Welcome to the solid verbal. I'm that for me. I'm a man, I'm forty. I've heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy. You want to be happy for Dake Edith State. Is that whoo whoom? And Dan and Tye welcome back to the solid verbal. Boys and girls. My name is ty hilden Brandt. Joining me is always over there, this time in beautiful southern California. My man Dan Rubinstein, right back where it all started. Sir, how are you. I'm great.
I'm in the Clawfice West Coast. Ty, Yeah, I am. I went from the walk in closet in my apartment.
That's right.
I have a walk in closet to a walking closet in my parents' house. So I'm sorry to my my parents' clothing. But hopefully the audio sounds all right. As we get into April, Q and a slash, a little exercise we have.
That's what we're doing Dan, as you know, congratulations, Skippy, you've got you've got mail on the solid We've had that sound around since the very beginning. But what we do in the off season about once a month, we like to pay homage to those of you who write in at sliverbo at gmail dot com, who post on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, on the subreddit, on Gosh. We're the MySpace page, the friends to account, wherever you can
get a hold of us. We do our best to collect all of those questions, put them in a nice little Google doc here, which I did not open literally until about four minutes ago. This work shots. It was working all out here. Yeah, as we always do on the show.
I like that when we put out a call for questions and say, hey, throw us your college football questions or really anything that's on your mind, we start getting a bunch of questions in our inbox that are like, hey, my belly button color is getting kind of weird and gunk filled, and at what point should I speak to a professional? Also, how much do you see Nebraska improving
on specialties? And I love that that's the case. So I've set up both a document full of what appears to be a lot of life questions and a couple football ones, and then also an exercise in the realm of expectations.
The realm of expectations, Why don't we start there? So, by the way, again, thank you to everyone who wrote in I'm going through these now again real time, have not had much a chance to prepare. There are some fantastic questions as all. We got six pages of questions here.
Yeah, we got a lot. There's a bunch that came in and not that long a time. And should also point out the solid baby flying six hours across the country, surpassed expectations exactly, take offs, landings, no ear issues, slept for like three and a half hours, eight smiled at the flight attendants, which, hey, good.
Job, buddy. He's better than me. Yeah, way better than you. So let's start with expectations. You are in your old old digs here podcasting digs now in California. I am not at mommy agent's house where it all started for me. But why don't we delve into some expectations so you put this together. We had the Marie condo thing last week. We got questions about that. Seems like that went over pretty well. People liked it. Yeah, you want to delve back into expectations though. Dan a hot topic here in
the college football offseason. Every time we've ever done an offseason show, it seems like we harke him back to some form of expectations for the season. That lies ahead.
And by the way, we didn't get to a lot of those Mari Condo items that other were worth giving away or sparking joy. I'm particularly upset that I didn't make a decision about the well worn caricature filled what was it the acc at lanth or excuse me, coastal shirt with like the character of the giant heads, like you know, when the Detroit Pistons won the en Championship, you had they're all spinning balls on their hands, just with the sort of throw back eat success of that division.
I'm sad I didn't make a decision with that, but people seem to like that. But as it relates to expectations, I went through the Power six conferences.
That's right, tie.
Power six okay, being inclusive, very nice. I seeked that sought, I think is actually the form of that word. I sought out the growers and the lowers, so not growers and showers, So the teams that grew in twenty eighteen and the teams that sort of lowered their their Q raiding or what we can expect from this team, and
we saw sort of a lowering of performance. I went through each each conference and decided which teams fit those two things, And I think we should go in and help to cataract categorize base on the movement of twenty eighteen. Whether we feel these teams should be classified now given how they're currently built. And I'm excluding teams that hired new coaches because we just don't have the data points.
So these teams, are they just not a ball team? Sorry, it's just it's hard to see a way that you're you're getting to six?
Are they the annual? Will they won't they five and five? Five and six? Playing for eligibility?
The ross Rachel of college football, like sort of Virginia Tech was this past year.
Are they are they? Yeah?
Are they perennialble like they're getting a seven? They're they're they're at seven. Maybe they'll win eight, maybe they'll win six, but they're a pretty healthy seven. Bet Are they a comfortable well bowl team with you know, you know, some years they're going to go six and six, five and seven,
and that's just a standard deviation. And some years, when everything breaks right and the quarterback's better than expected, the coaches are up and coming growers themselves, maybe they get to ten with a couple of big breaks but comfortably eight.
So this is this is essentially perception versus reality correct with some of these programs. So why don't we start with US secause I know USC is on here and so forth. Nine ten eleven plus Yeah, yeah, USC should be a ten plus win team that they're the lower in the Pac twelve. That would be my perception of what USC should be. What they will be, though, I
think is really the open question. That's a big part of the reason why Clay Helton remains ever on the hot seat has been the last two years, certainly is going to be from day one this season because if USC doesn't get to like at least nine right, like right at that point, it feels like they're falling way short of what they should be.
Give me your give me your take, tie you say they should be a ten plus win team and or ten plus win program.
Excuse me? So if you.
Combine what they've been in the last five or so years, which is on the high end of Pac twelve champion, on the low end not making a Bowl game, right, and you look at the talent that they've been able to bring in develop, you know, either get drafted or not get drafted to the NFL coaches available, talent, conference division, whatever. What is the biggest reason that you see as USC being ten plus? Anything less than that is disappointing? Is it a talent thing? Is it that the PAC twelve
is down thing? Is it that they're just so far ahead in terms of infrastructure?
Whatever it is? What is it that?
Because this is something that like, I think I agree with, but then I keep seeing USC seasons and coaches and bad presidents and athletic directors, and like, I don't know if USC can ever really consistently get out of its own way unless they have a high NFL level coach like they did in Pete Carroll.
Well, it's certainly a consistency thing on some level, you know, because they constantly get the talent, and perhaps under Clay Hilton they haven't been as good at developing that talent as they should be, but they still get it, which leads me to believe that on some level it's a coaching thing. How are they not more consistent of a program at this point. They've had their struggles along the
offensive line over the last couple of years. They've had some struggles along the defensive line over the last couple of years. It seems like at any given point in time, a certain element of that team is not firing on all cylinders. Skill talent does not seem to be an issue. They seem to be fine there, But it's the little things that they need to be more consistent in that I think can get them to a higher level.
I am, what are the ratings, the stock ratings whatever, bond ratings like standard and Poor's and Moody's and stuff like that. Right, you've got it. Maybe this is the actual theme of the show. We're like upgrading or docking whatever.
Because the show last week tidying up was such a big hit, we could right now declare it a mixed metaphor may and go into investments in April. We could In April, we could declare it now, give ourselves enough runway to figure it out, and then do a whole investment theme show sometime in May where we do that kind of kind of We did.
A mad Money episode that that got a little out of hand, and that's kind of managink we.
Could do better than that, And I've just come up with an idea that we can roll with. But to your point, sure, a rating essentially a trust rating is what you're talking about here with USC.
I have USC in my mind as someday they should be a ten plus win program. They have enough advantages and the conferences not robust enough to consistently challenge them week in and week out, that they should be a ten plus win program. I am downgrading them to nine plus. I am downloading. I am downgrading them to full on good. They're gonna mostly lose to teams that are on the same level and maybe throw in one just definitely disappointing loss.
And why.
I'm at that point with USC because when I look at them, I see them as a jym hobbyist entering local weightlifting competitions. We're like, yeah, you're doing well, and maybe you're wearing clothing that you shouldn't, like, you're showing off guns that aren't fully there, but just know what's going on. Know the reality. And USC, to me, with administrative and coaching hires, it doesn't look like they're fully dedicated to the ruthlessness needed to get to that ten
plus level. And I don't know why that is, but it's hard to look at USC and think this is a well oiled machine and that winning ten plus games a year is hard, as everybody outside of like Bama, Clemson, Ohio State knows, that's a really difficult amount. And I see no evidence that USC has put anything in place right now over the next three, four or five whatever years to say this is where they stand. They're a ten plus win program. Maybe if there's an overhaul, but
I don't know. Again, the data point to point to right now that says, yeah, they should stumble into ten wins no matter what.
All right, so let me go to another team then, yeah, with that logic, how do you feel about the Michigan Wolverines. I feel a lot better about Michigan because there's a little bit overlap, right there's a little bit of overlap, and I like that the you know included in that overlap is going like a definite new direction offensively with Michigan hiring Josh Gaddis and USC hiring Graham Harrell.
But right now Michigan is at least on an uptick. They go from going five and four what was it in the Big ten two years ago something like that to eight and one last year. The defense, there's nothing about USC that you can point to as being incredible and for ninety percent of Michigan season, their defense was incredible. They dominated team in a specific facet of the game. And so with Michigan, with they don't schedule up all
the time. I know Notre Dame is sort of back on the schedule, whereas USC has had you know, Texas and Stanford early on in the season, and you know a number of huge Power five programs, whereas Michigan is sort of up and down in terms of what they've scheduled. Michigan has been excellent at something and there has been consistent competence with Michigan that I don't see with USC.
So in terms of trends, even with some offensive questions, I think you have to put Michigan above USC in saying I understand why they're a ten plus win program right now because there's excellent excellence associated with where they stand right now.
Well, and there's a lot that you can fall back on. In the Michigan case, I agree with you. Jim Harbaugh is definitively a better coach than Clay Hilton. You put the two coaches in a room, compare resumes, no one is taking Hilton over Harball. So that's the first thing. Second I don't have Michigan at eleven though. Right Well, secondly, you've got the defense. As you said, the offense has sort of been a work in progress. Jim Harbaugh is
trying to address that. They've got plenty of talent. That's not an issue. Look at their recruiting class this past year. Sure recruiting class was demonstrably better than USC's, so you got that as well. I just feel like Michigan's in a much better place and they're going to continue this slow ascent up. Perhaps there's a bit of a void now with Ryan Day taking over for urban Meyer. I don't care how good he is, he's not Urban Meyer.
I think that's an opportunity for Michigan. I feel, as you do, a lot better about the Wolverine's going to do the Trojans at this point.
I also think, by the way, as for consistency, if Clay Helton is fired and Jim Harbaugh decides, see, I'm going to take the Lion's job or I don't even know what NFL job would be attractive to him, I think there is a better chance that Michigan makes the right higher to at least flirt with where they've been, or at least where they were in twenty eighteen, than I do about USC doing it, both because of location and because of the administrative dedication in your.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa you who always argues yeah, the merits of good weather. You're gonna tell me that Michigan's a better location than southern California.
It's a better location for attracting excellent coaches. Yes, okay, I think I think an excellent coach is more likely to take the Michigan job than the USC job. I'm only comparing those two schools. Yeah, I don't know if I buy that. Man, Really, I don't know if I buy that now. USC still has that glitz and glamour to it, even though they've been down for a bit. At what point are you going to say, ro I
don't know about the glitz and glamour anymore. What are we going to get to that point where you're gonna like, are you going to be the as we mentioned in the Mari Condo show, wearing the USC cologne that smells like a sweaty Brian Cushing? Are you going to pointing to peak care I did throw that out and I'm still I'm still picking my pints.
Of it on my on my clothing. Fair Next team, Let's stay in the Big Ten. Okay, let's talk about Wisconsin. Where are we at with Wisconsin right now? The Alex Hornybrook thing admittedly came out of thin air for me. Yeah, maybe that had been percolating for a while. Apparently it was, but for him to leave Grant it not the strongest armed quarterback, maybe not the most accurate, but seem to fit that system pretty well. Where are we at with Wisconsin?
Wisconsin's confusing, We're now what he Paul Chris has been there four years and just hit a pretty huge stumbling block after year three, and there are reasons for it, with quarterback injuries and injuries all over the field, really but not necessarily a Big Ten that is lining up huge challengers week in and week out, especially in that division. And so I think I'm also downgrading Wisconsin a little bit, not fully panicking. They went what eight and five last year?
Seven to five during the regular season and seven wins is certainly departure from where they were, but they won ten and nine and what eleven and one? I guess they went twelve to oh in twenty seventeen, so I think they are almost in that nine full on good team that they're gonna lose to teams that have more talent.
They're gonna be in those games, But I'm worried about more BYU type games as we go farther into further into the Paul christ era, where they just they look pretty good, but they give up three and a half really dumb plays. And I don't know if it's a Jim Leonard thing on defense. I don't know if it's a not evolving enough on offense and leaning on their sort of power brand too much. But I'm a little bit worried that they are taking an understandable but disappointing half step back.
Yeah.
I mean, so that's nine wins with the ability to go ten and two with a break and the ability to go seven.
And five if it's a nightmare again. Yeah, I'm real curious to see what ends up happening at the quarterback spot. It doesn't concern me as much at Wisconsin the way it would at other schools because they do have that power attack that they do rely on, but they get Michigan relatively early this year, towards the middle to late portion of September, which will be a big test for them. They're on the road later in the year at Ohio State.
They're on the road later in the year against a team like a Nebraska, who knows what shape they'll be in. I'm not sure what to expect out of this Wisconsin team now. The schedule isn't terrible, to be honest, I think they can navigate this, but there are some questions and they do need to improve over where they were a year ago. So I think I sort of fall in line with you. Around the nine win mark feels about right to me.
Important to remember that outside of Illinois, each of the teams in the West you have to upgrade in terms of where they stand competitively. Northwestern has been a stalwart of consistency, even with Wisconsin taking a step back. Purdue for sure has gotten better. Iowa, even though they seem to go five and four, four and five whatever in the Big Ten every year, they's still a tough tough out.
Nebraska's on the upshot and on the upswing, and Minnesota is a team that is certainly getting more dangerous, and there is a small part of me that's worried that Wisconsin built up that ten eleven annual win season threshold on a foundation of well, a big ten West kind of bad. So a pretty good team might look excellent.
All right, final one here, Then we're going to get to questions where do we stand on the Auburn Tigers. That's a good one. And talk about trying to time the stock market. Yeah, just when you think you know what Auburn's going to do, just when you think they're a seven win team, they go out and they win ten and vice versa. It's a really tough program to try engage. We talked about it on the Tidying Up Show. Our Gus mals on Hourglass still sparks Joy, I think
for both of us. Yeah, trying to figure this thing out. But where are we at with Auburn now? Auburn is a like if you were going to invest in Auburn football, you have to know what you know. You could buy it at thirty eighty five a share and oh wow, it's up to nine dollars right now, Like, oh it's down to seventy six cents.
What is happening Auburn is it's as if Enron were going through all of their issues and then right as they're going bankrupt, everybody's going to jail, they discover a clean renewable energy source to power everything on the cheap.
Like what who are you? Auburn?
Auburn should be a ten plus win program. And I say that knowing that they're in the SEC West, which is certainly in most years a difficult division to navigate.
But given their brand and that they've been in and won national championships within the last decade, I am thinking that they are ten plus with Gus Malson and should be ten plus with Gus Malson given his offensive reputation, considering who they've developed on defense, and considering that they're one of what like two and a half programs that can challenge Alabama annually that should be able to challenge Alabama annually. So I am looking at them as ten
plus with a whole bunch of volatility. And I know that sort of gives them two that assigns them to sort of expectation points. But I don't know how you can do anything different with Auburn.
I think I'm in agreement with you there.
I'm much more confident in staking a claim that Auburn should be that than usc should be that.
I think I agree with that. Yeah, I mean, where do you stand on them? Eight and five? Last year three and five in conference did not go according to plans. I think we're both higher on Auburn than they ended up finishing throughout the course of the year. Now they lose Stidham and I've got questions, But this is the kind of year where they win ten games, isn't it. It seems like it's every other year with the Auburn shows.
So I think I'm in agreement with you. By the way, this sparked not just joy, but joy the idea of the show that we're going to do in May with investing, I have a great idea for how we're going to run this thing. I will lean on Jody with an eye heavily. Okay, So yeah, I'm in I'm in agreement with you. Generally speaking, Auburn's still got a ton of talent during a tough side of the SEC though. That's that's what makes this whole thing harder. That's sort of
the great Barks factor. There's just so much competition on that and.
They schedule well Auburn is a team that's schedules well, you know, they recently had Clemson in the non conference part of the schedule. They play well, they had Washington last year. I think they have Oregon this year. I know they have Orgon this year in Arlington. So in terms of wrenches into that ten plus number, they certainly are trying too much like in dodgeball, they're trying to avoid those wrenches being thrown at them constantly, and sometimes
it works, sometimes it doesn't. What was that, Patches o' hulahan. Yeah, Okay, which feels like a pretty apt comparison for Auburn.
But yeah, I think you're right.
I think I think there's nothing wrong with expecting a lot of Auburn with as much tumultuousness that surrounds the program. They they are one of the few teams that at their peak can play with anybody in the gusmells On era.
All right, well, Daniel, shall we get to some of our questions here that we're sent in by some of our loyal overballers.
You wouldn't even do any American Conference teams though, we'll run out of the power six man. All right, let's let's just do speed round. Give you give me a number quick ones, go ahead, Okay, Syracuse they grew last year.
What's their number? They're I have them as an eight. They're like an eight win team. Yeah. Virginia Tech the lower in the ACC. They I trust in justin Filente, I'll say nine, nine, nine. Yeah, I have them at eight as well. With Syracuse.
It's the a SEC. Everybody's everybody. Matt MUSHes together in a stew Texas.
Texas grow ten.
I think I think you're right. Oh, it's weird to say it. I think you're at Oklahoma State, a big lower. They go three and six in conference last year.
Eight or nine. I have them as. I have them as eight. Yeah.
I'm curious to see what they do with their new offensive coordinator. Did a lot of great things at Princeton. Yeah, Cincinnati, A lot of people said a year ahead of schedule last year with how good they were, especially really good.
Really good on defense. Nine or ten that seems fair.
Yeah, I think ten with as much talent as there as there is in Ohio. Yeah, in that general area, and Luke Fickle's connections might worry about ten. Where I may downloaded them to nine is how long. Is Luke Fickle actually a bearcat? Okay, sure, because I think he's a name that's going to continue to come up. Navy a huge lower year, which obviously much the joy of the Hildenbrand family.
I don't know, I think there.
I think I haven't met about seven. Yeah, I think there's some issues there.
Seven or eight.
Keny Modololo is looking around too much. It feels like his name is coming up too much. Kentucky. You know what, I took a beating. We took a beat for how canded Kentucky. Yeah, and so my my natural proclivity would be to say zero here just to rub.
It in a little more. But let's be bullish on Kentucky moving forward. They had a hell of a year. They really did did. Perhaps I didn't, Perhaps we didn't give them enough credit.
I think I'm at seven ish, but with a pop with like the If they have Ron Baker and Fred van Vliet, whichitas you know they have those like four fifth year seniors, they're going to be hard to beat. And I think that's what that team was last year, having as much upperclassmen experience as they did. I think they're seven with a couple of breaks nine plus. But I have them as comfortable ball team, which is with where they've been. I think everybody remembers certain recent eras.
That's pretty good. Final team. Roll on you, Bears, Cal Bears.
I'm down on Kel.
You're down on Cal. They have a weird infrastructure thing. Not a lot of money running through No Berkeley. They're having a lot of financial issues. So the dedication to football is I mean, they've added facilities and they've you know, justin Wilcox, I think is really good.
I have done something very well, recovered from the fact that I spent an entire offseason championing the Bauer Hour and then they pulled them. That was a rough offseason after like one game. Yeah. Yeah, I have them as ross Rachel.
I have them as annual Bowl flirtation, and maybe they're getting to a Bowl sixty five percent of the time. It's tough without seeing some big step on offense to feel good about them in the next five years.
Let's move on to questions here, Dan, question one in front of me that I'm looking at that I love this one from Anna last week. You got rid of things you no longer wanted, things that didn't spark Joy. Yeah, with all that new space you've acquired, what are you most excited to add to the solid verbal house this year? Dan, We got room, we can expand we can create new memories. We can add new keepsakes. Here to the mantle.
By the way, if you're not if you're only interested in football, this is one. Thanks for the download, Thanks for joining us, and you can go hang out with another podcast if you don't want to hear our dumb thoughts about life Anna or Anna asks a terrific question. I Am not going to be adding much other than baby toys to my kind of small apartment. But you,
on the other hand, have acquired space. I have what is what is something that solid wife Kate isn't necessarily thrilled with you doing space wise, but says, you know what, we have the square footage. Go for it, Ty, I know this will make you happy in Sparkjoy.
Yeah, I'm with it. I've already got this figured out, Dan, I'm getting a fat head photo. Did you see today that the National Science Foundation or Institute whatever it's called, they somehow managed to photograph a black hole? I did. It's a huge deal. And you know how I've got this thing for outer space. Oh, I know where you're going with this. Yeah, I'm going to get with smelloscope. Yeah. No, I'm going to get the framed photo of that black hole.
Oh okay, I want to get it fat head style so I can put it up here on the wall of the studio. And I think it's actually got a double meaning because it looks a whole lot like Florida State's quarterback depth chart. So I think it really has a double meaning added value for us here as a podcast.
Yeah, that's ah, you went there. I can tell you what I would do with more space. At some point, I will have more space because I will not be living in Brooklyn. I think I'm going to I got talked into this a little bit by a friend last week who just got a place and they're going to get a Japanese soaking tub, which it actually looks like
a sake glass. It is a tall tub and I am not a bath person, but it is like a fully submerged thing other than your head, and you sort of sit on a small bench in it, Okay, And it's apparently incredibly relaxing. And now I can be talked into having like a zen bathroom situation, zenroom situation with a Japanese soaking tub as the centerpiece. All right, let's go next to Eric. He says, what are the various slash most creative ways bagmen can get money to players
controversial subjects? This was asked of us on in our last Q and A. We're just getting around to it now because we've been getting a bunch of good questions.
Speak creatively to me, Dan, Well, so there are existing ways that are pretty creative instead of just players getting handed envelopes full of cash, or you know, a bag man or an extra assertive booster paying for car repairs or whatever expenses a player may incur as a senior
or junior in high school whatever. A lot of stuff like this is going through charities, Like a seven on seven coach starts a charity, and that charity is to help kids travel to tournaments and get tutoring and then all of this and they get an infusion of fifty thousand dollars from an LLCA something like that. I think that's pretty creative. I think that's I mean, in terms of going skirting some rules, I think it's pretty creative.
I mean, I would just continue to hire relatives in a cash business, Like if a player's relative runs a landscaping service and you're obviously now familiar with all this with your whatever you're doing in your backyard, if you're like, all right, I really want we're putting in a patio situation with this deck and this bar setup and fire pit, and it's going to run us, you know, fifty one
hundred dollars. All of the sudden, you're like, what if I paid you twenty thousand dollars and sat you down for a spiel, like a time sharing type spiel about the virtues of Notre Dame football For anybody that might be in your life considering Notre Dame. That kind of thing. Cash business, cash business, Yeah.
Cash businesses where it wouldn't look super I mean spending five thousand dollars in cash on a patio would be weird. But something where it wouldn't raise eyebrows that you're paying for something in cash and getting and have a lot of cash on hand because of the business you're running.
I'm gonna have to think more about this, but I like the boat cut jip here.
Yeah, setting up a business like that, We're like, yeah, of course people are paying in cash a sandwich shop. We're like, gosh, turkey salami mortadella and how much is that? Eight hundred dollars?
Okay? Cool? Yeah, yeah, no problem cash cash Yeah. That feels great, doesn't it? Yeah? You know what else feels great? Dan? How about paying off high interest credit cards? Oh, getting a lower rate and saving money. That was the best transition I've ever had. Not bad refinance your credit card balance isn't save with a credit card consolidation loan from our friends over at light Stream a fixed rate as low as six point one four percent APR with auto pay and get a loan from five thousand to one
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We had a question about grief. Grief.
Did you see the question about grief? And so I believe it's our mottos from reddits. He has bummed out that the AAF, the association is that it is American Football is no longer. It appears they have discontinued after like three weeks. Huh, yeah, that's not great business wise. What's your favorite stage of grief? He is particular to bargaining, and he's half tempted to see if he can do a gofund me or a kickstarter to start a new
spring football league. And I have this in front of me, the standard stages of grief, but I think we can invent our own stages. They include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. And so, as I'm sure you've had to grieve people or situations you watch the Notre Dame Bowl game, what is the point in grief? I can tell you from just a breakup perspective, relationship ending perspective. What my favorite part of that grief period is.
It's weird to have a favorite part of the grief cycle. I know, I'm with you.
Yeah, I love the part where I was like, I just need to get outside. I need to get outside and I'm just gonna run five miles. And it didn't last for a long time, getting up early and going for a run to just clear your head. But I did like that stage felt good. It felt good to sort of clear your mind a little bit, clear my mind a little bit. So that's what I would point to, and then just listening to a lot of saves the day.
Yeah, I'm big on denial because it's sort of like it didn't happen. I'm fine, No, what are you talking about? Life is great? Yeah, getting higher the denial stage is sort of like the honeymoon stage of the grief cycle. Yes, so I think I'm a little partial to that.
Okay, next question, Oh, I like this one, ty, I think you'll have and we've gotten this question sort of before. Let me find it was. I think it was about Jowitch rec league to join. Matt wants to say I'm moving to a new state after graduation, so This sounds like he's probably early twenties, maybe mid twenties if it's after grad school, New State where he doesn't know anyone. Yeah, what kind of rec league, kickball, soccer, et cetera. Would
have the most fun? People making friends, watching games, you know, going out for drinks, maybe being set up with somebody.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So if you were alternate universe, sure you're a single guy. Mysterious day job says all right, Ty, you are moving to Kansas City. Yeah, which is an area I don't believe you know many people?
Nope, nobody.
And you're saying, well, I love playing sports, love being active. I'm going to join something, meet some new people, maybe come across somebody that could be interesting to go in a couple of dates with.
All Right, So I have I have some thoughts on this matter, Dan, Kansas City in town. You and I are both very competitive people, correct, And I have a problem when I play a sport that I think i'm pretty good at, like softball or baseball, something that I've got a lot of familiarity with, When I get out there on the baseball diamond, it really pains me deeply. It wounds me. If I'm playing with a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing. Yeah, then you're
gonna come off terribly. Then I'm gonna come off as sort of like the super intense guy who maybe doesn't make friends as easily as I would otherwise.
Oh weird, we didn't We didn't tell you that we were going out to beers after the game.
Oops. Right, Yeah, I'm not wearing Rex back to the game. I'm not quite at that level. But I'm just I'm a little too intense. You you do see the intensity. Yeah, maybe I just I'm not as open to meeting new people as I should be because I'm focused on the game.
Again that I know, and it's hard. It's hard for people to be into intense tie That's right.
So I think with that as the backdrop, it needs to be something that you know, maybe I don't take as seriously, or I'm not as prone to taking as seriously. So if there is like a kickball league or a dodgeball league or so, I don't know that something a little bit off beat.
I still think kickball would scratch you where you itch a little bit too much because you're still on the diamond. There's still a short stop. There's still a picture. They're still waving somebody home.
It also couldn't be something like bowling, where I'm just genuinely awful.
But that's kind of cool. That's you know, there's time between to like get to know people and talk and find out where people are from and what they do for a living. And there's that you know, you're drinking beer. I think bowling is actually a great idea.
No, I'm out. I'm out on them.
But it's tough to just join a bowling league blind. I think you normally you have to join with like three other people. Want to outside team. I think that's good. I think kickball for you is bad. I think soccer for you would be good.
Soccer is something I know a lot about but have never played.
It doesn't involve your bum shoulder, true, so you just sort of beg off of throw ins.
I get throwns. It'll be fine for you.
I think soccer is the move for you. Or basketball, but you want to be outside. I'm retired from basketball, are are you really? I blew out my shoulder playing basketball. I'm retired, but you're not dunkin I'm retired, Okay. I think soccer is the answer for you, specifically for him, I think kickball is a great answer. Yeah, kickball is something that inherently, as long as Matt doesn't have the
type of baseball or softball intensity that you have. I think kickball is silly enough that it brings out personality where it's just like, oh, we're playing this thing we did when we were in pe in fourth grade. And I think there's a natural like shift from kickball to a bar after even if you're not a big drinker, grab some nachos, grab some tendo's, whatever that. I think there's that social element to kickball where people are just their guard down, they're just a little bit looser.
So I would say kickball. I like that, and you can talk to people.
It's like if you're playing Ultimate frisbee, if you're in an Ultimate frisbee rec league, it's not like you're chatting around the field getting to know people. But if you're in a dugout, if you're in an outfield waiting between innings, kickball, everybody knows they're into this sort of ridiculous fun thing.
I say, kickball. Next question. Let's go to Mike here, all right, he says, my birthday is Sunday the fourteenth, and my wife of one month, congratulations sir ooh very nice, has told me that her gift to me is a ticket slash weekend to any game for our alma mater, the University of Arkansas. Woo. What game of the twenty nineteen schedule gives me the best weekend experience as well as a game where Arkansas has a decent shot of winning. Thanks,
that is from Mikes. Those are two different things, exactly, Congratulations Mike. Those are two different things, and I think you need to look at this more from the standpoint of experience than from shot of winning. So who are you who you're penciling in? All right? So the first game that jumps off the page to me, Dan, is that A and M game? However, that's a neutral cider it is it's in Arlington. You know where we stand on neutral site games.
Yeah, but at least that game is usually entertaining. It's been an overtime game of you know, more often than not in the last few years.
I don't know. If you're into neutral site games, Arlington would be you got to go to a game? Yeah, go to a game in Arkansas. The Auburn game midway through October is interesting to me. Sure. Otherwise though, there aren't a lot of high profile home games that I would really steer towards. Maybe Mississippi State could be interesting, The Missouri game end of the year could be interesting, but the weather could be a bit of a concern.
Right exactly, I'm probably going probably going for that Auburn game.
I think Auburn's the answer. And a couple reasons. You give yourself, what six games going in. They're gonna have a new quarterback, and this is year two of the Chad Morris era, and at times the defense looked alright at times. Last year certainly had some issues, But at least with Auburn you have that sort of big game intensity where you're not positive they're terrible, unless if they lose to San Jose State, that's gonna be a rough
It's gonna be a rough ticket to look at. But at that point there's a shot at beating Ole miss a shot. In terms of what their schedule looks like, they should be. Portland State, Colorado State, and San Jose State are not world beaters. A and M is gonna be very tough, but at least that's a neutral site and it's been they've played them very close in recent years. Kentucky's not going to be as good, so there is at least a chance that Arkansas is competitive on the road.
In Lexington Auburn, you get, in terms of tailgating, that's a big game atmosphere. Even if everybody at the tailgate, yeah, we're probably gonna lose and it's probably not gonna be super pretty, there's a buzz. You at least get that buzz where it's just like it's October, it's the South,
it's Arkansas Auburn. There's just something about it that, at least for three four hours tailgating, you're like, this is what life is about except grilling meats, we're smoking meats, we're doing whatever, and it's just you get to enjoy that, that brief window, even with the pessimism laying in the back of your mind, the brief window of like life is good. If you can like sort of float ten
feet above your tailgate, you can really appreciate it. Whereas Mississippi State, you're into November, then it's cold and you're wearing I don't know, I don't know how cold it actually gets in in Fayetteville in November, but it's probably not as nice as it is in mid October. So there's at least potential for hope with Auburn coming off of neutral site, a worse Kentucky game, a worse Ole miss team potentially with all sorts of issues.
I think that's the answer. I think we're in agreement there, all right. Pick and Alburn could be terrible, Auburn could be terrible, Aways be terrible. Pick a game where you think the atmosphere is going to be fun. Yeah, don't worry about the wins and losses. That'd be Yeah. Recommendation, Let's go to Bizarro Tyler all time Verballer shares a
namesake with yours, truly. Of course, now that y'all, y'all are in your mid to late thirties married, don't have near the amount of free time used to When did you realize you were out of touch with current music? Oh? Man, Sometimes I'll listen to Pop two K, Sirius XM, and I'll have no recollection of some songs from the latter part of the two thousands. I long for the days of trains, drops of Jupiter, stay solid, Hail State, Bizarro Tyler in Nashville with a monster of a question here, Daniel.
Where are you at? Long for the days of Drops of Jupiter? Is both brave and telling.
Where are you at with the current state of affairs in pop music?
I'm like, there are occasional songs that will somehow cross in front of my face. I'm like, all right, I'm that's great and just pure like Top forty pop, like the Camilla how do you say it, Camilla Cabayo, I don't know, like that crossed in front of me.
I was like, all right, this is great.
I can't are like some early T Swift great, But I don't know what it is that. I was just like, I can't. There's there's a certain sound and I only really listen to this music when I'm home and driving in a car because I don't drive in a car in New York, so I come across Top forty radio only once every few months, and it sounds like every
song this is this is old man dance speaking. There's like a an effect I don't know if you know what, like logic effect that these guys and ladies whatever are working with these producers in logic and whatever and pro tools where it just makes every song sort of sound
the same. They don't sound bad, but there's just there is that sheen where I'm just like, this sounds like this person, but it fully couldn't be, Like I just and I just get lost and I give up, and I go to an oldiest station and the oldiest station in California, and LA will play hey ya Ti. Yeah, it will play some outcasts if you want to feel ancient.
So it's been.
It's been in terms of the year, I would say since twenty fourteen, I've pretty much opted out of pop music.
I'm having a real hard time trying. You love it, you commute with it, Well, I'm trying to commute more with it. Yeah. I find myself listening to older person stuff sure on the drive home, and I've had to recommit myself to be the pop music encyclopedia of this podcast. Yes, always what about Khalid? Have you heard of Khalid? I have?
And that is only because our friend Richard Johnson told me he gets it a lot that he looks like is Kalid or is a Kalid?
You know what I see it? You're right years old.
I didn't even think that the hair is very similar. The build is very similar, in the hair is very similar. I haven't heard Richard, but Richard has a good voice. Richard has a legitimately good voice. There's there's something in the like Ariana Grande phylum and I I ari Grande seems fine to me. It seems like she has a good voice. A bunch of hit songs. I don't know nearly. I don't know like three of them. But that there is a lot of diet Grande out there? Is that
fair to say? Sure, there's a lot of people who are saying, Okay, I see that sound, and I mean, that's music. You can look at the history of music and there's that. But I feel like we are in the diet Grande era.
I think Selena Gomez would be in the diet Grande era. Di's singing anymore? Who sings? Who sings on the middle? The nonj me eat world middle? That w'd be Maren Morris? Would you say that there's diet grande to Maren Morris a little bit, maybe a little tangential. Maybe it's it's grande zero, yeah, something like that. Maybe it's caffeine free grande zero.
Yeah, Okay, So yes, my answer would be twenty fourteen, since early Ariana Grande whenever that was fair.
And it's just because I'm a thousand years for me, it's been about the last two years. We've really fallen out of touch and I'm trying, Tyler my very best to get back on the level. Here.
What will you listen to when you're like I am, in a music mood when you're I assume you listen.
To satellite radio? Still sure, what station? What genre? What are you going in that direction? I go Pop Rocks Channel seventeen, and it's all music enough. No, it's all music from our high school and college days. Really see their fuel switch back. No, it's nothing that hard. It's a lot of pop stuff. You're not sending the pain below, it's what you're telling me.
No, Okay, let's do two more questions here. Okay, it's more love below than send the pain below.
That's right, that's right. Okay, Let's go to tuone squad. Okay, what is the proper tipping protocol at the following one restaurants where you order at the front, but if food brought to you and two buffets where the server brings to your drink.
So what to you, this, I mean begs another question. And I am pro tipping. I am pro service industry. It's a tough job worked in food service. Whatever, I appreciate them.
What to you sort of earns a really good tip, and that means play like twenty over over twenty percent. Well, obviously you got to be responsive. Yep, gotta be responsive, not two in your face responsive, but responsive enough. And you gotta have a personality. Interesting. I had a guy one time at an airport bar telling jokes about Seinfeld making human fun jokes. He got like thirty Oh really, Oh yeah, I don't want routines. I don't was telling
human fun jokes, which connects with me. So yeah, I went above and beyond on that tip.
I want water circulation to be elite. I want somebody coming around with water all the time. If it's full service and he's asking questions, or he or she tune squad for restaurants at the front where his food is brought to you, I'll leave a couple bucks. If it's very clear that the people bringing the food are only runners and they're not also making the food, or they're not also helping people that kind of thing. If they're
only sort of runners all the time. That's not a huge service, but that it depends on the specific role of the person bringing it out a buffet, I would imagine the people bringing out the drinks are doing more than just drinks, like they're helping set up the buffet and keep things going and communicating that like, yes we need more enchiladas, Yes we need more mac and cheese.
Whatever.
But it's not like I'm scoping. I'm not scouting the situation.
But you'll leave.
I'll leave a pretty standard tip. If the water is refilled, if the drinks are if everything comes in a timely manner and they're pleasant, whatever, I'll.
Give my standard tip. It's about twenty percent.
But yeah, if we're talking full service, what gets a good tip is elite water circulation. It's definitely not trying to memorize orders. Even if they get it right, there's a certain amount of hubris from like, come on, what are we doing. Just placate me and write it down. I don't, like, I don't need you to show off that you can memorize down even if you can, don't
do that. I'm just totally out on that. And then I want especially because Jody with an eye is very is she's indecisive, and so she'll say something like what's better the roast chicken or the feticini. Like she will give them options, and I like decisiveness from a waiter saying, well, the roast chickens pretty spicy, so if you're into that, I'd go with that. The feticini's great, but it's you know,
it's more of a mellow type thing. If a waiter or waitress server excuse me, is good on that level, I think that's a big play, especially if it turns out that they like, really nailed the wreck. I also love a good honest wreck where you're like, how's the salmon, You're like, it's fine, not my favorite.
Like I like that sort of honesty. So you prefer more guidance in terms of food versus.
I don't necessarily I don't necessarily correct. Yeah, I want it's all business. I want all business, and I want their expertise on the menu.
Here's a good question from Joey. Yeah, since it's starting to warm up in the Midwest, when you have sunglasses with you but don't need to wear them, what is the ideal on the body storage area? Oh? What a question above the forehead boses them to sweat and grease. But I've never been a fan of the V neck look that comes along with glasses. Pulling down your collar any pocket just increases the risk of something smashing. Thanks,
I'll hang up and listen. This is really a question for an entire generation, Dan, this is a question for shark tank. What do you typically do your sunglasses? Guy? I have actually, in all honesty, I have pondered this question for eons, to the extent that I don't even bring sunglasses with me unless it's required. Who I had this I did. I had this same scenario a couple weeks ago animal when I went down to Phillies opening day. I left the sunglasses in the car. I didn't want
to have to deal with him. I didn't know what to do with him on, so I left him in the car. I don't have an answer here, Dan, Okay.
So I am regularly the V neck, like even if I'm wearing a crew neck shirt and it becomes a V neck because the sunkey fold the sunglasses at the lip of the collar whatever. And that's just how I go about my life. I try more and more if I'm wearing a button down or a polo shirt or something like that, which I'm doing half the time. Is who knows to get one with a breast pocket? And I will go with the breast pocket. Look, I'm a dad, now I can get away with it, sure, and at
least that gives me a little bit more security. But the number of times where I've bent over and my sunglasses have fallen off of my shirt or out of the shirt pocket is endless. Yeah, so I will not go the forehead. Look, I don't wear hats really, so that's not like putting it on. I definitely won't go back of the head. I won't do the full fiery tie. I don't know how you use. Yeah, I don't do a forehead. I don't go on top of my hair.
So I am looking for somebody in the shark tank realm, some entrepreneur to come up with, like a shirt brand that has a hidden magnet in the breast pocket or inside the sort of collar area where that it really gets a good amount of traction for the sunglasses. That I'm all in on some sort of universe where we have magnets. I mean, it's all, it all comes down to magnets, So.
Yeah, I mean. And the thing is, if you're wearing a collared shirt with a button down, you can get away with putting it there in the collar. But if you're wearing a T shirt, if it's just a casual get together, if you try to put the sunglasses at the bottom of the collar, it turns into one way or another, a very aggressive V neck. You really don't wear sunglasses when you go to outdoor events in the sun.
I don't know what to do with the sunglasses. Do you wear sunglasses when you go birding?
No? You do? Have you have a weird vision thing as I wear sunglasses when I drive, but I don't like to take them out because I don't know what to do with them When I have to take them off.
You can't go pants or short pocket, you can't go. That's He's definitely right, that that's yours.
I smashed. I've tried the thing where I try to put one arm in the pocket and just let him hang out. But that's a recipe for disaster. You end up using them or dropping them in the epping on them.
Are you going to put them back in a case and put them in your back pocket? But then sitting down becomes a thing, it becomes uncomfortable.
I don't know.
I think I think the V neck transformation. I think the breast pocket is the best answer. But I don't know how we can better secure Again, I'm going to turn to people on Shark Tank.
All right, final question here, Dan, Yeah, comes to us from our friend r J. He says, love the show. My fiance and I are moving to Phoenix in a few months. How do I convince her that buying Arizona State season tickets is a good slash worthwhile investment? He uses the word investment. It's tough. It's a tough sell if you're going to present it as an investment. So I think you need to shift the narrative a little bit.
It's not an investment, You're investing in experience. Correct. All right, So that's the first I think tact you need to take here. RJ. Now, Dan, you've been to more ASU games than I have. What is that game and day experience? Like? It's a good time.
Early on in the season, all the home games are at night because of how hot September is, so you still get to watch some of the early games. I don't know what times on Arizona is in the fall. I know it can vary, or they it never varies. Whatever it is, you get time to do whatever you want to do on Saturday as is, so if you have errands to run, it's not like you're ruining your Saturday by getting to the tailgate at nine am. You know you're there for four hours and the game lasts
three more hours. It's much more of like, okay, it's a seven thirty kickoff. We can take care of whatever during the day during the morning hours and then go a couple hours before. And I don't think people are tail getting like ten hours all all day before ASU games. There's a huge parking lot, so you don't have to deal with huge or the pain of finding side streets and people charging you fifty dollars to park. Per my knowledge, maybe it's changed, so the social element, I think you're right.
It's the experience. Even if ASU is perennially just to pack twelve South Threat and nothing beyond that, you're going to a night game in Arizona gets a little chilly, so it's a nice break from the heat of September. Usually by the end of the month anyway.
Sun Devil Stadium's a cool venue. A lot of a lot of metal benches though that don't feel great in the heat, but a cool venue. Yeah, I think it's a neat place to see a game. The other thing i'd add here, it's not like you're moving to Philly and trying to convince someone for Penn State season tickets. Phoenix is right next door to Tempee.
Also, if you are moving to Phoenix from wherever, college football and tailgating is a nice way to meet new people, to meet locals that are presumably also interested in things you're interested in college football, and it's a big social experience where you make new friends tossing a football around. Somebody's making crab dip. I don't know what people make at the SU games. You're smoking b fribs whatever. It's a good way to be like, oh wow, that looks incredible.
Is it good?
And they're like, yeah, try some and then your friends you're great. You're joining a kickball league together.
The other thing i'd add, and this is I think the final point on this matter, m H. I think you are j first need to approach it as an experience that you're selling. The atmosphere that you want to be a part of now as you move to a new city. If that does not work and you are still dead set and determined to try and sell your new wife on this matter, you need to do this with a straight face. It's the only way it's going
to work. You need to try and sell her on the fact that you are buying in and with your money, voting for a new model of college football led by one Herman Edwards. That's true. Heys was fine last year. A new model. You can support a new model, you can upend the system. You got to do it the straight face. That's the hail Mary. Yeah.
I don't think that's going to be the big sell. I don't know how much to Herm Edwards to has a big name for somebody possibly not interested in Seucason tickets.
But it's a read option, Dan. You put an experience, You put experience in the belly. If she doesn't take it, he got to opt for investment, and that investment opportunity is the new model of college football led by one Herman Edwards. How can I argue that point? All Right, we got a bunch of other questions here that we could not get to. But We're doing these q and as every month now, so there's a new one coming
in May. We've got a bunch of stuff that we're going to try and a dress here over the next few weeks. So obviously spring football going on around the country. We'll talk in a little bit of detail about that. Some notable things that might pop up as we go through those. Also the NFL Draft coming up. Now. We're not big on the NFL, as we mentioned last week, but certainly as some of our favorite players go forth and prosper in the league, that is something that a
lot of college football fans are particularly interested in. So where's a guy like Kyler Murray gonna go, Dwayne Haskins, where are some of those big time defensive linemen from Clemson gonna go. We're gonna bring someone on the program here to talk a little bit more about the NFL Draft. So some stuff coming up here the next few weeks that you, as a college football fan might want to pay close attention to.
That person, Maren Morris, Is that the right name? Sure, that'd be great combine two of our interests.
All right, Daniel, so you are you are making the North American Baby Tour, right, now you are in southern California. Next week when we talk, you'll be Chicago.
Next time we speak, I will be in Chicago, the Chicago Burbs for for sure.
All Right, well, you take care, enjoy showing off the little man, and keep us updated on his progress.
Okay, done, will do. He's tall, poops consistently and is a good it smiles a lot. He does smile a good Amountain now excellent, It's pretty good.
On that note. For that guy over there, my good friend Dan Rubinstein, for myself, Tie Hildon Brandt, we will catch you all in a week. In the meantime, enjoy your week, enjoy your weekend, and stay solid peace.