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Bracket Picks and Q&A

Mar 14, 20181 hr 18 min
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Episode description

By popular demand, Ty and Dan reveal their bracket picks for the coming college basketball tournament while drizzling in college football questions from Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and the email inbox.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Transcript

Speaker 1

Haverballers. You know the future is coming, why not make it brighter with Squarespace. Squarespace makes it easy to turn your idea into a unique website. You can customize everything from look and feel to settings and products, all with beautiful templates created by world class designers. Best of all, unlike other websites, you don't have to install or patch

or upgrade anything ever. Head on out to squarespace dot com today for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch, use the offer code solid that's s O L I D and you'll save ten percent off your first purchase of a website or domain. Welcome to a solid verbal. Come that for me.

Speaker 2

I'm a man, I'm for I've heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy.

Speaker 1

You want to be happy for day at the steak? Is that whoo whoom and down and tie. Welcome back to the solid car. But boys and girls, my name is Ty Hildebrand, joining me as always over there in blustery New York City. My good friend Dan Rubinstein, sir, how are you?

Speaker 2

I'm all right, Ty, I'm moving. I'm in the process. I'm moving really So which if and I know you haven't if you've never moved from an apartment to an apartment within the greater New York City area. Don't ever do that. No, don't, don't. Don't. Other than that, ty I'm all right, I'm all right, hanging in. I'm playing hanging in there, had a good turkey sandwich for lunch, sat in a coffee shop, and did some work earlier today the real New York and Brooklyn experienced, Tye. It's the real thing.

Speaker 1

So today's show is going to be a little bit different. We've actually gotten requests to do a show like this in previous years, but we didn't. And now because the spirit has moved us, You've got some free time. I've got a need to let off some steam here. We're not going to be talking college football today, at least not in the traditional sense. Now, we got a bunch of questions from social media, from our friends over at Reddit, through the email inbox at sliverbo at gmail dot com.

We're going to try and address as many of those as we can. But for the first time ever, this is sort of a combo show between the Q and A that we've received, and I think the topic du jour for many sports fans. This week the college basketball tournament. Marsh Maddness is starting up, right, Yes.

Speaker 2

So we're doing an NIT show. So Oregon As is opening up. It actually might be we're recording this on Tuesday. I think it might be tonight.

Speaker 1

Maybe tonight.

Speaker 2

I think they're playing Writer. Okay, can you tell me? Have you heard of the university or college named Writer?

Speaker 1

It's in New Jersey? Yeah, is it?

Speaker 2

I know they the mid Atlantic Conferences not. Yeah, it's like the MAA C. Yeah, I know, never heard of it. I know heard of people who have gone to Writer. Is that true.

Speaker 1

It's a very good wrestling school, believe it or not.

Speaker 2

Name one person that went to Writer.

Speaker 1

Well, you don't know them.

Speaker 2

These are fine, Just kim, Just tell me who.

Speaker 1

Of my friend John's son went to Writer?

Speaker 2

Okay? Did he enjoy his time at Writer?

Speaker 1

I think?

Speaker 2

Okay? Did he wrestle?

Speaker 1

He did not wrestle? No, oh okay.

Speaker 2

So yeah, we are not doing an IT bracket. We're gonna do an NCAA bracket. But we also have a bunch of questions for an early March Q and a early to mid March Q and A. Is that correct?

Speaker 1

Right?

Speaker 2

We took people's questions on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. A lot of good ones came in, so we sort of narrowed them down to the ones that we most want to answer, but more specifically to the bracket tie. How many games in total did you watch this year in the great land of college basketball?

Speaker 1

You can't quite quantify it like that, Dan, here is my process. Okay, we overload on college football between late August and early January, and when early January hits, I usually go pretty dark until fantasy baseball season rolls around. Then I do a little bit of research because I'm into baseball, but as it relates to college basketball. I've watched about thirty total minutes of college basketball all year.

Speaker 2

Wow, I've watched two and a half I'd say the equivalent of two and a half games. I watched the second half of Duke North Carolina, not in the ACC Tournament, although I did watch a little bit of that, but I watched the full second half at the end of the season. I watched a couple Oregon games here at like just patches of orgames. They they tip the Oregon games in the Packball tournament tipped at eleven thirty PM.

Speaker 1

That's a very heavy lift.

Speaker 2

They're not making it easy time.

Speaker 1

No, that's a heavy lift on the East coast.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it's not making it super easy. I usually when in my previous job, I start at the end of February early March because I have to do live shows around the bracket. But I don't anymore, so I'm usually in that ken palm world. Yeah, just like Okay, this team plays good defense, this team plays quickly. These are the names of stars. I know who Ish is going to be taken in the lottery, but I have not seen Miles Bridges play basketball time right, right, and just haven't.

So I arrive more unprepared for this bracket than normal, which makes me think I'm going to do better because we have a bracket, right, we have a challenge.

Speaker 1

We do have a bracket. So that's an important side note. If you are listening at home, if you want to get in on the festivities, heaven forbid, you should take any of this advice literally and pick according to our suggestions here. But we do have a bracket pool. It will grow to be very large, going out to our Facebook page or Twitter. We'll post it on Instagram, on our website, we'll post it. I think we can post it as part of the description of this actual show dope.

So get in on it. It's free. It's through ESPN Tournament Challenge. You can enter like ten times if you so desire. But what we're going to do now.

Speaker 2

And we'll get that when we get the brackets of Mama h Yeah.

Speaker 1

Yeah, we'll get them all in. Okay, we'll get them all in. Yeah, we'll get them all in. You could play against the star's solid wife Kate yep. Sure, and we're going to go through now we're going to pick all these games.

Speaker 2

Yes, we are going to do that. Do you have somebody asked this question if you have a particular upset that you've called through the years that makes you confident that like, oh, I know what I'm doing here, I know the right thirteen seed to pick. Do you have one that you remember.

Speaker 1

Well, it doesn't really apply this year.

Speaker 2

No, of course not.

Speaker 1

But I'll just say generally speaking, when Xavier isn't a number one seed, I picked Xavier to go inordinately far in these tournaments.

Speaker 2

It's not a bad call. It's not a bad call upset wise. I picked because obviously we have the Patriot League as a near and dear part of our hearts. I remember picking Lehigh over Duke, which I think they still sell shirts of like the score like Lehigh whatever, Duke whatever in the Lehigh bookstore, which I've been to that bookstore. Tie. I picked that game, and I specifically, in doing research, saw that they had a player named CJ. McCollum, and I said to myself, that sounds like a good player.

Without having watched any Lehigh basketball ever before or since, I specifically remember saying like, hey, he's averaging a bunch of points. Let's go with Let's go with Lehigh? Why not? And I that had that makes me think that I just I know a little bit more than the average Mountain Hawk. Here here's my other, my other big point before we get into our bracket picks, which are very going to be very bad. How is and I know

he you can subscribe? How is there not like a big splash cors light ad on Kenpalm dot com And.

Speaker 1

I have no idea. I'm on, what are you doing? Ken?

Speaker 2

I am on his website, like, how how is there not like make a make your picks refreshing? He sells a subscription right that I'm assuming mostly reporters subscribe to h and it.

Speaker 1

Has to be all reporters, right. There's no banner ads on here at all. This This reeks of someone who's doing it purely out of love of the game, and.

Speaker 2

I get that.

Speaker 1

But in March, I know, get paid Ken. There you go, new job, Ken first.

Speaker 2

Media does not last forever. Ken that money, take that.

Speaker 1

Money, Kenpalm dot Com. All right, So I have Ken Palm dot Com up on my screen. There are a couple things that I am going to use to guide me here, all right. A couple formulas at play, because really I've done no research and I haven't watched the games. The first thing is that I've read previously that teams that perform well on the Kenpalm dot Com defensive efficiency metric generally do better in the tournament sense. Speaks to the adage of defense winning championships that applies here. I've

got that in front of me. The other is that I read via Twitter and I was trying to find it. I couldn't that the team that wins the second installment of Duke versus North Carolina usually does really well in the tournament, and they've won five national championships in the span of Like I don't know, maybe fourteen years, however long it's been since Roy Williams got to UNC side.

Speaker 2

Note real quick, this is a college football podcast that is truct Let's continue. Let's continue.

Speaker 1

And the team that loses that second installment is like five hundred over the same period of time. So, and who won the last installment? It was Duke or Duke won the last one. Duke won the last one. So they're going to be probably my national championship pick. Cool, all right. And then the other thing that I'll throw in here is the late great Marianne Calarusso, my grandmother, for whom for whom my annual college basketball pool is named not ours, but the secret on the sly money one that I do.

Speaker 2

Double chess, Sammy Sosa pound kiss to the sky.

Speaker 1

That's right. Grammy had her own little formula. She watched basketball every night religiously, and her formula was this. First off, Duke Duke was her toes. She picked Duke all the time. Duke was always her national champion. But after Duke she would veer very strongly towards coaches with Italian last names, okay, and then coaches from Catholic institutions. Oh, Okay, now it sounds funny, but Grammy won the pool numerous years, and it's not a bad formula when you when you actually

see it in practice. Like obviously coach Uschefki is pretty successful. You picked Duke, You're gonna come out on top.

Speaker 2

Super Italian more often than not.

Speaker 1

Right, but think think of some of the Italian last names, Cola, Pari, Patino, until recently Izzo, guys who have historically done very well in the tournament seem to have Italian last names.

Speaker 2

If only, god, if only what Grandma h knew that not only was Rick Patino's last name of Italian origin, but also what he was able to do in an Italian wrestling.

Speaker 1

Exactly, Oh my god, exactly.

Speaker 2

He did win a national championship.

Speaker 1

Yeah, so you got the Italian last names, You've got the Catholic institutions, which you know normally would speak to Notre Dame but speaks now to Villanova, well Xavier. Right, So just throwing that out there, that is what I'm going to use is my basic framework for making some of these selections.

Speaker 2

Okay, I think Mama h is places she picks against Catholic institutions, and four places where she knows people that went to school there, or is confused about who.

Speaker 1

Went to sit Mama Rubinstein, you're saying.

Speaker 2

Mama rub excuse me, mam Rubs now, Mama h And So I do like the dichotomy of the sort of opposite theories at work.

Speaker 1

Yeah, all right, So how do we want to do this? Do we want to pick our own or do we want to pick one like unified bracket between the two of us that we can enter.

Speaker 2

Well, let's just go through. Just tell me. Let's start with the South Region tie. So it appears that's Virginia, who I think I just saw a lost a key player due to injury. Virginia and Cincinnati, which who knew Cincinnati was good this year? Do you have any Let's just go and tell me if you have any upsets in the first round.

Speaker 1

I don't. I'm looking at this. I don't think so. I think I go Uva. I think I go Creighton over k State, which I didn't know until recently that Creighton's in Nebraska, by the way, that's on me.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, dude, it's an Omaha.

Speaker 1

Kentucky over Davidson Steph Curry no longer there. Kentucky actually has been playing pretty well, So throw Kentucky through. What's the deal with Arizona. There's apparently a giant scandal with their coach being picked up on an FBI sting operation. That is that accurate something like that?

Speaker 2

Yeah, he was supposedly there was a wire tap of him discussing one hundred thousand dollars for DeAndre Ayton, who might be the number one overall pick in the NBA. But then there was a question about was it in twenty sixteen or twenty seven and if it was in twenty seventeen, he was already It was reported that it was twenty seventeen, but he would have already been enrolled, so it doesn't fully add up. And there was ESPN had some weird denial or retraction and then read unretraction.

Speaker 1

Okay, but they did he get caught on the sting or not?

Speaker 2

I mean, it's reported, but nothing has happened to him. He still there.

Speaker 1

I feel like I got to pick Arizona to go pretty far then, just to have a villain to root against.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, I mean to me, it's a hero right well sure, yeah, yeah, I like that sort of bravado element. I'm with it.

Speaker 1

I picked Miami over Loyola Chicago. Is there any kind of ill will here with you picking Miami given the fact that your lovely wife is from the great city of Chicago.

Speaker 2

No, Loyola, I think is a private school and she has no connection to it. So that's fine.

Speaker 1

Tennessee over Wright State. I guess you know what, I'm going to go Texas over Nevada because I always go Texas.

Speaker 2

I'm going to go Texas as well. Shouts to Andy Wall.

Speaker 1

Texas, according to Ken Palm is number ten in adjusted defense.

Speaker 2

Great and Shaka has good tournament resumes. Right absolutely, that feels right?

Speaker 1

All right?

Speaker 2

So yeah, I'm gonna go Texas as an upset and I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go Davidson as an upset.

Speaker 1

You're gonna go Davidson, all right, I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna go since we're both gonna go Cincinnati in the end. So I'm filling this out as we go through.

Speaker 2

M HM.

Speaker 1

So that brings us to the next round, which is Uva against Creighton. I guess Uva. I don't know.

Speaker 2

Hmmm, Yeah, I'll go with Virginia.

Speaker 1

There you've got Arizona Davidson. I've got Arizona, Kentucky. You gotta go Arizona given what we now know about Sean Miller.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm going to Arizona coming out of this bracket.

Speaker 1

All right.

Speaker 2

Out of this.

Speaker 1

Region, Miami against Tennessee. Here's my other Achilles heel when it comes to these bracket pools. H I always pick the number six seed to go very far. Why, I don't know. I was hung up on Mississippi State a number of years ago when they were a six seed. I was all in on Mississippi State all the research. I think they lost in the first or second round. Okay, but I'm gonna go Miami here over Tennessee. Okay, And then I think we'll go We'll go Texas over over Cincinnati.

Speaker 2

I'm gonna go Texas over Cincinnati as well. I think Texas is bad at basketball, but I don't know anything about either team, and Texas has the clear better Tacos.

Speaker 1

Let's go Uva over Miami for the final four coming out of the South.

Speaker 2

Okay, I'm gonna go Arizona over I guess Tennessee. How about that?

Speaker 1

Wow? Yeah, all right, not moving on, Let's go to the West.

Speaker 2

Bracket Dan Okay, the West bracket, so we have Xavier as a one seed North Carolina and Lipscomb okay, fifteen seed. That that bottom half Houston San Diego State. Very good food matchup. I think I'm just gonna I'm gonna go through this and just select where i'd want to eat eat. Yeah, where i'd most want to eat. And so Xavier is in Ohio. Uh, there's a playing game. But I'm gonna take Xavier there, Missouri, Florida State, So Columbia or Tallahassee.

I'm gonna go Columbia, Columbus, South Dakota State. I'm gonna go Columbus Spokane over Greensboro. Is that where UNC Greensboro or Greenville? What is it?

Speaker 1

It's a g here on the bracket.

Speaker 2

I don't know what UNC Greensboro. It is Greensboro. So I'm gonna go with Greensboro there, Houston, San Diego State. I'm going Houston, ann Arbor or Montana. I'm gonna go ann Arbor, College Station of Providence. I do like do you like clams?

Speaker 1

I do?

Speaker 2

I Still I'm still gonna go with College Station there. Lipscumb is in. I want to say, is it in Nashville. I'm gonna go with Yeah, I'm gonna go with Nashville. I'm going North Carolina losing in the first.

Speaker 1

Round to Lipscomb.

Speaker 2

This is true. Whoa, yeah, whoa, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go College Station over Lipscomb. I'm gonna over Nashville. I'm gonna go Houston over ann Arbor. So I think the Houston has a star player that's that's very good and maybe the son of somebody famous. Greensboro is going to lose to Columbus. I did eat kind of well in Columbus, and I'm gonna go. Let's go Missouri over Xavier in the second round. I can't spend that much time in Ohio eating tiem Okay, and then we'll have Columbus.

They've got it like a junior who's very good. We'll go Columbus over Missouri. Will go god College Station against Houston. I'm going Houston again. Houston's an amazing eating town. And so I think I'm gonna have Houston out of the West Wow into the final four.

Speaker 1

That's ballsy.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm going with what I know.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

According to Ken Palm, Houston's defense eighteenth.

Speaker 1

Overall in adjustice defense, come on, tie and hold on thirty first in adjusted offense.

Speaker 2

Have you spent any time in Houston.

Speaker 1

A little bit here and there.

Speaker 2

It's such a good city. I love it so just eating wise and people wise. It's a pain in the ass getting around. It's so fun.

Speaker 1

It's okay, I loved it. It's very easy, very easy to get picked off by the light rail.

Speaker 2

Picked off.

Speaker 1

You could get picked off by that light rail.

Speaker 2

Yeah, like you got hit.

Speaker 1

I didn't get hit, but I'm saying I can see people getting hit that went dark. Tie.

Speaker 2

I know, Well, who do you have coming out of the West?

Speaker 1

Xavier and Florida State, Ohio State and Gonzaga, Houston and Michigan A and m and unc all chalk?

Speaker 2

Okay.

Speaker 1

Then I've got Ohio State over.

Speaker 2

Xavier, big Ohio matchup, and.

Speaker 1

I've got Michigan over you, and see which sets up a great matchup in the Elite eight between Michigan and Ohio State. Wow. Okay, And I'm gonna go Michigan. Love it. I'm gonna go Michigan. So my final two thus far are UVA and Michigan, two great American institutions.

Speaker 2

Do you know where Radford University is, Virginia it is. I'm trying to see that. It looks like it's not terribly far from I guess is it Lynchburg? Yeah, that sounds right like Christiansburg, Pulaski Princeton. Wow, it's it's out there.

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Speaker 2

And I'm so glad I've determined that I'm just going through this with where I'd rather eat.

Speaker 1

Before we get back to the East bracket, let's answer some questions. Pick them out out.

Speaker 2

Let's do it.

Speaker 1

Pick them out for us. We are a.

Speaker 2

College football show technically speaking, Yes, let's start here. I thought this question was really easy. It was about Missouri football, but I think it applies to everybody.

Speaker 1

Right, Okay, do you.

Speaker 2

Know a question I'm talking about?

Speaker 1

I'm looking for it.

Speaker 2

This comes to us from Mike. You guys often Mike Slackiam you guys often don't talk about mid or lower level Power five teams, and rightfully so, Like Miszoo, it's favorite team without necessarily going into too much detail about every single one of these teams on that level, can you tell us suffering fans what it would take for our programs to have some consistency in our conference? Zoom made it to two SEC titles in its first three years in the league, but no Miszoo fan thinks at

all that we will be title contenders. What can Miszoo fans or fans similar programs across the country look for slash hope for moving forward? And obviously every conference has a Missouri and I mean that neither in a good or bad way, but a team that has seen some success but has found it difficult to sustain right, So

what is Is there a formula to you? You know, Missouri has some advantages of playing in a huge conference, of having I think really good modern history in terms of success and developing high level and well known players along especially defensive line, a wide receiver as well. Defense is as a whole has been excellent some of these

past few years. But you know, with the coaching change, with the conference change, with some pretty major struggles on offense before last season, you know they've fallen upon not hard times, but inconsistent times.

Speaker 1

I think the big thing that we see, especially in this tier of teams, if you want to call it, that, is inconsistency. There's a consistency that does not exist on both sides of the football that often prevents these teams from having a reliable eight and four record. Let's say it's one of those two sides of the coin that

brings them down. So I think, first and foremost, you want to just be consistent as you can on both sides of the football and just get to a point where it's like before the year even starts, we feel pretty confident about even four.

Speaker 2

Sure, and certainly with the SEC having high level bowl success in terms of getting to the playoff, you know, having really good bowl tie ends you win eight nine games a year, as Missouri will probably top out at as it stands now, with how much teams in the SEC have been investing and succeeding on the recruiting trail and beyond, you know Georgia now in Florida, Tennessee having new coaches, Arkansas with a new coach, Texas A and M with a new coach. So there's uncertainty there, which

I think adds to Missouri. What it to me comes down to is they had Gary Pinkel for I want to say fifteen years. He started in two thousand and one, so there was an element of that was home for him. He had an incredible eye for assistant coaches. He had an ability to surround himself with assistant coaches who were

blue chip I would say, evaluators and developers. That may have been highlighted by Craig Kulangowski, the defensive line coach who I think is now back at Alabama in the SEC after a couple of years at Miami and early on I think is where those these types of programs like Missouri and you can go across different conferences. I don't know, who do you think is the Missouri of the Pac twelve. It's like Washington State, Arizona State, I don't know.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I was gonna say, like Asu, Arizona.

Speaker 2

Right, maybe Texas Tech in the Big twelve, the Big ten, I would say, you know who's who's like the second and a half or the second tier in the Big ten wistern? Yeah, maybe maybe? Yeah? I mean to be fair, nor Or Northwestern has succeeded and Missouri went to two

SEC championship games. To me, it is can you find coaches who are blue chip evaluators and guys who are not going to waste their time trying to compete for five and even four star guys, But you know, finding given proximity to Texas and the South, you know, three stars with a ton of potential that are physically there but are still a little bit raw and targeting those guys early and succeeding. And I think Missouri can do

that year and in year out. They should be an eight win program every year in the SEC East, given that the changes in the division, given the recent modern successes and the number of players they've put in the NFL, I think that's fair to say that Missouri should win eight games a year. They have a good quarterback who put up huge numbers last year. They should be able to evaluate those guys moving forward. Being so close to Texas and that general region, the planes whatever, it's a

tough region for local, local talent. But the good news tie in terms of consistency, and it comes back to coaching. For me, is Barry otam is mister missoo.

Speaker 1

Oh yeah, went to school.

Speaker 2

He has all in on Missouri foot Yes, so it seems like, you know, it's stupid to call anybody a life or especially coming off of the first half of the twenty seventeen season when everybody wanted him gone before things sort of turned around with granted a somewhat advantageous back back half of that schedule, but they still won those games. They still put up a ton of points.

So we had another email about saying Matt Campbell, Matt Campbell does not seem long for ames Iowa, No, and that's a credit to both the players and coaches whatever, and of course the job he's done, whereas barriotam is in a un situation where it seems like if Missouri will have him, he would love to be there for a long.

Speaker 1

Long yet's ol dream job is what we're talking about here.

Speaker 2

This is what we're saying. I mean, he's coaching in the SEC. He's coaching on the biggest stage at his alma mater, in a place where it seems, you know, some guys don't like coming back to their alma mater, but he's almost exclusively coached there during his coaching his college coaching career, So they're in a pretty good place if they're able to keep hiring well and keep evaluating high three stars.

Speaker 1

There is a very small subset of our listener base that is going to single out the last five minutes of Dan Rubinstein audio and just play it on the loop. That's a lot of Missouri football being injected into your ears right there.

Speaker 2

That's fine. I appreciate Missouri football. I've enjoyed watching Missouri football, and I hope that they succeed. I enjoyed my time in Columbia, Missouri. So that those are my general thoughts

that applies to a number of schools. It's smart evaluation, it's smart recruiting, and it's figuring out some way to hire a head coach who I say this as a still kind of hurt Oregon fan does not view your job as a stepping stone situation, which, unfortunately, with how volatile coaching is, you just you have to understand on a certain human level, when somebody has the opportunity to make generational money that they just have to do it because they're going to be fired in two years if

they're disappointing at all. All.

Speaker 1

Right, next question, Buck Hogan asks, I don't know if this is a real name. Okay, it's a fantastic name, sir, mister Hogan, excuse me if it is indeed your real name, God bless you. He says, if teams had to have their mascot play a position, what would the best fits be. I thought a ridiculous amount about this question, did you okay? And the one thing I kept coming back to was that the Michigan State Spartan would absolutely be a linebacker.

Oh yeah, I mean he's got the build. I think, has the toughness, has a screw loose, definitely has a screw loose. Mm hmm. I think the Spartan is probably like an outside linebacker, middle linebacker, somewhere in that second tier of the defense.

Speaker 2

I'll tell you this much, though, Ty Joe Morehead would absolutely target the Sparty in a wheel route situation. I do not trust Sparti in coverage. That's me and maybe it's from watching enough of like the Bullock Brothers or whatever. I would target Sparty like hell in the open field.

Speaker 1

Is there a position on the field for the Oregon Duck. Yeah?

Speaker 2

If the Orgon Duck is sort of an h back where you would underestimate the duck speed. Some people call him Puddles or her puddles, whatever. I just sort of see the duck as a versatile athlete who you see some more. You see bigger personalities these days at tight end, right, Travis Kelce, I see that type of person that the duck is willing to go up. You know, there's there's a showmanship aspect to the duck throwing Tostito's into the mouth.

I'm going to go with a tight end h back situation. Versatile, willing to be a character.

Speaker 1

I thought a lot about the Stanford Tree mm hmmm. And red zone threat, Yeah, I mean red zone threat statue, immobile quarterback, another option someone who plays on special teams, maybe just to solely block a kick or get in the way. But then there is that component of also having a screw lose that I think makes a red zone I was thinking along the same lines of a red zone threat potentially is a better option there.

Speaker 2

Right, Yeah, I think a specialty player. You're not trusting the Tree as a three down player.

Speaker 1

The Penn State Nitney Lion is maniac and I see the Nitny Lion as some sort of free safety type position, Okay, somewhere he can just work and pounce no pun intended.

Speaker 2

I'll stay in the big ten and I'm gonna put the wolverine and the badger because they're actually I mean, they have like the you know, there's obviously Bucky, but in terms of the actual animal itself, you're talking about a honey badger type situation where it's a little different

from a standard badger. But screw loose maybe like a we keep saying screw loose but your nickelback on defense, or a gadget type player on offense where you don't want to assign too much to this player because they're untrustworthy and a little bit wild, but end arounds options. I think you're talking about heavy hitters right here, So I would I'd go with that.

Speaker 1

Would an actual alligator have been on the four deep for the Florida Gators roster at quarterback this year this previous.

Speaker 2

Year as the arms has the arms that hurts? I would go, Man, I don't know, I'm looking that there's so many all animals.

Speaker 1

Let's uh, let's move on to a different question.

Speaker 2

Next question, Ty, that was a fun little from.

Speaker 1

A little nugget.

Speaker 2

Well exit, is Oklahoma gonna win a championship? In John Christopher McDaniel's lifetime, still reallying that Baker Mayfield couldn't pull it off. Yeah, I'm gonna say yes. Hi, I think I'm going to say yes. They are a program and a Power five conference that is the program that everybody else has to go through.

Speaker 1

Yes, agreed. And the other thing I'd add is that since they are already one of the elite college football institutions, Lincoln Riley being there mm hmm unless something goes terribly wrong there, there aren't a whole lot of rungs above him in the college game. Now. I could see him, because he's so young, being someone that the NFL talks to at some point, and I think that's that's the real threat with Lincoln Riley. But beyond that, I think he's going to be there for quite some time before

that eventually happens, and should have coaching continuity. It's never really a problem to get talent to go to Oklahoma, especially the way they keep winning, So the odds are more in your favor than a lot of other schools for sure.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I would say Oklahoma will They've been to the playoff what twice?

Speaker 1

Twice?

Speaker 2

Yeah, already in the young playoff lifespan and Oklahoma also has the infrastructure in terms of budget and what they've poured into the program. They've got a great stadium atmosphere. They're going to keep recruiting quarterbacks because of quarterback tradition, and if you've paid attention to draft stuff at all, there is at least something right now. And then this speaks to what you said about the appetite for more creative offenses, perhaps influenced by what the college offenses have

looked like recently and what you know. Sean McVay asked

Baker Mayfield to explain if you read that. I think it was Robert Klemcoe somebody it was THEMMQB wrote it, thing about Baker Mayfield and the draft process, and with what Philly obviously succeeded doing and Kansas City succeeded doing that, there is this appetite for creative offensive minds, and at the college level right now with their current team, I'm not sure that there is somebody more well regarded in that way than how people feel about Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma.

So you have that combination Oklahoma, I would say within the next I don't know, six, eight, ten years, they should win if he's there, absolutely.

Speaker 1

All right, let's do one question, one more question, then we're going to get to some additional picks here. I like this question, Dan. This one comes to us from our friend Dylan. He says, I spent my morning running around New York looking for a quiet place with good reception for a phone interview. If your home residence has poor reception, what is the best look for a phone interview? Dan? Well, first of all, very timely question here.

Speaker 2

That's true. First of all, why can't you use Wi Fi calling?

Speaker 1

I don't know.

Speaker 2

Do you have Wi Fi calling?

Speaker 1

I have Wi Fi calling on my phone, but hypothetically, let's say the Wi Fi is broken.

Speaker 2

You can know receptathetically.

Speaker 1

You're living in like a steel trap. You can't get anything in or out. You got to go out on the town and find somewhere to do a phone interview. Where where are you going? First?

Speaker 2

Uh, probably a park. There's enough tree cover, and you know there are enough parks in New York during the day that you're not going to be right on top of traffic. You can probably find a nook, you can probably find a bench. And there is something about living in New York where people just understand there are so many people, it's going to get a little bit noisy.

And as long as you have, you know, you carve out a tree, a nook or whatever for yourself within said park, and the weather's not terrible, I think you're fine. I think I would go to a park, but I would I would investigate Wi Fi calling.

Speaker 1

The only risk is sirens in the city.

Speaker 2

That's true theirs.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, And it's not so much that the people on the other end are going to dock you at all for that. But I could see if you're the interviewee potentially being knocked a bit off your game. A loud, sudden sound could could potentially derail you a little bit. Yeah. The coffee shop comes to mind, however, only if you can get like the back booth at a Starbucks, if you can get away from wherever people are coming and going, that's your best bet if you choose to go to a place like that.

Speaker 2

My other suggestion would be, ty, are you familiar with we work? Yeah, so at some we work locations if you can sort of identify where they are within New York and whatever cities. But he's in New York specifically. You walk in and there is a lobby of sorts, and in that lobby or in that sort of gathering area, there's some tables and coffee machines whatever. You have to use a card pass to to sort of scan yourself into the general area. But within that lobby there are

some phone rooms, there are some little booths there. So if you know somebody who works out of a WE work, and I imagine if you're in New York and emailing a podcast, there's a.

Speaker 1

Very good chance, it's a pretty good chance, yeah, that.

Speaker 2

You have a connection to somebody that works at a sort of micro startup that might be renting space at a WE work and they can let you in, or they or you just sort of figure out where WE work is and you just go and if you can get in, that would be my tip.

Speaker 1

Here's a sneaky answer. And then I promise we're going to pick some games. Yeah, find a department store. That's not bad. Find a department store and walk around like the men's clothing section. You're not going to get an echo. For the most part. It's a quiet setting in.

Speaker 2

The middle of the day, not a lot of people there.

Speaker 1

Middle of the day, not a lot of people there. I think you can get away with it.

Speaker 2

I don't think sound will travel that well, because it'll and that's a good thing, because it'll the.

Speaker 1

Clos dead, the same reason we tell people to record a podcast in like a walking closet. Sure deadens the sound. No echo, probably not much commotion. I think that's a sleeper.

Speaker 2

That's a good idea tie. Look at you coming.

Speaker 1

Through, Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 2

I want I advocate for trespassing, which I guess you sort of do, right, So you might have to buy a tie or something. Buy a soft drink. Okay, yeah, hold you know what you do, hold a tie in your hand as if you are. I'm definitely buying this tie. I just walking around making this call, and then I'm gonna buy the tie.

Speaker 1

There you go. So yeah, all right, let's move on to I think we nailed that tie. Thank you. The East region.

Speaker 2

M hm.

Speaker 1

Your number one seat in the East is Villanova. Your number two is Perdue. We got Texas Tech, Wichita State, West Virginia, Florida also in the same bracket. Okay, I got problems in this one.

Speaker 2

So there's a playing game against Villanova l Brooklyn, which is not far from me and d Radford.

Speaker 1

Radford excuse me.

Speaker 2

Yeah, Radner, I think was on How I Met Your Mother?

Speaker 1

Yeah, Bradner's down by Philly.

Speaker 2

Yeah, God, would I rather eat in Brooklyn or Philly. It's the uncertainty. I'm gonna go with Philly and Villanova. Okay, I assume you're going there as well.

Speaker 1

Gotta go, Yeah, I gotta go Nova. Virginia Tech against Alabama. Classic college football matchup here. This is true.

Speaker 2

I think they opened the season in like a Chick fil A kickoff a little bit ago. I would rather eat Blacksburg or Tuscalosa. I'm gonna go with Tea Town. I think Virginia Tech gets revenge here. Really, I'm gonna go Tech. Yeah, buzz Williams and Tech. Alabama has a star in Colin Sexton. He almost single handedly won a three on five game. Remember that game. Yeah, I'm gonna go with Colin Sexton and tuscal LUSA.

Speaker 1

Eats West Virginia against Murray State.

Speaker 2

Who tutors Biscuits. Give me the Mountaineers.

Speaker 1

West Virginia plays tenacious defense, they do. We're gonna go West Virginia. Wichita State against Mashall.

Speaker 2

I've heard underrated things about Wichita as a city, which makes me think that there's some good eating. I'm going Wichita.

Speaker 1

Now, you could set up the All West Virginia matchup between the Mountaineers and the Thundering Herd here if you went thirteen over a four. H I'm a sucker for Wichita. I'm going number four Wichita. Okay, here is where I have the problems. Okay, A, We've got the number six seed Florida, which I already said previously. I love the number six seed all the time. And then there's a play in game. For some odd reason, I read man, I read an article many moons ago that was trumpeting Saint Bonaventure.

Speaker 2

I think Nicole Auerbacker pal lovest the Bonnies of Saint Bonaventrics.

Speaker 1

I love the sixth seed and I love Saint Bonaventure. Dan. So now I guess I will get a chance to like see which way this one's gonna go, or I can get a better idea of which way this thing's gonna go after the actual playing game. Mm hmm. But if we assume Saint Bonaventure, that puts me in a bit of a bind having a pick between the two of them, Florida against Saint Bonnie.

Speaker 2

So where are you gonna go, really really dig deep into your I'm gonna go.

Speaker 1

I'm gonna go St. Bonaventure. Okay, I'm gonna go Saint Bonaventure.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm gonna go Uclaver Florida. I'd much rather eating West Weather ch Mouth, rather eat at a Dedie Reese or Dan Morey's. Yeah, give me the Bruins here over Florida and over Sat Bonnie's.

Speaker 1

Is it Ucla?

Speaker 2

Yeah, Ucla is playing Saint Bonaventure.

Speaker 1

Oh crap, uh, I'm still gonna go Saint Bonaventure.

Speaker 2

That's fine with your heart.

Speaker 1

A classic showdown between Texas Tech and Steve and f Austin was Stephen F. Austin, a team that like two years ago had all seniors and they were very good. They had like one loss.

Speaker 2

Yeah, they had Brad Underwood, I want to say, and now he's at Illinois. They had a super good coach. Okay, so they and they won a game. I think they upset somebody in the first round that year.

Speaker 1

And actually, unlike Texas Tech on the football field, this Texas Tech plays pretty good defense. You're number three in the nation according to Kent pom So. I guess I gotta go Texas Tech here because of defense.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm gonna go Tech here as well.

Speaker 1

Arkansas against Butler, I gotta go Butler. Butler's just got the pedigree in the tournament.

Speaker 2

Did they. I think they just lost their coach to somebody recently, which worries me a little bit. But I'm gonna go Butler as well.

Speaker 1

Purdue against cal State Fullerton? Are they still the dirt bags? Cal State Fullerton?

Speaker 2

I think that's a nickname for their baseball teach. Okay, I think they have an official I think they're the Titans. Okay, I want to say, Actually, I don't think full is Is it Fullerton that's the dirt Beggs or is it Long Beach State?

Speaker 1

Long Beach State? Yeah?

Speaker 2

Sorry, Okay, I'm gonna go Fullerton's not bad. Purdue eating is not great. I've been to I've been to the Purdue campus in West Lafayette. I'm still gonna go with Purdue, though, I'm gonna go boiler Maker's brother went to Purdue.

Speaker 1

Villanova against Virginia Tech, I'm going nova.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm going nova as well.

Speaker 1

West Virginia against Wichita.

Speaker 2

You would have you eaten in Philly A Lot.

Speaker 1

Yeah, okay, yeah, you feel like twenty times, I feel like I.

Speaker 2

Want to eat with you in Philly and go to all sorts of places South Philly, BARBICOA. Yeah, looks great. I'm gonna go Villanova over Alabama.

Speaker 1

Here. Does Wichita still have Greg Marshall? They do, I'm gonna go Wichita.

Speaker 2

Yeah, and he turned down or there was something that there's some complication with alib Obama. I want to say a few years.

Speaker 1

Ago, Texas Tech against Saint Bonnie. I'm gonna go Saint Bonnie.

Speaker 2

I'm well in UCLI over Texas Tech.

Speaker 1

Still rather eat in Westwood, Butler against Perdue. I'm going Purdue.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I'm gonna go Purdue. Is is Matt Painter still there?

Speaker 1

I think so?

Speaker 2

Yeah, I think Matt Painter is still there. So yeah, I'm going Purdue.

Speaker 1

I go Villanova over Wichita in my bracket.

Speaker 2

I feel as if Villanova always loses, other than the one time they didn't always lose. So I'm going Wichita.

Speaker 1

Here all right, and then I'm gonna go Purdue over Saint Bonnie. The run ends in the sweet sixteen.

Speaker 2

I'm going Purdue over Wichita.

Speaker 1

And I am gonna go Purdue over Villanova. Okay, into the final four, which brings us Midwest, brings us to our final bracket. Here we've got Kansas against the number sixteen seed Pen another Philly school with a good eating situation, Dan.

Speaker 2

Ty give me the Quakers. WHOA give me the Quakers?

Speaker 1

Sooner or later it's gonna happen, right.

Speaker 2

I like Philly. We talk about Ivy League football within the context of Patriot League football. Kansas is untrustworthy in this tournament year over year over year. Agreed, agreed, give me the Quakers. That's a bold play, Dan, love them. Come on, Tye.

Speaker 1

Penn is seventy third in the nation in defense and two hundred and fifth in the nation in adjusted offense.

Speaker 2

All it takes is one day, ty all takes is one day.

Speaker 1

Does it matter to you at all that they lost to Villanova by twenty eight, to Temple by nine, and Toledo by thirteen.

Speaker 2

So there's something smart about Penn to me that says they're not showing all of their cards during the regular season. Tye, Okay, there's a hidden element to the Quaker ball that they're not showing to the Temples, to the Villanova's of the world.

Speaker 1

Have you ever Have you ever gone to the first round of the NCAA tournament anywhere?

Speaker 2

I have, and it was incredible slash exhausting. I went in Boise, Idaho.

Speaker 1

Yeah, it is a long day, It's an exhausting day, but I was, I believe. Back in two thousand and six, that was the year that George Mason went to the Final four and caused of bi Rucas with Jim Laira Naga, some friends and I were down at the arena in Philly to watch first round games and at the time, it was I want to say Albany, Albany or Monmouth one of those schools against Yukon, and Yukon was universally number one seed. They were incredible. But whoever they were playing,

I think it was Albany. They're hanging around and we had no intention of going to that game. We actually were at the bar watching on TV. We saw that it was close. After halftime, we quick hopped in the soay to get back to the stadium nice and it ended up being a relatively close game by one versus

sixteen standards, but ultimately Yukon did win that game. So I'll say this, I hope You're right, because when a sixteen is on the verge or at least challenging a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, the atmosphere in the room is incredible.

Speaker 2

Is I believe it?

Speaker 1

Truly?

Speaker 2

Have you been to the Palastra? I've been to the Pleustra? Yeah, I never have. I would love to awesome setting for awesome setting for a game. So yeah, I'm rooting for Penn, but I gotta go with I gotta go with Kansas here. I also make my picks based on which team's most sound like office supplies, okay, and so you have to go Pen. You have to go Pen in that situation. I also would rather eat in Philly than Lawrence Kansas, Seaton Hall, n C State. I'm going n C State,

but I either eating Raleigh or New Jersey. Seaton Hall is a very specific part New Jersey, but I'm gonna go with Seaton Hall. Eight girls have to be better.

Speaker 1

I'm gonna go Clemson over New Mexico State.

Speaker 2

Hmm. Yeah, I'm gonna go Clemson as well.

Speaker 1

I'm gonna go Auburn over Charleston. I know you love Charleston, Oh love Charleston.

Speaker 2

Bruce Pearl Auburn been real good this year. I've walked through the very small campus of the College of Charleston. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go Charleston here, Ty, I hate super duper well.

Speaker 1

Right, TCU versus the winner of Arizona State and Syracuse. I am picking whoever wins that playing game over TCU.

Speaker 2

I'm going with TCU. I think I'm gonna I'm gonna trus. Jamie Dixon's there, right, yep. And one of those situations where, hey, Pitt was always pretty good with Jamie Dixon, and I learned this last week, Tie, and it is so funny to me. Somehow Pitt went eighteen in the acies.

Speaker 1

Yeah, it was bad. It was very bad.

Speaker 2

How do you do that?

Speaker 1

Very bad? Yeah?

Speaker 2

Oh my god, it was so funny. I apologize secretly, decent Pitt fans, you deserve so much better. But I'd rather eaten fort Worth. And I'd also I just respect Jamie Dixon as a coach. The job he's done there seems good.

Speaker 1

So we go Dan. Here we go Michigan State against buck Nell. Gotta go on, Nelly, don't you.

Speaker 2

There's a lot of people shout out Louisbourg. There's a lot of people who look at Michigan State in a bracket and they think to themselves, tom izz Owen Marsh, that's just how I'm going to roll. But those people underestimate something very specific, and.

Speaker 1

That is.

Speaker 2

That big, wobbling, sweaty, pulsating, penetrating I'm going buck now, baby wow, give me the Bison.

Speaker 1

A special off season edition of The Drum and Fife.

Speaker 2

I can't say that I'd rather eat in Louisbourg than East Lansing, but I haven't eaten in either place, and I don't know anything about Louisbourg or East Lancing food, so that's sort of a wash for me. And I'm just going with the big staggy Drummond.

Speaker 1

Five Rhode Island against Oklahoma, a seven versus a ten matchup. By the way, I'm going Michigan State. You know my start's on buck now.

Speaker 2

That's true.

Speaker 1

Now, I haven't watched a whole lot of college basketball this year, Dan. I did read a little bit on it, just a little bit here and there in passing And is it true what the Internet tells me that ESPN killed Trey Young?

Speaker 2

Supposedly they kept watching him still.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I don't understand by that.

Speaker 2

I mean YouTube videos.

Speaker 1

Right, of course, I'm gonna go Oklahoma here.

Speaker 2

Yeah. I think Rhode Island is coached by a Hurley. Yeah, not Bobby Butt, like a Dan or Danny Hurley. I have not eaten in Norman. I have eaten in Rhode Island, had a couple of very good clamshacks. So I'm gonna go Rhode Island here.

Speaker 1

And then that brings us to the final game of the first round, Duke against Iona. I already said, I tiped my hand that I'm going to go Duke to win it, all right, So I'm gonna go Duke here over Iona.

Speaker 2

Iona is just north of New York City, I.

Speaker 1

Believe, Yes, I believe. So yeah.

Speaker 2

It looks like it's a new Rochelle so sort of the Hudson Valley or maybe closer to Connecticut. I don't know, whatever it is, I'm gonna go with Duke. Have you ever been to cookout? Tie?

Speaker 1

No, I have not.

Speaker 2

Oh, cookout is so good. I've been to a cookout, the one cookout I've been to. Maybe I've been to two, but one of them was in Durham and I was super hungry. And I think this was after I went to a Duke North Carolina game that I was covering for SI, way back when this would have been two thousand and eight nine, somewhere in there, and I went to Cookout starving, and a friend told me they have like a thousand different kinds of milk shakes, and I

said that's not possible. And I got there and they had like a thousand different kinds of milkshakes, and I was starving, and I wanted a milkshake and everything I guess comes with hushpuppies, which I still claim totally not worth anybody's time anywhere. Hushpuppies.

Speaker 1

Sorry, But I heard like a burger.

Speaker 2

And chicken tenders and fry like, I heard a lot of food tie and like a black chocolate cherry milkshake, and it was like three seventy nine. It was so inexpensive and it was so good. So I still have very fond things and thoughts about Cookout, even though I haven't been in like ten years. So I'm going with I'm going with Duke here for Cookout being the most likable thing related to Duke basketball.

Speaker 1

All right, I'm going Kansas over NC State. Now, you didn't pick Kansas. You had Pin that's true. So and you had Seaton Hall. So does this mean you're gonna go Seaton Hall here? You're gonna go Pin through the sweet sixteen?

Speaker 2

My dad went to what was then the New Jersey School of Medicine, and I think it became the Seaton Hall School of Medicine. So I do have that personal connection. I'm going with Seaton Hall all right.

Speaker 1

I've got Kansas going through. I've got Clemson over Auburn Dan another rematch from an early season matchup in college football from this past season, and what is it?

Speaker 2

You know Clemson is Auburn with the Lake. Isn't that what something? Whoops? I'm gonna go with Clemson as well.

Speaker 1

We've got Michigan State against either ASU or Syracuse. I'm gonna go h Tom Mizzle here.

Speaker 2

Who did I take in that game? You had a TCU, So I'm gonna go TCU over Buck now here.

Speaker 1

And then I've got Duke over Oklahoma.

Speaker 2

I have Duke over Rhode Island.

Speaker 1

I've got Duke and Clemson in my Elite eight.

Speaker 2

I will go so I have TCO over Buck now So I'm going to go so TCU do Duke. I'm going to go Duke there.

Speaker 1

And then I've got Duke in my final four.

Speaker 2

So I will have let's see, I have Seaton Hall Clemson. I'm gonna go Clemson. I'm gonna go Duke over Clemson. I'll have Duke in my final four. It hurts, but I'm going with that.

Speaker 1

All right. So here we go my final four. I've got Uva against Michigan. I'm going to go Michigan. Here, give me the Wolvericks. And on the other side, I've got two number two's. I've got Perdue and Duke, and I'm going to go Duke. And eventually I've got Duke over Michigan in the National Championship eighty three seventy eights.

Speaker 2

My final so I have Arizona Houston, Duke Perdue. Okay, I'm going to go Duke over Perdue. I'm going to do Arizona over Houston. Mom went to Arizona. Yeah, so Duke Arizona, which, by the way, sounds like a wonderful porn star's name.

Speaker 1

Yep.

Speaker 2

I'm going to go DeAndre and the Arizona Wildcats.

Speaker 1

Wow. Say hello to the bad guy.

Speaker 2

Absolutely all right, I've eaten well in Tucson. My mom is a wildcat. I just DeAndre Ayton might be the best player in this tournament. And I say might be because he is one of eleven players I've seen in this tournament, So he might be, and I feel confident. How about that.

Speaker 1

Don't forget to get in on the solid verbal bracket pool. We've got links posted everywhere. Thank you for hanging with us as we picked our games. Here. Let me ask a question before we address a few other ones. We've got time for, yes, a few short ones, but.

Speaker 2

Let's do it.

Speaker 1

Have you ever done anything extra special for like the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Speaker 2

Generally it's either been watching at work, taking the day off. I remember in college I didn't go to classes, or I actually went to the tournament itself. So generally, it's just it's focus, it's good eating, it's hanging out with friends.

Speaker 1

It's always been a de facto holiday for me. And I mentioned the super secret basketball pool that I run. I started this pull back in nineteen ninety eight in a class in a math class in sixth period. I'll never forget it, and some friends and I had the idea to start this up, and it was going to be like five bucks an entry, right, You're not supposed

to do that in school. And my math teacher at the time caught me collecting collecting money, called me up to the front of the class and wanted to speak to me.

Speaker 2

Can you can you please tell me that your teacher wanted in on this pool.

Speaker 1

My teacher wanted in on the pool. It's wonderful. My teacher calls me to the front of the class. I thought I had been busted. Mm hmm, and he sort of talks in a hush tone, saying, how much is it per entry? What are we talking? Fifty? Hondout? He flipped me a ten. He had two entries in and then on top of it, because he knew that somebody in the class had entries in this basketball pool, he wheeled in. Remember those old tube TVs that we had, You know, thing is on like the back of a truck.

He wheeled this ty Yeah, he wheeled it in. He plugged it in, he started it up, tuned it into CBS and said, just humor me every now and again and look up, act like you're paying attention. But I don't care if you watch the games. That was the first year of this basketball pool that I run, so I've been running it ever since. The only other Opening Day of March Madness story that I can tell a side of that and actually going to the games back in oh six, which I've done a bunch of times

by the way round in Philly. I did do the thing once where I went out to Vegas for the first in tournament. It was an interesting experience.

Speaker 2

It's got to be overwhelming.

Speaker 1

It was overwhelming. My friends and I weren't rich enough at the time to stay at Caesar's where they have

all the TVs. Obviously, there are a bunch of places that do, but Caesar's was the closest to us and we couldn't afford to stay there, so we stayed elsewhere, and we pulled the move where I don't know if it's still configured like this, but we played quino all day because they the Keynot Room was adjacent to where they have the four big TVs and caesar Sports Book, and so we would play kino all day, win every now and again. But as long as you're playing, you have a seat.

Speaker 2

Mm hm.

Speaker 1

We sat in the Keno Room and we watch college basketball many many moons ago.

Speaker 2

Yeah, all right, I don't have stories beyond that. Yeah, let's see. I've run pools in the past, both school and work. The only pool I'm going to be in this year is the solid verbal pool. So you're getting the best of my picks. And I mean, this is the worst of my picks on this show, but I feel like I'm going to do better than somebody with the where I'd rather eat pool.

Speaker 1

So that's what my people are going to hate this show.

Speaker 2

Where are you gonna what are you gonna eat for the first day?

Speaker 1

Good question? Good question?

Speaker 2

Did Philly cheese steaks at work a couple of years.

Speaker 1

Ago and that was nice? M Okay, you know what I'm gonna doing? I don't know.

Speaker 2

Do you check out pizza nearby?

Speaker 1

I'll tweet it. Let's do. Let's do a couple questions here before we go.

Speaker 2

Our pal Peter rank sporting events by background noise slash, ability to have on at all times and get into it no matter when. So to me, this is every sport with college football, and like the NBA Finals, they're the only really sports. And I guess the World Series if I have, like I was paying close attention with this past year with the Dodgers. But in terms of non championship level sports, I love casually ignoring baseball games.

I love casually you know, looking at my laptop and you know, having the Olympics onto the background, or the World Cup or Saturday Morning EPL, I think is fantastic because you hear through the announcers, especially the British announcers, that rising tone. Yes, so they're there. There are good signals with Saturday Morning EPL. Make some coffee, have some breakfast, you're on your computer, catching up on whatever on the couch,

so EP is up there for me. But the tournament is really good because the games are quick enough that there's always sort of action every few minutes, like oh let's go to Greensboro. Oh let's go to Spokane, Oh let's go to Anaheim, Oh let's go to Austin or whatever, where you don't have to be constantly there. But through like the tones of broadcasters, you get good clues. So that to me is I think the tournament's up there. The Masters is great.

Speaker 1

The Masters is up there. Baseball, I think is the obvious answer.

Speaker 2

Baseball is my number one NAP sport. Baseball over golf for.

Speaker 1

Napping baseball is a good answer here. What I would say, though, if you want to be internacial about it, Dan, and you mentioned the Olympics, like if we lived in Norway, where obviously sports like cross country skiing and some other winter sports are a little bit more prominent. Did you hear any of the commentary for the cross country skis events at the Olympics?

Speaker 2

Were they all in?

Speaker 1

It's very intense. I love that very intense. If the guy that NBC hired to commentate it can get that into it. My hunch is that whoever Norway has calling it is pretty damn into it too. True, So are you My international answer would be cross country?

Speaker 2

So good Internet. Are you more of a golfer a baseball napper?

Speaker 1

Probably?

Speaker 2

Baseball baseball is almost a podcast baseball commentary because it's just like fun fact about Brett Johnson in high school was in the drama club and it says here was in a performance of Chicago. He was the hello filler on the roof? How about right there? It's just like this, it's story time. It makes for such a good natural nap. And I grew up with Vin Scully and so you're topping talking top of the top NAP narrators. It was it was a base Sunday Avenue baseball nap to me

is just unmatched. On where we go next, Let's go to Kelly. This question comes to us from Kelly Hitchcock on Reddit, who is from Kansas City, is a Kansas State fan who lives in Austin. Had a couple questions about are we doing anything for south By this year? We've done it in the past. Are you doing anything this year? Ty, I can tell you we're not. Nope, because you're in Pennsylvania. I am in Brooklyn as we are recording this in south By is happening and happened

some last week. South By Southwest is It's a fun place to see people you like and haven't seen in a long time, and there are a few interesting talks and roundtables and panels and stuff like that. But if you like Austin, which I imagine if Kelly's living there, south By is not a good time to go to Austin. It makes you appreciate the rest of the weeks of the year in Austin. So we are not doing anything

there this year, but good people, fun times. When we've done it, and what is it you like about where you live now because you don't have to deal with something you didn't enjoy from quote back home. Tough question for you, tough question for me living with general vicinity. Yeah, I can answer this. I can answer that question. I'm sure the area has changed some too.

Speaker 1

The area has changed a lot.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

Actually the area is a lot more built up now than it was when I was living quote unquote back home. So there's a lot more to do now than there was when I was in high school. The obvious answer for me is Wegmans right now. I mean, let's be real about this. I can walk to Wegmans in a matter of minutes from my front door. That to me, I couldn't do that back.

Speaker 2

I think there's opening in Brooklyn at some point.

Speaker 1

Oh Dan, do it get on that?

Speaker 2

Well, it's they're putting it in. I think the Navy Yard, which is sort of a no man's land in terms of public transportation, which is fine. You can still get there. You have to rent a car or whatever, long walk from the train. I'm very excited to go. Yes, my answer is not driving slash, not parking coming from LA and sitting in traffic and even getting somewhere and then having to spend another ten or fifteen minutes looking for a spot, because ty, I do not make enough money,

especially now to live that valet life. I just don't, so don't. I like public transportation a whole lot. It gets you places efficiently for the most part. I know the MTA is pretty bad, but for the most part it's pretty efficient. Hated parking. I hated everything like that. So that I mean, I drove a little bit. Last week. I went and saw a friend in a different state and rented a car, and even that it was fine. And I do very annoying things. And when I'm alone

in a car. Have I done this with you? Have I done the FM game with you?

Speaker 1

Oh? Yeah, we've played that game before.

Speaker 2

Yeah, that's some people like you appreciate that I do. Jody with an Eye does not like that.

Speaker 1

I can understand where she's coming from. That's a very dorky sports media thing there.

Speaker 2

Yeah. So that's introducing songs as they come on the radio, is if you were an FMDJ, not unlike my serious XM game previews during the during the August time. So uh, that's that's our answer, all right.

Speaker 1

And the final question here Meg do Meg? Come on? Megan says, how do I get a boyfriend? That is a loaded question, Meg. Okay, I'm assuming we can call her Meg, and that's not being disrespectful.

Speaker 2

No, let's I don't know. She either went to Auburn as an Auburn fan whatever, and somebody else asked how do find somebody to date if you're anti social? So we can sort of encapsulate.

Speaker 1

This is a very broad question though, Meg, like bring me a rock. You know. It's we can only do so much with a question like this.

Speaker 2

But is there a location on her on her Twitter accounts? I didn't. Don't think that changes my answer necessarily.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I didn't.

Speaker 2

I didn't see the planes. And she's a mod at Redditt CFB the college football which is fantastic.

Speaker 1

Right uh oo? Okay, so I think first and foremost.

Speaker 2

In Kansas City, So it seems like you either in Auburn or from Kansas City or went to Auburn whatever, So not too different.

Speaker 1

I think the first thing that I would posit here is don't worry about asking the question about how to get a boyfriend. H don't like, don't don't psych yourself out about that. Okay, you know, don't think too much about that and just be yourself and just by being yourself, eventually you'll attract that other positive energy. See what I'm going with that.

Speaker 2

Let's get more specific, Ti.

Speaker 1

Okay, So beyond that, beyond just sort of a broad like mentality. I think we've discussed this before on the podcast. You want to go to places where people aren't necessarily looking for dates. Like everyone talks about, oh, let's go out to the bar and meet people, but like maybe maybe go to the supermarket, uh, and just hang around, like, don't work.

Speaker 2

Don't work in a creepy way, but go to the supermarket and I do have a particular aisle or section.

Speaker 1

I'm spitballing here.

Speaker 2

Okay, oh my god, no, keep going, keep spitballing. Go down that path, TI, commit Go somewhere.

Speaker 1

Go somewhere where there's not that eminent pressure on everyone to, you know, try and find a date. Go somewhere where you can be yourself. You're in your natural habitat, you can be yourself and if you meet someone, the pressure won't be there. Okay, maybe that's a supermarket for you, ale G. I don't know a.

Speaker 2

Lot of different paths here. Obviously online is not as daunting for men as it is for women. Straight men, straight women, So I mean it's a she's a woman looking for a boyfriend, and I from what I can understand, ty, it's a minefield for women. It's you know, dudes are not great as a species. No online, so that's tough. But obviously there are a lot of success stories, self included.

So I'm going to go So a friend of the show, I'm not going to name him because this is his life, but a friend of the show who's been on the show met his significant other going too. And this might be very specific to big cities, but he met his significant other going to improv classes. Okay, And I think that's a really good and that's another good answer for the person who asked about finding somebody if you're a little bit antisocial, people go to improv classes, and I'm

dying to go, you know, take an improv class. Maybe now is the time.

Speaker 1

I think our podcast is an improv class, isn't it.

Speaker 2

That's true, a very very bad improv class, but an improv class nonetheless, But it's really good for people who want to get better at speaking to others, be it professionally or personally, or performing or sort of engaging in a better way. So something like improv or acting classes. You know, I know, rec league sports are big out here in a bunch of cities because they're co ed and everybody's roughly the same adiaim professional and in a city,

and it's just a good way to meet people. So if you don't make a you know, meet a significant other. A lot of times people go out for beers or whatever for food after the game and then like, oh, you should meet my friend Tim, or you should meet my friend Babs. Are people named Babs? Probably not, but that I think that the rec leagues and you get some exercise, you work off a couple lbs, you burn

some cows. That that's a fun way bring you know, the endorphins are up, so you're perhaps more of yourself. So I would recommend rex sports. I would recommend an improv class. You know online is good, but you know, you just you got to wade through some mud. I would got them. I couldn't tell you about a supermarket.

Speaker 1

So I still think the supermarket strategy could be a potential game changer here.

Speaker 2

Okay, okay, I think it's also important to It's not a matter of not having shame, it's a matter of just going forward in sometimes people are ashamed to like ask their friends if they know anybody to like they they want to wait for a friend to be like, hey, do you want to be set up with? Like my friend's cousin Brad. Like I think sometimes you have to put yourself out there in terms of if you know anybody, I'd love to like, you know, have a drink or

a coffee with somebody. I think putting yourself out there in the like letting people know you're open to being set up and just like meeting people.

Speaker 1

I still think supermarket.

Speaker 2

But tell me what you would do. Let's say solid wife Kate comes to her senses and Mary's a much more successful podcast or I don't know who that is, right, Let's you know Ira Glass, sure, sure, as reclined whatever, and you are are left to your own devices romantically, Okay, And you say, you know what I said it publicly that a supermarket is an option.

Speaker 1

I love Wegman's dannatal habitat.

Speaker 2

So what what are you doing at Wegmans No vibes?

Speaker 1

I mean, maybe you have to work there to get a job at Wegmans. Do you get a job at the supermarket just so thatw you can interact with people?

Speaker 2

Is it a Wegmans with like a beer garden?

Speaker 1

Because those exist?

Speaker 2

Right?

Speaker 1

They do exist? Yeah?

Speaker 2

Okay, so would you like try to get a bartending job?

Speaker 1

I guess I got to work at Wegman's pub.

Speaker 2

Okay, I don't think that's the worst idea.

Speaker 1

And sort of play that angle. But then that sort of is counter to everything I said about not meeting people in the bar. So I'm I'm kind of talking to myself in circles here.

Speaker 2

It's not a traditional bar.

Speaker 1

This is true.

Speaker 2

It's not a traditional bar. But if you are short of working for Wegman's tie.

Speaker 1

This is going to set relationships back about twenty years right here.

Speaker 2

Now, you're good because I set I set this up, I think successfully and saying that Kate has done better. It is her choice. This is not you leaving Kate right, It is her choice. And I want to put the record out there right now. Tye is deeply, deeply in love with Kate.

Speaker 1

This is correct.

Speaker 2

Yeah, as for everything I know, deeply deeply in love. Plans on no other other option than a lifetime together.

Speaker 1

Absolutely, But in.

Speaker 2

This hypothetical second world where she finds a more successful podcaster, more charming, earth too, better better production value, the whole like really heartbreaking. Right, You're at Wegman's and you're saying, I'm comfortable here and it's sort of nice that I could be dating somebody who also shops and has the same grocery taste as myself. Is what is once you? Are you just strolling? Are you sitting by a bakery, by the prepared foods?

Speaker 1

I haven't fully thought this strategy through, Dan, and have not gathered. I have not thought this the full way through.

Speaker 2

Eventually, you're going to have to circling on a Wegman's tour because word is going to get out.

Speaker 1

It's going to get out on the women. People are going to think of one of those in store cops that just lurks around with the Earbut right.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I would. I would probably you have to give yourself no more than like ten or fifteen minutes in the store, and I would. I would probably have to be mobile and comment in a positive way on something that a woman in Wegmans is ordering or buying, or like like ooh great, call on those pita chips. Yeah, my favorite? You ever try those with hummus?

Speaker 1

Yeah?

Speaker 2

What's your favorite? Like you have you have to keep it positive and you can and it has to be related to a purchase or a food decision.

Speaker 1

I think that's the move. Yeah.

Speaker 2

Uh. And then and you have to be willing to bail quickly because if if somebody is not super keen on being hit on it.

Speaker 1

A ground, you gotta go.

Speaker 2

You gotta go.

Speaker 1

You gotta move on to the dairy section.

Speaker 2

Yeah, you have to be like a special teams gunner. You gotta you gotta gotta try your best on that one play and then you're just back to the sideline.

Speaker 1

I need, I need to workshop the strategy a little bit more full disquition.

Speaker 2

I don't think you're fully wrong, but I don't think it can be habitual.

Speaker 1

Probably not.

Speaker 2

No, I don't think it can be habitual.

Speaker 1

Who we covered some ground in this show man. I'm like, you've got Arizona winning, I've got Duke winning. Don't forget to get on into our bracket pool, which you can find out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Gonna post it on Reddick, Gonna post it on our website. We'll post it along in the description of this show. If you're listening, we are publishing this on Tuesday evening, give everybody a chance to if you want to take our advice, I picks. Yeah, God help you.

Speaker 2

But there's playing games probably happening by probably by the time.

Speaker 1

We get this published. What you do, Daniel. We've got another show coming out in a couple of days. It's gonna be the next installment of our scheme theme show. We've got coach Joe Moorehead. We've already spoiled a bit of the fun, but people were starting to guess who it was, so we had to come clean on Twitter.

Speaker 2

He's it's so good, it's so nerdy, but not in an inaccessible way. He was. He was real good.

Speaker 1

Joe Moorehead, come in your way on third day. We're gonna post that on Thursday evening. In the meantime, Dan, enjoy the rest of your evening.

Speaker 2

Ty, I am going to spend the rest of my night plotting out our new podcast. If I were single.

Speaker 1

Okay, oh God, Heaven help me. Yep for that guy over there, Dan Rubinstein, for myself, Tie held very thanks again for tuning in. Catch you all and a few days stay solid peace

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