Bunkercast XVI: Real Heroes

tract the days anymore. They're all essentially the same. Uh. And that is just one of the many burdens faced right here. Good good garbage material, you know. It's like it's like that's a man of the people's stuff. It's just like a slice of regular life. Do you put Do you put your garbage out on the corner? Greg Um? Yes? Sometimes I always take it in. We share the same garbage canisters with the two apartments behind us, so it's a group effort. I'm I always taking them. Ever, any

heat with that. Now, sharing trash could lead to, uh, you know, neighborly squabbles. I often just take it out into the streets, you know where there where it's there all the time in the alley. Don't even mess with the doesn't feel like a great time to be sharing. Uh, refuse with other people, Greg, but you know you have your own plan and direction. Um, Wes, how are you, buddy? I'm doing well. We had another neighbor happy hour last night. We made a trip to CVS with our masks and

gloves on. Um, anytime you get to a store and you don't have to stand in a like a hundred yard line, it's a good situation. So CVS was walked right in. Strange because my local drug store is the same way. You would think they would have some of the traffic issues. Not at the same level as the grocery store, but for instance, the shopping center right near me, it's a fifty ft line to get into vans and then um, you have right aid right next door, walk

right on it. Yeah, Trader Joe's is almost right next door, and that was a long line. I've been in Trader joe several times since this all started, and there's never been food on the shelves. So I would advise people to maybe try somewhere else. And Greg, there's Greg's beautiful children. Look at the look at that, look at that Hi Ellis, Ellis Troublemakers. I mean it plays better on video than

an audio podcast hillas mode of communication. They're saying hi to you guys, if you want to say hello Ellis and Walker Rosenthal Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Okay bye bye. Wow, little potty talk in a big spot. A young Howard Stern in the making. Wow. A lot of a lot of poop talk over here, um bhoop talks huge with the kids. Man. Yeah, they love a lot of They're learning about their bodies. Why would it

not be a you know, speaking of Howard Stern. Tom Brady gonna be on Stern next week, which is suddenly free for all listeners. I'm curious to listen to that. Brady is going on Stern. W is um April eighth. I saw them and apparently whatever Stern is on, they've made it free to all listeners. So I am. I am really curious because he's he's gonna get some stuff out of time. Uh, well, Howard is starting. I'm a

Howard fan going back twenty years. He's really softened up. Um, even in the last five years or so, i'd say, with age and moved away from reputation and how he built his career, and he's really put a lot of focus on the celebrity interview angle. I think he's trying to massage his legacy a little bit here in the back end of his career. So I don't know if we're gonna get the if Howard Stern interview Tom Brady fifteen years ago. Uh. First of all, Tom Brady's not

going on the show. Uh. Second of all, it's gonna be a very different line of questioning. So I anybody that's expecting some type of raunchy, no holds bar to interview with Brady, you might be disappointed, but it could still be a very good interview because Stern does his prep and and he's very good at that. I'm not that interested in any you know, him diving deep into the Gisel relationship or not. I mean, that'd be fine, but read you want to, I bet he'll get some stuff.

He'll he'll bug him about his actual relationship with Belichick in a way that maybe he'll actually get some answers. Yeah, and that need help. Stern doesn't know anything about sports, but he has guys on his team, like Baba Boo that should be able to help out. That's an important interview. We've been waiting all along for Baba Booy to get to the bottom of this, and it feels like it's

a perfect pairing. There you go. Um, all right, today's show, we're gonna get caught up on some news and uh, including the return of a player that had similarly been forgotten. Uh and now he is back in the mix in the NFL after years in the desert. Um. And also we're going to talk a little bit. Uh. We've this week, we've mixed it up a little bit and and thrown around some um opportunities for each of us to come up with a theme of the day, something to talk

about for a segment or a show. West. You you had a good idea for today, which is, well, we open every show is the room full of heroes. But it's with a wink. We are not heroes. We know that, UM. But now we have you know, friends and listeners in the hospital battling COVID. We have healthcare workers dedicated to fighting the virus and some of them are listening to our podcast during down times between those shifts. We're finding out what heroes really are, So we're gonna talk a

little bit about heroes today. Sounds good. But before that, yes, let's get caught up on the news. There are plenty of things we cannot do right now, but let's focus on what we can do. We can adapt, we can adjust, and we can make better decisions right now for the betterment of the future. As I tell our team, let's keep stringing good days together and we will get through this. Yeah, Bill, who's that fired up right out? Who's not ready to run through a wall? What? What? What a gifted? In

terms of charisma, I've always found a belt. Well he is the proof though, I mean, one of the great motivators and um unquestionably one of the greatest coaches in the history of professional football. Uh, not a guy that you would think you'd be running through a wall for strictly based on the cadence of his voice. Nickname Doom is that true doom walking around the corner? Here comes Doom. Go to Pro Football Reference and we'll have eight other

nicknames that none of us have heard of. That said, that site seems to be off on their own project when it comes to nicknames that simply are not grounded in reality. For players and coaches. Alright, let's get into it some news. Terry Henry signs his ten boy two million dollar franchise tender. Uh that site has been operating without jurisdiction for too long. I just, I guess I'll just I'll lay it out there again because you did bring this up about two months ago. I wrote an

article about this on our website. I reached out to the people there and they said that they basically put up almost anything that's sent to them, and it's a bit of like an inside joke between the readers and the website. Well not all, not everyone is laughing. I do I seem like I'm laughing about this. No, you are not laughing at all. Derrick Henry, the Titans running back,

the rushing champion. He signs that franchise tenderest MS ESPN is Adam Schefter added that the two sides are still committed to working for a long term extension before June. But we don't have to worry about it, seems any type of holdout because he is now under contract. He's signed. He's not going to use it as leverage and uh,

West it is a tough situation on some level. For Henry because when you look at what other skill players and other playmakers in the league are making compared to what he's gonna make this year, potentially, if he doesn't get that long term deal, it's stinks. But it's just the it's the way of the beast. Yeah, every once in a blue moon, you'll see a player under the franchise tag maybe draw a hint of interest around the league, But this is not the off season for that, first

of all, and he doesn't play the position for that. Secondly, I do think you know, I've talked about how nobody feels sorry for fullbacks and they're practically extinct, but there's this outcry for running backs, and I do think it's unfair the way running backs are treated. I would have liked to have seen that addressed in some way. Uh in the c B A um that their greatest years earning years are in college in their first year or

two in the NFL when they're underpaid severely. So there is no mechanism for running backs to get paid what they're worth, and I don't see a way out of that. Yeah, the rookie wage scale UH keeps obviously their number down, and then as as much as it stinks like something like what happened with Todd Gurley. Greg Uh, You're an absolute superstar out of college. You're one of the best

players in the league. So the Rams say, all right, we're gonna rip up that contract and pay him like a superstar and make him a cornerstone, and then that blows up in their face. So that just is yet another caution sign that it doesn't seem like getting paid as a running back is something that's coming anytime soon. Yeah, it's unfortunate. I think it's just market dynamics. Same thing with inside linebackers and safeties, depending on the position you play.

But him signing it got me thinking, all these players are signing their tag early, and I do wonder if, because there's so much uncertainty out there, they want to theoretically lock up the money. And I've thought about free agents that are out there right now, like Jadevan Clowney, whether they're starting to get a little nervous because what if this se as it is delayed, What if it affects um your salary moving forward? What if the NFL

doesn't pay all their players this year? Do you want to lock in your contract like it's complicated, But there's reports with the NBA that some of their you know, weekly salaries might stop sooner than later, and that has to start playing into the minds of how all these deals are getting done and you love this stuff, Greg with agents leaking stories to further contract negotiations. First thing I came to mind when I saw the headline that Clowney has dropped his price a couple of million dollars.

That seemed like a situation where despite the report that we heard uh that clown he might wait till training camp, Connie probably would rather figure out a way to get paid sooner rather later. In this climate and just in general, everybody wants to get paid rather than be left hanging right. You get a signing bonus, and who knows what if in two months they start, you know, talking about delay in the season or something, and he's just like unsigned,

that's that's money you're not getting back. Well, I think what's different about Clowney is we know he has an injury history. He's got a microfracture knee surgery, and that is the type of thing that your own medical doctors are are gonna want to check out before you part with twenty million dollars a year. And last note on this, Henry again, ten point two million. If he doesn't get

the deal done, that's what he'll make this year. Just for some perspective, Robbie Anderson a perfectly fine wide receiver but by no means a star. Just signed a deal with the Panthers that is essentially a one year, twelve million dollar deal. And if you can tell me that Robby Anderson is half the playmaker and is important to his team as Derrick Henry is, that is something's a little bit off. But it doesn't seem like we're getting

a change anytime soon, considering the CBA just passed. I would wonder if you're if you're plugged in in your fifteen sixteen years old and you're seeing this. I don't think the mindset at that age is just thriving whatever you can do well. But why become a running back when you probably have the athleticism to play a different type a position, or why stick around until you're a senior unless you're clogged up by a bunch of people starting over you get out of get out of college

as a freshman or sophomore. I mean, how else do you maximize your earnings and hit the NFL at a different age, Like it's going to create some sort of reaction from human beings choosing that career. When a career dries up. Uh, you know, money wise, people make they make changes. So are running backs just going to accept this for the next twenty years? Please? Let's let's move on the un There's something about your size today, Mark that are there. I'm just trying to throw a comment

when I can. I don't know. It's like I I don't deal with the the You guys got the financial stuff down perfectly. I enjoyed it, but it's do you believe that? It's like if I were like a star running back in high school, but I can play multiple positions, like we go play cornerback, go play cornerback. Those guys are getting ridiculous contracts, you know, two or three deals down the road. I'm not that option is available to Derrick Henry. Well, this is what this is what you

want to be. You want to be a backup quarterback in the NFL. If you could just navigate your way there, you don't get any of the beating and you get a pretty nice pay day. Blaine Gabbert has resigned with the Bucks on a one year contract. There and yes, thank you Gabert, who missed most of twenty nineteen with a bad shoulder, he'll now be It's historically, with the exception of one season, the easiest job in pro football is to be Tom Brady's backup quarterback because Brady plays,

that's all he does. He just plays relentlessly. He never misses a week, even though he's turning forty three in August. But Gabbertt, he'll be the guy behind Brady, and God forbid something happens to Tom terrific because Gabert can't play.

I mean, Mark, we know that you know one person I think does believe that Blaine Gabbert can play, as Bruce Arians, who began the I thought the PR camp, not PR campaign, but like the working with Blaine Gabbert, where you shifted away from ultra draft bus slash disappointment to floating some comments out there when they were with the Cardinals for a little bit saying I believe in

this guy. I think he can he can fling it and like Arians kind of dug him and so that's where I drew the connection was that this was a known quantity. Um. I couldn't agree more that Blaine Gabbert, like if you base it on history, will be paid an incredible amount of money to go to these like the workplace cafeteria and probably get a lot of free garb and you know, shoes and sweatshirts to do essentially nothing,

um when it matters. But that said, he also the flip side is if Tom Brady ever went down, you become one of the most annoying on field presences of all time because not a single person in Tampa who's you know, gonna drop a ton of extra money to go get these season tickets ever thought they'd see Blaine Gabbert doing a single thing. So if he hits the field, we've got major issues. In other Tampa Bay Buccaneers news. Brady needs a place to live down there in Florida.

Uh now that he's a buck and he will live in style. He's renting Derek Jeter's waterfront mansion in Tampa. I. Um, remember this was something when this place was being built, it was tabloid fodder in New York because Jeter wanted a wall. It's basically on the waterfront it's massive as you imagine. You would imagine thirty thousand square feet. Jeter wanted to put up an extra like two ft high on the wall for privacy reasons, and it was known as St. Jetersburg. And I guess no one's living there.

So here comes Tom who moves into the nicest house. I mean, listen, Tom Brady, you gotta, you gotta, Well, it's not easy to be happy for Tom. Brady has had so much greatness in his life. But this coundnot have been a better setup for Brady. Not only is he get to start over, he gets the head South, better weather, play with a coach who's actually nice to him, Um, get that new challenge in his life, have great playmakers

around him. And oh, it just so happens that one of the most famous American athletes, he builds one of the nicest houses in the country and it's available for you to live in. Uh, fifteen minutes from the Bucks facility. This is a perfect setup for the guy. Oh and he got number twelve. God when moved off twelve, I just wondered, does it come with like free the free gift baskets that Derek Peter used to give out to the women that would come to his apartment, probably left over.

There's just like a button that you press and that pops out of a vending machine or something. I I in my in my single days in New York, I heard that story before. It was the story, Yes, the gifts. I never got a gift basket, unfortunately, but I was dating a girl whose close friend got a gift basket from Jeter, and I remember being blown away by it. And then when it showed up in page six a couple of years later, I felt like I was on

the ground floor of something special. He had been doing it for probably a decade, and those were your early days of you know, operating as a media inside or before you were being paid to do so. You were reported, and that actually goes back to my my My one thought on Brady is you know you were hungry. You were living probably um with other people in an apartment, crafting,

gaining your skills. Now you've got a mid forties quarterback who everyone just assumes is gonna go thirteen and three, um, who's twenty years older than most of the people on the roster, living in in in a mansion where what at best he takes up twelve feet of space with all his objects. You're in a gigantic um like Largesse compound away from human beings a family, right, Well, I mean maybe, but I thought the family also lives in

Manhattan and has all these like school obligations. And also, I mean this, this is a super wealthy, famous celebrity. There's there's probably a chef on site, maids, all all sorts of people that need to keep the grounds, uh groundskeeping the whole thing there. Gabt's in the guesthouse, he's in the Cato kalin Hut. Well, I mean when you throw in the fact that Abert needs a living space,

all my issues have gone away. So you're right. Is anyone else feeling like this is just being the red carpets being rolled out for everything to go right, And it's like that's almost how it never works in the NFL. And I want to show everyone's mics off and just have Mark do the next thirty minutes. I'm just saying, if you have so many great takes right now, I just I just there's a little bit a little bit of an issue buzzing inside my mind about how everything

is just so perfect, Like I just don't. We'll see. I hope it goes well for him. I just want to make I mean, the setup. I don't know what's gonna happen when this is very believable. I hope it goes well for them. I actually don't have I don't have an axtagrind with Tom Brady, but I do think that like, you know, you've arrived like a king. You know, you've arrived like a king, and you're and that is not not every athlete on that roster is going to respond to say what does he what do you want

him to do? What has he done? Personally? How about? How about like, how about I don't need to read stories about you moving out on him? Like the biggest mansion out I'm feeling marks take on this one. I mean, you move in, you might as well throw down a drawbridge and higher guards when you're moving into that place that How often does something like that just work out perfectly? Well? Tom and Uh we're gonna I'm going I'm going for the Tom and Gazel did build that big place out here.

They spent like, you know, tens of millions of dollars for two or three years, and then they just never even lived in it. They're like, Oh, I guess we're not gonna live out here's an investment them. That's what they say. That's what they say. I just love that. Like literally a week ago Mark went on and on and on about Martha Ford's like massive estate and how he'd do anything to live there. And now Tom Brady in this castle. That the distinct, uh, the point of departure,

there's that benefits me. And I'm not like, I don't need to worry about Tom Brady. Is fine if I were suddenly living in a mansion with someone that would be probably thinking about who were the people that mattered most with me? When you know, when you forgot about me, who mattered most? This Mark Sessler character is in here helping doing chores. Plus, it's like, you know, what did Tom Brady do to earn earn that sort of money, just like you know, the greatest player in the sports history,

Martha Ford was born into the Ford family. I'm not I like, I'm not saying that Martha Ford should have as much money as she has. That's not the Tom Brady. I've said. What I need to say. I think was born in Indonesia, be poor, we're pushing here. I was into tomorrow. We're just talking Brady's about the rest of the show. The Cowboys have brought Alden Smith back from the dead, signs the former Niners pass rusher to a one year, two million dollar contract. Smith still waiting to

be reinstated UH from the NFL. He had various off the field issues, including um A domestic abuse plea deal some d U. I is just a total mess, and it ruined a career that had started, as you know, one of the more are productive pass rushers we've seen in recent times, and he basically just put a stick of dynamite under his own career. Well, now he's back, he's gotta pay dah as modest as it is. And you would imagine Greg that the Cowboys expect this suspension

to UM be lifted. If they're gonna pay this guy two million dollars, Yeah, they probably got an indication. He has more sacks in his first two seasons than any player in NFL history. So if he if his head's on straight and he doesn't have the substance abuse problems, which is really what derailed him first. UM I had like nineteen sacks is a twenty two year old. It

was something absurd. I remember, I think he had thirty yeah, thirties, thirty something in his first two years, thirty three, I think, which is outrageous. Okay, but let's okay, this has never happened before. Right, he'll be thirty one in September. The last time he was the old and Smith. We remember where he was impacting games, he was twenty four years old, So there's gonna be six to seven years between when he was a star and when he's gonna be playing

for the Cowboys. The only guy I thought of was Roger Staubach, who had a four year Navy mission and could not play in those four years. I can't remember anybody taking six years off or six years between major impacts in the NFL. There's no guaranteed money in the deal, So for for the Cowboys, they probably look at it is like there's zero risk from their perspective. Who was that troubled Jaguars receiver that came out about Blackman? Justin Blackman? Yeah,

I remember when he was having his issues. One of the reports that eventually came out was that one of the reasons why he wasn't getting a second shot beyond his off the field issues, was that he had been away from the game for so long that that's scene is something that guys just can't come back from. If you disappear, it doesn't matter if you're still physically in your prime. It's hard to get back that Burston explosion, you explosion you once had. Aldon Smith, that's gonna be

a challenge for him. You no doubt Alden Smith has been, you know, working out NonStop in the space of time that we've not him on the field. Based on what we know, I feel like it's got to be seven get the body right operations. Speaking of doom, I mean well, I mean it's like it's a if he makes Debbie Downer. I mean, I'm not rooting for Aldon Smith, to be honest with you. So if you're if you're premonition that he might be seventy pounds, is uh true? I don't

think that. I just like, when we it's like suddenly we're gonna lose him for three, you know, three months to a soft tissue injury. I won't be stunned. I mean we've been it's were three weeks into the bunker cast, So I think it's having mar you're killing me today. Tyrod Taylor, he's the front runner to be the charge of starting QB in week one, and that's coming straight from the horse's mouth Anthony Lynn, the head coach of the l A Chargers. Uh. Here's what Anthony had to

say on Wednesday. I brought him in last year and I knew that we if we needed him to start. If something happened to Phil. Phil Rivers since departed, uh not dead, he's on the cult stale, then he could go in and start. I'm very familiar with Tyrod. I would say, right now, it looks like he's in the driver's seat, but no position is final until we get to training camp. Right now, coach speak West. Yeah, I think anytime a coach leaves himself and out there are

plans to use it at some point. So to me, that he's leaving himself and out, that door is open. How is Cam Newton Greg not a better option here? It makes no sense to me, But it really sounds

like they're not interested in Cam Newton. The out I think is that they're going to draft someone, whether it's with the number six pick or whether they move up to to draft someone I think they're drafting someone with that pick, and I'm with you, and I like I I Anthony Lynn's fascination with Tyrod Taylor tracks back to the Rex Ryan Bills, and I think it's to me it kind of vibes Jacoby Brissette like, we like this guy, we like this player. But without the full year of

Tyrod Taylor, it may never happen. If they don't pick a quarterback or move up to get the quarterback they want in the draft, I would be would anyone else not be shocked? I would be shocked, shocked, shocked. That's what they're doing. So this is just that, you know, this is whistling Dixie until in case everything goes wrong, Well, if they don't have much time to practice, though, he I could see Tyrod like when he was with Baker Mayfield starting early in the year. Uh, you missed the

whole off season. It's tough. He's been in that system. And then they bend him in Week four and finally uh. Some college football player news. Mike Gara Folo NFL Network reports that alabam Alabama quarterback to Ah with the hip injury, underwent another medical check um and received quote over whelmingly positive. Close quote news. Uh, he has fulfilled all medical obligations. UM rap sheet adds, and it just seems like this guy is gonna be a full go Maybe. I guess

we've heard that he might be. It might be a situation where he could be a potential redshirt guy as they want to ease a gifted first round prospect into the NFL mix. We'll see how that plays out. But in terms of teams having a reason to be concerned heading into draft day, market seems like TWA is in the clear. Yeah. I mean, the reports are pretty glowing and I think we can trust how the process went

and it it opens the door. And at this point, anyone like knocking down a what will be a franchise, exciting, team altering quarterback because of an injury that's fading away. I don't know what that team would be. It just seems like all bets are on for the Dolphins or someone else to come grab this guy. That's what's happening in the new is actually one more a little developing news? Well, let's uh, let's head toward to the studio for some

developing news. He's on the radar. The Orlando led Better checking in on Twitter. Here's the tweet. Hey guys at around the NFL, thanks for shout out on the top thirty QB podcast. Got my steps in this morning listening to you all. Great job at Dan Jansas, at Greg Rosenthal and at Chris Wesling d Orlando led Better of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. A lot to unpack here, guys, Uh, where do we want to start? Greg? Wow? Well, I

think you know the first thing. It's it's a it's a great feeling to have that sort of respect and nowhere connecting with some as great as as d Lead. But you just had to notice whose name was was missing there? The man um Mark Sessler, who's who's reached out to de Lead and mentioned what it meant, what a hero he is to him. It's justice in terms

of context. On a show earlier this week, I talked about how I kind of looked up to Matt money Smith and Dave damn Check certainly when I first started this company and was getting to know them, and then Mark, you had chimed in with the Lead as somebody that you looked up to. Where are you at right now when you see this tweet and the thoughts on your name not being in there. Do you think there's something more to this? Do you think it was just an

honest mistake? Take us through your thought process right here. Really, I mean, I'm really mentally because I thought of anyone attached to our our product. I made it clear that, you know, dating back to early combines, I went to that this was someone I'd see across the room UH operating as a PFW A lieutenant doing a great job wrangling UM pool reports from people. It's clear in the past that I wanted to join that organization. They said

no to me. So I I don't know if it's attached to UM like an organizational PFW A wide UH band on my work, or if it's more personal UM, or if it's an oversight because we do get tweets occasionally where UM and I don't see them because my name is left out of the group where the others are thanked for their service. So I I'm baffled UM. Like I said, I mentally am catching up to the

whole thing, certainly emotionally UM. But I I'm not going to draw any final conclusions until I have more information, because I am at the at the I am a reporter myself. So I want to deal in facts, and what I have to work with was what was this whe There's probably a second part to this, the omission of Mark's name on purpose or accidental. Oh, it's on purpose.

I don't understand what the motivation would be. I mean, he heard the words come out of Mark's mouth and then the one person not mentioned in the tweet is the person who was talking about him. I'd say that to draw your own conclusion, situation. My conclusion is it was done on purpose. Now what that purpose was, I'm not sure. Well, he'm leading, I'm leaning towards west side. It's a little bit of a wink and a nod. Hey, y'all,

I'm listening, and I see smart Alec. I think that's kind of the smart Alec I mean is that it's basically like, Hey, stinky Davis, I'm right here. Well, and this isn't the first time, you know, d led a legend. Um his name has been mentioned lately. Uh. You know, there was a ranking that Mark put out a few weeks ago. Um that upset we We know Peter Schraeger, a trusted UH man in the industry for his own mission and d lad did make that list, but maybe

maybe he wasn't thrilled about his placement on that list either. Well, so we wanted to be higher. I mean, I guess that that's a fair place to start from the argument. But I feel like my b line through this has been ray you know, like pointing to his work is something that's you know, a great part of our industry. And what's the action step here, Mark? I mean my move is like again, I'm gat I'm in the gathering information portion of this, so uh, not a lot of

proactive I'm not I'm not engaging. I'm just gonna see where we are a week from now. It's just like with many things in our country, Dan, Well, the one short thing about this situation is it is your move. Well that the onus he gave you the onus. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I have to do anything at all, but I'm I am I All things are on the table as possibility. We know he's he's aware because I mean I think since we even started taping this, he he liked a tweet

where you know, I just said thanks the lead. I just wanted to recognize his tweets so the interactions happening, he's listening to the show, he's he's interacting on Twitter. It's it's a conversation. Yeah, that part of it. I don't like at all that he that you're all raising up, you know, a steam wise in his eyes. And I have been left, uh in a perilous place, a bad place, frankly, and I know I'm confused as to what have we ever done? Like three minutes of the show that is

more just for us. I'm gonna right now to eggs d lead you demand as the producer of the show. I really appreciate you listening. Well, see that's you know, you want to see Stinky Davis references. They're they're all over the place. That's you're just pouring salt into the theoretical wounds. It's ghastline on the fire. Really. Um, all right, well,

we'll we'll continue to track this developing story. As we get more information, we will bring it to you the listener, d lad game, let it fully lead it all right, West, it's cut the funny business. Let's get real, go ahead, less take it over. Well, this is a sports show.

And I think I would start out by saying, picture of the closing seconds of a tightly fought championship game basketball, football, baseball, the camera in that to belief find some ten year old bawling his eyes out, because at that age you worship your sports heroes. You want to emulate them, and you go out in the backyard. If you're my age, you know, you literally pretend you were Michael Jordan's or Pete Rose or Johnny bench Um. If you're younger, maybe

uh Lebron James or Lamar Jackson. And for Freud would say, we're fixiate. We're fixating on ideals of masculinity as we try to develop our own identities, and eventually we grow out of that phase. And with the exception of some generational icons like Jackie Robinson or a Muhammad Ali, we tend to shift our hif focus to heroes who take a personal risk for the common good, often while others remain passive. That's what a hero is, and it's a

concept is deeply valued across cultures. The earliest campfire tales gave us stories of heroes, you know, sort of like modern lighthouses, helping us find our way in the dark, you know, as long as we look out for them. And the key to hear wis m is a concern for other people. It doesn't happen in the absence of compassion or self sacrifice. I know you guys all remember the Stanford Um prison experiments psychologist named Philip Zimbardo. Uh.

He noted that there is a banality of evil. Under certain conditions and pressures, ordinary people can commit acts that would otherwise be unthinkable, And after three years, three decades of studying evil, he became entranced with the flip side of that coin, sort of a bin binality of heroism, where anybody can be a hero, of us coming out of the womb, with the potential u for both good and evil, depending on circumstances and character. Think about your

greatest your favorite films, TV shows, uh, theater, literature. You place a human being in a crucible and see how he or she reacts. Circumstances shape our lives, and you don't need to be a superhuman to be a hero. Many heroes feel sort of a moral tickle in the brains where you you can't ignore it anymore. It keeps grinding away at you until you act out on that. And I think a lot of us are reluctant heroes.

The bell curve has villains on one side, heroes at the other, and a bunch of us as bystanders in the middle. Um. And to me, this is where the experts come in. We live in a country with a steep history of anti intellectualism, and it's getting worse with the prevailing sentiment across cable news that my ignorance is as valid as your knowledge. UM. So I want to take this time to thank our scientists, doctors, nurses, some of our greatest experts. I'm here today because of their expertise.

If I have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in an earlier generation, this podcast would feature Dan Mark, greg and an attractive female in the fourth chair. UM. And I think, right now, while I'm crying out for more attention for our experts, we have a leadership vacuum. We have top

down chaos right now. Um. During the Corona's coronavirus pandemic, we have a governor of Georgia who said, just in the last twenty four hours, we didn't know until these last twenty four hours that individuals could infect people before they ever felt bad. Um, we knew, we knew, Um, some of our experts. UM. Some of our politicians did not know, but our experts did. And I think one good thing that we're seeing coming out of this is the ordinary Americans are filling in the holes of that

leadership vacuum. UM. And I think about a guy who's been on this podcast, UM, Zach Goldman, and he's a hero to me. UM. He has been apoplectic about Americans congregating in public for the past five weeks, stressing the importance of flattening the curve, thinking beyond yourself, showing compassion, that even if you are not showing symptoms, you can

carry this disease and it can affect other people. UM. You know Zimbarda, the psychologist I talked about with the with the Prisoned experiment, He noted the heroes generally possessed an expanded worldview and greater positivity than the rest of us. And I think that describes Zack Goldman. He does have an expanded worldview. He is setting an example. UM. He he Engender's wisdom in respect for expertise, truth telling, and compassion. And I think that that's what we need from heroes,

because heroism is a chain. When we see other people doing it. We do it ourselves, so UM, I would um, I want to put Zack up as a hero and see if any of you guys have heroes. Well, Zach is yeah, definitely an enlightened dude. UM. And I think the more people that take this as seriously as Zack is,

the better. Unfortunately, that hasn't necessarily been the case. Going back to a lot of things that you're saying, I think it's yeah, I think it's it's maybe on the nose, but it has to be said that the all the medical professionals that are out on the front lines here and don't have the right enough supplies, uh, don't have the necessary protection, are completely overwhelmed and it's only getting more and more overwhelming with each day as we approved

approached the apex of this. UM. It's it's frightening because if we if we lose, if we lose these people, what what happens after that? That's what part of what makes us really scary. And my mom um is retired now, but she was a registered nurse and she used to tell me stories when she was working in the er um. That is not an easy job in the best of times. That is a that is a unforgiving. The hours are difficult, the people that you deal with UM sometimes it's not

the best situation. So now you take all that, you crank it up from a ten to a one hundred at a ten and you and you understand what these people have and and like us, we we struggle with UM the challenges of working from home. You know a lot of these people have families at home UM. So that to me is is really where where I think UM people need to keep these medical professionals in mind because they don't have the choice to stay home and they are putting their lives at risk. Yeah, it's well said.

Like in Italy, which has been hit you know, per capita, probably worse worse than anywhere, I think fifteen of their cases of coronavirus our healthcare workers. And you're starting to see that here too. You're starting to see that in a lot of these public jobs. There's more you know, police and firemen with COVID nineteen in New York than entire states have in New York City alone that entire states have UM. And so they're on the front lines.

But it really stands out to me like what's essential and not essential in these times, and how many of the essential jobs are some of like the lowest paid, and you you think. I think about like the lady Beatrice that at Bonds across the street that I see every single morning, who I spoke with, and she she's worked. She's I think she said like twenty six straight days when I talked to her, and she's just showing up

every shift. I mean not everyone is. She's healthy and she just keeps doing it like we were thankful to have, like you know, delivery um or or pick up for restaurants. If you're doing that like that that cooks in the kitchen, you know, and they are not getting paid like the people keeping the restaurants open. They are losing money on those restaurants. Like they're like this delivery and makes they're getting absolutely killed, but they're keeping it open and they're

cooking for you. Uh and they're and they're putting themselves, uh at risk. Yeah, I would. I would add to that just that you know, you guys mentioned CVS and I feel like I've um use CVS as a as a gag in the past, but I've been there like every day because I don't want to do the longline

grocery store thing. We were lucky enough to live in l a where you can, UM with a nice tip, have groceries delivered to your house on a five or six day lag, and so we've used that just based out of UM not one to spend hours doing that, but going into CVS, if seen two or three of the same people that are logging UM insane long hours. They're not getting paid well, but they are providing essential services. We're talking about like people's medicine. We're talking about, uh,

what there is still water. They're that kind of stuff. But another thing that hit me UM a little bit more personally because I I think that we're talking about these people have been put in this tough position. I think a lot of like a lot of like school children and children in general, who don't have the UM worldview that we're talking about that many heroes would have, where you kind of get the larger struggle. Their world's

very small. UM. They have a lot of fears that they don't really enunciate or able to even kind of unpack. And I like when we found out the kids are gonna be home for at first weeks and then a probably months, UM in our house. We were very concerned. We have been told and I'll just be real about this, like Bier pediatrician that Artiel children are in quotes active um and which is a code word for a lot of a lot to handle and um they are delightful.

But the the other side is when we've got into trouble. It's when we've had too much cabin fever. And so our success in the past has been to get everyone out of the house and go do lots of stuff and split them up and then bring them back together. And there's none of that, and so we were very concerned and as were many other parents, just with the overall combustible nature of having um kids home where parents

are trying to work. My little boys, and I think this is true with a lot of kids I've seen have adjusted really well and they've been um adaptable and super positive, and they've kind of surprised me. I think sometimes, like a hero, equality is you didn't really know if you had it in you or someone else close to

you has it in them. And I'm kind of um thrilled with how uh it's helped our family because they've been kind of in there at seven and nine, really stepping up to be team mates versus just served me this and that all day long, but logging on like with their homework and seeing fifteen or sixteen other are kids in a zoom chat room who are also doing the best they can and try not to just give into fear and not knowing what's happening to America. Credit

to them, because I don't. I can't imagine um being a child at a certain age where you realize that if you do that, how much the country has changed. Maybe they don't understand, but if they do, they're handling better than a lot of um people I see on Twitter and adults in general. You know, Ellis found out you after any of my daughter that school is canceled for the rest of the year. I mean, you could have Center to the moon. She was damning you know.

This part of it, they like, some of the aspects are quite eightful from inside the house. Yeah, the innocence of youth is on wild display during this entire catastrophe, because the less they understand of the real world, the better and all they they're really getting to hang out with their family and their mom and dad, who are the coolest people in the world. When you're in the age of my kids and your and your the age

of your children. So that's a cool thing. Um, anything else you wanted to add West before we uh say goodbye? Is there anything Ricky wants to Ricky? Sorry, I just want to echo the sentiments that you guys have been saying. I mean, I'm just blown away whenever I go to the grocery store and like you said, Greg, people are are still there, and it's like the people that get paid pretty much the lowest on the totem pole. Besides, you know, healthcare workers are the ones that are literally

keeping us all alive. I mean, the grocery stores are open, they're they're they're happy, they're trying to make people safe. I think, um, the airline workers who are showing up with masks and whatever to get people to where they need to be for safety, like essential travel, I think is so brave. Um. A lot of these people can afford to take time off, and I just feel so fortunate that we're able to work from home. We're not

worried about our jobs. Like, there's so many people and so many families that are scared right now, and it just like gives me a totally new perspective and appreciation when I wake up every morning, like I just I want to do whatever I can to help, and it's it's just there's only so much that someone like me

could do. Um And I'd like to say that like a lot of people I'm seeing on Twitter, like, I don't think it's all necessarily about money, but I think a lot of people that are, like, hey, if if you're a waitress, like let me send you a twenty dollar tips to go get your coffee or whatever. I just feel like to see all these people like coming

together to help other people. And like West you said, with the whole top down thing in our government, like I do feel really discouraged sometimes about humanity and how people think and how people feel, But there is a positive that comes out of this. I think the reason why I was attracted this topic is because I have a serious craving for some some monce of leadership right now. And you can find all kinds of definitions for heroes.

There is not one definition, but what they do have is they improve lives and they inspire positive change, and heroism is really the high water mark of human behavior. So for me that that really nourished something that I needed to be nourished to read about heroes and think about heroes. And where you're reading it, it sticks out to me is is often in these newspapers. And I've thought a lot about journalists the last could months, like how how invaluable and like heroic some of the work

that that journalists are doing. Like I think back to a couple of months ago, they're reporting from the New York Times inside of Buhan during what at the time seemed like an incredibly dystopic future that no one could possibly imagine. And I was like, I can't believe this is actually existing in the world. And now you know it's come to us. It's not you know, quite um

as uh draconian, I guess is what happened there. But you see the like the reporting from whether it's the l A Times or or New York Times or or where wherever, Like the people that are out there doing that reporting it really is a public service and and it's not easy and they're putting themselves on the line too. Um okay, And just one final thought I had, it's we are at as of this morning, five thousand people have died in this country alone, including one thousand in

one day. Yesterday, I saw a New York City city councilman said he has five people he knows and our friends with who have died already in the Tri state area have now have now you know, lost their lives than in nine eleven. I mean, that is outrageous. My family is all based in New York where I come from, in Rockland County. UM, as of yesterday, there were fourteen hundred confirmed cases, which is more than thirty three states.

My sister lives there, her husband, two kids, my brother. UM, so it's very scary and I I just wanted to shine a light on one of the victims. And people that know me know that I love music and I love alternative rock and UM. One person who died uh yesterday, in fact, was Adam Schlessinger of Fountain of Wayne. Uh. He was the songwriter. UH. He's fifty two years old

and UM he died from complications of the coronavirus. And this guy was UM a gifted UH like power pop songwriter type of guy that I would imagine other songwriters

envied for his ability to write a hook. And he wrote for movies, he wrote for television, he wrote for Broadway, and um, he had one kind of big radio hit, which was Stacy's Mom in two thousand three that um, a lot of people know, but if you actually, um want to listen to some great alternative like post grunge, alternative power pop pull up like the greatest hits of Fountains of Wayne and uh and and remember uh this guy that way because he Uh. It's just an example

of how people are getting struck down. And it doesn't really matter how old you are, um uh. And it's just so sad and it's going to continue to mount. The number is in the amount of people that are going to die. And I think that is the one thing that me and I think a lot of people are not really able to fully process yet, how many people are dying right now. UM. So I just wanted to mention him and and uh and the show by playing out one of his most well known songs, which

is actually from the movie That Thing You Do. He wrote the song, um, the title song from that movie, and it's one of his more beloved compositions ever. So, UM, I thought that was great stuff from everybody there and everybody listening that has reached out to us and said thank you for doing it every day. Well, I guess it's just doing our part to kind of help during all this. And um, but obviously, like West said, yeah, they're actual heroes involved here. Now we don't get that.

We don't get that corner anymore. How do we get the corner back? It's gonna take a lot. It's it's not happening anytime soon. Should we be fa heiros until this is over? I mean we've kind of been that with the whole time. I would argue that was our role, but we we had our serious discussion. Now we can go back to frivolity, right, I mean it's like, yeah, they're they're doing a lot. I mean, who's breaking down QB rankings like us? Nobody? Nobody. All right, we'll we'll

be back tomorrow with more fun talk. So take it away. Uh, Fountains of Wayne Dan hands a signing off for the Quiet Storm, the Mailman, the Old Boss, and Rick Hollywood from her apartment until Friday, tomb breaking to a million like you always do. Don't need to found I can't go with through and try and try to forget you there, but's just so hard to do every time you do that thing you do