2020 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

has lights that are flickering around him. That is something else. Well, you know, I just when I think of the Marines and you know what they're doing and what they're out there protecting, they're probably looking at this and saying, um, the mission is clear. We feel good about what we're doing for the States and for these individuals on the screen right now. Absolutely they're paying that money. You know, we're for people listening on the podcast. We've all got

these like ugly team sweaters on. You can get Mark Scott pajamas, but yeah, Colleen came with just like a nice looking sweaters. Is the carpet walwt odd go, Greg, you did it again. We've talked about this. You you tend to speak for the group when you say things like, uh, everyone's wearing ugly sweaters. I tend to think that my they're literally branded ugly sweaters, so people know what I'm talking about. When you go to the ugly sweater section on a NFL that's where yours was purchased from. I

don't believe it. I think it's a beautiful, gorgeous sweater. Yes, it's the Christmas Special and we have a great episode filled with fund to get to a special guests and holiday themed segments. And did I mention special guests? Because we have special guests. It's gonna be quite a show. But we do have some business us to start with Connie Fox. It is uh the end of the week fifteen slate, So let's start today's show by digging in on Monday night football, checking into Pitty. You'll keep it

right up the middle. Fiddlings having himself a good old time twenty three yard rushing touchdown. Alright, here's the road to victory presented by the United States Marine Corps. And yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers again fall short and really an ugly way. Seventeen the final Bengals over Steelers, the third straight loss for Pittsburgh after an eleven on oh start to the season. And Colleen. I don't know about you, but this feels like something more than a bump in the road for Pittsburgh.

It feels like something closer to in an existential crisis, and they don't have a lot of time to get this thing figured out well because it's three straight weeks now they've lost. But this latest one, you know, they kind of reminded me of myself on Monday's like foggy, a little sluggish, low energy, like they probably lived in the mirror and didn't recognize themselves much like I do.

I mean, I don't even know what we watched, and I would love to say that I didn't see that coming, but this is like so on brand for the Steelers, even even at this level. I mean, it's they've really taken it up a notch for the holiday season. But for Ryan Finley and Giovanni Bernard to lead this team to a win over the Steelers who could have wrapped up the division, I mean, what a shock. Mm hmm.

It was shocking, and yet, like the way this Steeler's offense is going, no one would have saw how it happened on Monday night, But the flashback I had was to the Steelers. How we always kept saying, like, man, this defense, they must be tired, they must be so sick of carrying Bason Rudolph on their back. If they just had an average offense, they'd be great. And then here we are in a big time game, Monday night football, and the Steelers offense had two yards in their first

five possessions. They had forty yards in eight possessions in the entire in the first half. That's an entire games worth. I mean, that was a cry for help. Two first down, three turnovers. Like the defense that everything that they needed

to do. I don't need to hear anything about the Steelers defense after this game, but they have to be uh demoralized looking at the other side of the ball and thinking like these guys aren't going to figure it out because there's no sign that they're gonna figure it out right now. I can't think of too many Steelers teams characteristically that fade like this. UM. I went back and looked, and there were one or two seasons under Tomlin where they started hot and finished UM not great,

because they just weren't great teams. This team was eleven and oh and the reports coming out that they feel mentally exhausted. Um, it's just an It's been an unusual year for everyone but the Steeler. It's like I would trust them, just as a long time watcher of the a f C North in the old a f C Central, to bounce back from one or two of these losses.

But last night's the game that I almost thought you all this game passed since in the morning because it's gonna be, you know, the thirty five to ten bounce back game for Big Ben in this offense and the run game and everything else. And um, I'm watching Big Ben fall apart before my eyes. And like there's these reports he wants to come back and play next year, and that's all possible. I mean, I'm not worried about next year, but he does not look to me like

a functional um leader of this offense right now. I mean they're hard to watch in the deep pass has been eliminated. I mean, the Bengals knew coming in what to do with them defensively. That's got to be a huge concern with the stacked a f C lineup heading into the postseason. Everybody knows what to do with the Steelers now, and it's it's on that offense to adjust.

But now there is this very real question to ask whether they have the guy behind center that Kenna Ja, whether their game plan was specific to what age thirty eight Ben Roethlisberger is, our age thirty nine, whatever he is, and it just there was. It was strange watching it because there seemed to be almost like a helplessness to the offense. It reminded me actually off some of these Carson Wentz games before he got benched by the Eagles.

Then they would keep on coming back on the field and then they would go three and out, and then they come off the field, they get the ball back and you're like, Okay, maybe things get figured out, Colleen, but they never happened. So now they're in a Wincian place. But there's no Jalen Hurts that puts the line up. Nobody wants to be in that place. It's not a great place to be in. I mean, when those situations, you just like expect a three and out every time

they go out on offense. And I'm wondering too, because I feel like all I've been hearing about today and last night was Juju Smith Shoester doing his TikTok dances. I mean, are you guys triggered about this? Because I feel like that's the least of their problems right now. Right well, I would say I feel like I'm not allowed to be triggered. I was, I was told, I know. But there's definitely like this other subset of people on Twitter that like, don't shame him for being who he is.

And it's like I don't really care that much about it, but um TikTok as a as a format, like can we come up with some different dances? It's like the same, it's like schoolgirls Smith Schuster doing it. I don't know, can we com do a little bit? It's some great disrespect to be dancing on a logo. You like, you play the game all game on these logos, stopping on them, falling on them, sweating on them, bleeding on them. And now it's like sacred ground because it's the pregame warmups.

Calm down, It's like yeah, and it's a lot of old players. It's like, you know, worry about like the like playing like more than the brand and like as if the time that they're spending going on TikTok is is more than like the time all of these guys are using to like get women like no one, no one's criticizing that he's spending five minutes on tick tack ticktok. Give me a break. How about you criticized Boed Roethlisberger for like just being totally scrambled. It's crazy. You know what.

You know, what I was thinking watching last night is they missed Mike Munchak so much. They missed Todd Haley too, by the way, their old coordinator. Because it's not just Roethlisberger. I mean it's partly him, but they have they have no answers schematically of where to find the easy places. And they thought maybe they would throw down the field. Last night he was one for four teen, throwing over ten yards. So it's it's everything. The run blocking is

so bad for that team. Yeah, and then they have the Colts and the Browns coming up. Yeah. I mean, look at the reason why Mark has electricity all around him right now is because the dude is plugged in. Sessler, I know, it's a different year, and we talked about, oh what does it mean to actually win the division? Oh,

you know, Sessler wants it. He could taste it. The a f C North after years of misery, you can go in and beat the Steelers, uh to claim that division and put on the baseball caps and and do all that fun stuff. I know you're excited about it. Mark, it's all in play now. Well, I'm excited if they deserve it, if they earn it, and I and there's

a chance they could by beating Pittsburgh. I mean, they're also scenarios out there, um that are mad cap enough for Cleveland could lose that game, finished eleven and five and not be a playoff team. So you know, in terms of like waltzing around my house, you know, and kissing babies and stuff, I'm not there yet. Let's see how this unfolds. I'm always expecting something um, dark and disastrous to occur to the Browns, but they're starting to make a believer out of me that, um, they are not.

You know, we're not spending all week wondering about Browns players doing TikTok dances. That seems like something the Browns would normally get pulled into. But um, and let Pittsburgh deal with that business. Let's give Cincinnati a little credit here, because nobody thought they were going to compete in this game, and just like the Jets did against the Rams on Sunday, these those guys are fired up. Those guys, they couldn't get enough of this idea that they were messing up

the Steelers season. And it had been in such a dark place obviously this in Sinnati season, ever since Joe Burrow blew out his knee. So to have this game at home with some fans in the stands and a lot of those fans were Steelers fans, uh, and send them out of the building with a scowl on their face. That is a nice little gift under the Christmas tree. I wish Chris Westling was with us right now because

he knows exactly what it's all about. Cincinnati has been tortured by Pittsburgh for years, just like the Browns, and now you get a chance to really stick it to him where where it hurts when they weren't expecting it. Nice job by the Bengals and Ryan Finley, Yeah, lost ten straight. Finley felt like low on the list of reasons they won, but he did get a couple of

big rushing plays. And I think if Bengals fans really want to be positive, they do have some good young players like Hubbard and Loss and dominated that game against the Steelers tackles. I like those two pass rushers Higgins and Boyd who got hurt Tyler Boyd got hurt early in the game, are kind of a reminder like receivers only matter so much because I feel like if Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins had like a great quarterback, like they could be Pro Bowl type players this year. That's

how good they've been. Uh So they got some young players nice, that's their super Bowl. Didn't even mess up their draft pick. Like they're in a weird spot where they're just like stuck at three. It's perfect. I was waiting to see Zach Taylor register a few um notable wins. They've beaten the Titans and they've now beaten the Steelers. I think it's an argument to keep the staff and

have them all come back. When you have Burrow, I mean, beating the Steelers in your own division, when they've whipped up on you for you know, like near decade, it matters. I think that what's that with a third string quarterback to and it might be too late smile on his face, Ryan Finley through Mike Brown's not paying Zach Taylor's contract for a couple of years when when he's not in the building, the Bengals owner is the last person to fire a coach earlier. I don't think Zach Taylor is

in any trouble at all. Yeah, the your prediction market Zach Taylor's coach of the year. That won't happen. But I think this is this more or less locks up that he's returning, and so good for him, good for the Bengals. And that was Road to Victory presented by the United States Marine Corps. I didn't mean to throw under the bus there, Mark, not give you a chance

to respond, But right, let's move on again. It is the Around the NFL Podcast Christmas Special, And what kind of Christmas special would it be if we didn't talk about Santa the big man who's on his way and that list he uses a list you know, he checks it twice. Blah blah blah bla blah blah blah, you know the whole backstory. We thought it would be nice at this time of the year to share our naughty or Nice list uh NFL style as we look ahead to the final two weeks of the regular season and

the playoffs. So let's go through. Let's start, let's start positive. Let's go through some uh let's say something nice, Colleen, get us going today. Okay, so definitely on the nice list. Xavien Howard the Dolphins quarterback. What a season he's been having. This this Miami deep ens has been incredible all season long, but he is no doubt the star of it. Leads the league and interceptions. He had like a five game streak where he had at least one takeaway or one interception.

Last week he almost had the touchdown but that it was called back. But this is a guy who's been in Miami on the Dolphins for five years. And imagine all all Miami. That's exactly right. Imagine all of the stress and agony and disappointment and just like the depressing nature of that team before Brian Flores came in. And now the fact that not only have the Dolphins turn things around, but he is just having an insanely good

career year. Um. I actually talked to him this morning and I was asking him just like, yeah, that's coming up on Saturday. You guys should watch it on NFL Network. You know, Raiders h and Dolphins gonna be get it. Your successful going your host in that coverage, right. I I'm just saying, if you're hosting it, I want to see you on the promos, that's all you'll see her because the station is on in your house literally seven so you will. You will find a way to make

that happen. Has those glasses where there's actually a little TV screen inside the glasses so you can just wear them all time and leave the house. And he's plugged into NFL network programming at all times. Little Star Struck with Colleen. So my question for Xavian Howard though, is he's had so much success and he's having all these picks and games. Why I know that Dez already throws up the X, but his name is Xavian, which everybody

just like figured out three weeks ago. Has he ever like considered an X situation and he wants to stay away from it because of Dees, But I feel like he should just he should wade into those waters. And you're saying he should be thrown up the X after all these impact plays. Interesting, Yeah, exactly. That That's where I stand. He's on the nice list though, all right, Yes, I mean, yeah, like you said, he very nearly had a long fumble return for a touchdown on a Cam

Newton fumble. So close but still impact plays every week, Mark, how about you? I got something nice? I do have something nice, and I you know, I've kind of zipped my lips about the Browns this whole season and kind of just wait and see how this journey ends. But

how about Paul D. Podesta. I will never forget the morning in our news room when the Browns hired Paul de Podesta away from Major League Baseball And what was the audio audible um response in our newsroom giggles laughs, Oh, look at the Browns hiring a baseball man to come in and fix their team. Someone that was You know, if you're Paul, if you're Paul de Podesto, you're thinking I I introduced saber metrics. I went to Harvard. Um, I I am the source of Moneyball. Um in an

incredible book. Um, I'm in the film. I'm played by Jonah Hill. These two people don't look anything like I understand that it was a composite of D. Podesta, but um, that's gotta be a chip on the shoulder. He comes to Cleveland instead of the Gate just the physical thing. I'm gonna now talk about why he's on the nice list. All right. He's on the nice list because two years running he pushed for the organization to hire Kevin Stefanski. Um, they went in their own way, which they've done too

many times, and hired Freddie Kitchens. He gets his way the second time. In bang the Browns have someone that if he were a coach of another team, I'd be jealous. He also hired Andrew Barry at GM age thirty three, the youngest by far in the league. The two of them get together, Uh, they work well together. There isn't some sort of infighting ego lad battle that completely sinks the organization and creates a gigantic pit underneath Cleveland's uh,

you know, franchise organizational building. None of that's happening. I like the pair. Paul de Podesta is the re and this is happening would never have happened otherwise. That's how you build a team, and I think it's pretty cool that someone can do it in two sports. And he's basically gone unspoken about all season. So he's on my nice list, and I think you should be on a few other nice lists too. Very well, very well, but that's the pop he deserves it. You're right, all right, Greg,

how about you? Very compliant? Everyone, What are we gonna do. We're gonna knock this bean counter and really get on your bad side. We know you're not alright. You're not kissing babies, he said this morning. I'm wondering where where are these baby countered? What are you hiding? Anyway, I'm I'm gonna say, put a guy on my nice list that wasn't always on my nice list. Um goes by the name of Alex Guerrero. Used to think, maybe this guy's a little bit of a charlatan, a snake oil salesman.

Tom Brady's trainer. You know they did. They did take that for money during the pandemic for TV twelve. Not in love with that really, But when you look at the results Um that Tom Brady is doing right now, I mean, I'm watching Ben Roethlisberger, he can't throw the ball. I'm watching Drew Brees, he can't throw the ball. Tom Brady is not only the greatest forty three year old quarterback in NFL history by leaps and bounds in terms

of like arm strength in top end throws. He's literally better right now than when they were winning Super Bowls in two thousand four. I don't even think it's a question Patriots fans will agree with me. I'm not saying he's a better player. He's obviously not necessarily, but it just terms of top end arm strength and like wow, throws. He has made more this season with the Bucks than he was making back in oh one, oh two oh three with the Patriots. I don't know what it is.

Maybe it's maybe Brady deserves all the credit. Maybe it's TV twelve. But it's working. It's not about his body. That's not why he's struggling when he's having bad games. It's pretty amazing. Give Alex Guerrero some pop. That's interesting. Maybe there's something to the no night shades, you know, and maybe we should all try not eating nights shades and helps our performance. That Tom Brady cookbook, if you'd like to borrow it, Greg, A lot of it's working, right,

you got to admit it's working. Did you ever get that expense mark the cookbook? No, that's a that's annoying. I think that's two hundred dollars. That thing that goes towards like a college fund. Anyway, I guess I could have found other things to do with two. I can promise you that I'm with you. You know, Brady's arm strength and physically looks exactly sam with you. You watch him week to week he still misses his fair fair

share of throws and open receivers. Uh. There, I think there is some still age related decline going on there with with him as a quarterback. But yeah, especially we watched Ben Roethlisberger try to throw those wounded ducks through the Cincinnati night last night. Uh, and it is striking that he is, what were five years younger than Tom Brady, who still looks like a Greek god. So all right, should we get should we get in cahoots with Al Squerrero?

I mean none of us are getting younger either. Maybe it's time, I don't know, just something to think about. Um yeah, not you, Colleen, You're forever the rest of us, bros. All right, my my nice, my nice list is obvious. Gardner minshew, what what a man? What a player? What an underdog? Who doesn't who doesn't root for the underdog? Ever since he swaggered into Duval County with that mustache

and the big dream to take over the league. The world fell in love with him, and you know, I resisted it at first, you know, but now I get it. Sometimes nice guys finished first, and that's why I'll be rooting for him the rest of this season. Uh, the NFL could use more Gardner mean shoes, and so could the world. What a turn from you? Well it's artificial turn, but that's you know, I get. I get the position you're in. You're in a tough, tough position, Dan, You're

in a real tough position. No, I just I understand. It's taking me a little time. But he's just so fun to watch, and you know, the flopping hair and the headband, and you know the way that the people Duvolve really embraced him. I think it's time for me to do the same. Great great guy Gardner, Minshew, what a talent. I mean, nobody that has listened to this show more than for more than three episodes is buying

a word of this. Um. Only you know, toddlers in the backseat of a car listening to this would buy this. This is this is this is next level um, next level stuff from you, Dan? How could you root against that? Man, all right, let's let's move Dan. I do have one fly might be in anointment. I noticed Doug Barrone on Monday would not declare a starting quarterback for this week.

It's got me thinking, are they gonna go looton? Are they gonna like drag Quinn Gray or Cleo Lemon or David Gerrard off the street and start They can't do that. That would be some nefarious stuff. That would be nefarious and also big about it. It's just funny. Like I said on Sunday, hands on board. They have to start him, though, they have to go with Minshew. I loved. I loved the garden Minshew's stat line two seventy two touchdowns, twenty passer rating in a loss. You can't put them on

the bench with production like that. That's what gardener Minchi does. All right? Uh, naughty Connie, give us something naughty? All right? This, I feel like is a no brainer. But Doug Peterson is going straight on the naughty list. I just after watching Jalen Hurts these last two weeks, what took so long? Like I understand the situation with Carson Wentz is very dicey,

and you're in a tough spot ug Peterson. But this whole maybe not obviously not, this whole entire season has been a giant garbage can and then finally there's like some life. And even in that loss to the Cardinals, it was so much fun to watch the Eagles again. It was the most exciting loss, and Jalen Hurts gives the team exactly what they need. I mean, he had three passing touchdowns, he was running well, had the rushing touchdown as well. He was sacked six times, but listen

like he was fine. He was able to bounce back. And this is behind an offensive line that has been so hurt all season long. There's been a zillion combinations, and it just feels like this team plays way harder for Jalen Hurts and they just like are interesting to watch, Like I'm not banging my head against the wall. It's like taking out the garbage like it's not before every time I turned on the Eagles it felt like such a chore and now it's actually like something that I

want to do, which is cool. Sometimes sometimes I feel like it's been a bit of a Allower reveal Magnie if Eco around the Eagles fans in the last couple of years, like you have one of the great super Bowl runs of all time, and then a couple of years passed, and it's almost like the way you people talk, it's like that never happened, and you get to act like you're this long tortured fan base that like, how did we put up with Carson Wentz for that long?

And Doug Peterson? What a mess? Oh? Whoa is us? Let's get on the radio and talk about how hard it is to be spared. You just compared Ben Roethlisberger to Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense about talking about how terrible the Steelers were last night. So yes, that's been an entire season of that. I get it. I just like the better when you're an internal loser like

my team. To your point, Colleen, like you, you definitely want a coaching staff that figures things out and comes to the same conclusion that fans came to six weeks prior. Um the self scouting doesn't seem to be the high point um of Doug Peterson's and his staff. Uh So, I'm with you. I understand frustration. Uh Dan, I don't know about the law reveal magnificent side of it that feels, Um, what does that say about Patriots fans who are grumbling about I'm with you, Dan, I feel like they've done

enough for me. I'm not allowed to complain about the Patriots for the rest of my life. And they're complaining this year like the last twenty years. Uh didn't happen. By the way, all could be forgiven, Colleen, if they win these two games the Eagles and get into the playoffs. I don't think it's quite as far fetched as people believe. Interesting Alright, Greg, Greg getting naughty because I know you like to I do, and where or else to get naughty? Um,

you know, than a strip club. I feel like someone's got to talk about Dwayne Haskins here. Look, it's a beautiful you know, in a normal world after a loss, that's where you want to go with your girlfriend. I don't know if this was a birthday party. He was with his girlfriend and like a bunch of her friends at the strip club and uh, okay, you know, but

we're not in a normal world. We're in a pandemic and you're you're in charge of an organization and a franchise right now where you are the only healthy quarterback Kyle Allen's out for the year. Alex Smith has a calf injury. Everything he's battled through, and you're putting your whole team at risk by going out to the Strip

Club on a Sunday night after not playing too well either. So, man, that just put every everyone in his organization and in peril, not only because he could catch Rhona, but that he isn't gonna be available for this next game where they can possibly, you know, clinch the division. We're uncertain how

the Washington team is gonna handle this. They've at least find him, um but either way, Yeah, I know he's a young man, but you gotta you gotta have your your you know what, in order a little better than this. It's real bad, Listen. It's a tough one. I get the argument too, like there's levels of ways to mess up. This is a franchise, um uh, that has had many things this season that are way worse than what Dwayne Haskins do. Some that came out today, some lawsuits enst

the organization. I get it. There's different levels, but it doesn't mean you're not letting down all of your teammates in the franchise. But it's a knucklehead move, and it's a guy that you've heard whispers about, you know, and the reason why it seems ron Overa was loath to even play a former first round pick and then something like this happens and it's like, oh, this isn't so hard to connect the dots, like is this dude really in it to win it? And the type of guy

you want? And Mark I and and all guys in general have friends um that they just can't get enough of the club, that that exotic dancing um. And I don't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't put us in that. I don't mean, I don't say that I'm like, um, some type of saint, but it's never been my thing. But I have friends, just like everyone has friends that cannot get enough of it. It's an addiction. And COVID nineteen what it's done. How I don't even know how this club is open. Wherever

he went is in an underground strip club? Tell me more. I'm interested intellectually. I just this would be my counterpoint to Grant Greg. I mean, you know, we're in tough times and I'm sure that club probably operating on in an underground fashion to some degree. Think of how those workers you know, working very hard at the club or I have probably been struggling financially not getting their normal

allotment of green backs. Um, how nice of the of the city's uh, you know, first string quarterback to Waltson and and help these workers out. Greg fair point. I mean, you could definitely put it on the government in Virginia for allowing the strip clubs to be open, because I don't think it was underground. Um, but it's it's problematic,

problematic all around. I mean, just imagine that conversation he had to have haskins with Ron Rivera, who's battling cancer out here and putting and he's putting this whole team. Oh man, So Ron Rivera does not, which is like people do we see young people doing crazy, immature things all the time. Right now, he is hard, he's hardly alone. Uh. It's just like you're letting down your teammates. That's the problem. You're on a team. Take me through this. In a

modern day strip club right now? Are the dancers wearing masks? I don't know. I think so. The only reason why I think it was it's not closed. First of all, like the South is pretty much open right now in Virginia's the South, and they like listed the place. It looks it sounded like they were trying to get some some pubs, So I don't think the place was open illegally.

There's some more homework on this, please, Greg Mark getting naughty. UM, Well, I want to circle back to you know, when this um, when the pandemics started in our country, and we do we do UM follow the rules, and so we were allowed to each of us pick what would have been like sort of our all star UM quarantine group. And I had to go look at the list, but mine included UM Alec Baldwin, UM, Michael Irvin, UH close friend

of yours, Colleen um Gianni from Love Is Blind. That feels like that show was relevant forty four years ago at this point. But UM, don't forget, Yeah, don't forget that Gayegado was also in the room and I had to you know, didn't like to do it, but I had to report that her behavior back at that time, in in in late March early April, was was poor and she you know, as a group, we had to you know, teach her about discipline and things and just

maybe you know, mind your man. He tied into the radiators. We tied her to um a part of the room that wouldn't move. And I just want to report back that you know, you would think that she would have found her way back onto the nice list, um learning some lessons. It's not the case. It's unfortunate, it's not the case. She's sure her behavior is not improved one iota UM, So she remains firmly attached to the naughty list.

No further comments. Why I mean, I didn't you know that basement a stinker is supposed to be supposed to be bad. He didn't want to wear Christmas. No, it's not that. It's not that frivolous. It's her basic um inability to follow directions. The best part of that video, beyond the terrible singing in the self self absorbed nous of the celebrities involved. Uh it showed up in a countdown UH list I saw recently of worst songs of

the year. It was number one the imagined cover and she opens it Gail before she throws it to the celebs with Okay, it's day six of quarantine. This is really tough. It's like stay six. That's what's that for us? But um, all right, finally I got one more naughty a fantasy football fans. Let's let's let's let's get our stuff together. Okay, let's pull it together, because you guys got a chill. You gotta chill. And Josh Jacobs shot

a warning flare out a couple of weeks ago. Um when he did that thing on the Graham where he posted that he wasn't playing even though he was active, and then he he put up the middle finger emoji. Well, that's an undercurrent right now. I've been tracking this. It's part of a growing trend in the NFL. Players are fed up with you fantasy people on social media, you know, trolling on them when they're hurt or otherwise struggling and not helping your fake team. Raheemo starts the latest guy.

He just went to I R by the way for the million time players don't care about your fantasy team. He tweeted, this is our real life and most of that's a good point. And I I did something a

couple of weeks ago. You remember when Christian McCaffrey was coming back from the shoulder and it was just in time for the fantasy playoffs, and then he tweaked the quad and the report came out midweek and absolutely devastating to McCaffrey fantasy owners who thought, Okay, we survived this far without our number one pick, but we're gonna get back this all purpose stud and he's gonna win me

the league. And it didn't work out that way. It looks like he's gonna miss uh, the entirety of the fantasy playoffs and maybe the rest of the real season. I just went and searched out Christian McCaffrey on Twitter and checked out the mentions, the vitriol, the absolute heinous garbage being sent his way, ill wishes. Uh, you know things about how I hope you never play again. I hope you never heal up. You're a bum, you don't try hard enough. Are you people kidding me? You idiots?

Are you seriously thinking that these guys deserve that type of treatment when they are in a frustrating position as professionals of being injured or going through a struggle. Um, anyway, pull it together, Fantasy. I'm I've played fantasy football since I was fourteen years old. I've been frustrated with players, but never once did it ever occurred to me to get on Twitter and act the player and tell him something negative or wish him ill. Will clowns clean it

up your naughty coal for you. It always seems so weird when when the attack turned personal to like about fantasy and then all of a sudden, people are attacking like they're family and their girlfriend and like it's just it gets personal for everyone involved, which is just so super weird to me. It is the downside I think of money being on things. It's something the NFL not to get too serious, but has to think about when you know, awkwardly embracing gambling, which you know is happening

right now, the owner's own DFS teams. Everything is getting a little looser. But that's like a negative we've seen in a lot of other sports where in countries where gamblings legal is like the fans get out of control and you're gonna lose all these players on social media,

like there's gonna not gonna be any inter it. I mean, Greg, do you feel at all, um, at all complicit um for being someone that I think carried fantasy football from an innocent game that children enjoy, an industry made an industry out of it, and it's all information and money and betting based and that's some creating. So much of this Fitriel and it really sources back to your early career in uh in football. Do you think it was

pretty much me? It was pretty much and me and Matthew Berry that really got to go and fantasy Greg ball they used to call it. Uh, well, I don't play fantasy anymore. So maybe that tells you your answer, Well, that's you're washing your You can't just wash your hands of it. That simply Yeah, track what's happening and Iraq anymore. We'll see. I'm sure that doesn't work out either. That was the guilt. That's why Greg walked away from the game.

All right, we're just getting started in our holiday celebration. The wait, I've got one more nice one for you, taking one in. It's one final nice. We're gonna give a nice uh little nice to uh to Rhoda. That's right, it's Keisha's mom who gave us the best Christmas miracle ever. She had a flight out of town on Monday and uh she changed it. She saw what was going on at the house. She realized would be a beautiful, a beautiful holidays, Christmas and New Year's if Rhoda stayed in

and helped Lakeisha and West out. And since you know there are family, Rhoda is too, and we we appreciate her extending that trip last minute Christmas mirror call. For two more weeks she'll be in town. It's great news what a woman Rhoda is. And yes, whenever Mom's around, that makes the holidays that much better. Uh, yes, she's a queen. And before we say goodbye and get ready to celebrate the holidays, we welcome in the great Ricky Hollywood Erica temp post wearing with pride and I respect

her for it her Patriots sweater. Missing the playoffs for the third time in twenty years, which basically covers most of your lifespan Erica. Thank you for joining us on today's show. Yeah, thanks, thanks for having me. It's said such an honor. Just real quickly, before we go, I wanted to tell you guys who's on my naughty list this year, and it's the four of you. Because this show is a family friendly football show and you're talking about strip clubs. Um Mark can't say gal Gadot's name

correctly calling her Gail. I mean, there's just been a just you guys are just the rails. Yeah, there's been Iraq, George W. Bush mentions like this show is supposed to be family friendly and you guys definitely are getting coal in your stockings this year going well, it's virtual. Look at that a little inside dig there from Connie and you can tell it riled up Ricky Hollywood. And now

point counterpoint, is die Hard a Christmas movie? The final answer, Yes, it may seem cliche this next segment, but you know what, it was time to finally get to the bottom of this question, the one that's been asked on social media for years. Die Hard the film released tagline, yes there were twelve terrorists, one cop. The odds are against John McClean. That's just the way he likes it. And it was a huge hit, launched Bruce Willis as a movie star.

But it has always been a question. Now this action film, the one that serves as the template of every action movie that followed for decades, instead Christmas film. And now I welcome in uh Patrick Claiban and the Christmas Special here because first of all, it's great to see Patrick and his Christmas weather and a good friend of the show. Welcome Patrick, how you doing, buddy, Happy holidays, Happy holidays.

Thank you for having me as a part of this pivotal discussion that some people feel like it has gone on too long. Look, we talked about the value of running backs every single day. Um like, it's always value of running backs back and forth. It girls, that never ends. We do this for like twelve days a year. It's fun. It's fun. We get to talk about a good movie, as he said, you know, and and as Matt Money As Matt Money Smith said, this is the final answer. Greg.

I know you were a huge fan of this film, Mark you saw it as a boy. I don't know about you, Connie, but to finally get to the bottom of this, so does it need to be discussed incessantly every December going forward? That's not a bad thing either. It's a beautiful thing. I'm excited to get this finely off of my chest. So I was in model Congress, so I feel like I'm I can be a you know, a judge here. You know, as a kid, I was

into debating. You know. It's good to hear because, as it so happens, Patrick and I are on opposite sides. Of the coin. So we're gonna do it Mark like old A T N debate club style with point counterpoint, and we'll start the We'll start the floor here, sixty seconds each. That's all. That's all we get. Claybonn and I Claibonn will take the position that die Hard is a Christmas movie, and then I will take the dissenting view. Patrick, get it going, Ricky, make sure the clock us all right?

Tell me tell me when to go, Ricky, you are on the clock, all right? What is a perfectly canonical Christmas story? Is it Mary and Joseph and jam And in the Manger? Is it St? Nicholas? If you're counting reindeer, do you start with Rudolph? Like? How important is it to you to recognize things that are connected to this holiday?

I asked that, because clearly, if you're a skeptic at this point, this film about a man reconnecting with his family on Christmas that opens with him carrying a gift while sleigh bells are ringing and being wished to marry Christmas on the way to see his estranged wife, whose name is literally Holly. If you've heard all of that and this still hasn't matter to you, then the conversation isn't gonna land because this is a conversation about what

Christmas movie is. It can't be about what particular aspects of the movie connect to Christmas because a minute it's literally not enough time for me to go through all the ways Christmas is an integral to the story, The soundtrack, the style, how Al Powell, we meet him while he's getting gifts for his wife while well, let it snow plays in a in a convenient store. This is about adherence to dogmatic rules of what Christmas movies can be.

And if you want those rules, then Rudolph Reindeer at least in July nineteen eighty eight, let's start right there. Summertime um and the fact that the mechanics of the film to get everything in place, it needed a time and place, It needed Christmas to get the people together to make the movie work. But you know, people tell their friends and strangers on social media the die Hard is a Christmas movie because they think it says something

about themselves. It makes them edgy and dangerous and reverends even you know, a little bit subversive. Oh you like it's a wonderful life. Not me. Oh what an iconoclass. Deep down, everyone just wants to be a little bit different special. I'm not here to win any popularity contests. I wasn't the team and picked up smoking in high school to look cool. I didn't have a girl friend during that time in my life. That's just glory boy behavior.

So yes, there's a psychological and sociological conversation to be had here, but most importantly, there's a practical one, and it boils down to a simple reality. If a guy gets his head blown off at any point, you are not watching a Christmas movie in excess of six heads or blown off. You may respond again, counterpoint, that's it. Oh you guys don't go back and forth. Well, okay, closing arguments, so you just and you get to bad clean up and then that's it. No, he had the point,

I had the counterpoint. That's it. Okay, that's how it works. It's very fast. What are what are the thoughts from the rest of the group. You know, I was with you the president I accept. However, this plays out well. So first of all, um, it's bad for Patrick because I can't even remember watching the movie. So this is not this is not great for clay Bon. But Dan, I was with you until you said that it's not a Christmas movie if somebody gets their head blown off.

But Scrooged is one of my favorite Christmas movies and part one of the most iconic scenes I would argue and Scrooged is when they're coming up with the new promo for the network and there are freeway killings and acid rain and uh, you're supposed to be terrified to miss Christmas. And to me that kind of uh that there's people that are getting their heads blown off in that promo. So I can't stand with you. Do you

actually see it? I think you might, maybe not. You do see a plane crash, you see a fiery plane crash and burn. So it's a very compelling. Um, both

of you made compelling points. I would I would say that I did a little bit of study here, and there are nineteen Christmas trees and die hard Christmas decorations show up fifteen times, UM, Carol's Christmas Carols sung by Bruce Willis and others twelve times, the word Christmass said fourteen times, and there are four other more vague Christmas references.

Every one of those categories Um, except for one beat out home alone U and Dan, I think that you made a very strong point about maybe a certain type of scene pulling people out of the Christmas mood. Um, but that's that's an opinion. Um. I I kind of agree with you, but I but I it's just simply an opinion. Um. It is a Christmas movie in so many different ways, and it's so on the nose, and they make such an effort to tell you that it's

a Christmas movie that. UM, I don't understand the strident opposition to what to what the filmmakers were attempting to do before our eyes. I mean I I've I saw this movie at least ten or fifteen times, but I have not seen it since I think I was fifteen or sixteen years old. So I want to go revisit it. Um. Yeah, you've gotten me excited for that. I remember seeing die Hard with a Vengeance number three with my dad in the theater. I think I was in high school. It

was pretty good. I like that Hard three. Uh. The The only just like sort of debate style note I would make is Dan went off talking about the actual movie, you know, and was kind of talking about the reaction to the reaction to the movie, which felt sort of like off the actual you know, you know, having the strong argument of just die Hard and Patrick stuck to that nicely. Okay, so I see where this is going. Is my dog is incensed at you? Dare um she feels like, uh, you know, I don't want to break

the rules of of you know, point counterpoint. So I'm sorry to say something because we might You're okay, now now it's open it's open. Um. Yeah, It's it's weird to to go to this. Like, like Greg mentioned the meta discussion of the movie, and it was just kind of like my overall point, like why are we dictating to other people, like how they should feel about this movie and how they how it relates to a holiday

that they make. You know, some people eat mac and cheese on the beach on Christmas, like some people don't talk to anybody on Christmas. Like, Christmas can be a personal holiday, it can be something it's a yeared experience that we all have. And one thing that a lot of people share is watching this movie that has so many Christmas themes, people insist on saying gift instead of Jeff because the creator says, that's how you're supposed to say it. The people who make Die harder like, yes,

this is a Christmas movie. Look at all the things that we left in here. But for some reason there's this you know, strident opposition which I don't know. I don't tell people how to feel about art. Director strong point, Well he just did. He said that it's a Christmas movie. To me telling me how to feel about the art. No, you don't have to. It doesn't have to be a

Christmas Let's give the final word to John McTiernan, the director. Okay, because he has said that the film is somewhat inspired by It's a Wonderful Life, which is interesting to me. His quote, we hadn't intended Die Hard to be a Christmas movie, but the joy that came from it is what turned it into a Christmas movie. And that's really the best I can tell you about it. I mean, you kind of blew up your own side of the argument there, but he's fast. Think so dan is dan

is a fair man. You blew it up like one of those heads, you know, Yes, for adults, it's for the adults, maybe young young I can't see the head of the Japanese company. His head exploding. But that's just me. That's it. Now. I'm gonna side with just to go against an that's it. That's fine. I can deal with that. I can take that. The special guests in this Christmas special keep coming, and it's one of our very favorites.

Let's welcome welcome him in right now. And uh, you know a former member of the NFL media team who has gone on to great things over at Sports Illustrated and Monday Morning Quarterback. Yes, it is none other than the great Connor or Welcome to the Around the NFL Christmas Special, buddy. Yea, yeah, we're in a six box right now. This is like amazing. It looks good. Connor. First of all, how the hell are you, buddy? You

are a domesticated man, married with children. You have your own house, a mortgage, and I'm sure a Christmas tree that's real not fake. Uh tell take us through it all. Fake Christmas tree, man, I'm I'm going fake Christmas tree until I cannot worry about the kids swallowing the needles, which they want to do. You know. Um, but it's great we have you guys worry about your kids eating the needles of the Christmas tree. Mine did, and then I started I took it away. Yeah, animals also spiders.

Spiders are in Christmas trees. Mine is also a huge fire hazard. Now I don't want to get into another debate here this is but I did. We spent a hefty amount of on a living tree. Uh, and it died almost immediately. And it is a death trap. It's

a fire death trap in our living room right now. Um, Connor, buddy, I needed you on the show today, needed you on this wall because although the holiday season is filled with joy, there's also a lot of reasons to be stressed out about it, and there to be anxiety and even even the Christmas season, Uh, sometimes things grind the gears of Connor or and that's why we're bringing it back. Or are you kidding me? The holiday edition? What do you got for us? Connor? I'm gonna I'm gonna maybe ruin

this a little bit, um. But I remember claib On a couple of minutes ago talking about meta discussions, and I think what grinds my gears is in preparation for going onto this show, I went back and I listened to some old or you kidding me, and everything that I said I hated, I would love to have right now during the pandemic, like every single thing, like I think I was like, hockey is stupid. I would love

like live hockey to go see. I hate hockey. I think I said the food Fighters were stupid, Like you know how much I would pay to go to a Fighters concert right now? Of them Seinfeld, I said was stupid and even you know, I haven't watched it because it is the worst show ever made, But some people need that to get through the pandemic. And so I think, uh, or you kidding me is basically or you kidding myself?

And you know how how hatty I've been over the over the years, Dan, so I, I guess what you're saying is COVID nineteen is you know, led to a lot of self introspection, um, for all of us, and for you it's maybe there's a cynical aspect of your personality that you're seeing melt away, especially during the special time of year. Dude, I've watched and this is not

an exaggeration. I've seen every single Hallmark movie, um, all the new ones, like and basically everyone since and I feel like the person who used to come on and do or you kidding me has been like beaten with a shovel and buried somewhere and he's never coming back. Like my life right now is a made up town where happy people just walk around and like you can live off making cookies and you know, doing you know,

doing really like wholesome things and so. But that's also like a little bit of delirium because you're doing like three am bottle feedings and that's the only thing that's on. But um, I will say, like, you know, it's it's really helped me kind of zone into a new person, which I'm pretty psyched about. You know, I'm not sure what to think about this. It's still processing this. What

could go wrong? Well, did you see Speaking of Hallmark movies, I don't know if this is a Hallmark one, but my wife and I Connor had decided to watch a really bad straight to video type Christmas movie last weekend and we watched the two thousand twelve Drew Lach film Guess Who's Coming to Christmas? Drew the former member of ninety degrees, but not the hot one that married just

hot nick Um. He is a rock star living a out of control lifestyle until one day his agent sets him up to stay with a family for Christmas as a image rehab maneuver, and guess what he ends up falling in love with the girl next door. A little bit of a spoiler alert there, but leave check it out. Guess who's coming to Christmas? If you haven't seen a Droolis some of his best work, I think, I think work.

The most unbelievable thing is like I would love to be in the writer's room for one of these because literally on the same night, we watched two of them in a six hour period, and one was a country music star, like like just a hot dude goes back to his hometown and falls in love with the girl and helps her save her family's pie Christmas and the Rockies or right and then and then right after that, a hot country singer dude goes back to a hometown to help a girl save her family's jam business, and

like it was the same movie, they just switched the food that he's helping bail out at the factory. And I was like, I can't write the same story four times for sports listen, Like these people are just like yeah, just make it pie instead of jam It's totally fine. I love it. Yeah, wait can you bring Erica come

back in? And Colleen too? I don't want. First of all, we preface this by saying I'm not being sexist, but usually that means as I asked, I asked my wife while we were watching the Jewel Picture, you know, what is it? Because there I believe a lot of them

are catered towards women, these Hallmark specials. What is it about this plot, this plot device that Connor talks about that is always about this guy, I guess you could say, as an unattainable guy on some level coming back home and then helping out with something and becoming a tamer very vision of his former self and essentially settling down with a good girl, Like why don't Why are all these movies built out that way? Is there something inside

women like that? Or is it something that men write the scripts and they think that's what women? Women want to take us through the process. There, you're saying, it's like a it's a savior that comes in and you know, helps out everyone, and then the people that the savior is helping out then they end up changing to their liking. Is that is that what it is. I can't imagine a woman wanting to to do that to a man that doesn't feel well. I guess I'm just a basic

because I love the night in shining armor formula. Yeah, I like he. I want to be romanticized. I want I'm romantic. I want to be curled up on the fire. The country music star comes home and all of a sudden, he is a good person. He's not a jerk. You know. He falls still change Erica. I know, I know, and I'm just I'm wishing maybe one day. Well well, most of the male versions of the story are just gender bent versions of the female version, where the she leaves

a small town, she goes to the big city. She's focused on her career, and then some circumstance happens where she has to go home. She sees the guy from high school who used to be a jerk, and then they work together on something. They fall in love. The old guy from New York comes back, and then she's like, no, I love this life and then credits. It works. It works both ways. I also think there must be a Hallmark movie. There must be someone in the plot, and

it's typically the woman. Um, you know or man, if it's a reverse person in the hometown, that has to relate to nine percent of viewers, which is I've done nothing remarkable with my life, so I like to think that some famous person will come and move in with me or next door and be wowed by simply my personality. It's a fantasy. It's every romance novel that you'd find

at the grocery store. I wanna that that's an amazing I want to go back to what Colleen said that as I could be wrong, but was she was she sort of hinting at connecting these Hallmark movies, um, you know, with the original Christmas story our man j C. And like connecting it to basically organized religion in general. Yeah, you could connect those dots. The Savior comes in because

everyone's better afterwards. It many of the nothing that happens at all in that story, right, there's some overt religious themes and a lot of these films as well, just like in the Jewels, say, picture guess who's coming home for Christmas? Uh he he definitely gets more involved with the church and and I think there's those elements of

these stories as well. Connor Um anything else that you want to add, I like this, this is like a it's a wonderful life situation where you you started out one way and now you're you're a different person who kind of understands all the great things he has to your point, like the theme this year has been like there's been three movies where a Catholic person and a Jewish person get together and they teach each other their holiday traditions and the other person pretends like they've landed

on a different planet and have never heard of like Hanukah, it's like a candle what and uh, it's just been like an incredible Like the guy from Ben Savage for Boy Meat's World was in one of them, Like uh, and I would say that it's just been great and if you can find joy in that or any of the other million weird hobbies that I've picked up during the pandemic, like uh, you know, colored pencils and like coloring a color a lot? Now? Really? Yeah, like that

you've colored nearby? Like uh, like a guy buy coloring books like extremely an example, they're upstairs. Yeah, not a visual medium, but I will send you guys, yeah post, I can tweet them. I raised a family of sixty five butterflies. What happened? What's happening? Everything is totally fine. This was Yeah, I'm pretty My my idiot friend said,

what does your daughter want for birthday? This was back in the spring, and I was like, oh, you know, just send er whatever, and uh, you know, he sent me a classroom, a kit for two classrooms for kids to grow their own butterflies. And so just at my door one day, shows up like a like a cooler

full of like sixty live caterpillars shot glasses. Like I have to fill them all with like two million liters of food and then I have to like attach all these little things and make them comfortable and put them around the house where the babies don't smash them. And uh yeah, it was like it was like a six week process and like my wife and I were up at one o'clock in the morning putting these together before they died. And uh yeah, we we raised like sixty butterflies.

Sixty freaking butterflies. Unbelievable. They were. They different colors like there, you're there, you're pretty much the run of the mill orange, like they're black and orange on the back. There you're pretty like your standard Walmart butterfly They're all beautiful to you. They're your children after all. Uh Connor, um you you've knocked it out of the park and really installed Christmas

spirit at an all time level. Right now when we thank you for stopping by and again check out Connor on Twitter and of course over at s I and Monday Morning Quarterback. He's he's the man. We love him. Happy holidays everybody. Where are the butterflies now? I need to know? They're just they're they're in the they have like a two week lif span. It's over there, they're in the wall. Let them out the front door. You unleash them in like mid December. Isn't that like when

they're typically not We let them go in in October. Yeah, we let them go October, but I didn't right into the heart of winter. Have a nice time. Sorry. Yeah, you know, we raised them to be strong individuals, and so I think that was important for us too. Unbelievable Connor, Our ladies and gentlemen, thank you Connor. Well, I mean,

what an appearance by Connor? Would you expect anything less? Um? All? Right, before we go, first of all, a little housekeeping on Sunday, Um, I you know a little bit of joy I must say. UM played some Scott Zolac greatest hits after the Patriots were eliminated from the playoffs. We expressed a level of we're a little mystified about some of the things. He said something about a jelly especially we didn't tell you right, And then of course the listeners came in and helped

us out. That is a reference from the nineteen nine Chevy Chase Pick your Christmas Vacation and Colleen's wearing the sweater. What why is the carpet? What? Todd? I don't know, Margot, So here is just so everyone knows. This is what the red this is Zolak And then where the reference comes from. It's the gift that keeps on giving. He's a Jelly of the Month club one year membership, and the Jelly of the Month club partner's the gift that keeps on giving them a whole year. All right, there

you go, and I have one. I have one more, a gift for everyone. But before we do that, UM, anybody have final thoughts before we sign off, and reminded, we have our preview episode where we go through Week sixteen that will go up a day early tomorrow, so you'll hear us again before Christmas. But any final thoughts before uh, you know, the holidays. Uh, And we signed off today. I'd like my boss Frank Shirley right here tonight from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody

Lane with a big ribbon on his head. Well played, well played, Greg? How about you, buddy? Oh, I don't know alright Mark? Um, I would just say that it has been kind of a crazy year obviously, but um, we've probably logged four hours together on I'm just of me staring at you on this computer screen I'm looking at and it's it's Um, I won't think. I think I'll remember this year more than any other year of our show. It's been a very odd one, um, and good too, So thank you for sticking along with it.

That sound a little too sincere, well said, and and doing it without West has been so tough, but when he has been able to chip in, uh, that has made it, uh those shows extra special. It's been a challenging year, but we've been able to do it together. How about you, Patrick Laban? Yeah, I was gonna double down on the sincerity because I mean, we go back, Uh if not for you guys, have not for Dave Damna check like I probably never would have been on

a podcast. And I look at obviously it took entire and entire social revolution for me to get a whole lot of opportunity in that would have never been possible. Um without you guys, and like for so for like you Dad and you Mark and Wes and you Greg. Like the things that you do not just for us, but for everybody because has been held for so many people. And Uh, to be able to hear you guys talk about football, to facilitate this discussion about football in life.

All the time, you guys are crushing it and you've always crushed it. And I appreciate you. Thank thank you man Greg. Last chance. It's partly because my kids are melting down right now and I need to be watching them. What um alright, So I signed off this way. I want to start a little tradition. Maybe it's a tradition, maybe it's not. But I don't know if you're aware of Well, you know Rodrico Blanketship, the cults kicker he's having this year. Hot Rod has been killing it. Uh,

he deserves to go to the Pro Bowl. Hell maybe even all Pro twenty nine thirty two field goals, thirty eight of forty extra points, hit another bomb this past week. What you may or may not know is that Rodrigo Blanket ship UM has for years maintained a personal blog that he writes in UH in the third person, and if you comb your way through that blog, you will find his senior year of high school UH, where he has some comments about his time on the soccer team

UH and how it didn't always go to plan. So I call this UM and again we'll sign off with this and happy holidays whatever you celebrate to everyone that listens. But I call this a hot rod Christmas Carol headline. Rodrigo senior season ends on familiar note, no playoffs, yet

near perfect contributions from Legatron. Here we go. Rodrigo senior season for a Berry came to a normal conclusion for the struggling program, as the Yellow Jackets gained no playoff birth and had a final record of five eleven and one, including a pair of meaningless victories over fellow have nots River Ridge and North Atlanta. After being knocked out of playoff consideration by five in Osaka. However, the six one ninety pounder was a veritable automaton regardless of the positions

he was assigned to play. Even though his teammates seemed to struggle, Rodrigo's standards of excellence were never compromised. He finished the season averaging well under one error per game. His touch efficiency remained near perfect at ninety eight percent, and his past completion percentage rose steadily and to get more than after completing more than eighty percent of his

passes over the final three games. Removed from the central midfield spot he had occupied for the previous two varsity seasons, Rodriguez became an immovable objected right back while his teammates

appeared to struggle in the midfield. For the season, Rodrigo was dispossessed only once for a grand total of two for the entire three seasons of varsity contribution competition for Legatron, a nickname coined for him by a Georgia Bulldog football fan excited about the upcoming false season and Athens, a long season of frustration ended ironically on the bench, he was headbutted by a North Atlanta player while clearing a ball out of the penalty area, sending him to the sidelines.

For the last six minutes of his career. Diagnosed with a mild concussion. M Merry Christmas, everybody right un