This episode is brought to you by Unstoppable. Discover the inspiring true story about Anthony Roebliss, who defined every expectation to become a national wrestling champion, and Unstoppable, a new original movie from Amazon MGM Studios and director William Goldenberg, evoking the excitement and camaraderie of classic sports dramas and thrilling wrestling matches. Unstoppable features an all star ensemble cast including Jireel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheatle, Michael Pania, and
Bobby Canavali. Watch Unstoppable now exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
All right, welcome in What Right with Nick Wright? Episode two fifty one, little late start today. That's my fault. Apologies for that, so let's get right to it. Here's what missed the cut? Just an objectively bad haircut from Joe Burrow, a bat like the buzz cuts. One thing. I don't really love that photoshop of me. I gotta be honest, but the M and M platinum blonde is way worse. Diduh you know what? But it does allow Coco Golf is gonna be a flag bear alongside Lebron
and the NBA picks. Amazon over TNT. I'm gonna tell you something de Monsey you don't know real quick, uh, and then we'll get into the show. I forgot about this and then just remembered when I saw that picture of me. I think my junior or senior year of high school. We you know what, in my senior year, we were all shaving our heads, everyone on the basketball team. When I say shaving our heads, I mean bicking like stone bald all the all the senior basketball players were
doing it. So right before the season got going was Halloween, and so I went as Eminem for Halloween, and I dyed my hair like Joe Burrows is, and of I have a vivid memory, vivid memory of I Also, god, I was such an idiot. But nineties kids will get this. In the nineties, it didn't matter how nice your car was. What mattered was did you have subwoffers in the back? Did your trunk like rattle from the base of the music you were listening to, like you the that is
what that is what defined it. Did you have a good amp, did you have a couple of twelves? Whatever it is? And I had big subwoofers in the back, and then also a light. God, I would have hated me as a teenager, A red, white and blue like little light in my back window that according to the beat of the song with light up via vibration. All right, so I give it a bet it was really hitting it with it would flash whatever. So we are driving
to a Halloween party high school. I am wearing an all the Lord jumpsuit, which I still would wear to this day, bleach blonde hair, and probably some fake jewelry as part of the costume. I'm driving and my light is like for a couple blocks, malfunctioning and flashing, flashing email. The music's not playing crazy, like, what is going on? I then realize my light is not malfunctioning. I have had a cop trying to pull me over for blocks, but I've been driving thinking it's my own light, the red,
white and blue whatever it is. I then pull over and I just remember this police officer coming to my window. I'm just an idiot teenager dressed like eminem with freshly dyed hair, and as best he can tell, I have been evading him for blocks. It's like what He's like, did you not see me trying to pull you over? And I'm like do I explain to him that I have almost assuredly an illegal light in the back of
my car, or do I just fall on the story here? Uh, that's really apropos of nothing, except I try to every time that you've aged out of this, but now your sister is aged into it. Every time one of my kids does some a dumb teenage thing that just infuriates me, I try to remind myself of those types of moments,
like how did my mom. I don't remember how my mom reacted when I came home at midnight that night she saw I had dyed my hair and I told her, oh yeah, By the way, I got a ticket for something, and included on the ticket was like failure to yield or pull over whatever, the violation of not evading pulling vaide. I don't think it was evading. I don't think they wrote me up for like, you know, fleeing. But it was something, all right. So that that's the best thing
to come out of Joe Burrow's ridiculous hairstyle. Is I got was reminded of and told that story? All right, pal let's get to some football here.
So let's check on our NFC title contenders. Shall we. Yeah, so we got Dallas had that awful offseason. CD is holding out and they still need to extend Dak Prescott. The forty nine ers had you demanded trade a while ago, they didn't do that. Now Trent Williams is holding out and reports are saying that hurts and Sirianni's relationship is a work in progress. Whose problems of those do you think are the worst?
Well, I think they're all bad, man. So the Niners are in the best shape, but the Niners have two of their best players not there. And I listen, I talked about this on the show yesterday, so we're gonna spend a lot of time on this opening topic. So
I want to start with the Niners. So I just kind of did a cursory list in my head and then on the show yesterday of skill positioned studs on your team, of you know, the best quarterbacks are teams that made the playoffs, So the running back, wide receiver, tight end last season? How many A you know, a A A plus type of guys does did your team
have last year? So like, here's a guy that gets a lot of credit, demonse, your guy Jordan Love had zero zero guys that were definitive stars last year at wide receiver, tight end or running back, and they still made the postseason. A bunch of quarterbacks had just one. Mahomes had, Kelsey, Dak had cd CJ. You could say had zero. Nico I think edged into that group, but it's close, and I'm you know, Lamar only had Mark Andrews really and then he got hurt, right, Yeah, A
few guys have two. Joe Burrow, I know he was hurt last year, but as Higgins and Chase Uh, you could say the Jalen Hurts has A J and Davante this year maybe three if you include Saquon in that group. Purty, of course, last year, had four in Cimac, Kittle, Deebo and Ayuk, Which is what makes the Niners not trading Ayuk so curious to me, because even if they had now,
I understand why they didn't. Won't don't want to trade him now because anything they get from him now won't help you this season, but it would help you in If you had done it before the draft, you would still have a bit of an embarrassment of riches. You'd still have an excellent wide receiver, a top three tight end in the best running back in football. But I'm not trying to have a long party conversation right now.
I think they understand what that quarterback needs. Another guy who made the playoffs and had two absolute studs but still just two is tua in Tyreek and Waddle and then good players other places. But they're not gonna trade Ayuk, and Ayuk's canna end up coming back, whether he gets paid more or not. Trent Williams is a trickier one. Trent Williams might be the single most important player on the team because the rest of the offensive line isn't great.
He is the best tackle in the whole sport. And Trient's I think, thirty six years old and still amazing. And he yeah, he is thirty six years old? Is that right? No? Man? Yes, he turned thirty turn yeah, turned thirty six last week actually, and understands he's probably not going to get another contract because he has three years left on this deal, so he wants more money now. I think they have to flinch when it comes to
Trent Williams. So I think the Niners will be okay for this season, but they're in an interesting spot moving forward. Dallas objectively horrifying offseason lost multiple offensive linemen, did not address the running back position, have not gotten deals done with any of their three best players, their star defensive player, their star wide receiver, and their franchise quarterback. And Jerry said he wanted to wait for more leaves to fall.
The only really leaves left are his own guys. And you are now staring at Micah expecting thirty five million a year because Nicki Bosa makes thirty four CD expecting thirty five million a year because that's what Justin Jefferson makes, and Dak's gonna and Dak is going to not sign for a dollar less than sixty million a year, which to me means they're not going to be able to keep all three. And so for this year they'll have all three again. A lot of the for the Niners
and Cowboys, the issues aren't about this season. They're about what it means down the road. Because the Niners are gonna have I think, this whole team together for this season. The Cowboys are gonna have this whole team together for this season. They're their issues for this season. The Cowboys are not addressing running back. How you know do they have is the center position. Take care of those things.
The Eagles. The stuff is concerning the Diana Russini report demase that said Sirianni and Jalen Hurt's relationship is a work in progress. This is Sirianni's fourth years the head coach. Jalen's been the starting quarterback the whole time, like the the let me tell you this right now, any relationship that four years in your leg is a work in progress. That's just what it's gonna be. It's not all of it. Like listen, those first four years we didn't really like
each other. But let me, I mean, that's not that. And so it's a weird spot. And they have very different personalities, and in my opinion, the different personalities can work if the roles were flipped, if the braggadocious, over the top guy is the player and the reserved, cool, calm collections. I'm not saying Sirianni's the problem necessarily. What I'm saying is you don't have to have the same
personality to get along. But what is very tough is if the one who's the more flamboyant the wrong word but kind of in your face live wire, that needs to be the player role, not the coach role. And so you know, so I under say it's not coach quarterback, but Travis Kelcey Andy Reid have a similar dynamic of Sirianni and Hurts, but the roles are reversed. Yeah, Andy Reid's the stoic, you know what I means, his mind right,
but it's but it can work in that situation. And so I think that folks need to remember the Philadelphia Eagles from Week one to the end of the year last year were a bottom five defense. You then add to it that the offense seemed to somewhat fall apart over the final month and half of the year. They lost six of their final seven games, and in that
playoff game it looked like they quit flatly quit. So all of this is really a preamble to why demonse I think I'm picking the Bears to win the NFC because there isn't There is not a clear cut end boss they have to get through. There are big issues with every known quantity team. The other team that comes to mind is the Rams, But the Rams might have suffered the single biggest loss of any team in the league this offseason with Aaron Donald retiring like that can't
be it. It's it's not looked at the same as if Aaron I feel like if Aaron Donald had left the Rams to go play for the Texans, that when we talk about the Rams, there would be more discussion about, oh, and they lost Aaron Donald. But because he retired and he's out of the league, I just don't think it's at the front of people's mind. And I get he was not still peak Aaron Donald, but what he was was at worst, at worst the third best player in the league at his position, and some would argue he
was still the best. Some people think he was still better than Chris Jones. Uh, and so he's probably the second best he tackle in the league. That guy leaves and so I So I like the Rams a lot, but there's a yeah, but there there's no one in the NFC South that I is a legitimate Super Bowl contender. I don't buy Atlanta like that. That then does leave the two other NFC North teams, the Lions and the Packers.
The Packers were a nine win team last year, so the gap between them and Chicago wasn't as great as it is in our mind's eye, and that Obviously, Chicago made massive upgrades this offseason. Now the Packers upgrade was they're so young, everyone got better, and then there is Detroit and maybe it'll be Detroit. But the teams that are kind of the NFC standard bearers the last few years all have real yeah butts about them, which is why it could be which is why it could be a weird season.
Did you predict the Bears to go eleven and six in twenty twenty two?
I mean possibly, so I'm not sure. I can't tell you the exact record prediction. I do the Daniels saying yes in twenty twenty two or twenty twenty three. Are we talking about two years ago or last year? Guys cut the okay? So two years ago?
Uh?
Yeah, so I think I was that was, Oh that makes sense, Yeah, because I thought justin Fields, if let me see if I have this right, Bears, the that was I think the Bears were coming off. I'm gonna look this up exactly. Uh not that it's a super relevant. Yeah. So the Bears had what they had gone to the playoffs in twenty twenty. The next year was was that Field's rookie year? Yeah? I think so? Where they kind of ripped everything down. And then that year I thought
Fields was gonna take a jump. Instead they won three games, So yeah, I mean that was and they ended up I think, well, they had the number one pick of the draft. Yeah. So I've been high on the Bears incorrectly in the past, but this this is a little different situation where they added Roma Dunes, they brought in Caleb Williams. They're coming off seven wins.
So those of the n the NFC contenders that we talked about initially, like Dallas, San Francisco, and uh, who's the team in Philly? Does any of those those mishaps bring you more joy than one of the others.
No, none of it brings me joy. I'm a positive guy. I don't root for team's downfall. I there there are certain teams that I think need their come up ince and I thought that. I thought Philly whining about the turf in the Super Bowl consistently and then Sirianni yelling at Chiefs fans after that regular season win. I thought that was, you know, they they deserved their come up and as I said, and they got it by executing one of the greatest collapses in NFL history, the cowb
I feel badly for Cowboys fans at this point. They win twelve games every year. I bought into him last year and then they they just expect the playoff collapse and I got listen. I think the Niners. I think Kyle Shannan's a brilliant coach. I think they're an incredibly well run team. Niner fans don't like me because I won't fall for the okie oak on brock Perty the way I wouldn't fall for the okie oak on Jimmy Garoppolo,
and people get mad about that. Now, Purty's better than Garoppolo, but it's it's as if we haven't seen these exact beats before, and so we'll see if I end up being wrong with it. I don't really root against any of these teams. I'm getting close to rooting against the Bengals because of Jamar Chase, but I like Joe Burrows so much that's gonna be hard.
To wait, what but the because of what he said on the top one hundred things like what are you talking about here?
It's yeah, I mean, it's just a lot. It was Jamar the whole Bengals. It started with burrowhead and then it's the Joe Burrow says is handles it properly. I Jamar is and I as as recently as a year ago, I would argue Jamar I used to argue Jamar Chase might be the best receiver in the whole league. I think he's a brilliant player. They irritate me a little bit, but I'm not rooting against them.
Uh.
And Bill's fans again, I have nothing against Bill's fans. A lot of the Bill's stuff is just it's really media criticism more than anything else. It's it's about an premature or anointing, and it's about the the double standards of things. But I don't you know, I mean, well, you know what. I take it back. I do root against the Broncos. Is that team ruined my child old and uh and I am not a John John Elways want to, as far as sports goes, one of my
most disliked athletes and executives of my lifetime. So them going through these struggles does bring me joy. But that's just a Chiefs Broncos rivalry, nothing else really so much. All right, let's go to Rogers.
All right? So, uh, Aaron Rodgers. Let's let's take a listen to what he had to say about his unexcused absence. Quick side.
You know, I'm an adult. I knew what I was getting into, I knew the find that was coming, and also knew how much I wanted to be to be in Egypt. I wish there hadn't been a conflict scheduling wise, but you know, it was what it was.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Pyramids and Egypt aren't going anywhere obviously. Aaron Rodgers what he should have been a practice. How soon do you think the Jets were regret getting into the Aaron Rodgers business?
I mean midway through this year when they realized that they they put everything about their franchise in this guy's hands and football is just one of his interests. And in general that can work and that can be okay, but it can't work for quarterback savior when it's just And I thought he handled that press conference fine. I thought he was uncharacteristically honest and a given credit for that, but it was telling when he was like, listen, I had a choice to make, and I chose the other thing.
But my actual if I were a Jet fan, thank god, I'm not. Here is the thing that I would be most unnerved by the T shirt he wore going into training camp. Did you see it? Demanse? So he wore, Okay, we've got it right there. It's an Egyptian cat. It's a little it's it's it's it's just if you do get the image Egyptian cat, that's what comes up. So here's why, right, it's uh, it's it's just a little reminder needle of who's in charge. And so it's just
it is an odd choice in my opinion. And I know folks think I'm too hard on Aaron and I don't even know if we spent time on this show when he did the thing on pardon my take when he was like, well there's you know, words or funny things they mean different things, trying to change the definition of mandatory, which was such an odd choice to make when like mandatory just like words do mean certain things, and mandatory means mandatory like obligatory. You've got And so
that part I didn't love. But it he is operating as if he is still a superstar, and I don't think he is. We'll see, but I think right now, because people the big question I have or A big question people ask me is what you know, what do I dislike about the Jets? How do I not like their roster? And I think they have an outstanding defensive roster,
and I think they have a decent offensive roster. And if it were Madden and we turned all injuries off, I would say their offensive roster is good, because it's not. And you have to bake in injury history with guy. That's why I call it a decent offensive roster because when a few of your biggest acquisitions are historically consistently injured players, take rogers out of it. I'm not gonna give you seventeen games for those guys like Tyron Smith
and Mike Williams. But my biggest concerns with Number one concern with the Jets is I think they have a bottom five in the NFL coaching staff. I think that is a fair reading of the situation. I think they have a front office that we have no reason to believe knows what it's doing, as evidence by the fact that they traded for Hassan Reddick because and the reason so bres Hall, Bryce Hall. I get these two players once or well there's two, here's The problem. Breece is
the running back. Bryce is the pass rusher. The problem is they both were on the Jets.
Like bree I think the.
Hold on and I'm gonna get this all wrong. Breece is the running back, that's right. But the guy who signed with the Eagles in the offseason for a bunch of money, Bryce Hoff. That's it. So this is what's so confusing. Sorry, Breece Hall. Breece Hall is the running back for the Jets. Am I getting this right? Breece Hall is the running back for the Jets. Bryce Hall is a corner I think for the Bucks. Bryce Hoff
was a pass rusher for the Jets. It's confusing. I apologize, But now that I have this name right, this story will make more sense. I think both. Actually I think there's actually a Bryce Hall in the NFL and a media personality, neither of whom are relevant to this conversation. Oddly, neither was Breece Hall. I was trying to say Bryce Hoff.
So the Jets had Bryce Hoff their pass rusher. The Eagles signed him in free agency because Hassan Reddick, who was there designate pass rusher, wanted a contract extension and they didn't want to give it to him. The Jets then traded for Hassan Reddick, and Hassan Reddick is now holding out of Jets camp the way he was going to hold out of Eagles camp because he doesn't have a contract extension and the Jets are leaking to you know, favorable local media. It was a misunderstanding. That's a poorly
run team. If you trade for a player and think he's going to report without you giving him a contract extension, and then he you don't give him a contract extension and he doesn't report, that's a bad front office. I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that's a bad for an office. That's a bad That is the type of mistake a bad front office would.
Uh.
That's one of those things if you don't wanna when I started a quick sidebar and then I'll get back to the Jets. When I first started on the radio. Uh, I remember one of my bosses telling me this, Gosh, at this point fifteen years ago, don't criticize people, criticize actions. I'm like, what do you mean. It's like, well, don't don't say someone's dumb. Say doing X was dumb, That was dumb, you know, what I and don't say, uh, you know, try not to say this person is a liar,
say this was a lie. Like those are the kind of distinguishing things. And the way that I because I didn't really like I I that I've never liked being told what to say, even and if you even and if I wasn't going to say what you're telling me not to say, it really bothers me that you either think I don't know not to say that or you think you can, you know, like basically not censor but
guide what I'm gonna say. And so the way that I took that little coaching moment was if I thought, what I would go with was this turn of phrase, which was I'm not saying this person's dumb, but they do a lot of things dumb people do. And so I'm not saying the Jets front office is poorly run, but there are a lot of decisions they make that mirror exactly what a poorly run front office would would make. So I think they have bad coaching staff. I'm questioned
about the front office. And then here's the other thing. I do not think the Jets have above average quarterback play, and that is what it's gonna come down to. And that's not about Aaron being injured. It's about the fact that two years ago, Aaron was dead average in the NFL. Not by Aaron Rodgers standards, by NFL standards. His last year with the Packers, he was a league average quarterback. Now he's two years older, off in Achilles with a
worst coaching staff. So I think they're going to have a round the sixteenth seventeenth best quarterback play in the league this year, plus a bad coaching staff, and all of a sudden, that's how a team that thinks they can win the Super Bowl wins eight or nine games.
You think that he was ranked above Prince, the Prince that was promised on the top NFL one hundred.
I mean they were so close. It was ninety four to ninety two. To me, that's essentially equivalent ranking. I think that, Listen, the Prince has a lot to proved this year. I think the Prince will have a better year than Aaron.
I would say, yeah, he's a big year.
Is a big year for Trevor, There's no doubt about it. Listen, I'm I'm not gonna I in my opinion, Trevor Lawrence's story is quite easy to understand. By year two in the NFL, he was excellent, executed one of the greatest playoff comebacks ever, took that momentum and then lost to
Patrick Mahomes, who everyone loses to in the playoffs. Then took that momentum into the next season, was eight and three, had his team on Monday Night Football, the Jacksonville Jaguars, playing for the one seed midway through his third year in the league, and then suffered three consecutive awful injuries in the season. Philipart, that makes a ton of sense to me. I know a lot of folks think, no, actually, the guy just stinks. Just he just was. It was
make believe for three years at Clemson. I don't know how people could that second year in the league and the playoff comeback whatever. But yes, you're right, demansay he has a lot to prove this year. All right, let's move on.
So, yeah, after the show on Tuesday, you auditioned to be a US Open ball boy. Uh didn't go your way. It seems like you might have hobbled away even are you gonna make any excuses for your performance? How do you feel about it?
No, I thought I did great. I don't think I got the job, and I didn't go into it one hundred percent, but I did everything that was asked of me. I clearly showed the intellectual capability of understanding because it's different jobs. There's back, there's net. You have to understand. You really have to know tennis because you have to know waight. Was that a fault? Was that a point?
Where does the ball go? You gotta be on your feet, and man, it's ninety minute shifts, the ninety minutes off and yeah, I mean listen, first things first is going to publish the video, and you're gonna see me gallantly fighting through multiple injuries. I don't know why you're laughing despite the injuries. I you know I did. I played tennis for like an hour before that was probably a mistake. I then went through a full hour training session, and
then after that there was the actual tryout. So by the time we got to the tryout, my jet ski back injury was really bad and I could tell I was this close to monse to a torn left hamstring. I could feel it, I could feel it going, but I didn't want to quit. I particularly did not want to quit when this happened. So there were thirty four people auditioning this outworks fourteen hundred, tryout hundred, make it one hundred, make it of the fourteen hundred and summer.
And so they have different tryouts throughout the day and throughout the week, and it's once you're actually trying out they pair. They don't pair. They do groups of six because that's how many ball people there are, two you know, behind each player and two at the net. Uh and, so that gives you six. So in our group demanse were a couple young ladies who it was their first time, and then four guys in their twenties who, for all of them it was their fifth consecutive year.
Uh oh.
And there were more than uh oh, demanse. Then there were And obviously, I mean you've been to the US Open. There's a bunch of matches going on early in the week, there's like thirty courts, and then eventually by the end of it, you're down to the semifinals, the actual finals, whatever. So the best of the best get you know, the semi final, the final whatever. These two twin guys super nice watched the show. College baseball players, local kids from
Queen's awesome guys. I think they were identical twins. I know they were twins. I think identical twins. So I'm talking to them. They're like, yeah, this is our fifth year. We do whatevery year. I'm like, okay, I'm like, what's the biggest match you've done? And one brother kind of like sheepishly, is like, oh, I did a Novak last year, like you did Novak Djokovic. He's like yeah. I'm like, what position were you in? He's like, I was net and that's the hardest, it's the most lined on the
side of the net exactly. I'm like, you did you were net for a Djokovic match? And he's like yeah. And I'm like which one? And he said the final, Like wait, you were the you were net ballperson for the men's final last year. And he's like, trying to be you know, humble but honest, he's like yeah. I'm like that's unbelievable. So then I ask his brother, his twin brother. I'm like, what about you. He's like, I
was net for the men's final the year before. I'm like, wait a minute, so you're the two best in the world. I'm like, you guys. They got to me competing against literally the two best ball people in the world.
You have to try out though, in order to yeah, well.
Absolutely, of course, right exactly, you have to keep trying, you have to earn your spot. Every year they had to be there. But my point is it's I mean, they exactly throw me into the kids into the pool. I'm out there against a city. I'm out there against the Djokovic Alcoraz of ball's people, the two best in the certain I shouldn't say the world, but here's the thing. The Australian, the French and Wimbledon don't pay. They're volunteer positions.
The US Open pays. So it is not an exaggeration to say these two brothers, who have done the men's final in back to back years, are the two best balls people in the world. And I gotta tell you, I thought I held my own with them, I gotta tell you, and I was despite the injury. And so because of the injuries, I don't think I'm going to
be selected this year. However, now that I know the requirements, now that I know uh the muscles, I need to make sure I stretch out, and now that I know when The tryouts are all make sure that I'm in good, better physical condition for next year in my age forty season. Much like Lebron, I will compete once again and I'll make it next year. I'm telling you right now, I'll be selected to be a US Open balls person next year.
I know the rules. My role is elite. I under like how you roll the ball because you got to like do a relay throw from one. But it's got to be a role. I still have ninetieth percentile quickness stop start ability. Uh, I just I mean, you're saying I just don't know, don't You're eighth percentile athlete, and
so you you don't. I'm okay. Well again, the I mean, I'll let the video speak for itself because I despite the fact that I clearly have a couple slip discs in my back, I'm I'm kind of crushing some of these drills, and so I don't know why you're laughing
so hard. But but I'll be back. It was a great experience and I'll be back, much like this show, play a little more to gain, more to lose next what's right, Welcome back in We'll driving the great and oh my gosh, I should have led the show with this before we get to more to gain, more to lose? Major announcement major. I almost Should I make it? Or should I allow Demanse to make it? Hold on? I want to if I let all right, Demonse, I am
texting you something right now. It's a video. Tell me when you get it, and then just narrate the video to the audience. It should be you should have it momentarily. Uh, it's a short video. Uh, it says, it says it was delivered, you got it. Narrate what you're seeing to the audience and what it says.
Made national champions I'm assuming this is. Uh, let's see what does it?
Hold on? I feel like you. I mean, that's all you said.
Yeah, yeah, you got ACC Defensive Player the other week.
Oh, don't worry about all the awards I won. I'll explain that national champions National championship, the national championship. I won the champion.
Oh, you were winning the league championships before.
I won some ACC titles and I got to the the and I got to the college football playoff, but I had never actually finished the deal. If you remember, on our last episode of What's Right, I explained how in the new College Football video game, I had made a very risky decision, which is my junior quarterback who had really helped build Syracuse into a perennial top twenty five team, and I had convinced to stay at the school, and we were winning nine games, winning the ACC title
even what made a college football playoff. Under his stewardship, I benched him for a true freshman, and it didn't go great that first year, but I believed in this young man, Greg Marciano. And two years later, his junior season, we lost our first game of the year in overtime to Arkansas, twenty seven to twenty one. And all he did was rip off sixteen consecutive victories, finished second in the Heisman. And you might say finished second in the Heisman.
Who won it his teammate, our great wide receiver Brian Tompkins, who had twenty four touchdowns, finished one two in the Heisman, sixteen straight victories, won, UH won every award there was. Again, I'm not playing. I'm simulating, so I mean it's on Heisman, but I'm not I'm just building the team, letting the chips fall where they may. And now UH I got to tell you now that the job has been done
for Syracuse University. Uh, We're open to other offers. The you know, southern California seems awful, nice, and you know, maybe a traditional power. I'd said that I would bring a national championship to my alma mater. I've done it. The cupboard is more than stacked for whomever takes over after me, and I'm very excited about what's next to come. But and I'm still yet to actually play the game.
I'm yet to actually play a game. I but I need you know now that I have won the national championship and finished first second in the Heisman, won every award there was. Essentially, I feel like at some point I probably should play the game, but I'm not ready to do that quite yet. But I just that's a quick little college football n CAA twenty five yards.
I'm scared to figure out how good or bad you are at the actual playing, because like you could be playing games on the side of you doing like you're your whole syracuseteynas well.
Here's the thing. I don't have the stats on it, but I'm gonna say I'm averaging. I don't know a good few hours a day on this thing right now. It takes it's tough so to all of a sudden exhibition in exhibition games. It just seems it seems like it would not be, you know, the best for my personal or professional life. I think your sisters would respect it more rather than seeing me just sitting there dming fake high school students to try to come to my school.
Uh as part of the recruitment process. But you know, such is life. This game's been out of my life for eleven years, and I'm just so glad to have it back. All right to Mom's let's play more to gain, more to lose.
More to gain, more to lose? A Team USA basketball audition, Men's, Uh, you called Lebron the best player on Team USA, which means both the team's success and or a failure will be accredited to him. Does Lebron have more to gain and more to lose in the Olympics.
Oh, definitively more to lose. Like, here's the thing, if they eat everyone who was making I shouldn't say everyone, A lot of the people who were making the argument before the Olympics that Lebron should not even be starting, that he's not one of the five best guys. If they don't win, will instantly blame him. That is a guarantee that he gets demons. He gets blamed for the four meltdown, despite the fact that when those Olympics took place, he was nineteen years old, he had just finished his
rookie season. He was not even one of the significant minute skinners anything. And people are still like, oh my god, that O four team. He was nineteen on the Olympic team and people hang that around his next So yeah, but so definitely more to lose. Definitely more to lose.
But not more to gain with the fact that he's thirty nine and can carry this team to the end.
Like the vision, I mean, I think that the folks will again, this will There's a lot of stuff that does not follow a logical tree. It just follows a lebron derangement syndrome tree. Just see the bubble when people thought that the Lakers weren't gonna win that title and the Clippers were gonna win it, and that then nobody was being like, well, this is not gonna be a real title. At that time, people were talking about how
it would be one of the hardest titles. Ever about how even if you earned home court, you don't get home games. You're away from your family, that you have to live in Disney World. You're in the middle of a pandemic. But then the Lakers crushed everyone and people now put out Mickey Mouse emojis. There's just a lot of stuff that it's just Calvin ball with lebron Heads. You lose tails, I win all right.
Next o, Embiid has yets proved he can win anything and things are looking great for him so far during the Exhibition Games? Does Embiid have more to gain and more to lose at the Olympics?
More to lose? I mean, I'd like Embiid just consistent, like and you don't like Embid. I do like Embiid, but he he is not. There was a like even little silly things, which is there's a fun little social media video going out right now of guys. Have you seen it?
Demon's eight Yes, it's like four of them, four or five of them.
Well, there's a bunch of them. But this is about who has the best nickname? Have you seen this one?
No? I haven't seen that one.
Okay, So it's funny because you have like Derek White really taking it seriously and where he's talking about He's like, well, book doesn't count because that's just a shortening of it. And then they were like, is BAM a nickname? And Drew Holliday's like, yeah, somebody asked me last year what BAM's actual name was, and I said Beaumonte, even though that's not his name, So now we call him that, and then and and some people say King, and then so's I forget who, but King James and Chef Curry
get the most votes from like other people. Somebody says a slim reaper. Durant asked about it, and he's like, you know, I didn't used to like that nickname because I didn't think I'd earned it, but now I love that nickname. But everyone is throwing out possibilities for other people, and then Embiid's in it. In the middle of it. They're like, so, what's the best nickname? And Embiid votes for himself. He's like the process, and I just like, what are we doing? Like there's and so I and
again I like Joelle, but he hasn't played well. The quotes we talked about last week I thought were not great.
Is sneaky a teammate. You think he's like I think he might sneaky, be a bad teammate.
So some people think that. Man, I have not wanted to think that, but he has some rough quotes, I'll tell you that, and even recently where he was the I don't know about.
It, I know him saying that his team would get blown out if he rested for I just think that's what you're throwing out your teammates. Like even if even if that is the case, dude, like you're still playing with some of these guys. What are you talking about?
But yeah, it's it's a rough quote that that is true. All right, Let's move on.
To Gianni's Janis has failed to stay healthy in the playoffs since winning the title. Now he has the opportunity to remind everyone he's the best player in the world on the big stage. Does Giannis have more to gain or more to lose at the Olympics?
Way more to game? This is easy. He's on a total free roll. Nobody expects anything, agrees and if you know, it's all I mean again, I'm not even take injury out of it, Like that's the no, remove that factor. He has nothing to lose and only stuff to gain. If every game they win, it will be because he's awesome. And if he can get him just into the knockout round, that would be a hell of an accomplishment, all right.
Next, Jokic is coming off an embarrassing twenty point blown lead in Game seven at home. The title of the best title of the best player in the world is detainably up for grabs. It's no better way to put the debate to rest by pulling off the David versical upset on the world stage. Does Jokic have more to gain or more to lose at the Olympics?
The same with Jannis more to gain because nobody is expecting Serbia to do anything, and it would just be because Jokic carries him weird. I don't know, Daniel. I'm sure you some weird KCP quotes about the Nuggets being out of gas, about how they thought the Lakers should have beaten them. Now KCP is obviously not on the Nuggets anymore, so maybe you can speak more freely, but I do the Yo Kic Yo Kic sneaky back up against the wall out of nowhere. You lose, Bruce Brown,
you lose KCP. Yeah, you're up three to two in round two after being down oh two, and you lose that series. You blow a twenty point lead at home. You're not the favorite anymore. And so anything Jokics does in the Olympics is a bonus. Uh, but yeah, he has way more to gain, all right.
Last, Draymond also said the Nuggets should have I mean, the Lakers should have beaten the Nuggets during an interview.
Oh yeah, yeah he did. Yeah, but go ahead, Draymond. Draymond, you know, is very very heavily on team Lebron, and so I think he's gonna bend in that favor.
Go ahead, your guy. Dylan Brooks may have another chance to poke the bear if Canada faces the US. Does Dylan Brooks have Does Dylan the villain have more to gain and more to lose at the Olympics.
More to lose? And I'm gonna go ahead and call my shot here. I think that when Canada loses in the I think Canada is. I think Canada will make it at least to the semifinals, maybe the finals, but probably the semifinals. I mean, but they're gonna lose whenever they play the US maybe before, but certainly and when they lose the one of the critical buckets in that game. Because can is good enough to play, anybody close will
be scored on Dylan Brooks and they play. If they play the US, Lebron will torture him, and so it is he has a switch. No, no, Dylan will be trying to guard him. I mean that'll be his job and Lebron will torch him. What do you mean you seem confused by something?
Yeah? I mean if Dylan Brooks is the guy on Canada that they want guarding Lebron, what.
Do you mean that's that's that's what he's there for. I mean, the the is I mean, I think that's what he's there for. The I mean, I guess lou Dort. Lou Dort could be the other guy. But I mean Dylan Brooks thought he could guard Lebron in the playoffs a couple of years ago, ended up punching him in the groin and being kicked out of the game. Uh. Folks want predictions for group winners? Yeah, no problem, I think that And how how how does it work? I
there's three groups? Right? Do eight teams advance? So I apologize for not knowing this, but my eight teams advance, so the three group winners and then the five other and then the three second place teams and then two wild cards. Essentially, I gets are there only three groups or are there four groups? Guys? I should know this. I apologize. Okay, So the US, Germany, and and Canada will win their groups. So let's start here. US, Germany,
Canada will win their groups. Australia, France, Serbia will come in second. And then who are gonna be the other two teams? I'm gonna say Greece and Puerto Rico are gonna be the seventh and eighth. So that's how I think it's gonna go. Uh, that's my that's my not that educated but slightly educated. Guests, we missed a huge f one minute on Tuesday. We bring it to you next, and I reply to listener questions and some really scurless accusations by the producers. It's all next, What's right? Welcome
back in What's Right? With Nick Right? So uh, I was supposed to play this on Tuesday, and I forgot in getting all kind of wrapped up in the excitement of the two hundred and fiftieth show, but there was evidently a very intriguing and controversial weekend on the F one circuit. So we'll go right to our F one senior reporter, Sierra Fiddel with this week's F one minute.
Some hot news. Oscar Priasci has won the Hungarian Grand Prix, which means we have seven new race winners out of thirteen Grand Prix so far this season. It just keeps getting better. But there was also a collision between Maxis Tappa and Louis Hamilton, and this victory may not be as good as it seems, may not be as joyous as it should be. Let's get into it. Like I've just mentioned, Oscar Piastre has won the Hungarian Grand Prix.
It was his first Formula One win and it should have been a joyous moment for him to celebrate with his team, with his family, but instead it has this kind of dark backstory lore to it that's really awkward, honestly, and puts both drivers in a real situation. So let's explain. So it was a front row lookout for McClaren this weekend.
Lando Norris tried from pole position and Oscar was right behind him in second place, but per usual, Landa was not able to keep this position literally after the first lap, so his teammate eventually emerged ahead of him and then was in front for a good chunk of the race until McClaren pulled off this weird pit stop strategy which allowed Lando Norris to pit first and then Oscar Piastre. So now first and second are swapped. Lando comes out of the pits first and first, and then Oscar behind him,
and this was McLaren's own doing. But we're gonna fast forward a lot of laps all the way towards the end, and they're in Lando's ear, his team talking about swapping, and it didn't go very well.
For a little bit.
It seemed like Landa was not gonna give it up.
Let me tell you.
He was driving and he was widening their gap even more while the team was in his ear saying, hey, hey, let Oscar through, Like another seconds go by, Hey think about the team like kind of blackmailing. But you didn't hear that from me, But I mind you, this is a guy who's fighting for the driver's championship right now. He's behind by a lot, but every point counts for this man, and it's very it's not a game. But eventually he did. And this this meant that Oscar won
the race. And I think Oscar Priacture himself was not too happy about how he won this race, because you can hear on his team radio he's like, yep, thanks team, good work, thanks, thanks, thanks for the good work team. And I think he acknowledges that this was a team effort to really push him forward. This was not like some epic victory where he had a crazy overtake and won the race. He won because Landa led him through. But enough about McLaren. It was Lewis Hamilton's two hundredth
podium this weekend. He got third place. However, he had to fight to get there because Max found himself behind Louis for a good chunk of the race and he was really struggling to get past him. In a heated moment, he folded under the pressure, under the impatience. He folded, and he tried to launch his car basically to the moon and tried to pull off this move that did not work. It didn't work, and it resulted in a collision. Nobody was heard, of course, So that's all I have
time for. I can't explain the different sides and stories for this whole debate about McLaren, but either way, it was a really good weekend for them. They pulled in fourty three points for the Constructors Championship, so I know I mentioned on Thursday they were really close to Ferrari and they've actually beat them. Now that's which may look minute, but we're talking millions, so I know they're celebrating that they have something to celebrate at least, not so much
Macres happened. So it is a race week. So I'll see you on Thursday to talk about the Belgium Garan Prix. But until then that's been your f one minute and I'll see later.
And we'll get a recap of that Belgium Graham pri On. Well, I guess we'll actually get it on Thursday. One programming note, we don't have a show Tuesday. We'll get a recap of the Belgium Graham Prix from Sierra on Thursday. Tuesday is the funeral for the friend of ours that passed that we talked about last week. What I was gonna
say there was the thank you, Yes it is. I think we picked a good year to start caring about f one because the last few years has just been max Verstapping taking any Injurgue away from the whole circuit. And it doesn't seem like it's that this year, and Sierra's doing a great job keeping us apprized of it. All right, Demanse, let's go to some listener questions.
Producers say, you said you were very close to a hamstring tear before your tryout, but you also said that you faked AMSTRM injury when you knew you were going to lose a track relay. This raises credibility concerns. Just saying listeny.
That that has haunted me for twenty two years. I mean, it's true. I had to confess to my teammates about it years later. One of them, you know, one of them was the officiant at my wedding. One of them was stood up at my wedding. I don't feel great about what I did in that state final, But what recredit? Do you not know this story? You don't know this.
No, I don't know this.
I shouldn't retell it.
I was like, hey, man, if you want to, if you feel it's too crazy.
I was on the four by eight hundred relay team in high school, running third, I think the third leg.
And oh no, I know how you go go ahead, sir?
Yeah, no. And I thought I thought I was losing the race for US because I kept getting passed and I thought I was running a great time. But I got passed by three people, so I thought I was running a bad time. And so for the last like quarter lap, I ran while holding my hamstring, so I had a preemptive excuse for my bad time. But then it turns out I ran a good time and I
just was getting passed by faster people. But I but in my history onics I you know, I cost us some spots on the podium, and I still feel badly about it. That is not the circumstance of the US Open tryout for the record well, And so the producers love bringing that up at every chance they get. I don't you know, I'd love to find out what their biggest moment of shame in their life is so I can constantly remind them of it. But you know, I guess, you know, I guess I don't. I'm not going to
do that. Uh, all right, what's the what's the next question? Demonse?
The producers also Uh uh yeah, producers also found you and qs winning the title. We're gonna show a little.
Oh we have a we have a picture of it. Oh yeah, Oh there's my guy. That's right, you're damn straight. That is uh. Coach Nick Wright made the right choice on Marchiano. That's right, it is. I mean, that is exactly what happened. Go ahead and send me that picture. That is a great that's the best photoshop we've ever done. Uh, demonse, Let's go to Curtis Matthews.
Curtis Matthews asked, with new kickoff return rules in the NFL this year, which team do you think will be the most dangerous on the kick returns?
So I listen, there's that it is going to be less about personnel and more about special teams coaching. That is going and there are going to be some teams I am mad that just wave the white flag on covering these kicks and just give the other team the ball in the thirty just boot it out of the end zone because they don't want to spend time on it and they don't want to figure it out the well,
I mean again, five yards does matter. Uh, and more so, it's that if you cover it, well, maybe it's not five yards, maybe it's ten, Maybe you get them at the twenty. But that's gonna be one of the most exciting and fun things to watch, particularly about preseason, because there are going to be people that are NFL fans but aren't watching shows like this, aren't locked into everything that. I have no idea this rule was changed, and they
are gonna be totally confused, all right. Noah Rodriguez says he missed Tuesday show. Can't believe nobody said their favorite mom whenever was Nick's Joey Chestnut rant. That was a classic. I can't find it anywhere online. I think it's on Twitter. I think if you just like Google or you know Twitter, get Nick right show. Uh yeah, something like that, you'll find it. All right? What ad team Mark Apulo say?
Uh? He said, Nick? What would it mean for Jokic's legacy if he were to upset Team USA and win the gold.
That'd be unbelievable. I don't really I don't have a precedent for what it would mean for legacy stuff because there's we've never had that. We've never had a great like all time legendary international player, then go to the Olympics and win the gold and so I don't it's not like, well, this is what it meant for Dirk when he did it, like they so I don't have Yeah, I mean it'd be it'd be on correct, so it would certainly help, that's for sure. All right, let's go to Mark.
Mark's Mark Pascal. A question for Nick. How excited are you to see nadall on Alcaz Teamyo for the Olympics. Love the show from Barcelona?
All right, well, I'll be in Barcelona briefly, very briefly in August. Excited for that. I've been there once before. One of my three favorite cities in the world. I'm super excited to see see that. I don't really lock in so much except for basketball. The Olympic sports I'm most interested in are the sports you only see in the Olympics, so like soccer and tennis and golf. I'm not that interested in come the Olympics because you can
see him elsewhere. But Alcarez and Nadal teaming up is amazing And oh yeah, well, first of all, yeah, it's winter Olympics, not summer obviously, but yeah, that would be one that I right, exactly the game. The sports that are like hockey, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, you can watch all you know, anytime during the year, so I'm not typically as interested in them in the Olympics as the ones that you can only watch are in the Olympics. Basketball is the one exception where I really do care
about Team USA. Justin Jones says, demons looking sharp in that shirt, and Mike c h compliments my style, which is just a testament to my wife. All right, great show, no show Tuesday. We will see you guys on Thursday. And by the way, I'm headed to FS one right now. Man, this extra thirty minutes on the show, I haven't really gotten used to it yet. Every day around four to twenty five, I'm like, all right, we're about done and hope we got another thirty five minutes to go. But
we'll hit our stride and bru. We'll be back on Monday. See you guys on TV in a few hours. We'll train. Hey, thanks for watching. If you're still here, do me a favor. Hit the subscribe button, then hit the bell so you can be notified when we have new episodes. After you've done that, one more, go to your favorite audio platform of choice and subscribe there as well. Don't forget. We're live every Tuesday and Thursday ten thirty am Eastern Ish
ten thirty five, ten forty. It sometimes changes, but that's why you hit the bell. You hit the bell so you're notified. You subscribe so we can get to two hundred thousand followers. We're right around one hundred and fifty thousand. We'd love to get to two hundred thousand. Get to Monday, another plaque, so like, subscribe rate, send a rating to do all that cool stuff. Thanks guys,