September 9, 2026 • 37 mins
Stu and the fellas make some fun at the expense of the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks. Stu and the guys dish on the latest with LSU football. Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis joins the show. Plus, Taylor and Mikey weigh in on the return of Aaron Judge.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of Stugatz and Company
live podcast. Find your local station for Stugatz and Company
live at FoxSportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on
the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is the best of Stugatz and Company live on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
NFL kicks off tonight and we are loaded today. Jerome
Bettis going to join us. Bijan Robinson and Justin Jefferson
going to join us. In hour number two, we are
stacked today. Seahawks and Patriots tonight kicks off the 2026
NFL season, and we'll get to that in just a second.
(00:42):
Taylor has been sitting on a take. He's upset he
did not deliver this take yesterday, and he wants to
deliver it right now as we get ready for the
NFL season. I'm not certain if it's an NFL take. Mikey,
are you aware of the take that he's been sitting
on here?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
No, but Taylor gave me a take before the show
and I've just been mad at him ever since.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
And I don't think that's the take you're referring to.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
But I've just been sitting here stewing about it. Like
I I'm, I'm angry with him.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
All right.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So he has two takes. Cause I believe this is
not the take that angered you. So let's get to
the first take here, Taylor. What do you have for us?
Speaker 6 (01:19):
After watching Florida state SMU and seeing Florida state be
three and 14 in its last 17 ACC games, It's
harder to be this bad at Florida State than it
is to be this good at Indiana.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
I agree.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
I like that take.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Put it on the poll. Is it harder to be
this bad at Florida State? than it is to be this.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Good at Indiana.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
Because those results that I just read, those are Purdue-level numbers.
They're Northwestern-level numbers. You're Florida State. You're sitting in the
middle of one of the greatest recruiting states in America.
You have a national brand, championship history, an enormous fan base,
and your result is paying Ashton Daniels a reported $ 800, 000
in NIL to be your quarterback. I wouldn't take Ashton
(02:03):
Daniels on my roster if he paid me $ 800, 000.
Speaker 5 (02:07):
Put it on the poll. What's his name? Ashton what?
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Ashton Daniels.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
If Ashton Daniels paid you $ 800, 000, would you take him?
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Just put it on the poll just like that. What
do you have, Mikey?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
This feels like Stu Gotts going 0 for 17 picking games.
Like that's how Florida State, how bad.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
They've been is it's almost like.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It's a mixture of luck and being bad that gets
you as bad as they are.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
You have to actively work to be this bad at
Florida State.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Yeah. They were in the title game, weren't they, a
couple of years ago? Yeah, but.
Speaker 6 (02:44):
The fall off needs to be studied for this Florida
state team for other college powerhouses to be like, what
do we do to not replicate what Florida state did?
And I think the simple answer is not recruit a
quarterback in Ashton Daniels, who was six and 21 as
a starter between Stanford, Auburn, and now Florida state.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Or have Mike Norvell as your coach, right?
Speaker 6 (03:03):
I love Mike Norvell.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
You do, but you don't.
Speaker 6 (03:06):
He should be fired, but.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
You can't say that you love a guy and he
should be fired at the exact same time.
Speaker 6 (03:12):
No, because this is like separating the artist from the art.
I'm separating the person from the football coach. I love
Mike Norvell, the person.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Great person. Yeah, great.
Speaker 6 (03:21):
Yes. The coach leaves a lot to be desired.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
The coach was the toast of Tallahassee two years ago.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
And nothing has gone right since.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
Ashton Daniels. Funny.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Let's get to the take that upset Mikey. Who wants
to deliver this take?
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Go ahead. No, no, no.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Taylor's going to deliver because I won't even spit it out.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
All right.
Speaker 6 (03:45):
So tonight's the NFL kicking off. My Patriots are in
a Super Bowl rematch against the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (03:52):
I'm sorry to say this. Uh-huh. I'm watching on the
TV right now Liverpool play in their Champions League.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (03:58):
I'm more excited for Liverpool's Champions League campaign kicking off
right now against Atletico Madrid than I am for the
NFL tonight.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Are you really? Because I wanted to talk tennis.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Because last night I was up until 3.30 in the
morning watching.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
What was perhaps the greatest tennis match of all time.
And you won't let me talk tennis. And now you've
dragged me into Liverpool.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
That Tiafoe match might've been the second. It was the
greatest tennis match of all time. Tiafoe coming back down
two sets. Yes. It was the greatest tennis match of
all time for like, no.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
No, no, no. This is my Christmas Eve.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
You guys are not going to take this from me
by talking about tennis and soccer.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
No, this is my time.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
OK, I'm just making a larger point. I wanted to
start today with tennis. You guys said no. And somehow Taylor,
who was one of the two of you who said no,
has dragged us into soccer talk. You want tennis talk now?
Speaker 6 (04:49):
It's Christmas Eve. It's Christmas Eve. And me and Stu
Gatz are over here trying to celebrate Halloween.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
Yeah, well, the U.S. Open is my Christmas Eve. I mean,
I love it.
Speaker 7 (04:59):
I do.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Francis Tiafoe, that match against Mickelson started when we were here.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
We were here. Mikey, we were here doing the show.
I got home.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
The sun was coming down, and Tiafoe was still hitting forehands.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
Stu, when I turned that TV off yesterday before the
Shelton-Alcaraz match.
Speaker 7 (05:18):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
I was tennised out the Tiafoe Mickelson. I said, there's
no way the next match could be better than the
match I just saw. So let me turn this off
and let me turn on the Yankee game.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
Right.
Speaker 6 (05:29):
And then apparently I missed an all time class.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well, that wasn't because you missed a woman's quarterfinal match,
which was a good match on a great match. It
was the match right after Tiafoe. That was Emma Navarro.
She lost to Pagoula. Pagoula, an American, is now in
the semifinals. Mikey is so upset. And then the Alcaraz
match happened, and Ben Shelton beat him in five sets
at 3.30 a.m.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
In the morning.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Greatest match I've ever seen. I watched the entire match.
I'm exhausted today. Mikey, so that's the take. It's the
soccer take that upset you, huh?
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Yes because you're right we both did say no to
you talking tennis you did even though you just squeezed
that in thank you and i thought i had an
ally in taylor i thought me and taylor were going
to be a hand in hand no no no we're
going to walk into this nfl season which starts tonight
we are going to do this together we are not
going to let stu gots derail us and then taylor
hits me with liverpool and i'm just i'm i'm beside
(06:26):
myself with how mad i am about.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
I mean, I'm not derailing you.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
We have Jerome Bettis, Bijan Robinson, and Justin Jefferson on today.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
And just to be clear to Mikey, I'm not trying
to talk about this Liverpool match. Maybe some platform would
let me talk about Bradley Barkola getting his first start
for Liverpool in a Champions League match.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
You're talking about it.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
This is the platform, yes.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
And if you told me I could only watch one,
Liverpool versus Atletico Madrid or the NFL game tonight, yes,
I would pick the Liverpool game. But luckily, I don't
have to make that choice. I live in America. I
could do both things.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Can I just say, you're saying all this while wearing
a Patriots logo right in the middle of your chest,
claiming your best friend, Matt Collins, is playing on the team,
and you would rather watch Liverpool and Atletico Madrid or.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Whoever the hell it is.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
It's a big match.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Instead of talking about your.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I'm using air quotes for those who can't see me
favorite team, the new England Patriots try and get revenge
against the super bowl champion, Seattle Seahawks led by.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Our former quarterback, Sam Darnold. And you would rather talk
about soccer. That's what you're telling me.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
In fairness to Taylor, no one cares about the Seahawks.
What do you do?
Speaker 6 (07:46):
Well, you do this with Seattle all the time.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
What am I doing? You want Liverpool.
Speaker 6 (07:51):
No, no matter what Seattle team we talk about.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
You always do this thing where you're like, nobody cares
about Seattle. And then I'm left with the consequences of
that where people from Seattle are messaging me saying, why
does Stu always blast Seattle at every chance he gets?
Speaker 5 (08:08):
I'm not blasting Seattle. It's a lovely place. I've been there.
I've been there several times. I love it. It's wonderful.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
It's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
I've been to the Gorge. I've gone to see concerts
in Seattle. I've gone to the Gorge for Dead &
Company shows. My college roommate, Chris Gordon, is from Seattle.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
I love the city.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
Gordo.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
Gordo. How'd you know?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Because there's only one name that can be somebody like that,
and it's Gordo.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
It's Gordo. Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
So I love Seattle. Just nobody cares about the sports
in the great Northwest.
Speaker 8 (08:40):
I mean, nobody.
Speaker 7 (08:41):
Nobody.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Listen, the NBA doesn't care about him.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
They have one of the most exciting teams in the
history of the NBA with the Rain Man, Sean Kemp,
and the Gloved Gary Payton, and they.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Moved the team. I mean, what do you want from me?
Speaker 6 (08:54):
I'm going to extend an olive branch to Mikey A.
We could talk Patriots, Seahawks. Mikey, Travion Henderson, sideline. Let's
get all your thoughts out that Travion Henderson, the Patriots'
star running back, is out for this contest.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
That's not fair to Mikey. He's just excited that we
have football, and it starts tonight.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah. First off, if you want to talk about Travion
Henderson being out, listen, you can do this to me
with the NBA. You can do this to me with soccer.
You can even do this to me with baseball. You
cannot do this to me with the NFL. I will
tell you how Ramondre Stevenson better have lost those fumble
issues because right now Travion Henderson being out is the
best thing to happen to him.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Let's go, Taylor.
Speaker 6 (09:29):
I am glad that the Patriots got the Christian Gonzalez
contract done before tonight because I didn't need the unnecessary
drama or... Or distraction hanging over the team. Four years,
$ 135 million, making him the highest paid defensive back in
NFL history.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Deserves it. Does he?
Speaker 6 (09:45):
I think he deserves it. At least Mikey doesn't.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
How many cornerbacks can you name that are better than him?
Just off the top of your head. Sertan would be one, right?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Stingley. I can name three.
Speaker 5 (09:54):
Who's the third? Stingley is another one, yes.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
I I'm going to say sauce Gardner.
Speaker 8 (09:59):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
But the problem, the problem is you have a Christian
Gonzalez already on your roster and he's their first free.
He's their first, first round draft pick to sign a
second contract with the team in the past 11 years.
Donta Hightower was the last one. Like if you are
the new England Patriots, you draft a guy like Gonzo
to eventually give him a second contract. If we could
debate where he is in terms of top cornerbacks, if
(10:23):
he's a top five cornerback, you pay that top five
cornerback to stay on, stay with your franchise.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
And no disrespect to Seattle, the way Stu does. I
forgot Devin Witherspoon, who's also playing in this game.
Speaker 8 (10:34):
Right.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
He's probably better than Christian Gonzalez.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
That's why I forgot him. He plays in Seattle.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
I mean, I understand.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And you know what? I, we, we just did that
whole thing where we were crushing stupors. And then I
just went ahead and did it and forgot about them.
Speaker 8 (10:45):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
I apologize.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Seattle, Devin Witherspoon's up there too.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
To the great people of Seattle. I am not crushing
you or your city. I'm just saying nobody cares about
your sports teams.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
And I'm right.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
Yes. I cared about Ken Griffey Jr.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Did you?
Speaker 6 (10:59):
Ricardo just gave me an emphatic mm-hmm.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
The kid.
Speaker 8 (11:03):
And the unit.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
The big unit. Wow. Yes. No, they've had some great teams.
I'm just saying nobody cares about them. That's all. I mean,
come get me, Seattle.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Seriously.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
I ain't afraid of you.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Both of you.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Mikey, I am so sorry that we started. It is
your Christmas.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
My Christmas Eve.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And in the stockings was tennis and a soccer conversation.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
It's a big one for Liverpool. Gotta get started on
the right foot.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Be sure to catch live editions of Stu Gatz and
Company live weekdays at 3 p.m. Eastern, 12 p.m. Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (11:48):
Jerome Bennett is going to join us in a few minutes.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
We'll get to Dan Beyer and the sports update in
just a minute as well. Justin Jefferson, Bijan Robinson in
our number two. We are loaded today as the NFL.
kicks off its season. Taylor, let's go to college, though.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Well, not really. It's kind of professional.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Let's go to LSU and Lane Kiffin and what is
going on there, because this has become.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Laugh out loud funny. What is the latest here with
LSU and the SEC?
Speaker 6 (12:15):
So it feels like we have finally reached a conclusion
with this story because LSU is adding two players to
complete its 105-man roster for the 2026 season, which eliminates
the possibility of the program bringing in former NFL rookies.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
So they've capped their roster at 105. That's the amount
of kids you can keep on a college football roster.
It seems like too many. Seems like a lot. Seems excessive.
105 kids.
Speaker 6 (12:41):
You need people to fill out bodies at practice. Those
scout teams don't.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Fill out themselves.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Something you're well aware of, by the way, right?
Speaker 6 (12:48):
I think when I was playing, there was like 120.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Were you number 120?
Speaker 6 (12:53):
I was probably 127, if I could guess.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Outside looking in?
Speaker 7 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Really?
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Really. That's too bad.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So anyway, the SEC is now scheduled a meeting Thursday
with its presidents and chancellors to vote on whether to
terminate LSU's membership in the SEC.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Let me tell you how that vote's going to go.
All right. That vote's going to go, and LSU is
going to.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Be as strong as they've ever been inside the SEC.
No one is voting LSU and Lane Gifford out of
the Southeastern Conference. Nobody, not a single president, not a
single chancellor is going to say, hey, this sounds like
a good idea.
Speaker 5 (13:38):
Let's kick LSU, our best team perhaps, and LSU.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Maybe the most famous guy in the sport right now
in Lane Kiffin.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
He might be. Let's kick him out of our conference.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
Not happening.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
How much are the presidents of the ACC, Big Ten,
and Big 12 hoping that they kick LSU out?
Speaker 4 (13:58):
How much are they sitting back.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Going, please kick them out, because we will scoop them
up so fast and just make our conference that much better.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Right.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
You have LSU in the Sun Belt. Is that what
you're doing there?
Speaker 4 (14:10):
No, I had ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 is
what I said.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
But, yes, the Sun Belt is also like, yay, us too.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
So there was a lot of pulpit pressure.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
That's how the Sun Belt sounds.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
There was a lot of public pressure for LSU to
not add these NFL players.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
And this feels like LSU kind of conceding to it.
But I don't think Lane Kiffin really concedes to anything.
I think this is Lane Kiffin watching his team play
against Clemson and saying, I don't really need this headache
right now.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
Whether we have the NFL players or not, my team
is national title worthy. Let's let's just drop this.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Yes, I'm good without the pros. Yes.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
I have this vision of Lane Kiffin just messing with
everybody this whole time like he was never going to
do it.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Like he was just like, watch, watch them all get mad. Watch.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Let's get it up to Congress. Let's get it all
the way to Congress where they're getting involved. And this
is never going to happen. But I'm just going to
keep messing with them.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
I'm just going to keep putting my name out there.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Can I hear the voice, Mike EA, that represents the
Big Ten, the big, loud, confident voice?
Speaker 5 (15:13):
Can I hear that voice first? I want to hear
that voice first. Can I hear it? What's it sound like?
This is the voice of the Big Ten.
Speaker 8 (15:18):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
The Big Ten.
Speaker 8 (15:19):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
We'll take them.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
All right. And the Sunbelt Conference, they sound like what?
Just to be clear.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Yay, we want them. LSU joins us.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
We'll take them.
Speaker 6 (15:31):
My least favorite thing in this narrative with these players
wanting to come back from LSU from the NFL and
play out a fifth year there. The narrative has gotten
so far out of control, it feels like LSU was
trying to add Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson to their roster,
and instead, it's players that didn't have the option when
(15:55):
the NCAA made these rulings to come back for a
potential fifth year, where yes, they went on to sign
with NFL teams, but if the NCAA had made this
ruling When before they had made that decision, OK, maybe
somebody like Daquan Wright comes back to LSU to play
out a fifth year because a fifth year at LSU
(16:16):
probably pays him 10 times more than whatever a practice
squad could potentially pay him. So that's why I was
kind of on the side of the players where you're
not talking about adding like 10 year NFL veterans. And
that's almost what it felt like the conversation had become like.
LSU was looking into adding pro bowlers to their roster.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
No, it's a tricky spot, a tricky situation, unprecedented, one
might say. And the people who lose in this equation
is not LSU. It's not the chancellors. It's not the president.
It's the two kids because no one's running the NCAA
and no one is looking over college football.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
There is no commissioner. There is nothing in place.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And the people who lose out are the kids who
declared themselves for the NFL draft and got drafted, wanted
to go back.
Speaker 5 (16:59):
To LSU because there's a loophole, and now they can't.
So they lose out. What do they do? What do
those kids do now?
Speaker 6 (17:06):
This could just be a never-ending cycle of people suing
people because now these LSU players are going to sue
the NCAA or sue the SEC for denying their chances
to stay and earn money in college. So when I
was in Baton Rouge— My least favorite thing about the SEC,
(17:26):
because I went there and I've been trying to embrace
the SEC culture.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
Right.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
It's just how pro SEC everybody is there.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (17:36):
Because I grew up a Carolina fan. No part of
me cares even the slightest bit or has even the
slightest bit of pride if Clemson or Miami is winning
and saying, oh, that's great for the ACC. And if
you're an Arkansas Razorbacks fan doing the SEC chant because
the Georgia Bulldogs are winning national championships, you're embarrassing yourself.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
Yeah, you really are. I am with you. In fact,
I would dare to say that if you're.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
A Carolina grad, a Carolina fan like you are, you're
rooting for Clemson's demise.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
You don't want any other team in the conference to
outdo you.
Speaker 6 (18:12):
Not even, not even just Clemson, not even just Miami.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Right.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Wake Forest is about as irrelevant a program as you
could get in the ACC. And every time Wake Forest
is playing, I look at them and say, I think
this would be better for me if they lose.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
The Ole Miss president, chancellor, whatever they have there. Is
he voting to have LSU out of the conference or she?
Speaker 6 (18:34):
No, they're all voting. We need LSU. LSU needs us.
We need LSU. It's a mutually beneficial partnership. But I
was watching tailgates in Baton Rouge and Baylor Auburn is on.
And I'm like, hey, who's everybody rooting for here? And
they're like, oh, we're pulling for Auburn.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
I'm like, why?
Speaker 6 (18:50):
And they're like. SEC SEC I'm like okay you guys
have me for about 90% of the day this is
just going to be the 10% that we could just
agree to disagree on Ricardo's an Alabama fan and I'm
an Alabama fan who are you a fan of? University
of Miami oh he's a University of Miami fan you
went to Alabama though man he's.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
305 Ricardo what are you talking about?
Speaker 6 (19:11):
He dropped out of Alabama.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Oh, he did. Okay. You're not the only one. Most
fail out. You just dropped out, right?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 6 (19:21):
It was my volition, Stu.
Speaker 9 (19:22):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (19:23):
But do you disagree with the notion that SEC teams
aren't all rooting for SEC teams?
Speaker 5 (19:27):
No, no, you are correct.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
They do that.
Speaker 7 (19:30):
One hundred percent. The only thing is, is because it
was the SEC versus the world. And for so long,
the SEC won so many national championships that it was
like a pride that, you know, nobody outside of the
SEC is going to beat us.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
And SEC versus the world. What did Vanderbilt do to
contribute to the SEC against the world where they're in
Nashville doing SEC football chants with a stadium that's half-constructed?
Speaker 5 (19:53):
They're there for academic purposes. You are so right about this.
No one.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
If you're an Arkansas Razorback and you're an alum of
that school and you care about LSU, get a life.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
I mean, what a loser. All of you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
No one cares about the rest of the schools in
their conference. You care about your school.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
That's it.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
And now you have Johnny come lately is the Texas
in the Oklahoma is doing SEC chance at their stadium.
You guys have been in the conference for five minutes.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And there's nothing south about you. I mean, you were
in the Big 12 two years ago, and you're as
far from the southeast as possible. I mean, what are
we doing here? College football, a complete mess. Lane Kiffin,
the biggest star in the sport. They're going to kick
him out of the SEC. Very excited about this. Jerome Bettis,
Super Bowl champion, Walter Payton Man of the Year, six-time
(20:46):
Pro Bowler. He is joining us on behalf of Pepsi
with college football and the NFL right around the corner. Jerome,
thank you for doing this. What are you doing with Pepsi?
Speaker 8 (20:55):
I am.
Speaker 9 (20:57):
Having an incredible time with Pepsi. I'm an official game
day ref, and I'm really refereeing all of those really
bad and poor tailgate opportunities. I'm trying to make sure
all the tailgates, they have the right game day food,
(21:19):
because they deserve the bold taste of Pepsi. So I'm
throwing flags... on any of these tailgates that aren't correctly.
Speaker 8 (21:32):
Using the right cola.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Which is Pepsi.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
Yes. Okay. So I love this.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
You are walking across NFL Stadium's parking lots, and you're
checking out tailgate parties, and if they're not doing it correctly,
according to Jerome Bettis, you're going to throw a flag
at them, right?
Speaker 9 (21:48):
I'm throwing flags, and, you know, it's one of those–
You got to let them know, hey, no Pepsi?
Speaker 8 (21:55):
That's a flavor file. I'm telling you. Yes. I'm throwing
it back.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Are you wearing a Zebra's jersey? Like, what are you
doing here? Are you really sinking in?
Speaker 8 (22:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
You are.
Speaker 8 (22:04):
I am Zebra'd out.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Oh, I love it. So really, they just have to
have Pepsi, though. That's it.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Then they get a good grade. You move on to
the next one, right? And if they don't have Pepsi,
you'll make sure they do have Pepsi, right?
Speaker 8 (22:17):
Absolutely. That's a foul. That is a foul.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
I love it. It's such a fun idea.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
You officiating tailgate parties is actually an outstanding idea by Pepsi. Jerome,
we'll get back to that in a second. We'll talk
about it and promote it again here on the way out.
But I am wondering here, Last week, we were having
a conversation. We do a thing around here. It's Think
About It Thursday. And so we were talking about if
you can only have one utensil for the remainder of time,
(22:47):
a fork, a spoon, or a knife, which one you
going with?
Speaker 5 (22:52):
He likes this question.
Speaker 8 (22:54):
That's the real thing. You got me thinking. I'm taking
my glass up. I would say the knife.
Speaker 6 (23:01):
Wow, a knife.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Really?
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Wow.
Speaker 8 (23:04):
Because the knife.
Speaker 9 (23:06):
I can, the knife can act like a fork, but
the fork can't act like a knife.
Speaker 6 (23:12):
And the spoon is just ridiculous of a choice.
Speaker 8 (23:15):
The spoon, the spoon. That's the extra. The spoon is
just extra.
Speaker 9 (23:21):
I mean, you know, that's the bonus is a spoon.
Speaker 8 (23:25):
I mean, because ultimately you got to scoop. You can
scoop with your hand.
Speaker 9 (23:29):
But the spoon is a bonus. That's a bonus utensil.
It's about fork, knife, I think, ultimately. And I think
because you could do so much and you need so
much with the knife, you got to have it because
the fork, it's only doing so much. The knife is
going to be across the board. You're going to use
that in your life skills in terms of cutting down
(23:53):
something to create a fire. You can't do that with
a fork. That's why I'm going with the knife.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
So you're willing to forgo soup. Well, you'll drink soup
right out of the bowl, right? Scoop it, scoop it.
With your hand? Scoop and score, baby.
Speaker 8 (24:11):
Scoop and score if you have to.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
And how are you going to navigate ice cream with
a knife?
Speaker 8 (24:17):
Listen, listen.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
If I'm in bad shape, the last thing I'm thinking
about is ice cream.
Speaker 8 (24:24):
And you better believe.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yes.
Speaker 9 (24:26):
You see my body type. I'm not a big soup guy.
So that's not on the menu very often.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Totally fair. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
I'm hesitant to ask you football questions because I'm not
certain we'll get a better response than the one we.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
Just got to that question.
Speaker 9 (24:40):
I am a meat, potato, and Pepsi guy.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
So the mashed potatoes just right on the knife and
just boom, right in your mouth, right?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
That's it.
Speaker 8 (24:49):
Boom, bam, boom, bam.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
Boom, bam.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
The bus is with us. He's so great. Where are
you sitting right now? That is a really nice room, man.
Speaker 9 (24:57):
I am in my man cave downstairs in the house.
I used to be in my office, but this is
a little bit more visually stimulating, if you will.
Speaker 8 (25:09):
So it's a good time.
Speaker 9 (25:11):
And then what you don't see is the front of the,
let me see if I can turn the front of it.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
You can see I got it. I got the golf
simulator up front, so I'll have a good time with it. Wow.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
How's the golf game?
Speaker 8 (25:25):
It's okay.
Speaker 9 (25:27):
I'm going through a swing change, so it's some rough
days right now, but good days and bad days.
Speaker 8 (25:34):
So I'm playing well, though.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
All right, I'm thinking eventually, if you're okay with it,
me and Taylor, we come up to the man cave
there just with knives, okay?
Speaker 5 (25:41):
And we just have a day, okay? What do you think?
We're good?
Speaker 8 (25:44):
Knives only.
Speaker 5 (25:45):
That's it.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
And Pepsi.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
And Pepsi. Of course.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
Leave the soup at the front door.
Speaker 5 (25:51):
Yes, and I'll bring the Pepsi, okay? I promise you.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That's right.
Speaker 6 (25:53):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (25:53):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
All right, go ahead, Taylor.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
Jerome, you are a Notre Dame legend. Your son's a
sophomore now at Notre Dame. When he was going through
his recruitment process, if he came to you and said, Dad,
I'm thinking about going to USC. What would that conversation
have been like?
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Mike Norvell was on with us recently. We asked him
the same question about his kids. He said his kids
know better than to ask him about the University of
Miami or the University of Florida.
Speaker 8 (26:20):
So it was one of those.
Speaker 9 (26:24):
Times where what I didn't want to do was I
didn't want to be overly pushy about Notre Dame.
Speaker 8 (26:31):
I wanted him.
Speaker 9 (26:33):
to come to his own conclusion, ultimately, because my philosophy was,
you got to spend, you know, four years there. And
if you don't like it, you're going to always, hey, dad,
dad made me go there. Dad, no, I want this
to be your decision. So I was very conscious of
not over... hyping Notre Dame, but I did want to
(26:56):
explain the true benefits that it's not only the football
that you gain from going to university, but the biggest
sales job for me, it wasn't me saying a word.
His older sister, his big sister, and his best friend.
Speaker 8 (27:18):
She decided to go to Notre Dame over USC.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
Right.
Speaker 8 (27:22):
And that is what saved the day because she almost,
it was, USC was one for her. So I was,
I was, this was a real situation for me.
Speaker 9 (27:31):
It wasn't, the one thing I did tell her though,
I admit, I told her, you can go to USC,
but I'm not writing a check to the University.
Speaker 8 (27:40):
Of Southern California. You can't get that. I said, my
name is not going to be anywhere around. Your mother's
going to pay for everything.
Speaker 5 (27:50):
Well, You can't even write it out. You just don't want,
you don't want to give your money to that institution.
I understand it.
Speaker 9 (27:57):
I don't want them with anything with USC and my
name on it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
All right, Jerome, we'll get you out of here in
just a second. Wondering here, were you surprised that Mike
Tomlin finally walked away from the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Speaker 9 (28:11):
You know, I was with the timing of it, but
I wasn't surprised ultimately because obviously this game is so
much pressure and it's so much... And I really felt
the end of his career, he didn't necessarily get a
full buy-in from the team in terms of the organization.
Speaker 8 (28:34):
Because he never really had the.
Speaker 9 (28:38):
The weapons that he really needed. I mean, you look
at what they did this year in the offseason, right?
They go out, they get a wide receiver, they get
a running back, they draft another wide receiver, they're doing
all these things to upgrade the offense, and they didn't
do any of those things the last two or three
years of Coach Tomlin's tenure. So I just think it
(29:00):
was time for him to move on in time for
the organization to have another voice.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
All right, let's get you out of here one more time.
Tell everyone what you're doing. This is one of the
great ideas, promotional ideas I've heard. Tell everyone one more
time what you're doing with Pepsi here.
Speaker 8 (29:13):
I am an official game day referee.
Speaker 9 (29:17):
And I'm refereeing tailgates that do not, I'm throwing flags
to any tailgate party that does not include Pepsi. You
got to have the bold taste of Pepsi at every
tailgate party.
Speaker 8 (29:31):
I'm watching.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
All right. The boss just said he's watching you people.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Uh we appreciate you doing this man i can't have
you around here enough you are great uh thank you
for doing this good luck to your son better luck
to your daughter uh.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
Well she's she's a senior at notre dame she's about
to finish and i'm so happy i'm about to stop
writing checks To anybody, so I'm happy.
Speaker 5 (29:55):
There's always more checks, I can tell you, as a
parent of two daughters, okay? He's laughing.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
He knows.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
It's just beginning. Just when you think you've written your
last check, Jerome, I promise you there's more.
Speaker 8 (30:06):
Never off the payroll.
Speaker 5 (30:08):
Thank you. Tailgate's out there. Listen to me. If you're
going to have a tailgate, you're not going to have Pepsi.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Jerome Bettis is coming through your tailgate with Pepsi and flags.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
And he's going to throw them at you. Jerome, we
appreciate you doing this, man.
Speaker 8 (30:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Our thanks to Jerome Bettis for joining us in that
last segment. Bijan Robinson, Justin Jefferson going to join us
in hour number two. If you've noticed a Pepin Taylor
step lately, and how could you, audience?
Speaker 5 (30:48):
Why would you? It's because Aaron Judge is back.
Speaker 6 (30:53):
You guys are waxing so poetically footballs here footballs there
yeah the only thing i cared about yesterday yeah was
99 returning to that outfield.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Yeah i know but i cared about the uh the
alcaraz match that took me that kept me up till
3 30 in the morning last night i'm exhausted you
guys won't let me talk about it it's possibly the
greatest tennis match i've ever seen an american tennis is
back when he came anyway that's aaron judge go ahead
i hate you I'll have to take your word on.
Speaker 6 (31:19):
That tennis match.
Speaker 5 (31:20):
Greatest tennis match.
Speaker 6 (31:21):
I'm going to walk by somebody later and go, greatest
tennis match ever. And they'll probably be like, what are
you talking about?
Speaker 5 (31:26):
Everyone will know, Taylor. Go ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Just walk around the premises here and say, greatest tennis
match ever.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
Where is he when I need him?
Speaker 6 (31:35):
So yesterday, Aaron Judge returns to the Yankees lineup. Much
needed to help out a Yankee lineup that had been
pretty bad ever since he left in late May. He
goes over three in his return and Aaron Boone pulls
him at the end of the game or probably about
the seventh inning in this game.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Right.
Speaker 6 (31:54):
Because he's like, he's just coming back a long layoff.
We're going to pull them just to be safe. Aaron
judge in the post game was not happy about it.
And this was Aaron judge talking about it.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
All right.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
How did you respond physically?
Speaker 4 (32:07):
I feel great.
Speaker 8 (32:08):
I played half a game.
Speaker 6 (32:09):
So I don't know what to, uh, what to say
about that.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Um, It seemed like you had a long conversation about
that with the manager when he went to take you out.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
How hard did you play to just stay in there
for a full night?
Speaker 4 (32:21):
I respect Booney, so whatever he says, I'm going to do.
Speaker 6 (32:23):
But, you know, I'm not happy about it.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
But, you know, that's where my guy Ramos picked me
up and I had a nice little three-run homer there
to kind of put the game out so we can,
you know, be comfortable going into the last inning.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
But, yeah, not too happy about it.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
You can't say I respect the manager and then say
I'm not too happy about his decision.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
You can't do it. I mean, he did it, but
you can't do it.
Speaker 6 (32:44):
So the move he's talking about, he gets pinch hit
for Elliott Ramos or he gets taken out of the
game for Elliott Ramos. And then later in the game,
Elliott Ramos hits a three run home run.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (32:53):
One of the Yankees trade deadline acquisitions.
Speaker 5 (32:55):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (32:56):
I do agree with you, Stu, because this does come
off as a little condescending towards Aaron Boone. But I
also do see Aaron Judge's side. You haven't played since
late May. You worked all this way to get a rehab.
You're back in the lineup, presumably because you're finally fully
healthy and there's no concern. So why are you not
(33:17):
playing the full game? Because he always gets hurt.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
Judge doesn't always get hurt. He got hurt this year.
Speaker 6 (33:27):
You're giving him the always gets hurt label when I
think you mean Giancarlo Stanton. You're kind of mixing the
two together.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
I know, but Judge gets hurt sometimes. Not as frequently
as Giancarlo Stanton.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Nobody does.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
In the history of sports, no one gets injured as
frequently as Giancarlo Stanton.
Speaker 5 (33:43):
But Judge has been injured.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Does anyone get injured more frequently than In the history
of sports that Giancarlo Stanton, that's the Got790 on X.
How many games has Judge missed over the last couple
of seasons?
Speaker 5 (33:56):
It's been a bunch, right?
Speaker 6 (33:57):
So 2025, he played 152 out of 162. And then 2024,
he played 158 out of 162. Okay, so he's been healthy.
You guys are right.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
But he's coming back off and off of an injury
uh you guys question whether or not he'd be back
for the regular season he's back and i don't blame
aaron boom for wanting to keep him healthy for when
the games are important the postseason.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
No i definitely agree with that where so aaron judge
in his back-to-back mvp seasons has missed a total of
14 games uh the past two seasons but For this
Yankee team to reach their potential in October, it's going
to need Aaron Judge being fully healthy. So I do
agree with you on being precautionary when it comes to
(34:43):
Aaron Judge's return. I'm starting to walk back my take
that this is my least favorite Yankee team of all time.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
Why is that? Really? You made the take. Why? Why
are you walking it back? What's going on here?
Speaker 6 (34:54):
Because they they have adjusted some of the things that
I was I was railing against.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (34:59):
And they've they've brought up more of their young players
like Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
To where.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
They're at least exciting. They're not always the best offense,
but at least the young guys are causing this infusion
of talent, of supposed talent to their lineup, where it's
not always strikeout, strikeout, strikeout. Because Lord knows I can
only watch Trent Grisham strikeout. uh, so many times or
watch jazz Chisholm out his way after leaving. And I think,
(35:29):
I think Brian Cashman is going to get bailed out by,
by this Austin Wells decision of, of not trading for
a catcher at the deadline.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Right.
Speaker 6 (35:35):
And Lord knows I ripped him there too. Austin Wells,
he's been a competent catcher the past month and a half,
and that's really all the Yankees need from that position.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Is Cashman really going to bail himself out? It doesn't
matter whether that works out or not. He'll be right
back where he is right now. Next year, he'll be there.
He'll be the Yankees GM forever. It's a good point.
Speaker 6 (35:53):
He's got job security for life. How did he acquire
a bullpen arm?
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Him and Todd Bowles. I mean, it's unbelievable. They have
job security for the remainder of time.
Speaker 6 (36:02):
It's weird.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Mikey A seems very disappointed with you walking back a
hot take.
Speaker 5 (36:06):
That's not how we do it here on sports radio, man.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
No, it's not how we do it, and it's especially
not how you do it when you got me to
buy into that take.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
I am with you. Well, I was with you, I guess.
I hate this Yankee team.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
This is one of my least favorite Yankee teams ever,
so much so that I was sent a pre-sale for.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
Yankee playoff tickets, and I immediately deleted it.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
I am not paying to go see this team get
bounced in the ALDS, the wild card round, or whatever
else you want.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Right.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Send me that link. I might be interested in those tickets.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
That already passed.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
It has nothing to do with his fandom. Everything to
do with the drive and the hassle of getting a
Yankee stadium.
Speaker 6 (36:47):
I mean, seriously.
Speaker 4 (36:47):
Well, yeah, that's part of it. That's part of it.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
If I love this Yankee team, I'd be like, I'll suffer.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
I'll do. I'll make the trip. I'll pay the $ 80
to park.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
So Boone takes Judge out of the game and he
replaces him with Elliot.
Speaker 5 (37:00):
What's his name?
Speaker 6 (37:01):
Elliot Ramos.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
And that guy hits a home run.
Speaker 6 (37:04):
Three-run home run. It was a 2-1 game. Ramos' home
run made it 5-1, put the game out of reach.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Was Judge spotted celebrating the home run, or did he,
you know, take his ball and go into the locker room?
Speaker 5 (37:14):
What did he do?
Speaker 6 (37:15):
I believe he was celebrating. No cameras on the YES
Network caught him pouting, doing thumbs down to Elliott Ramos
as he's rounding the bases.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
It's a fake celebration. He's celebrating because he has to
celebrate in that spot. He didn't want Elliott to do that.
And meanwhile, Boone sitting there looking at him, just out
of the corner of his eye, like, hey.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
Good move by Nick.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
Last laugh.
Thanks for listening to the best of Stugatz and Company
live podcast. Find your local station for Stugatz and Company
live at FoxSportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on
the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is the best of Stugatz and Company live on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
NFL kicks off tonight and we are loaded today. Jerome
Bettis going to join us. Bijan Robinson and Justin Jefferson
going to join us. In hour number two, we are
stacked today. Seahawks and Patriots tonight kicks off the 2026
NFL season, and we'll get to that in just a second.
(00:42):
Taylor has been sitting on a take. He's upset he
did not deliver this take yesterday, and he wants to
deliver it right now as we get ready for the
NFL season. I'm not certain if it's an NFL take. Mikey,
are you aware of the take that he's been sitting
on here?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
No, but Taylor gave me a take before the show
and I've just been mad at him ever since.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
And I don't think that's the take you're referring to.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
But I've just been sitting here stewing about it. Like
I I'm, I'm angry with him.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
All right.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So he has two takes. Cause I believe this is
not the take that angered you. So let's get to
the first take here, Taylor. What do you have for us?
Speaker 6 (01:19):
After watching Florida state SMU and seeing Florida state be
three and 14 in its last 17 ACC games, It's
harder to be this bad at Florida State than it
is to be this good at Indiana.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
I agree.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
I like that take.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Put it on the poll. Is it harder to be
this bad at Florida State? than it is to be this.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Good at Indiana.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
Because those results that I just read, those are Purdue-level numbers.
They're Northwestern-level numbers. You're Florida State. You're sitting in the
middle of one of the greatest recruiting states in America.
You have a national brand, championship history, an enormous fan base,
and your result is paying Ashton Daniels a reported $ 800, 000
in NIL to be your quarterback. I wouldn't take Ashton
(02:03):
Daniels on my roster if he paid me $ 800, 000.
Speaker 5 (02:07):
Put it on the poll. What's his name? Ashton what?
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Ashton Daniels.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
If Ashton Daniels paid you $ 800, 000, would you take him?
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Just put it on the poll just like that. What
do you have, Mikey?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
This feels like Stu Gotts going 0 for 17 picking games.
Like that's how Florida State, how bad.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
They've been is it's almost like.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It's a mixture of luck and being bad that gets
you as bad as they are.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
You have to actively work to be this bad at
Florida State.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Yeah. They were in the title game, weren't they, a
couple of years ago? Yeah, but.
Speaker 6 (02:44):
The fall off needs to be studied for this Florida
state team for other college powerhouses to be like, what
do we do to not replicate what Florida state did?
And I think the simple answer is not recruit a
quarterback in Ashton Daniels, who was six and 21 as
a starter between Stanford, Auburn, and now Florida state.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Or have Mike Norvell as your coach, right?
Speaker 6 (03:03):
I love Mike Norvell.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
You do, but you don't.
Speaker 6 (03:06):
He should be fired, but.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
You can't say that you love a guy and he
should be fired at the exact same time.
Speaker 6 (03:12):
No, because this is like separating the artist from the art.
I'm separating the person from the football coach. I love
Mike Norvell, the person.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Great person. Yeah, great.
Speaker 6 (03:21):
Yes. The coach leaves a lot to be desired.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
The coach was the toast of Tallahassee two years ago.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
And nothing has gone right since.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
Ashton Daniels. Funny.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Let's get to the take that upset Mikey. Who wants
to deliver this take?
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Go ahead. No, no, no.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Taylor's going to deliver because I won't even spit it out.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
All right.
Speaker 6 (03:45):
So tonight's the NFL kicking off. My Patriots are in
a Super Bowl rematch against the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (03:52):
I'm sorry to say this. Uh-huh. I'm watching on the
TV right now Liverpool play in their Champions League.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (03:58):
I'm more excited for Liverpool's Champions League campaign kicking off
right now against Atletico Madrid than I am for the
NFL tonight.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Are you really? Because I wanted to talk tennis.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Because last night I was up until 3.30 in the
morning watching.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
What was perhaps the greatest tennis match of all time.
And you won't let me talk tennis. And now you've
dragged me into Liverpool.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
That Tiafoe match might've been the second. It was the
greatest tennis match of all time. Tiafoe coming back down
two sets. Yes. It was the greatest tennis match of
all time for like, no.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
No, no, no. This is my Christmas Eve.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
You guys are not going to take this from me
by talking about tennis and soccer.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
No, this is my time.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
OK, I'm just making a larger point. I wanted to
start today with tennis. You guys said no. And somehow Taylor,
who was one of the two of you who said no,
has dragged us into soccer talk. You want tennis talk now?
Speaker 6 (04:49):
It's Christmas Eve. It's Christmas Eve. And me and Stu
Gatz are over here trying to celebrate Halloween.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
Yeah, well, the U.S. Open is my Christmas Eve. I mean,
I love it.
Speaker 7 (04:59):
I do.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Francis Tiafoe, that match against Mickelson started when we were here.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
We were here. Mikey, we were here doing the show.
I got home.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
The sun was coming down, and Tiafoe was still hitting forehands.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
Stu, when I turned that TV off yesterday before the
Shelton-Alcaraz match.
Speaker 7 (05:18):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
I was tennised out the Tiafoe Mickelson. I said, there's
no way the next match could be better than the
match I just saw. So let me turn this off
and let me turn on the Yankee game.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
Right.
Speaker 6 (05:29):
And then apparently I missed an all time class.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well, that wasn't because you missed a woman's quarterfinal match,
which was a good match on a great match. It
was the match right after Tiafoe. That was Emma Navarro.
She lost to Pagoula. Pagoula, an American, is now in
the semifinals. Mikey is so upset. And then the Alcaraz
match happened, and Ben Shelton beat him in five sets
at 3.30 a.m.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
In the morning.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Greatest match I've ever seen. I watched the entire match.
I'm exhausted today. Mikey, so that's the take. It's the
soccer take that upset you, huh?
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Yes because you're right we both did say no to
you talking tennis you did even though you just squeezed
that in thank you and i thought i had an
ally in taylor i thought me and taylor were going
to be a hand in hand no no no we're
going to walk into this nfl season which starts tonight
we are going to do this together we are not
going to let stu gots derail us and then taylor
hits me with liverpool and i'm just i'm i'm beside
(06:26):
myself with how mad i am about.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
I mean, I'm not derailing you.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
We have Jerome Bettis, Bijan Robinson, and Justin Jefferson on today.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
And just to be clear to Mikey, I'm not trying
to talk about this Liverpool match. Maybe some platform would
let me talk about Bradley Barkola getting his first start
for Liverpool in a Champions League match.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
You're talking about it.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
This is the platform, yes.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
And if you told me I could only watch one,
Liverpool versus Atletico Madrid or the NFL game tonight, yes,
I would pick the Liverpool game. But luckily, I don't
have to make that choice. I live in America. I
could do both things.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Can I just say, you're saying all this while wearing
a Patriots logo right in the middle of your chest,
claiming your best friend, Matt Collins, is playing on the team,
and you would rather watch Liverpool and Atletico Madrid or.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Whoever the hell it is.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
It's a big match.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Instead of talking about your.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I'm using air quotes for those who can't see me
favorite team, the new England Patriots try and get revenge
against the super bowl champion, Seattle Seahawks led by.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Our former quarterback, Sam Darnold. And you would rather talk
about soccer. That's what you're telling me.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
In fairness to Taylor, no one cares about the Seahawks.
What do you do?
Speaker 6 (07:46):
Well, you do this with Seattle all the time.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
What am I doing? You want Liverpool.
Speaker 6 (07:51):
No, no matter what Seattle team we talk about.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
You always do this thing where you're like, nobody cares
about Seattle. And then I'm left with the consequences of
that where people from Seattle are messaging me saying, why
does Stu always blast Seattle at every chance he gets?
Speaker 5 (08:08):
I'm not blasting Seattle. It's a lovely place. I've been there.
I've been there several times. I love it. It's wonderful.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
It's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
I've been to the Gorge. I've gone to see concerts
in Seattle. I've gone to the Gorge for Dead &
Company shows. My college roommate, Chris Gordon, is from Seattle.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
I love the city.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
Gordo.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
Gordo. How'd you know?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Because there's only one name that can be somebody like that,
and it's Gordo.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
It's Gordo. Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
So I love Seattle. Just nobody cares about the sports
in the great Northwest.
Speaker 8 (08:40):
I mean, nobody.
Speaker 7 (08:41):
Nobody.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Listen, the NBA doesn't care about him.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
They have one of the most exciting teams in the
history of the NBA with the Rain Man, Sean Kemp,
and the Gloved Gary Payton, and they.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Moved the team. I mean, what do you want from me?
Speaker 6 (08:54):
I'm going to extend an olive branch to Mikey A.
We could talk Patriots, Seahawks. Mikey, Travion Henderson, sideline. Let's
get all your thoughts out that Travion Henderson, the Patriots'
star running back, is out for this contest.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
That's not fair to Mikey. He's just excited that we
have football, and it starts tonight.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah. First off, if you want to talk about Travion
Henderson being out, listen, you can do this to me
with the NBA. You can do this to me with soccer.
You can even do this to me with baseball. You
cannot do this to me with the NFL. I will
tell you how Ramondre Stevenson better have lost those fumble
issues because right now Travion Henderson being out is the
best thing to happen to him.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Let's go, Taylor.
Speaker 6 (09:29):
I am glad that the Patriots got the Christian Gonzalez
contract done before tonight because I didn't need the unnecessary
drama or... Or distraction hanging over the team. Four years,
$ 135 million, making him the highest paid defensive back in
NFL history.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Deserves it. Does he?
Speaker 6 (09:45):
I think he deserves it. At least Mikey doesn't.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
How many cornerbacks can you name that are better than him?
Just off the top of your head. Sertan would be one, right?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Stingley. I can name three.
Speaker 5 (09:54):
Who's the third? Stingley is another one, yes.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
I I'm going to say sauce Gardner.
Speaker 8 (09:59):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
But the problem, the problem is you have a Christian
Gonzalez already on your roster and he's their first free.
He's their first, first round draft pick to sign a
second contract with the team in the past 11 years.
Donta Hightower was the last one. Like if you are
the new England Patriots, you draft a guy like Gonzo
to eventually give him a second contract. If we could
debate where he is in terms of top cornerbacks, if
(10:23):
he's a top five cornerback, you pay that top five
cornerback to stay on, stay with your franchise.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
And no disrespect to Seattle, the way Stu does. I
forgot Devin Witherspoon, who's also playing in this game.
Speaker 8 (10:34):
Right.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
He's probably better than Christian Gonzalez.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
That's why I forgot him. He plays in Seattle.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
I mean, I understand.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And you know what? I, we, we just did that
whole thing where we were crushing stupors. And then I
just went ahead and did it and forgot about them.
Speaker 8 (10:45):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
I apologize.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Seattle, Devin Witherspoon's up there too.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
To the great people of Seattle. I am not crushing
you or your city. I'm just saying nobody cares about
your sports teams.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
And I'm right.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
Yes. I cared about Ken Griffey Jr.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Did you?
Speaker 6 (10:59):
Ricardo just gave me an emphatic mm-hmm.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
The kid.
Speaker 8 (11:03):
And the unit.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
The big unit. Wow. Yes. No, they've had some great teams.
I'm just saying nobody cares about them. That's all. I mean,
come get me, Seattle.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Seriously.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
I ain't afraid of you.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Both of you.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Mikey, I am so sorry that we started. It is
your Christmas.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
My Christmas Eve.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And in the stockings was tennis and a soccer conversation.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
It's a big one for Liverpool. Gotta get started on
the right foot.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Be sure to catch live editions of Stu Gatz and
Company live weekdays at 3 p.m. Eastern, 12 p.m. Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (11:48):
Jerome Bennett is going to join us in a few minutes.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
We'll get to Dan Beyer and the sports update in
just a minute as well. Justin Jefferson, Bijan Robinson in
our number two. We are loaded today as the NFL.
kicks off its season. Taylor, let's go to college, though.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Well, not really. It's kind of professional.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Let's go to LSU and Lane Kiffin and what is
going on there, because this has become.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Laugh out loud funny. What is the latest here with
LSU and the SEC?
Speaker 6 (12:15):
So it feels like we have finally reached a conclusion
with this story because LSU is adding two players to
complete its 105-man roster for the 2026 season, which eliminates
the possibility of the program bringing in former NFL rookies.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
So they've capped their roster at 105. That's the amount
of kids you can keep on a college football roster.
It seems like too many. Seems like a lot. Seems excessive.
105 kids.
Speaker 6 (12:41):
You need people to fill out bodies at practice. Those
scout teams don't.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Fill out themselves.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Something you're well aware of, by the way, right?
Speaker 6 (12:48):
I think when I was playing, there was like 120.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Were you number 120?
Speaker 6 (12:53):
I was probably 127, if I could guess.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Outside looking in?
Speaker 7 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Really?
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Really. That's too bad.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So anyway, the SEC is now scheduled a meeting Thursday
with its presidents and chancellors to vote on whether to
terminate LSU's membership in the SEC.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Let me tell you how that vote's going to go.
All right. That vote's going to go, and LSU is
going to.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Be as strong as they've ever been inside the SEC.
No one is voting LSU and Lane Gifford out of
the Southeastern Conference. Nobody, not a single president, not a
single chancellor is going to say, hey, this sounds like
a good idea.
Speaker 5 (13:38):
Let's kick LSU, our best team perhaps, and LSU.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Maybe the most famous guy in the sport right now
in Lane Kiffin.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
He might be. Let's kick him out of our conference.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
Not happening.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
How much are the presidents of the ACC, Big Ten,
and Big 12 hoping that they kick LSU out?
Speaker 4 (13:58):
How much are they sitting back.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Going, please kick them out, because we will scoop them
up so fast and just make our conference that much better.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Right.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
You have LSU in the Sun Belt. Is that what
you're doing there?
Speaker 4 (14:10):
No, I had ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 is
what I said.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
But, yes, the Sun Belt is also like, yay, us too.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
So there was a lot of pulpit pressure.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
That's how the Sun Belt sounds.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
There was a lot of public pressure for LSU to
not add these NFL players.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
And this feels like LSU kind of conceding to it.
But I don't think Lane Kiffin really concedes to anything.
I think this is Lane Kiffin watching his team play
against Clemson and saying, I don't really need this headache
right now.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
Whether we have the NFL players or not, my team
is national title worthy. Let's let's just drop this.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Yes, I'm good without the pros. Yes.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
I have this vision of Lane Kiffin just messing with
everybody this whole time like he was never going to
do it.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Like he was just like, watch, watch them all get mad. Watch.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Let's get it up to Congress. Let's get it all
the way to Congress where they're getting involved. And this
is never going to happen. But I'm just going to
keep messing with them.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
I'm just going to keep putting my name out there.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Can I hear the voice, Mike EA, that represents the
Big Ten, the big, loud, confident voice?
Speaker 5 (15:13):
Can I hear that voice first? I want to hear
that voice first. Can I hear it? What's it sound like?
This is the voice of the Big Ten.
Speaker 8 (15:18):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
The Big Ten.
Speaker 8 (15:19):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
We'll take them.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
All right. And the Sunbelt Conference, they sound like what?
Just to be clear.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Yay, we want them. LSU joins us.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
We'll take them.
Speaker 6 (15:31):
My least favorite thing in this narrative with these players
wanting to come back from LSU from the NFL and
play out a fifth year there. The narrative has gotten
so far out of control, it feels like LSU was
trying to add Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson to their roster,
and instead, it's players that didn't have the option when
(15:55):
the NCAA made these rulings to come back for a
potential fifth year, where yes, they went on to sign
with NFL teams, but if the NCAA had made this
ruling When before they had made that decision, OK, maybe
somebody like Daquan Wright comes back to LSU to play
out a fifth year because a fifth year at LSU
(16:16):
probably pays him 10 times more than whatever a practice
squad could potentially pay him. So that's why I was
kind of on the side of the players where you're
not talking about adding like 10 year NFL veterans. And
that's almost what it felt like the conversation had become like.
LSU was looking into adding pro bowlers to their roster.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
No, it's a tricky spot, a tricky situation, unprecedented, one
might say. And the people who lose in this equation
is not LSU. It's not the chancellors. It's not the president.
It's the two kids because no one's running the NCAA
and no one is looking over college football.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
There is no commissioner. There is nothing in place.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And the people who lose out are the kids who
declared themselves for the NFL draft and got drafted, wanted
to go back.
Speaker 5 (16:59):
To LSU because there's a loophole, and now they can't.
So they lose out. What do they do? What do
those kids do now?
Speaker 6 (17:06):
This could just be a never-ending cycle of people suing
people because now these LSU players are going to sue
the NCAA or sue the SEC for denying their chances
to stay and earn money in college. So when I
was in Baton Rouge— My least favorite thing about the SEC,
(17:26):
because I went there and I've been trying to embrace
the SEC culture.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
Right.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
It's just how pro SEC everybody is there.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (17:36):
Because I grew up a Carolina fan. No part of
me cares even the slightest bit or has even the
slightest bit of pride if Clemson or Miami is winning
and saying, oh, that's great for the ACC. And if
you're an Arkansas Razorbacks fan doing the SEC chant because
the Georgia Bulldogs are winning national championships, you're embarrassing yourself.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
Yeah, you really are. I am with you. In fact,
I would dare to say that if you're.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
A Carolina grad, a Carolina fan like you are, you're
rooting for Clemson's demise.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
You don't want any other team in the conference to
outdo you.
Speaker 6 (18:12):
Not even, not even just Clemson, not even just Miami.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Right.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Wake Forest is about as irrelevant a program as you
could get in the ACC. And every time Wake Forest
is playing, I look at them and say, I think
this would be better for me if they lose.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
The Ole Miss president, chancellor, whatever they have there. Is
he voting to have LSU out of the conference or she?
Speaker 6 (18:34):
No, they're all voting. We need LSU. LSU needs us.
We need LSU. It's a mutually beneficial partnership. But I
was watching tailgates in Baton Rouge and Baylor Auburn is on.
And I'm like, hey, who's everybody rooting for here? And
they're like, oh, we're pulling for Auburn.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
I'm like, why?
Speaker 6 (18:50):
And they're like. SEC SEC I'm like okay you guys
have me for about 90% of the day this is
just going to be the 10% that we could just
agree to disagree on Ricardo's an Alabama fan and I'm
an Alabama fan who are you a fan of? University
of Miami oh he's a University of Miami fan you
went to Alabama though man he's.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
305 Ricardo what are you talking about?
Speaker 6 (19:11):
He dropped out of Alabama.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Oh, he did. Okay. You're not the only one. Most
fail out. You just dropped out, right?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 6 (19:21):
It was my volition, Stu.
Speaker 9 (19:22):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (19:23):
But do you disagree with the notion that SEC teams
aren't all rooting for SEC teams?
Speaker 5 (19:27):
No, no, you are correct.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
They do that.
Speaker 7 (19:30):
One hundred percent. The only thing is, is because it
was the SEC versus the world. And for so long,
the SEC won so many national championships that it was
like a pride that, you know, nobody outside of the
SEC is going to beat us.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
And SEC versus the world. What did Vanderbilt do to
contribute to the SEC against the world where they're in
Nashville doing SEC football chants with a stadium that's half-constructed?
Speaker 5 (19:53):
They're there for academic purposes. You are so right about this.
No one.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
If you're an Arkansas Razorback and you're an alum of
that school and you care about LSU, get a life.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
I mean, what a loser. All of you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
No one cares about the rest of the schools in
their conference. You care about your school.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
That's it.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
And now you have Johnny come lately is the Texas
in the Oklahoma is doing SEC chance at their stadium.
You guys have been in the conference for five minutes.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And there's nothing south about you. I mean, you were
in the Big 12 two years ago, and you're as
far from the southeast as possible. I mean, what are
we doing here? College football, a complete mess. Lane Kiffin,
the biggest star in the sport. They're going to kick
him out of the SEC. Very excited about this. Jerome Bettis,
Super Bowl champion, Walter Payton Man of the Year, six-time
(20:46):
Pro Bowler. He is joining us on behalf of Pepsi
with college football and the NFL right around the corner. Jerome,
thank you for doing this. What are you doing with Pepsi?
Speaker 8 (20:55):
I am.
Speaker 9 (20:57):
Having an incredible time with Pepsi. I'm an official game
day ref, and I'm really refereeing all of those really
bad and poor tailgate opportunities. I'm trying to make sure
all the tailgates, they have the right game day food,
(21:19):
because they deserve the bold taste of Pepsi. So I'm
throwing flags... on any of these tailgates that aren't correctly.
Speaker 8 (21:32):
Using the right cola.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Which is Pepsi.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
Yes. Okay. So I love this.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
You are walking across NFL Stadium's parking lots, and you're
checking out tailgate parties, and if they're not doing it correctly,
according to Jerome Bettis, you're going to throw a flag
at them, right?
Speaker 9 (21:48):
I'm throwing flags, and, you know, it's one of those–
You got to let them know, hey, no Pepsi?
Speaker 8 (21:55):
That's a flavor file. I'm telling you. Yes. I'm throwing
it back.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Are you wearing a Zebra's jersey? Like, what are you
doing here? Are you really sinking in?
Speaker 8 (22:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
You are.
Speaker 8 (22:04):
I am Zebra'd out.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Oh, I love it. So really, they just have to
have Pepsi, though. That's it.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Then they get a good grade. You move on to
the next one, right? And if they don't have Pepsi,
you'll make sure they do have Pepsi, right?
Speaker 8 (22:17):
Absolutely. That's a foul. That is a foul.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
I love it. It's such a fun idea.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
You officiating tailgate parties is actually an outstanding idea by Pepsi. Jerome,
we'll get back to that in a second. We'll talk
about it and promote it again here on the way out.
But I am wondering here, Last week, we were having
a conversation. We do a thing around here. It's Think
About It Thursday. And so we were talking about if
you can only have one utensil for the remainder of time,
(22:47):
a fork, a spoon, or a knife, which one you
going with?
Speaker 5 (22:52):
He likes this question.
Speaker 8 (22:54):
That's the real thing. You got me thinking. I'm taking
my glass up. I would say the knife.
Speaker 6 (23:01):
Wow, a knife.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Really?
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Wow.
Speaker 8 (23:04):
Because the knife.
Speaker 9 (23:06):
I can, the knife can act like a fork, but
the fork can't act like a knife.
Speaker 6 (23:12):
And the spoon is just ridiculous of a choice.
Speaker 8 (23:15):
The spoon, the spoon. That's the extra. The spoon is
just extra.
Speaker 9 (23:21):
I mean, you know, that's the bonus is a spoon.
Speaker 8 (23:25):
I mean, because ultimately you got to scoop. You can
scoop with your hand.
Speaker 9 (23:29):
But the spoon is a bonus. That's a bonus utensil.
It's about fork, knife, I think, ultimately. And I think
because you could do so much and you need so
much with the knife, you got to have it because
the fork, it's only doing so much. The knife is
going to be across the board. You're going to use
that in your life skills in terms of cutting down
(23:53):
something to create a fire. You can't do that with
a fork. That's why I'm going with the knife.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
So you're willing to forgo soup. Well, you'll drink soup
right out of the bowl, right? Scoop it, scoop it.
With your hand? Scoop and score, baby.
Speaker 8 (24:11):
Scoop and score if you have to.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
And how are you going to navigate ice cream with
a knife?
Speaker 8 (24:17):
Listen, listen.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
If I'm in bad shape, the last thing I'm thinking
about is ice cream.
Speaker 8 (24:24):
And you better believe.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yes.
Speaker 9 (24:26):
You see my body type. I'm not a big soup guy.
So that's not on the menu very often.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Totally fair. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
I'm hesitant to ask you football questions because I'm not
certain we'll get a better response than the one we.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
Just got to that question.
Speaker 9 (24:40):
I am a meat, potato, and Pepsi guy.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
So the mashed potatoes just right on the knife and
just boom, right in your mouth, right?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
That's it.
Speaker 8 (24:49):
Boom, bam, boom, bam.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
Boom, bam.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
The bus is with us. He's so great. Where are
you sitting right now? That is a really nice room, man.
Speaker 9 (24:57):
I am in my man cave downstairs in the house.
I used to be in my office, but this is
a little bit more visually stimulating, if you will.
Speaker 8 (25:09):
So it's a good time.
Speaker 9 (25:11):
And then what you don't see is the front of the,
let me see if I can turn the front of it.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
You can see I got it. I got the golf
simulator up front, so I'll have a good time with it. Wow.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
How's the golf game?
Speaker 8 (25:25):
It's okay.
Speaker 9 (25:27):
I'm going through a swing change, so it's some rough
days right now, but good days and bad days.
Speaker 8 (25:34):
So I'm playing well, though.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
All right, I'm thinking eventually, if you're okay with it,
me and Taylor, we come up to the man cave
there just with knives, okay?
Speaker 5 (25:41):
And we just have a day, okay? What do you think?
We're good?
Speaker 8 (25:44):
Knives only.
Speaker 5 (25:45):
That's it.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
And Pepsi.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
And Pepsi. Of course.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
Leave the soup at the front door.
Speaker 5 (25:51):
Yes, and I'll bring the Pepsi, okay? I promise you.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That's right.
Speaker 6 (25:53):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (25:53):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
All right, go ahead, Taylor.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
Jerome, you are a Notre Dame legend. Your son's a
sophomore now at Notre Dame. When he was going through
his recruitment process, if he came to you and said, Dad,
I'm thinking about going to USC. What would that conversation
have been like?
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Mike Norvell was on with us recently. We asked him
the same question about his kids. He said his kids
know better than to ask him about the University of
Miami or the University of Florida.
Speaker 8 (26:20):
So it was one of those.
Speaker 9 (26:24):
Times where what I didn't want to do was I
didn't want to be overly pushy about Notre Dame.
Speaker 8 (26:31):
I wanted him.
Speaker 9 (26:33):
to come to his own conclusion, ultimately, because my philosophy was,
you got to spend, you know, four years there. And
if you don't like it, you're going to always, hey, dad,
dad made me go there. Dad, no, I want this
to be your decision. So I was very conscious of
not over... hyping Notre Dame, but I did want to
(26:56):
explain the true benefits that it's not only the football
that you gain from going to university, but the biggest
sales job for me, it wasn't me saying a word.
His older sister, his big sister, and his best friend.
Speaker 8 (27:18):
She decided to go to Notre Dame over USC.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
Right.
Speaker 8 (27:22):
And that is what saved the day because she almost,
it was, USC was one for her. So I was,
I was, this was a real situation for me.
Speaker 9 (27:31):
It wasn't, the one thing I did tell her though,
I admit, I told her, you can go to USC,
but I'm not writing a check to the University.
Speaker 8 (27:40):
Of Southern California. You can't get that. I said, my
name is not going to be anywhere around. Your mother's
going to pay for everything.
Speaker 5 (27:50):
Well, You can't even write it out. You just don't want,
you don't want to give your money to that institution.
I understand it.
Speaker 9 (27:57):
I don't want them with anything with USC and my
name on it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
All right, Jerome, we'll get you out of here in
just a second. Wondering here, were you surprised that Mike
Tomlin finally walked away from the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Speaker 9 (28:11):
You know, I was with the timing of it, but
I wasn't surprised ultimately because obviously this game is so
much pressure and it's so much... And I really felt
the end of his career, he didn't necessarily get a
full buy-in from the team in terms of the organization.
Speaker 8 (28:34):
Because he never really had the.
Speaker 9 (28:38):
The weapons that he really needed. I mean, you look
at what they did this year in the offseason, right?
They go out, they get a wide receiver, they get
a running back, they draft another wide receiver, they're doing
all these things to upgrade the offense, and they didn't
do any of those things the last two or three
years of Coach Tomlin's tenure. So I just think it
(29:00):
was time for him to move on in time for
the organization to have another voice.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
All right, let's get you out of here one more time.
Tell everyone what you're doing. This is one of the
great ideas, promotional ideas I've heard. Tell everyone one more
time what you're doing with Pepsi here.
Speaker 8 (29:13):
I am an official game day referee.
Speaker 9 (29:17):
And I'm refereeing tailgates that do not, I'm throwing flags
to any tailgate party that does not include Pepsi. You
got to have the bold taste of Pepsi at every
tailgate party.
Speaker 8 (29:31):
I'm watching.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
All right. The boss just said he's watching you people.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Uh we appreciate you doing this man i can't have
you around here enough you are great uh thank you
for doing this good luck to your son better luck
to your daughter uh.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
Well she's she's a senior at notre dame she's about
to finish and i'm so happy i'm about to stop
writing checks To anybody, so I'm happy.
Speaker 5 (29:55):
There's always more checks, I can tell you, as a
parent of two daughters, okay? He's laughing.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
He knows.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
It's just beginning. Just when you think you've written your
last check, Jerome, I promise you there's more.
Speaker 8 (30:06):
Never off the payroll.
Speaker 5 (30:08):
Thank you. Tailgate's out there. Listen to me. If you're
going to have a tailgate, you're not going to have Pepsi.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Jerome Bettis is coming through your tailgate with Pepsi and flags.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
And he's going to throw them at you. Jerome, we
appreciate you doing this, man.
Speaker 8 (30:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Our thanks to Jerome Bettis for joining us in that
last segment. Bijan Robinson, Justin Jefferson going to join us
in hour number two. If you've noticed a Pepin Taylor
step lately, and how could you, audience?
Speaker 5 (30:48):
Why would you? It's because Aaron Judge is back.
Speaker 6 (30:53):
You guys are waxing so poetically footballs here footballs there
yeah the only thing i cared about yesterday yeah was
99 returning to that outfield.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Yeah i know but i cared about the uh the
alcaraz match that took me that kept me up till
3 30 in the morning last night i'm exhausted you
guys won't let me talk about it it's possibly the
greatest tennis match i've ever seen an american tennis is
back when he came anyway that's aaron judge go ahead
i hate you I'll have to take your word on.
Speaker 6 (31:19):
That tennis match.
Speaker 5 (31:20):
Greatest tennis match.
Speaker 6 (31:21):
I'm going to walk by somebody later and go, greatest
tennis match ever. And they'll probably be like, what are
you talking about?
Speaker 5 (31:26):
Everyone will know, Taylor. Go ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Just walk around the premises here and say, greatest tennis
match ever.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
Where is he when I need him?
Speaker 6 (31:35):
So yesterday, Aaron Judge returns to the Yankees lineup. Much
needed to help out a Yankee lineup that had been
pretty bad ever since he left in late May. He
goes over three in his return and Aaron Boone pulls
him at the end of the game or probably about
the seventh inning in this game.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Right.
Speaker 6 (31:54):
Because he's like, he's just coming back a long layoff.
We're going to pull them just to be safe. Aaron
judge in the post game was not happy about it.
And this was Aaron judge talking about it.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
All right.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
How did you respond physically?
Speaker 4 (32:07):
I feel great.
Speaker 8 (32:08):
I played half a game.
Speaker 6 (32:09):
So I don't know what to, uh, what to say
about that.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Um, It seemed like you had a long conversation about
that with the manager when he went to take you out.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
How hard did you play to just stay in there
for a full night?
Speaker 4 (32:21):
I respect Booney, so whatever he says, I'm going to do.
Speaker 6 (32:23):
But, you know, I'm not happy about it.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
But, you know, that's where my guy Ramos picked me
up and I had a nice little three-run homer there
to kind of put the game out so we can,
you know, be comfortable going into the last inning.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
But, yeah, not too happy about it.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
You can't say I respect the manager and then say
I'm not too happy about his decision.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
You can't do it. I mean, he did it, but
you can't do it.
Speaker 6 (32:44):
So the move he's talking about, he gets pinch hit
for Elliott Ramos or he gets taken out of the
game for Elliott Ramos. And then later in the game,
Elliott Ramos hits a three run home run.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (32:53):
One of the Yankees trade deadline acquisitions.
Speaker 5 (32:55):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (32:56):
I do agree with you, Stu, because this does come
off as a little condescending towards Aaron Boone. But I
also do see Aaron Judge's side. You haven't played since
late May. You worked all this way to get a rehab.
You're back in the lineup, presumably because you're finally fully
healthy and there's no concern. So why are you not
(33:17):
playing the full game? Because he always gets hurt.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
Judge doesn't always get hurt. He got hurt this year.
Speaker 6 (33:27):
You're giving him the always gets hurt label when I
think you mean Giancarlo Stanton. You're kind of mixing the
two together.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
I know, but Judge gets hurt sometimes. Not as frequently
as Giancarlo Stanton.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Nobody does.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
In the history of sports, no one gets injured as
frequently as Giancarlo Stanton.
Speaker 5 (33:43):
But Judge has been injured.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Does anyone get injured more frequently than In the history
of sports that Giancarlo Stanton, that's the Got790 on X.
How many games has Judge missed over the last couple
of seasons?
Speaker 5 (33:56):
It's been a bunch, right?
Speaker 6 (33:57):
So 2025, he played 152 out of 162. And then 2024,
he played 158 out of 162. Okay, so he's been healthy.
You guys are right.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
But he's coming back off and off of an injury
uh you guys question whether or not he'd be back
for the regular season he's back and i don't blame
aaron boom for wanting to keep him healthy for when
the games are important the postseason.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
No i definitely agree with that where so aaron judge
in his back-to-back mvp seasons has missed a total of
14 games uh the past two seasons but For this
Yankee team to reach their potential in October, it's going
to need Aaron Judge being fully healthy. So I do
agree with you on being precautionary when it comes to
(34:43):
Aaron Judge's return. I'm starting to walk back my take
that this is my least favorite Yankee team of all time.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
Why is that? Really? You made the take. Why? Why
are you walking it back? What's going on here?
Speaker 6 (34:54):
Because they they have adjusted some of the things that
I was I was railing against.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (34:59):
And they've they've brought up more of their young players
like Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
To where.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
They're at least exciting. They're not always the best offense,
but at least the young guys are causing this infusion
of talent, of supposed talent to their lineup, where it's
not always strikeout, strikeout, strikeout. Because Lord knows I can
only watch Trent Grisham strikeout. uh, so many times or
watch jazz Chisholm out his way after leaving. And I think,
(35:29):
I think Brian Cashman is going to get bailed out by,
by this Austin Wells decision of, of not trading for
a catcher at the deadline.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Right.
Speaker 6 (35:35):
And Lord knows I ripped him there too. Austin Wells,
he's been a competent catcher the past month and a half,
and that's really all the Yankees need from that position.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Is Cashman really going to bail himself out? It doesn't
matter whether that works out or not. He'll be right
back where he is right now. Next year, he'll be there.
He'll be the Yankees GM forever. It's a good point.
Speaker 6 (35:53):
He's got job security for life. How did he acquire
a bullpen arm?
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Him and Todd Bowles. I mean, it's unbelievable. They have
job security for the remainder of time.
Speaker 6 (36:02):
It's weird.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Mikey A seems very disappointed with you walking back a
hot take.
Speaker 5 (36:06):
That's not how we do it here on sports radio, man.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
No, it's not how we do it, and it's especially
not how you do it when you got me to
buy into that take.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
I am with you. Well, I was with you, I guess.
I hate this Yankee team.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
This is one of my least favorite Yankee teams ever,
so much so that I was sent a pre-sale for.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
Yankee playoff tickets, and I immediately deleted it.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
I am not paying to go see this team get
bounced in the ALDS, the wild card round, or whatever
else you want.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Right.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Send me that link. I might be interested in those tickets.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
That already passed.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
It has nothing to do with his fandom. Everything to
do with the drive and the hassle of getting a
Yankee stadium.
Speaker 6 (36:47):
I mean, seriously.
Speaker 4 (36:47):
Well, yeah, that's part of it. That's part of it.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
If I love this Yankee team, I'd be like, I'll suffer.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
I'll do. I'll make the trip. I'll pay the $ 80
to park.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
So Boone takes Judge out of the game and he
replaces him with Elliot.
Speaker 5 (37:00):
What's his name?
Speaker 6 (37:01):
Elliot Ramos.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
And that guy hits a home run.
Speaker 6 (37:04):
Three-run home run. It was a 2-1 game. Ramos' home
run made it 5-1, put the game out of reach.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Was Judge spotted celebrating the home run, or did he,
you know, take his ball and go into the locker room?
Speaker 5 (37:14):
What did he do?
Speaker 6 (37:15):
I believe he was celebrating. No cameras on the YES
Network caught him pouting, doing thumbs down to Elliott Ramos
as he's rounding the bases.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
It's a fake celebration. He's celebrating because he has to
celebrate in that spot. He didn't want Elliott to do that.
And meanwhile, Boone sitting there looking at him, just out
of the corner of his eye, like, hey.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
Good move by Nick.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
Last laugh.
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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