PMS 2.0 1542 - Big Sports Wednesday with Ian Rapoport, Shams Charania, Mike Tannenbaum, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

18:13That's what Buffalo told us last night. That's what Buffalo told us last night. They're trying to put American sausage under Canadian bacon.

18:20Pat McAfee:So I will double down on that thing. I will certainly get multiple meats on there. But the Canadian bacon, a.k.a. ham, with that egg, how they perfectly cook it every single time. And then that muffin, I'm more of a croissant fun guy or a bagel guy. Not really a muffin guy. But, boy, McDonald's muffin has that perfect crisp little edge. A little bit of cheese kind of hanging off the side. Lightly buttered. And then I unwrap it. Put the wrap on the bottom of it. And it's just perfect. And that Canadian ham. Can't relate. I'm with you, man. Yeah, the sausage is better.

19:04Pat McAfee:I will say I love the sausage. You know what else they screw up? The Bloody Mary. They have their version. The Caesar. Oh, the Caesar. They were disgusting. That's way apart. I'm not a Bloody Mary guy. Bloody Mary stick. Molten triple X and cheap vodka? No, if you ask many people, they prefer the Caesar over the Bloody Mary. What is the Caesar? What's in the Caesar? They use clam juice instead of tomato juice. Clam juice? This place sucks. Yeah, let's go back to before last night. No, no, last night he told us the place was good. Come on, what are we doing? Timmy Horton, King Timmy. Yeah, Timmy Hose for sure, no doubt about it.

19:46Double, double. Double, double. I mean, even when they started doing the next song, I think everybody thought, oh, wow, the second rendition is much better than the first one they let off with.

19:54Pat McAfee:Okay. So let's follow up. Did the king stop by your guys' country too? Because I already stopped by our standing ovation. I like that. Did he stop back to you guys? Oh, yeah. Still owns it. They're still paying him. He's the king. He ain't my king. We don't like us. No. No, we don't. Okay. No. No way. Let's move along. Okay. Prince of Insiding for the NFL at ESPN. Part of the royal family. Ladies and gentlemen. He's the king of my eyes. He once was. You better watch it. You better watch it. He moved to a new manor. He did. The dog bites. Ladies and gentlemen, he was once a Duke. Now he was once a king.

20:36Pat McAfee:Now he finds a home as Prince of the royal inside family at ESPN. Ladies and gentlemen, Ian Rappaport. What's up, Junior? What's up, guys? How you doing? Appreciate it, Pat. That was something. That was something. What's going on? Are you talking about Canada all the way in? Because I thought that was a pretty smooth transition. I was trying to figure out how to get to you. The king was the only way because you being prince now. First of all, congratulations. Let's go, Rapp. I appreciate you guys. I appreciate it. We are very proud of you. Genuinely, we think this is a great thing for ball. We think it's a great thing for ESPN.

21:13Pat McAfee:What does this mean for you, actually, and how has it kind of been laid out on how this will all work? Because we understand that insiding is a team game. We have been very fortunate and lucky for our Schefter relationship. He has always shown up for us since we've come here to ESPN. Ty hosts a podcast alongside of him. So we've gotten a chance to kind of see the inner workings of insiding. And this feels like a big deal with you two seemingly coming to join the same team. Is that how you're viewing it, or how does this kind of work? Yeah, well, a couple things. First of all, I appreciate you guys very much.

21:44I mean, it's good to be back on here, and I appreciate the kind words. I didn't really like the non-love for the Bloody Mary because I love Bloody Marys, but that's a whole different topic. We know you did a lot of boozing to get to this deal. We understand. Listen, you got to do what you got to do. Yes. Not everything, but Bloody Mary's drinking. There's a line, right?

22:05Pat McAfee:Boozing, boozing. Give me your back to Paul. Why not? Sorry. You are right now. Well, we appreciate you, and we're proud of you. Well, thank you. As far as how it will work, my first of all, nothing has been like laid out as far as what the next six months are going to be like, because it's a transition and everyone's trying to figure their way and kind of see what's going to happen. My assumption based on kind of what we've been told is there's going to be a lot of things that are going to look pretty similar. Like I'm still going to be on NFL Network a lot. I'm still going to be doing our shows with my guys, Mike and Tom.

22:37now like as far as like working with Adam and first of all he has been great in this whole process and a lot of the you know I sort of you never quite know what to expect but a lot of the ESPN people I've encountered from Burke Magnus who's been awesome all the way on down you know guys like Seth Markman I mean everyone's been really really good I'm excited to be here however it happens like working with Adam like you know I like the team part of this you know I like working with I like working with Tom I like working with Mike I will enjoy working with Adam because like this is a hard world and it should be fun and teamwork is fun and so like whatever that gets however that happens whatever the way that gets laid out like I'm looking to have a lot

23:22Pat McAfee:of fun in the next many years we're happy for that NFL Network obviously not going anywhere it's just coming under a little bit new mentorship and I think a little bit more support coming in there as well as opposed to what has been. So I'm excited for that relationship between ESPN and NFL Network and how it continues to evolve. I'll tell you, though, you and Schefter have a little bit different ways to go about doing business. I'm excited for you guys to kind of get in the same room. We still have source-offs. Need that. That can't go anywhere. Yeah, we need source-offs. No, we can have them.

23:51Let's do it. It just won't be me versus Schefter.

23:54Pat McAfee:Oh, because there's other insiders. This is, hey, Kevin Durant You didn't want the Golden State, pal. Braun went down to the heat. That is what we're looking at here. That is the situation we have. And guess what? They're going to hang banners, these boys. That's right. Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four. I'm crazy. I'm wearing bronze right now, actually. Nice. Thought he had a pretty good little interview. Are we going to dedicate an hour to that piece? That was a good piece by Miniman. Good piece, Braun. Which one? He compared himself to Jordan. I mean, you saw it all. He wasn't comparing himself to Jordan.

24:34Pat McAfee:He was asking others to not do it. We played different games, dude. And you don't got shit on me. And normally I'm the one who gets shit on this entire thing. Wait, we're not allowed to compare them now? Just shut up, rap. Yeah. You just joined ESPN. Don't do it. Don't do this. You do inciting. Okay, we don't need you to start taking it. My bad. Why? Do you have a take on LeBron versus Jordan now that you're an ESPN guy rap sheet? Is that what you have? No, but I really should get one. Yeah. You better. Yeah, I got to figure it out. Right now, I really don't care, but I'll figure it out. I'll get something.

25:05Pat McAfee:You better get a source at the Cowboys too quick. You already got one, he said. Yeah, we know, we know. That's why you signed that deal. Okay, let's talk about a couple things that have happened around the NFL, shall we, so you can showcase your gig. Jawan Jennings visiting with the Minnesota Vikings. Obviously, there's a situation with Brandon Ayuk and the San Francisco 49ers. A.J. Brown is still looming. There's only been 12 receivers who had 15 touchdowns or more over the last two seasons. 11 of them are currently on teams. Jawan Jennings is the only one not on a team. Coming off a career-high year where he had nine touchdowns, career-high amount of yards.

25:41Pat McAfee:He's also an absolute dog. I think I would love him on the Colts. Minnesota Vikings are interested. What's going on with Jawan Jennings? Why is he still available? Is this his choice or team's choice? So we'll start with Jennings, then we'll get to some of the other, like, Iyuk and all of that. Now, with Jennings, there's a couple of these guys every year where you have a price that you want to get to. And in free agency, for whatever reason, the deal does not come together. Either the price is not right or they want a different number of years. And you can either really sign quickly, like we see a lot of guys signing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or you can wait.

26:16And what he decided was just to wait. And there are some teams in the draft who are like, all right, we're going to get a receiver maybe second, third round. And then if you don't, all of a sudden you have a need. And so there's a couple of veterans. I would say Najee Harris is one of those guys. Jennings is another. There's a couple of these guys that didn't quite get the deals they wanted. And now all of a sudden teams are like, all right, we got to have them. So my guess is generally when you have a veteran player and an agent who's pretty good like Drew Rosenhaus, they probably already know what the deal is going to be.

26:52So if he's visiting, my guess is he's at an okay place with the deal. So if all checks out, like, I wouldn't be surprised if they signed him. And to me, that would actually be a great, great spot for him and would be a good signing for them.

27:05Pat McAfee:Tyler Murray, a quarterback. Jordan Addison just got his fifth-year option, I do believe. Justin Jefferson is still there. Jawan Jennings doing all the dirty work. That's a lot of good receivers right there. All of a sudden you start thinking maybe the Minnesota Vikings, then you look at the defensive side, it's like, well, they just traded their captain away. Fascinating. Minnesota Vikings are kind of in an interesting predicament. Speaking of interesting predicament, let's go to the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Ayuk. What is going on there? You know, because Lynch was basically like, we don't have to do anything, it sounded like.

27:33Pat McAfee:But everybody's expecting them to move on from Ayuk. How do you kind of see this whole thing working out? This is, like, kind of weird. What I thought of is, like, you know when you're, like, young and you're, like, in high school and you're talking to someone on the phone, let's say a girl on the phone, and you're kind of like, all right, hang up. No, you hang up. No, you hang up. Kind of like that. That's what this is like. Because I think the 49ers are kind of like, well, just trade for him. I mean, he's got no guaranteed money left. These do a big number, 27 or something like that. But he's got no guaranteed money left because he stopped showing up for rehab last year and they took his guaranteed money away.

28:09And then if you're a team like, let's say, the commanders who have interest, you're like, well, just cut him. You're going to cut him anyway. And the Niners are like, we're not going to cut him. You've got to trade for him. And then the commanders are like, no, you're not. just cut him and that's where we are and so it's like kind of like a funny little talk about source off this is like a standoff and so he's just kind of like waiting and like all right what are we gonna do and then some one of those things will happen i just don't know who's gonna blink first

28:36Pat McAfee:and what's the trade gonna have to be for like a seventh or a sixth or a fifth because it feels nothing yeah and then he would have to redo the reason why iuk would have to be involved is the commanders wouldn't take on his huge contract they'd pay him a lot less and then he'd be able to capitalize like in other ways or it'd be a one-year deal, whatever it is, but he'd have to adjust his contract. So that goes to a one-year $15 million deal. I mean, that would be a lot, but my guess is it'd be less, but yes, like something like that. He'd have to adjust his contract to do the deal. Okay, Colts.

29:07Pat McAfee:I mean, we can get a brand new one-year,$10 million. Yeah, he'll want to come. He'll want to come. I'll speak for Colts Nation on this one. No. We're fine. All right. Takes you on. What about Kevin Durant for the Pacers? Nope. What? I get that one. Yeah, I get that one, too. Come on. You're not getting great players. No, I get that. You go. Yeah, yeah. All right. That was a great comparison. You really threw in a fastball. I was with you. Yeah. First day at ESPN. You hang out. Woo. You hang out. That was good, Rap. Pretty good. It's the only thing I can think of. I'm sorry, but it's literally what it is.

29:40It's bizarre.

29:41Pat McAfee:You're so clever. You're so funny, what you do. That was pretty good. Yeah, that was pretty good. Let's get another update, shall we? Go ahead, D-Bush. Yeah, Denver Broncos, their quarterback, Bo Nix. We all remember the injury late in the playoffs. What's the update on him and his ankle? Yeah, so he had surgery, had another procedure. I think it was last night or yesterday. Went down to see Dr. Waldrop in Birmingham, Alabama. Used to be Andrews. Now this is kind of like the next really good foot and ankle guy. So basically a little bit of a kind of a clean out, kind of just make sure it was healthy, get some stuff out of there.

30:15And just, you know, I think when he had it most recently examined after the obviously fractured ankle, they thought, all right, maybe there's going to be another surgery just to make sure it's healing properly and to clean some stuff up. So that's what happened. You're not going to see him very much in OTAs or minicamp, which like honestly, who cares? But I would expect him to be ready for training camp or very close to training camp. So like it's, you know, second surgery sounds bad. I don't really think this is that bad. It's kind of more like Dak had the same thing when he was coming back from his ankle and went on to play great.

30:50Like, I don't think this is a it's a thing, but I don't think it's anything that's going to derail his season or anywhere close.

30:56Pat McAfee:OK, we hope Bo Nix is obviously back in the center. What a special run they went on. That was just a rude ending to a season. I would say a rude ending to a team that went on a run. And what a fortuitous bounce for the New England Patriots as they made it. I wish I would have seen how it would have ended if he was healthy. You know what I mean? I mean, that Patriots defense was so good. Very good. They were so good. They didn't have to play anybody, make it all the way to the Super Bowl. They didn't have to play anybody. Top five defense. Actually, the most top five defenses in one playoff run in the history of the NFL.

31:35Pat McAfee:And they're focused on ball now, right? That's all they're focused on, baby. That's it. We don't have to hope. We've heard from the players. All right. Well, the Patriots potentially in for a wide receiver trade post-June 1 is what we're hearing. There might be another wide receiver that is currently available on the market as well. Go ahead, Conman. Yeah, Rap Sheet, speaking of standoffs, George Pickens seems to be in a standoff with a pen because he has not signed the franchise tag yet, even though it was reported he did and then he intended to, and he actually has not signed it yet. Do you think he's playing for the Cowboys?

32:04Is it safe to assume he's playing for the Cowboys, or is this a situation where he might actually sign it but then get moved immediately what's your read on this entire situation okay a couple things so he has told the cowboys that he intends to sign it now i think it's you know it's a weird thing because we all imagine like them faxing him or whatever people do emailing him a piece of paper i don't know why i said fax emailing him a piece of paper and then just signing it but it's actually a little different you tell them hey we intend to accept this and then like eventually you physically sign it.

32:38I think after a physical. He is accepting the franchise tag. So to me, not physically signing it is not that big of a deal. I would be surprised if he's traded, but I wouldn't be beyond stunned because I've seen this before. The Cowboys have been adamant. They do not intend to trade him. Steven Jones has said on the record, he is going to be playing for them. I agree that is the most likely scenario, but everyone has a price and there is a possibility that someone could say you know what i'm gonna send a what would be a good price a two for george pickets the problem is that's for next year so if you're a good team trying to be good this year that actually doesn't help you so trades for franchise players are really hard and usually they happen before free agency and before the draft so you can replace him and that hasn't happened so my guess is he's playing for the cowboys plays great and then next year either signs a huge deal with the cowboys or walks and signs a

33:37Pat McAfee:massive deal somewhere else okay i like to hear that yeah especially if george pickens gets an opportunity to play under a franchise tag we assume uh it's going to be show time every single time he steps out there not that it hasn't been his entire career but we're just saying a little bit of a bag driven season is could be great for george pickens and dallas cowboys and us as fans. They can franchise tag him again though, can't they? They can, yeah. That's a big commitment by George Pickens if he was to do the one year under the franchise tag because then they can just run that thing back and do it the second year under the franchise tag as well, so then he's actually two years out.

34:14Pat McAfee:But also, if he wants to be a Cowboy and enjoys his time with the Dallas Cowboys and he's played his best ball with the Dallas Cowboys, maybe he'd be willing to do it one year and then hopefully they sign him after. That's an interesting rap just said that he thinks he's going to be playing under the franchise that's what I just heard right there right you would know better than me being a former franchise player how much players hate I signed that thing as soon as I could I was told I was getting$2.4 million guaranteed give me that thing much different situation for George Pickens and everybody else he's entering the prime and what you want is long term commitment money wise for these wide receivers especially what the market is for wide receivers at the top of the market and the big difference is playing on the tag.

34:54The tag is, what, 27? Yeah, something like that. I think 27-4 or something like that, yeah. And the top of the market is 40 now. So we're chasing those other deals that have been done. And he's playing his best ball, and he got to actually showcase everything that he can do in this Dallas offense with Dak Prescott because coming into that last season, I thought he was a good receiver. I didn't know he had all the things that he has in his bag as far as his route tree, being able to play in the slot, his run after catch. Like, when he was in Pittsburgh, it was a lot of him lined up at X and running deep balls.

35:26It was not Kansas. Yeah, to kind of have that full wild-crowing play. And also block him. Yeah.

35:30Pat McAfee:He blocks guys. He hits guys. He was long-term commitment. I know people, you know, and we hear stories about him maybe being a head case or what's going on between the ears. Do you trust him giving that type of money? But I don't remember him being any, like, real trouble, you know, off of the field. So, I mean, I hope he gets his money. He's earned it. It seems like his trouble is like he is, I want the ball and I want us to win. And I'll tell you what, I know a lot of wide receivers that are like that. And the offenses that he was playing for in Pittsburgh, whenever he was saying a lot of these things, were statistically and optically ass.

36:05Pat McAfee:Yep, terrible. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like they were actually chanting fire Canada all over the place because of how lame it was. Historically, especially with that position, you know, you pay wide receiver ones and if they aren't being successful or things aren't going their way, you can become a cancer in that locker room. When you become one of the highest paid players in your cancer, when you want to be like a pillar guy, you can run into trouble. I'm not saying that these are the things that George Pickens is, but this is what people are worried about giving the deals to. Absolutely.

36:35Pat McAfee:Yeah, you put a lot of money to somebody that's potentially not like the greatest positive influence for your entire team as a whole. That's who everybody looks at. Like who's getting rewarded? Those are the people getting the money. That is what I'm going to try to do here. You're 100 % right. Now, granted, on that note, do I think Dak Prescott will ever let George Pickens get pissed? Because it's all kind of hit on him, right? Yeah. On who gets the ball, who doesn't get the ball? Kind of, because defense, you could just shade them. You saw some games where people were like, oh, he's not running routes.

37:04Because sometimes as a wide receiver, you see the safety shared over top. You're like, okay, I'm not getting the ball here. Let me just kind of half-ass this route. You know, all receivers don't do that, but you can kind of get taken out of the game. And then as a defender, like Brandon Marshall for an example, for us as defenders coming into the game, we're like, hey, take 15 out early. At some point in the middle of the first quarter, second quarter, you're going to see him on the sideline, dog cussing Josh McDaniels or whoever this head coach or play caller is. He's like, okay, got him. So that's what you want.

37:33So can you stay encouraged? Like Justin Jefferson, it doesn't matter who's playing quarterback, how much production, he's running routes full speed, he's doing his thing.

37:40Pat McAfee:And if you don't stop Brandon Marshall early, he'll have 20-some receptions. Yeah. Yeah, if he gets going early, T.O., like those type of receivers, they get going early, it gets ugly for you. But if you take them out early, it can possibly impact that whole game. And team. But on that note, it feels like Dak has probably warranted a lot of trust and respect potentially from George Pickens. Like, hey, if I don't get you some days, we will definitely get you the ball later. It's a big deal. A lot of receivers are dependent on a lot of other things. Very much so. And they are judged harshly on a lot of little things.

38:10Pat McAfee:So it's like they know exactly what they're going to be judged upon. okay yards touchdowns championships okay that's what the wide receivers are going to be judged upon and it's like there's a lot of other things that have to happen for them to get anything and that's why you hear aj like you know aj brown's like yeah i need the fucking ball right okay like this is what everybody has told me i'm going to be judged upon so let's go ahead and make that happen it's like uh that wide receiver position is an interesting one because it feels like all the ones that are i mean i guess justin jefferson but he'll have 180 yards in the first half every once in a while.

38:41Pat McAfee:But all the guys that are at the top, they want the fucking ball. That's why they're there. That's why they're in the NFL. Yeah, and for Jerry as well and the Cowboys, it's like, hey, we kind of saw this experiment already with the Cincinnati Bengals where you pay two guys wide receiver one money. And granted, the Bengals had injuries and Joe Burrow went down and stuff, but there's a reason that their defense has been not so great the last few years because they just haven't had the money for it. Okay, let's pivot away from the Dallas Cowboys. Shout out to us. We did LeBron and Jordan. Boom. We did Dallas Cowboys.

39:09Pat McAfee:Ratings. Yeah. ESPN, baby. You know, ESPN, baby. I don't know about our ratings. I don't know about our ratings. Some of the stuff we talk about, everybody else talks about, we actually, I think, see a little bit of a dip. Sure. I think the OG digital fans are like, nope, you sell out. We're not doing it. We will turn it off. Check back in. Still doing it. Come on. The other day we were doing LeBron and Jordan for what, like 11, 12 minutes? Yeah, 10, 15. Think about the amount of times people are checking back in. Come on, dude. Come on. I have to do it. Cowboys are a big-time story. Dak Prescott looked light walking into that building.

39:45Pat McAfee:Okay, let's pivot away from the Dallas Cowboys, and let's talk about some contract stuff. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Sheet, just curious. We saw yesterday that the Lions are not going to exercise the fifth-year option on Jack Campbell. Is there any potential changes coming to this whole formula? Because we saw it again with Linderbaum last year where it was basically like, hey, listen, we want to re-sign you, but financially it doesn't make sense at the number that you would be franchised for and then kind of the same thing here with Jack Campbell, and it kind of just opens the door for a shittier team to maybe overpay for one of these guys.

40:17Are there any changes coming to this potentially, or is it kind of just it works so the formula is going to stay the same? This is a great question. I think about this stuff all the time, and there's not that many examples. Jack Campbell's awesome. Obviously, Linderbaum was awesome, but just positionally it didn't make sense. And I'm sort of like, can we just fix this so every position has one? As a collective football world, we're smart enough to figure this out. It would have to be in the new CBA. This would have to be a topic that the NFL and the NFLPA, which are several years away from a new CBA, unless they decide to do it earlier with the TV deals, but several years away from taking a look at it.

40:59But, like, it makes sense that somebody could figure out, like, a center should have his own franchise tag. A guard should have his own franchise tag. Or they could just do away with the franchise tags, which, you know, teams would never do. And then just everyone could get just paid whatever. But, like, for a couple of these guys, it just doesn't make sense. Like, off-the-ball linebackers or, like, outside linebackers who aren't rushers, like, sucks for them. But, you know, no fifth-year option. On the other hand, you know, Jack Campbell's going to be in a contract year and, like, probably going to make a huge ton of money anyway because he is an awesome football player.

41:35But that's a good question.

41:36Pat McAfee:That's classic, like, tight end who has 100 receptions and only is down on the line like 3 % of the snaps. He's a tight end, though. We're paying him like a tight end. That's also ridiculous, yes. Yeah, that happens all the time. You know, it's just like a running back who potentially also plays slot. It's like, nope, running back. Oh, actually, he's a returner. Yeah, this guy's actually – It happened with TJ back in the day, and they were like, you're a linebacker. You're not an edge. You're not a defensive end. Yeah, that was the thing. Who did that? The whole league. No, but was it the Steelers doing that?

42:05Pat McAfee:What's going on with the Steelers, Ian? What business? Making up tags. It is good business. Well, yeah, we're using an alpha. Yeah. An alpha? It got used twice last year. They're using the alpha tag? I mean, nobody ever heard of an alpha tag. It's a Hall of Famer. Show them some respect. Give them more money. 22 years putting the offer on him what does this mean rap in your eyes what do you think ends up happening inevitably with the Aaron Rodgers Steelers situation well two things one I would say overall this probably doesn't affect what ends up happening like I have not thought he was going to play anywhere else besides the Steelers I've never thought money was going to be an issue so if he wants to play he'll probably play for the Steelers and he'll probably play for similar to last year.

42:52So like in the end, I don't think it has that much to do with anything, but it is weird. Like I saw this yesterday and I was kind of like, huh, like it makes sense. I guess if you're allowed to sort of like, I guess loosely retain the rights of a player who you like, but hasn't signed, I guess it makes sense to do it. It's just like to do it to Aaron Rogers. You just never quite know how he's going to react to things. Right. And so like Like, this was very interesting. I don't think he's going to be like, all right, well, screw those guys. I'm done. But it does limit him a little bit because, you know, if he wants to just not sign and go, you know, sign with someone who loses a quarterback in week two, it either makes it much harder or impossible.

43:38Pat McAfee:We've heard impossible, but I guess it could be a workaround. I think impossible is right. Honestly, it's complicated. It really is. Well, I guess what Aaron would probably have to do is sign with the Steelers and they would have to trade him to that team or whatever, which will probably become uh yes i think that's right okay i'm just piecing that together in real time shout out me love everything that did there my ears thank you brain for doing that uh but you're right about who knows how he's going to take this because we are so confused by almost disrespected for him and then you like look into it it's like steelers just trying to get a compensatory pick if he was to play anywhere else this is also them making a public announcement of a formal offer to him this is what we want and also would like to have him here so there's a lot of things the Steelers could say, like, hey, we kind of had to do this.

44:20Pat McAfee:Like, this is kind of something we had to do. And I assume Aaron understands that. And maybe we'll see him slinging a pill for the Steelers once again. Maybe. Oh, mama, I'm in fear for my life. They put the oofa on him. Dude, I heard that song so many times, and I came back like, singing it. I mean, it's ridiculous. Sticks are legendary. You're singing sticks. Oh, no. My life is really terrible. Not a good song again. I sing Renegade all day. I'm not a renegade. I'm kind of a junior. A bit of a junior. All right. Country club changed you, dude. We appreciate you, dude. Congrats, Junior. Congrats, dude.

45:02Pat McAfee:We're proud of you. Thank you, guys. Appreciate you guys for everything. I am extremely pumped for all of this. Cannot wait. You're the greatest, ladies and gentlemen. That's E-A-Rap-A-Ball. Yay, Rapsie. Bye, Junior.

45:17Pat McAfee:Deuce. Yeah. Yeah. Big deuce. Ladies and gentlemen, let's go from a junior to a senior. Wow. From the league to the association. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to go ahead and get it all in a nice quick bite. Yeah. Thank you. It's a Choms drive-by. Just need a hot five. What's going on in hoops? We don't need a deep dive. It's Choms drive-by. Just need a hot five. What's going on at home? We don't need a deep dive. That a baby, Shams. Here goes Shams. Come on. Senior NBA insider for ESPN. A lot happening around the NBA. Shams, we appreciate you taking the quick time to let us know what's happening over there in your world.

46:04Pat McAfee:Okay, we're not tanking anymore. We're not tanking anymore is what's happening. They know that that's a big deal. There was a 25-point spread this season. There was numerous games where people would pay their hard-earned money to go watch. and their team was clearly trying to not win. There was a lot of teams doing it this year. You asked the owners of the teams that were doing that, they're saying, are we tanking or are we trying to rebuild here? It's not easy to rebuild a team. Free agency is basically dead, especially with the Stars, unless you can trade for them and they're picking where they want to go.

46:31Pat McAfee:And if you can't get a top four, top five pick, you're not going to get a pillar. So all we can get is try a top one, two, three pick. The lottery is the only way to do it. That's what ownership says from the teams that are seemingly losing on purpose. The winning teams say, why aren't you trying? Shams, what is this going to do? How is this going to change the game? And are we done with tanking over there in the NBA? The NBA hopes so. This is Adam Silver's crack at trying to basically de-incentivize losing. And the term relegation is the one to keep an eye on right now. The NBA, this is their version of relegating the bottom teams in the NBA.

47:07And so in all of American pro sports, the NBA has now, once this is implemented May 28th in an owner's vote, they'll be the first league in American pro sports to penalize the bottom teams in the draft or town acquisition. It's not that you can't acquire players or can't build through the draft. It's just if you're openly trying to be at the bottom or if you are at the bottom, you're going to be punished by it by losing lottery balls. So basically in this format, if you're a bottom three team, you will have two lottery balls. If you're four through 10, you actually have three lottery balls. So in a lot of ways, if you're one through three, you're incentivized to win at least enough that you're not at the bottom.

47:53So you're going to be trying to win. And then if you're four to 10, your goal is to try to win so you don't get out, get sent to the relegation zone. So this is the NBA, and I was told, and I said on Get Up this morning, Adam Silver had a call a couple weeks back, and he told the owners, he was very forceful with the owners. I'm not going to lie, there was a couple F-bombs in there. And he told, whether it was owners, GMs, everyone, you should hate to lose. Losing should be uncomfortable. People are now taking it as a badge of honor. And so this is the NBA. They are trying to take the step to crack down on this.

48:28A lot of people might look at this as a radical approach, as an overcorrection in a lot of ways of what's happened in Utah and other leagues. So this is something that's obviously going to have a major impact not only this year, but years to come. There are two elements to this, Pat, I do want to point out. This now means, moving forward, you can't pick number one back-to-back years, and you can't have a top five pick in three consecutive years. So that means teams like the San Antonio Spurs right now with Wemby, Stephon Castle, Bill Harper wouldn't exist. A team like Oklahoma City back in the day with KD and all those guys wouldn't exist.

49:03The Rockets right now with the men Thompson, Reed Shepard, Alpern, St. Gulen, Jabari Smith Jr. wouldn't exist under this new policy. So this is the NBA trying to basically say F you to teams that are trying to lose.

49:15Pat McAfee:All right. Thank you, Shams. That was a... It's a Shams drive-back. Just need a hot five. What's going on in hoops? We don't need a deep dive. Sean's drive-by, just need a high five. What's going on in hoops? We don't need a deep dive. Hi, we're not actually going to kick you off. That would have been funny if we didn't send you out your way right there. Okay, so fun little question here. The bottom three teams get a lesser chance to get the number one overall pick than four through ten. In theory, that makes sense. What if the bottom three teams are actually asked, though? Boom. This is the dumbest thing of all time.

49:52Pat McAfee:I agree. Because I think they're saying that the teams who have been to bottom three over the last however many years, I would assume that they've researched this, those teams are trying to do that. Like they were trying to become the bottom three teams. So they're trying to get rid of the attempt at becoming worse team in the NBA. But what if you are just the assiest ass team and put the ass in association of the NBA for multiple times in a row? Like what happens if that happens? Because I assume people are going to be – What happens in soccer? What happens in soccer? Don't you get relegated to another league?

50:20Like Adam Silver.

50:22Pat McAfee:Soccer's been going on for like 100 years over there, 150 years over there. Adam Silver has taken a lot of models from the soccer. You think about the play-in tournament, the in-season tournament. There's been a lot of crossover, at least from an idea perspective. So what are they going to do? They're going to kick these teams out of the league, Doug? You're not really going to get relegated to the G League, although that might be what's – I had a couple of people like, you might as well relegate so-and-so to the G League. But I think what it is is, yes, it's punishing teams that are losing. There's now going to be a level of punishment, a level of penalization that goes to the team that are at the bottom.

50:59And so a lot of teams, there are teams, right? Like Sacramento went into the year trying to compete and be competitive. They just had a bunch of injuries, and they just weren't. The Dallas Mavericks went into this season trying to be good, trying to be competitive with AD. They had injuries. They pivoted. They went to another direction, and they just weren't good. And so I think there's going to be teams like that. There's going to be unintended consequences. There's going to be teams that end up getting the number one pick that might be the 10th seed that, you know, maybe people will feel like, hey, this team didn't really deserve or need the talent.

51:30And a team that really isn't good. So there's going to be a lot of randomness in all this. And all 16 picks are going to be from a lottery drawing. And so that means 15, 16, 14, 13. with flat nods, they could in theory bump up to one, two, or three.

51:47Pat McAfee:What did Adam say about Giannis getting traded in this whole thing? I don't know if the NBA comment is on the NBA trade. He should have. Alright, let's do it quick. Austin Reeves is back tonight, yes? Austin Reeves is expected to play tonight from everything I'm hearing. All signs point to him playing tonight unless there's some setback that he has. He's now about four weeks removed from a grade 2 oblique strain. He's gone through all of his progressions. 1-on-ones, 3-on-3s, 5-on-5s multiple times. He was basically a game-time decision the last couple games, but they were up 2-0, and they were up 3-0, and they decided to sit him out.

52:25He wanted a little bit more time, but he is on the way back. Big boost for this team. He's obviously a star, all-star for this team in his role with Luka Doncic. We're still a little bit ways away from Luka Doncic.

52:36Pat McAfee:Okay, a little bit away from Luka Doncic, but Austin Reeves and LeBron play very well together, right? That should go swimmingly. We don't think there'll be any issues on how the Lakers are on the floor. No, and this is the exact piece that they need. It's crazy. When you're without Luka and Austin Reeves, you know you need at least one of those guys to be ball handling for you. Shock creation, so much of that onus has been on LeBron the other night. I think he had, what, 10 points, eight turnovers or whatever. He's had a lot of responsibility, and he's done great over the three games, the first three games of the series, leading this team to a 3-0 series lead.

53:08Now Austin Reeves on his way back. They actually need Austin Reeves really bad right now.

53:13Pat McAfee:Yeah, I'd say every team, if they get an all-star back, they would certainly want that. Magic Pistons tonight, this is going to happen, huh? The Stones, the number one seed in the East, are just about to get kicked out by Orlando. Is that what we're expecting tonight? Any news on anything we should know other than Franz Wagner? Franz Wagner, I can report right now. I literally just got a text. He is not expected to play. Franz Wagner right now, as of this moment, is not expected to play. He's got a calf strain, right calf strain. And, you know, anytime you talk about calves, those are tricky injuries.

53:44And Paulo Benquero actually said at shoot-around this morning that he doesn't think Franz Wagner goes tonight, that they should be careful with this calf injury. And so, yeah, they built this 3-1 series lead, but now you could be without and likely are without your star forward here in Franz Wagner. We'll see if they can get the job done. I'm sure as you see right there with no Franz Wagner, the Pistons are probably favored today.

54:09Pat McAfee:Yeah, they certainly are. Raptors, Cavs, anything in that game that we need to think of before we bet it? This is a big game for the Cavs. They need to take care of it. I've talked to a bunch of people around this situation. They need to win this game, obviously, get back control of this series. Toronto's playing with a lot of momentum. Cleveland should have had game four. And so Toronto's playing with a lot of momentum. Big comeback win. they've tinkered with their lineup a little bit uh they they played their their center murray boils a lot more at the five essentially reduced the role of yakov purtl so uh i do think toronto is going to be coming in with some momentum thank you you're the man that's senior nba insider at espn with a drive by a sweet hot congrats rap sheet congrats the rap sheet i do have to say congrats he's ian ian's a good friend good dude you and ian know each other for a long time look you down both just sitting there in the kingdom i mean we're in different parts of the kingdom i'm in the back office you know i'm in the back office in the dark laptop blaring with the brightness i like that my eyes probably getting strained yeah i like you look good you got good time today you've been sitting on the studio shows in the morning looking really good posture is phenomenal yeah great yeah posture also talking to greenie and then talking to camera and then back to greenie it's kind of like you're kind of directing that pro pro you're the man congratulations we appreciate you that's charm strong

55:50Pat McAfee:every time it is pretty deep though it's a deep end of the pool it's me cutting off that thing with Miami. It's hard not to. He comes deep subjects. Yeah, well, it's hard not to talk about the tanking situation because that's a lot. Yeah. Especially when they come up with a stupid change. Especially when it's possibly the dumbest thing you've ever seen in the history of things to be suggested. That's coming from me. It does leave out the teams that are just like. Just bad. We're trying, man. Several of those teams. Also, the worst team should get the first pick because the best player is going to make the worst team better.

56:22If Cooper Fly goes to the worst team, they're not going to be the worst team. Utah. The next year. Yeah. Utah will probably get it this year because they are the exact team who has had the lowest odds but have never been in the top five.

56:34Pat McAfee:I like that this is the last year of it because the Pacers are dancing down here. Yeah, exactly. Last year ever. Maybe Pacers steal number one. I do like how aggressive Silver is with his changes, though. He's like, oh, I don't like what's going on. Yeah, baby. I'm changing it. Lowest three. Yeah, to hell with them. Make it like soccer. And seize them. Sure. Yeah. passion. Shams, the big word here, relegation. What does Shams get? What's it mean? I don't know. Soccer. Doesn't matter. We'll see you in the next hour. Goodbye.

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58:40Pat McAfee:Sports! Hits the brakes. A little bit of dangle. How you doing? Keep it moving. Stares at the crowd as he's celebrating. The NHL is showing up every night for us. The NBA also doing the same. Tonight, the Lakers are playing. That means LeBron James. And he probably, by most accounts, has Austin Reeves back joining him and his boy and many others who have certainly taken the Rockets to task, even though the Rockets are coming off their only win of the series. Kevin Durant still injured. He would not be playing for the Rockets. Obviously, that has been a massive piece of the story. Cavaliers, James Harden.

59:11Pat McAfee:What? Yeah. Spider. It's a big game. Hey. Huge. James Harden in Cleveland is a little story that has not been talked about at all. Obviously, alongside Donovan Mitchell, who's a superstar. And the Cleveland Cavaliers last year were supposed to be the team. Yep. They lose to the Celtics or to the Pacers in back-to-back years, whatever the case. Cavs always been good. They bring in James Harden. Yep. James Harden fully committed. James Harden playing great basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Obviously, that series is tied. and then the Pistons are about to get their dog walked out. No. Stones need to go.

59:44Pat McAfee:Need one, Stones. Yesterday I was bummed out. Today we got a little slice of optimism. No Franz Wagner. I think we can win this one tonight, boys. As they're reporting, somebody's going to miss a game because of an injury. Don't need you on a microphone going, yes. Remember, Franz has a family. Yeah, sorry, Franz. That was on me. I'm just a Pistons fan here needing a little bit of hope here. You have been the best player in the series by far and away. You being out tonight is absolutely huge. Thank you for making up for it there. One half of the hammer, down Cowboys AP tone. What are you saying?

1:00:11The spread on two of those games are interesting. The Stones being nine-and-a-half point favorites when they are down 3-1 is interesting. Ten-and-a-half. Ten-and-a-half is interesting. And then the Cavs, that series being 2-2, and that one being eight-and-a-half is also very interesting. It's still like, hey, we're going off these teams in the regular season and not what we have seen in the postseason. These feel like regular season lines. but I could be super, super wrong. It's just those are heavy lines for series that you're either down or tight.

1:00:39Pat McAfee:Okay, so who are you? I think I'm going to go with the dogs tonight, and as I say that, the favorites will cover, but, you know, that's just what I'm saying. No! Tony, come on. Hunting to cry. I wouldn't say NBA is my best betting sport. Yeah, well, I don't think any sport is my best betting sport other than ball. Been watching the UFL. Nine-year NFL vet, Darius J. Butler. Hey, what UFL team is really the one that has got you captivated the most? I mean, it seems like it's the D.C. defenders kind of tied to the loose, you know, in a four-game win streak right now. Yeah, but who else? I'm a Houston Dynamos guy.

1:01:11Pat McAfee:You like the Houston Dynamos? I don't think that's their name. Houston Dynamo and the MLS. Houston Gamblers is the team you were talking about. Todd Haley, I believe, is the offensive coordinator for the Houston Gamblers. I thought he was a Columbus Aviator. No, I think Ted Ginn is with the Aviators. But didn't he stop in and be the head coach? Oh, yeah, you're right. Todd Haley is with the Aviators. Yeah, I love everything he's about. Of course. The Orlando Storm. Oh, they're swarmed. Are they second place? Yeah, they are in second place. That's a good call. Dallas Renegades. They're currently sitting in third.

1:01:44Pat McAfee:They got three wins and two losses. A lot of parity in this league. St. Louis Battlehawks, three and two. They're tied, obviously, with the Dallas Renegades. Louisville Kings, they're kicking off Kentucky Derby weekend. That's right. On Thursday night, Donner. Can you finally know the quarterbacks in this league? Listen, I'm about done with the UFL. fans or IWC? Yeah. Who's leading the passing of UFL? Anybody? DTR probably. Maybe Desmond Ritter. He's up there, I think. Desmond Ritter's in the UFL? Oh, yeah. Okay, alright. I do know Desmond Ritter. Who did he play for? I saw Austin Reed play. You guys know him?

1:02:19Pat McAfee:Remember him? Western Kentucky? Yeah, and former before that? Oh, Tony. Oh, Western Florida. This guy doesn't know ball. UFL fans, get him. Jason Bean? Great player. Great being. Kansas former Colt, obviously. No take backs. Obviously, UFL. So we're in on the UFL. And then we all said, we hope it does well. And I'm taking mine back. What? No take backs. I just did. You don't want to do well. You want to dread it, Rapoli. You can't do that. What about Rapoli Farms? I just did. Rapoli Stables. And I know that I'm saying this, and Rapoli's seeing it, and all he's thinking is, bingo. Exactly. I need more doubters.

1:02:56So I think I'm helping Rapoli out in the UFL.

1:02:59Pat McAfee:Okay, so you're motivating Rapal. Exactly, yeah, and that's why I'm taking it back. We will say the co-owner of the UFL has been on the record as stating, I'll go bankrupt for this league. Exactly. And we're going to hope that that doesn't happen. We hope that UFL does well for the good of football and also for the good of gambling during the spring on something that we understand because the NBA is very fascinating to gamble on. The NHL, tough. Yeah, very tough. So hard. Empty netters at the end are deciding so many things in NHL every single night. Obviously, MLB, first five, we can get a chance.

1:03:29Pat McAfee:What teams are good right now in MLB? Obviously, I know the Cincinnati Reds last night earned all of their fans that were in the stadium some free pizza. They said 325 people won free pizza last night. Are the Reds on fire right now? Yes, the Reds are actually very good. The NL Central, which is the division that the Pirates are in, is probably, you could argue, is the best division in baseball right now. I think they're a couple games. Every team's over 500. Yeah, they're a couple games over 500. Would be leading multiple other divisions. They are in the cellar right now, but they're playing good.

1:03:58Dodgers, obviously very good. Yankees, very good. Padres, very good.

1:04:02Pat McAfee:Shohei pitched last night yet again. He's doing a full season of pitching. They haven't been having him play in the field, right? Or, I'm sorry, hit whenever he pitches, but he's looking to do that right now? Yeah, I think so. Last night was one of the first times that they just wanted him to focus on pitching, and then they end up losing 2-1. He takes the loss, even though he pitched unbelievably well. And he basically just said, like, hey, listen, I'm going to listen to what the Dodgers want me to do. Obviously, me being healthy by the time the playoffs comes around is the most important thing.

1:04:29So if they think this is going to be more strain, I'm good with going out there and just pitching on days when I'm slated to pitch.

1:04:34Pat McAfee:Can you put into perspective what a.60 ERA is and what Shohei Otani is to the humans, once again, that maybe haven't heard us glaze, I believe? You know, we do a lot of Shohei Otani around here because how could you not with this guy? Yeah, I would say a very good season-long ERA in the majors would be any more, probably around three. So in that average, you're giving up three runs per start or however many innings you pitch. Him being around.6 is basically saying there's a good chance that if this guy goes out and pitches, it's almost guaranteed that if he throws six innings, he's probably going to give up zero earned runs.

1:05:15or if he does like last night, you know, by comparison, like that maybe wasn't that great of a start, but that's considered a quality start. That's unbelievable. He gets the loss. But it's, yeah, pretty much I think in his last 180 batters he's faced, he hasn't given up a home run. Like, you know, that was kind of always the thing that was dragging behind was, hey, this guy's pitching stuff is unbelievable for whatever reason. You know, he's still kind of hit or miss there because the hitters are so good. But he's been absolutely lights out on the bump.

1:05:43Pat McAfee:What's the best pitcher in the league called Cy Young? Cy Young, yep. Is he potentially in Cy Young conversations here early in the season? I would guess he's probably not the favorite in the NL. I would assume Skeens still is because he's been unbelievable since his first start against the Mets. But, yeah, Shohei is – I mean, it's like a – Skeens is the clear number one. I'd say Shohei is probably number two, and I bet the odds bear that out as well. Skeens is plus 175. It's actually then Yamamoto, Chris Sanchez, Chris Sale, and then Otani at plus 800, which is actually very surprising. I don't know if it's because, hey, they're not going to give him MVP and Cy Young.

1:06:18Pat McAfee:He's minus 350 to win the MVP, I guess, obviously, because he plays on both sides of the ball there for baseball. So MVP is obviously a better award than Cy Young, I guess? It depends. Sometimes pitchers have won MVP, too. The other thing that kind of kills him a little bit is that the Dodgers typically have a six-man rotation, so he's not getting as many starts. A lot of other teams only have five - or four-man rotations, so their starting pitchers will get more starts during the year. I think those four-man rotation teams, they need to take a look. I'm working. I didn't like my performance against Clayton Kershaw.

1:06:48Pat McAfee:I didn't like how I was pitching against in Thunderball. So I'm trying to figure it out right now. I got a lot of experts telling me a lot of things. All of it revolves around, you need to use your legs. I'm like, well, I'm trying there. They said, take the jeans off. It's tough to pitch in jeans. That's what a lot of people told me. And they say I need to transfer weight from ash cheek right to ash cheek left while going down towards. And we got some really high-level baseball people sending me ideas on this entire thing. I got a lot of optimism there from the baseball world saying maybe I figure it out.

1:07:20Pat McAfee:I will say, this little wiffle ball thing we've been doing in here, it is a good time. Great. If you can pitch. Sure, sure. If you know where the ball's going, it's great. It's been tough for me to figure out. We saw it with Clayton Kershaw. Almost killed a couple people in the stands as I was trying to pitch a strike there. I just never really have done that in my life. So I'm trying to learn it here at the ripe old age of 38, about to be 39. You look pretty good the other day when I watched your kind of mini bullpen sesh out here. It looked like you were kind of tunneling your pitches a little bit, you know, mixing up your fastball with your kind of off-speed repertoire.

1:07:49I think you're a lot closer than you think.

1:07:51Pat McAfee:I'm starting to get it straight, which is good. I used to have to aim six, seven feet left for it to go straight because I think early release potentially when it was coming out. Now we got everything going straight, just can't get to height. I mean, I'm hitting basketball hoop once in a while. That thing's really kind of going out there. We don't really know where it's going. It's kind of like me kicking field goals. We don't know exactly where it's headed, but boy, if we're grooving some, we can really be a threat. Give me about a year, I think I'm going to be able to throw some strikes. And I guess there's a wiffle ball game here in Indy that's a pretty big deal that we obviously got invited to.

1:08:20Pat McAfee:Would love to see the Thunderdome team take on those, but I see some people on the internet doing some crazy shit with these wiffles. Yeah, you remember the ball we were kind of dicking around with a little bit yesterday that only has the slits on one side. Like, you can make those things dance like you would not believe, and that's typically what they use in those kind of wiffle ball games. See, I got to get that out. I can't just throw gas the entire time. Right. I can't be a gas station like Paul Skeens. Exactly. I need to get a little bit of a cutter, a sweeper, a stinker. Exactly. You got to have the funny stuff.

1:08:46Pat McAfee:The dropper, the topper. Yep. The swerve. We'll get there. Love baseball still. We haven't talked about it much. Obviously, we're at the draft, and we're in – they're nowhere near the dog days of baseball yet. No. We're not getting close to that. But we are still invested, and we appreciate them. Joining us live from Manatic in Ohio, Cincinnati Reds fan. Might have won himself a piece of pizza last night because of what happened at the end of the game. Ketra called for a review. It was a strike. Everybody in there won pizza. We don't know why, but they showed the crowd. A lot of people dressed like seats.

1:09:12Pat McAfee:It was the end of the night. It was a work night. It is Cincinnati, so maybe people went home. Anytime the Reds get 11 strikeouts, they get pizza for the fans. So that was the 11th strikeout. A man who will not experience free pizza because he won't support the Cincinnati Reds, A.J. Hawk. Yeah, A.J. Hawk. Is that accurate? I believe there was a few lightning delays. I mean, I had kids' practices delayed, canceled because of lightning. So, yeah, credit to those fans that did stick around for the free pizza because the Reds were 19-10. And we all know the World Series runs through the NL Central.

1:09:41Pat McAfee:Okay, it certainly does. We agree with that. But it runs through the city of steel just a couple hours east of Cincinnati. 19-10 is a great record early in the season. I didn't know there was multiple lightning delays. They said there was 24 ,000 people that went to that game. Yeah, that was the early gate number. That's right. And then at the end there, as we get 11 strikeouts, in the back it doesn't look bad. They pan to the side, and it's just empty seats everywhere. And it's like that's what the Pirates looked like before Paul of Skeens and the boys got there at night game. Day games you can catch a PNC Park looking like.

1:10:13Pat McAfee:Tuesday nights are tough. Yeah, especially in a working time like Cincinnati. But I like that the catcher called for this, and all of a sudden we got free. There she is. She's getting pizza. He's getting pizza. They're getting pizza. I like that they're doing that. And shout out to the Reds doing their thing. and for the catcher saying, it's me, it's me, you ump stink. And that's what I like about ABS. Let's move away from baseball. Did you see my pitch, AJ? Yeah, you look pretty good. But you're right. You've got big, strong legs, man. You've got to use them. Like back in the day, especially the juice era, remember some of those pitchers, they had gigantic legs.

1:10:45Pat McAfee:Yeah, and, you know, I don't know what that means, though. I'm trying. I think I do. Just push. All you've got to do is push off. Push off. Whiffle ball is a little different, I think. You're not really trying to throw full gas all the time in a whiffle ball game. I am, though, yeah. I am, actually. Well, then you can really – you guys will fall down then when you hit them with the old curve or a changeup. We're nowhere near that, brother. The junk, I'm trying to get the thing just in that vicinity right there. Fun zone. It is hard. It's hard for me to do that. I got two – I pitched a couple times in this game.

1:11:14Pat McAfee:I'd get a couple strikes and then, bang, right in the back of the head. I mean, right in the back. And then they were walking. They weren't trying to get out of the way. They were going to get on base. It was like, all right, I'm never going to be able to put three strikes together. before four balls. There's just no chance I'm going to do that. So I'm working. That's what I'm trying to do here. It's also very tough using your lower body on the mound we have out here because if you're really exerting a lot of force, that thing's going every which way, and we don't need you blowing your knee out coming down off the bump because you're just trying to gas someone out of the building.

1:11:43Pat McAfee:That's right. AJ, the next time you come in as Thunderdome and you step into that batter's box, just know that there's some gas and juice coming right through, pal. Okay, who knows where it's going? Keep your head on a swivel. We got some breaking news out of Ian Rappaport's Twitter account. The Texans and Pro Bowl linebacker Aziz Al-Shair have agreed to terms on a three-year extension. Nice payday for a big-time defender and Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee in a deal negotiated by Jason Chayot at Sports Stars New York City. That's a huge deal. He's one of the leaders, obviously, of the Texans.

1:12:11Pat McAfee:He's also a guy that Nick Casario, who was just on the show yesterday, he said we're trying to get a certain type of player here in Houston, and he has referred to him as the type of player that they were looking to have in years past. Remember, he got into a fight a little bit. There was a little bit of a skirmish. Then D 'Amico Ryans comes out and says, hey, they don't want no shit. There won't be no shit. Our guy's getting suspended. We don't like that. And then Casario came out and was like, hey, this is our guy. We do not like what's going on right now. So they've loved him publicly before.

1:12:37Pat McAfee:They signed him. This comes a couple days after Will Anderson, an incredible draft. How do you feel about what Nick Casario and the Texans are doing down there, AJ? I think it's great. I mean, Al Shair, if you watch him, the guy's an absolute tone setter the first snap every single game that he plays. And I assume he's that way in the building and walk through and practice as well. But that's, what's cool with the guys, Walter Payton, man of the year. And he's also the most violent guy that plays through the whistle, like play in and play out. So he's a, he's a great guy. I think for the NFL, I'm, I'm a huge fan of watching.

1:13:06I want to show young kids his tape and say this, you think you're playing hard? No, this guy is playing hard. Like that's, there's certain guys that you can turn on the tape and they're always playing hard, playing through the whistle, not dirty, not cheap, just very physical, old-school football, and that's what Al Shire does.

1:13:21Pat McAfee:Walter Payton, man of the year, playing old-school football and not being scared to fight. I mean, that's football in a nutshell, D-Bud, and that's Nick Casario finding exactly what he wants. Yeah, he's a perfect example of what Bill Kyle always talks about when he coached his guys of kind of towing that line or having to pull him back. Like, he toes the line every snap that he plays. I love him on that defense. I would love for him to be the play caller, the green dot on the defense that I'm playing on. Another great signing by Casario. Okay, let's go to a guy who's had to make these types of decisions in the past.

1:13:51Pat McAfee:Former general manager, former executive vice president of football, a guy who's been around ball his entire life. Started something called the 33rd team, which Bill Belichick and Lombardi kind of said, actually, that's UNC football. So, kind of jacked that thing. And also, ESPN analyst, who was so kind with his time that he came to our event on Wednesday to welcome everybody to Pittsburgh. Ladies and gentlemen, hopefully, long-term friend of the program, Mike Danim. how you doing man great good to be with you pat thanks for having me i'll tell you what tannenbaum you had a hell of a performance wednesday night you really turned an entire we're in a sprinter van okay we're in a sprinter van and uh hey let's talk about the night what all do we think immediately tannenbaum's the man and uh i didn't expect that but i appreciate you taking the time to come hang out uh chat with everybody and we appreciate you taking time today mr former gm Yeah, I appreciate it.

1:14:47We had some emergency frozen Gatorades, and I think I started to win Connor and Ty over. But I didn't draft Darius. I didn't draft AJ. I passed on AJ in 06, so I thought it would be a long time coming until I got this invite.

1:15:00Pat McAfee:Yeah, I mean, obviously you didn't draft me either, you fucking pricks. So let's get him out of here. Cannonbaum, thank you for the time. We appreciate it. You love balls, so we appreciate you. Let's talk about what Casario just did. This comes through the wire, through Rappaport's X account. literally as we speak. They just signed Will Anderson. Whenever we had him on yesterday talking about the type of guys that they want, they want dogs. Keelan Rutledge, the guy, didn't have like a draft party. He kind of did his own thing. How do you feel about what Casario's been able to do? Do you think with the new generation of players, it is vital to continue to seek the guys who are violent and who are dogs?

1:15:34Pat McAfee:And do you think long-term success is coming to Houston with what they've been able to put around CJ Stroud seemingly? Yeah, Pat, I agree with what Adrian was saying, like the juxtaposition of Aziz Alshair, where he's the man of the year off the field, and he is a tone setter. I've been around guys like Rex and Belichick, guys that love those types of players, and that defense is a championship defense. I think one of the underrated picks the other night was Caden McDonald. He really is going to anchor the middle. If they had a vulnerability, it was that defensive tackle. That is a championship defense, and then Pat, when you put that next to hopefully an improved offensive line on the other side of the ball.

1:16:10If C.J. Stroud could get back to where he was, they could compete for a championship. And you're right, in this day and age, you've got to look for guys like Akeem Rutledge who loves ball, that would play for free. You know, we used to say anytime, anywhere.

1:16:24Pat McAfee:Anytime, anywhere is seemingly going to be a place where we will talk to you going forward. A.J. has a question for you, Mike. Yeah, Mike, what do you think the Pittsburgh Steelers are thinking right now with the whole, what do you call it, the UFA tag that they threw on him? And what's the plan there? what what's the reasoning behind that and how do you think it all plays out big oof yeah aj that was a rare thing and basically they just kept their rights to be able to sign him into july he gets a 10 raise and you know pat you mentioned it earlier if he's going to play this year he's going to play in pittsburgh i'll tell you what like to me there should be a sense of urgency he's going to be 43 in december we know he's closer to the end than the beginning but if he is there that means everybody else has to be there he knows the offense because he's been with McCarthy for a long time in Green Bay, but there's players like a Rico Dottle, a Michael Pittman that they would benefit from being around Aaron.

1:17:13And I'm assuming this is not if, but a when. And if I was Omar Khan or coach McCarthy, we saw him at your event. They certainly didn't seem worried about it, but boy, if I was them, like, let's get this thing signed and let's get rolling.

1:17:26Pat McAfee:I appreciate that coming from a former general manager. Hey, let's make our decision. Okay. And now let's get to work. You know, we're all trying to win here. A lot of things have happened. Coach McCarthy, obviously, not on his front nine of his coaching career. Back at home, obviously, one to win right now. They're paying a lot of different players. Having Aaron Rodgers as a quarterback would certainly be special. The Pittsburgh people, the Yenzers, which you learned a lot about, I think, probably during the draft week, they're about sick of waiting a ride. It's two years in a row now. We're waiting for one guy?

1:17:56Pat McAfee:Okay. That's how Yenzers feel. But as soon as he gets back in the building and gets to work, throws one touchdown, all of a sudden we're all the way back in. I'm excited to see how Aaron kind of handles it all. They draft Drew Aller in the second round? Third round. Third round, Drew Aller. They have Will Howard, who everybody from within the building has said, he is a guy. We like the way he carries himself. We just have to see him in live rounds. Drew Aller, McCarthy guy, I guess. What do you think about the backup plans that they have in case Aaron Rodgers says, oh, you want to put big oof on me?

1:18:24Pat McAfee:Well, actually, I'm going to go ahead into Jungle in South America for the next six months. Boom. There's a chance that that happens. Yeah, well, first of all, that's why, hey, Aaron, if you're going to do that, that's great. Tell us six weeks ago so we can get Kirk Cousins. But if that's where we are, look, Mason Rudolph, we could go win games with him. And then Will Howard is an interesting guy to me. And look, with Drew Allard, you're getting somebody going to last year, Pat, was probably going to be a first-round pick. He looks the part. He has a great arm. And then, look, we all knew that – we know that fell apart against Oregon, got hurt against Northwestern, and that was it.

1:18:58But he has high upside. Coach Parcells used to say all the time, like when you draft a quarterback, not only do you want starts and you want the physical aspect, but you want to know what the upside is. And he has great upside. So if Coach McCarthy could invest a year in him, they may have something in Aller. And where they took him, it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out.

1:19:18Pat McAfee:Yeah, it feels like the entire draft is actually like that, even though people don't judge that immediately. There's been ass picks everywhere in the draft, and there's been like Hall of Famers everywhere in the draft. Such a crapshoot, man. It actually is. you've been in that room obviously making actual decisions but when we do the draft spectacular everybody that gets picked we're like could be yeah because it actually could be you know like the big uh shocker of ty simpson going to the rams okay could be a great decision michael pennix two years ago yeah obviously immediately shit on the situation and then as soon as you look at it it's like might end up working out for him isn't that kind of how the draft should be viewed and how do you kind of view it in a nutshell?

1:19:56Yeah, Pat, you know who agrees with you is my knucklehead son, Jacob, because anytime I yell at him, he goes, I can't listen to anybody that drafted Charles Harris before T.J. Watt, and then he walks away. So it is absolutely the most. Jacob Tannenbaum!

1:20:11Pat McAfee:I mean, that is awesome. That is awesome. But you can't tell. I mean, T.J. Watt, I think we should have known probably. I don't want to shit on you alongside your son, Jacob, but it really is such a crapshoot, especially situations and everything like that. Minimizing that is really all you can hope to do, I assume, especially at the top of the draft. Is that how you view it? Yeah, I think the whole aspect of it goes back to like what Parcells, Belichick, they always talked about like the tape sets the floor, character sets the ceiling. Like if you get good players from good schools and you draft them and ask them to do what you saw on tape, within reason they should work out.

1:20:46And those first three rounds, you have to be airtight. and you know we did pass on AJ Hawk which we probably shouldn't have um you know he's exactly what we're talking about like Darius same thing of course Pat you as a punter yeah you know you can't draft specialists uh by the way Jacob's a long snapper so he's in the same uh family as you are but you have to draft players that you have a distinct role for and when you see the teams that have sustained success they have lockstep between the head coach and GM they have a vision for the player. And if you want to take a shot or a projection, that's fine, but you should do that fourth, fifth, and sixth round.

1:21:21Those first three rounds really need to be air tight and physical prototypes really minimize your chance of making a mistake.

1:21:29Pat McAfee:AJ wouldn't let anybody see the scans from his knees. That's probably why you passed on him. Now that we know how big of a deal that whole thing is, it did work out, but at the time they're like, this guy's hard-headed. Look at his head. Walk him up his knees. He has no conversation. He just says, where's the weight room? It's like, this guy might be actually I know where I'm supposed to be. Wait, have they got a caveman coming out of Ohio? I don't know if that's what we're going to need. You aren't the only one, boss. Don't worry about that. Only four others, or three others. D-Bud has a question for you about one of those reaches, maybe, or surprise picks that happened the other night.

1:21:56Yeah, talent-wise, it was no doubt it were Caden Proctor coming out of Alabama. He was one of the most talented offensive linemen in this draft. What's some questions when it came to character? And then Miami took a shot on him early in the first round. I hope it pans out, obviously, as a lifelong Dolph fan. You were down there in their front office in Miami. What are kind of some of the challenges that come with building a winning culture down there in Miami? Yeah, it's going back to what Pat mentioned earlier, Darius. Like, you got to love ball. You got to love the process. There's a lot to be distracted with.

1:22:26I think Proctor is going to be really good. You look at he lost weight for his pro day. So when they're out of structure, you know, what's their innate discipline? So I was really encouraged by that. He really moves great for somebody his size. He has position flexibility, the right or the left side. And I'm sure that Jeff Halfley, John Eric Sullivan, did a deep dive on his character. It's their first pick. That's meaningful. And I still remember mine. It was DeBrickishaw Ferguson, who was really the backbone of a lot of good teams. And I think Proctor has a chance to be a good player. You know, weight's going to be an issue, but I'm sure they're going to manage that.

1:22:58Pat McAfee:Yeah, but that could be a massive motivation for him. Yeah. That could be a massive motivation. You've been in Miami, obviously, in that building at a really high level. I wonder if you can win in Miami. But 26 years since they won a playoff game. That was a freshman. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I wonder if you can. Like, there's a lot of options there, man. It's only becoming more and more. Yeah, getting bigger. Yeah, like Miami's becoming, I think since COVID, Miami has become an even more desirable distraction place, you know, for professional athletes. Basketball, 11 guys, right? 12 guys?

1:23:28Pat McAfee:Oh, yep. We can kind of corral, hopefully. And Riley. Got Riley. We got Riley. We're doing everything. Tight ship. NFL, what's it, 60 guys on the roster? 60 guys with practice squad and everything like that? And you need, what? Probably 30 of them to be good. Oh, yeah. Like, very good. That's a lot of people at an age with a lot of – I think it's tough down there. And I'm just strictly judging off of if I was drafted down there as a 21-year-old. I'd be dead. I don't think I would still be on this earth at this exact time. It's a lot of – you've got to find the right people, I guess, is kind of the way you have to view that because it's awesome.

1:24:02Pat McAfee:The city is just filled with awesome everywhere at all times. Pat, you've got to draft guys that love football, that would play for free, And it's really important to them. Look, we just saw the University of Miami play for the national championship game. You know, Mario Cristobal is doing a great job. I think Jeff Haffley, if you go back to BC and what he stands for, San Francisco, Ohio State, obviously what he did in Green Bay, I think he's a really good coach. He'll get the types of guys that love ball, that really want to work hard in the offseason. And look, there's distractions everywhere.

1:24:32You know, we got a team in Vegas now. So I think it goes back to like, you know, how important is football? Well, you know, how are you willing to work, and are you committed to the process?

1:24:41Pat McAfee:Yeah, Vegas is like just this area right here. Yeah. A lot to do, though. A whole lot. A lot to do. In that area. A lot to enjoy. Miami, though, is just like a pretty sprawling. I mean, all. I mean, shit everywhere. Yeah. Always something to do. That's why if, like, a Miami guy's available to play for the Dolphins, you would think, this guy's already been here. He's already done that. He knows. That's who I'm talking about, yeah. But Proctor, going down to guard. I mean, the rest of the draft, too. Chris Johnson, he's a great guy. Jacob Rodriguez. Yeah. Everyone's favorite player. Yeah, we hope the second coming is Zach Thomas in the middle of that defense.

1:25:20Chris Bell is unbelievable. They made some good picks.

1:25:23Pat McAfee:All right, let's talk about some moves that were made. Obviously, that's their first draft over there. There's some other people that are kind of exiting, interestingly. Go ahead, Conman. Yeah, Mike, kind of weird timing here for the Titans and the Eagles. The Titans president of football operations, Chad Brinker, steps down. And then for the Eagles, their assistant GM, Alec Halliby, is also leaving. What does that kind of mean for both of those teams? And is that timing not weird? Wouldn't that be something you'd expect before the draft or free agency right after the season? What does that tell you about what the Titans and what the Eagles are doing?

1:25:54For the Titans, is it kind of like, hey, this is Borgonzi's team. He's just kind of making some decisions over there. And same for the Eagles. Does Halliby just want to go and be a GM somewhere else? What is this? Yeah, Connor, I'm with you. I was a little surprised because typically that would happen when you see coaching changes. So with Tennessee, obviously Sala comes in, hired by Borgonzi. And I felt the same thing, that Chad Brinker was the president of football operations, but clearly this is Mike Borgonzi's team. He came over from Kansas City, talented guy. So I'm sure Chad Brinker felt like, hey, you know, it just wasn't a good fit for me because I wasn't running the show.

1:26:30and we'll see where he winds up. But I was caught by surprise from a timing standpoint. And Alec Halaby has been with the Eagles a long time, part of two Super Bowl teams, really smart, capable guy. I know he has big aspirations. So maybe he felt like by going someplace else, he'd get more of the credit. I'm really not sure, but I'm sure both those guys will land on their feet.

1:26:49Pat McAfee:Okay, I appreciate it. Paul Kuharski, always on the Nashville beat. South Pal in Philly. Down there, yeah. Paul Kowarski, the whole setting up for maybe son-in-law, who's chief of staff to potentially become president of football. There's a president of football. There's chief staff of football. There's a general manager. There's a head coach. A lot of titles, obviously. But it feels like a lot of people, Paul Kowarski included, think that chief of staff, son-in-law of Amy Adams, Strunk, could potentially be stepping in there. He's been around a long time. And if you've got Borgonz there, which is what Brinker kind of alluded to, he's got faith in Borgonz.

1:27:24Pat McAfee:Feels like we're in a good spot here. maybe the setup for the titans in the future is great and uh maybe brinker says time for me to go somewhere else you know maybe it's time for me to do some other program some other organization pat it's better to leave too soon than too late so uh maybe he wanted to be on the front end of that yeah you can open the door as opposed to get kicked through it yeah speaking of i uh i got a little wood shards coming out of my hand still yep how many days wrestlemania ago 9, 15, 10 Long time ago Still got wood coming out Because Jelly Roll thought he should put me through a wooden table Come on I don't like that I should have got out of there before he kicked me out Should have There's a lot of writings on the wall There was an entire thing Let's continue to move around the NFL Let's go to Cleveland, shall we, Tannenbaum?

1:28:13Pat McAfee:That's a fun place to talk about football Todd Monken's in there, that's great Deshaun Watson is the QB1 coming out of voluntary minicamp, Mary Kay Cabot. Cabot is Mary Kay. She is correcting us to our face. Cabot. Yeah, also. Mary Kay Cabot. I'm so sorry, Mary Kay. You've been serving Cleveland Brown football goods for so long. So we are very apologetic, potentially pronouncing your name wrong. Mary Kay from Cleveland is saying, Deshaun Watson started in the NFL in 2026, basically coming out of voluntary minicamp. Wow. So, Tannenbaum, your thoughts on somebody not playing NFL football for as long as he will have played, obviously played a couple games and he got hurt again.

1:28:53Pat McAfee:How do you feel about what's brewing over there in Cleveland? And I see the head shaking back and forth. Does that mean you're mind blown that this is potentially happening? Yeah. Pat, that is the most improbable development we've seen in a long time, given the amount of time he's missed. And you talk to quarterbacks that have torn an Achilles. It is a skill-diminishing injury. He's done it twice. nice and when you talk to quarterbacks at the end of their careers like the Brett Favres the Dan Marinos it's not their arm it's their feet and their legs and I would just be surprised like when the bullets are flying and he has to show some short area quickness movement in the pocket I would just be surprised given the amount of time that he has that he could still move I have no doubt that he could throw the ball effectively and by the way they had a heck of a draft when you look at Spencer Fano should be a 10-year starter tackle great player then they were able to get Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston like this offense should be way better but I would just be surprised that Deshaun Watson could start and play at a high level for 17 games given everything he's been through AJ he has the edge coming out of voluntary minicamp says Mary Kay who knows everything happening with the Browns seemingly for the last 20 years you've kind of been on the Deshaun Watson's going to be the starter in Cleveland beat since the beginning AJ saw the first couple videos of Deshaun working out and going hold are they still paying Deshaun I What I said, Deshaun wants to be the – he's still there.

1:30:13He's still on the team, and he wants to be the starting quarterback. I've been saying that for months, and it looks like – I don't know. Are we going to have an open QB competition in training camp? Is that what we're looking at? Dylan Gabriel, Shador Sanders? No, Dylan Gabriel won't be involved. Why is that? Because Taylor Green's already passed him. He's got a pro bowler on the roster as well. That's a good point. Sean Watson? No. Shador. A reigning pro bowler. Still got his jersey in his locker right now.

1:30:39Pat McAfee:Yeah, Shador, I heard say Shador, hey, bro, spark that Cleveland Browns. He was a rookie quarterback, too, excited to see what he could potentially continue to grow upon and become. And Todd Monk can say, hey, I wanted you. I was the one who wanted you in Baltimore. You know when you said I'm not doing it? I was actually the person saying I'd like to do this. So we got a lot in common. Deshaun Watson, the former what, almost MVP in the league? I mean, you know, in this business, you follow the money first. So he's still earning a lot of money. So if you are Haslam, that's the guy you want to see a return on your investment.

1:31:08So if it's even close, Deshaun will probably be the guy. Shadour, you know how it is. With your draft position, those other things, you've got to play that much better than the guy in front of you. So I'd be interested to see how it is in training camp, how those reps are being split up.

1:31:22Pat McAfee:Tannenbaum's worried about the movement. You need to check him running the running back drills. He's running sideways. That looks good. Yeah, he's doing it all, Mike D. I mean, he's out there moving and grooving. Okay, let's talk about another quarterback situation that is brewing. The New York Jets, obviously a building you are familiar with. Russell Wilson, I believe, was in the building kind of looking around. We got a stat sent in to us that no quarterback has ever started for the Giants and the Jets in consecutive seasons. Okay, nice. That could be Russell Wilson's journey from the Giants of football to the other team that's also in the same stadium, the Jets, who much like the Miami Dolphins and much like the Brownies, obviously have not had the most amount of success, but they also have fan bases that expect them to suck.

1:32:09Pat McAfee:And Jets certainly are one of those fan bases. We got a chance to meet a lot of them whenever Aaron Rodgers signed with them. They have been the worst team in football offensively for the last 10 years. Yards and points. Stats. 10-3 years. The worst. Geno Smith now going to be the quarterback. Feels like they did the right stuff through the draft. Them not leaking who they were going with at number two I thought was a big deal for the Jets. I think nobody knowing was a big deal. I think that's a good sign for the culture. How do you feel about the quarterback position over there? How do you feel about Russell Wilson taking a visit?

1:32:39Pat McAfee:And what are your realistic expectations of this particular Jets team? Yeah, Pat, I think they're ideally win for today with Geno Smith. Give credibility to that program. I think they're much improved. Give Aaron Glenn more runway and then develop for tomorrow. See what you have at K Club. Nick, who, if we were having this conversation a year ago, guys, we would say, hey, within reason, he could be a first-round pick. Let's see what Frank Wright could do with him. And if you bring in Russell Wilson, you know, that's another one-year Band-Aid. So that makes a lot of sense. You know, in this day and age, it's hard to develop players, quarterbacks, and head coaches.

1:33:11So Jets have to make improvement. I think they will based on, you know, what they've done this offseason. You know, if they win six, seven games heading into next offseason with three first-round picks, they are well-positioned. I think Aaron Glenn will have a much-improved team. And, you know, if they do that, that'll buy them time. And I think Geno Smith, given the offensive line, specifically Armand Membu, Olo Fashano, will be better than what he had last year in Vegas.

1:33:37Pat McAfee:He also got incredibly unlucky. I knew through a lot of interceptions, but, I mean, there was... What a fave. Every single interception was like somebody making the play of their life on Geno. He had to wonder what the hell was going on out there in Las Vegas. Pete Carroll was wondering the same thing. He gets another opportunity where it all began. Good for him. Good for the Jets. Did you see Russell Wilson playing banana ball? Russell Wilson. Good eye on it. Gets good contact. That's good. What? Is he going to run it out? No. Behind the back, through the legs, toss. You're out. Hits into a trick play.

1:34:08Pat McAfee:Hold on. Look at the umps. That might be the most dazzling ponche in history. Can we run that back from the top? Everything there is pretty special. That's between the legs, behind the back, toss over there. Look at the ump ninja. Hi! Ponche, Russell Wilson. They almost missed it. Yeah. Can't be missing that. He knew Russell Wilson getting and tossed out at first. It was certainly going to go viral. I'm going to go ahead and hit the side flip. Yeah, it's Mr. Banana coming to kind of tell him whether or not he should come or go. Russell Wilson, good swing. Looks like he's in – He's jacked right now.

1:34:39Biggest he's ever been, muscle-wise. Yellow isn't the most slimming-looking jersey. Whoa. Excuse me? I'm sorry, but listen, nothing against Russell.

1:34:49Pat McAfee:Other than stilts guy, who looks thin out there? You know who did? Yankee legend Tino Martinez, who is also playing for the Bananas, but nobody fucking cared because Russell got out there and hit a little blooper off the end of the back. He's about to be quarterback for both the Giants and the Jets, pal. Yeah. You have to have a little respect for a New York legend. That's a New York legend. Tino Martinez won five World Series. Let's hear right. Can't forget about this. Disrespect that. Get out of here. Get out of here. You didn't calibrate it. I know. That's why. That pissed me off. You got Tino Martinez.

1:35:17You got a Yankees legend there. And then all I see, it takes me three days. There you go. There he is. Russ is a Yankees legend You think Russ got one of those for going 3 and 14 for the Giants last year? He didn't start in the game

1:35:30Pat McAfee:You think he played 17 games? I didn't even see this I assume he did No Tino's 65 years old Let's watch this in real time Let's go full screen on this Oh no Ponte Ponte Bonjay Bonjay Swinging That's why we haven't seen it No kidding Russell Wilson He hasn't stepped in batter's box in years That guy's a New York legend About to be quarterback for both New York teams Boom Next good solid contact Bang No wonder I didn't see it I feel like a real asshole You forced us to do that Yeah I know You forced us to do that I know I just saw a picture of Tino You know Give it a Man that stinks Hey guys, who would win a race between Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson?

1:36:25Pat McAfee:Deshaun Watson! What is your problem? Good question. We don't need that shit on this show. Okay, we don't need to start fighting on who it would be. It's a good question. Deshaun would win. Deshaun would have beat that out, I think. Probably. I've been seeing his running back drills, Tannenbaum. I've been seeing him. He looks good. He's been doing it. I mean, he's been really moving, man. And the camera's like. and I don't think there's any AI trickery to any of it. I think he is feeling his best. I think I saw him. Nope, not going to say it. What's that? Nope, not going to say it. What was he doing?

1:36:55Pat McAfee:He was just getting better. He was just throwing a ball around. Look at this. Look at this. You tell me, Tantamon. This is posted by him, I believe. Yeah. Whoa. Yeah, he's getting the first base, I'd say. Holy shit. Yeah, watch this. Boom. And the sound effects are actually Yeah, Guy Philman's on a scooter. He's going like 10 miles an hour. Motorcycle? Yeah, so I don't think the guy's going behind the back against him. No, I'm not. I don't have time. I think he's trying to scoop that thing, and he's trying to shovel that as quick as possible, and then Deshaun's got the football in hand, actually.

1:37:30Pat McAfee:If he plays this year good football, holy shit. Yeah. What a wild football life. That's a big if. Is he going to come back part of the year? Is he eligible? It has to be, yeah. They've been giving it to the non-ass, the super-ass guys. if you're a super ass and then you're not ass. Yeah, he tore his Achilles. He can be a comeback. Definitely. I don't think he would have been after the other stuff, but after the torn Achilles. He's an AP voter. Thank you for breaking that down. Let's go to another situation that is brewing, Tannenbaum. Cannot wait to hear your thoughts on this. We don't need any of your what-ifs.

1:38:05Pat McAfee:I don't need any of those. Who do you think in that particular race to first base would get there faster? I'm going with Russell Wilson. He may dive head first. Yeah, you're right. That's a good point. He definitely would. And he was a baseball player all the time. He could have. Deshaun Watson was the Michael Jordan of football. Okay. Michael Jordan was playing basketball. It was a long time ago. Those highlights we've seen. J.J. Watt's been retired for, what, a hundred years? Yeah, you're right. His quad's still gigantic. J.J. Watt, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson. He's winning a race to first base.

1:38:45Pat McAfee:JJ Watt. I think JJ. I'm still going to show him. Definitely JJ. I'm still going to show him. JJ freaking Watt. I don't think that Sean's losing to JJ, right? Is he? Because they're like kind of. I don't think JJ's. If JJ's about to lose, he's tripping both of them and he's crossing first. And that's what we're looking for in the draft. That's what we're looking for in the draft. We want that type of competitive spirit whenever we're bringing somebody in. Speaking of a competitive spirit, there's a man down in Dallas that got a chance to showcase who he is. But now there's something brewing, Tannenbaum.

1:39:12Pat McAfee:Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Mike, we were trying to figure out yesterday if George Pickens is going to be on the roster week one for the Cowboys. Listen, we heard everything with the franchise tag. He intends to sign it. He hasn't signed it yet. No big deal. He will. I don't want to say what would you do if you were Jerry here because I don't think anyone thinks the way Jerry does. But what do you think will ultimately happen with the George Pickens situation? Is he going to be a Cowboy this year and just kind of play on the tag? or do you think they'll end up maybe moving on and trading him at some point in the offseason here?

1:39:46Yeah, Ty, I think what was really important was Adam Schrofter came out and announced before the draft that he had signed the tender. Turns out he didn't, so he cannot be traded until he signs a franchise tender. So I think he's on the team this year. I think if they were going to trade him, it would have been before the draft, and obviously then they could have drafted a receiver. I think for a team that really thinks they have a chance to win it all this year, I just can't imagine they would trade somebody as productive as George Bickens was a year ago at this point in the offseason. So I think it's just a matter of time until he signs it, and then they'll get through this year and then figure things out.

1:40:19But I think Steven Jones basically laid it out like, hey, we'll pay him$27 million for this year on a one-year deal, and then we'll go from there.

1:40:27Pat McAfee:Okay. It seems like today's words from Rapsheet and Tannenbaum are, he's playing for the Cowboys here. This is probably going to happen. Mooligeta is his agent. We understand how great of an agent Mullah Guetta is. We're just talking about Sean Watson still getting paid, hasn't played football in a long time, that contract the biggest of all time. He doesn't just have the biggest deal in quarterback history. He has a lot of different positions history as well. If GP was to hit the market, there's a chance he could get broken off in a massive way. But instead, there's a chance he'll play under a one-year franchise tag under another prove it.

1:40:56Pat McAfee:But then they can't, they franchise tag him again after that, Tannevall? Isn't that kind of a scary predicament there business-wise? Yeah, I don't think they will, though, because that's 20%. So, you know, back of the envelope, that'd be, you know,$34,$35 million, which is a lot to pay on another one-year deal, especially when you've got CD on the other side. So I think you get through this year, let them go, and then go draft somebody else because I just can't imagine they're going to move on from Dak, break up that Dak-CD combination. So I think they hit on Pickens. It was a great move. And I think if you were going to extend them, now would be the time.

1:41:28I just can't imagine that they would go back-to-back years on the franchise tag.

1:41:31Pat McAfee:All right. We'll be excited to watch it. We love GP, Donner, and Dallas because they're on national television every week. So it's nice to have a guy that can jump over a human standing up. A lot of people can do the hurdle over people that are going to tackle. George Pickens can get you if you're trying to hug him. He can jump right over the top of your head. Athlete. And he will. And he'll hold the ball like this.

1:41:56Pat McAfee:He's unbelievable. Yeah, I don't think Deshaun Watson could do that either. What's this guy's problem? He just doesn't like him. What is this all about? I mean, I bet he can't either. No, I don't think so. That's why GP's one of one. Okay, let's pivot away from current NFL stuff, and let's get the thoughts of a former GM on something that is currently brewing in all of college sport, but definitely in college football as we speak. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Mike T., I'm not sure if you saw, but projected first-round quarterback for next year, Brendan Sorsby, who is at Texas Tech, has decided to step away from football because of a gambling addiction, and everything that is coming out is he's probably not going to play college football again because of what he did.

1:42:36The NFL does have a supplemental draft. Chris Carter's coming out of the supplemental draft. Josh Gordon's coming out of the supplemental draft. Do you think there's a situation where NFL teams would be interested in this? I don't know if Sorgeby would have to go through the supplemental draft, but do you think NFL teams are looking into this situation because of a guy that's so talented that they might be interested in who would be a first rounder next year if this did not happen? Yeah, it's a great question. First of all, let's hope Brandon Sorsby gets the help that he needs with a really serious issue in our country now.

1:43:07And we did check with the league, and basically he would have to be ruled ineligible to play college football to even be considered for the supplemental draft. So the NFL is not going to do anything until his situation gets sorted out, which we all know sometimes takes a while. We saw Trinidad Chambliss go to court, amongst many others, to get his eligibility. He was successful. Others haven't been. So we may not know for several months, typically, the supplemental drafts in late July. And the way that works is if you draft the player, you would lose that draft choice in the corresponding round in the following draft.

1:43:42He's extremely talented. He's a borderline first rounder. So there's a lot to unpack with this story. I think we just saw the beginning of it. and the biggest issue is going to be is whether or not he's allowed to play this year in college football and once we know that, that's when we know if the supplemental draft could become a possibility.

1:44:01Pat McAfee:Okay, that's obviously a very serious situation. There's more information coming out. I believe Pete

1:44:08Pat McAfee:Knuckles was able to see what investigators saw about his gambling and they were talking about it but I think it said$10 ,000 was the gambling and obviously all this information is flowing in fluid in real time i assume there'll be more information that is released or whatever uh he's he placed more than 10 000 in wagers so is that like 10 500 and at one point he was averaging 20 bets per day soarsby placed bets across multiple states using a range of gambling apps now it did come out that he was uh indiana when he was a freshman on the indiana football team uh but then we also saw like he was doing balls and strikes and they were like dollar bets 250 bets so that's how you get to 10 000 i think i think the exactly pretty quickly i think the nfl um is going to want to know okay like obviously the nfl is going to want to know but i'm i'm very i don't want to say intrigued because i guess that would be a proper uh descriptor but this is a huge point of a lot of things here because this is projected first rounder this is gambling but is it on his actual team is it actually on his sport is it on other sports mostly is he allowed to do that if he's a football player is he allowed to gamble on baseball have we already decided that have we evolved the rules for what he's allowed to do where and if he did gamble on his own sport on his own team i think there's a lot of nfl teams that'll be like we don't want that guy on our team and then where sports gambling is right now and with where it's headed You know, it's just like, it's very fascinating how this is going to be a pretty big indicator, I think, on what's going to happen in the future if this situation pops up, which we assume at some point it will.

1:45:48Definitely going to set a huge precedent. But you mentioned being a decision maker if he gambled on his own team. I don't know if it would take him off everybody's board, but I want to know if he gambled to win. Yes, exactly. You know, if he's betting to lose or if he's betting to win, I'm sure more teams probably keep him.

1:46:05Pat McAfee:Yeah, the report was he was Indiana, was not playing, and bet on the win every game. Correct. Just one little action while I'm standing over here on the sideline. Now, can't have that happening. Can't have it. Cannot have that happening. But in the grand scheme of whether – he's sick of it. He's disgusted. His phone died?

1:46:26He's bummed out.

1:46:27Pat McAfee:Yeah, he is a little bummed out. We're all kind of bummed out about the situation. I am bummed out about it, yeah. Yeah, Texas Tech is – I mean, they became one of the darlings of college football last year. Yeah, still are. Yeah. To be honest. Let's put him up there, actually. Let's get a shot of him in the back wall there. There it is. Can we put him on the back wall there, split? Let's get a photo. Thanks for coming on, Tannenbaum. Killed it. All right. See you, dude. That's Mike Tannenbaum. All right. Yeah, Mike. How are you, Mike?

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1:48:10That was a good app.

1:48:12Pat McAfee:Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was. Memorable. I think that's very Mike Tannenbaum exit. Yeah, perfect. Don't you think? Yeah. I think if there was any other way, I think it would have been worse than that in the Tannenbaum brand. The Tannen brand. Exactly. Maybe another Watson shot. He is. Dude. What was up with that? I mean, obviously, there's a lot with that. But on that note, if he was to come back after four years of not playing football, really, played some football, it was ass. But if he was to come back after not playing great football or not playing at all, especially with everything that has happened, and played good football, that would be insane to think.

1:48:44Pat McAfee:Insane. Have we ever seen that? No. No. That big of a break? Yeah, probably not. That's why when Colin Kaepernick was trying to get back in the league like six years after he hadn't played, I was like, good luck out there. and then there's people like, oh, they're going to hold it against him, they're not going to sign him. It's like there's no fucking way he's able to play. Six years away from the game at that position, that is a very difficult position to just be away from the game, not getting reps, not getting in there, not getting action. It's like punter if I was just to step back in there.

1:49:11Pat McAfee:I mean, that's the bottom of the totem pole. That is the lowest level of everything. Just dropping back in there would be a crazy move after stepping away from it. There's only so many jobs. I mean, there's only 32 quarterback jobs. There's so much talent out there to just step away, not play, and then drop back in there as if nothing happened is insane. That's an insane thought that it could happen. He played in six games in 22, six in 23, and then seven in 24 before tearing the Achilles. Obviously none last year. And they didn't really look great in any of those games. Ladies and gentlemen, wrapping it up here, Mike Cannonball.

1:49:44Pat McAfee:Yay! All right. Mike, you had a great exit. What are we doing? You come back for round two here. I just want you to know, I didn't hang up. My video froze, so I wasn't trying to thumb out or anything like that. All right, we appreciate you. Ladies and gentlemen, that's Mike Tannenbaum. Yeah, Mike! We love that guy. Good clarification. Yeah. Yeah, he's just trying to throw him up. Does he really think Russ Wilson's beaten Deshaun in a 40? That's a good question. I mean, let's run the banana ball run again one more time. He did look pretty fast. He honestly looked quick. And no hamstring pull. Looked like he was going.

1:50:19Pat McAfee:Time it down the line. We should try to get the Deshaun Watson video up next, too, please, if we can kind of go back-to-back here. Here's Russell Wilson stepping in for the bananas. First pitch he sees. Gets wood on it. Oh, in between the legs behind the back. Pitch to the pitcher. He's fast. And punchy. He did run, though, a little bit. I appreciated the reach, too. And then here's Sean Watson.

1:50:43He's kind of rolling, too. That juke move was lightning slow, so I don't know if he— Slow? Yeah, yeah. The Cubs didn't have a change. I don't know if the agility's there, but straight line speed, maybe.

1:50:55Pat McAfee:I mean, we'll have to see it. I mean, why don't we – yeah, because Russ – That good knee drive, too. Taking Russ. Russ actually is moving. You know what? I don't know. I mean, he almost beat out a hit to first. My first response was, Deshaun Watson, obviously, what are we even talking about here? Yeah. Okay, go back to Russ. Yeah, this ain't – I'm going to time Russ to 60 real quick. I'm going to go Deshaun. One, two, three, four. That was fastball. I mean, that's a 3-8-1-60. That's 60 feet. 60 feet. Yeah. Sorry, 90 feet. What you just did was accurate for sure. What do you mean? You got a good thumb.

1:51:34Pat McAfee:I know you got a good thumb. Now time him. One, two, three. Okay. Pretty even. I'm taking Russ. One, two. He's going 70 % right now. Yeah, yeah. He ran a 3-5-40 there. Yeah, but he might be going 70 % because he's scared his hamstrings are going to pop out of his legs. That's why Russell Wilson should not be going 100 % right here. and maybe I pull something. No, he's full out because he's in the best shape he's been in. I'll tell you what, they both look slow as dirt, but I would not want to be in the hole when Russ came barreling through like that. He looked like the bus right there trucking down the lane.

1:52:04Pat McAfee:The bus? The wheels on the Russ go. Go run and run. Run and run. You're right. And that's why he was such a good baseball prospect, because you might get him out, but you might be knocked out. That's right. That's the wheels on the Russ. Is he in Monument Park? What do you think, Tony? Man, I cannot believe that happened to Tito. I'm going to think about that for the next 20 years. What is Monument Park? It's where all the Yankees legends are. All the numbers are retired. Oh, of course. You don't think Russ is there? I don't know. Spring ball, he's always clean in the stripes. And then they always got him.

1:52:38He's boom.

1:52:40Pat McAfee:He's even doing the magic trick with the ball. Yeah, you bet. He's throwing somebody out over there. And then he gets in the batter's box, takes a little BP. Gone. And you saw him with the banana boys. He had a very comfortable eye on that ball, didn't he? Oh, yeah. Great hack. First swing. Trying to go the other way. You know, just hit the ball where it's pitched. God, Tino. Hey, 62. Wasn't even close. I would have just shut my mouth. I didn't even know the guy was in this thing. Shut my stupid fucking mouth. I knew he existed, of course. I knew who Tino Martinez was before you said his name today.

1:53:13Pat McAfee:Five times. Five times. Banner, banner, banner, banner, banner. Penance all over the place. He was so good. When he held that back, he was at lefty. Yeah. And when he played lefty. Here he goes. 340 clear home runs. He wasn't a shortstop. This guy's great at first base. That's right. Boom. That's right. Oh, yeah. Yankees fan in the back kind of left me out to dry right there. I would like to let you know. Pretty good. Yeah, that was a lefty, a lot of bombs. Okay, quick. How much do I know about baseball? Would he play? That feels like a first baseman right there. I got a little worried that I was going to destroy my own credibility.

1:53:53Good call.

1:53:54Pat McAfee:He's got a Yankees hat on. Good call. Oh, my God. And he also, I'm about sick of you guys just making things up. He won four. Yeah, I know. I was just trying to gas him up a little bit. He wasn't there for the first one, I know. He was with the Mariners still. That's okay. That's okay. I mean, you know. Tino Martinez, though, I knew that. Legend. Before today. Legit legend. So that's why it really bums me out. He looked that bad. Yeah, but the Cosmonauts have some good pitchers. That guy was throwing a little gas. And Tino is, I mean, can we, is Tino 60 plus, is he not? 58. 58, yeah. So he's getting up there.

1:54:27He's battling injuries, too. I bet he's got injuries. He probably played through some stuff to play in that game.

1:54:31Pat McAfee:Yeah, but fuck all the excuses. He didn't make them. I'm making it for him. He didn't make the excuse. No, but I'm saying, I think Tino would say, Scott can really move the rock. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think Tino would be impressed. Call him up. Nibbling the edges. He was nibbling the edges a little bit. Do we know how many good baseball players are out there? Who are all these super-duper cosmonauts? A lot of good guys are playing for the Bananas, so much so that now it's kind of starting to get to the really good guys are getting plucked, and they're going to the big leagues. What? Banana ball. To the big league.

1:55:01Pat McAfee:That's awesome. Yeah. Once again, cannot say it enough, congrats to the Banana Boys. That's an unbelievable thing that they're selling out stadiums and entertaining the masses with a sport that we love now. So I enjoy it mightily. We'll continue digitally. SportsCenter will cover after us. We'll see you tomorrow. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice about you. Change your life. Goodbye. I think I got it. You did. That was me trying to get the first like Russell Wilson. But I don't know if I. Is the other team really called the Cosmonauts? No, it's Party Animals. There's the Firefly. I thought they might add a team I didn't know about.

1:55:31Pat McAfee:They added the Indianapolis Clowns. We know that. Don't love that. Tough to be a fan of them. But I do appreciate that we got added into the realm because we do sell out for them all the time. They got Cosmic Baseball now, though. Yeah. At night. That's right. That's crazy. Rogers Rome is playing for one of the teams. Really? I thought that, actually. He actually hit a double, I believe, last night or two nights ago. Did the Rogers nipple celebration and then did the pinky hang. He's a good ball player. He is actually a player and he can throw pretty good. Are these pitchers just good pitchers from lower divisions that aren't tall enough?

1:56:05No, probably just don't have quite enough velocity would be my guess. Velo is probably the best.

1:56:10Pat McAfee:So do we think size? Because I saw a guy wearing Daisy fucking Duke. So I was watching the LA Angel City. Yep. Angel City. Are you talking about the Los Angeles? The women's soccer team. Oh, gotcha. LAFC or whatever. LA Angel FC. And they were playing Portland, I think. Okay. Timbers. Timberettes. What's soccer we're talking? Women's soccer. It was on Sunday. Good game, by the way. lady who just returned i believe from uh having a baby scored in her return that's pretty big deal one of the storylines before the game was that her and then she ends up scoring i believe it was pretty good then they had the women's sports on on this is all on espn too and it was uh on tv obviously we had hockey we had nba it was just taking up all the tvs we had baseball uh yeah it did replace sunday baseball i was watching that they had interviews with uh flo j uh flaw j and crushed it, by the way.

1:57:11Pat McAfee:She always does. She has incredible content. And then right after that show was over, there's a guy wearing a cowboy hat, Daisy Dukes, right on the bump. And he is. And I hadn't seen that. There was something going on over here with the TVs. And all of a sudden, I core my eye. I think I see an ash cheek up here. Oh. I'm like, I don't know what's going on. I look up there, cowboy hat, Daisy Dukes, fucking gassing that thing. Jesus. And he was throwing unbelievable. And I'm like, that's banana baseball right there. Also, they're on ESPN2 right now? Yeah. Signed a contract. Legit. They're like, it was.

1:57:46I saw professional air guitar competitions on ESPN2.

1:57:50Pat McAfee:Those are sick. Who won? I think I could guess. One of the gentlemen with a long wig on won. And he was a Caucasian fella? You know what? I think it was a very diverse crowd. Really? That entered. Yeah, yeah, from what I remember. I like that because sometimes you'll see the horse competition or the human pet dog competition. What is the horse competition? What would that be? You know which one. Mr. Hands? No, the ones that are actually doing the galloping with their hands and their feet. Oh, humans acting as horses on all fours? Yeah, not Mr. Hands. I've never seen that. These aren't the fuzzies.

1:58:29No, that's furries.

1:58:30Pat McAfee:Oh, furries. Furries. And I don't think they're ever going to get on ESPN2, but shit. Never know if they'll start competing.

1:58:41Pat McAfee:Congrats to CW, by the way, becoming a part of the ESPN Plus family. More sports coming over. Certainly love that. Appreciate that. Shout out to CW. Because remember, I believe there had been an arrangement between ESPN and CW for a couple things. College football playoff game, I believe, in years past. It had kind of been subleased or whatever. So who knows how long the negotiation has been going on. CW Sports finds a home in the ESPN Unlimited app. and it feels like ESPN is continuing to do what it has done for a long time, which is gather as many sports rights as possible and try to recruit sports fans however you possibly can because they have some interesting contracts over there at the CW.

1:59:23Pat McAfee:So it's like pick it up, and I'm not saying it's like the Ocho, but it does feel like ESPN is like, hey, if you're a sport, we would love to be and we would honor to be a part of your presentation, and I'm happy to see that they're still investing in that. I think that's good news for the future for ESPN. I know they have ACC football because what's-his-name's calling it? I was listening to it last year. It was pretty good. They got NASCAR or something. Is Live Golf gone now? They have lived. Well, they're backing out of tournaments, Bucie. Postponed New Orleans. They're returning a hosting fee.

1:59:53They're returning a hosting fee, so I don't know if it's PPD.

1:59:56Pat McAfee:$1.2 million is owed back to New Orleans. He's going to get his money. $3.2 million in total that we have given. and say we held up our end of the bargain, we'd like to say. Two million of that went into a park to make it better. Okay, we'll keep that but the other now. And that came after he said, we'd love to thank the PGA for a phenomenal weekend with the Zurich Classic. On that note, leave us postponing. We'd like about a million back. And we'll see you as we go down. I'm a little worried. I think it should be. I'm a little worried. It should be. Well, about what? I'm a little worried about the future of that league.

2:00:34What? They just got on ESPN. Yeah. We'll see.

2:00:37Pat McAfee:We'll see. This might save them. Legit. NXT, massive. There was like six debuts last night on NXT. Evil. Huge. In. Also. Who was that fat man? Yeah, I can't remember. Bone was going crazy for him this morning. Ghost, I believe. Ghost or goss. British lad. Yeah, British lad. Yep. Supposed to be the next KO. That guy's supposed to be the next KO. I think they say that because he's big man. Okay, all right. Kroos is his name. He's big man He's an athlete He can really move K.O. bigger man who can move Evil is kind of the prevailing story there I don't see anybody in NXT being able to stop this guy That shit sucks So What are we talking about?

2:01:22Evil or Evil or just Just in general But I am excited for Liv If Liv continues to go on ESPN

2:01:31Pat McAfee:We need to turn off the music on the 18th hole though We need to do a civilized golf tournament If we're going to do it We need golf, but golf Not golf, but louder That's what we need Golf, but golf And ESPN might do that for them Like hey, you guys have good golfers You need to stop with the gimmicks We're going to bring you in And we're just going to make it normal golf How about this, empty golf courses We don't care We'll play at night actually Prime time golf is what you guys are doing and that's awesome. Good luck out there. We're pulling. They don't play on it. They bring the crowd. Nick, can you speak to your experience at a live event?

2:02:11I had a great time. It was very sparsely attended, so there was a lot of room to be able to see everything. You could get right up against the ropes. That's a fucking liar. That's good.

2:02:20Pat McAfee:That's a good experience. I thought the music was going to be terribly distracting. It wasn't bad, but it was only really at one or two holes. The 18th and the 1st? Apparently you guys didn't spend enough money while you were there. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah. I think they were spending a lot of money, and then all of a sudden some real stuff started happening. Yeah. Oh, force majeure? How's it doing over here? Not good, right? Oh, is there a way out of this train wreck? Yeah. Oh, yeah, there is. Maybe they started the whole thing. I'm kind of bummed out about that, though. We'll see. We'll see what happens.

2:02:49Congratulations. You think they got it still, Diva? You think it's going to keep going? I'm hopeful. You know what? I don't care. What? I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. with and against each other as much as possible.

2:03:04Pat McAfee:You did this gimmick for this long and now you're jumping shit? I can't wait for you just to turn on F1. You had to do an entire F1 thing. Wait till you see the Indy 500 this year. These cars are blessing. They bring it. They bring it. They're bringing it this year. All respect to Indy 500. Okay. The pinnacle. The pinnacle is the pinnacle. Indy 500. The grandest spectacle in racing. Yes. The number one. Love a bunch of number ones. That's right. How many people go? Like 400 ,000? Yeah, 400, 500 ,000. Yeah, it was like 550 last year, I thought. They're talking about like 700 this year. Did you go?

2:03:39Starting to see the flags. I went when I play here.

2:03:42Pat McAfee:Where'd you watch from? How'd you experience? Maybe you need to get out there and feel a little bit. Yeah, but maybe you need to get down there. I kissed the bricks. You need to stay inside the track. Yeah, but don't you think you need to feel the...

2:04:01Pat McAfee:Wait, wait, wait, wait.

2:04:06Pat McAfee:That one's just going so they get the money for the laps. They got no chance. And then there's also another. They crashed early. They're five laps behind. They're just playing catch up. And then you sit there for a couple more seconds. 30 more seconds. You watch the Jumbotron. It's like, holy shit, these things are flying. Then they come around the corner. It's.

2:04:30Pat McAfee:That's what it is. Remember New Garden last year? Remember? It was all the way in the back. And he's... Always electric. Did you see what Sig said? No. He said he told his AD or whatever it is, FBI, whatever the person who runs colleges are, I'm not doing anything except for the Indy 500. That's right. He's driving a fucking pace car. So what's that tell you? Yeah, he said, I told him to say no to everything except for the Indy 500. We got football games to win. We were perfect last year. People ask me how we get better. Well, it ain't going to fucking do anything other than the Indy 500. I can't wait to see him.

2:05:06Pat McAfee:I respect that. Yeah, absolutely. That's because it is the pinnacle. Yeah, yeah. Out here. And Sig kind of wants to feel the... Oh, yeah. That's a big part of it. You need to get out there and... It's just the... It's just an oval. What do you mean? It's not just a freaking oval. It is the oval, brother. It's the fucking oval. Scott, I'll never get it. I need some... Oh, they got a road course, too? Come on, weep after. I need some whoop-de-wolves. Well, they actually pass each other. So, you probably wouldn't even like that. Tune, I thought you were on my side. Well, I am. Pick a side. I am on your – I can like both.

2:05:37But I don't have to disrespect the Indy 500. This is just like the LeBron-Jordian debate. Okay? Yeah, I don't have to disrespect the Indy 500. Be nice, member. I respect – I put my flag up, May. Can you like both, though? Isn't it one or the other? I feel like it's one or the other.

2:05:52Pat McAfee:I feel like it's that way. It's either American racing, which is better than their racing. That's what it is. So I got an Ascord, too. It's either racing or it's like single-file line. You're rubbing or you're racing. Yeah, I got sprint racing, too. All of them. And that's why NASCAR is a GOAT. Hey, GO-KART racing, all of it. I'm not going to say the word because Michael Cole said it about the group that Danhausen was with, and it is a style of racing, but nobody will really respect that I know that much about racing to say it, so I'm not going to say it. But that style of racing is awesome. That one's a few dubs.

2:06:22Hmm? Could be. I'll probably get some eyes on that.

2:06:24Pat McAfee:What do you know about this? The drivers aren't that. Funny car. The cars are called that. No, it's not a funny car. The little person racing. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. is they are, I believe, I mean, we're... They're drifting, right? Yeah, we're doing a lot of... They can drift? The drivers are normal. Cletus is going to have some of those out there? Hey, listen, I got a message from somebody not named Cletus. Might have gave up the kayfabe. I don't know if it's the actual person. I'm going to have to do some more research. No, no. Yeah, but I think there is some car shit happening out here in Indianapolis this weekend.

2:06:57Pat McAfee:Certainly a lot happening this weekend. We'll try to make it. But if Cletus would like to come in here once again, we would like to say, would love to talk to Cletus about the event he's got going on. Now, not 100 % sure if we're going to be able to make it to that. No. A lot going on right now? A lot going on right now? I apologize. Schedule's full. Tony, you were the one that was supposed to be built on the ground for us. No, that was Beal. You and Bailey McCullough. That was Beal. Didn't he say that? He said you were jacked up to go. That's why you wore that sweatshirt. If I have to break my ankle to not go, I will.

2:07:30Pat McAfee:There's no reason for all that. All right. Let's talk about some college sports news that's outrageous. You know, it felt like March Madness had it figured out. Feels like a lot of people had been chasing the feeling that March Madness has brought to so many over the years. Obviously, the NCAA runs March Madness. They don't run any of the other championships at D1 level, but they do run the basketball men's and women's. They see a lot of profit. They see a lot of greatness come from March Madness every single year. We all shut down what we're doing to watch this sport that we don't watch all year and buy into what's happening because the chaos is spectacular.

2:08:01Pat McAfee:What is the madness of March going to bring? It's different now. Obviously, there's not as many Cinderella stories to be told with NIO and Transfer Portal and everything like that. But this past season was electrifying. We were lucky to be a part of numerous games here in Indianapolis. And now the NCAA is trying to change it. 76 teams. Too many. When does it stop? What is this? They got it figured out, don't they? I thought we had it figured out in this entire thing. Now, I will argue against myself saying that we have it figured out. more games at the beginning doesn't matter. That's basically what this would change.

2:08:35Pat McAfee:Because once Sweet 16 and Elite 8, that's only so many teams. So more games at the beginning, more maybe play-in games at the beginning, certainly something like that we would get excited about. But I think everybody's natural reaction to this is, how many teams are? 130? 76 of them are getting into the tournament. Why do you fucking even play a season? It's just an interesting thing, H. It's like winning six games and becoming bowl eligible in college football. Like, now, I guess we're going to have multiple 500 teams in the tournament. Are we going to have teams that are, you know, 15 and 18 that are going to make the tournament now?

2:09:08Is that how it's going to work? Was it Coach K that told us this?

2:09:11Pat McAfee:I forget who gave us the speech. I think it was Coach K, yeah. That was basically like, what this is going to do is only get more big conference schools in that are way down in the end. Auburn. Yeah, so like, yeah, middle of the pack, big conference schools are going to get in. Like, that is what this is going to become if they get to this point. but this is just like a natural tendency i think of a lot of people that make decisions it's like oh we got a good thing let's do more of it as opposed to we got a good thing let's cherish it which i think is what people get mad about with everything which is why when college sports changes as much as it does and as drastically as it does you're going to get the uproar immediately as long as the electricity remains nobody will care but all anybody cares about is the fact that we're probably going to lose electricity because of this move so why would we want to do that that is kind of the immediate backlash that this type of shit sees.

2:09:56Yeah, I mean, you're right. I mean, it was perfect. No one was complaining about the size of the NCAA tournament. Yes, it's going to be the big – they're probably going to take all the teams that were in the crown. So WVU could have absolutely made a run because they did – I don't know if you guys remember – won the crown. So they were getting hot at the right time. Yeah, we remembered. Absolutely did not remember. Yeah, I forgot. You didn't remember that? No, thanks for the reminder. That was a T-B.

2:10:19Pat McAfee:Let's go ahead and revisit. Maybe they moved the crown before the tournament. You win the crown, you get the Elite Eight. Now we're talking. Now all of a sudden it's a special seven. The Elite Eight? Yeah. Yeah, you get the special seven. That'd be cool. Yeah, it's a special seven. The crown's got the eight seed. I don't like that. The special seven. Like chutes and ladders. Slide right in. Exactly. You know what's next, though. CFP's next. That's what everybody's like, come on. Easy. But that hasn't been figured out for 50 years. Agreed. Which is the difference. We had this conversation earlier.

2:10:48Pat McAfee:The college football playoffs are still being kind of tweaked and figured out right now. as we speak in real time. Bad decisions are going to be made. Good decisions are going to be made. And then 10 years from now, it'll probably settle in to what it's supposed to be, the amount of teams, where they're playing, when they're playing, how they're playing, which is all getting worked out. Moving the calendar up to week zero being actually week one so that we don't have to go all the way into January or whatever the case is, so it can get done before the new year so it's not absolutely absurd with how long everything is.

2:11:14Pat McAfee:That's going to change. The amount of teams are going to change. It already has changed. So it's like the football one still being figured out. I don't think we've had a home run success of saying, yes, that is the perfect way to do a tournament. People have done that for March Madness for a long time. So the football one, still going to have some ass decisions made, but I think it's still trying to get figured out. And the bubble itself, like last year we had the big thing with ND where it's like, hey, if Notre Dame got in, I mean, who knows, maybe they could make a deep run and potentially go to the championship.

2:11:45No one is saying that with any of these teams that are on the bubble currently. It's like, hey, a team that went 17 and 18, they're not going to go win a national championship. They're just not. So if that's all we're going to do is just, hey, we want to take four more teams from the Big Ten and four more teams from the SEC and get them in, then just come out and say that that's what we're doing. And the Big 12. Sure. Definitely.

2:12:06Pat McAfee:Absolutely. Definitely a Big 12. We know that. And I still think we should not completely rule out the crown getting one of the Elite Eight spots. And it should be from last year, so we should already have it. an automatic bid. It should be an automatic bid. Yeah, I think it's something to think about. Let's go to some NFL news. There's still a lot of great free agents out there. Juwan Jennings is the one that we have chatted about, obviously, the most because I think we would all like to see him on our team, an absolute dog and a fantastic wide receiver. He's with the Minnesota Vikings today.

2:12:34Pat McAfee:Kyler Murray, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Kevin O 'Connell. Maybe the Vikings do start piecing something together. Hasn't signed a deal, but he's certainly visiting. Who are some other free agents? Well, don't forget about fucking Kyle Van Nooyen. Ever. Ever. You forgot about him? Never. You forgot about him? Never. You forgot about him? Absolutely not. You forgot about him? He's a legend. Two of those. Never forget about him. Oh, AJ. You forgot about him. AJ did, actually. For sure. No, no. He came out here talking about bunk bedding or whatever it was called. Is that what you call it? What?

2:13:04Earthquake. Quake? Quake at bunk bed. There it is, yeah. You know, where you demonstrate how you lay on your back and you kick the bed.

2:13:11Pat McAfee:Yeah. Listen, you soak and then you quake. Like, it's different evolutions of, you know, having sex without having sex. Yeah. Because somebody else is kind of bouncing your penis up inside of what's going on. So it's not actual sex. But he's said a lot more on our show than just quaking, AJ. Okay? He has been a great friend of the program around here. And I like the fact that he is seemingly nowhere near done. It's like for the last four, three, four years, it's been like, what's he going to do? Where's he going to go? Went down to Miami and ended up not working out. Goes back to New England. Obviously gets released.

2:13:42Pat McAfee:Then he's a free agent, comes on this show, bodies con man in the side yard. Then he gets signed to the Ravens. That becomes like a real home for him. He loves it. He's with the Chargers in the meantime in there. It's like Kyle Vannoy loves ball. I think he's always been productive, especially during these years where people probably have overlooked him a bit. And he's saying, hey, I'm still a free agent out here. I'd like to continue to play football. I think he's earned the respect to be able to put on the list. And why not right at the top there, D-butt? Why not? Pass rushers. You can never have too many pass rushers.

2:14:12and he's still got some tread left on that tire. I'm surprised Njoku is still out there as well. He is a weapon at that tight end position. And Sneed as well. Sneed was one of the highest paid corners on the market a couple years ago. Did not work out at all down in Tennessee. But I wouldn't be surprised if the team kind of kicks the tire on Sneed.

2:14:30Pat McAfee:Huge names on his free agents still available. Huge. Huge name. And this doesn't even have Aaron Rodgers on here. And Aaron Rodgers is now under the oof attack. So is he even one of these? We're not 100 % sure. AJ, any names on here that kind of stick out to you? How about Bobby O 'Carrikay? O 'Carrikay, no question. But what about Tyreek Hill? What's his status? Will he be healthy at the start of the season? Do we know anything about him? Got surgery, right? Yeah, I didn't think he was going to be healthy. Yeah, he needed another surgery was kind of the last report, and he would be like a mid-year towards the end of the year, but still worth it.

2:15:01Pat McAfee:Keenan Allen will get you a first down. Oh, yeah. Keenan Allen will get you a first down. Bobby Wagner will get you 148. Stephon Diggs had a really great year last year. Yeah, I like the names that are out. Cam Jordan. Cam Jordan is available. That's crazy because normally he's just a saint. Joey Bosa. We wish all these boys good luck. Good luck, boys. Good luck, boys. Good luck. Clue to you, Kyle Van Noy. New York Knicks are winning basketball games. Don't look now. Celebrity Row packed. Yeah. Again. Packed to the gills. All the celebs are out to see the New York Knicks play basketball in warm weather.

2:15:32Pat McAfee:There's a lady you know. There's Ben Stiller. There's Kylie. There's Chalamet. Oh, St. Cruz last year. There's Tina Fey. Tina Fey. Oh, yes. And there's Mike Tirico. Look at us. That was a good bit. Tirico is phenomenal, by the way. Yes. I'm very happy that he's back doing things in primetime on a regular basis in front of us. Chalamet, obviously diehard Knicks fan. Okay, actually diehard Knicks fan. He's not the only one. Tracy Morgan, obviously diehard. Ben Stiller is an actual diehard New York Knicks fan. Every game. Okay, sorry, dude. Yeah, bye. At least we know what. We know where he is. Not a big Ben Stiller guy.

2:16:12Well, we know what line of the house he stands on.

2:16:15Pat McAfee:Jeez, yeah, certainly. AJ was disgusted. I'm not talking about this guy. Not after that tweet the other day. Well, that's what I'm saying. I think people need to understand that Ben Stiller is a diehard New York Knicks fan. Flew to Indiana multiple times. He has been a diehard Knicks fan. He wakes up in the morning, tweets like, good luck to the Knicks tonight. He is. Ben Stiller might be the biggest Knicks fan on earth. He is all in all the time. So whenever the Knicks get a win in the series and says, got it done, he tweets that out there. Then what happens, happens, especially because everybody knows kind of his political views and everything.

2:16:53Pat McAfee:Yeah, that's because everybody was like, hey, asshole. Son of a bitch. But I would like to go on the record as somebody that I don't think Ben Stiller is necessarily like, I like Pat McAfee. Like, I don't think he's saying that. He is a loyal, active, diehard Knicks fan. And there's a lot of these celebs that we all immediately want to go, fake. That's not real. You are just doing this for publicity. I think Ben Stiller is willing to die for the Knicks. I think he would be willing to do that for the Knicks. So he did it again last night, obviously. It's like I would just – I would like to extend a public – Ben Stiller does this on a regular basis.

2:17:31Pat McAfee:I don't think he meant anything by it, although it was terrible timing. and I appreciate the fact that those celebs over there that we've gotten to meet, especially from the whole call-out situation, where John Mellencamp took their side. Yep. Never forget that. Yeah, he did. They are feeling the way we feel about our football teams. Yes. And I have massive respect for that. I have massive respect for that, and I couldn't have expected, especially if I was outside and never met these people, I would just call that all bullshit. Like, that is all bullshit. Ben Stiller, though, is, and Chalamet, at least, those two are all in all the time.

2:18:02Yeah, like Ben Stiller is as big of a Knicks fan as Bradley Cooper is an Eagles fan. Like Ben Stiller is watching 82 regular season games, and then he's going to every single one of these playoff games. Like it is one of those things where you have to respect him because no matter what it is, just as a sports fan, if you are willing to sit through a November Knicks game against the Washington Wizards and watch the entire thing, just hats off to you. And Ben Stiller is actually doing that. He's like in the dirt sheets reading about stuff with the team. You have to understand how big of a fan he is and just kind of tip your cap to it.

2:18:38Pat McAfee:And I think Timothee Chalamet rescheduled some numerous things just so he could get to a potential preseason game. I respect how much they love sport. I like how much they love sport. And on that note, you guys ain't winning shit this year. We'll see. We'll see. You might be right. I mean, Brunson's too short. Cat's too soft. No, no, I didn't say any of those things. I do not want to put that. That is not what you're saying. Josh, I can't shoot. No, I didn't say any of those things. We hear it all. It is really cool, though, Ben Stiller. He's kind of like the leader of the Knicks Twitter community.

2:19:15He's connected with the Knicks Twitter content creators and had him out courtside. He pulled up to – there's like a Knicks influencer pick-up basketball tournament. He pulled up to that. I think he played in it. So he is as real as it gets. There are a lot of fake Knicks fans out there, but he's the man.

2:19:34Pat McAfee:Okay, and everything that he said about the Knicks is not what I'm saying. No, I'm just saying in general. That's what I'm hearing. That's what the Knicks fans say when they lose. This coach sucks. Mike Brown needs to be fired. That's what the Knicks fans do. That's not true at all. And a part of why the Knicks community is so awesome. Every day. It's because we're probably on year four now of being good. Before that, we were the Detroit Lions of the NBA. We are one of the, if not the biggest laughingstock of the league, and because it's a big name, you know, Madison Square Garden and all that, it's A block.

2:20:11Why do the Knicks suck? Isn't it hilarious? Dolan stinks. Like, all that shit is a huge part of why we are so obnoxious when we're up and we are up and we are outside. And we'll see how it goes with the Cs, baby. Yeah, I enjoyed –

2:20:25Pat McAfee:It's 2-2 with the Hawks. Yeah, but I enjoyed – 3-2. I enjoyed the Knicks and the Pacers last year along. You're right. I mean, I enjoyed – And we were in New York, I think, for a couple of those Knicks games. Not when they were playing the Pacers, maybe the series before. And I think Jalen hit a game winner. Yeah, he did. And we were in New York. Hat very little, obviously, in that entire thing. Just amongst kind of the city. And it's like, this place loves the Knicks. Like, they – The league's better when they're good. Yeah, that's true. But New York people actually genuinely, I think they love the Knicks.

2:20:58Pat McAfee:And obviously, Jalen Brunson gets to a point where he never misses. It was outrageous to watch him do that. I think he'll only continue to do all that. But if the Knicks go, we will be pumped for you guys. But is Missoula still up there and running 13 deep on his roster? Because I heard some chatter about this Knicks team. They're not deep enough. Feels like that's always the problem. Way deeper than last year. Last year with Thibodeau, it was true. We did not play our bench. We had no bench. This year, you know, we got Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench. Deuce McBride is healthy as well. So we played nine last night, real minutes.

2:21:36Jose Alivardo there, Grand Theft Alivardo. We're deeper than we have been. We're fully healthy right now and much better than last year. And, you know, that C's Knicks series last year, there were a lot of meltdowns down the stretch. I bet you if we're doing stuff like going 0 for 14 in the fourth quarter, it could be a bit of a repeat of that 3-1 lead with Jason Tatum last season.

2:21:58Pat McAfee:They bopped the wood up there in Boston, though. I'm excited to see how it goes. I enjoy the Knicks. I enjoy their fans. And I thought Ben Stiller getting crushed the way he was is just tough timing. That was just terrible timing, obviously. But he is consistent, I believe. We should give him a little bit of leeway for being an actual sports fan, which he certainly is. Welcome back, AJ. Tonight, we got three NBA playoff games. Magic at Pistons, seven on Amazon. Pistons favored by 10.5 still. Is it 10.5? It changed because the Franz. I could see you hammering the Magic. 10.5, okay. 10.5 is the spread at this point because the Franz Wagner news, leading player for the Orlando Magic, is out this evening.

2:22:39Pat McAfee:That feels pretty big. Raptors at Cavs, 7.30 on ESPN. Cavs favored by 8.5. That's up to 9.5. Okay, that's at 9.5. So the odds have changed since the show has started. Rockets at Lakers. Lakers favored by 4.5. Austin Reeves, by all accounts, returning. The Late Show could return here at 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Can't wait to be up to 1 a.m. again. Woo! Actually, especially if Braun and Austin Reeves start going crazy. And if the Rockets fight back and make this 3-2, all of a sudden it's like, whoa. Back to Houston. People are going to say a lot of things about LeBron. Yeah. If this doesn't get closed out, he knows that.

2:23:18Especially if he has another game like he did game four.

2:23:21Pat McAfee:It did look like he was kind of chilling. No, he's playing with houses, buddy. He plays great. He's like, oh, he's 41. How the fuck is he still doing this? He plays bad. He's like, 41. How's he even doing this? They're also up 3-0. It felt like in that game four, he was like, let's see if the other guys can do it. I'm going to – it looked like he was chilling. Conserve a little bit. They're also missing shots early. You could tell almost like immediately that, ooh, this doesn't look like the same Lakers team. LeBron not as kind of maybe dominant early, but then also every shot not falling. And it's like, uh-oh, going to have to make shots, I think, with all the injuries that you have.

2:23:52Pat McAfee:Rockets get a huge win. LeBron still absolute stud. Can't wait to watch that particular evening of hoops there. And then hockey, Canadians Lightning, SBN 2. That series tied 2-2. That should be phenomenal stuff. Lightning heavy favorites. You like them. I mean, it's been the best series. They both score a lot of goals. We talked about Swayman, how absurd he's been. I think Vasilevsky for the Lightning is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which is the best goalie. And the fact that the Canadians are even getting that many pucks on that and scoring with the Lightning, where the Lightning were kind of like the runaway, don't want to play that team in the playoffs, that series has been unbelievable.

2:24:30Pat McAfee:Mammoth and Golden Knights at 10 p.m. on TNT. That series tied 2-2 as well. Exciting stuff across the board there. And then Penguins Flyers right there at 7.30 on TNT. that's a big one. The Penguins have woken up, it appears. The Flyers are a very talented team. Come on, boys! Is this thing going to seven? Is this thing going to seven? Is it Sidney Crosby in seven? Or will the Flyers and that stupid mascot shut the door tonight? We shall see. We'll be back tomorrow to talk about it all. We can't thank you enough for allowing us to do this for a living. You're the greatest people on earth. Be your friend, tell your friend something nice.

2:25:04Pat McAfee:It might change your life. We're in this thing together. AJ, great work today, pal. Great work, guys. Appreciate you. D-Buck, great work this week. Great work, brother. Hey, congrats on the golf course. Big time dub. Thank you. They were saying you lost it and Dirty was about to beat your ass for the rest of your life. He's, you know, 1 in 27. Great work this week. Way to get back on top. Had to. Be your friend. Tell your friend something. Nice of my change of life. We're in this thing together. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team. Goodbye.

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