That's a lot of years. 13 years. Wait, so who was the last one? Was it the... Not the Yankees. Maybe it's more than that. When did the Yankees win? It was 2009. Oh, it was the Giants. Giants. Yeah. Yeah. That's crazy that it was... It was the Giants against the Patriots. Yeah. It's the last time that New York won it. 5 ,000 days. A freshman in college. 5 ,000 days is nuts. But it's not true. Because of Liberty. Because of Liberty. Which brings me to my cool throne. We're a little late to this. Mark Davis won another title.

1:15:05He's an awesome owner. Let's go. Cool throne Mark Davis. The Aces won the WNBA title. Let's go Aces. We just got the newspaper about it. Happened last Thursday? Yeah. I mean, the WNBA news doesn't hit as hard if you're not arguing about Caitlin Clark. I think it was Thursday So yeah Friday We're right there We got it Last Friday Congrats to the Aces Their MVP Asia Wilson Is that right? She's the GOAT Would that be back to back MVPs for her? I think so Was she the one who scored over a married A game winner over a married couple? You see that picture? No. Yeah, it was sick. She scored a game winner over a married couple.

1:15:54That's awesome. In the finals? Yeah. I'm pretty sure that happened. She should get their rings. Yeah. They should have their divorce. Yeah. Zach, your hot seat, Cool Throne. My hot seat for this week is political commentator and Twitch streamer Hassan Piker. More footage came out about him possibly using a shot caller to keep his dog in frame. Bad guy move. can I could someone explain this story to me because I I gotta I'm not really on oh yeah there it is Asia Wilson uh with the greatest of all time and a game winner in the WWE finals over a married couple is insane that's pretty crazy yeah all right so I this is a double I'm not paying attention to this story because I don't really go on political Twitter so I don't fully know who Hassan Piker is and two if you tell me there's a story about a dog getting hurt I immediately clicked the button not interested in this post that's smart uh so i have no idea can someone explain this yeah so hassan he he goes live on twitch every day he does like reaction videos to other videos uh he got into this one debate against this other guy about israel about like three months ago okay where by the end of the debate they just had like seven windows of each other arguing built into the one window okay so it looked like a mosaic from hell um he uh He was accused of using a shock collar on his giant dog that sits behind him on the live stream.

1:17:20And then he's like, Yelp's like, there's a video clip where it's like dogs behind him. Don't like dog. He walks away from its bed. And it like, it was, you know, the worst sound. And then dog like yelping. And then Hassan claimed to show the collar and was like, this is a vibration collar. And then people looked at it online. They're like, yeah, I think that's a vibration collar. But then some people said that it had like a mode, a mode tape over. He had saw the backlash, came back the next stream, and was like, look, it's a vibration collar, but then people zoomed in, and you could see that there was tape, like black tape over where the actual shock collar part is.

1:17:58Ah. Allegedly. It's like a dual mode collar, and he says that it was on vibration mode, and then people say that it was on shock mode. So that's where we're at. But then there's people digging up old clips that it looks pretty, pretty, the evidence suggested it was a shot caller. And what's the new stuff? There's just another compilation of him using it to keep the dog in frame during the live stream. Oh, that's terrible! I guess allegedly the dog's been used as a prop in the background to show hey, look at this beautifully behaved dog. Oh, fuck that! It is a great dog. Fuck that! But that's brutal.

1:18:37You're just not letting the dog walk around because you want it for a prop for your fucking live stream? That's shitty. God damn it. I try because like I think there's differing opinions on the shock collar on dogs. I don't know where people land. I just know that I once tried it on Stella to when she was like a puppy and she yelped so loud that I apologized to her for like three weeks straight and never use it again. You have tried it on Jerry though. Jerry. That's totally fair. Jerry. we do do that because otherwise he's not gonna he's just gonna be singing chestnuts jerry needs it but yeah i i it's not for me like i i was like oh i'll give it a try because we need to try to train her wasn't for me i can't stand the sound of a dog yelping in pain yeah shot callers are it would like it would break my heart if i shocked blake and he like yelled in pain and looked at me like why did you do that why is this happening that's what happened i bought like the lowest version of it that was like this one's the most safe for dogs and even that i was like i can't Yeah.

1:19:39Okay, so he's a shithead. Cool throw? My cool throw this week is former Tempe Buccaneer, Shiloh Sanders. He went to the previous Brown Steelers game in Pittsburgh and pretended to be Shador, and it worked on many. Oh, that's awesome. He did the jersey with the – Shador has the brand, the legendary brand. He went the legendary chain, the Shador jersey, and he was even roaming the stadium during the game, and people were like, oh my goodness, great to see you. But he's like out by the concession. It's like, I don't know how you would think that he would be here right now, but he fooled quite a lot of people, Browns and Steelers fans included.

1:20:18Yeah, that's cool. It would not be the most shocking thing in the world if Chidorah was standing, like walking on the concourse. Yeah. I can think, like, yeah, it'd be weird, but I'd be like, okay, yeah, I guess Chidorah's up to it again. Also, I mean, is it kind of cheating? Like, yeah, no duh, you look like your brother. Yeah. but but shiloh is way smaller right yeah yeah otherwise you'd be in the league yeah uh all right good hot seat cool tron uh everyone let's get to our interviews we got jeff passin talking baseball then matt liner talking a little more college football okay before we get to jeff passin twisted tea twisted tea is a refreshing hard iced tea made with real brewed tea and five percent alcohol twisted tea is the perfect alcohol slash beverage to keep the good times going all season long whether you're hanging out at a friend's house catching a game at the stadium or at the bar or just seeing where the days take you twisted tea is there to turn your day up a notch and make a good time a great time we love twisted tea we were drinking some on monday night uh while we were watching the bears versus commanders i was drinking some on saturday going to the cubs game it is the best drink and you got to keep it twisted grab a tea it's game time stock up on ice cold twisted tea today i like the original the original twisted tea they perfected the with it they have great flavors i like peach as well the original the og that is my personal favorite go grab a tea today oh yeah go ahead pft i like the half and half a lot i had two of the half and halves last night so that's a hole in hole and it was delicious yes yes so grab a tea it's game time stock up on ice cold twisted tea today okay here he is jeff passan Okay, we now welcome on a very, very, very, very special guest.

1:22:05It is Jeff Passan from ESPN. He is an MLB insider. He knows everything about Major League Baseball. It is the playoffs. We've been trying to do this for a couple weeks now. The schedule doesn't always work out, so we are taping this on Tuesday morning before Game 2 of the Dodgers-Brews, which we will talk about, but we are in an off day of the ALCS, So let's talk about that series first. I, for one, maybe I shouldn't be shocked. I'm shocked the Mariners are up 2-0 because I assumed they were going to lose game one after a 15-inning game on Friday. How have the Mariners done this? Can you explain to us the Mariners' team-building philosophy?

1:22:46How are they here where they're now two games away from the World Series first ever in franchise history and they have three games at home? hey cat i think the reason that you didn't believe the mariners could do it is because they have spent 49 years sucking yeah like they have been nothing but a disappointment for a half century for their fans and you just said it right there they're the only team in major league baseball right now the 30 teams to have never even made a world series and yet they've had Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez and Ichiro Suzuki and like luminaries, Hall of Famers go through that city and still they haven't reached the point that this team seems like it's going to.

1:23:32And look, we've seen series in the past guys where a team loses the first two games at home and then goes on and eventually wins. It is very rare though. And it's especially daunting for the Blue Jays because this is a good Mariners team and it's been built a couple of ways. It really foundationally started off with their starting pitching. And they drafted and developed Logan Gilbert and George Kirby, first round picks. They took Brian Wu, who hasn't pitched this postseason, but has been their best pitcher this year a little bit later in the draft and brought him along. Luis Castillo, they traded for Bryce Miller, again, drafted and developed.

1:24:10And that's a lot of what this Mariners organization is. And the scary part for other teams in baseball right now. Seattle might have the best farm system of any team. So they have this staff of pitchers that is really, really good in an era where most teams don't have enough starting pitching. They have two foundational players at Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez who play up the middle at Ketra in center field and are signed to extensions that go for the next half decade plus. And at the trade deadline this year, they were aggressive And they went out and got Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez from the Arizona Diamondbacks and took a lineup that was decent and really lengthened it and deepened it.

1:24:52And that's the thing. They have been hitting. They have been pitching. And in September, after they went through this jag where they lost 13 of 18 games, they went 17 and four over their last 21. They looked like, if not the best team in baseball, then certainly the best team in the American League. And they've been playing like it since the playoffs started. Yeah. It's an awesome story. They're a fun team to root for. And you just put out an article. I'll give you a plug for your article. Jorge Polanco. He's a huge top gun guy. Sounds like he's bringing good vibes to that locker room. What's going on with Jorge Polanco and his love for Maverick?

1:25:29Every time, just a peek behind the curtain here, my job is I have to go down into a clubhouse and find out something interesting. And toward the end of the clubhouse time after game two, I didn't have a whole lot on Jorge Polanco. And whenever in doubt, go to catchers. Like catchers are like backup quarterbacks. They always have the stories. They always have the pulse of the room. And I talked with Mitch Garver, who played with Jorge Polanco in Minnesota. And as Cal Rowley comes walking up, Mitch Garver is like, did you know that Polo has the Top Gun anthem as his ringtone? And I was like, really?

1:26:14And he's like, yeah. And he doesn't like silent mode on his phone. They'll just be like sitting there at the clubhouse. And all of a sudden, it'll just go blasting.

1:26:30like we'll just be like that and they're like hold on what the what the fuck man and he's he says i i like maverick and ice man and i mean who among us doesn't and so uh i i hear all this information and my my editor at espn her dad was a fighter pilot like he was in the top gun program And so now I know, like, I'm going back up. I have total wheelhouse for my editor. Even if I write it extraordinarily poorly, she will love it anyway. And, yeah, Polanco has been awesome this postseason. He's had three consecutive game-winning hits in the fifth inning or later of playoff games. He won that 15-inning game, and then he had a game-winning single.

1:27:14And then in game two, three-run home run to put the Mariners ahead. And he's been awesome. And this is what World Series runs guys take. It takes a middle infielder who nobody thinks is going to be the hero just going and having like the week or two of his life. And then you just hope alongside that your pitching works and a superstar shows up and Julio Rodriguez hitting a three-run homer in the first. Cal Raleigh's been awesome all playoffs. Like there's a formula here and the Mariners are following it. Yeah. When it comes to teams of destiny this playoffs, I do feel like the Mariners are fitting that bill perfectly.

1:27:51They've had a lot of stuff that's happened that's made you stop and be like, something is going on in Seattle right now. We should pay attention to it. Obviously, Cal Raleigh's season has been incredible. The home run that he hit to the guy wearing the Cal Raleigh shirt was right into his lap. That's a Team of Destiny thing. Big time. Guys crying in the stands. Dude's crying in the stands. Humpy the Salmon winning his first race that spurs the crowd on to victory in the 15th inning. Bug plug guy behind the plate. Yeah, butt plug guy behind the plate. That one confused me, though. Because was that guy rooting against Cal Raleigh?

1:28:25And he's like, we're going to stop up the dumper with this butt plug? Or was this a pro big dumper butt plug shirt? I don't know. I just think he's pro butt plug. Okay, that's fine. We can agree on that. Would you agree that right now if we're looking at teams of destiny, it's like the stars are aligning for Seattle right now. Sure. And I think it's beyond team of destiny. I think they're just better than the Blue Jays at this point, frankly. But, you know, the Toronto fans, I think, before games one and two would have argued that, hey, this is our team of destiny. We haven't been to the World Series since we won back-to-back in 1992 and 93.

1:29:02We signed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to this$500 million contract in the offseason. And we went and beat the Yankees. And, like, this is now. This is our time. And hell over in the national league, like the Milwaukee Brewers, another team that's never won a world series before that had the most wins in all of baseball this season. They, everyone wants to be the team of destiny. Do they not? And there's like one, like the Dodgers just can't, they are exempt from ever being the team of destiny. So it almost feels like anybody at this point who beats the Dodgers fits that bill. That's absolutely true.

1:29:41So I want to link the two series here, and this is just a thought I had that might be, you might be like, you're so stupid, this makes no sense. But you obviously talk to these guys, you're in the clubhouse. Is there anything to be said? The Blue Jays beat the Yankees, their rival. You know, you could see the energy that Vlad had in that series. You could see how much they hated the Yankees. Kind of like the Brewers beating the Cubs, where it's like they're putting up the L flag after. Is there anything to be said when these teams beat their division rivals? And you can't have a letdown in the playoffs, but there does feel like the Blue Jays came out a little bit flat against the Mariners when they should have had the advantage, especially in game one, because they put so much energy into beating this team that they hate so much.

1:30:26I would love to say, like, yes, that's precisely what happened. I'm such a nerd, though. Like, if I can't measure it, I have a hard time quantifying. Because ultimately, like, these are professionals. The Mariners, a perfect example, like the Mariners have that 15 inning marathon. It should have sapped all of their energy. The next day they get back to the stadium at 10 o 'clock and they're supposed to go on their flight to Toronto. And their plane has mechanical difficulties and they have to fly a plane up from L.A. So it's another four hours. They get into Toronto way later than they thought they were going to.

1:31:02And, you know, it's not like real adversity. like can we acknowledge that professional sports adversity and coaches who are talking about adversity is never actual as adversity no jim franklin when he had to take that flight he had to drive to the other airport that screwed up their whole season yeah this this stuff does matter absolutely thanks you can't let us we have to talk about this stuff because otherwise we we're not we don't have the analytical nerd side of our brain so like we have to talk about yeah hey actually, yeah, the Blue Jays drank too much after they beat the Yankees. That's why they're losing to the Mariners.

1:31:42The Blue Jays did drink a lot after they beat the Yankees. I was in the middle of that. It was a good party. Well, can I ask you guys a question? Do baseball players celebrate too much? Okay, so my take on it is that every team should be allowed to celebrate except for the Yankees. It's beneath the Yankees' tradition and honor, and it's undignified for the Yankees to celebrate a wild-card series win. But everybody else, I don't really care. I think that's fair. I think that when you're looking at professional athletes who are somewhere between the age of like 23 and 35, they probably don't get the two-day hangover that a guy like me might get if I go out there and get hammered.

1:32:18So I think by the time the next series starts, it's pretty much out of their system. So I'm okay with it. I'm a big believer in celebrate everything. I know people get upset about it, but it's like the baseball season is so long. You have to celebrate the ride. You don't know where your next celebration is going to be. Would I wish, like, yeah, I mean, And, like, it happened to the Cubs, and, like, I think they might have drank too much on that Thursday after they beat the Padres. Then they had to play Saturday at 1 o 'clock. So I celebrate everything. Maybe sometimes sneak in a couple, like, non-alcoholic beers and just, you know, just be like, hey, guys, let's pour the champagne.

1:32:51Let's not drink the champagne. But I'm a celebrate everything guy. I do celebrate everything. Yeah. And it's fun being in there just to see people at, like, their most primal level of idiocy. Yeah. Like, under no other circumstances is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just going to go, no, Yankees lose. Yeah. Like, you got to be a little fucked up to do that. Yeah. And the fact that baseball celebrations bring that out of guys, I am all for it. Yeah. All right. Going to plug another article by you, Jeff, because you're great at writing. You had an article on Monday where you basically have set the stage.

1:33:38The Brewers Dodgers series, which, again, we're taping this Tuesday morning, so we don't know. Maybe the Brewers have tied it one one. You have set the stage that this is not just the Brewers versus the Dodgers. This is the future of baseball as we know it in a proxy war, because whoever ends up winning this series, the other side will use this when the MLB goes to a lockout and fights for a salary cap, and they'll either say, well, yeah, you can build a championship roster with no money like the Brewers, or the Dodgers are unfair and they essentially spend so much money no one can compete. I read the article and I was like, I read the premise.

1:34:19I was like, there's no way this is true. And then you laid out the facts. You're like, it might not be right, but this is what's going to happen. So did people respond to you from MLB being like, you're right, we're going to use this? We're watching this closely? Everybody pushed back on the premise, actually, saying that it was too simple, which made me think, actually, it's kind of spot on. And here's the thing. I think the important part of this is to separate what happens privately with what happens publicly and to figure out where ultimately they intersect. So what's happening privately in any collective bargaining negotiation is that the sides, it's very simple.

1:35:02They trade ideas, right? So we're going to offer you this. You're going to say yes or no. You're going to come back and offer. and then we're going to wind up meeting somewhere in the middle. But it's all the stuff that happens publicly, I think, that informs their positions on that. What I mean by that is you guys are in Chicago, so it's a big market. In Los Angeles, the Dodgers fans, or in New York, Yankees and Mets fans, like big markets, they have it pretty good. They have a lot of money. Even if the Cubs aren't spending what you think they should, it's better than most. But it's the people in Pittsburgh and people in Cleveland and people in Kansas City, where I live, and people in those smaller markets that look at the state of Major League Baseball right now and ask themselves, can our guys compete?

1:35:53Like even if they are extraordinarily good at what they do, like the Milwaukee Brewers front offices, can they compete in a sport where the Los Angeles Dodgers right now have a$500 million payroll and the Brewers are having $120,$125 million? Like is it fair? Is it right to have one team that has four times as big a salary as others? Or does the sport need a salary cap? Now, I'll sit here and tell you the players will not accept a salary cap. So if there's any flaw like the premise that my story has here, it's that we're starting from a point where this is not going to happen. So anything Major League Baseball does to try and cajole the players into taking it is going to be met with anger.

1:36:43And yet Major League Baseball, if the Dodgers go and win again this year, they have a credibility problem with a large swath of their fan base that wonders, is this sport fair? And it's tough. It's tough for the league to deal with right now. Now, I don't think that the answer is necessarily a salary cap. I don't think that going and limiting what players can make, what players have earned, what players can get out on an open market is some sort of like a panacea to the problem. And we've seen in other leagues salary caps be implemented. And the Chiefs have won three Super Bowls in the last six years.

1:37:23The Patriots won seven Super Bowls. There was a dynasty with the Warriors and the Heat in the NBA. In the NHL, you've seen the Panthers win back to back. You've seen the Lightning go and win. And it all depends really, I think, on what you want out of your sport. If you want your team to have as fair of a shot as possible, what is the right economic system to project that forward? I think there's an answer somewhere in between that doesn't include a salary cap. But if the Brewers go and win this year, can't you, if you're the Players Association, make the argument that if you can win on$125 million, then you're doing something right.

1:38:07And it's something that can be replicated. Right. There is a way to do this without Armageddon and baseball. You know, I fear is headed toward that right now because the sides are so entrenched in their position. And there's really a difficult way to find like that middle, that happy medium, that compromise that I was talking about earlier that would allow them to play. Yeah. Sorry, that was very long winded. But this is this is so complicated. It's going to be the defining story of baseball next year. So hopefully people understand that this is going to be a big deal. It is very interesting. And then I've heard the idea of the salary cap floor thrown out there a few times.

1:38:43I don't know if that's something that the owners have said, like, hey, yeah, if you accept the cap, then maybe we can do a floor. Or if any player is open to that sort of negotiation, or is just the idea of the salary cap, that's a non-starter off the table. Caps and floors come in tandem. You cannot have a floor unless you have a cap. And a floor, frankly, would solve a lot of the problems, I think, right now. It would force the Pittsburgh Pirates to go out and spend money and put a fucking team around Paul's schemes. That doesn't exist right now. You know, the Pirates are a few bats away from being a contender.

1:39:19And I'm just not sure I have faith in Bob Nutting that he's going to go out and spend the money. And so the problem with the floor is that it always comes with the cap. And because players are just fundamentally opposed to the cap, then the floor can't get put into place. But it's interesting. There are some big league players who are tired of all of the fighting with labor and think that a cap would solve a lot of things and that they would get a larger share of the money that's out there. But as we have seen in all of the other leagues, here's the way a salary cap works. You are given what's essentially a special introductory rate, like it's a credit card.

1:40:02Like, hey, at the beginning, we are going to give you 55 % of sport-related revenue. After that, every negotiation is essentially a negotiation against that number, right? So the next time, maybe it's 53, and the next time, it's 51. And you have no other way to go because it's never going up. So you know that that first time through is going to be the best that you get. Yeah. All right. So as for the actual series, the Dodgers and Brewers, can the Brewers win this series? I also, I don't know, you obviously probably were watching that. Sal Freelich, the Brewers lost game one. The Sal Freelich double play was one of the wildest plays I've ever seen, and it happened in a high-stakes moment in the playoffs.

1:40:46Do you remember a play like that? I mean, it was insane. No, no, nothing at all like that. It was a fly ball hit 400-plus feet to center field that wound up with a double play. but South Carolina goes up, tries to catch it, comes down, bounces off the wall, throws it into the shortstop, shortstop relays home, and there's a force out. Yeah. We were all watching it in the Mariners' clubhouse. Cal Raleigh was looking up at the screen. He's like, I've never seen that before. Yeah. And it's true. Like, none of us ever had. A totally ridiculous play. To answer your first question, though, yes, I think the Brewers can beat the Dodgers.

1:41:29I think we saw in game one, it was 1-0 for the majority of the game. They're facing Blake Snell, who's been the best pitcher in baseball in the postseason this year. And then it's 2-0 in the ninth inning. And the Brewers just fight. They are so scrappy and just so good at putting the ball in play and making the defense do things. And they scratch a run across. And Blake Treinen comes in. And then Bryce Trank chases the fastball high out of the zone. Like, that happens. But it was a really good, really competitive baseball game between two really good teams. It's just the Dodgers have been there.

1:42:07They've done this. They're unbelievably talented. And, you know, they are the new Yankees. Like, they are the new evil empire. And they spend more money than everyone else. And they have the best player that we've ever seen. and at the end of the day like chances are they're they're favored to win the world series this year for a reason yeah i i think the dodgers to me like i i don't i it's not like i hate them but there's been moments in these playoffs where i've been like you kind of hate them i do kind of hate them but it's like yeah you do but it's but it's more like well i'm jealous of them let me say put it that way because i that's yeah yeah it's like i want an owner it's the worst kind of hatred Right, right.

1:42:51It's like I want an owner who will spend like them. So it's not a hate like I can't believe you're doing this. This is bullshit. It's more like I really want this. I really, really want an owner to spend this type of money. But there was a moment, I think it was last series against the Phillies. Glass now came out of the bullpen one game and then he started like three games later. It's like this guy is, you know, he's obviously been injury riddled, but like he's one of the best pitchers in baseball. And the Dodgers are being like, yeah, we'll put you in the bullpen, have you throw, you know, 100 out of the bullpen.

1:43:22And then we'll have you start and go six scoreless. I'm like, this is bullshit. This is bullshit. Yeah, you have every right to be jealous of the Dodgers. They have built the team that every fan wants to root for. And they've done it within the confines of what the rules are. And I think that's why fans are so pissed off because these rules have allowed them to go do that. I think the Dodgers have recognized like, OK, it's just money. And we're bringing in goo gobs of it already through Otani and through 50 ,000 seats that we're selling every game. And as long as the rules don't constrain us from going out and spending, if you want to tax us for spending, all right, we'll just have a better team than you do.

1:44:04And that's a hard thing for other fans to wrap their heads around because nobody else has owners like that. I mean, it really is like a George Steinbrenner way of doing business. Like, we're going to build something that is undeniable. And, you know, the consequences of that may be that you hate us, but we'll just show you our jewelry and walk away smiling and cackling that we want. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it is the exact type of ownership that everybody else should want running their team, but also watching them, it would be very satisfying to see them get beat by the team with the last payroll. That would be a lot of fun.

1:44:41Like, I want to see them absolutely, like, have one of their most expensive guys go out there and choke at the end of a series, and then we can laugh at them, but then secretly be like, that's exactly how I want my team to be run. I'm just mad that it's not me. And when it comes to the Brewers, they were 6-0 against the Dodgers this season, in the regular season. So I don't think they're afraid of the Dodgers at all. What's interesting in this series, and I've seen this more across baseball this year, the idea of an opener, sending out an opener to pitch the first inning. And after I thought about it more and looked into the analytics behind why you would use an opener, it makes all the sense in the world to me.

1:45:17Why don't more teams use an opener? It's the only time in the game where you can control which batters your best pitchers are going to be pitching against. and it's you know one two three top their best batters and you get top of the order you get to match it up perfectly why don't more teams use openers i think the the idea behind an opener is great but you also if you have like a really good arm you want to save him for a more high leverage situation uh you know in the early innings when it's a zero zero game i i understand And every out, there are always going to be 27 of them. And every out is equal in the grand scheme.

1:45:57But some outs have more meaning later in the game or even in the middle innings. Like if it's a one-nothing game and you have runners on first and second with no outs, that's when you want to bring in like those high leverage arms. And teams have become much more adept at using full-paying guys in different innings. It used to be much more like, hey, this is your inning. we're going to keep you there because this is where you're comfortable. But now they know, like, if I'm good, if I have the ability to strike guys out, I might be pitching in the first, I might be pitching in the fifth, I might be pitching in the ninth.

1:46:30It's about flexibility. And, you know, it's especially like PFT, if we're, if we're looking at when the right time to use an opener is every baseball team has like these matchup charts where on one side, you've got their hitters and like up top, you've got your pitchers. and it like rates each matchup. And so if you have a matchup or a guy who matches up well with the top three hitters, using him as an opener makes a ton of sense. You know, you prevent them from scoring with their big boppers earlier in the game. And then when you bring your starter, so to speak, or like bulk innings guy in he's facing those players for the first time, except it's the second time through the order.

1:47:15And the reason that that's a big deal is because it's been shown throughout the years that the more times a hitter sees you, the likelier he is to succeed against you. So that's why you see so many starting pitchers these days getting pulled after two times going through the order because there's that penalty for going through the third time. So this is what I love about baseball, man. Like there's so much strategy to it and there's so much thought to be put into it. And here's the thing. You can put an opener in and he can get his teeth kicked in. like it's no guarantee for success by any means sometimes uh you're you're too smart for your own good yeah um all right uh real quick about uh the teams that got eliminated in the division series which team that got eliminated in the division series is uh maybe in the most trouble going into next year or like hey that was a shot that they missed that they're gonna look back and be like damn that was the window is closing so to speak i mean the cubs if they lose kyle tucker it's going to be really interesting to see he's not resigning yeah he's not resigning that's a that quote was the most i'm not resigning quote of all time so i've already mentally moved on to kyle tucker's not resigning go find go get another kyle and kyle schwarber you want schwarber to come back you want the reunion oh yeah oh yeah every team Every team should want Kyle Schwarber.

1:48:40He's my guy. Yeah, absolutely. He is the best. The best. Genuinely the best. Yes. I'm so curious to see who's in on Schwarber this winter, like actually in, because I think because of his age, he's not going to command the seven, eight, nine-year, 10-year deal worth$300-plus million, right? This is the kind of deal on a three or four or even maybe five-year term that even some of those mid-market teams can do. You want to bring in someone who's going to hit you bombs, take walks, and be the vibest guy in the clubhouse and just a good mentor for everybody. Kyle Schwarber works absolutely anywhere.

1:49:28And I think the answer to that original question for you is the Phillies. the Phillies like could be in a very transitional phase at this point because this current incarnation of them guys just has failed like they have not been able to win a championship they've gone backward uh or or been stagnant every year and at some point you just got to change the mix in the room yeah yeah by the way I don't like what you just did because I know what you did that was essentially saying the Cincinnati Reds are going to sign Kyle Schwarber because he's from Cincinnati He's talked about playing for the Reds.

1:50:00You just were like, yeah, mid-market team could sign him. So that stinks. That just rained on my parade. I just want him to come to Kansas City. No, that's all I want. Yeah, yeah. But, yeah, the Phillies feel like that was the end of an era. What about the Yankees? Because it feels like the Yankees, and I don't know what it is, but they just – they're the same team every year, and it seems like they're very close to burning the golden age of one of the best hitters we've ever seen in Aaron Judge. Is Hal Steinbrenner, like, he's just fine with what – it's almost like they run it like a corporation now, and it's not what George Steinbrenner was.

1:50:39They do. It was like, we want to win every year. It's such an interesting thing to see because George Steinbrenner created this ideal of the Yankees. Like, the Yankees, because of their championships, they had the history, they had the pedigree. But George Steinbrenner branded it. He made like winning in the Yankees synonymous in the same way that Jerry Jones tries or tried to do with the Cowboys. And I think there are a lot of parallels, actually, with the Cowboys and the Yankees, organizations that have gotten so enormously big and set such unrealistic expectations that now you have a transition in ownership from George Steinbrenner to House Steinbrenner.

1:51:25and he does run it like a business. He does run it like a Fortune 500 company and you have your P &Ls and none of it has to do with going out and doing absolutely everything you can to win. He still has a very healthy payroll. The Yankees are not the little sisters of the poor by any means. They go out and they spend every year and they spend among the top five teams every year, but is that enough? Not when it's been a decade and a half since you've won a championship. And for other organizations and other franchises, it would be like, okay, yeah, 15 years, drought, whatever. For the Yankees, it's like they are like addicts who are fiending so bad right now.

1:52:09And just bad, you know, like as a fan of the Yankees right now, there has to be some cognitive dissonance because you root for this team that all they've done is win. And now suddenly they're not only are they not winning, but they're not the biggest, baddest team in town anymore. That's the Dodgers. They're not even the biggest, baddest team in their city when it comes to financially. Like the Mets are in a far better position right now than the Yankees are just in terms of willingness to spend. So I can understand the frustration from Yankees fans when you've been taught in condition to think that championships are the only thing that matter.

1:52:51And then you have ownership that goes out there and doesn't fulfill that compact that you as a fan thought you had with the organization. it's a shock to the system and they're still trying to figure out how, how do we take this team that has stagnated for so long and take it over the top? Yeah. Like a victim of their own success. And with the, with the Mets across town obviously didn't make the post season this year. Where would you put this on the Mount Rushmore of Mets collapses? I mean, it's, it's, they have such great history of just awful things happening like that entire franchise. Yes.

1:53:29It's like growing up in Cleveland, you you fundamentally understand what it feels like to witness sports failure. And so it's like I'm looking at the Mets from afar and I was like, I know that like I've seen that before. And and with the Mets, they yeah, this is right up there. I mean, they had the best record in baseball at one point and not an insignificant amount of time into the season either. This was like 70 games into the season. They had the best record in baseball and then they don't even make the playoffs. It was a monumental collapse. And the way that it went down at the end at the hands of the Miami Marlins, like that is just so incredibly Mets of them.

1:54:15And it's going to be interesting to see how they pivot away from that because, look, Wansota is still there. Francisco Lindor is still there. They still have talent on that team. And they have a really good farm system, actually. This was a – for all the things that have gone wrong with the Mets this year, like they have a lot of good young players now. And the farm system really took a leap forward this year. So you're going to see some more good young players coming up. But this year, I think it was year five of Steve Cohen's ownership. And he had said, I want to win a World Series by the time – by my fifth season.

1:54:47And they didn't even make the playoffs. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I got a question, one more question about the lockout. And I don't know how I'm going to – well, you just explain to me because I don't fully understand it. So teams in free agency this offseason, I expect my owner, Tom Ricketts, to basically be like, I'm not spending because I'm worried about the lockout. I assume there's going to be a lot of owners that are going to do the same thing. How does it work? Like, are they just – what are they nervous about that we lockout and that there is a salary cap? Like, are they nervous about – I would assume they don't have to pay them if they lock them out so what is when they give us when they feed us this bullshit what are they trying to to skirt around uh around the reality that they might be shutting down their businesses okay for the 2027 season so mlb owners particularly want a salary cap and and why do they want a salary cap it's under the guise of competitive balance right uh if everyone can you know has the same ceiling, then it's just fair at that point.

1:55:55Like, let's go skill versus skill. You know, let's see how good your front office is. Let's see how good your team building is. But the reality is, like, competitive balance doesn't come from a fixed amount of money that can be spent. The real reason that they want a salary cap in place is because when you look at the franchise values in other sports, they have been rocketing up, you know, in recent years and major league baseball's franchise values have been relatively stagnant. And that's an area where if you have a fixed amount of payroll, then you understand what your budget is and you understand what's going in and out.

1:56:37And at the end, because of that, that like security, because of that knowledge, People are going to be willing to pay more for the franchises. They know that they're not going to have to necessarily go out and compete with Steve Cohen, giving Juan Soto$765 million. So there's that. And this is a time where the league thinks that the players are vulnerable. And they're willing to get into this fight where when the collective bargaining agreement expires, if there is no new deal in place, owners essentially lock players out and say, you cannot report to work. And then it just becomes a staring contest.

1:57:17And if it goes on for too long and they cannot find any place where they come together on an agreement, then games start getting canceled. And once games start getting canceled, money stops coming in. You don't have ticket sales. You don't have television revenue. You don't have any of that stuff. And so you need to have a stockpile of cash to withstand that. And the staring contest at that point becomes who is worse off for not playing games and not having this enormous, you know,$13 billion economy every year churning. Are the players going to fold first and say, I'm in the prime of my career.

1:57:57I only have a finite number of earning years. I'm going to go back because I feel like it's right for me right now. Or is it the owners who blink by saying we have these businesses that have been doing extraordinarily well. What the hell are we doing shutting them down in pursuit of something that they were never going to agree to in the first place? Right. And that to me is like the most frustrating part of this whole thing. We know the answer from the players is going to be no. We just know that. And when that knowledge is in place, if you're the owner saying we're going to say this is what we're doing anyway, like, do you really believe that you're in that strong of a position where you can take this group of 1 ,200 people who are so like thick headed and so devoted to what they do that they became professional athletes?

1:58:50Like beyond all of the physical talent that they have, guys, do you know how hard it is mentally to be a professional athlete and how inherently stubborn you have to be? Okay. And so, okay, let's go against these 1 ,200 incredibly stubborn men and tell them this is what you're going to have. Good luck. Like that is not going to work out great. And ultimately, I think beyond the owners, beyond the players, the fans are the ones who suffer. Baseball is good right now. Like, I'm really happy as somebody who loves the sport, the place that baseball is in right now. I think the pitch clock has been incredible for the game.

1:59:28I think that, like the best. And I think that when there are automated balls and strikes next year and you can get rid of these shitty calls by the umpires, that's going to be great too. I think you've got interesting teams and interesting players and stars. And in the Dodgers, you now have a villain. Like, there's this whole universe in baseball right now. And it's a good story and it's good entertainment. And to throw that away because you want your franchise values to be a little bit higher, to throw that away because you want to try and brute force players to do something that for a half century they have resisted.

2:00:05Maybe there is a time where the salary cap will be right for baseball. I don't think that that's right now. And if they want to make that fight, then it's going to be awfully interesting to see how it turns out. This might be a really dumb question, but in the event of a lockout, is there anything in the players' contracts that would prevent them from playing? Like if a foreign investment fund, hypothetically, wanted to do a World Baseball Classic type thing, pay a bunch of players to play exhibition matches against each other and broadcast those. Is there anything that would prevent the players from doing that?

2:00:40Free agents would be able to do that because they're not under contract with the team. But I do not believe that we could have an alternative league starting up as much fun as that would be. I do wonder if a bunch of free agents just went over to Japan and played there. You start an expansion franchise. Just call them the ugly Americans. Just go over there and let them wreck shop. Or banana ball. Have them all play banana ball for a year. We just become banana ball. Are you guys in on the bananas? I took my six-year-olds when they were here. So, yes, I am in on the bananas. They're fun. Yeah. They're not – like, it's one of those things that, as a 40-year-old man, I don't think it's meant for me.

2:01:26But I'm cool. Like, anything that grows the game of baseball and has kids excited about watching a sport, about being outside, like, you can't hate on that. So, like, what are you going to do? Like, that's what – like, kids are excited about that. Kids want to play baseball because they see that. That's a net positive to me, like, in society. Dan, kids are also morons. Yeah, that too. That's true. That's absolutely true. They're very dumb. But as an adult, imagine catching a foul ball to end the game. They're so dumb. Yeah, they're so dumb. Oh, man. My son, when I took him there, he ate a banana in front of the banana mascot, and the banana mascot was like, how could you do that?

2:02:08And he was hooked from that moment on. It's like, how could you eat a banana in front of the banana? Jeff, I got one last question for you. This has been awesome. We love having you on. So, Roback question, R-H-O-B-A-C-K.com, promo code TAKE. 20 % off your first purchase. Q-Zips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, Roback.com, promo code TAKE. So, I started this interview and I said that we've been trying to do this for a couple weeks, but your schedule, our schedule, the MLB schedule has been so crazy. You've been traveling around. What is the Jeff Passon like? What do you do after a game? Are you going to bars?

2:02:41Are you going to hang out? Because it's a long time on the road. I have to imagine you're going to go visit some – I mean, Toronto's an incredible city. Seattle's an incredible city. So what have you been doing? So last night's a five o 'clock start, which is like the ideal time, you know, because it's quick, quick games now. So go down to the clubhouse, write my story. I get a text from my buddy Jake Mintz who works at Yahoo Sports and he says we're going to the Imperial Pub I have no idea what the Imperial Pub is and he's like it's closing down November 15th he had just found it like he was searching on like Google Maps for a bar that was open until three o 'clock in the morning and so I roll into this bar and the first thing I see when I walk in his carpet and i'm like fuck yeah like like this place has a chance to be really good and we go up we sit down talk to the uh talk to the bartender um his name is jacob newman and the bar has been in his family for 81 years it was started by his great-grandfather And they're closing down after 81 years because a university in the area essentially has bought and annexed the block and is building condos there.

2:04:03So the Blue Jays, yeah, gentrification has its prices. And one of those is this incredible bar because I sit down. I think I got there at like one o 'clock, sit down and for the next two hours had with him and Cameron, who's the other bartender, the most enjoyable patron bartender conversation I've had in my entire life. Like the guys were funny. Jacob wanted me to record a video talking shit on all of his fantasy league friends who he had gone and beaten. Like you guys get asked to do that too, right? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's the best. Yeah. Like it is it is one of like my favorite things about this job when someone comes up to me and says, hey, can you be an asshole to my friends?

2:04:51And I was like, yeah, absolutely. Sure. Absolutely. And so we're just we're sitting there and we're drinking and we're having a great time. and Jorge Castillo, my teamman is there, Danny Wexelman, Disha Thosar. You know those nights when you just, it's a group of people that you've never been out with, just like the group of you together. And it's like the best time. And you sit around and you're like, I'm so happy I'm with these people in this moment at this place. But it dawned on me, like, this is the last time I'm probably ever going to drink in the bar. Yep. unless the Toronto Blue Jays make a miraculous comeback.

2:05:33And that is why I am urging everybody in Toronto right now. I'm wearing this, the Imperial Pub. I'm going to stand up so you can see the address right here. I don't know if I can read backwards. Is that 54 Dundas Street East, two blocks east of Young? Fill that place up for game three, for game four, whatever it is. They have the staff ready for that. And a great bar deserves a great sendoff. And I feel like if the Blue Jays can come back in this series and this bar, listen, it's not going to be saved. It's not going to be salvaged. But all you want out of a good bar is memorable nights. And they gave me one last night.

2:06:18And hopefully the people of Toronto can go and give them some as they go to the end. I love it. There's nothing like one of those nights where everything just clicks. Yeah. You know, everything feels good. And it's like, this was a good idea to go out and drink beer tonight. I'm happy I did it. And you get to that bar where you're like, you know, someone might throw out like, hey, should we go somewhere else? You're like, nah, we got it right here. Like, you're not going to go chase something. It's like, what we have right here is perfect. Let's just be here. It was one of those magical nights that I will always remember.

2:06:53I love it. It's just, you know, yeah, you live for those. Like I'm 45 now and I have, I have learned over time that don't just like cherish those nights afterward. Just make sure that in the moment you appreciate all the cool things that you have. And last night was one of those very cool things. You're 45. Yeah. You, you, you look great. Yeah. You look great. You look really good. That type of, that type of introspection. You sound like a guy who almost died by a tree. Yeah. Hey, that's the other tip. Everyone almost died by a tree. You will cherish those moments. Yeah. Or just stay away from trees.

2:07:35Yeah. Stay away from trees. It's like a very simple rule of life. Stay away from falling trees. Yeah. It's a great idea. Jeff, you're the best. We appreciate it. Maybe we'll try to do this again before the World Series playoffs have been incredible. Thank you so much. Everyone go read those articles too. Yeah. Because they're really good. and uh okay can you talk shit real quick to steven che you're saying like talking shit to a person you're in a fantasy league with steven che lost our dingers only league this year and he has to pitch uh so can you just talk shit to him real quick be like hey steven fuck you uh steven why do you suck uh your mom does not like you and uh you have uh an ugly face by the way that's a off season off season if you have a if you do get a lockout an off-season story you can write Steven Che is the commissioner of the fantasy league, the famous Tommy Pham, Jock Peterson fantasy league, fantasy football league.

2:08:29I'm in it. And Steven Che is the commissioner. Steven Che knew nothing about baseball like two, three years ago. And he now is like enacting rules on like Manny Machado and Mike Trout and like dropping the hammer on these guys. So maybe that's an offseason. If there's a lockout, you can do like a whole. I'm just, hold on. I'm more of like, you're in the slap league? Yeah, I'm in the slap league. Dave was in it, so they kicked Tommy Pham out. Dave was in it for a year. Dave hated doing it, and so I took his place. So I'm in the slap league. But the craziest part is that Stephen Shea, this nerd who's ugly face.

2:09:09He literally didn't even know what baseball was six months ago, is basically telling, like, hey, Mike Trout, you can't do that waiver pickup. so it's it's a wild league it's a wild text message thread is mike trout good at fantasy football he's pretty good yeah yeah and he's a football guy he is a football guy he's go birds yeah through and through all right jeff you're the best thank you so much thank you gentlemen appreciate you having me jeff passan was brought to you by our great friends over at chevy football season is here and whether you're grinding through the week or gearing up for kickoff, there's one ride that's always game ready, the Chevy Silverado.

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2:11:28Their fee is free unless they win. Visit forthepeople.com slash PMT or dial pound law, pound 529. That's forthepeople.com slash PMT or dial pound law, pound 529. This is a paid advertisement. okay we now welcome on a very very very special guest recurring guest heisman winner it is matt leiner and he's our co-worker uh matt leiner at fox big noon kickoff going to provo for the holy war uh this week so tune in on saturday morning matt we want to come have you come on talk a little ball also it is notre dame usc week so let's start there uh is USC back? Because I know we always talk about Texas and Notre Dame, but USC is one of those sneaky teams where you guys have been down for a little bit, and this might feel like the first year where it's like, oh, they could be a college playoff team.

2:12:20Well, why don't you tell them what you guys were telling me a couple weeks ago, how we're just so soft on the West Coast, and you can't beat anybody, and then, I mean, look what they did last week against Michigan. Hand up, by the way, I want to just say, I did not realize that the entire USC team had food poisoning before Illinois. I mean, look, yeah, they did. They lost their best defensive player like three hours before the game, but who's counting? Look, I think, I mean, in all honesty, last week's win was, it was as big of a win, if I can remember from that program, since like the Pete Carroll days.

2:12:54And it's just because of the perception and the narrative, which you guys know and like you talked about, like can they win the tough games? Can they be physical? Can they do it week in and week out? Can they beat the teams they're supposed to beat? losing a game like Illinois, which I don't think they should have lost that game. They lost. They got pushed around the second half. And then I don't know how good Michigan is. I know they can't throw the football very well, but that's still a team that's invested heavily in the line of scrimmage. That's where they win games and they completely dominated them on both sides of the ball.

2:13:24So I think at the very least, it's a, it's a, it's a confidence booster. It's a program changer knowing that now they can do it. But then you look at this game guys and like Notre Dame's really good and they're the the difference is is they could throw the ball cj cars is a stud i think that this dude's going to be a top five pick in the next couple years so if you do take away the run now you got to deal with the pass that's something they didn't have to do last week so um i love the game because it's important for both teams it's a playoff elimination game um it means a lot more than it's had notre dame has has owned this the last decade they just have but we got a fighting chance, dude.

2:14:03I mean, that last game, our offense is legit and last game, I think, created a lot of confidence for the boys. Matt, I'm looking at your background right now. You have your Heisman Trophy behind you. I do. It's right there. Is that on top of just a box jump box thing? It is. Yeah, I like to do box jumps. Yeah, look at the way. You don't have like a shelf for the Heisman Trophy? You don't have a case for it? Look at you, bro. There we go, dude. That's pretty cool. that's about 30 pounds um you know well so oh i got some weight so listen in my house you know we got a we got nice house here in south south bay you know we got i got four kids and the office goes to my wife so i have been i am in my garage in the corner i would show you i'm in the corner so the heisman was on the floor of my closet for about a decade and i finally realized well shit dude i'm doing a pod now i'm doing all this stuff i might as well throw in the back i might as well throw it next to kobe and and some of the other stuff it's a nice flex that's a great look yeah it's just a little thing here did did reggie ever go over to your place and uh it was just like in your closet on the ground he's like come on man come on come on man like i know but you know who did you know who did is urban and urban uh when urban first joined big noon what it was like six years ago he came over and you know we're like having drinks in the backyard just getting to know each other and stuff and he goes where's your heisman i said coach i was like come on up we go in my bedroom and he's like are you fucking kidding me dude it's all it's literally was under my wife's dresses like literally on the ground i was like what like what i was like coach what am i gonna do dude like what throw like put it out where like everyone can see on the shelf like i don't care that much dude i don't even know where half my trophies are there i think they're in storage somewhere that's a pretty we'll take hey if you find uh like just kind of a nothing trophy you don't care about we will put it and display it in our studio that would be sick and we're like dude i got i got some i got some shit for you guys wait real quick before i know we talk about this game so i got my jersey here okay yeah because this is what dave is gonna wear this week on the show.

2:16:20Even though we technically didn't bet. So I wanted to ask you guys this and what your thoughts and I know you're going to side with Dave and I get it. No, that's not true. That's not necessarily true. So let me just paint the picture for you. So last week in our meeting and Big Cat, you've been in the meeting. So we're in the meeting and we're just kind of going over the show and I'm like, dude, what do you want to do for the game? Like you wear my jersey on Dave's rant. Like you do your rant, you wear my jersey, wear a helmet whatever we'll keep it cool have a little fun he's like great that's cool so then we're at dinner that night and he goes he goes if michigan wins you basically have to talk shit about lincoln riley and apologize to all the oklahoma fans how he left and all that stuff and i was like i was like listen man i'll do pretty much anything but like you know i'm in a different position i'm not gonna i can't this my alma mater and all these kind of things and i was like but i'll do whatever just come up with something he's like all right i'll come up with something he never did so we never technically shook on it and then he's texting me the first fumble that our tight end has he's having you guys are soft surfer boys this and that and then what happened for the three and a half quarters i laid into this he basically he shut me off he put me like on unread he wouldn't read my text messages so then he goes on wake up barstool and says we don't have a bet because we never formally agreed to something what do you guys think i think it's bullshit i think he He has to wear it.

2:17:40He has to wear the jersey. I think so, too. That sounds like a bet to me. If Michigan would have won, I would have won his Portnoy jersey. I was like, listen, I'm not going to do that, and I get it. You can call me a coward. I'm not going to do that, but I will do whatever else you want to do. He never came up with something. Anyway, that's a jersey. It's going to look like a dress. It comes down to simply if Michigan had won, would he have come and said, hey, you have to do something for me? Yes. Exactly. And you guys know him better than me. I guarantee he would have done that. This jersey would look good back there.

2:18:10I'll give you guys a jersey maybe if you want. I want a trophy, though. I want a random trophy. Just give you a Johnny Unitas golden arm trophy back there. The minute you want it back, you can have it back, but we will display it so that people are like, what is that? I'll ship something out to you. Yeah, we're just like, what is that? It's like, oh, that's Matt Leiner's trophy. I also like the idea of your wife being annoyed that your Heisman trophy is taking up Ru in the house. She's like, when are you going to get rid of this thing? By the way, super annoyed. I got so much random shit thrown out.

2:18:38She's like, my golf clubs are right here in front of me on the ground. She's like, can you move your golf clubs? Like, what are we doing? I was like, I can't win, man. What do you want me to do? I'm in the corner of my garage. It's also raining today. That's why I got a sweatshirt on. It's actually cold today. Oh, I'm so sorry. That's brutal. The three times it rains in Southern California. It rains three times. You're absolutely right. I got one last question about USC Notre Dame. Yeah. Notre Dame is one of those. uh what's the line i think it's seven and a half i don't know maybe it's a this is a tough one yeah i i probably i don't even know what the over is yeah a lot of tough one man for the boys so notre dame is one of those schools that they have rivalry games with pretty much everyone on their schedule like in terms of the usc side like is notre dame a big game when you were playing was it like this is a rival and did you feel it reciprocated with notre dame or was it like they don't care they got so many rivals yeah it definitely it definitely was our biggest rival in the sense that ucla was terrible when we played them um and i i can't explain it i don't know who who's like wisconsin's what is it purdue is it purdue's arrival minnesota it's like ucla was the crosstown rivalry right it's a battle of la you knew a lot of the dudes that went there from high school and like i actually was a ucla fan growing up the cade mcdowen era so it didn't mean as much to me beating them and the games were never close so really like we always were like oh this like they suck okay Notre Dame we lost uh my freshman year my redshirt year Carson's year I think we lost at Notre Dame um so I experienced that there as a loss that game just meant more and it also like there was just so much more meaning like it won Carson Palmer the Heisman Trophy it essentially won me the Heisman Trophy that game my junior year playing against them in November um and then the Bush-Push game my senior year and how we won that game, like it just always meant more and it felt different.

2:20:38And Pete always did a great job of that game, really respecting the history of the game, right? And respecting Notre Dame, Montana, and all of the great players that played there. So yeah, like to answer your question, it meant more to, I'd say like, it wasn't like, oh, we circled Notre Dame every year. Like we could care less, but when it was game week, like it meant a lot for us, for sure. And it was also like the second to last game or like late in this. I think it was in October, my senior year. But it always was like, we always had a couple more games left in order to like get to a national championship.

2:21:10Right. That was kind of our thought. So, yeah. And this does, I mean, I love that this is an elimination game. Like it's a huge one game will, will most likely be a playoff team and that makes it awesome. Notre Dame is if Notre Dame wins, they'll went, they're going to coast to tenant two because their schedule is terrible. They don't this. So this is the toughest game left on the schedule by far. And I believe 10 and two, we all I mean, they're they're in the playoff if they win. I would think so. Yeah. USC can lose and win out and be in. I just don't see them lose. I don't like at Nebraska is challenging at Oregon is a tough one.

2:21:44And again, like I said, like USC just hasn't proven they can win these games back to back. So this is a de facto playoff game. It's elimination game. It's it's huge. I don't remember the last time this game met this much because Notre Dame has dominated us. I mean, they really have. So it's a big one, man. So setting aside the personal beef with Dave and the bat because of the Michigan game, how have you found fitting into the Big Ten? Like, have you found yourself developing animosity towards other schools, like feeling a natural rivalry, like coming into place? Not yet. Not yet. It's so interesting, man.

2:22:19It's still bittersweet for me to see the Pac-12, I was a part of the Pac-10, just dissolve. It's just literally not there anymore. and we had a great run there and it meant a lot to me. I love the Big Ten. I mean, obviously we cover it at Fox predominantly and it does remind of the old Rose Bowl games and the Big Ten, Pac-10. Those games were awesome. We played Michigan in the Rose Bowl one year and that seed Penn State game and all that. I don't think there's a rivalry yet, but you can feel it a little bit because I don't think a lot of people, I don't think like I mean for like just the whole USC the whole west coast soft thing like I don't think a lot of people like Lincoln Riley and USC and like that style of play and even Shroom Moore last week was talking about you know the fans coming in and they're only sold out because of Michigan and like we're physical like they just got their butts kicked by that team that they were just calling out you know so I think I think naturally when you start to play these teams over a period of time you start to start to game but we're but we're not like I mean I don't like we're not good enough to have rivalries yet we've been there two years and we haven't done anything like last year we lost five or six games you know so um you know we're still trying to find our place in the big 10 i think yeah the whole california soft team thing i i don't mean which i don't get dude i mean it's just fun to say it's fun to say and me and big 10 have talked about it we do think it might be harder to get fat in california it might be harder to have like it is big linemen Yeah.

2:23:49Well, I mean, dude, but this is the thing. I was a part of an era when we had, I mean, we were dominant. Like, we had dominant linemen. Like, they're here. I mean, I guess we're known for quarterback skills. You get the sexy guy, right, the guy that looks good in the T-shirt and shorts. There's been a lot of great linemen here. I mean, Mater Dei, Bosco, all these guys. But the problem is they all left, you know, because USC has been so down for the last two years. UCLA is not good. Oregon gets a lot of those dudes with Dan Lanning. Dan Lanning's built his team like an SEC team with a lot of big bodies.

2:24:23But, yeah, a lot of avocados and salads out here, bro. My six-year-old, all he eats is salad. I was like, what the hell is going on, dude? And he's big, though. Yeah, the same kid is eating nothing but chicken nuggets and motz sticks in Wisconsin. By the way, my four-year-old, all he eats is mac and cheese. So you guys would love that kid. So he could play for a Big Ten team. Oh, he could play. Yeah, he would line up at right guard for Wisconsin, dude. Are we sure that UCLA is bad though? Oh, I agree with you, buddy. There's a world with, I mean, they could like, I was actually, I was looking at USC sketch.

2:24:56I'm like, God damn, like USC UCLA might be actually a really good game at the end of the year. We don't, we don't know. Is it not, is it not crazy? Is it the, like the biggest fall? Like I, like I kind of ties in with Penn state, but like, is that the biggest fall from like college football in the history of the sport? like what's happened with them in three weeks. They were one play away from beating Oregon, who I still think is really good, to literally losing to UCLA and then Northwestern at home. Like I just like it's – and I think UCLA might be pretty good. Like I don't know. Like I don't want to make excuses for that.

2:25:31Like I just – I don't know. Like it's crazy. Yeah, the Penn State fall like – It's so – It just happened so fast. And we were always kind of teetering on it with James Franklin can't win the big one. Yeah, of course. But it was like when he can't win the small one, too. It's crazy. Who do you think? Do you have any idea, any intel or ideas of like who would be good for that job? Because it's a great job. It's also a tough job because it's a great job, though. But they expect that Penn State's kind of raised the bar where they expect national titles now. And that's hard to do. It's it's I'm telling you, it's the same two names that you have heard and that we're going to hear in Signetti and Coach Rule.

2:26:12it's going to be those, those two. I think, you know, the big, I like Signetti, man, like I, like to win at Indiana and to do it now two years in a row. And like, I think they're going to win out. Like I think they're going to play Ohio state in the big 10 title game. And the way he's done that so quickly, I think that's why Penn state's like, well, gosh, if he can do it, like we can, you know, we should be able to do it at Penn state. I think he's the big swing. Obviously I think they're going to be playing deep into in December and January. So that's going to be interesting to see the patience that Penn state has.

2:26:42and then rule is just the obvious one i mean these are the two obvious ones like like rule went there he's close with the ad um his quotes were a little interesting this week about like like you know obviously talking about that job um and then uh i'll joel clatt mentioned this on our call so i'll definitely give him the credit brian hartline was it was a name that he threw out there from ohio state who's calling plays and hasn't been a head coach so maybe you go that route of a young but can recruit his ass off and what he's done at Ohio State. So I don't see like a crazy name coming out of nowhere for this job.

2:27:21Like I think they have their sights set on a couple guys and ultimately can Indiana throw enough at Signetti to keep them there? And, you know, Matt Rule, I mean Rule, that's the interesting one to me. If Nebraska can make a run at this thing and maybe they're a playoff team, like does he stay? Like because Nebraska's got resources too. So it'll be interesting though. Yeah. Is there a team that's really impressed you in college football that maybe at the start of the year you were a little lukewarm on, but as the year has gone on, you've started to say, hey, we need to be paying more attention to them.

2:27:52Well, Indiana's won for sure. And I was the same as everybody. Do we really think they're good? And again, that kind of goes with just like, it's Indiana. That win last week, I played at Oregon, man. It's a tough spot, dude. It's tough to play. That was good. I think Alabama, man, I really like this team. They lost to Florida State, who's not that good, given what we know now. And I work with Mark and Big Cat. You've been around Mark and just Bama, where they were with Saban, and then just last year, and already the pressure of DeBoer and all this. And they're legit, dude. They're playing really good football.

2:28:27They're one of the best teams in the country right now. So that's a team that I didn't have high expectations for coming in. It's like Bama, they're going to be pretty good. They got good players, but they've exceeded that in this little stretch of games. And obviously, they have a lot more tough games coming up. Who else? I mean, Texas Tech. Yeah. Texas Tech is legit, dude. Like, they're legit. I mean, money could buy a team, clearly. Like, that team is really good. I don't see them losing in the Big 12 either. Typically, that conference is wide open. We saw them at Utah firsthand. I mean, they're good.

2:29:01They're really good. Yeah. Yeah. Ty Simpson for Alabama, I'm so impressed with him. Guys, Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson are your Heisman Trophy favorites. And Mendoza deserves it. Like, Mendoza, I thought the key to that game, Indiana beating Oregon, was actually the pick six. And that moment where you're Indiana, you obviously had a great year last year, but you don't have the history, you know, whatever. It's that moment where you're looking around and you're like, we just threw a pick six tie ball game at Autzen Stadium. This is where you crumble. and he goes on a 75-yard drive, unflappable.

2:29:38It's like, that's a dude right there. That's a dude, and those are the moments. Those are Heisman moments, but those are team moments, man. Those are like, when a team can do that, that's why I was like, all right, Indiana's for real, because we've seen a lot of really good football teams crumble in the fourth. Penn State's kind of one of them, right? When the game is on the line, who do you trust? Penn State never got over that hump. Mendoza's the real deal. He's a good player. Cignetti's quarterback history even what he did last year with those guys Indiana's really good they've been really impressive are you ready to join us in saying that Ohio State is better this year than last year oh absolutely we were first to it and people were saying that we're stupid that defense is nasty the defense is the most dominant defense by far I was just I was just saying this to someone earlier, Julian saying and Fernando Mendoza for the Heisman trophy in the big 10 championship game.

2:30:39Yeah. I think that's, what's going to happen. Sane's odds are a little lower right now, but he's got, he's going to rise. Obviously when they continue to win, um, saying's a dude, I've watched West coast buddy, San Diego kid. I've been watching that kid since high school. He's unflappable. Uh, the only thing that their run game isn't great. That's the one thing that it's like, man, And if they have an off day throwing the football and they can't run, like maybe they run – honestly, it's probably going to be Indiana in the Big Ten Championship game. It's the only time I can see maybe them stumbling, but they're loaded, dude.

2:31:12They're so good. Like they're just – they're nasty. And they've been there. And they have the championship kind of pedigree. If it does come down to those two, I would have a hard time thinking that anybody else would win the Heisman. But right now, Carson Beck is the favorite to win the Heisman out of Miami. Yeah. So he's at plus 360, Ty Simpson's 380, Mendoza's 475. Are you looking down? I'd hammer Mendoza at that. Like, I think he's got a shot. Because I think Indiana can beat Ohio State. Like, I do think that they're, with the way their defense played against Oregon, yeah, I don't know. It's wide open.

2:31:50Yeah, who do you like out of the SEC right now? Who do you think is the best team in the SEC? I mean, A &M? Alabama? Alabama I was thinking yeah maybe I would say I think Bama and A &M I think Bama just kind of what I said they're they're flawed like they're they're big time flawed but like that QB you just talked about Mendoza big cat like just the moment right he continues to to seize the moment DeBoer has won everywhere he's been so he knows how to win um A &M with Marcel Reed he's a dark horse Heisman guy too because if they went out like that kid's got a shot to win it they're they're tough with elko like the way like they're good i think those are the two best teams right now and george is just like george is just hangs around man they're just they're they're just good like the culture there as much as i love lane um old miss to me is a little bit of like i just don't trust them you know um that kind of they could have lost last week to washington state uh but i would go bama i I think Bama's number one right now, and A &M is number two.

2:32:52I think those two teams have proven they're the best. As a quarterback, watching Arch, I know that Arch has had a rough go of it this year. There are a lot of people trashing him after every single game. He hasn't looked sharp, to be fair. Was there anything out of last week's game against Oklahoma that you saw and you're like, you know, this Arch, he might be pretty good. And I was guilty of it, too, just jumping on the bandwagon so fast. And like, it wasn't his fault. I feel bad because he expects, I mean, again, at the end of the day, it's you play quarterback. He's making millions of dollars there.

2:33:25It is what it is, right? He hasn't played a lot of football coming into this year. So like, I think some of us forgot like, hey, this kid didn't play at a high level in high school. As far as the competition, we've seen those videos. And now he's going to play in the SEC. And by the way, week one's Ohio State, which is the best defense in the country. Kind of a tough challenge. before I get to arch like I do look like the receivers haven't been great the right like there's there's a lot of pieces in this that you need to help a young quarterback look at Julian saying you got two great receivers you got a you got an offensive coordinator you got heartline you got these guys yeah I liked what I saw last week it's just going to take time like this is a kid that's going to get better week in and week out I don't think he's had a ton of help around him.

2:34:11I still believe Sark is one of the best. I've played for him. He's one of the best quarterback teachers and developers in our game. And I think Sark, I think Arch will be back next year better than ever. I really believe that. I think there's still a lot in front of them too in this game. What are they four and two, right? They have one loss in conference play and they still got a lot in front of them. So I think he's getting better. I wonder if he's hurt at all dealing with anything. I think that's the speculation. It didn't look right a couple weeks in a row there, but again, I don't know what's going on in that locker room, but the kid's going to be fine, man.

2:34:46He's good. Those were the taking a poop faces that Sark brought up. Did Sark ever mention that to you? He's like, hey, you're taking a poop face right now. Are you hurt? Are you okay? Guys, I had Sark when he was like 24 years old. Can you imagine Sark and Lane Kiffin it? They were literally, oh, God. They were literally like freaking frat, man. They were both like 25 years old, just young, arrogant coaches who I love, by the way. I love them both. And they were phenomenal. But they were like, I mean, that was their first big coaching gigs, coaching with those guys. My senior year, they were both my OCs my senior year.

2:35:23My fifth year was freaking awesome. But never poop conversations, dude. I like the explanation. What I took from that was like, he's got Arch's back. He's just like emptying the chamber right now with things that you can say. He's going to – yeah, which I love. He's defending – exactly. He's defending his QB. So, yeah, but they'll be fine over there, man. There's more than just Arch as a problem at Texas right now. I know you've probably thought about it, but how much do you think you would have made in NIL if they had NIL when you were – like play Matt Leinert's career exactly the same at USC.

2:36:01Heisman, national championship. all this what do you actually think you would have taken home with nil um got at least probably four or five mil a year or overall i think it might have been more well my first year my first year and then going into my my first year coming back i would have definitely made a little bit of money yeah i mean dude winning after winning the heisman yeah it would have been probably four or four or five then, right? Because that's what a couple of these guys are making now. Yeah. To come back for my senior year. Hell yeah, dude. Hell yeah. That would have been sick. How many stars did you have coming out of high school?

2:36:42Four. Okay. I wasn't like super highly recruited. I mean, I had offers like Ohio State, Georgia Tech was a weird one. Michigan, I almost went to Michigan, Oklahoma, the year they won the title with Heupel in 01. That was the year I came out. I think I was like 15th or something like that. And my class was Kyle Orton, old Chicago Bear, buddy, old Chicago Bear. Kyle Orton, Derek Anderson, DJ Shockley. I don't know if you guys remember him from Georgia. Brody Croyle was number one, the Alabama kid. He was the number one player. Who else? Those were kind of the big names. Like Shockley and Croyle were the big names.

2:37:25uh kellen clemens who shit kellen clemens ended up playing like 10 12 years went to oregon so that was the class but i wasn't like i wasn't highly recruited yeah um how does it's first class how does it because you went through it as you went through it back then and now your son is is you know on the precipice of playing college ball how does it work with the star system and is it like is it kind of bullshit i always assume it's a little bit bullshit it's all bullshit dude it's all bullshit a lot of these guys like it's interesting because the way it's like kind of like club basketball right so like aau basketball and all this stuff and now you're seeing a lot of that in football where you have these seven on seven tournaments i'm my son's played in them some of them um and you get stars like like based on offers sometimes you get stars based on like playing in some of these turn it's it's on it's just i can't even keep up but i had a conversation with, who was it?

2:38:24With Lincoln and Chip Kelly. Lincoln and Chip Kelly were at modern days practice when my son was there as a freshman. And I was talking to them about this. Like, hey, do you guys like getting advice? Like, hey, do you think my son should play like seven on seven, all this shit? And they said, dude, we don't recruit one kid from seven on seven circuits. Like we could care less. And now maybe other, whatever. So I think to ask your question, like stars mean absolutely nothing. Like I think Cole's a three-star, like which by the way I mean that's fine like he's got SMU he's going there next year um but how they how they pick stars and who's this and that I've seen a lot of five stars up close and personal who are terrible I mean I just have so uh yeah I don't I don't get the system I don't know how they do it uh per se um and it doesn't mean anything because we've seen some of the best three four star kids end up being some of the best football players ever you know and some of the five stars not.

2:39:17Yeah. Yeah, so it's like almost you have to pay to play if you do some of the seven-on-seven circuits to get more notoriety. Yeah, like seven-on-seven is all about... This is the craziness of our world, man. It's all about social media, dude. It's all about... And it is part of it. I do think it is part of branding yourself because so much is consumed on these sites. Whether it's under the radar is one and you have On3 now who's doing all these evaluations, which literally I have no idea where they're even getting the numbers from. So it's all about like, Hey, come do the seven on seven. We'll do, we'll do a highlight film for you.

2:39:53By the way, it's 150 bucks. Literally. I'm like, I'm like, come on, bro. Like it's just a money grab. Now, like you get like a pretty cool one minute highlight tape that you can post on your Instagram and like coaches do see that stuff. But like, I mean, is that how you're evaluating players? Like, no, I don't know, man. It's just, it's all, I think there's some like competitive value to it because you are, playing. It's like AAU basketball, which again, my son played that too, like at a high level. There is some of that where you're playing good competition and you're just getting reps and experience, but I think it's all BS, to be honest with you.

2:40:27What do you think about Missouri? Would you say that Missouri is completely out of it? Kind of switching gears here. That's a major shift. I mean, are you a Missouri? Do you like Missouri? Is that why you're asking? I was thinking about Missouri this morning, whether or not they're completely out of it, or would you think that they're good enough to have a shot. I know they're disappointed with what happened with Alabama. What do they want? They got one loss, right? They just lost. They didn't really play anyone up until that game. You know, like the Kansas game, they obviously Kansas is decent.

2:40:56They beat Kansas, but that game was closer than the box score because I had Kansas in that game and it was a bullshit cover by Missouri. So they got to go to Vanderbilt and to, oh, they're at Auburn. Auburn, Vanderbilt, Texas A &M, Mississippi State's bad, Oklahoma, Arkansas I mean they're not a playoff team I like their coach too man I like him, I like their running backs a stud they're just one of those teams that I just don't trust them they haven't done it enough you know what I mean I was trying to find a team that's on the outside looking in that nobody's thinking about that might be able to sneak in and they were the first one that came to run Brady Quinn talked about it last week.

2:41:42Virginia. Yeah. Virginia guys, like Brady Quinn, Gretitan, they might make the college football playoff, dude. Yeah. Their schedule is awesome. Washington State, North Carolina, Cal, Wake Forest, Duke. Duke is the toughest game on their schedule at Duke at the end of the year. They'll be 11-1. And if they lose to Miami in the ACC, like 11 or 10-2, whatever it is. It's like what SMU was able to do last year. That's the one team, dude. I think that's the one team that no one is talking about that's got a real shot to get in. Yeah, they're plus 650 to make the playoff. That might be the pick. I like that.

2:42:23That might be the pick. Georgia Tech too. Yeah, one of those two is going to make it. One of those two will make it, yeah. Matt, I got one last question for you. It's a rowback question. RHOBACK.com, promo code TAKE. 20 % off your first purchase. Q-Zips, polos, Hoodies, joggers, shorts, roback.com, promo code TAKE. You mentioned it earlier, but the meetings for Big Noon on Friday. So I filled in for Dave in Evanston. It was a lot of fun. Got to hang out with everyone. Got to go to the meeting. There was one thing that has been bugging me about the meeting. There was a full spread for lunch. Oh, it was terrible.

2:43:01It wasn't great, but I see a full spread and I eat the full spread. And I got a couple comments being like, whoa, you're really going in the spread. do we not eat in that meeting like what's going on who said that what do you mean who said i can't remember it might have been was that like the third time you went back that was like the third time you went back a couple times but i just like hey guys we like there's food out are we not eating free food do we not eat free food yeah and i was the only one eating well i don't remember that i think i think i think the boys were just giving you a hard time because it was like your first big noon meeting you know it's just like it's like i don't know if portnoy told you this the first meeting we came um this fact shit was funny brady was like dave so what's your story man get up in front of the group and just tell us your story and dave's like what like the fuck you talking about and brady dave stood up and gave us like a three-minute story on like his whole life he's like we don't want to know about barstool we don't know about like what's your story bro and dave dave was a good sport he's been awesome obviously and like you you've been in that meeting it would have been like us just saying like hey dan just get up and tell us like hey what's your story bro like tell us where you're from i couldn't i couldn't do that because i was eating the whole time i mean you and bear bro bear i mean bear just eats like a bear you're a free food by the way but our spread we had a good spread last week we've had we've had a couple games we've had a couple weeks that have been a little disappointing i mean it was it was northwestern dude it wasn't like you know what is like it wasn't a great game and you're out there just like slumming in the rain dude you're just taking one for the team bro it was fun i just i just remember walking out of that me being like do they do they just not eat during this meeting like did i know is that a faux pas that i just went to town like i had like multiple brownies and everything it was crazy um all right matt you're the man uh we'll see you soon good to see you boys yeah appreciate it man yeah all right boys take care man send us a trophy i'm gonna go into storage and go see which one i'm gonna send you guys the most random one you got that's what we want all right later all right All right, see you, man.

2:45:03Matt Leiner was brought to you by Venmo, where you can kick off college sports season with a college-branded Venmo debit and unlock 40 % off a Big Ten Plus subscription, a free year of Perplexity Pro, and cash back from some favorite brands. All while you show school spirit with custom card designs that feature select college teams, the Venmo debit card works hand-in-hand with the Venmo app you already know and love. Got paid back for dinner? well immediately access money in your venmo balance and choose to spend it on what you want from game day tickets to tailgating snacks add your card to your mobile wallet as soon as you sign up pay online and in store right from your phone score more with the venmo debit card and access fan rewards from big 10 plus and perplexity pro sign up today for no monthly fee no minimum balance max cash back varies terms apply the venmo mastercard is issued by the bank court NA.

2:45:55Okay, let's wrap up. We got guys on chicks. Henry. Sup, boys. What a win last night. Dub airs. Any advice on the first trimester of pregnancy? My husband and I are pregnant with our first kid and I have been struggling with morning sickness. My husband's the best and has been waiting on me hand and foot because of how nauseous I am. For reference, I'm throwing up at least twice a day. Oh. Normally, I would offer bj's as thank you but i can't keep anything down and cannot stand being touched at the moment oh any ideas on how to show him i appreciate all he's doing for me and my baby also hank as a resident obgen any tips to help with morning sickness so morning sickness is basically like a hangover i would say just eat a cheeseburger and jerk off you spoke a little weed now that is messed up that that pregnant women can't do anything like that dude they can't even have like deli meat yeah it's not you can't have tuna nope sushi nope uh yeah i all i got is yeah smoke weed jerk off cheeseburger yeah i don't know how to get rid of of being nauseous uh there's really nothing that you can do i don't think that you should have to like give them head all the time that seems like it's nice of you to think that but you don't have to actually accounts yeah just be like hey get him a pocket pussy yeah yeah be like hey normally i'd give you a blowjob right now but you know i'm pregnant and he'll be like okay i understand hey guys huge fan of the pod i'm writing in for suggestions on how to get my husband to be more into football i'm from buffalo born and raised so obviously bill's culture runs deep he's not from the area and will actually root for both teams when we watch the games it drives me nuts he's been the over we're going to a game in november so i'm hoping the tailgating atmosphere will change that any other ideas as much appreciated thanks i think tailgate that's going to help i would say also like marry a dude next time

2:47:58i don't know where's this guy from mars place where there's no football he's not from the area maybe canada might be but they got oh happy thanksgiving canada by the way that's today let us be the last i wish you i think it is maybe Sunday. Oh, whoops. Yeah, I think take him to a tailgate. Let him enjoy it. Let him get caught up in it. It's kind of hard, too, because if you're trying to get him to be a Bills fan, there will be a moment this year where it's like, why do we do this? Yeah. He's like, can you do this every year? Yeah, you kind of need the Bills to win the Super Bowl for it to sink in for him.

2:48:38Tailgate, though, yeah, would definitely help. Tailgate would make it, would hopefully get him captured. I'm struggling to understand this concept That he watches the games But he doesn't care about the football Is he playing fantasy football? Like rooting for both teams? Yeah, maybe get him into fantasy football That's actually a good call Then he'll learn some players Yeah But this is very foreign to me Then, yeah, he'll learn some players And then whatever guy does the best for him He'll naturally start to like that team Yeah But you gotta carefully monitor his draft You gotta make sure that he's not picking up any like division rivals or anybody on the chiefs because that that's going to cause a problem in your relationship yeah hi female awl here who loves the show you have helped me get into football which my husband loves one question do you guys have a consolation show that you watch with your wife girlfriend in exchange for them watching football all day sunday monday thursday night and college football saturdays i feel like i've earned the right to have my husband watch bravo or trash reality tv competition show so i want to hear your take yeah i mean i i used to watch real housewives i haven't watched since they did like they changed the cast in new york kind of sucked i like to hate watch the countess uh but yeah it was it was a lot of real housewives i don't know there's usually like is there a good show out right now i feel like there's been a good show out that i'm missing is there a good one a good new show yeah there there was a show that somebody kept telling me to watch over the weekend and i kept task yeah yeah i kept nodding my head I was thinking about football the whole time.

2:50:12It's based in Delco. That's why. Oh, yeah. It's the Mare of Easttown people. It's the Mare of Easttown people. Oh, okay. I don't really know how to explain it. It's not a whodunit, but it's like a... You're really crushing it. You're showing the head of the police and also the head of a bad guy. American crime. But you feel for the bad guy. How many episodes have been out? Sounds like the Delco wire. Yeah. All right, I'm in. The water. I've only watched two episodes because we've been so busy, but the two episodes have been phenomenal. Yeah, this is a tough time of year where it's like there's just not a lot of time for Wednesday shows.

2:50:51I've also noticed that the documentaries on Netflix have been getting worse and worse and worse. Oh, it's just total brain rot. It's really bad now. Like, there's documentaries that are done. The one that was, like, about reverse catfishing people. Yeah, the mom. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That one was total. I had to turn that one off because I was like, why am I watching a random person in Michigan? Yeah. Be catfished and harassed by their mom. Yeah. I do not care. Some of the worst, like the, obviously they're like high school kids, but they were, the, the interviews they were doing were so bad. It was like they were reading off a script.

2:51:22Yeah. Yeah. And then after you find out who the catfisher was, there's still like an hour left in the documentary to just like watch, watch her destroy her life. Total brain rot. Yeah. Any other good shows? I just, you know what I do? I go back if there's no sports on I find myself just re-watching stuff so like I'm about due for re-watch of The Wire I just re-watched The Sopranos I recommend that and re-watching Breaking Bad too they're still good still good shows yeah I'm in on the re-watch stuff yeah I like to re-watch stuff as well because you also just know it's like I can make a commitment and I also can if I something pops up I can just walk away from it Chad Powers, also good.

2:52:05Oh, nice. All right. Hey, Big Cat and Chris's dad. My boyfriend and I were watching the Lions Chiefs game when St. Brown dropped a catchable pass. My boyfriend said I could have caught that. When I laughed and said no way, he pulled up his high school huddle highlight tape, and they were 20 seconds long. I know this was from about 10 years ago, but should I still be embarrassed? No, you should be proud. Yeah, he could have caught that. He could have caught that. Sounds like you were dating like a stud. Yeah, it sounds like he probably could have made it to the NFL, but Coach hated him. I mean, he's got a huddle tape.

2:52:39Yeah. I mean, yeah, he probably believes if you can touch it, you can catch it. Yeah, absolutely. And that's a fact. It is true. It's a correct belief. Yeah. Okay, is that the last one? Last one. Can you give me your top five most attractive NFL players based solely on hotness and not how good they are? Also, shout out Zach. I think I could turn him into an intercourse guy. Oh. How about that? Let's go, Zach. I would say, number one, Sam Hartman. Yep. Jimmy G. Yep. Braxton Berrios. He is a good-looking guy. Can we throw a coach on there? Andy Reid. D 'Amico Ryan. D 'Amico Ryan's very attractive.

2:53:21It pains me to say it. Jalen Hurts, good-looking guy. Yeah. Jalen Hurts is a good-looking guy. Very good-looking guy. Very good-looking guy. Sometimes he dresses kind of like a weirdo, but I shouldn't really say anything about that. I actually like how he dresses. I feel like he's just... Yeah, he's cool. He's basically just doing, like, 90s, like, Martin dressing. Wait, was that fuck you to me? I don't know. Maybe. Yeah, yeah. No, yes. I admitted I shouldn't say anything about that. Max, are you a little upset that the Eagles have lost two in a row because otherwise you could rub it in PFT's face a little bit more?

2:53:51Yeah, I can't say shit. Right. You've been neutered. The Bills losing last night felt good. I love Bills fans. I like the Bills. But it's good to see someone else going through what I am also going through. Yeah. Yes. That it's like 4-0, you're feeling good, and then two games where you just look bad. Yeah. Did the Bills have anybody retire? We don't have to talk about that. Oh, yeah. You had a guy retire. I thought we were going to get through this shit. Yeah, why did he retire? No idea. Didn't he say just a couple months ago, I'm so ready? No, it was like three weeks ago. It was like I love playing this game.

2:54:27I got a lot more football left to play. and then three weeks later retire. Pug thinks he got hit hard and that he doesn't want to get hit anymore, and I like that take from Pug. That's as good a reason as any. Like, hey, actually, this sucks. Yeah. Yeah. I just realized. Like, I've been getting hit for 12 years. It doesn't feel good. Yeah, in the offseason, you're like, oh, football's so fun. Then you get hit once, and you're like, ah, maybe I'm too old for this. Yeah, this sucks. Yeah, not good. Yeah. Do you think that will ever happen to us? where it's like we do a week one fastest two minutes.

2:55:01There's no offseason. No, but I'm saying we do a week one fastest two minutes. You're like, oh, man, that hurt. I don't really want to do this. I think it's going to be more like you have a heartbreaking loss, and then you're like, why am I doing this? Why am I doing this right now? Max definitely thought about that. Yep. I'm back. Absolutely on Thursday were like, I should get a new job. It crossed my mind. Every Sunday. every Sunday for memes I didn't I didn't necessarily think about that yesterday but on the way to work for the stream I almost got just jacked up by a car going like 40 miles an hour making a turn across my lane and then I'd slam on the brakes it went in front of me and then on my way home I thought to myself like what if that car just hit not like killed me yeah but maybe like I had to go to the hospital I didn't have to watch that game yeah and then that that That might be a little bit better of a feeling.

2:55:54Yeah. But then I quickly said, okay, no, not yet. That's not that bad. You could always be Max. Now, Super Bowl. You're an inspiration for me, Max. Yep. Numbers three. Who was it? Might have been Max. Sounded like Max. I'll give it to you, Hank. Oh, I love that. Okay. I'll take it. Yeah. What? That'd be me. Pug, make the rule. You said it? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Wait, did you? Wait, did Hank? I didn't say it I thought you said it Memes what would be your backup number My backup number 29 for Dumpy I'll do 33 I'll do 22 61 22 No Jack No Pick a new one 45 76 I do think you're just taking his number every time I've been taking 22 since the summer that's just not true that is every single game every single time most of the time unless I get three I like calling these games 99 poke by the way big game tonight our lottery ball segment is brought to you by Jackpocket it's time for this week's lottery ball segment brought to you by our partners at Jackpocket how's over half a mil sound to you well with Jackpocket you can order tickets for huge jackpots like Mega Millions and Powerball right now from your phone no lies no lines no hassle and with Mega Millions on the rise Jackpocket hooked it up because new customers can download the app and get$5 in lottery credits today.

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2:58:05All right, I'm going to go 15. I got 29. What happens first? Do you think New York gets another championship or Moons gets the lottery? New York. What team would it be? Yankees.

2:58:2676. Shane! Shane! Yes! Let's go, Shane! Shane, Shane, Shane! Let's go! What a day for Shane. Oh, man. Shane. Post-game press conference. Shane, how did you do it? The rings. The rings. You're 1-0 with the rings on. Show the rings to the camera. There it is. Post-game press conference. memes how did you not do it

2:58:55I can say what I was actually thinking. yeah I just gotta get rings are you mad at Shane now no not a little bit no you just gotta get rings jealous no this machine means nothing I don't know about that how's the pressure feeling in the memes household none really you know what's crazy is that Shane has done five let's see how many no you've got three wins Yeah, that's my fourth Now four So you've won the lotto ball four times Dynasty That's crazy Nothing on Pug And you just, you won back in August Yeah Damn Late work You're awesome, dude Only a 50 day drought for Shane Memes I'm the only one who hasn't got it You know what's great?

2:59:57The lottery ball, it's been hot. The last two months, we've had three winners. It's actually, we're in the live ball era where everyone's getting it. Yeah. It's the easiest it's ever been. It's true. I bet you the lottery ball machine would have made that handoff. Oh! That doesn't make sense. Would have delivered it right to him. That doesn't make any sense. Makes sense to me. Yeah. All right. Made sense to me. Good one, memes. Thank you. They don't have hands. They have balls. Yep. They do. They're facts. All right. Let's see everyone on Friday. Love you guys.

3:01:00We'll be right back.

3:01:26Thank you.

3:01:57Thank you.

3:02:25Thank you.