December 31, 2025 • 37 mins
On this edition of The Midway, Dan, Aaron and the crew give out New Year's resolutions for sports figures. Dan and Aaron talk about the college football Blue Bloods and what the standard of success has become in the CFP era. Dan and Aaron discuss who should be the NFL's Coach Of The Year.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fox Sports Radio had the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Happy New Year's Eve, twenty twenty six is just around
the corner. But for the final moments at twenty twenty five,
we appreciate you hanging out with us as we look
ahead to what sports teams need. We're gonna get to
controversial calls later on. Just to let you know, Aaron
Torres and I are in for Cavino and Rich today
here on Fox Sports Radio, So we're with you for
(00:29):
the next three hours. Getting a set for Ohio State
Miami tonight, the tripleheader of college football's quarterfinals coming up tomorrow,
and a week eighteen in the NFL that will wrap
up the regular season. Isaac Glowin Cranz here, as is
Jason Stewart and Chris Purfett. The road to Milan runs
through Saint Louis, ce Elia Mallin and Alyssa lou and
Amber Glenn compete at the twenty twenty six priviaging US
(00:52):
Figure Skating Champion Chips. It's January seventh through the eleventh.
Be there as the twenty twenty sixth US Olympic Figure
Skating team is named live tickets at US Figure Skating
dot Org. All eyes on the sun Bolt, which has
been a dandy so far. We got a good game
between Michigan and Texas and even Nebraska in Utah. Nebraska
(01:13):
looking for full time quarterback for next year. Dylan Royola
hurts now in the transfer portal Utah. The Morgan Scaley
era is now underway as Kyle Whittingham is watching his
new Michigan Wolverines against the Long Orangs instead of coaching
the Utes. That's what we get in bowl games here
on New Year's eve eron trres.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Two quick bowl thoughts before we get to obviously our
New Year's resolutions. One, There's no way Nebraska loses today.
Did you see Matt Rule stalking the sidelines in a
backwards camo hat? Got my guy's wearing a backwards hat.
It's like, it feels like he broke up with Dylan
(01:53):
Royola and it says his first night back out on
the town and he doesn't really know how to dress,
but he's like, you know, I'm gonna look cool for
the kids. So that was my first takeaway from this
midday of Bowl season two. It all ties back to Michigan,
Kenny Dillingham in Arizona State, Utah playing without Kyle Whittingham
for the first time in a million years, and of
course Michigan all playing at the same time.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
So I love this trio of games that we've got
in the Sun Bowl. My goodness, fifty two points. He's
heard Isaac say in the first half, Duke and Arizona State.
Isaac came up with something earlier when he was saying
he almost said Arizona steak And I'm thinking for any
steakhouse in Tempe, that's what I'm serving, Isaac. I think
(02:33):
you have just stumbled upon a culinary, a culinary, a
genius of a culinary dish.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Hang on, I'm on the phone with my attorney. We're
setting up a conference call with the patent office to
get that baby settled. But yeah, I mean, when you
talk about steakhouse at the Sun Bowl, you've got the
cattle baron in El Paso. I had several meals there,
but there you go.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Most got to be a restaurant a mill have where
you can get in Arizona steak And.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
It's also great because it shows up first in search search.
So if you're just searching steak Arizona, that's going to
be the first the first search.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Yeah, we got STK Steakhouse in Scottsdale, the pepper Mill,
and the KEG Steakhouse in bar So the race is
on steakhouses in Tempe.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Maybe maybe in twenty twenty six, could be running one
of my resolutions, which leads us.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
To he's not getting the middle with you.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
It's time for stuck in the Midway.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Jason Stewart's founder, originator, proprietor all Things Midway, the Midway.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Last midway of twenty twenty five. I will know midway
for us to give out New year resolution New Year's
resolutions to any sports figures and or teams. And I
do welcome snarkiness. That's what's welcomed in this particular mid way.
(04:01):
For example, the New England Patriots a New Year's resolution
to go one day without having one of their player
charged with something very disturbing. How about just one day.
Let's start. Let's start with the minimal damn byer before
we move on.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Remember when that was a thing in college football where
it'd be like a team has like three or four
down years and then they'd have a couple guys get
arrested and to be like, oh, that team's back.
Speaker 6 (04:28):
All right now, now you got a couple guys getting arrested.
H you're for real again.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Anyway, It's been yesterday and yesterday it was the double dip,
and I'm sorry I'm laughing because the incidents aren't not funny.
But like Stefan Diggs is in his deal when Trayvon
Diggs got released, like that's tough back to back. You
know what my resolution is for the former Pack twelve
(04:56):
schools that are now in the Big Ten or the
two that are in.
Speaker 7 (05:00):
The ACC to start losing again.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
I don't care as much about Utah and Colorado or
Arizona and Arizona State. I think they found a nice
spot in the Big twelve that doesn't throw things off.
But not only is USC messing up the Big ten's
bull record with their loss last night, it has just
become a mess, Aaron, I want like I thought about.
Speaker 7 (05:26):
This in the Sun Bowl.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
I was thinking, I'm looking at this and if you
were to say to someone, yeah, there, their basketball team's
got a conference game against hal coming up later on
in a couple of weeks, you would have said, oh,
of course it's Arizona State. Ye, No, that would be Duke,
And I am so offended. I'm not offended by the
lack of success that say it Ucla has in the
(05:47):
in the Big Ten, but it's just more of the
cal Stanford cherry on top.
Speaker 7 (05:54):
So weird.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's that in the ACC that just completely ruins it
for me. So my resolution to cal the Stanford to
UCLA to Washington to USC. I wouldn't mind if Oregon
stayed the Big Ten, but whatever to to make things
so bad that you're like, maybe we have to join
this new pac twelve again. That is that is a
(06:15):
resolution that I have for those teams.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Would they then kick out the Boise States and Fresno
States of the world?
Speaker 7 (06:20):
Not keep them? Yeah? Keep them, make it, Yeah, you
can make it a bigger conference.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You can find out that maybe it isn't so bad
because it's just it just it really really is not
taken a hold, taken a grasp. And I would hope
that kind of like your Yukon when they were in
the American and then all of a sudden, it's like
back in the Big East. Look, it's like you're you're
(06:45):
back home again. That's the feeling I think you would
get if those schools ended up going back to their conferences.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
I'll just say this really quick. Tuesday night was just
flipping channels. We had Louisville at cal and Notre Dame
at Stanford ACC play and Notre Dame at Stanford.
Speaker 6 (07:03):
This is basketball. It still felt like.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Mid December, late December out of conference game from like
the nineties, you know, like the nineties. It'd be like, oh,
Notre Dame's doing their West Coast swaying of UCLA and Stanford,
and then you know, Stanford's rank number eleven in the
country and Tiger Woods is sitting courtside.
Speaker 6 (07:23):
Still felt like uh, still felt like that.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
By the way, Gary Danielson being honored at the Sun Bowl,
I'm sad to see him go.
Speaker 7 (07:30):
He's a legend of the Sun Bowl.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
By the way, Quickside Tangent.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Before I get to my resolution, during the Relyquest Bowl,
I heard a reference to living legend Diego Pavia. Feels
like a little bit of a loose use of living legend.
Speaker 7 (07:48):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I know he was a Heisman finalist, but it feels
you gotta do something more than finished third of the
Heisman Trophy to be a living legend, do you not?
Speaker 7 (07:56):
Yeah? And I think you have to be over sixty.
Speaker 8 (08:00):
Say for how long his career has gone in college football.
He's an elder statesman. Maybe that's the legend part.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Yeah, joh, yeah, he is older than the standard college
I was just like, feels a little aggressive to go
living legends. Okay, so speaking of aggressive, My new Year's
resolution is for all college football fans. And Chris Purfett
heard this rent on a Christmas Day, but I'm going
(08:26):
to reuse it for a New Year's resolution. I need
every college football fan to just take a deep freaking breath.
Not everything is an existential crisis. And this is more
about the college football playoff. Oh my god, it's the
end of the world because we got James Madison in
Tulane and I couldn't bet on it because the spread
(08:48):
was twenty one points.
Speaker 6 (08:49):
And this is the worst.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
We have to change the playoff, go to sixteen, cancel this,
add that, put this.
Speaker 6 (09:00):
Why does college.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Football have seven existential crisis? Is a year that need
to be addressed in the moment or the whole sport
is falling apart.
Speaker 6 (09:09):
Can we maybe try a twelve.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Team playoff for like three years before we decide that
it's the worst thing ever.
Speaker 6 (09:14):
It's just unbelievable to me every year.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
The other part about it is the changes that are
made don't necessarily always address the correct issues or the
issues at hand.
Speaker 7 (09:28):
I mean, we can't.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
They're talking about expansion and how we're going to do it,
and now Notre Dame is getting an automatic bid if
they're in the top twelve, and I don't think like
they're band aids on real issues. Dan Lanning is going
off and saying, let's figure out this schedule thing. I
think that we focus aaron all of those little things,
(09:52):
those crisises, our band aids to bigger issues in college
football that we think are bigger issues. But maybe to
your point, they aren't as big as we think that
they are.
Speaker 6 (10:02):
No, I mean, and it's just I don't know.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Tulane ended up with like fifty yards of total offense
less than Old Miss the game.
Speaker 6 (10:09):
They just couldn't converted the red zone.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Sometimes you get bad games in the NBA playoffs. In
the NFL playoffs, we don't have to blow up everything
all the time when we don't get a result that
we like.
Speaker 7 (10:21):
Chris Purfetts your New Year's resolution or resolutions if you
want to Iowa Salmon.
Speaker 8 (10:27):
Yeah, let's know, I'll I'll say, I'll just do one,
and it's for it's for another league here, and it's
for one that I have a relationship with at this
point to the NBA. At this point, I feel like
the NBA right now is in a place that can
be good in that I mean, it's slowly waking up
to this idea of parody. Every every year or so,
(10:48):
we've had to deal with, Oh, is this team that
just won the NBA Championship? Could they be the next dynasty?
Could the Oklahoma City Thunder be the next dynasty? Could
the Nuggets be the next dynasty? Could the Bucks be
the next dynasty? Settle down and enjoy having a wide
field of interesting teams right now, Like I would ask
that the NBA, You've got a good thing going. You've
got some new You've got some new media partners that
(11:12):
are treating it better than than than the ones prior did.
I think the Amazon broadcasts are fantastic for how deep
they get into it. You have a wide field with
the Pistons, the Knicks, the Celtics, and it feels like,
I know, the thunder are kind of like cruising along,
but this really does feel like a year where you
have a lot of interesting teams.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Are never going to talk about the Raptors of Scottie and.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
You're definitely not saying this is a Pistons fan, definitely
not for the team at the top of the Eastern
Conference last night with Ease.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
Yeah, I will say this, you JJ Reddigan's the shouting real.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
You didn't want to name networks, but I'm going to
name networks in a bad way.
Speaker 7 (11:50):
You named the Amazon Brian.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I watched both games or not from beginning to end,
but last time on NBC you had Sixers Grizzlies overtime
game Lakers Pistons was on afterwards. The presentation on NBC
is better. ESPN doesn't make it. It doesn't feel like
it is a big deal. It felt like a regular
(12:12):
season game that meant something last night when it really
didn't like neither of them did, and it felt it
is a different presentation. There is a fresh feel to it.
I'll also say this, I'm not going to absolve TNT
from any of the from this as well.
Speaker 6 (12:28):
No, you're married now with ESPN overall time.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah, so I think that even the broadcast that we
saw on the Tuesdays and Thursday nights, maybe that it
feel like they rose to the occasion. But now with
the new way of the NBA, the broadcast on NBC
at a Chris's point on Amazon make the sport feel
like a bigger deal and a more enjoyable watch in
the regular I.
Speaker 8 (12:50):
Would just hope that we appreciate the basketball for being
the high level basketball and talk about this as the
full sport instead of hitting the same buttons over and
over going honstantly back to the Lakers, who getting caught
in the meta narrative of who's going to be the
next dynasty and a disservice to the game itself at
this point, to enjoy the basketball that's in front of
us in this entire season, because sometimes the NBA gets
(13:13):
caught up in who's gonna be the big trade, what's
gonna happen to this coach?
Speaker 6 (13:18):
Yeah, I said this on Christmas.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
That was one of my Christmas wishes, my Christmas gifts,
I said, in all expenses paid trip to Cancun for
Adam Silver, Get out of the way. You have fun,
young stars, let us enjoy them before you screw this
up by changing the same thing I said with college football,
changing this adding that like Wemby has a universal one
(13:42):
thousand percent approval rating, Cad Cunningham has a one thousand
percent approval rating. Whoever, the Knicks are still a feel
good story, which is amazing. It's the Knicks we're talking about.
Don't screw this up, Adam.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
Silver Good, Isaac long Cron.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
This is kind of the midway, kind of along the
line of Aaron's in terms of the subject.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
But my New Year's resolution is.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
For someone to come forth and establish themselves as a
leader who can help save the insanity that has become
college athletics, both from a college football standpoint, college basketball,
the college football playoff controversy, nil the transfer portal. They
(14:31):
need some sort of college sports czar to really set
college sports on a better track. And I'll make my
point by saying this. I'm gonna play you guys a
voice right now, and I'm going to ask you to
identify the voice. Aaron might be able to identify this person,
but I doubt that hardly anyone in our listening audience
would be able to yet go.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Ahead a question, Yeah, should we turn our chairs around
when we know it? Like, should we hit the buzzer
when we know the voice? And then they're on our team?
Speaker 6 (15:00):
That's you ever see the voice, Aaron, It's been a
minute like this not a visual medium.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
That's the point. I just don't think anyone will recognize
the voice. But here it is see for yourself.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Well, first of all, it puts into the notion student athlete,
the student in very, very stark relief, the actions taken
to day.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
Can anybody recognize that voice?
Speaker 7 (15:22):
Sounds like Mark Emmert unbelievable.
Speaker 6 (15:24):
Good for you, But that was my point.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
I don't think hardly anybody in our listening audience realized
that that was the president of the nc Double A
during an unbelievably transformative time from twenty ten to twenty
twenty three, laying the groundwork for the insanity that we
have now. So clearly whatever happened during his reign led
(15:48):
to the insanity that we have now. I had to
Google to find out who the current NCBA president is,
a guy named Charlie Baker. The nc Double A or
college sports in general, I feel just needs a transformative
leader to just bring some common sense back to what
I said is a wild wild West of controversy. Not
(16:10):
that I don't like controversy being on the sports media,
but that's what we need in college sports.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Can I just say really quick? The sad part is
it will never happen. So like cal Perry exactly, Well,
cal Perry had his huge rant this week, and somebody's
like he needs to be the college basketball commissioner. I said,
by default, the commissioner's job is to get everybody to
work together. It's never in the SEC's best interest to
work with the Big twelve. It's never in the Big
(16:35):
twelve's best interest to work with this place, Big Tech.
Except so that's the issue that I keep here. Nick
Saban should be the commissioner of college football.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Why so he can.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Get in a room and Greg SANKI, You'll be like,
screw the Big ten. It's like the job will never
And this, by the way, super random, but it's what
this Cody Campbell guy, the big Texas Tech booster, is
basically saying, like, we all basically have to work together
to save college sports. We can't keep working in our
own silo. Was in echo chambers here. I just don't
know if for the.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
Look by the way under the radar.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Enormous props to Fox Sports Radio's Dan Bayer for being
able to identify the voice of Mark Emmert. I mean,
the CIA couldn't even have done that, So kudos to Dan.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
I'm like the Reba of the voice version here on
Fox Sports Radio, Jason Stewart's got another resolution.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
Yeah, I got a bonus one for you guys. This
is deeply personal and it also impacts Isaac Lohencron as well.
I'm gonna ask Chris Purfet to kill the bed. That's
an industry jargon term. I don't expect the listener to
understand this. I'm taking the bed out back and shooting it.
New Year's New Year's resolution for the Los Angeles Chargers.
(17:45):
Fire the guy in charge of keeping your players healthy.
And it actually is one person. This guy went viral
when Harbrough brought him aboard. His name is Ben Herbert,
no relation, no relation to Justin Ben Herbert. Somebody on
TikTok put this together. So you're gonna I think you're
gonna hear yackety Sacks at some point because it has
(18:07):
become a clown show. And as you hear the yackety sacks.
You're going to see on the TikTok a list of
the number of injuries that the Chargers of experience this year.
I want to say it's an NFL record. If it isn't,
I'm going to exaggerate on national radio and say it
was most injuries ever suffered by a team. And Ben
Herbert is in charge of keeping this team strong and conditioned.
(18:30):
And this was how he opened his opening press conference
in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 9 (18:35):
I view training in this way, and this is how
I told it to the guys. My first goal is
to make you harder to break right. The most vulnerabilaries
of the body, in my opinion, in the game of
football the head, right and left, shoulder, right and left,
hip girdle, right and left hamstring, right and left and ankle.
So through your training, you have to be proactive at
training those areas of the body. So the network that
(18:57):
I introduced today, the trap work, the four part cuff
sequence to address the four rotator cuff muscles in your
shoulder girdle, introduced them to some hipwork, introduced them to
some ankle work.
Speaker 7 (19:06):
Right.
Speaker 9 (19:06):
These are things that are paramount if you want to
make a football player harder to break, your training has
to be sound.
Speaker 7 (19:11):
In my opinion, It's.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
All okay, I got enough of that. Needless to say
Chargers are easy to break. They're not hard to break.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
Isaac, Honey, it ain't Ben Herbert's fault, you know. And
I know that the Charger litany of injuries long long
predated Ben Herbert. And as much and as good as
Ben Herbert's track record was at Michigan, you can't pint
(19:40):
it solely on him. It's complex, it goes a long
way back, and it affects everyone associated with the Chargers,
not even those under Ben Herbert's perv.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
PEG now I got it now.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
Also like somebody on the Chargers payroll.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
By the way, that sounds like a take from No
I'm not but my New Year's resolution.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
I'm going to stick to us, you know. And I
know it happened long before he got to town.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
Can I say?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Also, didn't the guy before Ben Herbert stabbed Tyrod Taylor accidentally?
In Isaac's defense, that was a team doctor. It wasn't
a strengthen conditioning coach. Core A player got stabbed in
the lung. Yeah, I think Isaac's I know it's Jay
Stew's resolution, but I I'm on team Isaac on this one.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I think we should have a resolution for Sharon Moore
to get a head coaching job in twenty twenty six,
just so we.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
Can have him at a press conference to answer all
the questions.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
That were no midware.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
I think that would be great.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Can some program just take one for the team, right,
just so we can get a a preseason media day
press conference and so we can ask all of the
questions that we're wondering about what went on.
Speaker 6 (20:51):
You know, what's crazy about your own more.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
In all seriousness, I believe as part of his release
from jail, I don't think he can leave the state.
Because my thought was my thought was, does Harbaugh just
give him like assistant director of player ops or something
just to kind of get his career started again.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
And I was like, I actually.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Don't think he can leave the state, you know, unless
it's like preapproved by a.
Speaker 6 (21:18):
Joke which Grace sure, that's so you're saying Western Michigan
or Central Michigan is waying.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
It's a lot that I would that I would like
the chips.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Yeah, I was gonna say Central Michigan already has ties
to the Michigan program.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
I mean, Connor Stallions were saying out on the sidelines.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So just just at your throw some sunglasses and you
can do that.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Can I piggyback on your idea?
Speaker 7 (21:37):
Dan?
Speaker 5 (21:37):
So if a program doesn't hire him. The new Yar's
resolution for the creator of the Connor Stallions documentary, just
do the Sharon More documentary. Get the girlfriend in here.
I need all the details, I need all the only
fans models.
Speaker 6 (21:53):
Oh that would be so good when it comes out.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
But the Connor Stallions documentary made him seem like a hero,
and so that you know, I was he was put
up on this pedestal like he was this amazing, like
this just this huge, great fan, and everybody wanted to
side with Michigan because they love Jim Harbaughs.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
Everyone else is playing checkers.
Speaker 7 (22:13):
That's what it was. That's what it was.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Those problems run deep, as we are now starting to
see everything wipe away.
Speaker 7 (22:21):
Clear the windows any more resolutions.
Speaker 6 (22:24):
Uh, we're good.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, he's not.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Getting Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup
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Speaker 2 (22:44):
It's Fox Sports Radio. I'm Dan Buyer. He's erin Torres.
Aeron Torres has the thinking cap on before we break
into the cranium of what Aaron's been thinking. Feeding off
the success of our college basketball bracket challenge each March,
we decided to do a bracket challenge for the college
football player.
Speaker 7 (23:00):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
With eight teams left standing in college football, it's bracket
challenged time, and there's still time. Compete against our Fox
Sports Radio hosts and against fellow listeners to see who
as the best college football playoff bracket. Play for your
chants to win one thousand dollars. I visit Fox Sportsradio
dot iHeart dot com to register to get rules and
fill out your bracket. Entry is open now and it
will be until seven thirty Eastern time tonight, so hurry
(23:22):
on up again. Fill out your bracket at Fox Sports
Radio dot iHeart dot com for your chance to win
one thousand dollars. It is college football playoff time. We're
down to the quarterfinals. He is Aaron Torres. I'm Dan Beyer.
And maybe it's money making time for some of those
blue bloods. But is this the only money making time?
That's kind of a question. You posted, and you posted
earlier to Jeff Schwartz.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yeah, I was just, you know, I was thinking about
it big picture of and Jeff framed it this way
as well, is it's a select group of schools. But
I was thinking about how many schools can you say
that a season ended up being successful if you don't
make the college football playoff? And so I was thinking about, say,
(24:04):
the dichotomy between two SEC teams playing today, Right, Vanderbilt,
I think there's no doubt nine win regulars or ten
win regular season. Excuse me, you know they didn't make
the playoff. But Clark Lee said it was you know,
he even said, he's like, it's an incredible season. You know,
we're privileged to play in the rely Quest Bowl, on
and on. I bring it up because with like Texas
(24:25):
is the opposite, I don't. I don't think Texas, even
if they lose today to Michigan, would deem this season
a failure necessarily. But I don't know that Texas would
consider a success either. And they could potentially win ten games, Like,
think about that, Texas could win ten games this year,
and I don't think they would consider it a success.
(24:45):
I don't think they would consider it a failure, but
I don't think they would consider it an outright success.
And so I just I know we've kind of created
this this narrative that the playoff is the only thing
that matters in this era. But I was thinking there
really are a select number of schools that I don't
know if you can consider a season a success if
you do not make the playoff. It may be small,
(25:07):
it may be the Texas's, Michigan's, Ohio States, Notre Dames, whoever.
But I do think we are at that point with
probably about six seven eight schools in college football.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Let's I think it's I think it's a bigger number
I actually do. I think it's about half the SEC
I like Tennessee like for example, I think it's a failure,
especially after they made it last year. So if you're
like Tennessee and you didn't make it this year, then
then that ends up being a failure. I'm sorry, it's
a failure for LSU like it just it is their
expectations that are higher.
Speaker 7 (25:34):
Can I jump in on that? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
The only way I can see a school like LSU
the season being considered a success, they know they didn't
have the right guy and they got him out.
Speaker 6 (25:47):
So that's the only way.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
So like if LSU had gone even nine and three
with Brian Kelly, but in their hearts they knew he
wasn't the right guy.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
I don't think it's a success.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
I think the only way you can swing it to
being a success is by saying this guy stunk, he
wasn't the right answer.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
We got him out. But your point, well, I think
that's I think that's a one off. And I'll even
give you another one off. For me, as an Ohio
State fan, it was imperative. It was number one to
beat Michigan this year. That's what it was in my
mind here. And it wasn't to go back to back.
It's not running the table this year after losing last
year and then winning the national championship. The thing that
(26:23):
mattered most, and it actually made it a very unsatisfying
college football viewing season because it all came down to
that one game. And honestly, the Big Ten championship game
against Indiana hyped one two. I know it got great
numbers on Fox. I didn't care, sure, I did not care.
It was not that big of a deal. Now, the
(26:44):
playoff tonight against Miami yes, there's some there's care there,
but ultimately coming into the season it was beat Michigan.
That was a one off like that's and that's where
I think, like LSU, like every single year it's gonna
be that because I think that there's there's comparisons, and
it's comparable to a duke program. Duke going to the
Final four is the standard. You see, LA standard used
(27:08):
to just be just win a title and if you don't,
they don't hang final four banners. They hang championship banners.
But in college basketball there is a unique I guess
structure if you will on a school that will hang
in appearance, a school that will hang a Sweet sixteen,
and a school that will hang a banner for a
Final four. And so I think now in college football,
(27:30):
even though it's new, you're obviously going to have those stages.
I don't think you're going to have college football semi finalist,
you know, like it would be for Final four for
college basketball. But I think there's parallels with college football.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
No, I think that's totally fair and well, i'd be curious.
So you said you think your list is a little
bit bigger. I agree, But it's funny because and you know,
I love Jeff Schwartz. This isn't a criticism, but he
just threw Oregon in there. Can Oregon have a season
that is a success without making a twelve team playoff?
Because I think I think they can. I think, you know,
(28:09):
you look at last year was obviously they were the
number one overall seed, undefeated regular season. This year they
lost everybody, and I think they kind of overachieved by
making the playoff. I think if an Oregon had just
gone nine to three, ten and two and somehow not
gotten into the playoff like a like a Vanderbilt, I
think it could have been a successful season. I don't
know that I would have felt that way about Ohio State.
Speaker 7 (28:32):
Yeah, I actually agree with Jeff.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I think that Oregon is now to that level and
with the stature of where we are with transfer portal, yeah,
nil and all of that. That's that's what it's there for.
They're not paying you two million dollars in nil to
go play a cheese at Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve.
So the level of success, I was gonna go through
(28:54):
the SEC quickly and just your rapid fire. Georgia, Yes,
oll miss most years. No agree, all right, So Texas
A and M. Yes, yes, no, for the amount of
money that they spend if they don't make the college
Football Playoff, now it is.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
I don't think you can say every year though, that
the season is a failure at Texas A and M.
It also and let me, I'm not trying to play
both sides. It is tough because like, as an example, right,
we came into this season saying there's no world where
a ten and two SEC or Big ten team gets
(29:34):
left out of the college football playoff, And so Vandy
got left out of ten and two, and so I
only bring it up because it's like if A and
M finishes ten and two and their losses are too
Bama at home and Georgia on the road, I don't
think you can say that's a But again the context
of we know they went ten and two, So I
think that's what kind of makes it a little bit tough.
(29:56):
I don't personally think A and M is at the
point yet any season in which they don't make the
playoff would not be considered a success.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
I think for the investment and what they put into it,
it's the only way to judge. I just don't think
ten and two seasons and being left out of the
playoff are good seasons anymore in college football. And so
if you have twelve schools making it, let's just say
ten schools, and you would have at least another ten
(30:26):
schools that would that are left out, that maybe just
didn't have that good of a year, like an LSU,
like a Tennessee that would want to be in. Texas
is in that group. So if I went Georgia, I'll
even give you Texas A and M. I don't agree
with you, but I will give you that because I
think my argument's still going to hold true. Alabama, Yes,
that's to Texas. Yes, I think so three Oklahoma I
(30:49):
would say, yeah, yes for Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
So I disagree with Tennessee, but I get the point
that you made.
Speaker 7 (30:58):
I've given you a lot of better. If hit o
the doubts, LSU yep.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
LSU Yes, yes, if there's no crazy coaching change that
they can be happy about because they Florida.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Florida's right on the line. Yes, And I'm about to
lay Auburn on you and that and that's about half
the SEC. Sure, So that's half of the conference. It
is not a successful year if you don't make the
College Football Playoff. It's also why they want their version
of a sixteen team playoff with a five plus eleven,
(31:31):
because I think that they feel that none only they
deserve it. But it also it's how those schools end
up looking at at the bracket very quickly.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
I know we have to get to ISAACS. I'll be
very quick on this. Do you think all of the
coaching changes do you think?
Speaker 7 (31:48):
Like?
Speaker 3 (31:48):
Cause the argument is all those schools that you would
put in that group that expect to be in the playoff, LSU,
Penn State, Florida, Michigan's kind of a weird example, but
that didn't make the play or had disappointing seasons. They
all made coaching changes. Like do you think this coaching
cycle was a one off outlier or do you think
(32:09):
it is going to get more? If you missed the
playoff a year, two years, three years in a row.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
You're just done. You see what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Yeah, I think it'll I think Water will find its
level at some point. But I don't think that it's
a random deal that Penn State was thought to be
a national championship contender. They lose two close games and
I say close games because Oregon was a close game,
Northwestern was a close game, and then they had the
debacle against UCLA which they still almost came back and won. Yeah,
(32:40):
and James Franklin ends up losing his job. So like
that's so those expectations, like, I don't think you can
do that. That would not be healthy for your sport.
So at some point it's going to I think level out.
Maybe you won't have as much as you had this year,
but I do think with nil and everything that came
with it, that a bunch of stuff just you know,
ended up crossing at the same time. Maybe not a
(33:02):
perfect storm per se, but close to it, and that's
why you had the reaction that you did.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
I don't think we'll ever see anything quite like this year,
but I think Texas is a perfect example. They go
nine to three again next year, people are gonna have
serious questions.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Fox Sports Radio had the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
It's Fox Sports Radio. On this New Year's Eve, the
road to Milan runs through Saint Louis Celia Mallin in Alyssa. Leuin,
Amber Glenn compete at the twenty twenty six privag In
US Figure Skating Championships January seventh through the eleventh. Be
there as the twenty twenty sixth US Olympic Figure Skating
team is named Live tickets at US figure Skating dot org.
He's Aaron Torres. I'm Dan Beyer getting sat for a well.
(33:47):
We're already smack dabbing a busy day of college football tonight.
We have a National Championship quarterfinal and the College Football
Playoff Ohio State and Miami playing in the Cotton Bowl.
Triple header of quarterfinal games coming up on Saturday and Sunday.
It's Week eighteen in the National Football League. Looking back
to this past weekend, a couple of things happened, and
(34:10):
Moncy Belanios and I talked about this yesterday. Aaron, when
it came to the MVP, I was frustrated that I
felt Drake May had a five touchdown game against the
Jets and his MVP odds skyrocketed in a good way
where he became the favorite, especially after Matthew Stafford through
the three interceptions in the game on Monday night, and
(34:32):
during that game, Drake May became the favorite for the MVP.
That bothered me because I don't think that the Jets
game meant anything, and I think that Matthew Stafford has
done enough throughout the season where you have a kind
of a meaningless game for them against the Falcons shouldn't
necessarily be held against him, or it shouldn't be the
deciding factor on if you're the MVP or Drake May
(34:55):
throwing five touchdowns against an interception less Jets defense this season,
thought it was ridiculous. I then saw this note that
while Mike Vrabel continues to be the favorite to be
the NFL Coach of the Year, he's sitting there at
minus one forty five. A different coach moved up in
the odds, and that would be Kyle Shanahan. His odds
(35:19):
now at plus one eighty five. After that Niners win
against the Bears, that's a good win. It's a really
good win, right Chicago, double digit win team this season.
The Niners are now playing for a number one overall
seed forty nine. Ers have had some injuries they've battled through,
but Kyle Shanahan a nominee for Coach of the Year,
and I just thought to myself. So what if Cayleb
(35:42):
Williams completes that pass on fourth down? Does that mean
Kyle Shanahan is less of a coach? What if Kayleb
Williams looks to the right and sees Dj Moore doing
jumping Jackson the other corner fires one to him, he
catches it, does that mean Kyle Shanahan isn't as good
of a coach because of what happened on that play. No,
that's ludicrous, That's ridiculous. So to have these games and
(36:07):
these odds changed within these actual games, it's just silly
to me. And I don't I can't believe that people
are swayed so much by what happened so little on
the field.
Speaker 6 (36:20):
So I'll just say this very quickly.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
I was like genuinely surprised when you just started hearing like, oh,
Drake more so than Drake may one of like, oh yeah,
he's dead, And I'm like, I thought we all agreed,
Josh Allen was the MVP, like unbelievable season, no help.
Coaching has been up and down, and I just think
it speaks to a bigger thing of like we are
(36:43):
all such prisoners of the moment that it feels like
all these awards, NFL MVP, Heisman Trophy, Coach of the Year,
it's all just what do you do in the last
week or two of the season. I've noticed it with
the Heisman the last few years, and it feels like
it's getting to be the same in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Yeah, absolutely, is that so much as being swayed. I
am more offended that people took stock in the Drake
Mays touchdown passes against the Jets. Yep, that would allow him,
considering he wasn't great against the Bills a few weeks
prior to that, and Matthew Stafford again in a game
(37:19):
that I don't know if the Rams really even cared
about on Monday night because of what happened prior to
them playing the game. It just seems like a ridiculous
standard to hold these guys too. But the odds Vegas
knows and voters may be swayed by it, and that's
what bothers me. He's erin Torres. I'm Dan Byer, Jason Stewart, Chrisperfett,
and Isaac Lowan Cronner Here we're in for Cavino and
(37:39):
Rett Rich talking about the most controversial calls in sports.
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Next
Fox Sports Radio had the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Happy New Year's Eve, twenty twenty six is just around
the corner. But for the final moments at twenty twenty five,
we appreciate you hanging out with us as we look
ahead to what sports teams need. We're gonna get to
controversial calls later on. Just to let you know, Aaron
Torres and I are in for Cavino and Rich today
here on Fox Sports Radio, So we're with you for
(00:29):
the next three hours. Getting a set for Ohio State
Miami tonight, the tripleheader of college football's quarterfinals coming up tomorrow,
and a week eighteen in the NFL that will wrap
up the regular season. Isaac Glowin Cranz here, as is
Jason Stewart and Chris Purfett. The road to Milan runs
through Saint Louis, ce Elia Mallin and Alyssa lou and
Amber Glenn compete at the twenty twenty six priviaging US
(00:52):
Figure Skating Champion Chips. It's January seventh through the eleventh.
Be there as the twenty twenty sixth US Olympic Figure
Skating team is named live tickets at US Figure Skating
dot Org. All eyes on the sun Bolt, which has
been a dandy so far. We got a good game
between Michigan and Texas and even Nebraska in Utah. Nebraska
(01:13):
looking for full time quarterback for next year. Dylan Royola
hurts now in the transfer portal Utah. The Morgan Scaley
era is now underway as Kyle Whittingham is watching his
new Michigan Wolverines against the Long Orangs instead of coaching
the Utes. That's what we get in bowl games here
on New Year's eve eron trres.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Two quick bowl thoughts before we get to obviously our
New Year's resolutions. One, There's no way Nebraska loses today.
Did you see Matt Rule stalking the sidelines in a
backwards camo hat? Got my guy's wearing a backwards hat.
It's like, it feels like he broke up with Dylan
(01:53):
Royola and it says his first night back out on
the town and he doesn't really know how to dress,
but he's like, you know, I'm gonna look cool for
the kids. So that was my first takeaway from this
midday of Bowl season two. It all ties back to Michigan,
Kenny Dillingham in Arizona State, Utah playing without Kyle Whittingham
for the first time in a million years, and of
course Michigan all playing at the same time.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
So I love this trio of games that we've got
in the Sun Bowl. My goodness, fifty two points. He's
heard Isaac say in the first half, Duke and Arizona State.
Isaac came up with something earlier when he was saying
he almost said Arizona steak And I'm thinking for any
steakhouse in Tempe, that's what I'm serving, Isaac. I think
(02:33):
you have just stumbled upon a culinary, a culinary, a
genius of a culinary dish.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Hang on, I'm on the phone with my attorney. We're
setting up a conference call with the patent office to
get that baby settled. But yeah, I mean, when you
talk about steakhouse at the Sun Bowl, you've got the
cattle baron in El Paso. I had several meals there,
but there you go.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Most got to be a restaurant a mill have where
you can get in Arizona steak And.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
It's also great because it shows up first in search search.
So if you're just searching steak Arizona, that's going to
be the first the first search.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Yeah, we got STK Steakhouse in Scottsdale, the pepper Mill,
and the KEG Steakhouse in bar So the race is
on steakhouses in Tempe.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Maybe maybe in twenty twenty six, could be running one
of my resolutions, which leads us.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
To he's not getting the middle with you.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
It's time for stuck in the Midway.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Jason Stewart's founder, originator, proprietor all Things Midway, the Midway.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Last midway of twenty twenty five. I will know midway
for us to give out New year resolution New Year's
resolutions to any sports figures and or teams. And I
do welcome snarkiness. That's what's welcomed in this particular mid way.
(04:01):
For example, the New England Patriots a New Year's resolution
to go one day without having one of their player
charged with something very disturbing. How about just one day.
Let's start. Let's start with the minimal damn byer before
we move on.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Remember when that was a thing in college football where
it'd be like a team has like three or four
down years and then they'd have a couple guys get
arrested and to be like, oh, that team's back.
Speaker 6 (04:28):
All right now, now you got a couple guys getting arrested.
H you're for real again.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Anyway, It's been yesterday and yesterday it was the double dip,
and I'm sorry I'm laughing because the incidents aren't not funny.
But like Stefan Diggs is in his deal when Trayvon
Diggs got released, like that's tough back to back. You
know what my resolution is for the former Pack twelve
(04:56):
schools that are now in the Big Ten or the
two that are in.
Speaker 7 (05:00):
The ACC to start losing again.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
I don't care as much about Utah and Colorado or
Arizona and Arizona State. I think they found a nice
spot in the Big twelve that doesn't throw things off.
But not only is USC messing up the Big ten's
bull record with their loss last night, it has just
become a mess, Aaron, I want like I thought about.
Speaker 7 (05:26):
This in the Sun Bowl.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
I was thinking, I'm looking at this and if you
were to say to someone, yeah, there, their basketball team's
got a conference game against hal coming up later on
in a couple of weeks, you would have said, oh,
of course it's Arizona State. Ye, No, that would be Duke,
And I am so offended. I'm not offended by the
lack of success that say it Ucla has in the
(05:47):
in the Big Ten, but it's just more of the
cal Stanford cherry on top.
Speaker 7 (05:54):
So weird.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's that in the ACC that just completely ruins it
for me. So my resolution to cal the Stanford to
UCLA to Washington to USC. I wouldn't mind if Oregon
stayed the Big Ten, but whatever to to make things
so bad that you're like, maybe we have to join
this new pac twelve again. That is that is a
(06:15):
resolution that I have for those teams.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Would they then kick out the Boise States and Fresno
States of the world?
Speaker 7 (06:20):
Not keep them? Yeah? Keep them, make it, Yeah, you
can make it a bigger conference.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You can find out that maybe it isn't so bad
because it's just it just it really really is not
taken a hold, taken a grasp. And I would hope
that kind of like your Yukon when they were in
the American and then all of a sudden, it's like
back in the Big East. Look, it's like you're you're
(06:45):
back home again. That's the feeling I think you would
get if those schools ended up going back to their conferences.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
I'll just say this really quick. Tuesday night was just
flipping channels. We had Louisville at cal and Notre Dame
at Stanford ACC play and Notre Dame at Stanford.
Speaker 6 (07:03):
This is basketball. It still felt like.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Mid December, late December out of conference game from like
the nineties, you know, like the nineties. It'd be like, oh,
Notre Dame's doing their West Coast swaying of UCLA and Stanford,
and then you know, Stanford's rank number eleven in the
country and Tiger Woods is sitting courtside.
Speaker 6 (07:23):
Still felt like uh, still felt like that.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
By the way, Gary Danielson being honored at the Sun Bowl,
I'm sad to see him go.
Speaker 7 (07:30):
He's a legend of the Sun Bowl.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
By the way, Quickside Tangent.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Before I get to my resolution, during the Relyquest Bowl,
I heard a reference to living legend Diego Pavia. Feels
like a little bit of a loose use of living legend.
Speaker 7 (07:48):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I know he was a Heisman finalist, but it feels
you gotta do something more than finished third of the
Heisman Trophy to be a living legend, do you not?
Speaker 7 (07:56):
Yeah? And I think you have to be over sixty.
Speaker 8 (08:00):
Say for how long his career has gone in college football.
He's an elder statesman. Maybe that's the legend part.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Yeah, joh, yeah, he is older than the standard college
I was just like, feels a little aggressive to go
living legends. Okay, so speaking of aggressive, My new Year's
resolution is for all college football fans. And Chris Purfett
heard this rent on a Christmas Day, but I'm going
(08:26):
to reuse it for a New Year's resolution. I need
every college football fan to just take a deep freaking breath.
Not everything is an existential crisis. And this is more
about the college football playoff. Oh my god, it's the
end of the world because we got James Madison in
Tulane and I couldn't bet on it because the spread
(08:48):
was twenty one points.
Speaker 6 (08:49):
And this is the worst.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
We have to change the playoff, go to sixteen, cancel this,
add that, put this.
Speaker 6 (09:00):
Why does college.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Football have seven existential crisis? Is a year that need
to be addressed in the moment or the whole sport
is falling apart.
Speaker 6 (09:09):
Can we maybe try a twelve.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Team playoff for like three years before we decide that
it's the worst thing ever.
Speaker 6 (09:14):
It's just unbelievable to me every year.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
The other part about it is the changes that are
made don't necessarily always address the correct issues or the
issues at hand.
Speaker 7 (09:28):
I mean, we can't.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
They're talking about expansion and how we're going to do it,
and now Notre Dame is getting an automatic bid if
they're in the top twelve, and I don't think like
they're band aids on real issues. Dan Lanning is going
off and saying, let's figure out this schedule thing. I
think that we focus aaron all of those little things,
(09:52):
those crisises, our band aids to bigger issues in college
football that we think are bigger issues. But maybe to
your point, they aren't as big as we think that
they are.
Speaker 6 (10:02):
No, I mean, and it's just I don't know.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Tulane ended up with like fifty yards of total offense
less than Old Miss the game.
Speaker 6 (10:09):
They just couldn't converted the red zone.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Sometimes you get bad games in the NBA playoffs. In
the NFL playoffs, we don't have to blow up everything
all the time when we don't get a result that
we like.
Speaker 7 (10:21):
Chris Purfetts your New Year's resolution or resolutions if you
want to Iowa Salmon.
Speaker 8 (10:27):
Yeah, let's know, I'll I'll say, I'll just do one,
and it's for it's for another league here, and it's
for one that I have a relationship with at this
point to the NBA. At this point, I feel like
the NBA right now is in a place that can
be good in that I mean, it's slowly waking up
to this idea of parody. Every every year or so,
(10:48):
we've had to deal with, Oh, is this team that
just won the NBA Championship? Could they be the next dynasty?
Could the Oklahoma City Thunder be the next dynasty? Could
the Nuggets be the next dynasty? Could the Bucks be
the next dynasty? Settle down and enjoy having a wide
field of interesting teams right now, Like I would ask
that the NBA, You've got a good thing going. You've
got some new You've got some new media partners that
(11:12):
are treating it better than than than the ones prior did.
I think the Amazon broadcasts are fantastic for how deep
they get into it. You have a wide field with
the Pistons, the Knicks, the Celtics, and it feels like,
I know, the thunder are kind of like cruising along,
but this really does feel like a year where you
have a lot of interesting teams.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Are never going to talk about the Raptors of Scottie and.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
You're definitely not saying this is a Pistons fan, definitely
not for the team at the top of the Eastern
Conference last night with Ease.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
Yeah, I will say this, you JJ Reddigan's the shouting real.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
You didn't want to name networks, but I'm going to
name networks in a bad way.
Speaker 7 (11:50):
You named the Amazon Brian.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I watched both games or not from beginning to end,
but last time on NBC you had Sixers Grizzlies overtime
game Lakers Pistons was on afterwards. The presentation on NBC
is better. ESPN doesn't make it. It doesn't feel like
it is a big deal. It felt like a regular
(12:12):
season game that meant something last night when it really
didn't like neither of them did, and it felt it
is a different presentation. There is a fresh feel to it.
I'll also say this, I'm not going to absolve TNT
from any of the from this as well.
Speaker 6 (12:28):
No, you're married now with ESPN overall time.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah, so I think that even the broadcast that we
saw on the Tuesdays and Thursday nights, maybe that it
feel like they rose to the occasion. But now with
the new way of the NBA, the broadcast on NBC
at a Chris's point on Amazon make the sport feel
like a bigger deal and a more enjoyable watch in
the regular I.
Speaker 8 (12:50):
Would just hope that we appreciate the basketball for being
the high level basketball and talk about this as the
full sport instead of hitting the same buttons over and
over going honstantly back to the Lakers, who getting caught
in the meta narrative of who's going to be the
next dynasty and a disservice to the game itself at
this point, to enjoy the basketball that's in front of
us in this entire season, because sometimes the NBA gets
(13:13):
caught up in who's gonna be the big trade, what's
gonna happen to this coach?
Speaker 6 (13:18):
Yeah, I said this on Christmas.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
That was one of my Christmas wishes, my Christmas gifts,
I said, in all expenses paid trip to Cancun for
Adam Silver, Get out of the way. You have fun,
young stars, let us enjoy them before you screw this
up by changing the same thing I said with college football,
changing this adding that like Wemby has a universal one
(13:42):
thousand percent approval rating, Cad Cunningham has a one thousand
percent approval rating. Whoever, the Knicks are still a feel
good story, which is amazing. It's the Knicks we're talking about.
Don't screw this up, Adam.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
Silver Good, Isaac long Cron.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
This is kind of the midway, kind of along the
line of Aaron's in terms of the subject.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
But my New Year's resolution is.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
For someone to come forth and establish themselves as a
leader who can help save the insanity that has become
college athletics, both from a college football standpoint, college basketball,
the college football playoff controversy, nil the transfer portal. They
(14:31):
need some sort of college sports czar to really set
college sports on a better track. And I'll make my
point by saying this. I'm gonna play you guys a
voice right now, and I'm going to ask you to
identify the voice. Aaron might be able to identify this person,
but I doubt that hardly anyone in our listening audience
would be able to yet go.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Ahead a question, Yeah, should we turn our chairs around
when we know it? Like, should we hit the buzzer
when we know the voice? And then they're on our team?
Speaker 6 (15:00):
That's you ever see the voice, Aaron, It's been a
minute like this not a visual medium.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
That's the point. I just don't think anyone will recognize
the voice. But here it is see for yourself.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Well, first of all, it puts into the notion student athlete,
the student in very, very stark relief, the actions taken
to day.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
Can anybody recognize that voice?
Speaker 7 (15:22):
Sounds like Mark Emmert unbelievable.
Speaker 6 (15:24):
Good for you, But that was my point.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
I don't think hardly anybody in our listening audience realized
that that was the president of the nc Double A
during an unbelievably transformative time from twenty ten to twenty
twenty three, laying the groundwork for the insanity that we
have now. So clearly whatever happened during his reign led
(15:48):
to the insanity that we have now. I had to
Google to find out who the current NCBA president is,
a guy named Charlie Baker. The nc Double A or
college sports in general, I feel just needs a transformative
leader to just bring some common sense back to what
I said is a wild wild West of controversy. Not
(16:10):
that I don't like controversy being on the sports media,
but that's what we need in college sports.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Can I just say really quick? The sad part is
it will never happen. So like cal Perry exactly, Well,
cal Perry had his huge rant this week, and somebody's
like he needs to be the college basketball commissioner. I said,
by default, the commissioner's job is to get everybody to
work together. It's never in the SEC's best interest to
work with the Big twelve. It's never in the Big
(16:35):
twelve's best interest to work with this place, Big Tech.
Except so that's the issue that I keep here. Nick
Saban should be the commissioner of college football.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Why so he can.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Get in a room and Greg SANKI, You'll be like,
screw the Big ten. It's like the job will never
And this, by the way, super random, but it's what
this Cody Campbell guy, the big Texas Tech booster, is
basically saying, like, we all basically have to work together
to save college sports. We can't keep working in our
own silo. Was in echo chambers here. I just don't
know if for the.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
Look by the way under the radar.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Enormous props to Fox Sports Radio's Dan Bayer for being
able to identify the voice of Mark Emmert. I mean,
the CIA couldn't even have done that, So kudos to Dan.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
I'm like the Reba of the voice version here on
Fox Sports Radio, Jason Stewart's got another resolution.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
Yeah, I got a bonus one for you guys. This
is deeply personal and it also impacts Isaac Lohencron as well.
I'm gonna ask Chris Purfet to kill the bed. That's
an industry jargon term. I don't expect the listener to
understand this. I'm taking the bed out back and shooting it.
New Year's New Year's resolution for the Los Angeles Chargers.
(17:45):
Fire the guy in charge of keeping your players healthy.
And it actually is one person. This guy went viral
when Harbrough brought him aboard. His name is Ben Herbert,
no relation, no relation to Justin Ben Herbert. Somebody on
TikTok put this together. So you're gonna I think you're
gonna hear yackety Sacks at some point because it has
(18:07):
become a clown show. And as you hear the yackety sacks.
You're going to see on the TikTok a list of
the number of injuries that the Chargers of experience this year.
I want to say it's an NFL record. If it isn't,
I'm going to exaggerate on national radio and say it
was most injuries ever suffered by a team. And Ben
Herbert is in charge of keeping this team strong and conditioned.
(18:30):
And this was how he opened his opening press conference
in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 9 (18:35):
I view training in this way, and this is how
I told it to the guys. My first goal is
to make you harder to break right. The most vulnerabilaries
of the body, in my opinion, in the game of
football the head, right and left, shoulder, right and left,
hip girdle, right and left hamstring, right and left and ankle.
So through your training, you have to be proactive at
training those areas of the body. So the network that
(18:57):
I introduced today, the trap work, the four part cuff
sequence to address the four rotator cuff muscles in your
shoulder girdle, introduced them to some hipwork, introduced them to
some ankle work.
Speaker 7 (19:06):
Right.
Speaker 9 (19:06):
These are things that are paramount if you want to
make a football player harder to break, your training has
to be sound.
Speaker 7 (19:11):
In my opinion, It's.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
All okay, I got enough of that. Needless to say
Chargers are easy to break. They're not hard to break.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
Isaac, Honey, it ain't Ben Herbert's fault, you know. And
I know that the Charger litany of injuries long long
predated Ben Herbert. And as much and as good as
Ben Herbert's track record was at Michigan, you can't pint
(19:40):
it solely on him. It's complex, it goes a long
way back, and it affects everyone associated with the Chargers,
not even those under Ben Herbert's perv.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
PEG now I got it now.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
Also like somebody on the Chargers payroll.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
By the way, that sounds like a take from No
I'm not but my New Year's resolution.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
I'm going to stick to us, you know. And I
know it happened long before he got to town.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
Can I say?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Also, didn't the guy before Ben Herbert stabbed Tyrod Taylor accidentally?
In Isaac's defense, that was a team doctor. It wasn't
a strengthen conditioning coach. Core A player got stabbed in
the lung. Yeah, I think Isaac's I know it's Jay
Stew's resolution, but I I'm on team Isaac on this one.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I think we should have a resolution for Sharon Moore
to get a head coaching job in twenty twenty six,
just so we.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
Can have him at a press conference to answer all
the questions.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
That were no midware.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
I think that would be great.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Can some program just take one for the team, right,
just so we can get a a preseason media day
press conference and so we can ask all of the
questions that we're wondering about what went on.
Speaker 6 (20:51):
You know, what's crazy about your own more.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
In all seriousness, I believe as part of his release
from jail, I don't think he can leave the state.
Because my thought was my thought was, does Harbaugh just
give him like assistant director of player ops or something
just to kind of get his career started again.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
And I was like, I actually.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Don't think he can leave the state, you know, unless
it's like preapproved by a.
Speaker 6 (21:18):
Joke which Grace sure, that's so you're saying Western Michigan
or Central Michigan is waying.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
It's a lot that I would that I would like
the chips.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Yeah, I was gonna say Central Michigan already has ties
to the Michigan program.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
I mean, Connor Stallions were saying out on the sidelines.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So just just at your throw some sunglasses and you
can do that.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Can I piggyback on your idea?
Speaker 7 (21:37):
Dan?
Speaker 5 (21:37):
So if a program doesn't hire him. The new Yar's
resolution for the creator of the Connor Stallions documentary, just
do the Sharon More documentary. Get the girlfriend in here.
I need all the details, I need all the only
fans models.
Speaker 6 (21:53):
Oh that would be so good when it comes out.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
But the Connor Stallions documentary made him seem like a hero,
and so that you know, I was he was put
up on this pedestal like he was this amazing, like
this just this huge, great fan, and everybody wanted to
side with Michigan because they love Jim Harbaughs.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
Everyone else is playing checkers.
Speaker 7 (22:13):
That's what it was. That's what it was.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Those problems run deep, as we are now starting to
see everything wipe away.
Speaker 7 (22:21):
Clear the windows any more resolutions.
Speaker 6 (22:24):
Uh, we're good.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, he's not.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Getting Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup
in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox
sports radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
It's Fox Sports Radio. I'm Dan Buyer. He's erin Torres.
Aeron Torres has the thinking cap on before we break
into the cranium of what Aaron's been thinking. Feeding off
the success of our college basketball bracket challenge each March,
we decided to do a bracket challenge for the college
football player.
Speaker 7 (23:00):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
With eight teams left standing in college football, it's bracket
challenged time, and there's still time. Compete against our Fox
Sports Radio hosts and against fellow listeners to see who
as the best college football playoff bracket. Play for your
chants to win one thousand dollars. I visit Fox Sportsradio
dot iHeart dot com to register to get rules and
fill out your bracket. Entry is open now and it
will be until seven thirty Eastern time tonight, so hurry
(23:22):
on up again. Fill out your bracket at Fox Sports
Radio dot iHeart dot com for your chance to win
one thousand dollars. It is college football playoff time. We're
down to the quarterfinals. He is Aaron Torres. I'm Dan Beyer.
And maybe it's money making time for some of those
blue bloods. But is this the only money making time?
That's kind of a question. You posted, and you posted
earlier to Jeff Schwartz.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yeah, I was just, you know, I was thinking about
it big picture of and Jeff framed it this way
as well, is it's a select group of schools. But
I was thinking about how many schools can you say
that a season ended up being successful if you don't
make the college football playoff? And so I was thinking about, say,
(24:04):
the dichotomy between two SEC teams playing today, Right, Vanderbilt,
I think there's no doubt nine win regulars or ten
win regular season. Excuse me, you know they didn't make
the playoff. But Clark Lee said it was you know,
he even said, he's like, it's an incredible season. You know,
we're privileged to play in the rely Quest Bowl, on
and on. I bring it up because with like Texas
(24:25):
is the opposite, I don't. I don't think Texas, even
if they lose today to Michigan, would deem this season
a failure necessarily. But I don't know that Texas would
consider a success either. And they could potentially win ten games, Like,
think about that, Texas could win ten games this year,
and I don't think they would consider it a success.
(24:45):
I don't think they would consider it a failure, but
I don't think they would consider it an outright success.
And so I just I know we've kind of created
this this narrative that the playoff is the only thing
that matters in this era. But I was thinking there
really are a select number of schools that I don't
know if you can consider a season a success if
you do not make the playoff. It may be small,
(25:07):
it may be the Texas's, Michigan's, Ohio States, Notre Dames, whoever.
But I do think we are at that point with
probably about six seven eight schools in college football.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Let's I think it's I think it's a bigger number
I actually do. I think it's about half the SEC
I like Tennessee like for example, I think it's a failure,
especially after they made it last year. So if you're
like Tennessee and you didn't make it this year, then
then that ends up being a failure. I'm sorry, it's
a failure for LSU like it just it is their
expectations that are higher.
Speaker 7 (25:34):
Can I jump in on that? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
The only way I can see a school like LSU
the season being considered a success, they know they didn't
have the right guy and they got him out.
Speaker 6 (25:47):
So that's the only way.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
So like if LSU had gone even nine and three
with Brian Kelly, but in their hearts they knew he
wasn't the right guy.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
I don't think it's a success.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
I think the only way you can swing it to
being a success is by saying this guy stunk, he
wasn't the right answer.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
We got him out. But your point, well, I think
that's I think that's a one off. And I'll even
give you another one off. For me, as an Ohio
State fan, it was imperative. It was number one to
beat Michigan this year. That's what it was in my
mind here. And it wasn't to go back to back.
It's not running the table this year after losing last
year and then winning the national championship. The thing that
(26:23):
mattered most, and it actually made it a very unsatisfying
college football viewing season because it all came down to
that one game. And honestly, the Big Ten championship game
against Indiana hyped one two. I know it got great
numbers on Fox. I didn't care, sure, I did not care.
It was not that big of a deal. Now, the
(26:44):
playoff tonight against Miami yes, there's some there's care there,
but ultimately coming into the season it was beat Michigan.
That was a one off like that's and that's where
I think, like LSU, like every single year it's gonna
be that because I think that there's there's comparisons, and
it's comparable to a duke program. Duke going to the
Final four is the standard. You see, LA standard used
(27:08):
to just be just win a title and if you don't,
they don't hang final four banners. They hang championship banners.
But in college basketball there is a unique I guess
structure if you will on a school that will hang
in appearance, a school that will hang a Sweet sixteen,
and a school that will hang a banner for a
Final four. And so I think now in college football,
(27:30):
even though it's new, you're obviously going to have those stages.
I don't think you're going to have college football semi finalist,
you know, like it would be for Final four for
college basketball. But I think there's parallels with college football.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
No, I think that's totally fair and well, i'd be curious.
So you said you think your list is a little
bit bigger. I agree, But it's funny because and you know,
I love Jeff Schwartz. This isn't a criticism, but he
just threw Oregon in there. Can Oregon have a season
that is a success without making a twelve team playoff?
Because I think I think they can. I think, you know,
(28:09):
you look at last year was obviously they were the
number one overall seed, undefeated regular season. This year they
lost everybody, and I think they kind of overachieved by
making the playoff. I think if an Oregon had just
gone nine to three, ten and two and somehow not
gotten into the playoff like a like a Vanderbilt, I
think it could have been a successful season. I don't
know that I would have felt that way about Ohio State.
Speaker 7 (28:32):
Yeah, I actually agree with Jeff.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I think that Oregon is now to that level and
with the stature of where we are with transfer portal, yeah,
nil and all of that. That's that's what it's there for.
They're not paying you two million dollars in nil to
go play a cheese at Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve.
So the level of success, I was gonna go through
(28:54):
the SEC quickly and just your rapid fire. Georgia, Yes,
oll miss most years. No agree, all right, So Texas
A and M. Yes, yes, no, for the amount of
money that they spend if they don't make the college
Football Playoff, now it is.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
I don't think you can say every year though, that
the season is a failure at Texas A and M.
It also and let me, I'm not trying to play
both sides. It is tough because like, as an example, right,
we came into this season saying there's no world where
a ten and two SEC or Big ten team gets
(29:34):
left out of the college football playoff, And so Vandy
got left out of ten and two, and so I
only bring it up because it's like if A and
M finishes ten and two and their losses are too
Bama at home and Georgia on the road, I don't
think you can say that's a But again the context
of we know they went ten and two, So I
think that's what kind of makes it a little bit tough.
(29:56):
I don't personally think A and M is at the
point yet any season in which they don't make the
playoff would not be considered a success.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
I think for the investment and what they put into it,
it's the only way to judge. I just don't think
ten and two seasons and being left out of the
playoff are good seasons anymore in college football. And so
if you have twelve schools making it, let's just say
ten schools, and you would have at least another ten
(30:26):
schools that would that are left out, that maybe just
didn't have that good of a year, like an LSU,
like a Tennessee that would want to be in. Texas
is in that group. So if I went Georgia, I'll
even give you Texas A and M. I don't agree
with you, but I will give you that because I
think my argument's still going to hold true. Alabama, Yes,
that's to Texas. Yes, I think so three Oklahoma I
(30:49):
would say, yeah, yes for Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
So I disagree with Tennessee, but I get the point
that you made.
Speaker 7 (30:58):
I've given you a lot of better. If hit o
the doubts, LSU yep.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
LSU Yes, yes, if there's no crazy coaching change that
they can be happy about because they Florida.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Florida's right on the line. Yes, And I'm about to
lay Auburn on you and that and that's about half
the SEC. Sure, So that's half of the conference. It
is not a successful year if you don't make the
College Football Playoff. It's also why they want their version
of a sixteen team playoff with a five plus eleven,
(31:31):
because I think that they feel that none only they
deserve it. But it also it's how those schools end
up looking at at the bracket very quickly.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
I know we have to get to ISAACS. I'll be
very quick on this. Do you think all of the
coaching changes do you think?
Speaker 7 (31:48):
Like?
Speaker 3 (31:48):
Cause the argument is all those schools that you would
put in that group that expect to be in the playoff, LSU,
Penn State, Florida, Michigan's kind of a weird example, but
that didn't make the play or had disappointing seasons. They
all made coaching changes. Like do you think this coaching
cycle was a one off outlier or do you think
(32:09):
it is going to get more? If you missed the
playoff a year, two years, three years in a row.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
You're just done. You see what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Yeah, I think it'll I think Water will find its
level at some point. But I don't think that it's
a random deal that Penn State was thought to be
a national championship contender. They lose two close games and
I say close games because Oregon was a close game,
Northwestern was a close game, and then they had the
debacle against UCLA which they still almost came back and won. Yeah,
(32:40):
and James Franklin ends up losing his job. So like
that's so those expectations, like, I don't think you can
do that. That would not be healthy for your sport.
So at some point it's going to I think level out.
Maybe you won't have as much as you had this year,
but I do think with nil and everything that came
with it, that a bunch of stuff just you know,
ended up crossing at the same time. Maybe not a
(33:02):
perfect storm per se, but close to it, and that's
why you had the reaction that you did.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
I don't think we'll ever see anything quite like this year,
but I think Texas is a perfect example. They go
nine to three again next year, people are gonna have
serious questions.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Fox Sports Radio had the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
It's Fox Sports Radio. On this New Year's Eve, the
road to Milan runs through Saint Louis Celia Mallin in Alyssa. Leuin,
Amber Glenn compete at the twenty twenty six privag In
US Figure Skating Championships January seventh through the eleventh. Be
there as the twenty twenty sixth US Olympic Figure Skating
team is named Live tickets at US figure Skating dot org.
He's Aaron Torres. I'm Dan Beyer getting sat for a well.
(33:47):
We're already smack dabbing a busy day of college football tonight.
We have a National Championship quarterfinal and the College Football
Playoff Ohio State and Miami playing in the Cotton Bowl.
Triple header of quarterfinal games coming up on Saturday and Sunday.
It's Week eighteen in the National Football League. Looking back
to this past weekend, a couple of things happened, and
(34:10):
Moncy Belanios and I talked about this yesterday. Aaron, when
it came to the MVP, I was frustrated that I
felt Drake May had a five touchdown game against the
Jets and his MVP odds skyrocketed in a good way
where he became the favorite, especially after Matthew Stafford through
the three interceptions in the game on Monday night, and
(34:32):
during that game, Drake May became the favorite for the MVP.
That bothered me because I don't think that the Jets
game meant anything, and I think that Matthew Stafford has
done enough throughout the season where you have a kind
of a meaningless game for them against the Falcons shouldn't
necessarily be held against him, or it shouldn't be the
deciding factor on if you're the MVP or Drake May
(34:55):
throwing five touchdowns against an interception less Jets defense this season,
thought it was ridiculous. I then saw this note that
while Mike Vrabel continues to be the favorite to be
the NFL Coach of the Year, he's sitting there at
minus one forty five. A different coach moved up in
the odds, and that would be Kyle Shanahan. His odds
(35:19):
now at plus one eighty five. After that Niners win
against the Bears, that's a good win. It's a really
good win, right Chicago, double digit win team this season.
The Niners are now playing for a number one overall
seed forty nine. Ers have had some injuries they've battled through,
but Kyle Shanahan a nominee for Coach of the Year,
and I just thought to myself. So what if Cayleb
(35:42):
Williams completes that pass on fourth down? Does that mean
Kyle Shanahan is less of a coach? What if Kayleb
Williams looks to the right and sees Dj Moore doing
jumping Jackson the other corner fires one to him, he
catches it, does that mean Kyle Shanahan isn't as good
of a coach because of what happened on that play. No,
that's ludicrous, That's ridiculous. So to have these games and
(36:07):
these odds changed within these actual games, it's just silly
to me. And I don't I can't believe that people
are swayed so much by what happened so little on
the field.
Speaker 6 (36:20):
So I'll just say this very quickly.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
I was like genuinely surprised when you just started hearing like, oh,
Drake more so than Drake may one of like, oh yeah,
he's dead, And I'm like, I thought we all agreed,
Josh Allen was the MVP, like unbelievable season, no help.
Coaching has been up and down, and I just think
it speaks to a bigger thing of like we are
(36:43):
all such prisoners of the moment that it feels like
all these awards, NFL MVP, Heisman Trophy, Coach of the Year,
it's all just what do you do in the last
week or two of the season. I've noticed it with
the Heisman the last few years, and it feels like
it's getting to be the same in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Yeah, absolutely, is that so much as being swayed. I
am more offended that people took stock in the Drake
Mays touchdown passes against the Jets. Yep, that would allow him,
considering he wasn't great against the Bills a few weeks
prior to that, and Matthew Stafford again in a game
(37:19):
that I don't know if the Rams really even cared
about on Monday night because of what happened prior to
them playing the game. It just seems like a ridiculous
standard to hold these guys too. But the odds Vegas
knows and voters may be swayed by it, and that's
what bothers me. He's erin Torres. I'm Dan Byer, Jason Stewart, Chrisperfett,
and Isaac Lowan Cronner Here we're in for Cavino and
(37:39):
Rett Rich talking about the most controversial calls in sports.
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Next
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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