Voyage Ep. 8

Welcome back to Voyage and we've set sale once again, seeking validation, Vindication and Vikings victory. My name is Cam Erickson. I'm the host of the program and I'm once again joined by my co-host and producer John Diman. We got a massive episode for you today, episode number eight. The wind is at our sales. The Vikings are coming outta the bye week. We got a very special guest, Phillies catcher, Donnie Sands joins the episode later.

Um, I'm really excited for you guys to hear that, hear his background on how he got to the big leagues this year and his seven year journey through the minors. Perfect timing as well with the Phillies. Headed to the World Series game one on Friday night, and we got a lot to dive into. Johnny. Um, how you doing tonight? Doing well, doing well. Excited, Uh, big game on Sunday. Um, and really we're, we're hitting stride in terms of just all sports.

Uh, college basketball will be back before we know it. Um, college football is obviously in full swing, as is the nfl. We got the NBA starting in the nhl. Um, the wild looked like they. The wild might stink. Um, they got a win last night against a bad Canadians club. I don't know. Um, it's gonna be interesting. I think it's funny though, the, that Wolves fans think the world is on fire after a two and two start. It seems like all hell is breaking loose.

Um, I just want to clear something up on the wolves before we get going on the Vikings. And I know that a loyal listener, Walker Rogers shout out Walker, um, was trolling me a little bit about my, uh, Rudy Gobert take, And let me remind you, Walker, the history of the French. Okay. All right. When we fought the entire Revolutionary War waiting for them to come and, and, and help us out, and they got there when we won. All right?

When, um, the H Man over in Germany was invading everywhere, the French just threw in the white flag. All I'm saying is I'm a little bit nervous about having a Frenchman guard the rims for your wolves. With that being said, he's played while he is probably the be, uh, second best player on our team. Um, yeah. So I just wanted to guitar. He's play well. Yeah. Yeah, you had to get that, you had to get that off your chest. Cuz apparently some of our listeners don't know history.

Um, they might know ball and look, I'm not a hoop head by any means, but, but I think the wolves, the, you know, cat needs to step up and stop being a phony leader. Stop calling your teammates out about their diet. We got Anne Edwards eating Popeyes once in a while. It's fine. So what, Alright. Yeah. Um, the common man had a take earlier today that he's, like, he said, I think the problem with the Minnesota Timber Bowls right now is they need to remove the ping pong table from the locker room.

great bit Um, but, you know, Ka Kat I think just needs to step up. You know, he needs to be the leader that this franchise expects him to be and that Wolves fans expected him to be going into this season. We add a piece like Rudy Gobert, Kat's gotta step up his play though, otherwise this isn't gonna work. This, this is gonna be a long year if that guy continues to, uh, act the way he is. So, And who is he calling out? Anthony Edwards. Really?

Carl, show up in the playoffs and then you can talk, buddy. Yeah, yeah. It's, it's bad. So, um, yeah, it's, it's, he's gotta he's gotta be a better leader than that dude. I, I don't like it. It's, it's phony, but, We don't have a Vikings game to recap, but we got the, uh, the week ahead to look forward to. We're gonna be hosting the Arizona Cardinals. Vikings are minus four home favorites in this one. Um, coming outta the bi week. Five and one Cardinals got a win last week. Um, Thursday night.

They got a mini buy now. Um, so I don't know. What are your thoughts on this? This game headed in, This is a big crossroad game. Um, in this season. If we win this, we are for real. This is a big game. Um, people think the Cardinals stink, which maybe they do, but at the end of the day, this is the nfl. Anybody can beat anybody. And game planning for Kyle Murray's not gonna be easy.

Um, I like that we're going up against a moron for a coach in Cliff Kingsbury and you know, it's gonna be interesting. It's gonna be interesting. What do you. Yeah, I think, you know, I could, you could talk X's and o's all you want and say, you know, the key to the game is gonna be making Kyle play from the pocket, which, that's kind of always the case when you face a Kyle Murray club. Um, you just don't want him to, to get too many easy looks.

You don't want him to be working with his legs, get outside of the pocket, make golf schedule plays. I don't think that they're doing enough offensively to really scare me, but, um, it's a, it's a tough spot for the Vikings. They need to come, come back off this by look, uh, look better than they did previous, previous to that. It's a no joke, NFC Club and FFC opponent that's coming into the bank this weekend. And so I agree with you.

I mean, it's a, it's a kind of a litmus test for the Vikings and I, I hope that, you know, the Cardinals last Thursday, uh, they won that game because of defense. Right? And, and so I'm looking forward to our offense, staying on schedule, staying ahead of the chains, um, moving the ball effectively against this, uh, this Arizona Cardinals team, but make no. They have players and they've got good players on the back end of that defense that can make plays and, and make things tough for you.

So we're gonna have to be, um, you know, locked in, ready to go and, uh, and hopefully the juice is there at US Bank Stadium and, and we can get this win and feel good, feel good coming back from the buy. I can assure you that the juice will be there at, at US Bank Stadium. I also think it's, it's, it's pivotal cuz I think Kyle is gonna do those off script plays. I don't know if there's a real way to stop it.

We need negative, a lot of negative plays and a lot, and to win the turnover battle, that's gonna be key in this one. Um, yeah, I, I trust our guys. I mean, I do trust our guys. At the end of the day, I'm a little bit, I'm a little bit more worried about this game than I have been maybe the most nervous about this game than I have been throughout the whole year. Um, yeah. Um, I think Arizona is oh and 10 in their last 10 trips to Minnesota. Uh, but we, we know the history here.

Um, you know, we face this club a lot over the last few years and it, it has never been easy. Um, and so I, I agree with you that the Vikings have done a good job of winning the turnover battle in pretty much every ballgame to this point. They. I mentioned last week on the episode there, second in the NFL and turnover margins. So I hope to see a couple other big plays like that, you know, force Kyle into some parent throws and um, and hopefully turn 'em over a couple of times.

Let's not forget to mention though, that this Vikings team won on the buy week despite, uh, despite being idle, right? The, the Green Bay Packers dropped one at, uh, Washington to the commanders. So now your Vikings have a two and a half game lead on the NFC North and they've got another opportunity here to, to gain even more ground, uh, because the Packers are going to Buffalo on Sunday night football.

And so this win would be big time for us if we can, uh, if we can push that lead to three games and hopefully the Packers drop another one. I don't, I don't see the Packers going into Buffalo and competing whatsoever. I don't think they have the guys at all to compete in that one. No, and that's also a good point. I think it's a good point. Like you, like we had said about the litmus test, about this team actually being for real, but also the Packers are gonna lose in Buffalo.

So if they get to five losses and we get to six wins, That's, I mean, it would, something catastrophic would have to happen. I just want to get your take. And we have gone over the, uh, the future schedule, but I think everybody's saying that we have such an easy road. Um, I think it was a couple weeks ago where it was like the remaining schedule is really easy. I disagree with that. We have, so we're at the commanders, the bills at, at Buffalo Dallas, at home.

The Patriots who are sneaky, I know they lost to the Bears, but still it's a Belichick led club. The Jets, are they good? The Lions, again, the Colts. And then the Giants are good. We end with the Giants, packers, bears. We have a tough schedule now. I still think we go 16 and one, but, you know, Well, that's why it's so important that we continue to stack wins right now and Right. You play a team like Arizona, you can't take 'em lightly.

You gotta, you gotta do everything you can to win this football game and continue to build, especially when we're healthy like we are right now. It's important to win games when we're healthy. Yep. We're super healthy right now. There's nobody on the, uh, on the injured list or on the injury report headed into this week. Um, everybody was a full go at practice today, and I just think. I don't know.

There's a lot of talk being made about us trying to make additions at the, at the deadline and stuff too. I'm not pressing or worried about any of that. Um, I already mentioned that, uh, I do believe that this Vikings Club is going to add Odel Beckham Jr. Um, I'm confident in that that's going to happen and, um, you know, but I, I also don't expect any massive moves from this team at the deadline. I think I like where our roster's at. I think the NFC is wide open.

I think there's an opportunity for us with the guys that we have. Um, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention old Udo getting arrested in Miami, Florida over, uh, the bi week and, uh, you know, petty, uh, petty misdemeanor evading arrest. I think he was following some, some females into the bathroom. I, I would just wanna comment on that. All right. They were at a club in Miami. He followed some chicks into the bathroom. Uh, starts evading arrest. All right.

We on voyage podcasts stand up for all female rights and do not condone this behavior in any way, shape, or form. However, I do believe that the Minnesota Vikings have done their due diligence as a, uh, withstanding club in this, uh, in this league, and, uh, uh, have allowed Ole Uto to, uh, regain his. He's standing with the club and he's back practicing. So we can move on from that.

Um, it's, it's behind us, but I just want our listeners and our viewers to know that we do not condone that behavior in any way, shape, or form. Ab absolutely not. And I want to add that we, as the Minnesota Vikings have in fact kept an, like you said, an upstanding reputation around the league for how we conduct ourselves off the field. Now, only for it to happen to o you know, it's tough. You don't expect something like that to only do something, to do something like that.

I hope nothing actually bad happened. He made a mistake. He should not have evaded arrest. Especially being a 300 pound freak of an athlete, it's okay. We move forward. I think, uh, you know, I hope he's in good spirits. Yeah. I did not expect you to touch on that Well, you know, we have to, we have to nip that in the butt, you know? Yeah, that's true. No, it's, it's good. It's good. It's, Yeah. So, um, but, uh, no, I mean, in all seriousness, it's.

I think, I think, we'll, we'll see how this team responds coming outta the buy. I think it was a good opportunity for the team to kind of self-assess and reevaluate and see, you know, hey, where's our missed opportunities out there? Where are we leaving plays out on the field, and what can we improve on? And I hope that, that, uh, this extra prep time has allowed them to kind of figure out a, a proper game plan for defending Kyle Murray and moving the ball against this Arizona team.

Um, I don't know. I expect the, I expect the energy to be high at US Bank Stadium, and I expect this to come away with a win in this one. I, I really do. I, I know it worries you a little bit. It, it does for me too, just because, you know, it's a, it's a quality NFC opponent and they've got Deandre Hopkins back and they've got kind of momentum on their side a little bit.

They got a nice win at home last week, but we really have to flex our muscle a little bit here, Keep stacking wins and do what we're supposed to do. Yeah. I, I just think low key, it's just a huge week for the Vikings and it stresses me out a little bit just because Vikings football stresses me out unlike anything else in my life. Um, yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think, you know, and I think that the Vikings, you know, we just stay the course.

Everybody writes us off and maybe you, you know, Philly gets banged up. They get the one seed. Maybe they have to have the New York G men come into town to play a playoff game as a wild card team. And you know, maybe the Giants upset 'em. And then we have the giant, you know, you never know. I like where we're at right now. It's a really good spot. We're keeping the Packers at bay. They look like a complete dumpster fire. Um, we just gotta keep being sharp.

Yeah. And we got Aaron Rogers talking about how we need, we need, we need to get these guys off the field who can't make plays. And like, we need to, we need to get guys out there who are gonna make, I don't think they have the guys that are gonna be out there that are gonna make plays. I just, I don't, uh, I think it's a, I think Aaron Rogers coming out there in the media and saying crap like that is kind of a, his cry for help a little bit. Saying like, Hey, hey, look at me.

Look what I'm dealing with. Look at how shitty, uh, this foster is around me. And I think, I think it could turn sour really fast for them. I mean, it kind of already has, but, um, but they could let this season slip away from them if they don't, if they don't figure something out fast. So it's gotta be fast. Yeah. Vikings need to figure, uh, need to take advantage of that. They sure do. They Sure do.

And like, and you know, the other thing too is you mentioned the buy week and um, you know, in years past we've always expected Mike Zimmer to come out out of the b Buy week and have a game plan drawn up that would be foolproof and, you know, the Cowboys beat us at home. You know, things like that happen. Right. That was last year, I believe. Was that week six or seven? Yeah. Yeah. And uh, we had to leave by last year. Right. Well cuz that was on Halloween, so.

Yeah. Um, so yeah, so I, I would expect, and I, I, and I really want us to come out and just click offensively and look like a, a well oiled machine maybe see a couple things that are different. I, I do expect that at a Kevin O'Connell and yeah, it's a big swing week for the vi so buckle up Purple Nation. Yep. And, um, so we got some fan mail to get to here. Uh, Jordan Brat emailed the program or DM to the program and, uh, got a, a good question for us here.

It's gonna be a tough one for us to respond to, but, but I'll go ahead and read it here. He says, do the Vikings keep to Alvin after this season, he's under contract for three more years and his owed over 40 million. If you cut him, his cap hit would be a little over 9 million the next two seasons, but you would save almost 35 million over the next three. With there being a lot of teams having.

Using running backs on rookie or team friendly deals, Could you see the Vikings cutting ties with Cook and going running back by committee moving forward? Um, great point Brant. And like I said, it's gonna be a tough one to respond to because I don't know what the thoughts are with within the, uh, Vikings front office on this. I think, I don't know the numbers.

Um, you laid 'em out there, obviously Brent, but the, I don't know what the numbers would've been if we would've cut him before this season. Like I don't think they would've necessarily done that. But the fact that he's still gonna have dead money even if we cut him after this season is, puts you in a tough predicament. So I think your question really revolves around the answer really revolves around whether, how, how do cook plays down the stretch here. Um, do I see them moving on from him?

No. Uh, do I see it as an option? Yes. Um, but then you'd also have to figure out where you're gonna go from there at the running back position. So if you see some juice outta Davin cook down the stretch here in this year, I think it's gonna be hard to move on from him. And um, I know he is getting up there in age, but he's still a quality running back in this league and. I know it's a trend in this league to go with younger guys and, and look, look elsewhere for running back help.

But if you have a solid guy that, um, that can help you out at that position, I think you, you stay with him. Um, because the other question that comes to mind when I think about this question is, okay, so then we're, we're, we're probably losing Alexander Madison as well at the end of the year, right?

So then who's, what's your plan at the position, uh, beyond that then if you move on from both of them and, you know, we got a solid running back rookie outta North Carolina, Tide Chandler, that has looked promising so far. Not in any regular season play yet. So I think we got kind of gotta let it play out before we answer this one. Um, but it's gonna depend on what they, what they see as the future of that position group going forward.

It's an interesting question because I don't know the numbers. Um, I think it's, I think it's interesting. I love Delvin Cook. I think Delvin Cook is a great running back. He's a top three running back in this league in my opinion. But, you know, the running, the running back position is a young man's game. And you see guys like Kenneth Walker come in and play really well, you know, and then you watch that guy for Bama. Who's that? Who's the running back for Bama Gibbs?

Yep. And we draft a guy like Ty Chandler. I, maybe we could, you. We're gonna have to pay Justin Jefferson. Right? Yeah. So, yeah, I think it's, I think however, it's a tough one. It's a tough one. Yeah, it is very tough. And I think, you know, you're gonna have to pay guys like Jefferson, you want to, you wanna keep as many weapons as you can.

I guess if you, I guess if you're that high on a prospect coming out of the draft that you feel confident in drafting or even if you draft him and then make a decision. Uh, cuz I don't know how the timing works there, but if you, if you do that and decide to move on, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be shocked, I'll put it that way. Um, no, I wouldn't be shocked either.

And if, if I don't, and again, I don't know the numbers, but if you're gonna tell me that we can resign Jefferson and fill maybe a need on defense, that's tough. Yeah, well I think the, that's tough. The, the entire future of the club is a little bit uncertain after this year anyways, just because you kind of have to think that the new regime would wanna draft somebody at the quarterback spot to and start developing a young quarterback there.

I'm not saying Kurt Cousins is, we're ready to move on from him right now cuz he's obviously given us a chance to win this year and has looked good in the new system. I'm just saying. There's probably a lot of evaluations going on within that front office group to where they're probably thinking ahead a little bit on some positions to say, Hey, what can we do here to, to save us a little bit of money under the cap and, and improve in other areas.

So if you're gonna look at Davin Cook as one of those guys that you could, you could do that with and, and cut ties with, you know, it would be understandable. And yeah, I love Dalvin Cook too. He's, I, I hope that he has a, a good second half of the season here and, and can help us win football games. I think he will. Um, so let's just let it play out and see, see how that goes, uh, going forward for the rest of the season.

It, it was, it is an interesting question and, and an interesting topic, so I appreciate that, Brent. Um, yeah, thanks for, uh, reaching out to the program. Always appreciate, uh, listener input, so, Right. Um, anything else, any final thoughts on, uh, on this match up against the Cardinals or, uh, you ready to just get, get after it, man. Let's, I'm, I'm excited.

You know, the bi week's always one of those times where it's, it's depressing a little bit with no Vikings football and, you know, as stupid as it sounds, there's, you know, power rankings and stuff had Viking sliding down despite not even playing last weekend. And it's like, you know, I just wanna get back out there, get back on the field and, and win football games and that's all I care about. It just doesn't, when they're on their by, it doesn't feel like you have that thrill of Sunday.

Yeah. You know, it, it, it felt like a, you know, sit back on the couch, you know, look at pick league, look at how bad your fantasy team teams are. You know, that's really all it is, you know, And then when the Vikings play, you just get all weird. Uh, yeah, I'm going, I'm going Sunday with my brother. I'm pretty pumped. Nice. He's gonna get the tail, he's gonna get the tailgate experience. Uh, it's gonna be lit. Us bank's gonna be rocking. Yep. That's great, man. That's great.

All right, well, uh, let's get into the next half of our program here All right. We are pleased to be joined by Donnie Sands. He was, uh, eighth round selection. The 243rd overall pick by the New York Yankees out of Sal Point Catholic High School in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on November 19th, 2021. And you, sir? Major, major league debut for the Phillies. On September 2nd of this season, um, against the San Francisco Giants.

And let's just go ahead and start there, dude. Um, we can work our way back and talk about your story, but what was it like when you finally made your big league debut when you got that call and then when you showed up at Oracle Park, your name's on the locker, you got a jersey hanging. You made it to the show, what was it all like? And now that you've had a little bit of time to reflect on that, what does it, what does it mean to you?

Yeah, I mean, first of all, Cam, always good to see you, my dog. Um, and bro, honestly, uh, now that I have had some time to sit back and. Chill and see, like you said, what, what has gone on and, you know, everything that happened, it was honestly surreal. Um, I was just sitting, uh, we were in, um, Norfolk, Virginia, and uh, it was kind of funny, you know, like I, I had been having, um, a good year this year coming up to, and you know, being on the 40.

Uh, I got put on by the Yankees in the trade to the Philly, so I knew that the time was coming close and then it's, it's, it's like nearing the end of the year. So you shark in a little, I don't know if fancy is the right word, but a little like little pressure that you wanna get up there, you know, especially you're doing well. And I had a talk with one of my, uh, mentors back home actually, August. 31st.

Um, and we were just, we had a FaceTime probably at midnight and we were talking and, you know, a lot of emotions going of just like, you know, when, whenever the time's gonna be, the time will be right. You know, and to, to not get down and just keep. Putting, uh, one foot in front of the other. And then I, I think literally I'm laying in bed two hours later and it's one 30 in the morning, and then I get a phone call from our, uh, gm.

And I, when I saw his name, it's, it's like I almost didn't even wanna answer the phone. Like, I I didn't even think it was, uh, real. I, I, I knew what the call was, right? Um, Right. And. Yeah, dude, All of a sudden you go from being at like a la uh, you go from being in like a LaQuinta, Norfolk, Virginia to like on a, on a first class flight, uh, across the country to San Francisco. And, uh, yeah, man, just absurd. It's, it's, you know, I mean, you found me, dude, for.

I mean, um, a majority of my life. And you work hard and you expect things to happen for sure. And you, uh, it's, it's not a surprise, you know, because you put an eye foot in all that work furthest to happen, but then for it actually to happen, you actually to get that call, um, there is like a, a surreal moment. Um, and then, yeah, man, it's just, it's, it's just been a roller coaster. Yeah. I can't even imagine, dude. But it.

It's so awesome that you got that opportunity and that like it, it finally paid off, right? We're talking about all the hard work and the, you know, trust the process. Everybody can say trust the process, but to actually be there and be in the grind and do it, you know.

And for that to finally pay off and you to kind of, And, and by no means are you at the end of the road yet, but you know, it's one of those things that, that, that is the first step on, on your next sort of goals and, and accomplishments that you wanna, you wanna have for your career. Right. Is to, to make that percent by getting into the bigs. So, and I was lucky enough to be there at, uh, you know, for that weekend that you debuted in San Fran. Man, it was, it was so awesome.

You got a great support staff around you. Um, and for the listeners, a little bit of background on Donnie and I's relationship we. Grew up playing ball together, um, for, for a long time. Um, basically grew up together. Donnie's late Father Roger was our coach for a majority of that period. Um, and so, and so that's, that's how we know each other and that's, that's kind of where our relationship stems from. And, you know, um, just happy to, to see you, you know, have that payoff, man.

And so let's talk a little bit more though about your, about kind of the grind, because like I said, you know, dude, it's. It's one thing for people to sit from the sides sidelines and say, you know, trust the process and keep your nose of the grindstone and stuff. But when you're clawing your way up through minor league baseball and then you have the pandemic season on top of it, you know, kind of just walk me through like just how much of a grind the minor league system was and.

And kind of how you, you got to the top. Yeah. Uh, I mean, I'm gonna try to be as raw and as pure as possible about saying this. Uh, dude, the minor leagues, you just like get kicked in the teeth a lot of times. You know, you, you're getting kicked in the teeth, as I'm saying. And, uh, that's how I would describe the minor leagues, you know, especially professional baseball was such. A competitive, intense, um, political.

Like there's a lot of things, you know, that go on in minor league baseball that, um, there's people signed and as you know, first rounds for a lot of money. I give more chances. Lay round guys that have to prove themselves guys in the middle that, uh, Just have to grind.

And again, like, you know, my story, I was a third baseman shorts up and then I got converted to catch it right in the, like in like you go to the hardest position on the field in already the hardest atmosphere, professional baseball. So it's a, it's a, it was a super tough thing. Um, thank God. I think just being born, I've always had the attitude of like, You know, uh, for any challenge and the, you know, the resiliency. So that's what I, I, I looked forward to.

But yeah, man, it's a, it's a grind. It's just, it's so many years of uncer, like uncertainty. And then, um, just thinking of, I would say this why the games are frustrating game. It's because you can put, let's just say your whole life. Grind as hard as you can put everything, and then the game doesn't owe you anything. So just because you put in all this time, it's not securing you. You're gonna go to the big leagues or you're gonna go. You know, and so you can't let that creep in your head.

So it's just a frustrating thing. Uh, at some point, uh, going up through the levels, I think was seven years, 2015, uh, to finally get a lot of injuries. You know, you go through I repeated levels. Um, you and I, you're learning a lot. And it's just a lot of long years, not a lot of off time, a lot of training the off season cuz you're pushing for this one goal man to get that call and then, like you said, for it to finally happen, man.

It's, it's, uh, yeah, it's like I'm, I'm speechless to, to be dish honest with you. Do you think that there was any, like one thing in particular that changed from when you first started your professional career to the time that you made your big league debut? Like what, what do you think was the biggest thing that changed for you and like how, is there any one thing that you could look at and say like, That's where I figured it out and that's where I got here now.

Yeah, I mean there's, uh, like in life to me, I mean, you knew my dad really well, so I, I had a really good foundation of like, you know, being, uh, Resilient and, you know, hardheaded and like, you know, never not being like soft minded, you know, it's like having this like never quit mentality, right? But then so you take that into baseball and, uh, like, I mean, I always say it's the people that honestly believed in me and sucked their neck out for me.

It wasn't necessarily one thing I did, but it was probably the people that believed in me, uh, like a guy. Name a few guys. Guy Josh Paul, who was our, uh, catching coordinator at the time, who I think stood in a room full of a ton of front office people in the Yankees and said, Hey, I don't, I don't know what I see, but I think this kid's gonna be a major league catcher one day. And I, I think a lot of people told him he was crazy and, and, uh, almost cost him his job.

But you know, guys that actually stick out for you, Uh, a guy who's one of our catching coaches on the big league team, Hector a bogo. Yep. Um, who again? When you're at your worst and you suck, and which I sucked when I first started, I'll say that very, like, I was one of the worst catchers probably anyone ever seen professionally, And the people stick there for you and they're like, there's gonna, there's gonna be something there. Like, you just gotta work your ass off.

Um, you know, guys like that. So. And just learning man, like managers who almost scared. Just people that have been in the game that understand the frustrations, Like I say, yeah, it wasn't certainly something I did. Cause I, I do believe I always had the talent and I always had the work ethic. And at some point, you know, you can be as good as you want or whatever, but you just need the break. Like, you just need to get your chance.

And that's, that's a lot of the time you see in baseball, it's not necessarily always the best guy or it's like, dude, whatever the timing's right, you. Um, For sure. So, and it kinda all just clicks. Yeah. Yeah, man, it's just time's different for everybody. So, uh, You know, after nagging called up, you know, it's just like, and then the other guys, let's just say struggling hitting 200, but two guys get hurt and all of a sudden they're in the big leagues all whole year.

Like it's just, Yeah, baseball's a weird game like that if it's not necessarily always the best guy. Best time, but that's why you just gotta stay super focused and it's like, dude, when it's your time, it's gonna be your time. Um, yeah. And just keep, you know, just keep going forward. But yeah, I think it was just the people that believed. Uh, ba base professional. Baseballs such a, like a mentally grinding thing.

That's probably, it's not even the physically, it's just the mental grinded of your way for so much time. And well, if you have a good support system, good friends who, good people that have you just keep going forward. That's probably the biggest thing. Yeah. No, that's, that's awesome man. It's, uh, I think that you. Minor league baseball and like the process of becoming a, a major league baseball player is so much different than in any other sport. Right.

You have to, you have to prove yourself. Like those are the proving grounds and, and so many, yeah. So many people break through that process, you know what I mean? And like so many guys would in your position battling for seven years, you know, some people have doubts and they just would, might just call it, you know, call it. So it's an incredible No, for sure too. Like you're not, you're not making all that money too, and it's kinda fun.

People see, it's like they're, they're, they're going through years after year and they're like, Dude, I could be making some real money otherwise, you know, But to, for, to me it was never really that. It was, you know, the dream and the love of like, Dude, I'm gonna get there. Again, too. Baseball's such a, like you said, a what have you done for me lately? Sport.

So like you literally have to like, you could have a great year and then it's okay you have to have another great year to get a another great year. Cause you're one bad year away from, I mean, you're going home, you know? So, yeah. It's just tro yourself every year. Yeah. Oh, no, seriously, man. It's, uh, yeah, you're right. It's, it's every single year when you're in that system, you got, I'm sure you gotta, you gotta prove yourself. You know what I mean?

There's no, it's, it's what you done for me lately. So I want to talk specifically though about that pandemic year in 2020 that, you know, the season gets canceled for minor league baseball. What the hell was going through your mind? What the hell were you doing during that time? And I want to note that I think that you came out of that. uh, that year where you didn't play a single game for a full year. You came out of that as your best professional base.

Like the, you played the best ball that you had in professional, uh, in your professional career up to that point coming out of that year. And I feel like that was a, a difference maker for a lot of guys because that season, you know, taking a year off of baseball is not fucking easy, dude. And so people, Yeah, you. You know, a lot of guys couldn't make it through that, so, So what did you do and what was kind of your going through your mind during that time?

Yeah, I've never really talked about that and that's like, I'm Brian's right next to me and we talked about this, but Covid to me, and I say this very respectfully to the people that, you know, had stuff happen to them or family. Was probably the biggest blessing in disguise that had ever happened in my professional career. Mm-hmm. I, uh, worked hard, so this is like the timeline. I worked hard that off season before Covid was the thing, you know, going into, what was it? 2020? Yeah, right.

2020. Yeah. Going into 2020 and like, again, just telling you the things that happened, I was expecting to get invited to Major league spring training by the Yankees. Yeah, I don't get invited to big league camp and so I'm like, as you know me, I'm the tell like, Dude, that's just more fuel than the fire, right?

So I come into camp and it gets sniped and I went home one day off of, it was every single day of working out, hitting, do, hitting three, four times a. Hitting at two in the morning when we were in California Guy Stage, me and Brian, we were looking at videos the other day. We were hitting at two, three in the morning off each dude. It was like this nonstop. Like whenever this is gonna end, whenever this just the pandemic will end at some point.

If it's tomorrow, if it's, Cuz I just heard a lot of people saying, you know, Oh well I'm gonna sit back and relax. I told myself this is gonna be the either breaking point or making point that you're gonna be a big league player. Like seriously, it was a very big um, Moment in my career too, because as you know, I mean, you're a baseball fan. During Covid, they had the spring training 2.0 where they invited guys. I was now one of those guys invited. Right, Right.

Uh, and so I remember I was literally making like a drywall, uh, for my aunt, like laying concrete in her house. And I got this call saying I wasn't getting invited to this thing. And dude, it just made me like, again, work so. Focus and intense on what I knew I was going to, uh, do coming outta Covid and then so's over. Right. Covid comes over. I'm, I'm ready to go now it's 2020 and I don't get invited to big league camp again. Yep. Right. So then I've, in spring training and minor league camp.

I think the thing was I went like 20 for 25 with seven homers in minor league spring training. Yeah. You raped and then everyone Yeah, and everyone's like, What? You know what the. What hell is going on And, uh, I go to AA and then the, you know, history, I mean, I think all together that Usper guy hit like 28 home runs like two 70 and, and got put on the major league roster.

So it was, uh, again, that we say everyone has choices in their life, like make or break forks in the road where you, you pick one way and stuff can go a lot different and. That, uh, that, uh, Covid dude was. Again, I spent a lot of time with my mom, a lot of time with family, and it was just a super motivating time, uh, for me and like again, we took full advantage of it.

Yeah. That's so crazy, dude, because it is, and it was a make or break point in your career and so many other guys careers too, like and just, Yeah, just my free agent year in the minor leagues. It was year seven, so it was like either, like I knew what had to, I hadn't played, You knew it was at stake, like. Yeah. Oh, I, yeah. And I said, its, it's time to turn it up here. I you, and you took matters in your, you gotta in your own hands.

Gotta, Yeah. You gotta just force people to make, you know, to Yeah. Honestly, that, that's sick. And like I said, it's crazy because I can't imagine because. Missing a full year of baseball, like is no joke. And then you have to step back in and be expected to perform right away, you know, against, against professional caliber pitching again, you know, as soon as you come back. So the work that you put in during that time is o obviously evident, you know, So it, it was crazy.

My first live app that after Covid in spring was a home run, My first step at that and I was like, you know, here we go. Yep. So it's nice that, so that season ends, right? You have a great year, um, in the minors for the Yankees, and then offseason rolls around. You get traded in November of last year, about a year ago, almost a year ago, to the day now, uh, what was kind of going through your mind during that time?

You had just mentioned, like you just mentioned, you got added to the big league roster for the New York Yankees and then, and then, uh, a short time after that, they traded you right? Yeah. So I mean, when I got added it was like probably sickest day of my life when I got added to the four man for the Yankees. Yeah. Like I, I still remember the, the, the deadline day of like, what was, when they had to add me, you know, I was gonna be a free agent regardless.

I knew I was gonna have good opportunities cuz what I had done that year, you know, I was gonna go to some team, but. You know, everyone was saying, I remember talking to my agent and telling, you know, well after this year, you know, you can make some good money as a free agent. You know, people start making five 30 grand. And I was like, I don't want that. I wanna be on league roster.

and uh, dude, it's like down to the final day I'm in LA and I think there's like an hour left and I, I'm downstairs and Brian's upstairs and all a sudden he, like, my phone starts ringing. I remember he like Brian, some guy Brian Cashman's. So I sprint up, answer the phone, dude, and. Again, I just started crying, dude. And me and Brian like, fall to the bed crying together, dude. And yeah, you're a major league player, dude. For the, for the most historic sports team ever.

You know, like not a lot of people get to say that we're added to the major league roster for these Yankees. Right. Um, and then or I'm walking. In a mall in uh, LA and I, again, I see my phone ring, it's Brian Cashman and Heather said, This is really good, or, or not so good. I don't know why. Brian Cashman's told me again in a week, and then it was super short. He said, Hey, Donnie, uh, think you're gonna have a great opportunity. Congrats. You've been trade to the Philadelphia Phillies.

And I had never, I was, I had no clue. I think he asked me, Hey, do you have any questions? And I was just silent. And, you know, he goes, uh, I think. Dave, you know what our, our present GM will be will be getting in contact with you. All the Phillie guys will be getting in contact with you. And then literally two minutes later, every Philly staff started calling me from, I think got a call At the time, Joe Ard was our manager. So like everyone starts calling me, dude.

And I, I was like in shock, you know? I was like, what Just happen? I'm on the Phillies now, I guess. So it was, yeah, it was a weird, it was super weird. Uh, but yeah, kinda a whirlwind. Yeah. Yeah. But, but then you, then you, uh, transition into the Phillies organization. Right. And it sounds like they, they embraced you and obviously it worked out well for you because you ended up making your major league debut this season.

And, um, what kind of, is there any huge differences that, that you've, between the two organizations, like the way they're operated or anything? Yeah, I mean, I think, I think it's just like, uh, anything, you know, any organization, not even necessarily baseball, any job, they have their own way about going things, you know, their own what, what they thinks important, you know, that's in any job or, um, certain, uh, standards and stuff like that now.

But I mean, I've met good things to say about the Yankees and the Phillies. I mean, the Phillies were awesome. Like I said, as soon as I, uh, I got traded, I had every single person, literally in, in five minutes calling me from the gm, the president, like Joe Gerard, you know, our hitting coach, Kevin. It was like everybody, every training staff guy, clubhouse guy was like, Hey Don, we're super excited to have you. Like can't wait to see you in spring training.

Yeah. Um, And then the lockout happens like two days later. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's great. And then so then I like literally can't talk to anybody, so it was like, again, it was a crazy time. Yeah. No, that's awesome man. And then you, uh, you proceeded to absolutely rake again in Meyer League, uh, ball this, this year and got your opportunity in the bigs.

And um, like I mentioned, you, you know, got called up to the show in September and major debut and now looking forward for you, what's kind of your mentality and your mindset going into this off season as you prepare to take the next step with your big league career? Yeah, man. Uh, it, it was always, you know, the hardest thing people always say, you know, it's just getting your foot, your foot in the door. Yep. You know, like, you got to, like, you're respected now. You know what I'm saying?

Even like, you can have a lot of great minor league seasons, as you know, and you can hit 403 A, but. Until you get like, there's a difference of doing that one. Okay. He got to the big leagues, you know, you're like looked at differently and especially to other teams and whoever. Uh, but getting that taste, man, that, that team, I told people when we were in spring training, that was my first big league camp and getting those guys in the meetings we were in.

And it was kind of funny, I saw a lot of people like, Hey man, the fillers are gonna go to the World Series. Like, and I'm saying this in, it just, I felt like those E 60. Like sports Center likes and you're like, you're able to be there and getting some abs and gonna catch the game. I mean, you were there, you know, it, it, it's makes this off season and do the next step.

Like, I've worked hard man, like every off season, but it's gonna make this off season work, like tirelessly, like until, Because I, You see what that life is Yeah. And what that level is. And, and I know I can play at that level. Um, so yeah, man, it's gonna be a super focused, intense off season and like I say, is to again, control what I can control and compete for a job and, uh, do what I can to help that team win, you know?

That's what it is, but just put myself in the best situation possible for whatever happens. Yeah. It's like, uh, it's like you make that debut right? And you, you smell blood in the water. Now it's like you got a little taste of it, but, but you just, you just want more man. You wanna feast, you wanna sink your teeth into that thing and, and, and just you. You wanna make the most of it, right. So I, I respect that mentality, man.

It's, it's gonna be awesome to watch you going forward and just can't wait to, to, um, appreciate you being so, so open and honest about your journey and everything, man. But it's, it's, it's great that you're at where you're at now, and I'm just pulling for you going forward, dude. And there, there's so much, uh, more in front of you, so much more for you to accomplish and, and, uh, yeah man, we'll be. We'll be following you heavy.

So I want to talk to you now a little bit about, uh, let's talk about the Phillies. You already mentioned a little bit, uh, kind of where they were at, you know, and what your, your, your thoughts of the club were, um, when you were in spring training. Um, but this team was still seven games under 500 on June 2nd when they replaced Joe Gerardi with Rob Thompson.

When you got to the club in September, I mean, they were, they were kind of firmly in the playoff picture, but you kind of had a little bit of a skid there when you first first joined the team. Uh, and then they got hot. Now they're arguably the hottest team in baseball. Um, what was it like just in the clubhouse in that environment with that team and specifically manager Rob Thompson? I mean, what, what do you think he's done to kind.

To kind of turn that season around at that point in the year and, and, and, yeah. What, what is, what is the vibes like in that clubhouse? You know, when that team's playing? Well, yeah, man. Uh, I mean, like I say, first off, to have a special team, you need to have, and I say like a sick leader, and that's where Rob Thompson is, uh, He has like the lowest heart rate I think I've ever seen out of a manager. And it's like when you know there's zero panic button.

Yeah. And as a player, that's all you. Can want from, from a manager. You know, it's like I just remember like, let's just say we got, we would have a tough game or lose a lie, or even it's just baseball. You know, you, you beat teams by 20 and you'll lose by 20 the next day. So that's just baseball. Knowing that, and he's been around so much championship baseball in New York and in his career, um, like he would come into the clubhouse and look at me.

You loo and like just gimme the thumbs up and like smile and like keep going and that, that as a player, Yeah. Number one lets you be yourself. You don't have to be on eggshells, you know, And that's just a guy that understands what baseball is and understands the team he had. And, uh, yeah, man, he's, he's unbelievable. And then, um, yeah, when I went up. I mean, I can't say enough about the whole team. The whole team was unbelievable to me. The veterans, the rookies up there.

I, I like, again, I got to know everybody in spring, but one of the guys that, I mean, I looked up to a lot of like, who was a super vocal guy and was, has been in the playoffs and been on World Series Championship, seems as Kyle Schwarber man, like mm-hmm that guy would always, we would, let's say win or when we were going through that tough, tough ski, like we got swept in Atlanta, like, you know, we're going through this like tough skit and he's.

Every time doing stuff like either getting on the mic, you know, when we're on the bus or like do it like, Let's get the music bumping. It doesn't have to be like someone just died in here, like, Right, this is baseball. Like, and we're just gonna compete till the end. Like, and he knew what, what, that there was never a panic bind out of the, I mean, those are the leaders, you know, of the team and, and, uh, he was just awesome keeping it so light in the clubhouse every day.

Um, just keeping it fresh from Castanos Harper. Do those guys. I mean, it's crazy, right? Being in the clubhouse with these guys like me, me and you have known Bryce Harper since I was, He was on the cover sports illustrator when we were living in New Mexico. He's 16 years old, you know, So it's nuts. And then you see what, what championship baseball is. And I have never, like I said before, been in the big leagues.

I haven't been on World Series teams, but being with my dad and being with a lot of good. I do think I know what winning looks like. And like when I was in spring when I was telling people, Dude, this team's gonna be a legit team. It's because they, they had winners on the team. They had baseball players on the team. Yeah. Um, yeah. And that, that's, they had winning coaches. They had people that it was just like, No panic baseball. Let's try to go kick everybody's ass.

And at the end of the day, sometimes it's gonna happen, sometimes it's not. But no. Yeah. That's great, dude. That's awesome. And it shows, uh, uh, you know, the, the biggest moments throughout their post-season run have not phased the team at all, and you can tell that they've got excellent leadership. And then you watch a guy like Bryce Harper, just absolutely. Uh, Tearing the cover off the ball guy, guys, dude. I mean, yeah. What, what are your thoughts on when you see a guy like that?

You know, he's probably having the best, he's playing the best playoff baseball of his career right now. And obviously the homer on, um, in game five was massive, but like, he's just been playing super well and obviously been a leader of that, of that. Yeah, dude, he's sick. I mean, like, again, I always tell, like I, I've like joke with him. I'm like, Dude, do you know who you're like, you're Price Harbor dude.

Like, like, you know, like, let's go put the team on your back and let's go win a World Series. You know? And like that's the, And he, I mean, dude, he was one of the first guys when I got to the Phillies, I walked into the clubhouse and everyone knows who he is and he like, Comes up to me, to my locker and is like, Hey man, like, great to have you. You're gonna be a big part of this. This, Yeah. For a young guy like me, that's, that's, that pays dividends.

Students like getting, like everybody going in the same way, you know? And um, yeah, like the night, it's kind of funny, the night I got called up to the big leagues, the, the night, it's like two in the. I get a call from who? Bryce Harper. Yeah. He calls me at two in the morning. He's like, Let's go baby. Like you're joining the team. Like, dude, that's, he doesn't have to do stuff like that, you know?

Uh, so, and then getting to work with him, dude, every day, like getting to see him hit, uh, dude, that dude's a hall of famer already. Like he, he's, he's sick. So that's all I got. Like it's unbelievable getting to be around those guys. Just hit with them and just see how they go about it. But yeah, dude, that dude's got ice in his veins as he saw, just like, yeah, just nuts.

Yeah. I remember you telling me that story of him calling you when you got, when you got called up and, and you showed me the screenshot. Dude, that, that's just insane to think about. And, but yeah, he, he's, he is coldblooded man and I. I mean, I think that, So let's talk a little bit about the World Series matchup then, because I think that it's a good, fascinating matchup because it's two good pitching staffs. But the Phillies, Rake. Rake, right-Handers. They kind of have all year, I think.

I think they're just, they're just, they're putting things together offensively. It's gonna be, it's gonna be a wild one. But I mean, I think the Phillies have a good shot as anybody. They're playing, They're playing the best baseball out of anybody in the league, arguably. I mean, I know Houston hasn't lost yet this post-season, but I mean, it's tough to, to go against that meat of the order for the Phillies. Yeah. Like, dude, Houston is such a good baseball team. They play like such.

Getting to watch, like, uh, being in the big leagues, excuse me, is uh, these guys are super fundamental teams. So like Houston, like do they do the little things the right way as like Yeah, you know, like my dad, they do like, Ball hit in the gap. Double cut. Like they're not missing. It's like to the bag, it's like little things like that that you see really good baseball teams too. Right. But then also like we were one of the last teams to go into the Wild Carter. Right.

And uh, our hitting coach was Kevin Long, was on the World Series, was hitting coach, the World Series team for the Nationals in 2019 when they were the last team to get into. Yeah, same thing to wildcard and I'll just say, The playoffs, as you know, is about who's hot dude and who's got the mojo. Mm-hmm. And who's mm-hmm. and A and a hot.

And our team up there is full of nuts and psychos, dude, and that love baseball and, and it's like we have a group of young guys and veteran guys that are all. That's just a dangerous team man. Like a super dangerous two. We can hurt. I mean, we can hurt you one through four in the lineup, and then our guys at the back end can also hurt you. So it's, It's just a grind, dude. The Phillies are, it's like we talk about in the clubhouse, it's like Philly tie baseball.

It's just like blue collar grinding baseball, dude. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And that's so key when it comes to post-season play. I mean, it's just like, but like you're saying, I mean, both teams play really good baseball and Yeah. all right. And we're once again joined by Ryan Kane, the director of Content for Voyage. Um, a late entrant to the episode tonight, but that's all right. You know, everybody's got things to do. Everybody's got lives. We don't put any blame on you.

But, uh, but Kane, you know what? I want to give you props because you had the best week that any of us have ever had on this, uh, podcast. Uh, last week you gave out every single play that you gave out. I'm pretty certain hit, if I'm not mistaken. It did. Um, and I know you have an update for us on our Capra the Year contest, which is getting heated, and our pick league, which is also getting heated. I regress to the pack. So can, uh, why don't you go ahead and, uh, give us an update.

Glad to have you tonight, man. Yeah. Glad to be here. Sorry for the delay. You know, had a family dinner. Like you said, we all have a life outside of the podcast, even though, you know, we're pushing content. We're all, uh, Big Jay journalist. But, uh, yeah, last week, uh, don't, don't rely on me too much. I went eight no, in the picks that I gave, uh, Lock of the Year was an absolute hit. We saw that at, uh, t Willy's wedding came in to enter Sandman to close out Minnesota Golden Gophers.

They were terrible. They are dead in all time. That it was, it was great. As soon as I heard that song, I told Cam, I said, You know, dude, start recording. We're we're closed out to play the year. It was, it was almost so terrible. It was so funny. That's, that's what it was. It was, That's, that was the feedback I heard. It could, I could tell that you, I could tell that there was no planning done once a no. Like we, No, we done at all. You guys were two sheets to the wind.

You came up with a drunk idea, Kane, and you had no idea what you were doing. Yeah, but it was funny to hear Cam laughing in the background, I said, We need to record this. And Cam said, All right, we need to use the door, like a door to the bullpen. Go outside and I'll tell you when to come in. Uh, but yeah, it was, it was a great time. Shout out to Willie. Good wedding. Thanks for having us. Uh, don't again, don't count on me on a week to week basis.

Last week was an absolute anomaly as I'm still in the cellar in picu, but clawing out, I'm clawing out like I'm back from the dead. You'll lit a fire under my ass saying how terrible I am. He wouldn't take the pub bet. Uh, that's for another episode. If we have him on, I, I offered him another bet that he, uh, was too cowardly to take. But after, uh, after weeks, seven weeks of the NFL cam is still in first with 56 points at a 53% correct rate. Great. Still all time, but I will.

Cam last week, I believe you had the worst week out of anyone in the group through seven weeks. No flack there. You know, it's a down week. It happens. I, Danny and I, the week before in week six, we both had four points. So nothing is scoff at, no flack being given, but Johnny is hot on your ass with 52 points, four points back. Mm-hmm. he's at a 50% clip. Mm-hmm. which is nothing, is scoff at Cohen's kind of on Cohen and Johnny Know Zero about football. Who? I don't know who that is.

They're kind of on your asses. Oh. Johnny knows zero about football as a high school friend. Okay. I, we're both in the same, we're both in the same fantasy leagues and now this pick league, So there's, so there's, look, look I'll wear last week for sure. Um, don't get me wrong, it was a bad week. I got my brains beat in. All right. I was being contrarian again and this week it didn't work out for me.

But look, I'm gonna stick to my strategy, um, but I just need to do a better job of, uh, cinching things up a little bit. No, picking and choosing my spots to be super contrarian. And, uh, yeah. Now I got, uh, a quality handicapper on my tail and, um, I think that's gonna raise my game a little bit. So I'm excited to get back into it and, uh, assert myself again in this league. I just, don't worry, don't worry. I just want you to know I have fine tooled my model. I've made adjustments, right?

I've tightened the bolts, I've greased the motor. I've done it all. Alright. I feel really good right now. I'm pretty sure for the first two weeks I was in the cellar with Kane. I have been doing very well. I think it's interesting where the pick pick sits. You know, right now Yu's always been the top three. He's a top three type guy. No he's not. So I don't know what to expect. I expect to bounce back, but it's hard to say. Kane's been hot here. I think there's everyone's in contention.

Um, you know, me being in the seller to can, being in first, I've got 44, he's got 56. I'm at a 42% clip. So I'm 11% behind him in terms of, uh, choosing the right picks. But, you know, you look at average points, which it gives you that metric. I'm at six, correct? A week. Cams at eight. That's not many games to claw back from, and especially with, you know, 10 weeks including this week, left in the NFL or yeah, or no, 11 weeks, 11 weeks left in the NFL season.

There's a lot of ball left, there's a lot of ball left. We also include the playoffs. We include the Super Bowl. So there, there's multiple weeks left and there's chances for everyone, Nobody's out this league. It's, I feel like, you know, not to pat myself on the back. I'm clawing back. You'll let a fire under my ass. I'm three points back on my gained ground yet again. Um, and it's, I feel like the league, the competitive competitiveness has come up a lot.

Um, and you know, that's kind of transitioning into cap of the year. Um, Cap R of the year. We've got a standing of, I see Kim and myself tied at nine points and Johnny is back in five. Anything I pick doesn't hit. I mean, the, the analytics I'll give you, I'll give you the guys and the graphic going forward. Our total overall wins losses. Cam and I, were, were probably below 500 in that. Um, but you know, we're, we're giving out some solid picks outside of that too. From time to time.

We're getting kind of murdered a little bit. You're in there. We stink. We stink right now. This is a gambling podcast and we can't Yeah, but look, here's the deal, here's the deal. It's been tough SLE. Yeah, it's been tough sledding and, and Kane gave out a play of the year winner last week, and he did, he gave out a few other winners on the podcast and I've given out a college football play of the year winner. I've got an NFL play of the Year winner already under my belt.

I've got, I've got another college football play of the year coming this week, dropping soon on this episode. And, um, and, uh, I, I, I haven't gone three and oh yet. I haven't gone three and oh yet in cap of the year. I need to step up and, uh, I'm expecting that to come. And we got college hoops. We got college hoops, right. We're, we're less than two weeks out now from college hoops. And I know that's our forte and it's gonna get real tight.

So, uh, so hope you guys are strapped in and ready to go. Yeah. The, the only thing I'll say ahead, I'm starting caper of the year right now. Okay. I'm gonna start trying on it right now. Okay. So yeah, you've been coasting. I I've been not paying attention. My mind's been here. It's been there, you know, I'm locked in now. You, you guys, you guys better keep up. That's all I gotta say.

Yeah, I'll, I'll say, you know, I've had a negative mindset being murdered by the NFL in college football and, you know, tailoring some things that I've been doing blindly just listening to intelligence. Um, but I've, I've rebranded the Twitter. Um, I'm no longer, I kill books cause I'm not killing books. But in lieu of my recent. Success. I have rebranded.

I'm now at Sharp Chicagoan, and, uh, the Twitter name's the Chicago Sharp, still the same picture, which if you haven't seen, you know, I think it's worth a view. It's a good profile picture. But, uh, like, like you guys said, we're, we're getting into college basketball. That was our meat and potatoes last year. Uh, you know, we'll do some stuff here and there throughout the winter. Some nhl, some nba. Uh, by the way, I did give out an NBA 14 money line Parlay plus 1 94.

Not great, but three of the four legs are about to hit if the Knicks can pull out OT win. But that's all I got. Um, don't speak too soon. Yeah, I'm I'm not gonna Joe box myself, I'm just saying, you know, just gotta stay here and there. But, uh, so yeah, Caper caper of the year. Cameron and myself at nine, John at five guests slot at two. The Serrano is now two and four with a TCU annihilation over Kansas State, which Cam was live betting at t Willie's wedding and my phone died. I'm pissed.

I couldn't get in on it. I didn't place it early enough. I didn't prepare. John was dogging me for not being prepared with a charger. And the Twitter bits, the Twitter bits, John won this week. He's at three and a half. Cam and myself are at one, and the guest slot is in one and a half. So that's, that's our standings right now. I dominate the Twitter bit and I have another great one.

This. All right, well let's, uh, let's divert from that a little bit here and just get a quick NFL recap and look ahead. I don't wanna get too into it cuz clearly we don't know that much about National Football League play. We're not doing too well as handicaps. Um, although I'm still sitting at top the pick league and until then I'm gonna keep touting that. Um, we had an interesting week last week. Uh, I would say that Contrarians got their asses handed to them.

Vegas, uh, made out very poorly last week. Um, we had the, we had the New York Giants go on the road into Jacksonville and, and get a win 2317 over the Jags, um, trap line game. What appeared to be a trap line game, or at least I thought it was, and the Giants come over with a win. Are you guys thinking anything different of the Giants Club now that they got a nice, a nice road win at a, at a Jacksonville club?

And I know Jacksonville hasn't been playing that well, but it's a quality win nonetheless. I think it would be a casual take to say that that doesn't do anything for you, for the Giants, It moves the needle a little bit. I I will say that, however, I still don't think it's gonna last in New York for the G Men and Yeah, but you'd be, you'd have to be a casual to say otherwise, right? I agree. Yeah, I. Yeah, I, I think they played a good game.

You know, I, we were all high, or you guys were high on Jackson. Bill. You got me on the train. Mm-hmm. since I mm-hmm. I thought we said we saw, we, I thought we said they were pretty decent at the beginning of the year and we were liking Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you playing for last week? No, no, last week. No, no. Beginning of the season. Everyone was big on him.

I was kind of not bought in and I think the second that I bought into Jacksonville, it's been downhill since there, so, you know, maybe I'm cursed, but, uh, I think the Giants, they're not legit, but I think they're playing good ball. It's, you know, it's something we discussed I think last week or the week before, similar ball that the Jets are playing. They're getting creative in ways to get their, their athletes, uh, the ball. You know, they're not looking for the traditional plays.

They're looking for, you know, end arounds, flee flickers, anything that could potentially get a guy open they're trying to do. And I think that says a lot about the coaching staff that, you know, they realize they don't have top talent, but they know that there plays out there that can still get guys open. Well, they're, they're six and one, and they don't have a single wide receiver with over 200 yards receiving. So it's a, it's a really interesting club.

Daniel Jones leads the club in rush, rushing, uh, if I'm not mistaken, and you know, it. Yeah, I don't know. They gotta be, they gotta be on your radar in some regard. I, I don't, I still don't believe in them long term in the NFC race, but, uh, but quality win nonetheless in, uh, North Florida for them. And, um, tip your caps.

I mean, I, I bet on Jacksonville and I, you know, I wasn't on the right side, so, uh, we had, uh, the commanders pulling off the upset against the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rogers flailing on the, on the grass at FedEx Field after they finished, uh, looking like he was an absolute desperation and just his comments after the game were sour. We already touched on that. It's, it looks bad in Green Bay right now.

Commanders looked horrible up to that point, but I'll, I will say, Taylor Heineke gives that club a better chance to win weekend and week out than Carson Wins does. And they need to be willing to, uh, to continue with Taylor Heineke as their quarterback moving forward if they want to have any shot. I mean, I just think that guy, the energy that he plays with and, and the way that he gives his receivers a chance is far superior to anything that Carson wins can do.

Um, not saying the Commander's Club is, is anything special at all, but, uh, big win for Vikings Nation with the, uh, with the commanders coming away with the, the dub there, the Vikings won on their bi-week despite not playing. So an interesting one there in, uh, in Washington in the, in the nation's capital. And this, this, their defense is kind of starting to look, their defense line is playing really good right now. It's kind of starting to look like that Frisky team last year.

And when they get Chase Young back, they're gonna be, That's a frisky team. Yeah. I, They're better with Heineke. I, I, I, I think that, yeah, he Nicky's willing to take risk. Carson wins. He's always, you know, as late a conservative guy, that's not gonna win you ballgame when the talent isn't there. You have to take chances. Heinen's willing to do that. He's a gunslinger. Uh, you know, I, I think he's given him a little bit of a chance and I, I honestly wanna say that the Packers are dead.

Um, but I know, I, I feel like the second I say that, you know, it's Aaron Rogers, it's, you know, he hasn't, if they, if they lose in Buffalo, I mean in, I mean, especially if we win, I don't think that's an if. I don't think that's an if. Well then, I mean, they're dead then. Yeah. Okay. They're dead.

And the fact that the bills are favored by 11 and a half points next week, that was kind of just something, you know, the eye test when, when's the last time you've ever seen the Packers as Right? Double digit docs? Right. No, it's a great thing to see. It's a great thing. It's been a long time. It's been a long time. It was, Were you kinda shocked at that? Yeah, when I saw that, I was almost like, I need to take the packer seat, man. Right. But then it's like, they're actually bad.

They are bad. I know. I actually, I actually really like the bills minus the points and that one. Cause I think it's one of those, those games that you don't need to overthink. I don't think the Packers have the guys to go up to Buffalo and compete whatsoever in that game. I, I think they're gonna get their doors blown off in Buffalo. And I, I just, I don't see it from this Packers club at all. I don't like what's coming out of, of, you know, I'm come what's coming into the media from Green Bay?

Um, Aaron Rogers is pointing fingers already. He's kinda, he's kind of sounding the alarm bells. I don't like it. I mean, it surprised me that they're 10 and half point favorites, I guess. But, but not really because I think that's an accurate line. Um. So real interesting though. Real interesting though, bodes well for the Vikings. Um, we had a, another interesting outcome in week seven. Uh, the Panthers absolutely. I mean, they pretty much dominated the game against the Buccaneers.

Um, Tom Brady looks, looks lost, that offense, looks, uh, atrocious. You can't get anything going. Um, they have no excuses anymore either. There's, everybody's healthy, pretty much. Um, I don't really know what's going on there. It just doesn't look good. Um, yeah, and Carolina looked dead in the water, but somehow they, they come out and blast the Buccaneers as a 13.5 point underdogs. So, I mean, I was definitely shocked by that. But, uh, I'm not gonna die on the Buccaneers yet.

They play in a bad division. I'm not gonna sleep on them. That is already, they're still in a, they're still in a playoff spot as of now, you know, but Right. But you gotta, you gotta think that something's gotta give there, They gotta figure something out. Like this is, this is reckless right now. And, uh, they're, they're going into, or they're playing at home against Baltimore. They're, they're welcoming Ho the Ravens on a Thursday night game, short week.

It's, this is, uh, this is kind of one of those games. They gotta, they gotta do something here. Um, otherwise, I don't know. They might be dead too. I'm not, I'm not saying they're dead. They got Tom Brady, but, you know, Yeah. I mean, is, is the divorce age and the fact that half of his face is in the Cayman Islands, are, are those all starting to play effect? Um, you got Mike Evans potentially signing autographs. I know the NFL investigated that and said, No, he wasn't signing autographs.

What the hell is he doing? Uh, you know, they didn't release what was happening there. Um, the defense doesn't look great. Uh, I feel like most people would've thought that Carolina was gonna come out and probably lose by 50, considering they trade their, their cornerstone of the, of the organization. Christian McCaffrey, they've got a backup quarterback in who is an XFL quarterback two years ago. Um, but I. Something that we realize with the Jags.

I'm not saying that they're in any way a good team. They're not a contender. Um, You mean the Panthers? The Panthers. The Panthers, Yes. Yes, yes. Sorry. Um, Chba and Hubbard. Um, he's a legit running back. He was last year when CMC went down, he was good for fantasy. He was, you know, the Panthers still sucked last year, but he's a guy who can make a little bit of noise here and there. They've still got, you know, decent talent. So, you know, double dig spreads against decent teams.

I'm not saying if Buffalo rolled in there that I wouldn't take Buffalo by 12 to 15 points, but they're a team that can be, you know, upset, alert, same thing. You know, like you guys said, that division, it's wide open. The Saints are terrible. I don't think they're going anywhere. I think it's, it's still the Bucks Division to lose, but Atlanta is getting frisky. It's, it's tough to handicap teams that make a head coaching change. Right. Matt Woo gets canned.

They kind of come out and they play inspired football with Steve Wilkes, I think is the name of the new ball coach there, and it's, yeah, I don't know. Um, it's, it's good to see that they're not just rolling over or laying down. Um, but I don't, uh, they got talent on the defensive side of things. Yeah, I don't know. It's, uh, it's, it's just interesting. I think it's a indicator of how the NFL is playing out this year as a whole, in that a lot of teams are not what we thought they were.

And, um, you gotta give a team like that credit for, for coming out and, uh, finding a way to win that football game. Um, another win that was interesting to me was, and it was a statement, victory by the Seattle Seahawks going to Los Angeles and absolutely hammering the Chargers. Gino Smith plays another fantastic ball game. Pete Carroll tip your cap. I mean, I'm not a Pete Carroll guy. I think he, he chew enough bubble gum on the sidelines to sedate a horse. Uh, but, uh, give him credit.

Give him credit. He's got that club playing. Well, their defense looked, looked very good. I think it's, there's a lot to be said though. Uh, sound, the alarm bells for the chargers a little bit, just because, just because I mean it, the fact that you can't get anything going down the field with Justin Herbert, who's an elite quarterback, you know, it's, it's a little bit concerning. It's a little bit concerning what we're seeing out of the San Diego supercharges. Yeah, I, I agree.

It's, you know, I, I feel like going into the other chargers, one of the teams that I felt the most confident in to lock up a division, I don't think it's to blame on Herbert. I think, you know, he's doing what he can. He's passing a lot, they're giving him the opportunities and he's not great. He's not like last year, but he is still good enough to lead a team to enough wins. I think the defense is atrocious. Uh, Keenan Allen being absent, you know, hurt, whatever has been a huge factor.

Mike Williams can't carry that team. Uh, and Eckler is doing what he can, but I just, I'm almost willing to put them in the done category as well. Like, they don't look good. They're not a team that I can trust. Capping. Yeah. I mean, it's the same old chargers, right? Every year you think they're gonna be good since Phillip Rivers has been there and they just seem to choke. I think Zach Staley stinks. I don't think they have a home field advantage.

I still have, I still think Herbers a great young quarterback, but they're, they have enough talent on that team to, to be playing good football and they just haven't. And it's like, it's uh, Staley, right? Zach Staley, It's his second year now, right? So, or third year. It's not good. And I think Seattle, I think you make a good point. Camp tip your cap all season long. Really? I agree. They won the Russell Wilson trade. They didn't have to pay him. Is Ross a system quarterback?

They have some good young players on defense. They're scrappy. They still have, you know, they have that Kenneth Walker. Gene Smith's playing good football right now. I don't know. No, I think that I, I don't know that I would say that Ross is a system quarterback. I just think that like what he did in Seattle in the, in their times of success was like, roll out of the pocket, use his legs a little bit, make some off schedule throws, make some off schedule plays with his legs.

Uh, and they're not doing that in Denver. They, they can't really, they don't have the offensive line for it. They, they don't have the play makers for it. It's, you know, Denver kind of brought him in, expecting him to be a $250 million man and expect that he's gonna be a top five quarterback where you can drop him back in the pocket and he is gonna make plays. I just think that's not, they're not doing the right things with him.

I I, if they lose this week in, uh, in England against Jacksonville, I wouldn't be surprised to see Nathaniel Hackett gone already. And I know that's a, that's a wild thing to think, but, um, I don't think they've set this club up for success at all. I don't think that's crazy at all. I also think a lot to blame is on John Elway. Yeah, I mean the scouting is bad. Clearly Russell Wilson, he's trying to be like Tom Brady, like stand in the pocket, make throw own.

And it just doesn't, can't do that. That's not who he is. No, that's not who he is. He's like Russell Wilson, where he should just start, where his back is just turned to the play and then he turns around. He has people rushing at him, makes a miss, finds a guy to open down field. Yeah, and I mean, are they in the, in the territory of just abandoning this year, getting rid of Hackett? You know, Judy is rumored to be on the trading block, which we could see.

He's got brick hens in the red zone, like you guys mentioned last week. Cortland Sutton's not the X-factor. Melvin Gordon's bad. Latavious Murray is the brightest thing on that team. Aside from Russell Wilson and the defense, which the defense still, the defense is in bed in Denver. Yeah, they're, that's the only shining point there. So do they trade Judy for a draft pick? Potentially a 23 draft pick, Get somebody in there, young guy.

Do they wait for the off season, try and cut some people, free up some cap space and rebuild around rusts? Or is this, you know, kind of not this, I, I think John Elway was trying to recreate the Peyton Manning scenario where they bring in an elite veteran QB to lead them to the promise land and it's just not working out. No. And John Elway is a tobacco chewing son of a bitch. She's not gonna punt on this season. I think we'll see the 10. We'll see Denver win a couple games here.

I think if they lose this game in England to Jacksonville though, they are going to start making moves in there. Yes. They're gonna sell a little bit and you can, I think it's very understandable if they fire Nathaniel Hackett. Yes. Yes. Uh, yeah. I don't know. It's, uh, it's, it's tough. It's a bad situation, but no, you can't, you have to move forward.

Whatever they do, you have to move forward with the hopes that they can build something around Russell Wilson because they already paid him that money and a lot of it's guaranteed. So they're kind of stuck with that regardless. And uh, you know, if they move off of a certain guys this year, then that'd be one thing, but they're not gonna move off Russ. Like they, they're stuck with that.

So, Yeah. And, you know, to kind of get onto the game that I thought was interesting and, you know, you saying calling plays in, uh, Seattle for Russ Wilson, getting guys outside of the pocket, How about them bears? I know you were gonna mention the bears and, uh, congrats to your bears on the victory in Foxborough. It was a good looking win. And, uh, and, uh, but you know, I, I don't wanna discredit this.

I think the Patriots have a quarterback controversy on their hands, and I don't think it was handled properly going into that football game. I don't think they should have started Mack Jones in that one. I think if they were to start Mack Jones in that one, which they did, I thought they should have probably stick with him throughout the ball game. Get him, give him a chance to get his feet under him a little bit.

But if, if Belichick wants to make that move and go to the young, young guy, Bailey Zappy, who's looked, who's looked solid to this point, um, you gotta, you know, you can't be, you can't be on the fence with that when you're gonna make a quarterback move. You gotta be all in on it. And so I, But, but credit to the Bears. Yeah. They came out with a better offensive game plan and, uh, they executed. So Kane, go ahead and go on your Bears bit.

Well, the only, the only thing I was gonna say about the Patriots, uh, you know, it was sad that, uh, Belichick, he would pass George House with that one against the Bears in Foxborough. That would've been a pretty cool moment for him. And even as a football fan, um, seeing him pass Papa Bear, uh, I, I would've respected it. And that's kind of what I was expecting going into the game. Um, them not starting Bailey Zappy, regardless of Mack Jones, I think that was a blunder of a decision.

You know, he's been playing solid football for him. He's been giving him a chance, whereas earlier in the season, Mac Jones did not look good. Um, the bears looked great. I saw some beat writer tweet out that, you know, this should be the floor for the bears next year. Especially potentially bringing in more talent, them having low cap space, hopefully improving on the line. Um, honestly, I'm kind of pissed that the Bears won.

Um, I know that's kind of gonna gonna be a shock to some of you to hear, but this, this just drew me back into this season. It was a big win. It was a very, you know, solid win. Like they looked like an actual football team we were playing. It was a good play calling last week. We were talking about how terrible the Bears play, cos were trying to, you know, get Justin Fields to be a pocket passer when that's not what he did at Ohio State. He's an athlete.

He uses his legs, he creates space, he creates plays, and that's what we saw him do this week. I think the receivers stepped up. Uh, you know, Nicki Harry coming back from the IR didn't make too much noise, but I think that's a guy who's going to be a long term asset for the Bears. Um, the funniest thing I think I saw in the game is I saw a tweet and it was Sam Moser who's our center and it was I think like a rollout or something like that. And he was like blocking our own line.

It looked like he was, you know, he had something going on in his brain and he was running around trying to block our own lineman. But, uh, yeah, I'm kind of upset that the Bears won. I'm gonna be invested and I'm probably gonna start, you know, I think they're nine point dogs. Cowboys probably gonna take that and they're probably gonna lose by like 40. Congratulations. Great job by the Chicago Bears. I'm really happy you got to witness some winning football this year.

Justin Fields did look better, the offense looked much better. Everything we asked for, um, I don't think that Justin Fields is a pocket passer. I think that's what he struggled at at Ohio State. I agree. He's an athletic guy. I think they came out with a completely different game plan and the Patriots were not prepared for it cuz they hadn't shown it all year. And yeah, congratulations, really happy for you. Thank you.

All right, well let's jump ahead and, and look at week eight, the slate that we've got ahead of us for the National Football League. Um, some interesting spots here. Uh, we already mentioned, you know, Denver's got an absolute must win against Jacksonville. That game is being played in London and, um, absolute must win can overstate that. Uh, interesting games throughout the slate, though. A lot of close spreads. Um, New York Jets home dogs against the Patriots.

Uh, I don't know, have we not, have we not learned our lesson with the New York Jets on that one? Um, kind of interesting, I'm taking the Jets. I mean, is, is James Robinson gonna have an impact being traded there? Yes. Is he gonna, Yeah, is not, not to say that I care about like fantasy projections or anything, but he's still, you know, he's not projected to get like any, any touches compared to Michael Carter. Is he actually gonna have an X factor in that game? Are they gonna play him?

No, I, I mean, in this game you can't expect too much from him, but, uh, but, but long term you think he's a, he's an X factor for them. I mean, it's a good addition by the Jets. Um, at me as a Travis etn shareholder in Fantasy I'm, I'm hyped to see, uh, to see him move on in the Jags to realize who their number one tailback is.

But, uh, yeah, it's, uh, I just, I just think it's interesting that they're still dogs to a Patriots team coming off a bad loss and, um, the Jets playing, playing really good football. So, um, it'll be interesting there. That's a, that's a tough division, key divisional game. Um, we got the Oakland Raiders going on the road to, uh, New Orleans who has announced Andy Dalton as their starter. Again, Vegas is, uh, short road favorites at minus one and a half.

Um, could be another interesting spot there to, to look at. I like Oakland in that one. I think they're gonna start playing, uh, good football here. I like him a lot. I think they start streaking. I don't know if they're gonna make a run at it, but they're not This. They're just not, And I, I don't, I'm not a believer in the Saints at all. No, me neither. I, I like the, I like the Raiders in that spot. Yeah. I, I, that's a stay away for me.

But outright, I'd say the Raiders, uh, we got the Battle of the Keystone State, the Steelers and the Eagles Steelers going on the road to Philadelphia as 10 and a half point underdogs. I Steelers to keep that one close. They played a decent game in Miami. Um, Kenny Picket looks fine. I, I think that's a lot of points. I think the Steelers defense, if their defense plays like they should, that that game could be close. Yeah. I, that's, that's a tough one for me again too.

That's, that's another stay away like Philly Money line. A hundred percent. But, uh, especially with the newly acquired ex Bear, Robert Quinn. But, uh, you know, I, I think that's another hard game to call, like Pittsburgh's not as bad as I think they look on paper, but that's, I'm not gonna touch that. Vegas is not doing good on big spreads this year. I love the Steelers in this spot. I love them. Plus 10 and a half. That's too many points.

I think that Kenny picket, I'm not gonna lie to you, I kind of fuck with Kenny Picket. I like him. He, he throws a lot of picks. I mean, his last name, it's hilarious. He's electric to watch in general. I don't know how good he. He's kind of like, he kinda gives me that jewel lock, like he's just gonna chuck it down the field. You know, he's, he's pretty quick in the pocket. He releases it quick. I like them to cover. Yep. I like them to cover the points.

Um, they have fire power to win games and it's Mike Tomlin we're talking about here. You're telling me that that guy, if there's anybody that you'd want to go into Philadelphia and cover 10 and a half points. Yeah, I agree. I love that one ex. Yeah, I agree. Next one I'm looking at is, uh, the Giants, the G men sitting at six and one traveling across the country to, uh, face the Seahawks in a, uh, 3 25 start. It's, uh, the Giants are plus three on the road in Seattle.

Another interesting spread for, for the Giants, Um, let down spot for Seattle. I'm not sure, let down spot for Giants, I'm not sure. Tough one to handicap. I'm probably staying away, but, uh, I kinda like the Seahawks at home there to get it done. That's a tough one. That's a huge, that's a coin flip. And it says in the, uh, and it's not because I don't think that it's not, I don't think that that line is disrespecting the giants.

I think if I was a Giants fan, I'd probably think that, But what Vegas is basically saying is it's a pick or it's close to it. Yes, it's gonna be, that's gonna be a super, that might be the best game this. Was Saquon, Did Saquon play last week? Is he healthy? Yes. Yep. And I, I think 12 Men plays a factor there. You know, I know Seattle fans are still there. I think that's the test that the Giants haven't had on the road. I don't think they played in a hostile environment.

And kind of like you guys were saying earlier, you know, Gino's having a great year, incredible year. And I think that's a testament to Pete Carroll. I also hate him and his gum, chewing ass, but, uh, I don't know. That's, that's a hard one. You know, the giants have looked kind of legit that you're crafty, but is Pete Carroll's smarter than, you know, some crafty trick plays here and there in some boot legs? It's gonna be interesting.

I think it's gonna be a really well-coached game and it's a crossroads for both those teams. I just don't know if I can see the giants going seven and one, I agree that it doesn't pass the eye test. To me, it makes more sense to take the sea hawks there. I agree. Uh, and then, uh, we got a key NFC West matchup, uh, Rams and Niners. That's kind of a battle of, I guess, mediocre clubs. If, if, if it truly is what we say it is.

And you are what your record says you are in the, in the league, uh, to, uh, about 500 clubs in the Rams and the Niners. Short spread one and a half. It's, it's a, it is a toss up. It's a coin flip. I don't know. Um, and then we got Green Bay headed to Buffalo as we mentioned before as 10 and a half pointer dogs. I like, I like the bills a lot. I like the bills a lot. As we mentioned before, I just don't think the Packers have the guys to even compete in that ball game.

I think they are gonna get their, the breaks are gonna get beat off the packers in that one. Yep. I agree. Nothing else to say there. I like the under in that game because I think Buffalo is gonna dominate them on defense. I don't think it's at 48. I don't think that uh, Green Bay scores enough points in that one in Buffalo. I don't see it. Um, would you say, would you say that you like the bills if you're picking a side though? Yes. Yes. If I'm taking the under, then yes. Yeah. Yes, for sure.

Even if I'm taking the bills, I like the under. Right. Right. I also think I like the Niners. I know we kind of breeze over that and the Rams, but I, I don't think they were answer Owens McVey Shanahan owns McVey. Stafford is not himself. I know that the Rams are coming off by, They have an extra week to scheme. Yeah. Stafford probably shouldn't have been playing this year. The running back situation for the Rams isn't great. I know last week, you know the. The Niners lost to the Chiefs.

It's the Chiefs. Uh, we kind of called that last week, but cmc, getting into the group, getting to know the playbook. You know, I, I feel like the weapons in San Fran are just, you know, they're, they're kind of built there. The defense wasn't terrible against the Chiefs. It wasn't good, but I, I don't know. The Rams, they're, they're not the defending Super Bowl champs. They're not the same team as last year. No, I would agree with that. All right. All right.

So, uh, let's, uh, you wanna, you guys wanna get into our gambling corner? See if we can, uh, improve on last week. Let's try. All right, here we go. All right. Gambling corner boys. We're live. And, um, I'm gonna go back to the, well, all right, I'm gonna go back to college football. Uh, I know I've not been great. I like underdogs again this week. I'm sticking with that theme. All right? And like I mentioned before on the episode, I've got a play of the year. All right, Listen up.

Get your ears perked up. Play this the year number two, play of the year one, Number two in college football for me this season. And I'm going back to the, well, I am once again backing the same team that cash play of the year number one. And that's the Kentucky Wild Cats. All right? Plus 12 and a half on the road in Knoxville. All the hype is on Tennessee right now. Number three, ranked team in the nation, breaking out some nice black uniforms. Everybody's gonna be hyped in Knoxville. I get it.

It's a tough place to play, but here's the key. All right? It's a massive, massive look ahead spot for the volunteers as they are going to travel and face Georgia between the hedges next week. Okay? Will Levis and this Kentucky Club are no slouch? Okay, two scores is too many. I'm not saying Kentucky wins this game outright, but they're gonna give themselves a chance because they play good defense and they've got the offense to keep up if they need to, if it needs to be a shootout. All right?

I think Kentucky's defense will keep, um, Tennessee's offense at bay, at least a little bit here. It's gonna be, it's gonna be a one possession game down the stretch. All right? 12 and a half. Too many points. I'm going with the Kentucky Wildcats and Will Levis, who has emerged as probably your favorite to be the number one quarterback off the board in the nfl, uh, draft next year? I'm going with the, I'm going with the Wildcat. That's 12 and a half, ma'am. Lamar Raheem would not like that.

Neither would CJ Straud. Lamar Raim would, would not speak kindly to that statement, but go. I, uh, well, yeah, you know, you'd probably call me racist too, but, um, but here's the deal. Lamar, Lamar Raheem, we'd love to have you on the show, Brother, if you're listening. Oh yes. That would be a huge guest.

We we're gonna need to, we're gonna need some, uh, Cfb Guru on this podcast soon, cuz clearly we don't know what we're talking about, but, No, but I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this. I know what it, what it, what I'm talking about when it comes to the Kentucky Wildcats Club. Big spot for this team. Take the points with the Wildcats. Sprinkle the money line even. Um, because massive look at spot for the volunteers. I, I, I, I, It's just, it's just too big of a number.

Um, my next play is gonna be Washington State, right? They play tomorrow night, Thursday night. Thursday night home game in Pullman against the Utah Utes. All right. Coming off a big home victory against the USC Trojans. Let down spot screams, let down spot for the Utes. Washington State is a, uh, a team that you can't mess around with, especially when you travel to Pullman at night.

Thursday night game, prime time, uh, all eyes are gonna be on them cuz that's one of only three college football games on the slate. Tomorrow night, Pac 12. Thursday Night Football, Washington State at home plus. Plus seven for the Washington Cougars. I think that's too many points. I think Washington State keeps it close. I think Washington State comes away with the outright win. I'm gonna be taking 'em on the money line. Um, listen, I'm a believer in this Utah Utes Club. I really am.

I liked them last week against usc. They weren't able to cover, they were able to find a way to win that football game. They kept themselves alive in this PAC 12 race, but they just don't have it this year. They're a little bit undermanned up front on the defensive line. Secondary, didn't look that good last week against usc. I think that's where they can get exposed by Washington State. All right.

Washington State moves it through the air pretty well and when they're playing at home, man, it's a tough environment. Uh, I like the Cougars a lot there, plus seven. Um, so I'm, I'm taking that. And then my next one, it's gonna be a little bit off the beaten path here. All right, I'm going to the American Athletic Conference, The Temple Owls plus 13 and a half against, uh, the Navy mid, mid shipment, right? They're traveling on the road to Annapolis.

Navy hasn't shown me enough to be two score favorites against anybody. All right. I get it. It's a triple option. Everybody's gotta make adjustments when you play a triple option, right? I understand that. Kinda like the under as well in this one. But Temple. Has the firepower and offense to at least cover the spread in this one. Uh, 13 and a half. Too many points. I'll take the Temple Owls, I watched them play last week against at home, against, uh, Tulsa Club. They were able to cover.

It was the same number. Um, this time they gotta go travel on the road. And I just, I just don't believe enough in this mid shipment offense to, uh, to make me, make me believe that the owls can't cover that spread. So, um, I think Temple comes out, puts up a few scores early, and then is able to sustain that lead. I, I, I think Navy's secondary's a little soft, and, uh, Temple does just enough to, uh, to cover that spread there. Those are my three plays, man.

I'm not, I'm not giving you any extra fluff. I'm not telling you anything else. I'm trip fat on my card. All right. That's what I like. Those are my three plays. Let's go three and oh this week. I like the Kentucky play a lot. I'm not gonna have it on my three plays. I like it a lot. What scares me is sees uh, offense is so good that that 13 or 12 and a half, I mean, they could, they could win by, it could be a close game and they win by 14 points. That's where it scares me a little bit. Right?

Oh, I agree. I agree. Kentucky could be ba you know, it could be one of those games. Um, I'm just gonna go with my card here. I got the under 48 Bills and Packers. I don't think the Packers are gonna score enough points, uh, uh, against this Bill's defense. I mentioned it before, uh, then I had the Steelers plus 10 and a half. It's far too many points. I think Vegas struggles with big spreads and this is the spot where they, uh, they don't get it right.

Um, and then my last one is the under in the, uh, game one of the World Series. It's at six and a half. You got both ACEs going game one after, uh, a, a week or so off. I like the under there. Wheeler versus Verlander, right? Yep. Yeah, I like that a lot. So, I, I miss the beginning, but what, what were your guys thoughts on, uh, Vikings at home against the cards after a buy week, being able to prep minus four. It's scary. I like, I like 'em to, I like 'em to cover the number.

I, I mean, I, I like 'em to cover the number. I think they come outta the buy hot. I think they find a way to, to win that game by a touchdown. I mean, I'm not saying it's not gonna be close, but the number's a little short. It scares me that it's over the key number of three a little bit, because I could see it coming down to a field goal. But I like the Vikings. I think they're the better.

Yeah, I, you know, Cardinals, I've been riding them a lot on the Serrano play this year, but, uh, the Vikings minus four, I'm, I'm gonna back the opponents the enemy. I'm backing them four points. That's one of my picks right there. But I'm gonna pivot to college. You're backing the, the bikes. I'm backing the vis. I, I like it. You know, I, I'm still a believer in, uh, Kyle. Well that makes me feel good cuz he's hot right now, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, take that for what it's worth.

But, uh, you know, Kyler, Deandre, Robbie Anderson, I think they're gonna get him more involved in the offense. I don't think the Cardinals or anything on defense personally. I know we, not to rehash Vikings talk. I don't know if you guys have the same thing.

I don't think Cardinals, I think the defense is actually their, their strong point and it showed last week against the Saints and not, The Saints aren't a great club and Annie Dalton made some key mistakes, but I think that the, the, the Cardinals have at least some play makers on the back end of their defense there. I would, I wouldn't sleep on that. Yeah. But I think every team generally in the NFL has a couple plane acres on defense.

It depends if they stand out, if they show up on a week to week basis. And I don't think the Cardinals really had that, you know, Did they keep 'em in the game last week? Sure. But I just think the Vikings have a lot of weapons. I know I've kind of dogged on 'em this year. I'm still. Not fully convinced that the Vikings defense is elite to the point that it could carry them to the Promised Land. But don't get me wrong, the Vikings on offense are scary. Uh, Kirk is accurate. He's very efficient.

Delvin is playing great. You have a great red zone guy with Madison who can just, you know, power it through. Not to say Delvin can't, OBJ looming potential signing not to get ahead of anything. But, uh, I do like the Vikings minus four. That is one of my picks this week. But I want to get over to college football. And some of these are kind of gag picks. Um, NC State at home against vtech over 39 and a half, that number looked way too low to be a college football game.

To me, that's, that's low for an NFL Monday night football game, apparently for the Bears against the Patriots. Um, neither team is great against the over, uh, vtech one and six, NC State three and four. But I mean, I just think like right there, it's, it's one of those eye test things. NC State favored by 14 points at home, 39 and a half. I think the over is almost a shoe in there. I know you touched on the Utes at Wazu. Um, again, Wazu not a good over team. The Utes are over 55.

I'm not gonna predict an outcome there. I kind of like the youths to cover. Um, but 55 points, I feel like that game can be a shootout. Uh, Wake Forest minus four at Louisville. I, I'm surprised I didn't hear that. Outta U Cam. You've been one of the biggest Wake Forest supporters that I've seen in modern day. Uh, so I'm, I'm, I'm kind of on the GMA Deacons the most. Why, why don't you like them this week? Cam, why is that Line four? I I, it's a little bit scary.

I mean, it, it's a, it's a must win game for Louisville. Seems like a little bit of a trap spot. If I have to pick a side. I definitely like Wake Forest. I mean, it's just, you know, Louisville plays better at home. I I didn't necessarily do that much of a deep dive into that one. Uh, may or may not take the demon deacons, but, uh, yeah, go ahead and I'll let you finish King. Yeah, I mean, Wake Forest is six and one against the spread. They're, I think they're playing great football.

Uh, they're blowing out teams that they should, and they're even winning against some teams that, you know, debatably, they shouldn't. They, they were dogs against Florida State a couple weeks ago and they pulled that out by 10 points. Yeah. Um, covering the spread against a great Clemson football team. I, I just think four points for the demon deacons, albeit on the road, is a little too small. What time is that game at? Love that, that 2 30, 2 30 kickoff. Weird game. I like that.

I'm adding that to my card for sure. Hi, I'm adding that to my card for sure. Uh, another, I've got, I've got two more college plays, um, since C minus one on the road in ucf. Um, I know we're all probably still kicking ourselves about the SMU blunder, um, against UCF a couple weeks back that we got to, you know, kind of commentate live on the pod, um, since he I think is a good team. Um, they're not great, but one point against a team that's not really an FBS team. Yeah, I like it.

Yeah, the, since he minus one there, and then this is, this is my last playing again. It's kind of a gag one, but it was just a funny line to see Northwestern Epi Iowa Haas. Yeah. We hate Iowa. Love that. Under 37 and a half points. I'm not, I'm not taking a side. I think I saw a stats. You're gonna take the under, I'm taking the under. I think I saw a stat this week that Iowa has only scored, They, they haven't scored more than one touchdown in a game.

Well, the, Well then, so why don't you like the Northwestern Wild Cats plus 11? I don't think Iowa should be favored by two scores against anybody. No, no, I, That's a fair point, but actually that's a very fair point. Um, so but Northwestern take, you take the, if you take the under, you might as well take the points too. Yeah, but I mean, what's a tough one? I think I was gonna win 30. Nothing. No, no shot, No, they're gonna win. The gonna be ten seven.

I just think Northwestern should be kicked outta the Big 10. They don't play the brand of football. They're brainiacs. They should go over to some Ivy League. You know, there, there's some smart kids over there, they can't play football. Um, so that was kind of a gag. Um, getting into the NFL already talked about the vis minus four. Love that. I absolutely love the Dolphins minus three and a half in Detroit. Um, it might be a trap.

The lions played terrible last week and I think the week before, that's not the top scoring offense that we've seen through week five. I don't think their defense is gonna be able to compete there, regardless of if their offense puts up the points. And I'm on Ross St. Brown has a bounce back week cuz he killed me in fantasy last week. I don't care. I do not think that they can keep up with Tua Rahe Most or Tyre Waddle apparently Gee is on the trade block and he might be out of there.

But regardless, three and a half points in Detroit. I don't think that's a big thing to cover. Um, in London, I do like Jacksonville. Um, I know it's a hot seat game for Denver, but I do like the Jags there. The Jags, I think they played the most games in London out of any NFL team. So they do kind of have a home field advantage there in my opinion. That's, that's kind of the research I've done Two points. I think they. They should come out with that.

Um, Tennessee minus two and a half in Houston. Houston's not good. Tennessee's also not good, and I don't bet on bad clubs like John, but, uh, Tennessee, two and a half. I like that. Um, and my lock of the week, so, so just to lock this in, put my plays Minnesota minus four, Miami minus three and a half. And my final lto, I'm three and oh in l October, by the way, boys to close out a perfect lto, fingers crossed since E minus three and a half at the dog pound in Cleveland.

Um, I think since he kind of found a rhythm last week, um, they're not a bad team. And you know, I think Cleveland is a bad team. So three and a half points there. I've loved the Bengals. Those are my, those are my place. Is Aman raw playing? I believe so. Is he? Yeah. Okay. I, I like, I like the, I like the fins even more. All right, well, uh, let's hope for a better week and, uh, let's hope we can, uh, we can replicate what Kane it did last week. And, uh, like I said, I'm trying to trim fad.

I'm trying to give you plays that I love and I'm not gonna over overthink this. I love the Kentucky Wildcats, My play of the year number two, and. I'm just, I'm knocking overthink that. I, I really do. So, best of luck to you guys this weekend and we got college hoops looming. Um, we are going to be recording our college hoops preview episode this Sunday. Um, and excited to get that out to you guys. And then, um, so you guys want to, did you guys have Twitter bits for this week? Sure. Shit did.

All right. All right. I'll start, I'll start it off with my Twitter. Bit of the week last I can by me, but triggered on video that I saw. Um, I dunno, this video came out of, but it is, it is absolutely gold, right? Some dude, some jackass with a purple Dodge Challenger gets picked up for parking illegally, probably outside of his condo. And that thing's getting picked up on, on the, on the hook. It's getting hooked by a tow truck and it's getting moved away by a tow truck.

Tow truck's moving at about, I don't know, 20, 25, 30 miles an hour. And the guy hops into his challenger. Through the driver door while it's on the tow truck. Right. Fires the thing up and absolutely hammers. Pedal to the floor and zips it straight off of the tow truck. Probably did some damage to his bumper there. Skirts off. I don't know what happened. I'd love to see the finish to that, but the guy got away seemingly and uh, and it gets away in his challenger. Hilarious video.

It was a great video. It looked like, it looked like Grant, that photo. So that's what it looked like. Yeah, it did. It looked fake. It looked fake. It was, The camera was a little fuzzy from the back of a tow truck. But yeah, good stuff. Good stuff. Yeah. I love to see people just acting reckless. Like it's like it is a video game, like it is gta. Yes, a hundred percent.

Um, my Twitter bit is, Did you see that video of the kid Look it up right now, Kane, it's a video of a kid and he's doing K food training, and it, he's got this blog on his back and he's standing on like two stones and he's just crying. I mean, this kid's gotta be two years old. How old do you think that kid is? Seven. What? He's, he can't be older than seven years old. No, no. It's just like, but you know what? Be a good catcher in the Little League World Series got a good angle.

That's, that might be what he's training for. He may be a Chinese Taipei backstop, he might seem, in the League World series. You see this kid fighting in the ufc, the grit this kid is showing is unmatched. It's incredible. Look at 'em. It's, yeah, it's something else. Um, yeah, so that's my Twitter bit. Yeah, I, it was a dry week on my feed. Um, so I'm going with something that's, the caption is literally, I'm speechless.

It's some chick trying to do like a Twitter trend and or not, not Twitter, TikTok. And she just starts, like, she's got a butcher knife in her hand. She starts just stabbing through the air. So we've got a trigger warning. I'm gonna put a trigger warning on this before you guys see it in vote, but I, She's 17. Yeah. She, she's just going like this through the air.

Like Mike Myers on his next victim on Jamie Lee Curtis And, uh, at C 17, dude, it, she, she just sticks it straight above her eyebrow. And the thing, the thing for me, I don't know if you guys did any other research in the comments, but somebody slowed down the video. And showed, they stopped in the video where the knife like went into her forehead and it's in there like an inch, like an inch of the blade is just chunked into her forehead. So trigger warning.

But in the spirit of Halloween, uh, it's, it's a great grotesque and kind of funny just seeing how stupid people are. And careless, she had poor knife skills. She's never watched a knife skill video on YouTube. What do you know about knife skills? Dude, I've watched plenty of knife skill videos after Hannah and I moved in and she said I was terrible and would take an hour to chop a carrot. So I've watched countless numbers of hours to form my knife skills and a lot of Gordon Ramsey videos.

So I, I'm the in-house expert in knife skills. I wanna, I wanna see videos of your knife skills posted on Twitter, right? Haven't seen those. Instead of beer tweets, I'm gonna transition a knife. Skill tweets. Yeah, We'll see how good you are. I'll show you a butterfly knife. Yeah, I'll be the judge of that All right. A butter knife, All right, well, another great week guys. Um, thanks everybody for tuning in. Uh, we'll wrap it up there. It's been a long one. Um, shout out to Donnie Sands again.

Great to have him on the podcast. Great to hear his story. Uh, his. His lengthy process to get to the, uh, to the, to the MLB this season. Um, really fantastic. Uh, a friend of the show, uh, a true, uh, a true success story, right? And it's not finished by any means, but, uh, but the fact that he's able to get to the Major League baseball after seven years in minor leagues is, uh, is a testament.

And, you know, the, the name of this show is Voyage, and I think that symbolizes a little bit like it's more important the journey as opposed to where you begin or where you end up. And as cliche as that might sound, it's true. And, uh, to hear his story is incredible and impeccable timing with the Phillies headed to the World Series Game one on Friday night. So shout out to Donnie Sands for, for, uh, taking the time to come and be with us on Voyage. And, uh, thank you guys for another episode.

Great work. Let's have a excellent week in college football and on the NFL lines. As I mentioned before, we got a big college hoops episode releasing soon, and we're excited to share that with you guys. And we're gonna start, uh, releasing our college hoop. Podcast as a separate episode to this one weekly where we recap and look ahead to, uh, College Hoops, um, the college Hoops, hoops landscape, uh, throughout the season.

E excited for that to get going and, um, and, uh, we're gonna start up our, our website soon as well, along with that, where we're gonna have blog posts and, um, merchandise available for sale and all things like that. So everything's looking forward with Voyage Man. Uh, the Wind is at our sales and, um, Cheers fellows. It's been an absolute privilege again. And, um, yeah, we'll look forward to, uh, talking with you guys on Sunday when we record that, uh, College Hoops episode.

Could I add one more, one more thing on the way out? Yep. So, uh, in spirit of Halloween, it's a spooky episode we're giving right here. Do you guys have any parties and what are you going as No. Okay. Thanks. John Mill, brother. Okay. Okay. I, I'm rather, I'm, I'm Battening, I'm battening down the hatches and I'm researching college hoops all weekend. I don't want it time for, I don't have time for Halloween. What are, what are you doing?

Uh, we're, we're going to a party on Friday and uh, I will be impersonating Inspector Clue. So, and Hannah is the Pink Panther. So I'm wearing a trench coat and a beret and people will probably think I'm just a flash. Cute. Yeah. Thanks. That's cute. Just thought I'd ask you guys your points. Was that Hannah's idea? We went back and forth for a while. And what did you want? Uh, I, I don't even remember. I was giving out dumb stuff.

She wanted to go like the sandlot route, you know, the classic stuff that's been overdone. Top Gun because I have a mustache. A moose stash. You should have done Jeffrey Dahmer. I haven't, I haven't seen it in no spoiler alerts. That would've been hilarious. Well, might have been a little too far. Why? Yeah. Bad timing too soon. It happened, 1991. And he was a Packer fan? Well, yeah, he was wearing a green and gold. 12 jersey. No, it would've been a, a Sterling Sharp Jersey. 84 at, at that time.

1991. Yeah. Some people called him Nore Dames of this time. And he was wearing a 12 Jersey You don't know shit. All right boys. Well, uh, fantastic. Fantastic. Once again, Skull Vikings. Let's get another win coming outta the bi week and, uh, Cheers. We'll talk to you guys next week. Skull, Skull, baby. Peace out.