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Love to have him more.
Nick Wright, my buddy at FS one. We should say this. This just broke before we did this twenty minutes before. Bill Belichick three years, thirty million dollars will now coach North Carolina. I've said before he won forty four percent of his games in the NFL on two different teams franchises without Tom Brady. I mean, you know, four or five in Cleveland losing records first year, Bledsoe losing record, last two years, No Brady losing record. And I think
the game culturally has changed. Players have more power. It's more of an offensive league. I don't see him being a huge hit in North Carolina the advantage. It's a terrible conference. It's just it's really bad. There's now if he went to the big ten of the SEC, I think he'd get crushed. Do you think he has any success at Carolina so well?
I mean, listen, you obviously know the college game better than I do. Uh And but I had a similar instinct, which is the question is can you win the ACC or hell, you know, can you come and just make the ACC Championship game? Like the ACC got two teams in the playoff this year, right, Clemson and SMU, so like there's more than one. There's more than one path. I my instant reaction was not really about how good he's going to be at North Carolina. It's about how
shocking this is. And this is like, to me, at least, this is shocking. I Colin, eleven months ago, you and I on TV and on the pod talked about should the following playoff teams, double digit win teams fire their head coach to bring in Bill Belichick? The Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills. It was a if they collapsed type of thing when it looked like the
season was going going to go wrong. That was eleven months ago for it to be us to narratively be there, and now because I think he's yes, he's taking this because Legacy and his son and I get that. But I also think he got the message, buddy, you're probably going to be shut out of the NFL coaching church again. I assumed last year there would be a fight for Bill Belichick. Instead, he got one interview in Atlanta and they passed on him for a different defensive head coach.
And so who had been fired? That to me is who had been fired?
Right? That to me is shocking. And you know, you I don't want to say enjoy conspiracy seat theories because that's not it, but you enjoy kind of as I do, like why thinking about why did this happen? What could be going on behind the scenes. I do wonder how much poison was put in the ear of other NFL
owners by Robert Krafft. Yeah, because for Belichick to truly believe no one is going to hire me, that to me is that is shocking, like truly truly shocking to where he preemptively takes this North Carolina job.
Yeah. I think the message for me in this Belichick reminds me of Bobby Knight is that Bobby Knight was viewed in his prime as the best coach. He at times could be gruff, you know, mean spirited. In the end, could not grasp the new culture. Bobby Knight the one and done, you know Belichick player empowerment rule changes which Andy Reid has seamlessly bounced through like multiple different cultural
changes in the NFL. And then at the end, basically Bobby Knight was just trying to get his son a head coaching job, and nobody would offer this former genius a job no legitimate school would. And that's Belichick, is that now he's been reduced to now it's three years and thirty million dollars, like Bobby Knight. Basically he's taking this job to set his son up for a job
and can't get any legitimate offers. And I think it here's the parallel, is that Bobby was all about retaining power, and that was really at the heart of Bobby Knight's strength as virtue and his hindrance late is that nobody wanted to hire Bobby because you hadn't basically give total control to him. And that's Bill's problem. His personnel decisions are horrible. Now he's had a couple of defensive hits. He hasn't drafted an offensive Pro Bowl level player probably
since Kronk. But it's it's the unwillingness of older successful men to relinquish any power, the need for control.
So so let me so I do at some point because you're interested in this like I am, want to discuss how we think Belichick versus Andy is going to play out over the next three, five, ten years. But before we go to that, one of the things that I like doing when I'm on with you is kind of you know, I don't want to say straying from sports, but which go a lot of places. Does that worry you?
For you? And by that, I mean because I think about it, which is like, man, so many legends across so many industries.
The ending sucks, like the the I the I thought it was kind of unfair, and I vocally defended him on the show, But I think about broadcasting that there was in you know, in October, you know, there was a raining chorus on social media of you know who sucks?
Al Michaels and Bob Costas. Ye what are those guys doing? And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. These are like the legends of the industry. But Al was getting bad games, and people didn't like the way Bob called baseball games, even though that's the way he called baseball games forever. And I'm like, well, that's that's not a
great ending you brought up, Bobby Knight. I you know, most people don't get or don't execute Johnny Carson, and so when you see so many of these guys not figuring out an exit, like what is I'm not talking like you're not close to the end of your career.
But you know what I.
Mean, Like it's it bounced on my head, like why does nobody be why are people not okay leaving? Like He's accomplished everything, he's got all the money, he seems to be happy socially, Like I don't, I don't get it.
Yeah, and it's concerning, Well, what did Johnny Carson have? Who had a great exit that the others didn't? Johnny Carson Productions. That's why I created the volume. I will manage and be an executive, not a broadcast on your own company. Yeah, so, and I enjoyed do that, so I created the volume largely so when networks are not interested, I will move into a management position. And I love that in a production position, that's what I like to do.
So why do you? But so why do you think? Well, I think it was not on the board for Bill to be like when I'm done with the Patriots, I'm just done, Like I have six super Bowls, I've made twenty plus million for the last however many years, Like I'm seventy years old. I evidently want to date incredibly young women and travel Like why why is what that's fascinating to me? Like why you wouldn't just call it.
Yeah. He probably doesn't have a ton of hobbies, although he does have a boat and he golfs, so he has enough. It's a good question. If Tom Brady would have left for Tampa and failed, I think he would have been more comfortable just saying it's over. We were great for each other and we were never quite the same without each other. But Brady Jettison's the Patriots wins a super Bowl first year with Tampa.
And then almost wins an MVP and is also yeah, and is better than he was his last couple of years in New England.
Yes, so I think that put that, and I don't think Bill would acknowledge that, But they are linked forever. Yep. Montana and Bill Walsh are linked forever, and Bird and Magic on different teams are linked forever. And so I think I think when Tom left and succeeded it puts it.
It raises doubt about a guy that had five years in Cleveland, four of them losing lost in his first year with Drew Bledsoe starting and lost two years in a row, and kind of I mean Matt Patricia to offensive coordinator, it was a bit of a tone deaf clown show. And so I think I think I think there's I think that's part of it. I think we tend to and this is incredibly unhealthy. We tend to
compare ourselves to others. And I think it's just my journey is much more Johnny Carson his production company, and oh, I've told you this before. My idol is Oprah. It's not a sportscaster, right, so her production company and Carson's production company is much more attractive to me as an ending than it is broadcasting when I'm seventy four.
So yeah, I just I there's so many of and you see it, I mean, you're seeing it, I feel like right now with Aaron Rogers. Yeah, in a different way. And you see it with athletes more and it feels different, I guess because we're more used to it. And it's just like, Okay, it's a young man's game. You're not a young man. But it just I don't know if it's the fame, attention, money being all kind of addictive,
but it is. Bill Belichick is probably going to be coaching in the fucking Pop Tarts Bowl next year, and that's that's that's unbelievable. Like, that's really unbelievable. When this time last year, I was discussing should the Eagles preemptively fire Nick Sirianni to hire Bill Belichick? Should the Bills fire Shown McDermott just to be the first market for
Bill Belichick? And I don't know, man, Like, now, listen, somebody will dig this clip up in thirty years when I'm you know, when I'm doing Fortnite play by play on Twitch because nobody else will give me a job, They'll be like time comes for us all.
But it is.
Yeah, it's it's stunning. It's really stunning. And and I just I when I first saw the report a week ago and shout out to Inside Carolina dot Com, which beat everyone on this story by days every time. But when I first saw it, I was like, oh, so Inside Carolina dot Com is just as wrong as they can be and don't care. Yeah, and then it's like, wait,
they're meeting in Manhattan for five hours. Wait he made a four hundred page organizational bible, like, oh, this is gonna happen, and now it's happening, which does bring me so the the Andy Reid thing. I only some people realize how close it is the Shula record. So Andy's at two ninety six, Shola is at three forty seven. Belichick's at three thirty three. So Andy is fifty one wins away. He has. Prior to this year, he had
coached Mahomes for six years. They had ninety wins regular season and playoffs those six years, that's exactly fifteen a year. So if Andy coaches, you know, for three more years, he should be right there. And if he coaches for four, he'll have it. He's five playoff wins behind Bill. He'll get that in the next Siy would have, which is really remarkable when you consider you you'd think it would
be thirty behind. It's remarkable, it's and so that's so he's going to unless he retires, and he just signed a new five year, one hundred million dollar deal, he's gonna catch him in playoff wins and in regular season wins. Let's just say he doesn't catch him in super bowls. Let's be conservative and say the Chiefs only win two of the next four and that and then he's done
and he retires with five. Man, I think what's more compelling the one more super Bowl and that Belichick was three to zero against Andy in the playoffs, which counts including a super Bowl, or that Andy won divisions with four different quarterbacks at double digit win seasons with four different quarterbacks, made a super Bowl with a good but not great quarterback, and Belichick one, as you put it,
forty five percent of his games across a decade of coaching. Yeah, plus when he didn't have you know one, they both had the two greatest quarterbacks ever one two two one. I think history is going to look more fondly upon Andy. Well, and You've saying this for a year.
I've been saying if the CTE lawsuit had happened ten years earlier, Andy Reid would have a couple more Super Bowls and would be viewed as the best coach because things that were not only allowed, but were promoted during many of Belichick's years. Vicious head hunting hits, they were promoted coming coming up Sunday, outlawed the minute the game was the vicious violent hits were outlawed, which they should
have been. If you look at medical concerns twenty five years earlier, that Belichick would have one or two or three, and that Andy would have six or seven or eight. I really believe that. So I think what it comes down to is a timing. Jeff Bezos would have been really successful, but the Internet and the retail giant allows him to be beyond the greatest bookstore owner ever, he is the greatest global retailer ever. So I think the
timing is a big part of life. And I think Belichick is the beneficiary of a league which allowed basically the rules favor because years ago, thirty, forty, fifty years ago, what we considered great football was running backs and pounding hits and vicious tackles, and then you realized over time, wow, this is a bad look. We're losing lawsuits. What people really love is great quarterback play and offensive efficiency, and
that's what drives the ratings. And so there's far more on television today and the audience and the platforms are broader, yet the ratings are greater than ever. How is that possible because the game is more aesthetically pleasing than thirty years ago. If you watch an old NFL game, it's kind of boring. I mean it's like four sets, seven plays. So as we have more options, it's one of the only sports for the ratings of skyrocketed over twenty five years and so the game now is it's purest and
most aesthetically perfect, and Andy dominates the league. In fact, he not only dominates the league, but he often embarrasses the league. I think the only other coach in the league that has the ability to quickly make things great Sean Payton. Now, Shanahan's great, but he gets very tied to his play sheet. He can struggle lay in games. What Sean Payton's doing in Denver is WHOA what is happening here in that division? Like with a thin roster that was picked to win five games? And remember he
went to the Saints. They were the Aints, they were worse than the Jets, and first year I think they got to the NFC Championship. So I mean Sean Payton and Andy. The difference is one has Mahomes, one has Grease. Both great, one transformational, the best talent all time, but both great. So I think I do consider you know, it's like saying Picasso or Monet if art only appreciated
one for one time and another for another era. But I do think Andy's I think when I look at Andy and contextualize both, I'm like his ability to win more ways with more unique teams and coaches. Belichick, by the way, and always almost always went back to the same coaches. He had a system and it worked with one quarterback, well twofold one is.
And again I don't know how much people weigh what was your coaching tree and their success, right, but Andy's coaching tree is like that to me, is like when we talk about great coaches historically and it's like, well, how much do you weigh that Mike Shanahan ultimately like his coaching tree is Kyle's, which is mcveigh's, which is the whole league, like you know what I mean, Like
that's got a way in his greatness Andy. So that that part of Andy's thing where Bill obviously most of the guy who had the most success of his coaching tree as our friend Eric. And other than that, it's a lot of like really dim l like the people say Bill O'Brien, But Bill O'Brien wasn't really his coaching tree as much or right. He went to college first, I guess he was. Who's the person, oh, Vrabel, Bill
O'Brien is his coaching tree. Verrabel people assigned to him, but Rabel never coached for him ver Abel played for him, went to Ohio State and it's now the coach there. Uh. But the other point that I wanted to make was Andy, did seem or does seem to guarantee you a floor that's like eight wins?
Yeah?
And Bill we've seen on the front end, in the middle with bloodsoe and on the back end, did not like now I do. I think he's the greatest defensive mind ever. And I'm not trying to like shit talk a guy who's, you know, clearly right now is the greatest coaching resume ever. But when I do wonder, and this is the last thing I'll say on it, did he have held out hope I'm going to get an NFL job if he was more convinced if I get
Shula's record, I'm keeping it? Or did that not become as important when he's like hold on him in?
Yeah?
So if I passed Shula in twenty twenty six and then Andy laughs me in twenty twenty seven, what is it? Yeah? What you know? What I mean? Why does that matter as much?
He wasn't getting great offers like Harbaugh got a Bosa, a left tackle and Herbert and a non medaling owner. That's a good job. Bill wasn't getting those orders. If Philadelphia was offered, I think he'd stay for six years because Howie Roseman Jeffrey Lourie a great roster. But when you're getting bad offers, then he can look at it and go. So I'll be a loser in Cleveland, I'll be a loser in blank and.
I only want to New Orleans right right?
But think about this. What if here's I'll cap it with this. Let's say Belichick and Andy Reader music producers. One creates the greatest band ever, but in two or three other bands he bombs. Andy Reid has a great band, but several other memorable quality bands as a producer, and you'd go, well, maybe maybe the reason the one guy had the greatest band he had the greatest lead singer. But this guy created multiple bands that are all time memorable musical acts and no.
Flopslop, no flops matters to me about this today, and Wilds got angry with you. Wild's like nobody cares about how many losing seasons the guy had. I'm like, well, okay, maybe I was like, but they both coach for insane length of period time. Andy has three losing seasons and Bill has eight that is that's not nothing. It's not everything, but it's not nothing, right, it's something there.
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So let me throw this at you. This is not a baseball topic. We don't talk a lot about it, but it's fascinating to me. So I'm agnostic on many things. I'm kind of an agnostic personality, from religion to almost anything. I tend to be just sort of I weigh information and I pick the side. I like, I don't have a lot of purity in me right Like, I don't have a lot of loyalty outside of my wife and
my children and friends. But so baseball comes out with this golden bat concept where basically you could bryce Harper gets an extra at bat every game, or an Aaron Judge. You don't have to use it, but you can in a critical situation. And purists are bothered by this, and I'm fascinated by what purists are holding on to. And I've heard baseball people say, oh, I'll never watch another baseball game, as if Sandy Kofax's historic run is deluded
by a new golden bat. At that concept in twenty twenty four, it's it's almost like saying it's not perfectly analogous, but gay marriage ruins the sanctity of previous marriage. Well, if you had a great marriage for forty years, what does it have to do.
But also, I will also say anybody that like, we've all come to terms with the guy that most people feel like, probably correctly is the greatest baseball player ever played at a time when a lot of the greatest baseball players ever were not allowed to be in the league because they were black or Hispanic. Yeah, and it's just like, hey, we know that's part of the record book. Try we know, like there's people have an ability. No nobody with a brain looks back and it's like, hey,
I checked Terry Bradshaw's stats. Dude sucks. It's like no, it's like, I know that's what the record, but like those what the numbers are. But we all understand intuitively, oh, that was a different era. So if we were to have a golden at bat era and it's like, holy shit, a lot of three home run games out of nowhere, it's like, oh yeah, because they change the rules. People are smarter than we, like, we give them crush.
But that's what I'm asking. We had the cattle steroid era, so all the records are power records are meaning us and nobody really knows who took it. I mean seriously, it's like trying to figure out which rich people chitted on their taxes. How about we start with all of them? Right? Like who knows? So my take is, what are purests holding onto? Are these forty eight year old men who still collect baseball cards? Like the idea? So the sport
makes two changes both crush, defensive shift eliminated and at pitchclock. Okay, yep, So all of a sudden, the defensive shift more base hips. Well, that's messing with the previous six eight years, right.
And the thing closest to the Golden at bad is the ghost runner ghost runner thing which you know in made baseball cooler for the regular season. You don't want to put in the playoffs. That's fine.
So what are purest holding onto that are outraged by a new concept? Well, I don't understand.
I'm not the the I mean, I understand them, I don't agree with them because ultimately, what my one of my fundamental beliefs that bothers I think purists. But it's not even a belief, it's just a fact. Sports are simply entertainment product. That's right, That's all it is. We are part of the entertainment industry. We are in We are fighting for attention and relevance in sports. And there is nothing inherently more valuable, moral, ethical important to American
professional football than American Ultimate frisbee. But one is the most valuable television property in the world and the other is something the best in the world at almost assuredly needs a real job because it doesn't pay the bills. So why is that Because people like watching one and don't care about the other. That's exclusively one. There is no other reason. And the idea that you have a birthright to people's attention. Go ask Corse racing, go ask boxing.
You don't and so all of these sorts. So here's the real reason I love the Golden A bad idea. I like baseball, I love basketball, and I'm worried about basketball. I am legitimately worried about the NBA game because they have two massive issues that everyone knows is a problem, and I don't know that they have the stomach to address them. For the change that's neat one is one that's been talked about a ton historically, which is the
load management, superstars not playing whatever it is. I will give a quick anecdote on why that's my thoughts on that, then I'll get to the real thing. I was in LA for seventy two hours over Thanksgiving because our son lives there and he couldn't.
We brought thanks even to him essentially that Friday night.
Lakers thunder yep, And I'm like, you know what, My wife's grandparents are with us. They're ninety one and ninety three. They love love Lebron had never seen him play, and I'm like, you know, what's the point of making money if you don't spend it on stuff like this? So I bought six tickets, not courtside, but first row behind court side. Not cheap, right, But what it was like, it's a I bought him at noon with full confidence. Well, Lebron's gonna play because Lebron plays, you know what I mean?
Like Lebron did he get hurt last night? Then he's playing like even though he's the oldest guy in the league. And if it were any other superstar, I would have when my wife mentioned to me, should we do it? I would have said yes, But let's wait until like five o'clock to find out. That's terrible for the business. The other thing that is getting a lot of attention is the NBA's at its core. The NBA's popularity is
based on is that dude flying? Holy shit? Liked not here's another thirty five footer And strategically, just like the shift, strategically was smart, but from a television product, it was a disaster.
Everybody looks the same to every game, every possession, every.
Name looks the same. There's no different styles, there's no anything. And we're minimizing athleticism. Yes, John Moriant goes on the record, is like I'm done dunking Anthony Everwards, taking thirteen three is a game. It's clearly a disasters a disaster. And so when I say massive changes, what I mean is have a real conversation about hey, dunks are also worth three now?
Or care what it does for this two suggestions one and I said this seven years ago on the air and had a graphic take out the corner three. It's impossible to defend.
Yes, okay that that agreed. That should be done tomorrow.
Yeah, so it goes right into the bench you put it, you moved out of about six inches.
A real art.
Yep, make it a real art. Yes, And so that's just much easier to defend it. You can be on players or this would be my This is something I've thought about as well, and I don't know. I think you could do this is that you get fifteen a game.
That's what I said, Yeah, yes, okay, exactly right, whatever the number is. That's the other thing I was the fifteen game.
Offense.
And by the way, you can still shoot them after that, but they're worth two. There's Kurt Goldsberry had the idea years ago that I thought was fascinating, which was, you know how baseball stadiums everyone picks their own dimensions. You got a green monster, you got the short portray. Yankee Stadium,
Royal Stadium is cavernous. Kurt Goldsberry says, each year, every team draws their three point line, and if you like, no and the I and I know that sounds ridiculous, but his point was some teams will be like, we don't have one. Well, that's not who we are. We're building a old school beat you up. You know what I mean, big big man style. The the Blazers when they had prime Dame Lillard might have been like ours is from thirty seven feet out because we have the
one guy who can. And if that were the case, you would have you would know, man, I'd better be able to play a bunch of different ways, score a bunch of different ways, because shit tonight we're in Oklahoma City and there's no threes whatever. So I don't know the exact right answer. What I know is this, if the NBA does not make a massive change, it is in huge troubles. Because they have they have still they're still suckling off the teat of lebron Steph kd your most pop John.
Moran and Aunt Edwards do not dunk the one of the I mean the Jordan logo. If you really think of even Doctor Jay's highlights today, Connie Hockins when I was.
A kid, of course joined it's and the here was another question that.
Oh, let me tell this that this was I said this about the NFL. I said, can you imagine if the NFL only allowed the tush push and bombs. There's no intermediates, no bubble screens. It's just power running or bombs. That's the NBA. It's not as a PA.
And by the way, the NFL, one year into the tush push, it was like, we're looking into banning. Yes, And it wasn't because of safety. It was because that's terrible TV. That's bad for our products. It's not excite, it's ugly, and ultimately we're a TV show. And so I don't I don't know the answer, but I do know that continuing down this path is disastrous.
So I.
Would love it if baseball did something drastic, because then I think there is the NBA would look at itself hopefully and be like, well, the NFL every year, it's like, hey, rule change, figure it out. Hip drop tackle. I'd never heard that term three years ago. Last year it was the most dangerous things ever happened in the sport. This year it's gone like defenseless receiver to hit the quarterback low, Tom Brady. Tom Brady blows out his knee. They're like,
massive rule change. You now no longer hit the quarterback low. Doesn't matter. Aaron Rodgers breaks his collar bone. They're like, hey, you can't fall on quarterbacks now either. Don't care if you don't like it. Baseball's making changes. The NBA is just like, can we interest you in in a new All Star game format? And it's like, bro, that's not the issue here. And here's one other NBA question. I didn't I forgot who first posed this, but every since
I read it, I'm like, oh, that's interesting. Is there a single NBA player under thirty that is more famous than Caitlin Clark?
No, no, there's not. There's not.
That's a problem. That's a problem.
Well, are the okay, so this is something that's a problem. So Baseball. I believe I've said this on the air. I talked more baseball last year than I ever have, and I believe baseball is going to have, let me lay this out, is going to have a renaissance.
And I totally agree with this take.
By the way, case I totally number one, because the regional sports networks died. The bottom of the sport is now Triple A Baseball, and they cannot afford even even good players. They can barely afford. So it's getting very top think about that. It's getting very top heavy. That's great. Remember networks don't care. They only televise seven teams and
a thirty percent of the revenue comes from networks. And you say, oh, it hurts attendant, But remember when you bring in all star teams, did you see how old Tawny Betson Freeman drove road attendance. So now you're going to have Lindoor and Sodo driving road attendants, Machado tatists in San Diego, Judge and Stanton. So you get a
series of five or six super teams. Well, when the Yankees had Jeter and a Rod, they led the league every year in road attendance and their own So my take is the sport's getting insanely the gap now it's like the inequity of wealth in America. It's just widening and widening. So that's not a terrible thing because what's happening now is the only cities that can afford the big stars New York, La Philly and the richest of owners.
The San Diego Group has has been able to monetize some retail outlets and the stadium, and so what's happening is, yes, it'll be dominated by six teams. TV networks don't care. They're almost overwhelmingly either the richest owners or the bigger cities. So I'm looking at the Dodgers and I'm like, do I really want the Joey Vado model or the Joe Mauer? Will you go to Seattle? And nobody can. They can't afford anybody beyond Robinson Cano. It's a bad product.
So at least the.
Stars now are joining other stars, and people forget this. You know, when Jordan dominated the NBA, there were no other great teams. There were teams that could tackle them for several years. But when the Celtics and the Piston's age, it was a bunch of Portland's Utahs.
They were just.
There was run team. But that team was so enlightening and so it was such a star studded team. It drove attendance everywhere they went. Every night it was just it was Sports Center, it was the lead and so my kak is baseball and let me fish. Baseball has this now, they have like all star teams the NBA Wemby San Antonio, SJA, Oklahoma, Jokic, Denver, Jannis, Milwaukee, and Minnesota. Unlike baseball, they're in the wrong markets.
Well, and the NBA just just last year massively changed the rules proactively to make sure super teams can't exist anymore, which mistake. Theoretically right, theoretically you understand it, but ultimately probably a mistake. It gives cheap owners and out like, oh, what do you want me to do? Like Dent, what Denver has done to Jokicic's prime is they win a title and then each year they're like, let's lose this key player. Let's lose that key player, and what do
you want from us? Poor guy had one hundred and two points, thirty rebounds, sixteen assists over two games. They only won one of them. Guy average fifty fifteen and eight over two games, one of their losses to the Wizards.
So that and here's the other reason why I don't think it's bad for baseball because even with everything, you just said, Baseball still is just random enough that a team like the Royals this year got made the playoffs one around, stole a game from the Yankees, and it's like, there's not going to be You're not gonna feel like, oh you you're oh my season, I can't compete, like because the baseball kind of adding variants to the playoffs.
I went into that Royals Yankees series like, Okay, we have two players who would play for them, but we got like a forty percent chance of flipping them. Yeah, like you know what I mean. The takes one good starting pitching night one night and we could win. So I didn't feel like we were dead. And so yeah, I found baseball this year. We talked more baseball on the show than ever before. Now that was a very low bar because our previous high was zero. However, still
but still like it was. It's not like it was forced on us. It was exciting. It's like, yo, we have judged Verstani and the damn World Series like this is dope. And so I agree with you. And that's another reason the NBA should be worried, Like and I I don't know, man, I have my concerns about whether or not Adam Silver is a wartime consuliari or even knows there's a war going on. And I think he's super sharp and a lot of things and the right
man for a lot of jobs. But right now, I think you have to be willing to say we actively don't care about the record book because the other if they wanted to one other thing. And I've said this for literally I said it for the first time at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference seven years ago because I saw the strength coming down the tracks. Because I'm like my buddy Daryl Morey, I think is the smartest guy in the league, and he clearly believes we should only
shoot threes, free throws and layups. So eventually everyone's gonna think this, and then what's it going to do? And my solution then, in my solution now is if you want to change nothing about the rules of the sport, then all you have to do is say it's not threes and twos, it's fours and threes because now it's only a thirty three percent premium. Now you know what I mean? All those things. But there's two reasons they
won't do that. One is people can't do math. People were like what the fuck like AD four And the other reason is it would ruin the record books. But you can't be worried about the record books and paralyzed by them.
And it's insane.
It's insane, especially when like, hey man, if your Hall of Fame doesn't have Barry Bonds in it, like, what's the museum you're protecting anyway? Does it?
Like?
And so yeah, I agree with you.
On Thursday Night Football is on. It's only on Prime Video, best season yet, packed with big rivalries and even bigger stars al Michaels, Kirk, Kirkstreek, Kaylee Hartung. Every week games you can't miss. Coverage begins at seven Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF Tonight Thursday Night Football Tonight. If you're not a Prime member, no problem, sign up thirty day free trial, cancel any time Thursday Night Football and it's on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon dot Com slash
Amazon Prime for details. One of the things I think that we both enjoy is the why. And I like the construction and deconstruction of part some sports. So for years and years and for years and years, you know, everybody howled that we needed to pay the college football players, and because their careers are shorter than baseball and basketball and hockey players. I agree, like, let's pay these guys, and we have, and a lot of people don't like it.
I'm never watching the game again, but the ratings go up. Protesters by and large have very little influence and are just throwing temper tantrums. Right. So, but I was going to throw this out there the other day. It is kind of remarkable now that college football. Pro football has a salary cap, right. Pro football has times that you can lead transfer slash go to free agency. College has neither.
So the trains completely got off the tracks. So with the nil, my take is, listen, Texas can spend thirty, Purdue can spend two. Let's say that the cap and Purdue will never get to it, but make the cap seventeen. Otherwise it's gonna become baseball in HGH, like you're not even Produe's gonna have no elite players. Texas will have thirty eight. And there's always been an imbalance in college football.
But let's put up some guard rail so all the kids get paid, but the but the you know, let's just say eighteen because some schools now have broken through the twenty they're getting close to twenty eight and thirty and.
And well, hell BYU basketball just paid a kid seven million bucks. It's I mean, so, here's so I have a different Here's the question I have. Are we approaching a time where none, where there is? What's the good example for this? Not Ashton genty he's gonna be a top ten pick. If you are, you're like, hey, I'm the second best running back in college football. Stay there, I've checked my draft profile. Question they say I'm a second third round pick. Well, let me check those contracts.
That's six hundred grand a year. Well that's crazy because nil at Michigan will pay me three million for real, Because running back in college football, you're still a star, like you're the like, so are there going to be? It won't happen with quarterbacks that are you know, and I obviously like, but where guys that aren't. And by the way, I don't know that that's bad. That might
be really good saying. It'll be a fascinating thing. I think where guys who are like, wait, I can make more money staying in college.
It will fortify college football because it's already happening now. Because I've talked to coaches who have said, this is a discussion point for running backs. We can pay a three forty, you can make two eighty and you and you're not by the way, you're not a twelve year NFL player, but you can be a legend at Blank University. And so it's happen. It's happening right now, and I think it actually benefits college football. You're gonna keep more players.
It may be two players a roster, but if you're like a top receiver to school at Tulsa and you're a six round pick and Tulsa's like, we'll pay you eight hundred thousand dollars, well, you're ye making your in pro football.
And not guaranteed and they're not cares, not guaranteed contracts. Like I do think there's going to be real. I think it'll be fascinating when a player who is considered like, oh wait, that guy, he's the number one safety in the draft, and the people are like, okay, he's gonna go late first, early second, and he's like, all right, well I can wait on that. I'm you know what I mean, I'm gonna here. And again, I don't think that's bad. To be very clear, I just think it's
a fascinating dynamic. I also so I I wish I had the the kid's name, but I did see a video. There was the first time I started to feel actually like uneasy about the nil stuff was there was a kid in this latest signing class who I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna get the proper nowns wrong, but just follow me on it. Let's for the sake of argument, say he signed with Georgia and at the announcement he made it very clear he was sad, and he was like, yeah, you know, I never thought I'd go be going here
my whole life. You know, I dreamed of playing at LSU. What And again I might have the George LSU part wrong, but school a school beat. And then when I looked it up LSU and this offered him a scholarship. It is a five star kid, but it was purely like And what made me feel bad was I was like, was he making this decision or were like the adults and his family pressuring him? But it was clearly this place offered more money, So I felt like I had
to go there. And I was like, oh, that kind of sucks, you know what I mean, Like you always dreamt of playing for this college. You're seventeen years old, and it's like, well, this place is offering me two million, and this place offering me three million, and my family is probably right, Like I can't turn down a million dollars, so I guess I'll go here. And that part of it did make it feel like, uh, that's not perfect. No, Like this isn't the this isn't perfect. It's better than
to me than it was. This is better than the kids getting no money and everyone else getting rich. But we haven't quite found homeostasis here yet. Not the right way to do it.
It's just the duality of everything with more money, more money, more problems. You're this idea that there was this ball halla, there was this perfect landing spot. It does not exist. I'll tell you something that's fascinating. Here's something I talked. I led my show with us today and unfortunately, I'm sure you probably didn't have time for it. You used to listen religiously, but those days are over. But the point being, no, I that's true. So I led with
this today. Deebo Samuel Brock pretty comes out and says you know, I love Debo and we'll get in the ball more. And I thought, oh, okay, so a year ago, nine months ago, running backs are dead in this league. The top five running teams now in the league are all playoff teams. The top six receivers receiving yards, six of the top ten round losing teams. And so it's it's DeVante Adams cryptic messages. Jamar Chase is noisy, it's
elite neighbors. It's Deebo Samuel, it's Deontay Johnson, it's George Pickens.
So it's even Aj Brown, by the way, on a good team. Everything was fine, and then he's like, I'm.
Pissed, and I said it's not fine, And I said, we gave receivers for about two years the keys to the kingdom. But they are sports cars. They don't work well in the winner. You can't really drive them seven days a week. And running back this is you've loved this take and running backs no, no, no, they're the suv year round, grocery, soccer practice date all weather. Actually always elevate the quarterback, always young quarterback, old quarterback. They're also great.
They help you take leads and eat the clock and help you protect them. The receivers, don't they all block or they don't play. They're the grinders. They're the most running back Saquon Barkley, I want the ball more, but I'm sacrificing for the team. They never you never hear a running back complaining we're throwing it too much to the star receiver. And it's a classic example is that we gave it's the NBA position of NFL wide receiver rakes the huddle first, he's on his own. We gave
you the keys for like two years. We immediately had a wide receiver Bubble Chiefs win without Tyreek Hill. You can argue they can spend money on defense. They're just a much better team now, more complete team. And in the end, it goes back nine months ago we lamented the future of running backs. It is now in one season Baltimore, Detroit, Green Bay, Washington. Here comes Isaiah Pacheco, the Rams, Kiren wioms it is a running back quarterback league again in nine months.
So so that was and I didn't see it coming this quickly up. But what I did wonder was I was like, Okay, one of the things that happened to running backs was yes, the game changed, but the other it wasn't just that the game changed. It wasn't just your position isn't as valuable. It was there's too many B minuses, meaning like there you could seemingly find a not great but a good running back anywhere, practice squad,
seventh round, undrafted free agent like. And the reason for that was very obvious, which is our whole lives the best athlete at seven years old? Where'd they put them? Running back?
Like?
If it wasn't the quarter like it was like, oh, you're the best player on the team. We're gonna if we're if you're either gonna be a dual threat quarterback or the running back, because we're going to hand you the ball a bunch. So in high school and college there were just too many good ones, which means seems like, okay, I could pay X for a great one or basically
nothing for a good one, so I'll do that. And what I wondered aloud was are we about to see in a few years the same thing happened to receivers, because now if you're a great athlete as a kid, they're putting you at receiving It is seven on seven every damn year in the draft. This year there were
ten receivers taken in the first forty picks. And then when we're like hold on that, everybody thinks there are twenty five top ten receivers, Like if you really put pencil to paper and it's like, okay, is he a top ten receiver? Well, I don't know, man, because the Garrett Wilson thinks he is, DeVante Adams thinks he is, Tyreek Hill thinks he is, Jayleen Waddle thinks he is.
There's four just in the AFC East, and you keep going is Terry mclaurins, Nico Collins Is, Deebo Samuels, Brandon ayuk Is and I've mentioned Tyreek Hill, Jamar Chase AJ Brown, CD lamb a Mon Like there's all of these, it's like,
well they're thirty million a person. But Brian Thomas Junior was the fourth receiver taken, So like, is there going to be the same type of correction where teams are like, no, I'm not paying thirty million for RECEI there's six more great ones coming out in the draft, Like I'm just not doing it right. So I saw that, I wondered if that was happening. I still think that's probably going to happen. The other thing that has happened this season is and maybe I'm maybe this is just because I
turned forty and I instantly developed old man opinions. But Malik Neighbors being a diva receiver as a rookie, yea infuriated. Yeah, no, it's too much, and like in a way, it's too much, man, say like, listen, I get that's there's been a we're allowed to be divas, so we kind of lean into it from the position. Got it, so be it no problem. But t O and o Jo Sinko were not pains in the ass their first year in the league. We're gat they weren't like they were great, and then they
and then they developed over three or four or five years. Yes, once they had else on the wall, I see, I'm like, man, everywhere, I look like George Pickens, an awesome player, huge pain in the ass from day one. Pick Malik Neighbors. It took him eight games before he's like, why didn't I get the ball to or down thirty? Nothing? It's like, buddy, you're the best player on the team. I get it, but you it's too early for this, it's too early, and so the and then the AJ Brown thing really
irritated me on a just a team level. It's like, man, there there was nothing wrong. Everything. You guys are on a ten game winning streak, you're you guys are undefeated when you playing there Seemingly everything's all good. The only public narrative should be, man, Sakuon Barkley's gonna spreak, Eric Dickerson's record, and our defense is better than you idiots thought it would be. And then privately, if you want
to be like god, damn it, so be it. But it's that was like AJ Brown, you're on your third contract, Yeah, you just got paid again. What are we doing?
Here's what his issue is. He was overshadowed by a star running back in Tennessee, Derrick Henry, and he's overshadowed again with a star running back. No great receiver has been overshadowed in his prime by the two best receivers over the last six years in the league. He's the guy.
Oh, that's interesting. I didn't even think about that.
He's so he keeps going to places going timeout. I get a good quarterback, not a great one. Tannehill Jalen, I'm the best player on the team and both become run centric. What are you doing to my career?
You right, but the but the but here's the here's the thing about that. But you keep getting paid any like, you keep getting top of the market.
Deal well, and but money every time. You know, I'm not gonna speak for anybody, but when people get raises, it's good for about three checks and then you're like, I want the respect. Guys are driven much more more respect than they are money.
I know that part. I totally agree with I the and I agree with you the whenever, like somebody loses a job or whatever and the reaction on Twitter is either still getting paid or whatever. I disagree with that because for someone who has been a j in it, it's gonna sound like I'm contradicting myself. But I'll come around. He's been He's not newly rich. He's been rich long enough that that's his normal. Yeah, so the money doesn't
really solve things. The point I'm making is I would understand it a little bit more if you were in a contract year. If it's like, yo, you're costing me much because but the Eagles preemptively paid him this offseason early. And one of the reasons I would think you do that is to stave this all right, Like, hey, no matter how we have to run the team, you're gonna know you've been taken care of. So even if this year your numbers are down, it's not costing you anything
because we just paid you. So that's the reason I brought it up, Like I do get why guys who are in contract years are like yo, no.
I mean aj bra number is being selfish. Because also the NFL record book nobody cares. It's not like baseball. It really isn't. Nobody cares about the NFL record but we know Brady and Jerry, Rice and Montana and Mahomes are all over it, like and Breeze. So like a wide receiver, like, listen, we know you're great. If you get paid and you win a ring, it kind of solves everything.
Well that's and also like if there's anyone on the like, could you imagine and this is to your point if after this last game, Saquan out of nowhere in the locker room was like, yeah, I mean, listen, everything's great, but I'm really sick of jail and sniping my touchdown, I should have ten more Like, how about we call a handoff at the one instead of the Toushbush people would be like that, you laugh because it's laughable to think of him doing it.
But it's but we're used to receivers being ridiculous.
We're totally used to it, one hundred percent used to it, like the yeah, I mean, I don't, I can't. I can't even bad ones Kadarius Tony, this dope, he's bounced. He just wants to He barely got on the field in Cleveland Fair caught a punt and taunted a guy. It's like you just have it in your DNA, like you just have It's it's unbelievable.
So this is we got into a point. This was a topic on the show that was fascinating and and I've always said in the in my industry I work in, I don't know how to use all the levers in the control room, but I do know the words I can't say on the air. I understand the bible of my business. And I also have an understanding, having worked for ESPN and Fox, not to go after commissioners personally, although I can criticize them and have criticized all of them.
There are certain things I know. I don't expect football players to know all the rules, but I'll give you three that drive me crazy. So the Cowboys block upon against Cincinnati. And when a punt is blocked and goes past the line of scrimmage, it's a punt. You treat it like a punt. Do you blame the player or the special teams coach? Because special teams players are often guys who are inserted late. They actually play.
That guy who was that guy who did it? It was his first NFL game?
Okay. You often are like a backup corner. You just got off the field. Now you're special teams. You're worrying about your assignments here, not your assignment's there. So the other things that drive me crazy are Tyreek Hill. I've seen this a few times when you do the often used dolphin backwards pass like the bubble screen, and they and the ball skips and they don't pounce on it.
They don't understand it's a live ball. The other one is when a receiver catches a ball downfield and the dB moves past him, doesn't touch him, and people forget you have to.
Touch Okay, yeah, well that's a college football relic.
Okay, yeah, yeah, So there's those are men, so all three of these and I'm not a rule breaker, so maybe I'm more of a rule follower. It drives me crazy when you don't know the basics of the game. Now, Kyle Shanahan apparently forgot or didn't advise his team on the Super Bowl overtime rule, which Andy Reid did. That's a coaching gaff. But let me ask you, do you blame the coach or the player when a rule that can change possessions outcomes so players don't know it.
So I'll go through each of your examples. The backwards pass thing, I I think that play being such a prominent piece of so many teams playbook is one of the dumbest things that exists in sports. Like if if it's there because you're playing as a trick play double pass, right, so be it. But if that is just a swing pass to not coach your guys, Hey guys, this must be executed forward is baffling because it's you're gaining that
you gain nothing strategically from it. That the yard difference between it being lateral or backwards versus forward, but the risk is, oh, you could just pick it up an run for a touchdown versus it being an incomplete pass. So yes, guys should pounce on it, and I always think it's crazy when they don't. Also, I don't know why so many teams love that stupid you know, like for pre wheel route backwards pass, like what are you doing?
That can end in disaster? I hate it. It's the opposite of the little shovel pass in front of you, which is, oh, even if you drop it, it looks like a.
Fumble, but it's not.
That's the opposite of that, right, So that's first one. The not touching guys when they're down is to me not a coaching thing. That is purely on the players. Like everyone knows once you get to the NFL you got to touch them. Sometimes guys, it almost seems like a void, like try to avoid hitting the guy, Like it's bizarre. The Cowboys thing on.
The punt special teams are queer, they're quirky, they're different. And here's where I will blame the coach I did.
Yeah, so if you member the Cowboys, who were they playing? It was the it was one of the games they won. It was the insane game. They almost blew and they they it went back and forth. Is that was it Washing? It was Washington. They give up the hail Mary short hail Mary, but then set whatever it is if you remember, on sidekick, they recover it and instead of going down, run thirty yards for a touchdown, which then gave Washington the ball down eight and a chance to actually beat them.
When that happened, the coaches were celebrating, and I'm like, oh, you guys, are that guy who God love him? That was the wrong play. You were up one, there's a minute left. When you recover that on sidekick, you go down and the the game is over. You recovered it, scored. Now we got to go back on defense. And Washington almost beat him because of it. But the coach is all celebrated. You saw it on the sideline, So what
the hell do you expect. Two weeks later, a different special teams guy sees a bouncing ball and seemingly open air, I'm gonna scoop this and go score. That's coaching. That to me is coaching like. And so I don't blame that kid nearly as much as I blame the coaches in that spot, especially because this is an old man genie line. Don't ignore in victory what you wouldn't ignore in defeat. Like I don't believe that the kid who recovered the on side kick and scored instead of going
down got, you know, in trouble for it. I think he got out of boys for it, which then it signals to the team, Hey, even if it's the wrong play, if I make it right, it's fine. And that's like the opposite the Belichick thing of guys who if they reached for the pylon, even if it was successful, got in trouble, yeah, because it was like the risk reward here is not right.
I think a lot of football axioms and truths are parenting that if my kids does something dangerous and survives, I still I still offer wisdom and will punish him. Sometimes you could have been really hurt. Many of the truths and parenting are truths and coaching, and that is treat you know, that's right, right, Be respectful, right right, Be nice to others. Treat others like you'd like to be treated, Be coachable, don't cheat.
Try to learn wherever you can, like, respect people who've been there before, and see what wisdom they have.
Of course, I use sports. I bet I once a day. I will use sports athletes as examples in my business life and my broadcasting career. I use it all the time with my kids. One of the things I've always said, I told my daughter this once. I said, Michael Jordan was the best player, had the best marketing commissioner loved him, had the best coach, was the best looking, was the most stylish, And watched the documentary. It was hard. It
was incredibly difficult. That's for the most gifted, with a commissioner that loved him, Nike one hundred years ahead of everywhere, the best agent. He still had an owner, he had a GM, he had Goofy, Dennis Rodman, he had teammates that were did not play to his liking. And I use this all the time in life. There's a reason there's like one Elon Musk and there's a reason, like there's a reason for Trump success. He's just a goddamn fighter.
Like him or not.
He just doesn't sleep, he doesn't make it. He's never vacation. He's never had a vacation day Like life is hard and one of the great maybe the greatest asset any of us can have. It's not education. It's relentlessness. Is that it is not linear for Jordan, it's not it wasn't linear for Brady. Maybe you look at Brady and you're like the best coach, the best own. So it's it's and we're seeing now some pushback on how much academics matter. They obviously matter, and they can separate people,
but it is a relentlessness. A lot of people from Harbord don't succeed, and a lot of people from eastern Washington have great lives, right, And I and I and I so I think, I use, I use I think about how much of parenting is sports and how much of sports is life. And I use them and I use the Jordan documentary with my kids multiple times.
Well, and the other thing with the Jordan documentary is like it no matter no matter how much success money fame. Jordan was at peak success money fame, and in nineteen ninety three was so seemingly kind of lost, sad and miserable that he quit his sport to go do something insane, which was like the lesson for me on that is like and now he had dealt with a you know, his father was murdered and he was dealing with a
personal tragedy, real stuff, and I think there were. But if you in that documentary, a modern Shad tells us he was talking about doing that before his dad got murdered, and so he was already. So the one of the lessons for me on that is, like, man, this some some of the professional stuff or other stuff. If you have a hole in you or are missing something or whatever,
it's not gonna fill it. Like the only way to fix your issues or to you know, feel joy or good about things, whatever, is to really look at why you're not going to do it. And so the idea that you can achieve your way out of your own stuff, you just can't. Because how many of like the use the Jordan documentary like he is and he I don't
think ever got there like that. People look at that Jordan Hall of Fame speech, it's like the ultimate Michael Jordan thing, and I look at it as one of the saddest things in sports, Like this is the guy who at the time was universally, unambiguously accepted as the greatest ever maybe the most famous person in the world at the times, like him, the Pope whoever the press like the very very short list, infinite, endless money, and at his final real public appearance as a basketball player,
he just was a vindictive asshole because whatever whatever it was in him that fueled him, but that also was real hurt or pain he never addressed. Yeah, right or I and I don't even know if I agree it's not solvable. I don't think he ever tried to solve it, and so like the and then like so you see these things and you're like, man, like that ain't gonna do it for you, like if Michael Jordan ain't doesn't have it, Like that's not gonna And so I mean
you mentioned you mentioned Trump. Trump wealthy beyond anyone's wildest imaginations, did everything that you know, he was always wanted to, I think, kind of prove his dad wrong, did all that, then became president and just pissed all the time, just just like nobody's got it worse than me, everyone's else. It can be seeming like legit seemingly miserable, like it just like and so whatever, like some of it's if you got if you need to deal with something and
you don't like it, and still it doesn't go away. Like, no matter what you achieve, it's still sitting there. It's still sitting there waiting for you at the end of it. And so yeah, like that is that? That is? Uh? The Jordan doc really crystallized that. When you saw it, You're like, man, I don't think this dude's happy. He's rich, he's famous, he's Michael Jordan doesn't seem happy and certainly wasn't during the process.
So or whatever that's worth Nick, right, perfect. I don't like to great exhaust every idea because I want to get you more regularly. But your your career is bit between poker and your career and your podcast.
Speaking of poker, going to the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas for thirty six hours.
Oh good for you.
Well, it's no vacation, it's they're the biggest poker turn in the world's going on down there. So I'm going there Friday or Saturday morning, coming back Sunday. Take Oh it's not you know, I'll share this with you and the audience not actually playing. It's you know, it's a it's a potential partnership meeting that I'm having down there.
Good for you.
So so doing that for you. Yes, but uh but I yeah. So the poker stuff's going good, show's going good. I miss you and we'll do this more often, I'm sure of it. I'll talk to you soon, brother.
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