Happy Friday, Metroplex, Happy December. It's December first? Did you know that? Mike? Mike, did you know that it's December first? It's the twelfth am thirty days, Happy old June in November all dress thirty one? So what except for February, which has a leap? Here? Is that the one you use her to use? The thirty days? The theory hat Steptember, April, June, and November half not half half half thirty days half way thirty shut up? Thirty days, thirty days half September,
April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty one. I know, I just we were doing it right, But what's the last line? Did you say? Thirty days half September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty one except February and then just twenty nine. It sort of loses its rhythm and rhyme toward the end. It does bad. I think it's just kind of assumed the February thing, you know, So the value is in the rhyme at the beginning and middle, and
then at the end you just tack on the February. What are you going know? What rhymes with February, like third grade, and they thought that this one to us, and I remember us them making us explain the leapsier thing in the final verse to this background music, I'm looking at anything rhymes with February. It doesn't. I don't you have to leave Your thing is bizarre and I'm fascinated with like Jordan Ryaner's birthday is February twenty ninth. Okay,
yeah, that's weird. One other friend growing up. I think it's the coolest. I'd just be a March first guy. What do you mean, like for your party? Not three to one all the time? Which lie? Why would you lie? You you have You've been given the one special day. You're it. You're different. Yeah too much? Yeah, I hope people to leave me alone. Well, I do think you're gonna come to your house, you know, or mine with some of those big
checks, come on invited. What encumbering big checks and big scissors to your house. I'll think of that stuff the publisher's clearing house that didn't really happen. Right, this is just for commercials, right, I don't know. I will say in his very latest years, mid mid nineties age, my grandfather got real into being sure that he was about to break the bank with
Publisher's clearing House. Yeah, so we had volumes of encyclopedias and whatnot showing up at the house, volumes because you had to buy stuff, i think, from Publishers clearing House the only way you could get in there. They thought he cracked the code and just kind of waited by the door every day for the for Ed McMahon or whoever it was, to come on by. And you are correct, sir, bring the big check. Do you think Ed McMahon humor's good again? It's sort of like Harry Carey where you barely
remember any of the real one. Everyone just remembers the bad impressions. Yeah, so yes, that you are correct sir. From what Phil Hartman, Yeah, I think Evan McMahon was probably probably a funny dude. Weird wild stuff. Yeah, exactly, just wild wild, so weird wild stuff. That's all we know is that's all we know. Two lines from impressions. You think our listeners like that type of humor? What rehashed Johnny Garzon and Ed McMahon bits from the early nineties. Yah, they probably do. Actually,
at least they remember. There was a couple of them out there going yeah, uh huh, well we do do pretty good from thirty five to sixty five. It's that twenty five fifty four's we're working on. Yesterday, with the help of our friend Brody, we took down the mailing industry. Yeah, there was a huge fire at the envelope place right across the street. Today we're going after Cleete Blakeman. Who's that? I know that name, but I don't know who it is. Who is that? He's the
guy that you saw most on the Cowboys game last night? Oh there he's a ref. Yes. How has the NFL not made it very simple and said, look, do what you do. We're going to stab your business. But on nationally televised games where there's only one game on the docket Thursday night, Sunday night, Monday night, put it in your pocket and don't pull it out. If you do pull it out, you're getting put on a registry list. Put it in your pocket. Nobody wants that many penalties.
Ever, how I'm bewildered by it. If you're one of seven games happening at noon on a random Sunday, no one cares. It's the one thing the whole world's watching it and going in. I don't know if it's worth it. I was thinking about how happy Amazon Prime. One Amazon Prime was that they have the Cowboys, you know, yeah, like wow, okay, this is it like for the Amazon Prime, this is their super Bowl because you're gonna get the numbers and you got a good game. Okay.
I didn't think about that, but I do. I often wonder what the conversations, whether they be off season or however this works with league officials and referees about about exactly that. Because I do not subscribe to any script and all this refs or league wanting anyone to win any particular game. I don't think that's true. I mean, we all in every sport piss and
mount about referees when they don't go your way. It's that simple. I don't think the league is out to get anyone, but I as an overarching like theory, there is probably discussion about that. Is our penalties impacting the game too much? Are they? Or even whispers of look, I mean
the cliche of there's a hold on every play at the highest level. Has that been kicked around discussed and how Because honestly, the best ref would be the one who's staring at the offensive line and throwing flags all the time and then being justified and verified by the replay. Like God, this ref's incredible. He's so good. He doesn't miss the thing. He nails it every time. That was a hold that impacted the play. That is a penalty.
That's a great referee. Well but or is that the guy at your office who he's up the boss's a and you know, well there's also something to are the teams just kind of sloppy? I mean, the Cowboys finish close to the lead league and penalties pretty much every year, and Clate Blakeman and his referee crew one of the least throwing a flag through referee cruise in
the league. I believe they were fifteenth out of seventeenth. They just happened to throw a bunch last night because there was a lot of penalties to throw, I guess and watching them all away sitting replays stuff, I was like, yeah, it's flag, Yeah, that's flag. Yeah, yeah it's flat. But that's where I start going, Okay, if you got to call blake blatant holding, yes, so blatant pass interferancee yes, But you get to a couple and you're just like, dude, come on, put
it in your pocket. Yeah, but imagine the chaos that they're seeing mm hmm, just the blended humanity in front of you. It's such a hard job. It's so in real time, yes, with people running in front of you and you're back pedaling and sweating and tired and freaking. I mean nothing in sports too, fatties like us, And that's me, you and most people listening can't even begin to understand. Sure, but that's another one. The refs football for every fatigue you don't think about it, sweat a
sweat, eye drop in your eye. I mean, it's really hard. It's hard so to miss one. Fine, Oh, I don't care about missing one. I care about throwing one on six straight plays that even if the replays jumps the file. Yeah. Yeah, And I don't really disagree because it's not fun. Just keep it moving, keep it moving. We gotta get up and do a show, Okay, Jesus, this game was
just farting around because we couldn't and might crap about review too. If you're gonna use instant replay review, well you better be one hundred percent at it otherwise it's a big waste of time. I'm fine with human error. Everyone gets screwed in life. Bottom line, you just do so I'm fine with it. I'm fine with human error. Let's go. But didn't you think they screwed up? The one is the one reversal? Was it the touchdown? Boy? If everything we've been taught is if it's not clear cut evidence
to overturn it. I sure thought that was a touchdown. Yeah, I mean it did at the ground, but it didn't move it in. She seemed turn out to be a huge play of the game too. Jackson Smith and Jigba he was pretty good to. Yeah. But yeah, well we're gonna talk about the Cowboys game at seven. And you think there's some like an encryptied email thing where it's like, all right, let's or code words
like hey, let's keep this game moving. Guys like the that the the league tells the referees and that's a wink, keep them in your pocket. You know what? Another way to do that, to fix that with beat is one less ref Yeah, I just you got eight. I need seven of you now, ye take a day, hey, cleat rotating days off. Take a day. It's a long season and just go one less ref and it's like, yep, call everything you see. It's just like what a vibe if you're on the referee crew. I know maybe they do,
maybe they do get something from just doing it. I felt this way about baseball empires over the years too, though. I'm like, don't you want to like go home? You get paid by the game, not the hour. Don't you just want to go home? Why are you having the world's smallest trake zone and why are we allowing so many walks? Are you on another unpopular one? I think baseball homeplate out umpires are incredible and do an incredibly good job. Mm hm that we collectively are idiots. We want to
yell and blame anyone for everything, so we we hate refs. It's got to be the most I'm just gotta be the most hated for one of the most right. Who loves refs? Yeah? It makes it makes you go who wants to even do it? Right? It's like a parking ticket writers? Yeah, I got a friend here, like, who are the people like? Damn nice? Well, some people are doing it because they want to, but they think because they have to or need a job or whatever.
But refs. Are they want to do it? They go through the training to do it, like a pilot goes through training to be a pilot or yeah, but everyone likes pilots, do they I've seen trusting pilots weigh in over the years. Not really, you haven't. I've seen it on my side of town. Okay, I got a body who refs. He's done some like worked his way up to some college games and things like that.
He goes to like I mean, I want to give so much away because I think some of these things are supposed to be kept quiet, but sometimes goes out during OTAs or even training camp to like the star and you know officiates. You know, it's like he's in the chain. What's his first and last name? Not doing not doing it. I don't think he's an NFL game. Well, he has a college games. I've seen him on TV. It's cool. Do you think refs get approached to point shave?
Basically? I thought you can say, like for a selfie at the airport, Okay, that's only Gene Stereotor Hockey Lee and can you ed and Sean Hoy how many times he had to do the first down for a selfie? Like, just you know, signal first show it to me, you don't mind, Like, why do I have a sterotory just standing there in his Tommy Bahama shirt? Like no, dude, give me, give me
a pass. Interfere Like, what's your favorite penalty you have? Thedaviest one is when there'd be the upper body camera on them and then they would make the tripping motion and you'd miss you just see them make it a weird hip thrust kind of motion as they moved the right leg over their left leg to
do the tripping side. So are they approached about point shaving? Yeah, I mean they are that someone has been you know what, like point shaving income It disappears and then there's a big scandal and then it goes away for a few years and we all think, all right, well, thank god we cleared that out of this sport. And then it comes back like it's happening. Yeah, it's happening. And I hate to say college basketball, and hell maybe NIL helps this. I think NBA what was happening too.
Yes, yeah, I mean you have refs, yes, I mean players whatever, but a ref. The thing is NFL refs I think tend to be successful people right, and whatever their other field is. They all have other jobs, you know, they're lawyers or whatever. I used to do the bit each week or find out what they all do, could make sure really, yeah, who you're dealing with? Are they mostly? And I can find Blakeman's referee crew what they all do a lot of them lawyers?
Yeah, the all people. Okay, Man, if you're a lawyer, I guess it means you have some money. I mean, you can't have somebody who's just filed for bankruptcy as an NFL referee, right for that reason, if if no other Yeah, Okay, this was the two hundred and fiftieth NFL game for Cleate Blakeman. Okay, congratulations, And you know what, he might he might be waking up this very morning and not that mad at him, because I mean, the story on him is very simple.
I told you earlier. Not known is a big high penalty, you know, flag throwing crew. So Clate Blakeman's crew has an attorney. Clite Blakeman then goes to Nebraska Mica Scott Campbell, and I'm gonna see if it's Scott Campbell. I've got the I've got the officiating of the futures. He was the umpire. He is a firefighter, okay, just like us first responder. He might have had an off nights. He had a busy day that envelope fire across the street. Now, Dana Mackenzie is a claims adjuster.
We've got a software quality assurance tester, what a court director, an engineer, project manager engineering. See, these people all have boring jobs. So they did the referee thing to spice up their sex life? Are they were tired? Some of these not like the fireman. I guess you know a lot of these people are seemingly pretty young here. So so Cleat Blakeman, is he could represent me if I lived in Nebraska or wherever the holy practices.
Cleate Blakeman, attorney at law. I wonder look that up. Blakeman attorney at law. Oh my god, does he have a website? Yeah, Carlson and Blakeman there he is? Holy crap? Is he in his outfit? Injury attorney and oma he's the He's the Jean Burquette of Nebraska record setting injury lawyers. Oh that's not it, Attorney Cleat Blakeman. If you're hurting Nebraska and it's not your fault. Still call the Frankeles. Yeah,
just call them and then they'll tell you who to contact. So this dude could be busting it all week in court on Friday and then do you know how much refs get paid? No? Do you no? Because that's crazy, right, You're busy as hell all week, you're stressed about some case, and then on a plane what Sunday or Saturday night? And then that's why I said, if he was listening, did he fly out last night?
I doubt it. Highest paid refs make two hundred and five k a year according to the Sporting News, which we know that they've been falling off, so we had Sports Illustrated. I think, well, they've been falling way off. But the Sporting News, when's the last time, You're like, it's my copy of the Sporting News. I used to love the Sporting and early two thousands there was maybe no better magazine. And I'm taking that, sticking that to ESPN. The magazine oh straight and s high for kids.
ESPN spend half their money on just that. The glossy quality stock fine nice for pictures. Sporting News thin flimsy, so much news, so many words, and they would bold print the player names too. Yes, yes, Oh, I love Sporting News. I love getting their previews for each season and they would rank them. Yeah, he was a simple time back then. That's back when I really really really liked sports. Now I'm kind of like, that's the thing. It happens. I'm gonna say this.
If you have a referee on your crew, though, and you've had to throw a flag on four straight plays because these nimrods can't stop holding, okay, they can't just play by the rules. And then you get to the fifth and sixth play and you got Dana throwing a flag, and then you got Scott throwing a flag. It's the equivalent of the guy making the meeting go fifteen minutes longer because he asked a couple questions. Everyone in the room is ready to leave the State of the Union address here, but we got
a couple questions. And now that's what those flags are. On play five and six, you just gotta tucket at that point we've had four straight plays this play everyone cheat like I like the purge. I can't stress that I'm sitting here watching the game and going, why would a casual NFL fan not of those two teams give a single crap about this game anymore. Is a good entertaining game with no punts, and we are getting a stop down every
minute the lack of flow. I was just I think you're applying too much to your early wake up time. Yes, it's not just about keV Oh. Why can only come in and be myself? Mike? Right, you know, I'm allowed to be a little grumpy in the morning. I'm not afternoon grad No excuse for being grumpy in the afternoon. You do afternoon drive, You come in, you're chippy, you go home. Midday really depends on traffic. I give a little bit of leeway to any grumpiness in the
morning. They're depending on traffic because midday you deal with rush hour traffic. For us, we're up God's butthole what they call the six am hour. That's when we're up. So I might be a little grumpy. Then. Now here's the thing. By the end of the day we are pretty much intolerable because everyone's going these a holes. Their day is over, and we seem drunk walking in the hall just because we're Leary. We're Ronald Leary,
and in my case, because I have been drinking since eight am. You do sort of resemble Ronald Leary, one of the most underrated Dallas Cowboys of all time. He deserves to be in the Ring of Honor. Okay, it does start that campaign. Dad that and Jim knocks into the Ragers Hall of Fame. I hate when I'm walking. I don't hate it at all, but I think it's odd when we're leaving here at ten ten oh five and you walk down the thing and people say, good morning, Hey,
good morning, what are you talking about? That's a good night. I'm out I'm out here. What you're talking about? I'm gonna jump in. We'll keep it fair. NFL wraps an eye. Unlike Kevin, appreciate the near impossible job and completely unappreciated profession that you've chosen on the weekends for two hundred grand not a bad weekend gig. Yeah. Look, and if I'm the only one, that's fine. But I couldn't have been the only person going. You're not the only one frustrated with FLAGS. But then I'm not
frustrating with I'm not even frustrated with bad reffing. I'm frustrated with FLAGS. I think the normal fan gets frustrated with they think refs are coming after their team. Okay, and that's dumb, and it is dumb because everyone gets screwed. This is the whole thing I've tried to like, everyone in life gets screwed a lot, So just suck it up, Buttercup, that's the
story here. But the most avoidable thing in the world is all right, guys, you're on Amazon Private night, just a reminder, let's keep it moving. Let's not have forty flags. So you're saying, if it's like somebody jumps off sides on defense, that's obviously fine, nothing you can do about that. Yeah, But you're saying holds basically, Cup, Yeah, yeah, or just the nitpicky a legal man downfield when the quarterback is rolled out to the right side and your left tackles a little bit. Now,
these are the rules of the sport. Yes, but you're no one watching that left tackle, that's right, I mean, I mean yeah, I will get I will give you a legal man down fields. It seems irritating at times. The easiest one too. Sometimes they they get the past interference because this happens fast. Past interference is a huge penalty. I mean, dude, the cows that they had a forty seven yarder and a forty yard
past interference penalty last night. The easiest thing to do is go, We've just after a brief discussion, we've decided that the players got tripped up on each other. There's no pass interference on the play. All right, move But the point of my this is only a gripe on using the common effing sense. You're the only game tonight. Everyone's watching you, so don't make your product suck tonight, and you make your product suck when it turns into
a ref show, and it did last night. Probably thirty million people watch that game. Kevin. It's the National Football League. I think they're doing a okay. Well, they're doing fine. They could be doing better. They I don't think they could. I don't think the National Football League could be doing much better. As a guy who pays for all these services, I think I have a right to complain. I have a right to speak. We're not trying to muzzle you right now, Bud. I don't have
the masking shape. You know I'm saying though, if not really, I mean, I yes, I would prefer it to happen. But if Warton's Broncos game, which is one of seven on Sunday let them fly. Who cares, No, one's not everyone's watching it, but Sunday Night Packers, Chiefs World watching. Okay, so you're saying how many people do think you're watching and saying, oh, this product, it's just there's too many flags. I click, I'm gonna switch back over to a lot of casual gold
yes, and then what never to return to the sport? Nothing back in a day. Yeah, I'm just asking to make things better. I don't think that's a bad ass. Tell you what would make things better? And I thought this forever and I've never heard a real reason why it's not a good idea. Two past interference penalties. Okay, past interference, as we mostly know it is a fifteen yard penalty. And then there's a flagrant past interference, which is spot of the foel. Yeah, you can't have a
tic tac forty yard PI. And now the ones last night was a tackle, the one on whoever lock it? I mean there were some bad ones, but make it fifteen yards. If they're jostling for the ball and a guy gets a little twisted and maybe maybe touches an arm and prevents it from going up fifteen yards, it's two penal. Now, if you wrap the guy or in intentionally do it that it's a flagrant PI and then you get
it at the spot, then you can have all fifty two yards. But if it's just you're playing, I mean, what's harder on in all of sports than playing cornerback. It's the hardest thing. And they it's getting tougher possible, and it gets harder and harder as the league changes, throw more more freedom for offenses, and that ain't change them because offensive numbers are down this year because teams are like, screw it, we gotta go bendn't break.
We're gonna have two safeties all the time, now, you know. And you put two safeties back there to make sure you're not giving up any deep balls, and everyone's like fine. And then once we get you into the red zone, we'll rush three and we'll have eight guys back there and we'll just have a bunch of bodies and we'll play some form of prevent and then I mean, this is offensive numbers are down a little bit, So
that's not gonna change there. They're gonna keep making that way. But I've always agreed with you that passing interference is two penal, and that's the flavored idea. Is good. I think that does get into a line of what constitutes that, but we already have what constitutes past interference, and like you said, launching yellow flags into the sky, it's all up to them.
Plus they don't review it, so it and yes, if you start saying it's only a fifteen yard penalty, you will get an increase in the intentional pass interferences. Yeah, which then either should be reviewable or just you gotta throw it when you gotta throw when it's obvious. It kind of covers both. My idea was that max of twenty five, So fifteen if it's before, but if it's like the forty yard bomb, then it's twenty five because then what stops the defensive back from just go and screw it. I'm burnt
tackle the guy? Flagrant flagrant? Then you get the flagrant, and then you get the spot foul. Yes, but then they're gonna have so many conversations about was that a flagrant? Now we're gonna go review was that flagrant pass interference? When you could just go, wow, you know, twenty five yards? I mean they'll cut off should be flagrant. Is intentional. Most others aren't intentional. Yeah, because then if you do the twenty five
yard thing, then you risk taking the bomb away from football too. Yeah, you should do it every time you to take my medicine here. Yeah, maybe I trying to make it better. That's all I'm trying to do. All we've done for twenty eight straight minutes is make America better. Pushing Pete today? All right? Yeah, Friday, December, first downbeat. I'm Kevin, that's Mike's Roy Danny Bayless. We'll be back on Monday.
We'll see if he had a wild night out at eight o'clock. JJ Jackson is here today as well, will be if you want to call in and do this type of stuff. Two on four eight one seven seven eight seven one nine seven one. We're gonna talk Cowboys at seven. Let's talk football DFW if you if you got some hot takes, you know, we'll let you get on the air at seven. Maybe. But the most important thing in the world on days like this usually is the Cowboys run here, and
it is. But we're gonna do that at seven. So coming up next though, another big sports story that has a lot of legs and a lot of angles, and I'm quite frankly terrified about what it can mean for one of my favorite sports. Next on ninety seven won the free