Dola Does Dallas with Danny Amendola | Preseason Week 3, 2008: Texans vs. Cowboys

Being a reality TV veteran star. What's the difference between Dancing with the Stars Special Forces?

Yeah, in Hard Knocks.

I mean you've been on three Yeah, well some would say that's well.

I didn't win any of them, so but I'm.

Out for three.

No, but you did good.

What's Jerry Jones like?

He was cool man. I didn't really talk to him other than when he cut me.

Welcome to Games with Names. I'm Julian Edelman. They're Jack and Kyler, and we are on a mission to find the greatest game of all time. This episode is brought to you by Transformers, a global powerhouse franchise owned by Hasbro. The Transformers NFL converting helmets by Hasbro are available for

School football really that good?

The town stops and the people go crazy.

What it's like to be the star of Hard Knocks. They don't get in the way at all. They do a great job. I love watching hard knocks.

And a little Transformer word association. What would Jordan love be?

He would be like a Hummers stretch. Leve the hot tub in the back, the hot tub in the back.

And then we hit the chill line with Dola for this week's Chill Zone, brought to you by Corp's Light. Always Gone with old Dola, you gotta stick around to the very endow Games with Names of production of iHeartRadio, August twenty second, two thousand and eight, Texas Stadium, Arlington, Texas. It's a preseason battle for the Governor's Cup in the Lone Star State and a young Daniel Anondola is trying

And you know we were thinking who should we pair.

On a Texas Cowboy themed freaking Transformer episode. I was like, fucking Dandy, Amandola. This guy transformed his goddamn career from dropping punts in preseason games to winning touchdowns and winning games in Super Bowls, making crucial catches. Transformed. But he's also a Texas through and through guy. Born in Texas, played college football in Texas, undrafted by the Dallas Cowboys, played for the Houston Texans. He's played for them all.

Why this game. It was just a pivotal point in my emotional, physical, and career aspect of my whole life. Just it was I was either going to play football for the rest of my life or just get cut and get a job at Costco, And h ended up hanging on, you know, by a deer thread, getting on practice squad for that first year and then kind of just held on for the rest of my career after that.

Now, Is this the greatest game of all time?

I don't honestly don't remember a lot of this game. So we're gonna be watching this shit together.

So well, I think it could be the greatest game of all time.

Yeah, let me butt in here real quick. Well, this is Dola's third time on games with names, first time in the nuthouse, first time in the nuthouse.

Yeah, well he's been in the nuthouse, but he has he's been featured.

Yeah, in the nuthouse. Yes, yes, because you were in Vegas and then you are remotely yeah, oh you're right. Yeah.

Now, is this the greatest game of all time? It's the greatest. It's it's one of the greatest games of all time. We'll go down in the history books.

Preseason Week three, two thousand and eight a game never to be forgotten.

It's definitely top ten.

Governors Cup, come on, man, top they call it the Governors. This is the Governor's. Every preseason they play.

I don't think it's preseason on every preseason, it's just any anytime the two pro teams in Texas meet up.

Because we always played. It could be Rangers versus Astros.

No, no, no, just for football so prior to this it was Oilers.

Uh, Cowboys gotcha.

One of my favorite things about this game was we got you know. It was one of my last opportunities to play in Texas Stadium before they blew it up. And there's so much history that the Cowboys have had as an organization. Uh, one of the biggest organizations in the world. Really, if not the biggest organization.

I think it's evaluated at number one. Yeah, Jerry Jones knows how to sell a business. Yeah, Texas Stadium. Did you you play? Let's let's jump into that. You you went to high school in Texas, the Woodlands, Yep, shout out. You played in Texas Stadium in high school, Yes, sir. Didn't you play in the Astrodome in high school too?

Yes, sir.

Jesus Christ and the Alamo do.

Just getting all over Texas so much, Texas.

Dome, the Trifecta. Now, what give us?

Give us one cool thing of each of those stadiums.

I mean, Texas's nothing like the old school Texas Stadium. You see highlights of MS Smith, Troy Eateman, Uh, you know Dion back in the day making plays there. They hung a couple banners up in there too. So the the tradition in Texas Stadium, it's it's a mecca for high school football championship games. A bunch of bowl games used to come through there, and and you could you walk into that stadium and you could feel to the tradition.

I played.

I played a three overtime game ers Tyler Lee in that stadium.

What year is this?

This was two thousand and three.

Two thousand and three, This is your senior year.

It was actually the two thousand and four I think it was. Yeah, it was one of those two years. Yeah, I know it was the end of the two thousand and three right before I graduated in two thousand and four. But it was the two thousand and three year of the season.

Is this state championship? It was a playoff game to go to the It was a semi finals. So we're playing playoff games in Texas Stadium.

Yep.

Yeah.

A lot of great athletes play there. I mean, anybody that's ever played in a big high school football game in Texas has has played in front of forty fifty thousand people at Texas Stadium. And we didn't play our state championship game there. We played at Rice, but it was it was you know, these big stadiums get packed, dude.

That's I mean, Friday night lights is real. What do you remember about the Alamo Dome. Where is the Alamo Dome?

The Alamo Dome is in San Antonio. You see the Alamo Dome in bowl games. You see it in a lot of college basketball finals. Have played the final four. They just played the Final four there a couple of weeks ago. It's it's it's kind of a basic stadium, but the city of San Antonio fully supports and it comes out to any any high school football, college football game there, any basketball event there, and it's a staple in Texas as a as a premier bowl spot and

Such a text and show the world no one outside of Texas in two thousand and three watching that goddamn game here.

About goddamn. That's one thing Texas people do love Texas.

Now, what's about the Astrodome.

I played in the Astronome my sophomore year versus Duncanville. Was like it was my It was, you know, a big game, another opener of the season.

Uh.

And you play these schools all around Texas that aren't in your district, you really have an opportunity to play against a lot of great football teams. It was old school turf, just smelled like old beer in there.

You could.

I used to go to Astros games all the time, watch Craig Bigio and and Jeff Bagwell and and and you know, you walk in there in the brightness of the turf like immediately illuminates your eyes and then you just smell that old crusty beer in the seats, and it's like you're like, this was this is what sports is supposed to smell. Like, yeah, you know what I'm saying.

So you hit the trifecta. That's so cool. Uh, what's like growing up in Texas?

You know, it's all about football. You know, my dad's a high school football coach in Texas. I actually played against him in the district.

And so you went do a different high school than your dad's high school. Yeah, that he coached, and you guys played them again. We played against each other. They were in our district. There are another really good, really good team in our district. How does that go down?

It's cool, man. And we had a he was the defensive coordinator. Obviously I played receiver. So a game one, Yeah, no, we we He beat us my sophomore year, then we beat them my junior and senior year, but he was out on the numbers calling out the plays. They're going They're doing this, they're doing that. He's been watching our offense, you know, as I came through the ranks and my brother came through the ranks, so he knew every play that we were about to call.

Why didn't you guys go to his high school because we.

Lived I lived in my brother and I grew up in the Woodlands. All our friends were there in the Woodlands. That's where our house was. He traveled like fifteen minutes south at the time to Westfield High School and.

They were good. Man.

We went to the state finals and my senior year and then the next year his team went to the state finals. We both ended up losing that game, but really good teams. So as the talent was there.

Now, how's the dinner table after your dad?

Each year?

It was it was it was quiet man, you know. You know he humed me early and and and got us. He had to get some good players and then and then we we got on my my junior and senior year. There's I have one great memory though, Uh we had a we had an interception that their dB ran down their sideline. I go to tackle them. I get blindsided, blown up and into the into the sideline. My dad catches me and then throws me back on the field and I go back and I'm starting to run this,

It was.

It was awesome, man, great, great memory?

How bad did you want to beat him?

You know, I was begging him to put you know, guys on me that I want. I knew I could toast. I'm like, give me, give me, Bobby, give me, freaking give me. You know whoever, Billy, I don't care.

I want.

I want to toast all of them. And then you know, he put their best player. I think I forget his name, but he ended up going to play in college, and we had a battle.

Man.

They were they had some some really good, uh really good teams.

So who were some good like some big name high schoolers in Texas around the time you played that played in the league.

Remember I grew up watching Colt McCoy play. Colt McCoy played in the played in the NFL for a long time. Chris Oban I, I played in the NFL for a long time, running back against Texas, played out, played for the I played with him in the Rams. He played in Cleveland

So wait up, you grew up in Texas, you go to Texas Tech? Did you want to go to UT?

I wanted to go initially wanted to go to but I remember my dad came home when I was a sophomore. I started getting recruited and my dad said, you know, my dad had all this inside information because he was a high school football coach in the state. He knew all the recruiters, He knew all the coaches, and they would tell him like, hey, we're not going to offer you, Danny, will you know?

And then something.

So he came in and I wanted to go to A and M because he had Dante Hall went to A and M. My dad coach Dante in high school. I grew up watching A and M going to going to aggieland College station to watch them play huge Aggie fan. Wanted to go there, and my dad came home one day He's like, listen, A and M told me they're not going to offer your scholarship.

I'm too small.

And they had already delegated certain amount of scholarships out to their guys all day and they had commits.

So I was I wasn't going to touch at the field there. But he came home one night and he said, Texas Tech's going to offer you. And I knew their offense Cliff Kingsbury, Wes Welker, guys that you know. Wes was catching thirteen fifteen balls a game and you know similar, you know, size and stature. I'm like, hey, I can do that. Let's let's let's go. So offered me as a as a sophomore. I committed as a junior, and I committed to Tech before I even took a visit.

And in this day and age, say like, somehow Danny A. Mondola is playing right now at Texas Tech balls out his freshman year. Is he graduating a Texas Tech guy? Or is he going to get nil somewhere else? At A and M or ut They say, hey, here's the real money kid. Yeah, you know how those minor leagues in Texas Tech because I went to I went to a two A school, right, right, So you went to a triple A school, right?

Yeah?

I went to a two A school Kent State. But you know we put up we put up some powerhouses up there. So right, would you finish that Texas Tech?

I mean, I'm loyal to Tech. I can't imagine going anywhere else. You know, I came from nothing, though money wise, it's enticing when you got two million dollars on the table, three million dollars on the table. The decisions these kids have to make, Thank god I didn't have. I don't have to make them. So but Texas Tech is my home, you know, I all my you know, great friends went there, A bunch of great coaches came through, and I'm loyal to the Red and Black.

So your dad coached Dante Hall.

He enjoys it.

The human joystick has one of the most elite punt returns, probably the most elite punt return that we all could just remember. Yeah, how was he in high school?

Dude?

He was crazy. He played running back actually, and they tried to get him the ball in every play. And you know, I remember I was a ball boy when he was at Nimitts High School and he was a senior there and just getting to watch him go through Texas A and M played running back there. They tried to get him the ball in every play, you know, and then he punt return, kick return in college as well. So you know, dynamic player. You know, he's great hands,

Oh there you go.

Shout out, shoutout, shout out.

Hasborough in one sentence, can you describe football in Texas one sentence?

One sentence?

That education, let's see it.

Yeah, the town stops and the people go crazy.

Paint picture Friday night at the Woodlands, rival town homecoming, rival teams there. Paint us the picture of what the city and that your high school experience was.

Because I went to California.

Yeah, a bunch of hippies out here and stuff like, our football is really good, but we had thirty thousand people coming to at least my school. There's some yeah that float around, but I want to hear the Texas Woodlands two, A, five, A whatever, freaking a you guys are yeah.

I mean, first off, they put so much work in the off season and into seven on seven and into you know, off season football, and then they get into the season and then you the city shuts down, The town completely stops everybody to come.

No, I don't.

I have a funny story I'll share with you after this, but we uh, you know, it's it's it's all about the pride of the of the city that you're from and and representing that, you know in the best way possible, and there's no better way to do that than than football. And on a Friday night. Then what's that funny story you had? So I was so just to give you, like a little uh rundown on on on how popular you know sports in general, but in football is in

Buddy get out.

So he didn't sell it. Did something?

Yeah, darn it. It wasn't that popular. I know, it's not like we're daisy confused. Where the guy looks the other way, He's like, right, go have fun, right, but just so sick.

So we had to find a new way that rocks.

Does your mom go to your game or your dad's games? Oh?

Mine?

Yeah, Mamadola represents Now. How when you sign up Texas Tech? You said, Wes Wolker went there, and you guys had the same body type. How big of a legend was Wes Welker at Tech?

He at the time he had I came in a year after him. He had set the NCAA punt return for touchdowns. I think he had eleven or twelve at the time, and they every time he'd get back to return to punt, the whole stands would chant west West, and then he'd get the ball and go crazy. Caught like him and Cliff Kingsbury, you know, I mean hooked up for I mean tens hundreds almost, I mean as many touchdowns as you can think of. Yeah, I remember

We've called him Oh yeah, hammered foh yeah, four in the morning and Mike Leach will sit and talk to us for three hours.

Oh yeah.

That's the thing about like he.

Would be in a time zone where it's yeah, you shouldn't be up. I can't get enough Mike Leach talk man, Mike leachs tell us a good Mike Leach story man.

Mike is Mike was one of the toughest coaches. He actually got a lot of his philosophies and ideas from Bill. He loved the Patriots, he loved what he loved what they were doing out there, and he won one. This is this is Bill, you know, in a nutshell. He didn't think we were tough at the time. So we uh, this was in season, bro. Like we had to start practice.

He was a great, great person for this sport. Yeah, now he's had some crazy shit happen, but there's also crazy shit with everyone. Yeah, but he gave. He gave so much more than no question, a lot of people. Man, he was a fun guy and his offense is always used to light it up.

Remember he went to where do you go to? Hawaii? Was he in Hawaii for a while with Washington he was in Uh, he was he was in It was at Oklahoma, Kentucky, uh, Texas Tech. Then he went to Washington State. He and then he went he went to miss Mississippi State. But I'm thinking of June Jones. June Jones, but also and then but they yeah, same same offense, same style of offense. I mean, you know, the hard part. The hard part about that offense is there's no for

Stay up if you don't have a you know, that four minute offense that we learn situationally in the NFL. Yeah, I need I need Kurt to learn situation situationally for our FIFA club's team because he.

Always has us an attack.

It's like four minutes, we're up to two goals, brout fucking defend, Yeah, because we give up these counter attacks and then we end up losing these games. Right, So it's the same fucking thing. We're the Texas Tech of FIFA.

Just keep it going.

That is interesting about the air raid.

I've never really thought about that as like missing a four minute offense clock.

Did you ever watch a movie or showed Friday night lights Peter Burg? Of course, of course, is it kind of like that. It's it's like that.

That's so Friday Night Lights is based out in Midland Odessa and and it's a that's a small, small town vibe. And that's really where you see the essence of high school football in Texas come come alive. Uh the city literally the I mean, I'm the stoplights quit blinking, stoplights, quit blinking bill boards in front of house, billboards in front of house statues on the highway. There's there's one stop light in the town. And and you know, the whole town really comes together for those games.

It's great. And the bigger.

Cities, the you know, the high school games are are bigger. But at the end of the day, you know, I mean in Houston, you know, we got other shit going on too.

Do you know that Ernie Adams is responsible for Friday Night Lights being in Texas?

Really?

Tell me?

Tell me how well?

The author of the book, Buzz Bissinger. Bissinger originally wanted to go where Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania he went to andover with Ernie and Bill, I think, and he wanted to write it about Pittsburgh football. And Ernie's like Texas they breathed football.

Yeah, shout out Ernie.

So Ernie is the reason why.

Pink lights, pink stripes at it again, Pink stripes at it again.

Who like the big time programs in Texas high school football and like oh Odessa hates this team?

Or because you know, in California we have Daylya, sou Long Beach, Paul Leaks, Christian and all those things, you know what I mean, one of the big boys out Saint Francis and nor Cow.

Yeah.

So in Texas, the biggest thing to learn is that there's no the private schools don't compete at the highest level.

It's all public schools. So there's no recruiting. You know, you can't you can't pay players to come there. You know you can, or at least you can't make it too obvious. So that's the biggest thing to get kids are being paid.

In Texas in high school to go to high schools or just scholarships.

I mean yeah, under the table.

There's there's things that have happened that that gotten you know, people into the into the schools. Used to pay this guy, Coop Leonard, like four hundred bucks a semester so he if he got grades, yeah, just because and my dad used to drive him home every once in a while because there is the late us to e p a. Yeah, and he said he had to go, he'd have to take it to to go work. And when I was like, all right, I'll give you four inner bucks, you keep

Yeah, there's I mean, there's a lot of big rivalries there. You know, the big schools. I would say, you know, Westlake has Westlake and Austin has won three state titles in the past six years, and that's big school.

Uh.

You know.

Then you have Houston schools, like you know, the Woodlands is good. We got you know, North Shore. Galina Park is one of the best. They're always in the in the playoffs late.

And what's the Dallas school.

Dallas School's Duncanville. They got De Soto, they got a bunch of them. Tyler Lee is really good. But you know, big cities usually it's rare to see. It's rare to see a two like one city final. So usually it's like a Houston team and a Dallas team, or like a San Antonio team and a Dallas team. Uh uh So it's rare to see in an all city final,

To which area is the best football Houston?

No question? Easy, easy, I mean I'll always rep Houston. I mean we can look at the numbers and the I mean Houston or Dallas is clearly you know, it's clearly on top. San Antonio is in there, Austin has been producing, has one or two teams that that can really play usually the usually you see west Lake in the in there as well. So it's pretty much it.

So talk us through the food scene in Texas. Is it a barbecue place?

Yeah?

What's up with this? What a burger? What explain that? All right?

Yeah, I mean it's a barbecue state.

What kind of barbecue you know? Beef ribs, briskets, slow cooked all night? I mean, uh, you're we I sasce it up? So I it up?

Now?

Your top two favorite barbecue spots in Texas? Terry Blacks, Terry Blacks, where's that?

Austin, Texas?

The best?

The best beef rib you can you can think of. It's fire good sides are awesome too. They're cooking all night, dude, all night, all night. Franklin's Barbecue, Austin, Texas. Yeah, what about.

Is the Is the barbecue different in the cities in Houston?

I don't.

I don't know too many good barbecue joints in Houston, mostly chains like Luther's and and Rudy's. I know that I know more of the local spots in Austin because that's where I live. But sauce it up, cook it up? Now? What a burger? What do you like?

A good thing?

No?

I mean the good thing about Waterburger is they have an open menu twenty four to seven. You can get a taketo at three in the clock in the morning. They're open, you know, around the clock, so you can roll up. That's the best thing about what with your go to order? It depends what time it is?

All right?

The burgers are Firejlapano's put a little bacon on. That is is good. And then the taketos all night are are clutch. I think you don't you like that butter buttered chicken biscuit?

Ooh the honey butter.

You never never hadger? You ever had one, never had whataburger at all?

Yeah, the honey buttered chicken biscuit is hard, but it's like, you know, fifteen hundred calories worth it worth worth it?

Is it better than in and out in your mind?

No?

Okay, No, just had to at least you had to confirm. What's the best thing about growing up in Texas?

Mmmm? Just I mean for me, you know, sports tradition, h you know, play AAU baseball one hundred and fifteen games a year, Switch it over to football, play seven on seven state championship, A bunch of great athletes, uh, compete in and against really good football players. The basketball is great, they're obviously track bunch of track stars coming out of there. You know.

It's just just the overall uh you.

Know, or of of of sports there.

It's you know, it's it just gives everybody an opportunity to come together and and in showcase what they can do.

Can the best Texas high school football team beat a Division one shitty program?

I don't. I just I just think in terms of size, I mean, they're gonna be undersized at the at at on lock on the defensive offensive line. I think the skill players could compete. Yeah, yeah, I think the skill players could compete. Uh, it would would, Yeah, it would depend on that.

That's where That's what when people used to say back when I was like a kid, the Niners were really bad. For while they're really bad and they're like us, it's when USC was really good and they're like you. He could probably be the Niners on that wagon. Until I played in the NFL. Is like, yeah, no, shot, right, I know, fucking shot, I know, you know what I mean.

I know. It's just it's the lines.

Yeah, they're gonna be able to run the ball all day and stop the run. And then I mean again, there would be it'd be competition, I think.

I think, yeah, I don't think it will be a blowout, but I think, I mean, the skill position as long as your quarterback in the line are good at the high school level, like you can compete. But other than that, they was just handing the ball off and run all day.

Now, you grew up in Houston. Are you a Dallas Cowboys fan or a Houston Oilers fan?

So I grew up a Houston Oilers fan. They moved to Nashville to become the Titans. That they moved the Texans in I wasn't on the Texans bandwagon. I that's when I started rooting for the Cowboys when they were winning. They just got Dion, uh you know, and then I was probably ten. So you're right in the that was good, oh man, Yeah, they were. They were rocking up in Dallas and it would It was exciting to watch them play good.

Now, take us through this Texas guy football loves Texas because there's nothing but one hundred and fifteen baseball games in the summer. To football state.

To a guy that.

Goes on Dancing with the Stars, explain that transformation.

Shout out has Bro transformer. Unbelievable experience. Honestly, had a great partner, you know she. It was four or five hours a day of dedicated work, something new, something fresh. The footwork translated for me because all the footwork drills we do, so I could pick up that the hardest part was holding frame and then knowing what to do with the rest of your body and kind of the little nuances of dance.

But great experience.

Man, It really related to me in the football sense of and you can relate to this too. It was a week of preparation for a minute of of live you gotta you know, you're competing with just a minute. It's two minutes a dance. Maybe it seems like forever. Probably, I mean you're thinking every every centimeter through that through that dance. But it was very similar in that way. You know, you had to I knew where I was when it was a Thursday, I knew where I was.

Actually, take us through that last run, the final Yeah, the final man, you know, at at that point, honestly, like, were you at that point, were you like kind of dialed where it was starting to become easier and easier it was you were picking it up because how many weeks?

Ten weeks and.

Five hours, four dimes a week, seven days, seven days a week. So take through that last Like, by then, are you like all right now? Were you feeling a little swazy on you You're feeling like I was feeling a little baby in a corner.

Get her out.

Let's go fucking hit this routine right now. Let's go rip it because your your facial expressions got better. I was scared to transform from that. I was scared of death. At the beginning, you look like a robot. And then I started seeing some theatrics from you.

So you music music?

Did my dad tell you that musicality? Musicality? And he goes, his musicality has gotten really good. My mom and dad would watch him in Vote a million times every fucking night, like they'd set alarms. I was at the house, yeah, I mean, and I went. We went and watched it, but I didn't get to always watch it. I'd watch the cut ups where I'd watch the you know, I'd watch the dance. Yeah, and my parents my parents house, all of a sudden, fucking alarm goes. I'm like, what

Oh my god.

Yeah.

She showed love, she showed how experience. So, I mean, it was so cool to watch you.

It was great.

I think the best part about it was I got to maximize every dance, the whole opportunity. I got to be in there to the final and and just learn so much. I became, you know, so much more comfortable in front of a live audience. And and you know, at the end of the day, I was competing with myself the day before, and I just wanted to get better than what I was, you know, doing the day before. And then whatever happened on dance night with what happened.

Man, you got to do it's got to go do it now. Out of all of our teammates that we've played with together, because it'll be more fun, who do you think could go out there and win it?

Oh? I mean, shoot, Gronk would bring so much energy to the to the stage. He brings a lot of energy.

Did he perform very well on the Masked Singer? But he would.

I mean you can just kind of dial his skills in and hone in and and and get his big ass feet.

Matthew Slater says he thinks he could be a dancer. I remember he always used to say it's just choreography.

Baby, right right, Slate, he thinks Slay can get out there with you know, just his dedication alone.

We already know what what kind of guy he is in terms of when he has a task in front of him, I think he'd actually kill it.

Yeah, he would kill it. I think we got to.

Get Matthew Slater to do dancing with the stars.

Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.

Cap he's gonna be a fucking Hall of Famer as a special teamer.

Yeah, let's get him out there.

Man, Let's see what I think looks like quick.

Yeah, he would be great. He'd have to get his freaking you know, chest outs button. You know, he had to learn the frame. Football players aren't built for that ship.

Bro.

No, because we're supposed to be our fight or flight is hunched over. You know when when when bullets start flying, we're trying to get we gotta you gotta really kind of stay back, you know what I'm saying.

And boxing, yeah exactly, you're leaning forward always to try to eat space. Yeah, football exactly, you got to keep space and dancing.

Yeah, are you ready for it?

Knees and the workmen's comp case, can't do it. Who's the best friend you made on the show? Was it clearly your partner? But man, great Whitney. Whitney was all time, you know, a friend for life.

Alona mar Is somebody I really kind of, uh, you know, an amazing rugby player. Loved her. She's out, she's out in Europe right now playing rugby. Shout out Alona. She We had a lot, you know, we were very relatable obviously in terms of trying to hone in our strength on the dance floor. And it's tough as an athlete, uh of competitive sports, because you know you're you're trying to fight just as much as you are trying to move, So it's it's it was hard, but you know, she

I'm out.

But great, great person, great, great, great woman to get to She killed it.

Yeah, she was awesome. No, that was so fun to watch.

I mean, Danny invited Lily and I we went and watched him, and Lily was enamored by Alona. Yeah, like she's like, she's like, man, she's really good. She's she's pro.

Yeah.

It was a fun experience. I felt like we were all involved a little just through you being involved, because we were all on the text chains. Yep, did you guys see Dola's fucking viral dance thing that you do that there's a movement, bro.

How did that come come to be? That viral leglift?

Then she she came up with all the choreography. We had a we had a really cool lift to end that dance that we thought was gonna be like a show stopper. This one was really easy for her. It's hard to do if you're not a pro. But uh, you know, as you as you can see on TikTok. But she she she makes everything look so easy, and and we actually we we we practiced that early in the week and then we didn't we stop practicing because

Being a reality TV veteran star, what's the difference between Dancing with the Stars Special Forces in Hard Knocks? I mean, you've been on three. Yeah, some would.

Say that's well, I didn't win any of them, so but no, but you did good, you did good, you did good.

Yeah.

I competed my ass off on all of them.

I took away a lot from from each. You know, Opportunity dancing was a little less strenuous on the body and more and the most enjoyable. The Special Forces thing was was crazy, absolutely crazy, And then everybody saw Hard Knocks when I got cut on national television. So but I I plan on doing uh some dancing in the future. Uh My football and Special Forces days are completely over.

And may you know I want to I want to get on. I watched Food Network all day. I think the Great British Bakeoff. So I'm gonna have to get a couple of pointers for reality TV from you.

That's perfect, that's perfect.

Absolutely, Just be yourself, bro, when people are gonna love you cussing so much. I do live tea TV for a living as well. Right, right, right, So there's there's modes, right right right, there's modes. There's podcast mode, and there's TV.

Mode, TV mode. You got to be in TV mode.

Now transform into many modes, a lot of modes and a lot of rules. And speaking of rules, you see Rabel's four rules that he gave to the patriots. No hoods, no hoods, snow cell phones, snow phones, be on time, be nice to the uh, be nice to the everybody in the buildings.

And what was the fourth one? Don't be late?

Don't be late. Call yeah, don't be late. You know what time it starts.

I mean, those are like the same rules for everyone.

If you're going to be late, it seems like you're still gonna get in case, right, Yeah, if you're gonna be late, you got a call.

Communicating you're gonna get fine community.

Now no phone in the weight room.

About the OX situation, Well, they said you could put it on the OX area to leave.

Your cell phones right at the area.

Yeah.

I love what he's doing out there, man. You know, obviously I love draw great teammate and coach. You know, Rabes is an established coach in the league. You know, he's been there for a long time and and he brings he brings a lot of great qualities to the organization. I'm excited what he's gonna do.

I'm super excited too. But you know, it's it is a weird situation for us because we both played with Mayo. We played we both played with Mayo, and we both are really friendly with Rabes, Like we have relationships with him. And you feel terrible for Drad who only had one year and they didn't pay anyone and they didn't bring anyone of the team, right, you know, and now, but like also Mike Rabel brought Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans to the playoffs. Is a number one seat Ryan Tannehill.

Yeah, well, I think I think you know of in the case of him bringing Ryan Tannehill over. You know, I played with Ryan and he's a great football player, great football player.

You know what I'm saying.

And I think I think Rabes saw that in him, and a lot like your situation. You're a great football player, you can do a lot of different things, and I think Rabes knows and understands if you're a great football player, then you're gonna give our chance, our team a good

Now, I'm not killing on Tannehill, right, but I'm saying we have a huge sample size of work of what he's done. You know, we played, I played, We played against him a boatload when he was in Miami, you know, to go to Tennessee and re resurrect his career and really be one of the first guys that had this didn't really make it as a first round or go to somewhere else and kind of flourish in this generation. I think Rabel's gonna be great for the Patriots. I

Also got the Giants this year, the Raiders, the Panthers, Browns.

They wait, wait, so what divisions do they have?

They have the South.

NFC South, a f C wes no, no, no, so what what ah Ravens bills be.

So Ravens built.

So they have the South for a FC South because they got the Browns and the Ravens. And then what's the other division? What are the other teams? Bucksts, South Giants, So you have both the Souths. Yeah, so you're getting I mean, the Bucks are going to be good on those Panthers. They they just had a sneaky foundational year. It wasn't like a good year, but it's a foundational year where they they were a dangerous team and Bryce Young is starting to look good. Who else you got

Though, I just didn't like that move.

So they're playing the AFC North, the North and the South, Yeah, and then NFC South and then they got the Raiders as the like seventeenth game.

Well because their last pick or wherever they finished in the vision, they play those other two.

Yeah, they're three, and then this is the new seventeenth game, Raiders, Josh McDaniels, Revenge Game Josh McDaniels.

So no more coaching Raiders, no more coaching for now, for now, for now, you know, it's it. It was a great experience and I got to see the you know, the sport from a different side. What'd you learn?

I mean, it's it's cutthroat in there.

I mean in terms of evaluating players and and and and really just looking at every hole and everybody's uh game. Like you try to uh do the most you can as a coach, but at the end of the day, it's all it all comes down to being a player. I loved coaching, you know, it took up a lot of time. Uh and and and as a as a as a job, it's a little unstable in terms of unless you have the continuity of you know, the head coach being there for a number of years. It's a

What are you gonna do about the Instagram?

Though, I know I'm gonna have to get uh get no more games to get some game day shot. Just we should do a danny An Doola page dedicated to just tunnel shots and we move you each week to a different tunnel and you take the tunnel shot like this.

That's a good idea.

Flat Stanley, Damn Daniel, remember that whole guy. We just do a Damn Daniel every time doing a tunnel walk in like somewhere like he's playing, but he's really coaching, but he's not even doing both.

A lot of stadiums and a lot of high school studiums.

You can true. We have so many good high school connection or content. Yeah, we can get it done. We'll start a high school Football in Texas podcast.

Right, all right, all right, right, alright, alright you guys ever crossed baths down in Austin.

I see him at the chib every once in a while. What's the GV that's like the grocery store. Oh it's the best grocery store in the world, just because it's in Texas. Big to you respect atb shout out Rogan. Rogan and McConaughey live in my neighborhood. It's all I see him at the grocery store. It's you know the mother Ship Ben. Yeah, that last night on Netflix.

That's great.

You guys give us a little high sign.

Or move and I don't want to buy him.

I like it.

Yeah, he saw me, that's right.

Yeah.

Since this episode is sponsored by Transformers, let's do some transform Former alt mode word association.

Alt mode is when you are in your non robot form. So these guys are robots that can transform into helmets. Helmet would be their alt mode. Just think of sound wave of another old Transformer boom boom box, laser beak, electric guitar, Optimus Prime, big old semi truck.

So we're gonna have a little fun here.

Featured in this in this series are the Kansas City Chiefs, the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Pittsburgh Steelers all featured. So we thought it would be fun to do a little word association for alt mode of some stars of each of those teams. All right, so what would they be in their non robot form? What would be their equivalent to the would.

Jordan Love be in his non robot form?

Ooh, he would be you know, he's smooth, he's you know, he's crafty. He would be like a Hummers Stretch limo with the hot tub in the back, with the hot tub in the back.

So you stricked out from West Coast custom Love gives you Hummer Stretch limo, hot tub in the backfire.

I was taking like a like an apple.

Fruit apple. What about like a block of cheese, Yeah, a block of cheese or a broughtwurst. I like, do you go with the Hummer Stretch the electric version? Oh yeah, yeah, it's smoothe there. If you remember what about ceed lamb? Oh he's quick man, he's it doesn't like car, Yeah, you like cars, fruit, cheesy lamb, ceedy lamb. Play off the lamb a little bit, thinking like a like a fighter jet or something. Yeah, fast F thirty five, Yeah, the new F thirty five. Yeah, thirty five one. Yeah,

That was a great experience. We met every one of them, every one of them. Awesome. Got to hang out with them.

Yeah, cap so yeah, I would say, I mean he is like an F thirty five stealth. We don't know the patents behind it because it's it's not legal.

Right, two hundred million, three hundred million dollars place each and.

He's like that, he's worth like four hundred million now with his contract.

I literally get an F thirty five if he wants taxes.

But you're in Texas, Texas, Texas.

Yeah, he's still got thirteen percent of federal h if ab can roll up turbo tax over there with my tax refund. I got three all right, ceedee lamb F thirty five. What about Travis Kelcey, what do you think, Jack Trent?

You remember twisted Metal? Yes, the ice cream that's Tryna twisted metal ice cream truck.

But he kind of blinged out, yeah the ice cream trucks exhibitedly.

Yeah, yes, got sweet weapons.

It's got sweet weapons, but it also has like.

TV sweet rimswit that was.

He always wears cool shoes and he's got a cool fashion. So this thing is gonna have like maybe some spray paint on it and ship.

Yeah.

I like that, all right. Last one.

To the new Pittsburgh Steeler DK Medcalf dk medcalf tricks.

I think I mean he's big, he's strong, he's fast as hell. I think a monster truck. I'm thinking Grave Digger.

Grave Digger.

I liked it.

That's a sick monster truck too. Yeah the old Bourbon, right was it an old bourbon? Yeah?

Bigfoot?

Bigfoot was just a Bronco or a that was That was just a truck.

Brave Digger.

So we got dk Medcalf is a digger. We got Ceedee Lamb is an F thirty five. We got Jordan love As a stretch stretch limo with hot tub in the back. And Travis Kelsey is the Metal Gears Twisted twist, twisted metal ice ice cream truck with some sick rims and awesome weapons.

Yeah, that was good.

You can rent Jordan.

Is available.

He's available for prom The Transformers NFL converting helmet by Hasbro are available for pre order today at Amazon's Transformer Store fans. Amazon's vast selection includes a dedicated Transformers store available at Amazon dot com slash Transformers. The store features over one hundred Transformers products, including Amazon exclusives and great value with special deals. You'll also find the hottest new items. Was inspired by the NFL. Prime members enjoy fast free

Yeah.

And then Sam Bradford, who you played with shot won the.

Great Player play with him, the Rams Offensive Rookie of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year. Absolutely spin it. He could spin it off, yeah, he could, absolutely, just can never stay healthy. He had three a c ls and I remember that he got hurt in the championship game. Yeah, where he still went one. Yeah, tough player and great dude American sleep. I always loved that about him. Yeah, he had a little like anytime a pro. It's like

Yeah, legend.

And he was like the last guy to get paid paid off the rookie Yeah, crazy contract.

Oh he was last one.

Yeah right, yeah, he was the last one to get the non slated rookie contract. There it is well said all like it was what sixty million guarantees?

Yeah, yeah, I did.

What was Danny am Mondola like in two thousand and eight?

In two thousand and eight, Oh, a wild man on and off the field. But I've grown up since then. Yeah, we've grown up since then. But we're not that young.

We're not that young. What was the playlist in two thousand and eight?

Pre game?

Oh, so you're the biggest game of your life to play professional football?

This is your Do you have some wires and.

I had the wires.

I probably had an MP three player at the time. I don't even know. I mean probably Skrillicks or something heavy dumb. You you were a Skrillicks kid back in the day bangering, Yeah, you gets your juices flowing?

Just did you have it like an Ed Hardy T shirt?

On?

No Ed Hardy, No had Hardy but questionable music taste for sure.

Everyone liked scrillicks a little bit. Then right, oh, yeah, he goes Man and then he changed. He had a complete identity change to a DJ, didn't.

He or was that someone else he transformed? He transformed? Wow, I've always known him as a DJ, but uh, good dj too. Didn't he do something else? Did he change?

Though?

It didn't go dumpster? And then he went to regular by the way, step Brothers.

Night all in the same month, man, Yeah, box Office was popping, passed away.

Legend.

Bro.

Who's some of your favorite comics right now?

Oh?

Schultz, Schultz is new. Uh he's funny. It was so good it had me rolling on the ground the other night. Yeah, Andrew Schultz, Man, he's fucking hilarious. He killed the throws too, Yeah, good dude.

A lot of all those every comic I don't know if my algo is messed up, but I see all the ones out from the roast. Yeah, they're all like killing it, right, killing it. They're all doing it was so fun and honored to get to go hang out with those people. Yeah, crazy Tony. Tony is good too, He's he's an awesome native. Yeah, Tony's great. He's so funny. He had I saw him at the super Bowl and he's crazy.

Yeah.

What he says in front of the people, he said, he doesn't turn it off. He doesn't turn it all.

I know he doesn't turn on. We shared a we shared a fight back from the super Bowl and we were hungover and miserable, and uh, he's fucking hilarious.

Man.

What's what's the best Texas movie of all time? Days and confused? Name lights? Everybody wants some hell or high water Hell or high water count.

Out there now?

So good, so good, Billy Bob just God doesn't miss you know, he don't miss. Taylor Sheridan, don't miss, don't miss.

He doesn't miss.

John Madden also broadcasts at his last game this year, that super Bowl.

Steelers Cardinals. All right, Jackue Liss, jump into this preseason freaking farm burn freak do.

This quick, let's do it.

Maybe these Texans will start off with these Houston Texans eight and eight. When the second year of the Matt schaub Era, Gary Koobiak, you got a twenty nine year old Kyle Shanahan running the offense. Wodness twenty nine, my goodness. And uh also we alluded to this earlier. Just their seventh season in existence. We started out a little slower to four this year, and this was a pivotal year. Their first ever appearance on Monday Night Football. That's big,

You've ever Bill used to come? He went to the Buffalo Bills.

Yeah?

What did Bill used to call him in the team meeting? All right, you gotta be watch out for Big M. Didn't he call him like big M or something?

Super Mario?

He called a watch out for Big M. This guy like he had like a nickname out of everyone in the world. Mario Williams had a fucking nickname. Bill Belichick. Yeah, I never heard him call anything, but he called him big M or something. So I want to I want to find out remember that though, Yeah, big big M. He he would wear the M in the super Bowl or a Superman and maybe that's.

What it was.

Now, this guy's a fucking problem. He's he was huge, bro, he was big.

Also just from this team, Jamika Ryans was an active player on this.

And another future head coach man a good lot of a lot of brain power down there. Uh this, let's get into these Cowboys here, a nine and seven Cowboys team. You had Wade Phillips leading the way. Jason Garrett before he was head coach, he was Ocia. This team just a second year Underwade Phillips. And we mentioned it earlier Texas Stadium's last season crazy Man from seventy one to eight, coming off a thirteen and three season which ended in disappointment.

Forgot about that?

Remember that this was Ja simp on a boat. Yeah, Cabo Cabo man flum snap No, that was different year. This was the Giants didn't even get to flub snap six.

Yeah.

Yeah, so that's before this, so he's not even taking it that serious.

After that, bad bro Tony romo.

Let's go bad bro.

I remember, I only this was like the season for guys to take fucking first round by trips because remember Odell did it a few years later. Yes, dude, Hey, I remember Bill always fucking referencing these things like, look, we're not gonna be going to fucking Cabo this weekend. It's a fucking business week. Get your health right, you know what I mean, get your mind away from the game.

But we don't need to.

And then we had the whole HYPERB thing. We had to have a hyperb. Anytime you went on a boat is hyper It's like a fucking GPS thing. You remember that he talked, he gave us after the four NFL dudes that got oh yeah, in the they got stranded on a boat and like two of them died, right, A couple died I think ye. So we had like a forty five minute presentation about hyperbs and God rest their soul. That was terrible. But every time I go in a boat now I talk do we this thing got hyperb.

Okay, water safety is no joke, man, safety is no joke, and we'd be REMISSI we didn't mention. The scene was featured on Hard Knocks. Had some notable offseason moves. Brought in Martellis Bennett, who was a rookie this year, traded for pac Man. Yea, uh, Terry Glenn was cutting camp with some knee issues. So that's kind of an old school patriot guy there.

R I P.

And this was a team with some Hall of famers man t O DeMarcus where Zach Thomas Texas Tech.

What a beast bro.

I was watching this the young Marty b Young Marty B. Who who'd you hang out with on this team?

Pac Man? Give us pac Man's my guy, dude.

He we were.

Me and pac went to t O's birthday party one year and we had an absolute blast.

I love pac Man.

He's one of the most authentic souls and and coolest motherfuckers I've ever met.

We hung out, We hung out. Our lockers were right next to each other, so we shared a lot of stories together.

Man, it was great. Did you ever make it rain with pac Man?

I never made it rain with him yet, but we will probably make it happen soon, like a late drizzle, a light drizzle. I was out there throwing quarters.

That's a heavy rain.

That's a hale. I made it hal with Patman. He's throwing hundreds. I'm throwing quarters now. I watched this the Hard Knocks. Yeah, Jerry brought you in. Yeah? How was that all experience you? You were very courteous. You put that you were sweaty and sweating bullets a nice towe down on his couch.

Yeah, just to get cut man. No, it was I mean Hard Knocks does a great job. You don't ever really notice them and Camp obviously you'll have like a couple Master interviews once a week they'll bring in there, but it's it's on you know, football time, where it's like it kind of blends in really nicely. They don't They don't get in the way at all. They do a great job. I think I love watching Hard Knocks. What's Jerry Jones like? He was cool?

Man.

I didn't really talk to him other than when he cut me, and I didn't say anything, but yes, sir, uh. So, you know, I mean, he runs one of the biggest organizations in the world, and you know he's he's searching for some more Super Bowl.

So did you ever smell the egg beig muffins being delivered to his office?

No?

Uh uh, I didn't. I tried not to go up there. I tried to stay out the way and and not be up there. Obviously, you see what happens when you're in his office usually it's not good.

Who was the coach that you you hung around? Did you have a coach that like talcked you off the ledge. You're a rookie trying to make the Dallas Cowboys when they're you know, they were still they were the doubt they're the Dallas Cowboys, right, your Texas kid? Who was the guy that so?

I mean, I was on practice squad so Wes Phillips Waits Wade's son ran the practice squad team. You know, I was going up against Pac Man and Terence Newman, you know, and and Roy Williams every single day, and and and trying to compete my ass off every single day, try to make as many plays as possible, try to get better and try to make the team. Every single day.

Is this really America's team? I mean, do you guys feel it? Were they giving tours to you while you were playing? It's a big It's a big organization, man.

They you know, there's fans coming through every every every training camp is packed out, a huge fan base. You know, everybody in Texas loves him. Is it America's team?

I mean, there's nothing like winning Super Bowls for the Patriots, you know what I'm saying like that, that's that's you know, in my mind, could possibly be America's team, so to speak.

But you know it's up to America to decide. Did t O ever give you any advice? TiO is great for me. He practiced so hard. Just watching him every single day. He worked his ass off from the minute he ran out of the locker room to the practice field.

He was one hundred percent every day. He really, he really put it out there. Do you think that he learned that from Jerry I think, yeah he had to. I mean because they're both small school guys, right, and if you're around Jerry Rice, yeah you're a rookie, right, like you had to keep your standard up and then you he became obsessed with it on his own. He's got any those guys, you know you got obsessions, right, Yeah, obsessed with.

Your t O was obsessed with his craft, for sure. I could definitely see a lot of Jerry and him and kind of the pedigree that Jerry has produced. I mean, I know they played for a handful of years and San France together.

Yeah. On Jerry Rice day, fucking Teo broke the record.

Right I remember that?

Yeah?

Was that the post over the middle that he that was.

In the division or that was the Casackers? Yeah, but no on Jerry Rice's last day, yeah, because they were going they were they were going to release him or his contract. They knew he wasn't gonna play. Yeah, they had like Jerry Rice Day the game and Theobald and had twenty four catches. God blast, that's a lot of you got, Like he broke the record single season, single game catch. Yeah, and you just can like I use slap dick all the time on this show. Can you help me define it?

Slap dick? Yeah?

How I mean, how do you define it?

It's like a slappy yeah, not reaching potential, not reaching potential, slap dick.

That's perfect.

Who's the slap dick on this Cowboys team?

I don't know.

Probably me.

If you don't know who the slaptick is, you're probably.

What was your welcome to the NFL moment?

My my welcome to the NFL moment was in training camp as a as a receiver, you got to block the safeties and I remember looking down at that box safety and it being Roy Williams And it was my first day in pads and I had to go block Roy Williams and he put me on my fucking ass and I was like, damn, I better. I better get in the weight room real quick that first day. Yeah, get yours down, Bro'll be going.

You know.

I was like, he doesn't even know I'm coming, He knew I was coming. What year was it for room?

It was like fucking eight or nine defensive Yeah, defensive player of the year in college and just a baller dude. Oh my god, how was training camp in Oxnard.

It was crazy. It was before the new CBA, So we had two days and it was hot, hot. I mean, the fans were great, it was a great atmosphere. I just remember I had blisters on this on my feet that like I could barely walk like. It was a lot of work, man, Those two day practices were tough.

Yeah, I was losing.

I remember we would weigh in before practice and then we weigh out, and I remember I lost like twelve thirteen pounds a day of water weight and I and then you have another practice to get ready for. So you're just pounding liquids and trying to get ready for the next practice, and so you're losing ten pounds of practice.

Is a lot of work, especially for a low body, fat guy. Yeah, honestly, geez.

Yeah.

What was it like playing for the Dallas Cowboys as a Texas kid?

You remember you remember those as a young kid, you have those like fake helmets, the Hutch helmets.

I had.

I had a Cowboys helmet. It was my first like fake like like football toy was a Dallas Cowboys helmet. Uh that would transform into a an autobot.

Now when you signed with Dallas, how many of your friends hit you up like yo, can you get and you're like, were probably stressed out, like I'm not.

Making this team, or well, funny, funny story, dude.

I so I was getting ready for the I was I just I just, you know, finished my senior year in college. I was in My brother lived in Dallas at the time. I went from Lubbock, Texas where Texas Tech is, to Dallas to play in a flag football game. And Troy Eateman was there, and Roger Stalbauch's kid was there, and we're just at.

SMU, just throwing the ball around.

And I remember we were doing like some you know, like three on three, four on four type stuff, and I ran a post and and uh and and Troy Aightman through the through the ball.

Over my head.

I ended up having a one handed catch like a post for like a touchdown. And then Roger Stablach saw that and he was like, dude, you're coming out of college. We were going to try to you know, we're I'm gonna do my best. And then next thing, you know, the draft goes around and I don't get drafted, and then the Cowboys call and they're like we were We're aware of you, uh, and we want to sign you to our practice squad. And I'm like, perfect, let's go.

Wow, that is awesome. Star Gottla gret great man. Guy knows how to evaluate talent.

He could throw it too. Still he's also killing it in the business world. He's a billionaire.

Yeah.

Yeah, he's in real estate.

He left the NFL to go fucking serve, didn't he.

Yeah, So he was Navy and then served and then went back to the NFL.

One of the two.

Yeah, legend.

He's a badass legend. Yeah, he's a badass man. Like, yeah, that's a man. All right, Jack, let's rip through this game. You want to get through this one?

Yeah, real fast?

Okay, Yeah, I thought we'd spend a little wit go play by play, drive by drive.

Yeah, so leading starting off with the opening kickoff, we couldn't even find the box score online. We had to hit up your Jarrett from Fox and he sent us over a little thing.

Oh we dug deep, baby, Yeah, we dug deep. We will rip through this thing. This is the third game of the preseason, which in the time, I don't want to say the olden days with this meant Starters played right right the big game. Yeah, we're coming into this thing. Oh and two we mean the Cowboys Texans two and oher. This was a fourth episode of Hard Knocks. If you're charting it by HBO series progression.

You're you're tracking it by that.

Starters played pretty much the first half.

Romo and Dallas dominated the Texans starters for the most part, up twenty to ten.

At the half. Marion Barber was running wild.

You got some some big Patrick Creighton plays TD in the first Romo picked though not great.

Twenty ten and a half. Moving in to the second half, when.

The starters got pulled, we had a classic Sage Rosenfels.

Matt Shab combo comeback.

This game ends with Sage Rosenfeld going airborne over the goal line.

About getting hepter.

In there to bring it to a twenty three to twenty two game. Say hey, we're trying to win this thing, ye go for two conversion fails. Well, I always end up winning twenty three twenty two. They hold him off to take the Governor's Cup. Nick Folk, Nick Folk, Baby, Brad Johnson coming in here. David Anderson, Yeah, he had like sixty seventy catches, didn't he?

Oh yeah, old da man man beast.

Dola one catch thirty five yards. Two kick returns thirty yard, thirty yards. The door was opened when Isaiah's stand back. He's trying to make a play out there opens the second half, fumble gets injured, Dola comes in, takes over, does some some good returns, had a nice thirty five yard or down the scene.

Good win there in Dallas, good big win, big win in the forgotten game.

This is a big win. Do you remember this game? I remember a little bit of it. I remember the catch. It was a seam route. I think it was cover three. You know, I bent it in a little bit. Again, I was a rookie.

I bented in a little bit too far off off the seam and I got I took a hit, but you know, caught the ball, kept it moving. Uh, it was it was that was I think that would have been my first catch, you know, as a as an NFL player, first catch of many of many, Thank god.

What's it like for a guy being like on the edge of a roster during the preseason game, Like do you know you're going to be playing a little bit or is it like totally a yeah, you know?

You know again, we kind of touched on this earlier. The third The third game is usual when the starters played the first half and then you know, they fill in everybody else of the rest of the fourth game is really a barn stormer for the undrafted guys in the late.

Round guys, because you're gonna be playing the whole game in the rest of you know, you guys know this, but you know it's as a as a guy that's just hanging on, Like I played. I remember playing this game and then the following game, the fourth preseason game, and I was like, Okay, that's probably that could possibly be the last fotball game I ever play. And it's just kind of up to you know, the coaches, the evaluators, you know, how they feel about me as a player

Yeah.

The one thing going back to it and rewatching and going deep on hard knots, like can you break down a dichotomy for us of like vets are chilling, laughing, wearing sweatpants, and like you guys are like fighting tooth and nail, Like, what is that like on the sideline.

It's it's full, It's it's so stressful. You got to learn the playbook, you got to learn you know, the ins and outs of your position. Uh, you know, you're you're you're trying to do everything right. You know, you're trying to you know, I had to get t O's coffee every Thursday, Like I'm like trying, you know. Like it's it's just like being being a you know, being a rookie is hard.

Man.

I'm not drafted rookie even worse, you're the lowest man on the totem pole. It's like you look behind you and there's nobody else, and and it's like, you know, you're liable to you walk up in the in the locker room every single day and you're like, thank god, my name is still on this locker you know what I'm saying. So it's a very stressful it's a very stressful time.

And it was funny on Hard Knocks they showed like like you coming back to the sidelines after making that big catch, and like Tony Romer was like yelling out his pizza order to some guy like down the sideline, right.

Yeah, like what exactly? Yeah, I mean I've been on I've been on both ends. I've been on both ends of the spectrum. I really think, you know, as a as a player, that formed me though, like that, that put that put a chip on my shoulder every single day.

Do you remember, was there ever a moment you felt like you could like take a breath and not have to worry day to day about being on the actual team and focus on actually performing.

Later in my career. You know, I've when I when i've kind when I knew I established a role on the team and where I kind of stood again, you never want to get comfortable in the NFL, And I

That is when that was the first time I will yeah, like I'm not giddy cutcause when I saw that page, Oh they cutting me down. Oh that's awesome.

Jeck even quicker on this aftermath.

I can't talk about Kevin Walter's big day. He led, they had six catches man, he led whole receivers.

Shout out Kevin Walter.

Baby Danny would be cut on August thirtieth, then resigned to the practice squad.

As all you Hard Knock fans saw there in Jerry's office.

Dola would spend the two thousand and eight season on Dallas practice squad. Dallas finished nine and seven, missed the playoffs. Houston eight and eight also missed the playoffs. S I would name this season of Hard Knock's number one on their top ten seasons list. So this was Dola was the fan favorite of the most watched, fan favorite, most beloved season.

That's saying something and they did you know what after knowing you and then watching this, they got you pretty dialed of who you are. Yeah, like when even when you saw the high stressed situations meeting the owner. Danny's always been a calm, cool, collect like a yeah, thank you, sir. I just got cut like he always his his givea fox on everything to me like an outsider looking into his He has always been like fuck it, we'll.

Just move on. It's always worked and you saw that through that now he works his ass off.

I'm just saying like whenever anything happens to Danny, which you saw on Hard Knocks, like he just always has like a calm cool like yes, sir, like a calm demeanor at all at all of dust and it showed it.

Oh, that definitely did out eating eating outside with your boy, getting the call from me on whatever.

Some of the narration did you kind of dirty? Though frequently trivor there was like a like a pun he said was like time is getting short? What was it exactly? The long and short of it is is short?

Right?

It probably won't be on this too much. Jesus Christ makes his story.

You get out here and want to rip out, freaking leeb driver, run a whip route, Run a whip route.

They edited like a week over week. Could you tell because you weren't really a part of episode one and two? Did you feel that they were putting you in the story more and more and like people texting you or anything like that.

I had no idea. I watched it in real time and I would know, you know, they did. They did a couple of interviews with a handful of guys, and you never really know until it came out that week, So.

You didn't know like how you were doing, like say, you're balling out in training camp practices, and then you started getting more interviews from Yeah, you didn't get.

That a little bit, a little bit, but I mean, at the end of the day, it was under my impression that they were, you know, interviewing a lot of people, and they're you know, filtering guys in for you know, different interview roles or whatever. And but you know, when they started playing you know, you know, more footage.

Of me each week.

I you know, he kind of picks up, like people were texting me and shit, now to put a bow on this.

And score it, which I'm I'm pretty sure it's going to score terribly as it should. Did Danny Amondola when he was in Jerry Jones' office on live TV, not live TV but cut up, scripted TV whatever. This TV is did you realize that that was just the start? Oh, your reality TV career? What the back nine of that question got me.

Is the start?

You think about it?

Right, that's a great question. You go from there to him jumping.

Out of planes on fucking Soldier one and then he's doing the box trot over like my main my main.

Goal is just to do fun shit with cool people like that, and I think all of those, all those opportunities kind of fit in that box.

You know.

Obviously, living my dream as an NFL football player, uh was my first priority, and.

Reality TV game second, reality if you came second, exactly. I just wanted to get that cleared up. Let's score the game. Name of the game, Let's name the game. Danny know how the game goes. Danny does Dallas. Uh, that that could be a name. Dola does Dallas. I like Dola does Dallas more, the Hard Knocks game, Avoiding the Turk Game, the Governor's Cup game, that Don't Get Cut game.

Texas Forever game. Oh, I mean they're all good. It's either Dola does Dallas or Texas Forever. For me, I'm going Dola does Dallas. We'll be right back after this quick break. Let's score the game, brought to you by Transformers and Hasbro. The Transformers NFL converting helmets by Hasbro are available for pre order now at Amazon Transformers store.

Go check it out.

Guys.

It's amazing.

Is this greatest game of all time? Let's score it? Steaks dola of this week three, which is the highest competition level of preseason, but the stakes of this week three preseason.

Game, personally, I mean all time high for me. I can only speak for myself. I mean again, it was like live or die for me. Yeah, So I mean I give stakes for me, not for everybody else, but for me A ten.

I think that that's I think that's fair.

Ye, I think that's very fair. Yeah.

You know, as an outsider looking in the steaks.

For you, you're you're perfecting the triple option at Kent State at this time.

No, we're in the West Coast, in the spread West Coast trip was in Juco.

I'm gonna go to two. Right, this game had no significance in your life. I'm surprised it's the two.

No, boy, it still has. I know the importance of precs right seven point one. I knew what this meant for Dola in his in his life at that time.

Thank you, sir.

I went with the two point one because of integrity, right, I haven't think the.

Star power of this game.

A lot of stars in this well, A lot of stars, A lot of stars in the arena, in the arena, I mean I give that a seven.

You know, few hall of famers simps.

You meet Jessica Simpson. I never met her. I never met her. She was like the high, the high right now.

Yeah, she was killing it.

She came to our Christmas party that year and everybody was like, that's Jessica Simpsons.

What were you dressed up as at the Christmas at the Halloween party right now?

Were you like a little il or something? No, dog, I just wore you know, a crappy suit and crappy tie. I was broke as he.

Yeah, I remember those days.

Star power for me seven.

I'll go seven at a six point eighty. We're in the same ballpark.

The gameplay of a week three three preseason game, I mean, I mean this preseason good situational football at the end to get a guy to have it stop two point play to win gameplay, I give it a six.

I'll give it a six too.

Well, people don't really point three.

I did a point nine guy, Guy, Oh my god.

A situation preseasons, you.

Know, like like it's the summer and you can't wait for fucking football and training game is happening. In the first preseason game, it's like, fuck your Hall of Fame game. Football is back and you turn it on and you're like, oh, right, it's preseason. That's how I feel here. I'm still I'm still betting on it.

You bet on them Ravens in preseason, they're like undefeated, undefeated, bro, all right. Name of the game, Dola does Dallas?

Dola does Dallas? Do you know what? That's a playoff of Debbie Debbie, Oh Debbie you know the Have you seen that movie?

No?

I never seen that, heard of it. I don't know what you're talking about.

It's a fine film. What kind of film was it?

I don't know.

Check your letter box.

It's probably on VHS on your bed, not nothing. What's a VHS? You gotta score the name? Oh, Dolla does Dallas? Bro, I went wild in Dallas that year. It was a fun year. Learned a lot, learned a lot. The name I would say is.

Seven did you live with any teammates could win six point nine there, Yeah, right, that's good.

I lived with my brother dude, so I got I kind of got to skip the whole rookie n hotel kind of bust to the same so I had my own car, my own house, so I like it was streamlined for a living two hours from hometown, off the field, live in the rookie dream. I'm going to go.

I think it's a catchy name. I'm gonna go with the seven point two.

Love it very good, very strong. Oh four, I've I messed up here and scored it too early. Sorry, I went win a one point eight. But I'm you know what, I'm gonna change this six point nine because changing.

Changing you two.

I'm gonna go with an eight eight.

Yeah, here we go and we're boys.

What is it?

Where does it go?

It is six point zero seven?

Where's it go on the list of all it's so it's above.

It's right here, it's right behind the twenty fourteen NLDS game two Giants versus National is probably not awesome, and then right above the twenty nineteen Raiders versus Bears game in London. So it's it's our New eighty fourth game, the double doin game.

Nice.

No, that's the Richie incognito game we did.

Oh yeah, shout Richie, now love rich in our first preseason game we've ever done.

History, shoutout down. Yeah, Baseball playoffs, that's a. That's a.

They need to make the torpedo bat. It's legal, right, Yeah, Yeah, I want to try it.

They're good.

Yeah.

I want to hit a torpedo. I want to go hit. I bet you could do. I bet you could set up BP at the Dodgers with torpedo.

I want torpedo.

You gotta have torpedo. I want to try the torpedo.

We've got to four.

Give me a thirty three thirty torpedo.

I'd love that. You want to stick around for the chill zone?

We gotta.

We got a couple of callings for you. Yeah, let's let's rip. Let's do it. It's time for the chill Zone.

Brought to you by cores like get cors Light delivered straight to your door, Visit corslight dot com, slash gwn and celebrate responsibly.

Need a beer, Toss me one. Thank you.

Best sound in the world.

Oh this might be redundant, but let's.

There you go. My question is more so for Danny than Jewels. I guess I fell in love with Danny on Hard Knocks to the Dallas Cowboys man just being then undersized work horse. What are some of the things you loved from all the different facilities and teams you were on versus just being on one team and being the same facility forever.

Thanks, good question. Who is the best facilities?

All of them?

And they they're all relatively the same. They have, you know, the weight room, they have all the best. Every team has top of the line equipment, you know what I'm saying, And you know, get them a sus, get a couple of trainers, and then you know you're good to go. So, I mean, all the team's facilities are pretty good.

Who had the longest halways?

Oh shit, that's a good question.

We were watching that Hard Knock like man, all these hallways are so long that you have to walk in football facilities and there's so it's a dark place when you're young players. There's no windows, no windows.

I just had a thought when we were watching it. In the scene where you had with Jerry Jones, was that an Oxnard.

Or is that back in Dallas. That was back in Dallas when we came back for cuts.

Because he had all the Lombardi trophies. When Jerry Jones would ship the Lombardi trophies for his office and ox.

Between games, you guys would practice, it would be training game in Oxnard. If there was a game, would you fly back for the game then go back to Oxnard?

No, we would. Uh we were so we had we lived at the Residents in there in ox nerd That's where our camp was, uh, the and then we had two or three fields there as well. So what would you do when you had a preseason game?

We would The first game we took the train down to San Diego and played them.

Oh that's fun. Yeah, welcome on train. Beautiful.

The second game, I actually think you're right. I think we went back to Oxnard for another week and then we moved camp down and finished the last two weeks games Dallas.

Yeah, that makes more sense, logistics talk. That's a good question. Thanks, great question.

Great question.

Hi Julian Jack, you're back, and Tyler and all the Games and Names crew sending some love to your awesome podcast from the state of Iowa, Iowa. I have a question for Danny and Julian. I'd be interested in your answer too. If you could qualify and compete in the Olympics, what sport would you compete then? Thanks guys, have a great day, buys.

If I had the speed, who would want to win the hundred?

I want to.

I want to go on that track classic, get up in them blocks, have my chain hitting my fucking chest, my little placard thing on for the US of A, and go sprint fucking nine to two or something.

Yeah, without a doubt.

You know you probably could compete for Canada with your mom, have a better chance at the hundred there.

No, well, there you got fast people too. Hello, everyone, Canada's got hellogot athletes, like they're always top. They're they're they're top to track and field and track and field, they're they're top in winter Olympics.

You know, the more I talk about Canada.

The more I like them to our neighbors to the north.

Baby, what about you?

Do you think I would go soccer? I like that have a sick haircut, you know, freaking armsleeve tattoo, you know, just fly around, score a goal and go crazy. I just don't like how they flop around on the ground. I don't like that.

You have to be like under twenty three. But then there's a couple of old guys that come through. Yeah, it's not like true best on best right.

You need to get We need to get our men's soccer team.

That's World Cup. Gotta get dialed, gotta get dialed. Either way, we're having fun in the Olympic village.

Oh, no doubt, no doubt.

Jack, What would you do?

Maybe maybe like a little shot put at some rhythmic gymnastics like Franklin Vibe old school, you know what I mean.

Get out there on the mat floor exercises.

You make a great cocks in too.

Ooh, that's the guy that doesn't him.

Skateboarding and oh they're like the curling, curling slipper, great swiffer guys.

Or I'd be a sick as snowboarder.

Uh, flying Tomato vert Bob Slick could be cool too and just be one of the guys just runs up front and they just wait.

John Candy from Cool Running. I mean, you think of you gotta think track and field if you're thinking Olympics. I want to do what the Greeks were doing back The purist of the pure.

I'm with you, yo games with names.

This is Chris from Houston.

This question is my boy Danny. Danny, Hey, are you taller than jewels?

And out of you too, which one's faster?

Let me know from that's.

Wow, is taller than me, But I'm faster than him. I have like like a hair taller than him. No, but you kind of look taller than and I stipp I look, I'm on my tiptoes and every picture we take, so I kind of prove prove No, he's he's the true he's like a five to eleven. I'm five ten and a fourth guy.

Yeah, I'm like five ten and a half. But I mean he's counting when you're faster and faster.

Yeah, I was faster about that short area of quickness.

And just.

Fast.

Yeah it was pretty quick too. Yeah, three gone three.

Gune del Dola had he had a thing where he could ron, like he could run full speed into his incut because they r thing is he I learned how to run routes in a different offense. Yeah, he's been running routes his whole life. And then he went to the West coast where everything steps. Yeah, so like I would see a lot of stuff that I wasn't accustomed to seeing in our system from Danny, and that you know, then you evolve your you know you always you're always taking from people.

Yeah, so what does that?

What does that mean? With steps?

Like all the time he would roll full speed, he would run full speed and just keep running full speed and like turn.

It's like a speed cut versus like a breakdown. Yeah, I can breakdown.

Cut interesting a dola.

It's twenty eight to three two point conversion falls coming to you.

What's going to your head?

Fucking we're scoring a touchdown? Yeah, maybe, puddy, we're score getting in the end zone. We're going to tie this bitch up.

That's it.

No, I was thinking, what don't don't I that play? I'm specifically thinking, don't get a PI because yeah, you can't hit, you can't block him until he has the ball.

And they're a man.

A man covers if they jam you on that play, if they would have jammed him, or they would have made some sort of illegal contact, it could have been called back. It could have been called back. But you know, they jumped up Freeney jumped off sides, and.

I know, but I thought, that's what we got this penalty for r is for us picking right, I got it. So I was like, fuck you, like you see me right after me scoring, it's it's it's not on me, Okay, fuck yeah?

How many times in a game on average you have to like fuck you every play? Yeah, even when he's.

On, even when it's good, it's fuck you, even when the even when the defense.

Hi. This is Nicole from Westfield, Massachusetts super fan. My question is what was your go to food after a football game and what is your favorite restaurant in the Boston area to go to when you are back home.

I have a great day, O, great question. When I love Aria shout out Massimo in the in in the North End. Great Italian food, all home cooked recipes from his mother.

Uh.

Great great food, great energy, great vibe Aria. Uh and after the game anything I want. I'm so depleted at that point, Like I could eat a freaking you know, fried chickens, honey buttered chicken biscuit I I want.

The thing is, after every game we had the same type of food at home. There was always like a southern barbecue, Southern comfort type food. So you'd have a brisket, you have chicken, fried Chicken. You'd have Collie Greens because a lot of the guys are from the South, right, you know, most of the teams from the South, so we'd have that. And then you'd have specialty stuff every away trip. So like if you're in New York, you

How's the food and providence? And the food and providence is amazing. Johnson and Wales is there. Obviously they have Browns right there on there. So there's a lot of like, uh, you know, young entrepreneurial chefs out there trying to make a good product and and they haven't really gotten off the ground yet, so you can catch a lot of great stuff.

You might have a hot take here, But I think Federal Hill has better Italian than than the North End.

It's hard, it's not there.

Constantines, it's not there. Constantinees wasn't on the hill, right, Sianna's not there anymore.

Sianna's gone, and there. I forgot that.

I remember what was Alfnos had really good it was so good, really good pizza in Providence and then Providence also you're kind of Boston is Boston Providence, You're you're getting to like New York Connecticut. So they have like they had like a really good hot dog place that I used to go to. It has like kind of a you know that one spot I went to the house. Yeah, I bring the hot They always had like New York style or like that Connecticut area. They had a different

What is it?

Neptune Neptune Oyster bar?

I also love what was that uh there was a seafood joint over in uh Over, like when you cross the bridge right by.

The pier something pure four.

I don't know, you know what I'm talking about. It it's not South, it's not Seaport, it's not South Boston. It's like in between what do they call that on the points.

Yeah, it's like on like the harbor thing. Yeah, yeah, right by the the dairy thing, like Pure thirty six or something.

We used to go there.

There's a number in there, ye, row thirty four. Really good seafood, Yeah, there's.

I mean, I I get.

I went to a new restaurant over in that New Raffles Hotel. You don't want to stay there so bad?

That's what coffee? Yeah, have you been that New Raffles Hotel?

Pretty cool, it's good and they have a really good rest They have a really good Italian restaurant there.

Yeah.

I feel like I'm cheating on my neighborhood Italian though when I go to the fancy of that, you know, because it's kind of like a swanky Italian.

Yeah, I feel like I want to go see Rocko and fucking Polli.

I want to do one more, one more, one more more.

Pople always do this surgery for Mexico City.

I got a question for Dola.

My fiance is the daughter of who showed you around in Mexico City. So I got to know what was the best thing about your trip to Mexico City and what was the worst thing. Thanks guys, you both.

I think the best thing about Mexico City was the fact that we got to get in the tigers Den. Allion's den was at the Jaguar.

I think.

I don't know, man, the energy of Mexico City was just so fucking cool.

It's electric.

Remember when we were driving there and you see that fucking you see like the Mexican flag. That's like it was like taking up like sixty acres. It was like the biggest flag I ever saw.

I don't I mean, it was just like a football field sized flag.

Yeah, it was just like cool.

And then like the food in Mexico City is spectacular. We went to Toddy Wakan where we were just skateboarding with the cops. Were getting pulled by cops on skateboards and ship completely was fun.

Yeah, the cop We're both going onto the back of this motorcycle. When this cop was pulling us, he was going like thirty miles an hour. We don't have helmets on.

No good.

Yeah, this is like Mexico City's like Times Square too. It's like right in the fucking City.

The worst thing about Mexico City was we almost died in that hotter ballin Yeah.

That was that was There's no.

Breaks, there's no break there's no steering or breaks. It's just you go up and you go down. Yeah, wherever you go down, you go down.

We're over here over a.

Cactus patching highlines. I go to my guy, I go mego meet up power lines, meet up meat up.

He's like, no steer. I'm like, oh, we're fucked, yeah, fucked. But it was so fun and the people are awesome. And you know, remember we went there and the cartel shit.

Yeah.

So we go there and we're in the Intercontinental Hotel beautiful. The hotels were amazing. Everything was amazing. A lot of money there. There's a lot of poverty, but there's also a lot of money in.

Some lows in Mexico City.

But there's really high highs. And we go down and we're there for the NFL. We're making a documentary to promote the game that we were going to play the following year in Mexico City.

And so.

We go there and we have like this full security staff with us at all times pretty much, and they tell us we get out of the elevator. They're like, hey, we got to hold up, Like what do you mean hold up? Yeah, it's like stay here. There was a jeep Cherokee, a blacked out jeep Cherokee that was like fully bulletproofed with some like older lady come out and I'm sitting there and I look and all of our cops are like kind of like away.

They're just sitting on their motorcycles, sitting on their motorcycles.

And then out of this car comes like four or five dudes with like in regular clothes, with like AK forty seven's and they're walking this polite little old lady to go have lunch at our thing. I go Dick, Dick's our guy, who's former FBI guy. I'm like, Dick, what the fuck's going on here? He goes, Ah, some cartel guys here. We gotta wait out, you know. It's a little whatever. And it was fucking amazing to me, Like the police were just chilling. There's guys unmarked with

That was wild.

It was wild.

Yeah, hey, guys, just hold up really here here real quick, like, what the fuck you see AK forty sevens? Yeah, shout out Dick. Dick found Brady's jersey.

Yeah, shout out Dick. Barley was awesome.

Can you always get those like former FBI guys that you know they do the contract work for leagues and stuff. They always you know, you can get some cool conversations. Yeah, he has some cool conversation. That Mexico trip was so fun, unbelievable. Great people there, food people. We went to tati Wa Khan. We saw the step pyramids was tight. We looked sick and those looking back on it, Yeah, we look like real wrestlers, no doubt.

I pi we did when you guys got pinned. But whatever, we didn't win. No, I don't even remember the result, right, A lot of it's a blur, right, it was only quick. It was like four days. Yeah, that was awesome.

Well, that was our chill zone thanks to our favorite beer, cores like it cores Light delivered straight to your door. Visit Coreslight dot com, slash g w N and remember always celebrate responsibly.

Danny.

Anything from this amazing game or this amazing experience.

Man, I think we pulled in Dallas.

I think we pulled it all out of there. We pulled it all out, man. So yeah, it's kind of like my ear. I had to go get my h ear clean today before this. Uh, because now that I'm old, I broke my jaw. So my ear canal is fucking it changed. It's changed, like my ear canal is broken from it from when I broke my jaw. So the I get ear wax build up.

Yeah, you gotta get that out. Well, I have the guy, and he.

Got it all out, just like we got it all out of this goddamn game.

That's right, babe, we got it.

Everyone go out check Danny Amandola and I g at Dan Ammon, Doola. Talk to us about this fucking vodka company. I see you on party, I say, I see it. What is this vodka company? We've done a few things for it is. It's amazing vodka.

It's great vodka, man, Amnesia vodka. It's coming out soon.

You know.

I partnered in it with Cliff Kingsbury, Uh, you know, a great football player, great coach. And then our other buddy Jacob is running the whole deal. But you know, getting off the ground. Uh, you know, we're gonna get it in stores near you very soon.

Amnesia is amnesia, you don't remember.

I mean it's just there's it's based after a big club out in Abisa.

Is it Abiita?

It's either one. I'm pretty sure it's Abita Abiita. I mean.

Been I've actually been been to Barcelona, Blare.

And I saw Methi.

All right, the real Spanish speaking people of Spain and also Cantilonia, which did go to a Cantilonian beer and playpool with people.

That don't speak English zero, right, but.

They speak Cantalonian, that's right.

Yeah, so they do with the th h Yeah, Abita Abita.

Man Texas loves their football. Thanks again to Danny Amadola coming in and blessing us with his presence in the nuthouse. This episode is brought to you by Transformers, a global powerhouse franchise owned by Hasbroo. The Transformers NFL converting helmets by Hawsborough are available for pre order now at Amazon's Transformer Store. Remember to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to your podcast, comment on a game you want us to do and remember great and review. Leave