December 4, 2020 • 38 mins
Chris and Rob explain why Kyrie Irving's decision not to talk to the media is terrible for the NBA and why Adam Silver needs to make him pay for it, and give their NFL Week 13 picks against the spread in the Pigskin Pickoff. Plus, MGM Grand sportsbook director Lamarr Mitchell swings by to help us preview Week 13 from a gambling perspective.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Odd Couple podcasts. Be sure
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(00:26):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. It is The I Couple.
I am Chris. He is a Rob, and we are
wrapping up a funky flashback Friday Christmas style. We're leading
you into the weekend. And look, the weekends always great.
You know, it's funny. Rob. My wife was saying to me,
(00:48):
I think about have even been yesterday. What do you
want to do anything this weekend? And then we thought
about it and we're like, ain't really much you can
do other than go out to dinner or you know,
or go out to eat. We we actually went out
to eat breakfast this morning, and you know, it's cool
out here in New Jersey, and so one of my
(01:09):
friends walking by, No, you can't eat any side. Well
some places, some places do have indoor, but this place didn't, okay,
And so we were sitting outside eating and one of
our friends came by. He was like, man, you guys
must really like the food here, you know, sitting out
here shivering in the corn. You know, right, it's just
to get out. But um, yeah, man, you talk about
(01:30):
your your wife ordered coffee, but she wound up drinking
ice coffee, right right, everything's not funny. That was funny. No,
I'm just gonna move on, all right. You can follow
a Rob on Twitter at Rod Parker FS one and Instagram.
(01:50):
I'm at Chris Underscore Bruce Hard and I'm trying Chris
Bruce R six day on the ground. I'm trying to
work hard for your entertainment dollar every night. And you guys,
just you you don't know what I go through with
material to try to figure it all out to make
it work. No, okay, all right. At the bottom of
the hour, we got our man, Lamar Mitchell. Lamar likes
(02:14):
Rob's jokes. Lamar loves you. Yes, Lamar does love you.
So he's the mgim Grand Racis Sports. Please set one
person that does. And then we got robbed, the pigs
getting picked off. And you know I told you, see you, yeah,
I told you, I said, second half of the season,
I'm coming for you. And I have been on fire.
(02:38):
Rob G tried to short me that's true and gave
rob the post we don't have time for all that
you were on five he was one and four. I
was one and four that week I was four and one.
He tried to make me three and two. Dude, I'm
on a pro level. I'm like killing it. But anyway,
that's at the as we wrap up the show, Rob, Um,
(03:01):
you and I both like Kyrie Irving. You know, Um,
I like him. You know, he grew up around where
I live. I know his dad and you know, played
ball with Kyrie once when he was like in eighth grade.
He came up and played with all the men and
and whole house. He was not you know, he wasn't
(03:24):
like kill. He wasn't. I mean, he was just playing
a steady game. But he was playing with grown men,
some of whom have played in college. And he was
you know, he's the eighth grader playing all right and
m But his dad's great. He's still very good player,
was great in college, played pro in Australia. But so,
you know, I like him. You like him. You know
he he gave you a you know, like a little
(03:44):
what's up at are you gonna say? And you you've
just like loved him ever since, you know, ever since
ever since the head nat at the mansion and Bell
remember that at the end cruise ships like jealous because
Kyrie was like yo, yo whatever whatever. It wasn't even
(04:05):
yo whatever, it was like whatever, Like, oh, yeah, I
recognize you, but I recognize you yet then you've been
on TV for twenty five years. I know who you are,
all right, wow, but no, but we we like Kyrie,
you know, we've he's he's obviously made some statements that
it just you just can't defend, you know, I mean,
and I don't have a problem with him being a
(04:26):
different guy. Everybody's different in life. Everybody's not the same.
So some people because Chris, he gets attacked and I
get some of the like you said, some of the
statements or whatever the earth this flat? And why is
Christmas a holiday? Or whatever it is. But he was
out on the forefront about during the protest and the
(04:47):
whole thing, and we both defended him. We defended him,
and he got killed by some people, and you know what,
he wound up being somewhat right. Well, remember he was
talking about potentially boycott in the season, and I think
we're all, you know, we enjoyed it. We're glad they didn't,
but you know, look there were more than just him,
right yeah, and the Bucks did you know, did a
(05:09):
boycott for a game, and it was something that did
need to be discussed, and he opened it up for
all the players to talk about and created that platform,
which was good. And so, yeah, Kyrie is it's very intelligent.
I do think sometimes though he comes off like he
thinks he's much smarter than everybody else, and that's that
(05:32):
can be a problem. And so I think today is
one of those instances. Rob. So you know, as we know,
training camps are kind of getting underway, one on one
workouts and everything, and teams are making players available to
the media, and Kyrie was supposed to speak to the
media via zoom or however they're doing it, and instead
(05:54):
of speaking to the media, he released the statement. And
Rob G's gonna read a little bit of what he
said in that statement. I gotta hear, guys, start Kyrie
Irving quote. Instead of speaking to the media today, I
am issuing this statement to ensure that my message is
properly conveyed. I'm committed to show up to work every day,
(06:15):
ready to have fun, compete, perform, and when championships alongside
my teammates and colleagues in the NETS organization, COVID nineteen
has impacted us all in many ways. So I pray
for the safety and health for our communities domestically and abroad.
I am truly excited for the season to start, and
I'm also praying that everyone remains safe and healthy throughout
(06:37):
this journey. So it's good enough. But here's where it
gets a little bit tricky for you guys. My goal
this season is to let my work on and off
the court speak for itself. Light hit excuse me. Life
hit differently this year, and it requires us, It requires
me to move differently. So this is the beginning of
that change. So Rob that I don't know for sure,
(07:02):
but that sounds to me like there's at least the
implication there that Kyrie's not talking to the media this year,
or at least you know regularly that he's going to
do release these statements. Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I
think there's at least an implication there that this is
kind of the direction he wants to move in. Well,
(07:23):
he wants to but that ain't gonna hold up. I mean,
do you agree that that that that seems like what
he's saying. Well, I think he's hinting at it because
he could have just said I will not speak to
the media for the way he could have said. But
you know what he might try to do is instead
of speaking to the media, he might have a pr
person here here come. This is my stake that you
(07:44):
know what I'm saying, right, But that's not gonna work. No,
And it's for the NBA commissioner, right, Adam Silver to
step in if the team doesn't do it. Because I
hate to break it to Kyrie, it's a part of
your job description, Chris. It's a part of you being
a professional athlete. Yes, it is that you have to
(08:05):
answer questions before after whatever your routine is. But nobody, Chris,
and I've been in the business thirty five years. You
don't get away. You might be able to skate out.
You remember what happened to Cam Newton after what he
did in the Super Bowl, right right? He was He
was crucified for it and it hurt him. Because you
(08:27):
can't do it. You can't skip out and you're not
talking and all that that's a part of your job.
If you don't want people to interview you after your
eight hours shift at work, go work at the post office.
There'll be no reporters there to ask you questions after
you're done. I'm sorry, and the and the and the commissioner.
(08:48):
I guarantee you we'll call the nets and say, dude,
this is not gonna take place. So let Kyrie know
we'll find him every time he doesn't meet with the media,
because once you allow that to happen. Once, Chris right,
you could not let that precident be said. The camp
absolutely cannot. You know how many players would be doing that? Ye,
(09:10):
and I for the game, absolutely, it's bad for the game.
It's bad for the players. It's just not a good
look at all. And you're absolutely right. First, Adam Silver,
you need to contact the nets. So you need to
be like, look, he's got to talk to the media.
You gotta make him available. And then if he if
he just refuses, then he's, like you said, he has
(09:31):
got to get fined every single day every day he
doesn't talk to the media, big fine, and and say
we're not going to tolerate it. And if you keep
doing it, we'll suspend you because remember people, I know,
I know you think that it's it's about us, right, Chris,
it's about us. We're a con doing for the fans.
(09:53):
It ain't about us. The fans want to hear from Kyrie.
You think we can't get and you and say, well,
now they can go on social media. Now they can
go to the Players Tribune, they get on the Players
Podcast with their former teammates and friends. And but we
always say it, right, you're not gonna get the full story. No,
we just said that. There was an interview with Nate Robinson.
(10:16):
I mean, that's a great get a few days after
he gets knocked out cold, you get him more in there.
But guess what, they didn't even ask him about the
fight to lead clip I saw, right, that's a that's
null and void, right, that's and Chris, trust me, if
he would have said something about the fight, you would
have saw that could have been all over, right, it
would have been everywhere, So you know it wasn't there.
(10:38):
I looked around. I couldn't find anything about it. No
one is going to report that, and that's a part
of it. And that's why this won't be tolerated. It campy.
It just campy. And here's the the thing is this, right?
You you covered You've been covering sports longer than I have.
(10:59):
We both covered professional teams, been in locker rooms, being
on beats. Right, And here's the thing. You know this Rod.
There are times when a player, particularly a star, won't
talk to the media, and most generally the beat writers
will let that go. Oh spree, wells not talking today,
(11:20):
all right? You know you know what I mean. Like,
you'll generally let the old Lebron's not talking today, You'll
let that go. But when it starts happening regularly, yes,
that's when it's a problem. So if you establish a
decent relationship with the media, they'll let you know here
a day or so here here or there. And in
(11:41):
New York, Patrick Ewen didn't talk before the game. He
wanted to prepare right and get into his h frame
of mind. But he was consistent. He wasn't like not
talking to Chris, But he's talking to me, talking to nobody,
Am I right? But he was always there after the game.
Chris a professional. Yeah, I mean, look, Lebron James talks
(12:02):
every day, so don't tell me. Nobody else can tell
I mean, it didn't matter because everybody should talk, but
with the demands on him, and he talks every day,
so you're right, and and this comes off. And again
I don't know if this is exactly where Kyrie is
thinking about going, but that's what I mean. That kind
(12:22):
of comes off like you're trying to pull a fast one,
you know what I mean. So I'll give you your quotes,
but you're not gonna talk to me, you know what
I mean? That type of thing that getting no, that
can't fly. Because you like the benefits that your fame
gives you. You like the movies, You like the million
(12:47):
you know, multimillion dollar contracts, the shoes, all that stuff,
the fame fortune, yep, but this comes with it as well.
And I get. Look, we're you and I are in
the public eye too. Obviously not like a Kyrie Irving,
but we're in the public eye too. And no matter
what you do, whether you're a politician, an athlete, a lawmaker,
(13:10):
you know, a sports personality like us, whatever, if you
do something publicly, that's your job. You're gonna get criticized.
You're gonna get critiqued. That is part of it. You
and I get criticized, signed up for it. We could
say if we were just little high school beat writers,
(13:31):
we wouldn't get criticized like that. But we're doing it
at this level and so that comes with it. Now,
you gotta know who you are. If you don't want
to read it, then don't read it right block it,
just don't pay attention to it. Whatever. That's one thing
I'll say about Kevin Durant, Like everybody rips him because
(13:51):
he's responding to guys. But you know, look, apparently he's
able to look at what everybody's saying and shoot back
if he wants and still play his game. And so
if that's what he wants to do, fine, But this
is a part of the job. It's just as simple
as that, you know. And so I hope that's not
(14:14):
what Kyrie's thinking. I hope this was just, you know,
he couldn't make it for whatever reason, so he gave
him a statement. It didn't sound like that from what
you what he wrote. I think, but know what and
and and I don't know who the next PR person
is now, but if I was the PR person, I
wouldn't have it. I wouldn't have allowed that statement to
(14:36):
go out because I wouldn't, do you know what I'm saying,
Like like, nope, unless he was sick, Chris, or there
was some real reason why he couldn't do it, delivered himself.
Because see what they did is by doing that as well,
because because he, I think, is being an enabler by
doing that, and you can't. You gotta say everybody's available,
(14:58):
just like I always gives Earn this Chris credit. And
I there were things I didn't like about David Stern
and stuff that he did, but he understood, he understood
what the media was. And if you remember when he
took over, we used to sit up in the rafters
up top. He brought the writers down to the floor, Chris,
(15:18):
so that we could hear the game better describe what
was happening, the personalities, do you know what I mean?
We wrote like that because we had the access to
hear what was going on and see what was going
on and deliver a better story. David Stern did that. Yep,
absolutely absolutely, So you know it, Um, it's gonna be interesting,
(15:42):
but you're right, they they've got to nip this in
the bug quickly and Rob. This is what I was
talking about yesterday when I said, look, the Clippers. I mean,
this is a little different situation, but it's similar. The
Clippers were acting like Prima Donnas. I know Kawhi Leonard
ain't soft and all that, but they were acting like
Prima Donnas last year. And whether or not you think
(16:04):
the chemistry issues hurt them on the quarter or not,
they still were acting like Premadonnas. And this is starting.
This is acting like a Prema Donna because everybody else, Rob,
here's all the other teammate's gonna talk, especially the role
players Maine and like that was the part of the
Clippers thing was that they were saying Kawhi and Paul
(16:25):
George weren't available till forty five minutes after the game
to the media. So you know how it is, you're
on deadline, you're getting out of You can't wait for
a dude for an hour. And the thing that I
don't understand, Chris and you know this, come out to
your locker five minutes and then you could go on
about your business. That's you don't have to like hide
for wait, have people wait on you for an hour,
(16:47):
stick around longer, trying to come out for five minutes,
say your piece, Chris. After five minutes, you can say,
all right, guys, I'm done right, I'm good, you good,
y'all start talking, you give your stuff, then you can
cut it off. Ye, yes, when you want. Yep, you're right.
So we'll see where this goes. But Rob and I
definitely like look the nets first, and then the league
(17:11):
has to nip this in the bud eight seven, seven
ninety nine on Fox eight seven seven nine nine six
sixty three sixty nine. Do you have an issue with
Kyrie Irving refusing to speak to the media and maybe
even he's may try to do it all year? What's
your take on this? We will continue the conversation with you. Next,
(17:34):
it's christ and Rob the Eye couple, Fox Sports Radio.
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(17:56):
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(18:18):
Radio and the iHeart Radio app. All Right, it's the
I Couple, Chris and Rob DJ Alex Tisher all up
in the crates even on a Christmas funky flashback Friday.
That's Ray Charles. Ain't that Ray Charles. It's not snowing
here in Jersey. They got tons of snow in uh
Cleveland where my parents who they Yeah, they got a
(18:40):
couple of feet. It's been yeah, yeah, I'll tell you
want you to get out of that. Hey, I you
ain't gonna tell me that. I tell you love you
know being back home. You can't. You don't enjoy the weather.
I know you don't. I mean, that's the thing out
there now Later weather Man. It's just when you come
(19:02):
out of the studio or your house or whatever, and
it's seventy and sunny every day every day, you know
what I'm saying, It's just like you can't top it.
So all right, we're coming to you live from the
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(19:25):
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States of America only. All right, eight seven seven ninety
(19:46):
nine on Fox? What do you think about Kyrie not
talking to the media and what seemed to be plans
to h make this a prolonged thing? Sean and Sacramento,
you're on the couple of Fox Sports Radio. What you got, Sean?
My uncle's from another mother? And Yo, what up to
my brothers? Behind the boys? Man? Y'all feeling on this Friday?
(20:07):
Sean from another state? Was that having baby Sean, we're
gonna get you gonna be on that trying to get
He's trying to butter y'all up. So he's like, now
from this guy's my favorite car? Which man? Yes, Hey, man, hey,
I heard y'all arguing over who are the pig man?
And to be honest with you, man, it's like peanut
butter and Joel. You can't have one without the other
man without both of them this and it's not a
(20:28):
package deal, but you gotta have both of the eye couple, man,
and I grew up on the peanut butter saying, Oh
I love hearing butter and jelly. Look at Chris Jelly,
no better, no better? Hey, Wick only gives you the peanutbody,
and Chris, you see cheese sandwiches, a little bit of
(20:53):
sugar water rented all the way down? Baby? All right?
Where you at? Sean on this? My take? Real quick? Man,
How Derek Kyrie talk about him gonna talk to the media.
He's leging Lebron came back to Cleveland. Otherwise nobody want
to talk to him right now. It's not the media
fault that he want to put out these absurd things
out there. And I'm not talking about the Black Lives
(21:13):
Matter thing. I'm talking about talking about the Earth is flat, Chris,
Christmas ain't a real holiday. We don't need no coaches
on this team. Nobody told you to put that out
there in the air. Man, that's your own dang fault.
Don't blame guys like Rob Parker. Don't blame guys like
Chris Bruss. I don't blame anybody but yourself. Bro, you
said the super Steadies you got to live with it.
Well that's a good tape because that's what Kyrie, I
(21:35):
think is responding to. Is he it's not gonna be
twisted what you said the earth was flat? Well, I mean, like,
how was that twisted? How did the media twist that's
that's your quote? Do you not say that that's what
you said. That's the thing. And he's jumping getting mad
at the media for you know, responding to things. He
says what you said them? Right? Can we squeeze in
(21:59):
job from New Zealand real quick? You are the couple
of Fix Sports Radio. What's up job? Good day mate?
How are you doing? Great man? How are you? I'm great?
Thank you. I get summer and Christmas at the same time.
That's why, because the seasons are reversed down there. That's
right in the summer. Huh yeah, that's right. Okay, Just
(22:24):
a quick just a quick thought. When you were talking
about Kyrie, I was thinking, you know, that kind of
sounds like I'm I'm happy to be part of the
factory that makes the product, but I'm not happy to
be part of the marketing. That's somebody else's job, because
meeting with the media is part of marketing the product.
And then I thought a bit more and I realized, no, actually,
(22:44):
it's the It is part of the product. It's not
the marketing. It is the actual product itself, at least,
because you know, if you think about you get a
schedule ahead of time, and you know that your team
is going to have a big game coming up, um
in months and months and months, and you have that
whole build up, and it's the two in the frow,
and it's the the write ups, and it's the breakdowns,
(23:08):
and it's yes, the quotes from the players. That is
the part of the entertainment. And that's what gets us
to to like Thursday evening, being so excited that we
want to start the barbecue right then and there. You
know that create game is on the weekend. YEP. That's
what That's what Chris and I were both talking about.
This is what you signed up for, you know what.
(23:30):
This is not new, Chris, it ain't new. You're absolutely right.
So hopefully they'll get to him and straighten this thing out,
all right. Our mail Lamar Mitchell from the MGM Grand
joins us next but first, 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
(23:53):
the iHeartRadio app. Search f SR to listen live. If
it is the Eye Couple coming to you live from
the Geico Fox Sports Radio studios. It's easy to say
fifteen percent more on your car insurance with Geico. Go
to Geico dot com or call a hundred nine four
seven Auto. The only hard part is figuring out which
way is easier. That's right. He's one of the few
(24:16):
you don't just get theme music for the heck of
it on the Eye Come you gotta you gotta be yes,
you have to earn it, and this brother has earned
his stripes. He's the MGM Grand Race and Sports Book Director,
otherwise known as the man down in Vegas, Lamar Mitchell,
(24:40):
what up? Yo? Man? Hey, hey Lamar, I do have
to ask you howard things in Vegas. I'm planning on
coming next Saturday. Is it a go? Could I come?
You can come? It's a go. It's a go. Just
uh just be ready to go. Okay, So it's all cool.
(25:01):
I can come And can you eat inside the casino
and stuff, and they came inside the casino. You just
have to make a reservation, but you can eat inside
the casino and the bars are so open. Okay, I
am coming. Well, you know what to do? You know
where to find me? I got you, my man. All right,
let's get into these games, Lamar. I want to start.
(25:22):
I want to start with with Lastbie's game. First, the
Broncos were forced to play a game against the Saints
with no quarterbacks. It was crazy. Yeah, and if I
recall that announcement didn't come until very late in the week.
How do you guys in Vegas deal with situations like that?
That's a situation we've never had to deal with before.
(25:44):
As you know, the line jumped eleven points from what
we opened the game, close about seventeen and a half
eighteen around there, and it still wasn't enough points. I mean,
I feel bad for the quarterback because he really didn't
have a shot in though they didn't really get the
bro Goes a shot so you actually win that game
at all. They put him in a pretty pretty bad situation.
(26:05):
But yeah, it was it was difficult for us moving
that number up like that. I think Rob took the
Broncos though, no, I did not take the Broncos. And anyway,
you know what's funny, Lamar, that's the same amount of
points that Tom Brady scored against the Saints. He scored
three points as well. I'm sorry, all right. Washington against
Pittsburgh opened up with the Steelers minus ten has since
(26:28):
been bet all the way down the Steelers minus seven.
What do you attribute to that? And do you think
the betters were just turned off by how ugly a
win that the Steelers had against Baltimore on that Wednesday afternoon. Delight? Well,
you got you got a couple of factors in here.
The Steelers coming off the short week, even though they
had all that time off, coming out the short week,
(26:51):
and Washington actually looking really good against you know, their
defense against that Dallas offense. So that's what the betters
are looking at. But I mean, the number, like you said,
right now, at seven, but we got good two way
action on it right now, and I think a lot
of it is based on the defense for the Washington
football team, all right, Lamar. Buffalo opened up as two
(27:14):
and a half point favorites on the road against the
forty nine Ers and that's line. That line has moved
the complete opposite direction as the Niners have now are
now one point favorites. Was it the Pros or the
Joes that caused this line to move so much? Because
I think the Bills are clearly the better team. Yeah,
(27:35):
nobody's given Buffalo any respects here. It is both the
Pros and the Joes. Everybody is on the Niners here
in this game in Glendale, Arizona. I mean the Sharps
on it, the casino players are on it, the regular
Joes are on it. But yeah, you're right, no one's
given Buffalo any respect in this game. So we'll see
(27:56):
what happens on Monday night for this game, all right,
The over under for the Browns against the Titans seemed
to be holding firm at fifty three. I'm gonna take
the under, which is a little surprised to me, giving
me that both teams prefer to run the ball right
and shorten the game less possessions. What kind of action
are you seeing for the total on this game? Good
(28:17):
two way action, But basically basically they're betting it down.
Like you said, nothing big, big on that small pets
here and there, but you're right. It's it's a ground
and pound for both of these teams. You know, keep
it out of the quarterbacks hands, let the running backs
to the rock and do what they gotta do. But yeah,
(28:39):
it should be unless something catastrophic happens where one team
is going to blow another team out, the total is
probably right in line where it should be. We got
Lamar Mitchell, the race and sportsbook director for the MGM
Grand out there in Las Vegas. All right, Lamar. The
total for the Saints Falcons opened up at forty seven
and a half and since has been bet down to
(29:01):
forty six. At first, there's a little stou was shocking
to me given that both teams have very good offenses.
But the Saints defense has been lights out recently. They're
only giving up seven points a game over the last month.
Are the betters just pounding the under on this one? Yeah?
I think they're pounding under on this because these two
(29:21):
teams are division rivals and they know each other, and
like you said, the Saints defense, we don't instrict the
Falcons to have that type of offensive explosion again like
they had last week against our Las Vegas Raiders. But
the fact that these two teams played each other twice
a year, and the defense has actually stepped it up
for the same So that's why they're betting this game
a little bit under. And the Dolphins are currently what
(29:45):
going off as a ten point home favorite against the Bengals,
and we still don't know for sure who's going to
be starting at quarterback for them this Sunday. Would the
line be any different if too it gets to start
over Ryan Fitzpatrick or vice versa. Now now the line
would the line would basically say the same with either
(30:05):
quarterback because the Dolphins team here is really stout defensively
and playing against the Bengals with their backup quarterback. That's
really not going to change the line with either quarterback
in there, even though Fitzgerald has a little bit obviously
a lot more experience, but basically the line is based
(30:26):
upon that Dolphin defensive versus that Bengal offense. All right,
last thing for me, Lamar, the Raiders currently eight and
a half point role favorites over the Jets. Jets are horrible.
It looks like they're clearly tanking for Trevor Lawrence. But
the Raiders just got blown out last week and then
we found that out today. They're gonna be without Josh Jacobs.
(30:46):
They're great running back. What kind of action are you
seeing on this one? Well, believe it or not, everyone
is on the Raiders side here. I mean money's about
five to one on the Raiders, take accounts about six
on the Raiders. I think the Leaders remember what happened
to them last year when they went up there and
they got blasted against the Jets when they were supposed
(31:07):
to win this game. So that's fresh in their memory
and they'll be hungry coming off of that porous, really
awful defeat last week at Atlanta. Yeah, that was all right,
the last one for me. I'm looking on the board.
I see the Chargers are still holding firm one and
a half point home favorites over the Patriots. This one
is interesting to me because New England still has an
(31:28):
outshot shot at the playoffs. I'm gonna bet the Patriots
and the Chargers can't when the clothes came to save
their life. So where are the sharps on this one? Well,
we haven't had this one up because we're trying to
figure out what's going on with Cam Newton. We last
last week had it, Like you said, we had it
at one, but we haven't off right now due to
(31:50):
Cam Newton, although his numbers haven't been up to Cam
Newton's standards. But the little action that we did see,
it was pretty it was bet pretty evenly. But you're right.
I mean, the Patriots still have that need that game.
It's a huge game for them. It's it's yeah, it's
gonna determine if they're gonna be five hundred or not
and be in the playoff on And you're right. The Chargers,
(32:11):
the way they perform, they always find a way to
snatch victory out of their hands. All right, that's our man,
Lamar Jackson, Lamar Mitchell, look at you, Akin Jackson. That's right, Yes, yes, indeed,
(32:32):
we'll check you out next week. I guess you'll see
Rob pretty soon. That's right. I'm gonna wave and say hello,
no doubt about it, all right, looking forward to you.
Gotta have a great night and thanks for having me. Yeah,
all right, The pigs can pick off is next, Keep
it locked a couple of Fox Sports Radio. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris
Broussard and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four
(32:54):
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app.
It's the I Chris and Rob wrapping up a funky
flashback Friday Christmas style. We're coming to live from the
Geico Fox Sports Radio studios, of course, and we got
a special treat for you. Speaking of Christmas is a gift.
(33:15):
We're introducing Discovery Plus Why. It's a new streaming service
that brings you the greatest collection of real life entertainment
from your favorite brands, plus exclusive originals that you won't
find anywhere else. Discover Plus start streaming early twenty twenty
one US only. It's time for the NFL Pigskin Pickoff.
(33:42):
You ready to retire the odd couple is gonna make
you rich gambling corruptions their pigskin Pickoff. Yes, sir, it
is the pigskin Pickoff the NFL. Christ and Rob picking
games against the spread. Help you to buy that boat
for the wind their time when they go on sale.
That's the only time we can afford them on the
(34:03):
way to do it is to follow these guys with
their picks, because they're pretty good at it, sometimes not
all the time of the Actually, you know what, the
better thing just fade every pick that they make. You'll
probably make more money that way. So let's keep just
because Robbie struck. We know what, Chris, You're like you
had deleted the first half of the season because that's
how bad he were doing. All right, we're gonna start
(34:28):
off here. We talked about this one with Lamar Saints
minus three at the Falcons. Chris, who liking this one?
You know what, I'm gonna shock people. Taysom Hill did
not impress me one iota last week. I know he
scored two touchdowns running. He looked pretty good running the ball.
But uh, I'm gonna go with Atlanta and this one,
(34:49):
I'm going there at home. They've been playing well. They
obviously coming off a huge win over the Rams, and
uh yeah, I'm going with the Falcons in this. I'm taking,
uh the Saints. Their defense is what it's all about.
It's not about Taysom Hill. It's about the defense, and
they have been stingy, so they'll be stingy against the Falcons,
(35:14):
that fraudulent football team. Chris, I'm glad you said the
Falcons beat the Rams last week. I'm glad that you
mix that up. They didn't feel good. I appreciate it. Yeah, No,
it was the Rams. We'll say it was the Ram
that final It was Rams games like the movie that
you win that you don't remember the day hashtag reality high.
(35:35):
I heard it got seven downloads on Netflix, which is
all right. No, it was really Game number two Cleveland
Browns Baker Mayfield Battle the Game Managers against Ryan Tannehill
and the Titans. Titans five and a half point on favorites,
Rob Parker, who you got? I'm going with the Titans
at home. I expect this to be a low scoring game.
Titans win it by one touchdown and they covered the
(35:57):
five and a half. Yeah, I'm with Rob or that one.
As much as it pains me to say. The Cleveland's
obviously playing well, but you know, they really haven't beaten
a lot of great teams obviously, and there's no buzz
on that tis at all. This would be a great
win for them. If they won this, people would start
to believe because it looks like they're gonna make the playoffs.
(36:20):
But I got Tennessee in this one, and I do
think they cover well. Speaking of great teams, my Las
Vegas Raiders eight and a half point road favorites, against
the Jet. It's a big number. Chris, who you're liking
this one? Well, you reminded me it was them, the
Raiders that got stumped, molly wopped by Atlanta mediocre Atlanta
(36:43):
Falcons team. But it's good because finally you can put
your playoff hopes to rest. You know, you just you've
been talking them up. You got your hopes up too high. However,
I think they're gonna come out highly motivated, highly upset,
and they are gonna blow the doors off the New
York Jets. So I got the Las Vegas Raiders. I'm
(37:03):
with you. The Jetropolitans will get to steam rolled. The
Raiders were embarrassed last week. They've had some big wins
this year, but that was terrible, and I think they
bounced back and they put the Jets in their place.
So I like the Raiders. I think that's I'm gonna
bet ads on that. That's right, That's right, all right.
(37:24):
Game number four, the Picks get picked up. The Rams
three point road favorites against the Cardinals. Rock Parker, you like.
Part of me is like, oh my god, I think
the Cardinals have to win that game and the Rams
I'm gonna go against the Rams are playing better. I
know a golf struggle last week. I'm gonna take the
(37:46):
Cardinals because this season hinges on it. If they lose
this game at home, they might be done. Yeah. You
sounded like you were gonna go with the Rams for
a minute, but I'm with you. I do think this
was the toughest one of our list to pick um.
But I'm gonna go with the Cardinals as well, because,
like Rob said, what, they've lost three of their last
four I think three straight, um or three of the
(38:10):
three last three straight and four of their last five
I think, so they definitely need to win. So um, Yeah,
I'm good with Arizon all right. Last one Rob's favorite guys,
Carson went to get Aaron Rodgers Packers. They and a
half point home favorites, Chris w Do you like quickly?
Green Bay? Double up on that, double up two hundred
shekels Packers minus eight and a half. They win by thirteen.
(38:33):
Old Rob's got money. We forgot about that. Well, I
think I want to change some of my picks. I
got four of the same picks as Rob. I'm not
whatever about that. The best part about this week is
that Rob didn't say what the picks were last week.
Thanks Rob Well no said five, don't say Rob g
(38:54):
Wow coming
Thanks for listening to The Odd Couple podcasts. Be sure
to catch us live every weekday from seven pm to
ten pm Eastern four to seven pm Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Odd Couple
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching f s R.
(00:26):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. It is The I Couple.
I am Chris. He is a Rob, and we are
wrapping up a funky flashback Friday Christmas style. We're leading
you into the weekend. And look, the weekends always great.
You know, it's funny. Rob. My wife was saying to me,
(00:48):
I think about have even been yesterday. What do you
want to do anything this weekend? And then we thought
about it and we're like, ain't really much you can
do other than go out to dinner or you know,
or go out to eat. We we actually went out
to eat breakfast this morning, and you know, it's cool
out here in New Jersey, and so one of my
(01:09):
friends walking by, No, you can't eat any side. Well
some places, some places do have indoor, but this place didn't, okay,
And so we were sitting outside eating and one of
our friends came by. He was like, man, you guys
must really like the food here, you know, sitting out
here shivering in the corn. You know, right, it's just
to get out. But um, yeah, man, you talk about
(01:30):
your your wife ordered coffee, but she wound up drinking
ice coffee, right right, everything's not funny. That was funny. No,
I'm just gonna move on, all right. You can follow
a Rob on Twitter at Rod Parker FS one and Instagram.
(01:50):
I'm at Chris Underscore Bruce Hard and I'm trying Chris
Bruce R six day on the ground. I'm trying to
work hard for your entertainment dollar every night. And you guys,
just you you don't know what I go through with
material to try to figure it all out to make
it work. No, okay, all right. At the bottom of
the hour, we got our man, Lamar Mitchell. Lamar likes
(02:14):
Rob's jokes. Lamar loves you. Yes, Lamar does love you.
So he's the mgim Grand Racis Sports. Please set one
person that does. And then we got robbed, the pigs
getting picked off. And you know I told you, see you, yeah,
I told you, I said, second half of the season,
I'm coming for you. And I have been on fire.
(02:38):
Rob G tried to short me that's true and gave
rob the post we don't have time for all that
you were on five he was one and four. I
was one and four that week I was four and one.
He tried to make me three and two. Dude, I'm
on a pro level. I'm like killing it. But anyway,
that's at the as we wrap up the show, Rob, Um,
(03:01):
you and I both like Kyrie Irving. You know, Um,
I like him. You know, he grew up around where
I live. I know his dad and you know, played
ball with Kyrie once when he was like in eighth grade.
He came up and played with all the men and
and whole house. He was not you know, he wasn't
(03:24):
like kill. He wasn't. I mean, he was just playing
a steady game. But he was playing with grown men,
some of whom have played in college. And he was
you know, he's the eighth grader playing all right and
m But his dad's great. He's still very good player,
was great in college, played pro in Australia. But so,
you know, I like him. You like him. You know
he he gave you a you know, like a little
(03:44):
what's up at are you gonna say? And you you've
just like loved him ever since, you know, ever since
ever since the head nat at the mansion and Bell
remember that at the end cruise ships like jealous because
Kyrie was like yo, yo whatever whatever. It wasn't even
(04:05):
yo whatever, it was like whatever, Like, oh, yeah, I
recognize you, but I recognize you yet then you've been
on TV for twenty five years. I know who you are,
all right, wow, but no, but we we like Kyrie,
you know, we've he's he's obviously made some statements that
it just you just can't defend, you know, I mean,
and I don't have a problem with him being a
(04:26):
different guy. Everybody's different in life. Everybody's not the same.
So some people because Chris, he gets attacked and I
get some of the like you said, some of the
statements or whatever the earth this flat? And why is
Christmas a holiday? Or whatever it is. But he was
out on the forefront about during the protest and the
(04:47):
whole thing, and we both defended him. We defended him,
and he got killed by some people, and you know what,
he wound up being somewhat right. Well, remember he was
talking about potentially boycott in the season, and I think
we're all, you know, we enjoyed it. We're glad they didn't,
but you know, look there were more than just him,
right yeah, and the Bucks did you know, did a
(05:09):
boycott for a game, and it was something that did
need to be discussed, and he opened it up for
all the players to talk about and created that platform,
which was good. And so, yeah, Kyrie is it's very intelligent.
I do think sometimes though he comes off like he
thinks he's much smarter than everybody else, and that's that
(05:32):
can be a problem. And so I think today is
one of those instances. Rob. So you know, as we know,
training camps are kind of getting underway, one on one
workouts and everything, and teams are making players available to
the media, and Kyrie was supposed to speak to the
media via zoom or however they're doing it, and instead
(05:54):
of speaking to the media, he released the statement. And
Rob G's gonna read a little bit of what he
said in that statement. I gotta hear, guys, start Kyrie
Irving quote. Instead of speaking to the media today, I
am issuing this statement to ensure that my message is
properly conveyed. I'm committed to show up to work every day,
(06:15):
ready to have fun, compete, perform, and when championships alongside
my teammates and colleagues in the NETS organization, COVID nineteen
has impacted us all in many ways. So I pray
for the safety and health for our communities domestically and abroad.
I am truly excited for the season to start, and
I'm also praying that everyone remains safe and healthy throughout
(06:37):
this journey. So it's good enough. But here's where it
gets a little bit tricky for you guys. My goal
this season is to let my work on and off
the court speak for itself. Light hit excuse me. Life
hit differently this year, and it requires us, It requires
me to move differently. So this is the beginning of
that change. So Rob that I don't know for sure,
(07:02):
but that sounds to me like there's at least the
implication there that Kyrie's not talking to the media this year,
or at least you know regularly that he's going to
do release these statements. Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I
think there's at least an implication there that this is
kind of the direction he wants to move in. Well,
(07:23):
he wants to but that ain't gonna hold up. I mean,
do you agree that that that that seems like what
he's saying. Well, I think he's hinting at it because
he could have just said I will not speak to
the media for the way he could have said. But
you know what he might try to do is instead
of speaking to the media, he might have a pr
person here here come. This is my stake that you
(07:44):
know what I'm saying, right, But that's not gonna work. No,
And it's for the NBA commissioner, right, Adam Silver to
step in if the team doesn't do it. Because I
hate to break it to Kyrie, it's a part of
your job description, Chris. It's a part of you being
a professional athlete. Yes, it is that you have to
(08:05):
answer questions before after whatever your routine is. But nobody, Chris,
and I've been in the business thirty five years. You
don't get away. You might be able to skate out.
You remember what happened to Cam Newton after what he
did in the Super Bowl, right right? He was He
was crucified for it and it hurt him. Because you
(08:27):
can't do it. You can't skip out and you're not
talking and all that that's a part of your job.
If you don't want people to interview you after your
eight hours shift at work, go work at the post office.
There'll be no reporters there to ask you questions after
you're done. I'm sorry, and the and the and the commissioner.
(08:48):
I guarantee you we'll call the nets and say, dude,
this is not gonna take place. So let Kyrie know
we'll find him every time he doesn't meet with the media,
because once you allow that to happen. Once, Chris right,
you could not let that precident be said. The camp
absolutely cannot. You know how many players would be doing that? Ye,
(09:10):
and I for the game, absolutely, it's bad for the game.
It's bad for the players. It's just not a good
look at all. And you're absolutely right. First, Adam Silver,
you need to contact the nets. So you need to
be like, look, he's got to talk to the media.
You gotta make him available. And then if he if
he just refuses, then he's, like you said, he has
(09:31):
got to get fined every single day every day he
doesn't talk to the media, big fine, and and say
we're not going to tolerate it. And if you keep
doing it, we'll suspend you because remember people, I know,
I know you think that it's it's about us, right, Chris,
it's about us. We're a con doing for the fans.
(09:53):
It ain't about us. The fans want to hear from Kyrie.
You think we can't get and you and say, well,
now they can go on social media. Now they can
go to the Players Tribune, they get on the Players
Podcast with their former teammates and friends. And but we
always say it, right, you're not gonna get the full story. No,
we just said that. There was an interview with Nate Robinson.
(10:16):
I mean, that's a great get a few days after
he gets knocked out cold, you get him more in there.
But guess what, they didn't even ask him about the
fight to lead clip I saw, right, that's a that's
null and void, right, that's and Chris, trust me, if
he would have said something about the fight, you would
have saw that could have been all over, right, it
would have been everywhere, So you know it wasn't there.
(10:38):
I looked around. I couldn't find anything about it. No
one is going to report that, and that's a part
of it. And that's why this won't be tolerated. It campy.
It just campy. And here's the the thing is this, right?
You you covered You've been covering sports longer than I have.
(10:59):
We both covered professional teams, been in locker rooms, being
on beats. Right, And here's the thing. You know this Rod.
There are times when a player, particularly a star, won't
talk to the media, and most generally the beat writers
will let that go. Oh spree, wells not talking today,
(11:20):
all right? You know you know what I mean. Like,
you'll generally let the old Lebron's not talking today, You'll
let that go. But when it starts happening regularly, yes,
that's when it's a problem. So if you establish a
decent relationship with the media, they'll let you know here
a day or so here here or there. And in
(11:41):
New York, Patrick Ewen didn't talk before the game. He
wanted to prepare right and get into his h frame
of mind. But he was consistent. He wasn't like not
talking to Chris, But he's talking to me, talking to nobody,
Am I right? But he was always there after the game.
Chris a professional. Yeah, I mean, look, Lebron James talks
(12:02):
every day, so don't tell me. Nobody else can tell
I mean, it didn't matter because everybody should talk, but
with the demands on him, and he talks every day,
so you're right, and and this comes off. And again
I don't know if this is exactly where Kyrie is
thinking about going, but that's what I mean. That kind
(12:22):
of comes off like you're trying to pull a fast one,
you know what I mean. So I'll give you your quotes,
but you're not gonna talk to me, you know what
I mean? That type of thing that getting no, that
can't fly. Because you like the benefits that your fame
gives you. You like the movies, You like the million
(12:47):
you know, multimillion dollar contracts, the shoes, all that stuff,
the fame fortune, yep, but this comes with it as well.
And I get. Look, we're you and I are in
the public eye too. Obviously not like a Kyrie Irving,
but we're in the public eye too. And no matter
what you do, whether you're a politician, an athlete, a lawmaker,
(13:10):
you know, a sports personality like us, whatever, if you
do something publicly, that's your job. You're gonna get criticized.
You're gonna get critiqued. That is part of it. You
and I get criticized, signed up for it. We could
say if we were just little high school beat writers,
(13:31):
we wouldn't get criticized like that. But we're doing it
at this level and so that comes with it. Now,
you gotta know who you are. If you don't want
to read it, then don't read it right block it,
just don't pay attention to it. Whatever. That's one thing
I'll say about Kevin Durant, Like everybody rips him because
(13:51):
he's responding to guys. But you know, look, apparently he's
able to look at what everybody's saying and shoot back
if he wants and still play his game. And so
if that's what he wants to do, fine, But this
is a part of the job. It's just as simple
as that, you know. And so I hope that's not
(14:14):
what Kyrie's thinking. I hope this was just, you know,
he couldn't make it for whatever reason, so he gave
him a statement. It didn't sound like that from what
you what he wrote. I think, but know what and
and and I don't know who the next PR person
is now, but if I was the PR person, I
wouldn't have it. I wouldn't have allowed that statement to
(14:36):
go out because I wouldn't, do you know what I'm saying,
Like like, nope, unless he was sick, Chris, or there
was some real reason why he couldn't do it, delivered himself.
Because see what they did is by doing that as well,
because because he, I think, is being an enabler by
doing that, and you can't. You gotta say everybody's available,
(14:58):
just like I always gives Earn this Chris credit. And
I there were things I didn't like about David Stern
and stuff that he did, but he understood, he understood
what the media was. And if you remember when he
took over, we used to sit up in the rafters
up top. He brought the writers down to the floor, Chris,
(15:18):
so that we could hear the game better describe what
was happening, the personalities, do you know what I mean?
We wrote like that because we had the access to
hear what was going on and see what was going
on and deliver a better story. David Stern did that. Yep,
absolutely absolutely, So you know it, Um, it's gonna be interesting,
(15:42):
but you're right, they they've got to nip this in
the bug quickly and Rob. This is what I was
talking about yesterday when I said, look, the Clippers. I mean,
this is a little different situation, but it's similar. The
Clippers were acting like Prima Donnas. I know Kawhi Leonard
ain't soft and all that, but they were acting like
Prima Donnas last year. And whether or not you think
(16:04):
the chemistry issues hurt them on the quarter or not,
they still were acting like Premadonnas. And this is starting.
This is acting like a Prema Donna because everybody else, Rob,
here's all the other teammate's gonna talk, especially the role
players Maine and like that was the part of the
Clippers thing was that they were saying Kawhi and Paul
(16:25):
George weren't available till forty five minutes after the game
to the media. So you know how it is, you're
on deadline, you're getting out of You can't wait for
a dude for an hour. And the thing that I
don't understand, Chris and you know this, come out to
your locker five minutes and then you could go on
about your business. That's you don't have to like hide
for wait, have people wait on you for an hour,
(16:47):
stick around longer, trying to come out for five minutes,
say your piece, Chris. After five minutes, you can say,
all right, guys, I'm done right, I'm good, you good,
y'all start talking, you give your stuff, then you can
cut it off. Ye, yes, when you want. Yep, you're right.
So we'll see where this goes. But Rob and I
definitely like look the nets first, and then the league
(17:11):
has to nip this in the bud eight seven, seven
ninety nine on Fox eight seven seven nine nine six
sixty three sixty nine. Do you have an issue with
Kyrie Irving refusing to speak to the media and maybe
even he's may try to do it all year? What's
your take on this? We will continue the conversation with you. Next,
(17:34):
it's christ and Rob the Eye couple, Fox Sports Radio.
All right, it's streaming service time. That's right. There's a
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It's called Discovery Plus and it's got all the shows
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(17:56):
Discovery Channel Plus, exclusive originals you can't see anywhere else,
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United States only, be sure to catch live editions of
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at seven pm Eastern four pm Pacific on Fox Sports
(18:18):
Radio and the iHeart Radio app. All Right, it's the
I Couple, Chris and Rob DJ Alex Tisher all up
in the crates even on a Christmas funky flashback Friday.
That's Ray Charles. Ain't that Ray Charles. It's not snowing
here in Jersey. They got tons of snow in uh
Cleveland where my parents who they Yeah, they got a
(18:40):
couple of feet. It's been yeah, yeah, I'll tell you
want you to get out of that. Hey, I you
ain't gonna tell me that. I tell you love you
know being back home. You can't. You don't enjoy the weather.
I know you don't. I mean, that's the thing out
there now Later weather Man. It's just when you come
(19:02):
out of the studio or your house or whatever, and
it's seventy and sunny every day every day, you know
what I'm saying, It's just like you can't top it.
So all right, we're coming to you live from the
Guy Goo Foxworts Radio Studios, and again, if you're looking
for a Christmas gift for a friend, for a family member,
for yourself. You gotta get this new streaming service. It's
(19:25):
called Discovery Plus. It's a new service that brings you
the greatest collection of real life entertainment from your favorite brands,
plus exclusive originals that you won't find anywhere else. It's
Discovery Plus. Start streaming early in twenty twenty one. United
States of America only. All right, eight seven seven ninety
(19:46):
nine on Fox? What do you think about Kyrie not
talking to the media and what seemed to be plans
to h make this a prolonged thing? Sean and Sacramento,
you're on the couple of Fox Sports Radio. What you got, Sean?
My uncle's from another mother? And Yo, what up to
my brothers? Behind the boys? Man? Y'all feeling on this Friday?
(20:07):
Sean from another state? Was that having baby Sean, we're
gonna get you gonna be on that trying to get
He's trying to butter y'all up. So he's like, now
from this guy's my favorite car? Which man? Yes, Hey, man, hey,
I heard y'all arguing over who are the pig man?
And to be honest with you, man, it's like peanut
butter and Joel. You can't have one without the other
man without both of them this and it's not a
(20:28):
package deal, but you gotta have both of the eye couple, man,
and I grew up on the peanut butter saying, Oh
I love hearing butter and jelly. Look at Chris Jelly,
no better, no better? Hey, Wick only gives you the peanutbody,
and Chris, you see cheese sandwiches, a little bit of
(20:53):
sugar water rented all the way down? Baby? All right?
Where you at? Sean on this? My take? Real quick? Man,
How Derek Kyrie talk about him gonna talk to the media.
He's leging Lebron came back to Cleveland. Otherwise nobody want
to talk to him right now. It's not the media
fault that he want to put out these absurd things
out there. And I'm not talking about the Black Lives
(21:13):
Matter thing. I'm talking about talking about the Earth is flat, Chris,
Christmas ain't a real holiday. We don't need no coaches
on this team. Nobody told you to put that out
there in the air. Man, that's your own dang fault.
Don't blame guys like Rob Parker. Don't blame guys like
Chris Bruss. I don't blame anybody but yourself. Bro, you
said the super Steadies you got to live with it.
Well that's a good tape because that's what Kyrie, I
(21:35):
think is responding to. Is he it's not gonna be
twisted what you said the earth was flat? Well, I mean, like,
how was that twisted? How did the media twist that's
that's your quote? Do you not say that that's what
you said. That's the thing. And he's jumping getting mad
at the media for you know, responding to things. He
says what you said them? Right? Can we squeeze in
(21:59):
job from New Zealand real quick? You are the couple
of Fix Sports Radio. What's up job? Good day mate?
How are you doing? Great man? How are you? I'm great?
Thank you. I get summer and Christmas at the same time.
That's why, because the seasons are reversed down there. That's
right in the summer. Huh yeah, that's right. Okay, Just
(22:24):
a quick just a quick thought. When you were talking
about Kyrie, I was thinking, you know, that kind of
sounds like I'm I'm happy to be part of the
factory that makes the product, but I'm not happy to
be part of the marketing. That's somebody else's job, because
meeting with the media is part of marketing the product.
And then I thought a bit more and I realized, no, actually,
(22:44):
it's the It is part of the product. It's not
the marketing. It is the actual product itself, at least,
because you know, if you think about you get a
schedule ahead of time, and you know that your team
is going to have a big game coming up, um
in months and months and months, and you have that
whole build up, and it's the two in the frow,
and it's the the write ups, and it's the breakdowns,
(23:08):
and it's yes, the quotes from the players. That is
the part of the entertainment. And that's what gets us
to to like Thursday evening, being so excited that we
want to start the barbecue right then and there. You
know that create game is on the weekend. YEP. That's
what That's what Chris and I were both talking about.
This is what you signed up for, you know what.
(23:30):
This is not new, Chris, it ain't new. You're absolutely right.
So hopefully they'll get to him and straighten this thing out,
all right. Our mail Lamar Mitchell from the MGM Grand
joins us next but first, 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
(23:53):
the iHeartRadio app. Search f SR to listen live. If
it is the Eye Couple coming to you live from
the Geico Fox Sports Radio studios. It's easy to say
fifteen percent more on your car insurance with Geico. Go
to Geico dot com or call a hundred nine four
seven Auto. The only hard part is figuring out which
way is easier. That's right. He's one of the few
(24:16):
you don't just get theme music for the heck of
it on the Eye Come you gotta you gotta be yes,
you have to earn it, and this brother has earned
his stripes. He's the MGM Grand Race and Sports Book Director,
otherwise known as the man down in Vegas, Lamar Mitchell,
(24:40):
what up? Yo? Man? Hey, hey Lamar, I do have
to ask you howard things in Vegas. I'm planning on
coming next Saturday. Is it a go? Could I come?
You can come? It's a go. It's a go. Just
uh just be ready to go. Okay, So it's all cool.
(25:01):
I can come And can you eat inside the casino
and stuff, and they came inside the casino. You just
have to make a reservation, but you can eat inside
the casino and the bars are so open. Okay, I
am coming. Well, you know what to do? You know
where to find me? I got you, my man. All right,
let's get into these games, Lamar. I want to start.
(25:22):
I want to start with with Lastbie's game. First, the
Broncos were forced to play a game against the Saints
with no quarterbacks. It was crazy. Yeah, and if I
recall that announcement didn't come until very late in the week.
How do you guys in Vegas deal with situations like that?
That's a situation we've never had to deal with before.
(25:44):
As you know, the line jumped eleven points from what
we opened the game, close about seventeen and a half
eighteen around there, and it still wasn't enough points. I mean,
I feel bad for the quarterback because he really didn't
have a shot in though they didn't really get the
bro Goes a shot so you actually win that game
at all. They put him in a pretty pretty bad situation.
(26:05):
But yeah, it was it was difficult for us moving
that number up like that. I think Rob took the
Broncos though, no, I did not take the Broncos. And anyway,
you know what's funny, Lamar, that's the same amount of
points that Tom Brady scored against the Saints. He scored
three points as well. I'm sorry, all right. Washington against
Pittsburgh opened up with the Steelers minus ten has since
(26:28):
been bet all the way down the Steelers minus seven.
What do you attribute to that? And do you think
the betters were just turned off by how ugly a
win that the Steelers had against Baltimore on that Wednesday afternoon. Delight? Well,
you got you got a couple of factors in here.
The Steelers coming off the short week, even though they
had all that time off, coming out the short week,
(26:51):
and Washington actually looking really good against you know, their
defense against that Dallas offense. So that's what the betters
are looking at. But I mean, the number, like you said,
right now, at seven, but we got good two way
action on it right now, and I think a lot
of it is based on the defense for the Washington
football team, all right, Lamar. Buffalo opened up as two
(27:14):
and a half point favorites on the road against the
forty nine Ers and that's line. That line has moved
the complete opposite direction as the Niners have now are
now one point favorites. Was it the Pros or the
Joes that caused this line to move so much? Because
I think the Bills are clearly the better team. Yeah,
(27:35):
nobody's given Buffalo any respects here. It is both the
Pros and the Joes. Everybody is on the Niners here
in this game in Glendale, Arizona. I mean the Sharps
on it, the casino players are on it, the regular
Joes are on it. But yeah, you're right, no one's
given Buffalo any respect in this game. So we'll see
(27:56):
what happens on Monday night for this game, all right,
The over under for the Browns against the Titans seemed
to be holding firm at fifty three. I'm gonna take
the under, which is a little surprised to me, giving
me that both teams prefer to run the ball right
and shorten the game less possessions. What kind of action
are you seeing for the total on this game? Good
(28:17):
two way action, But basically basically they're betting it down.
Like you said, nothing big, big on that small pets
here and there, but you're right. It's it's a ground
and pound for both of these teams. You know, keep
it out of the quarterbacks hands, let the running backs
to the rock and do what they gotta do. But yeah,
(28:39):
it should be unless something catastrophic happens where one team
is going to blow another team out, the total is
probably right in line where it should be. We got
Lamar Mitchell, the race and sportsbook director for the MGM
Grand out there in Las Vegas. All right, Lamar. The
total for the Saints Falcons opened up at forty seven
and a half and since has been bet down to
(29:01):
forty six. At first, there's a little stou was shocking
to me given that both teams have very good offenses.
But the Saints defense has been lights out recently. They're
only giving up seven points a game over the last month.
Are the betters just pounding the under on this one? Yeah?
I think they're pounding under on this because these two
(29:21):
teams are division rivals and they know each other, and
like you said, the Saints defense, we don't instrict the
Falcons to have that type of offensive explosion again like
they had last week against our Las Vegas Raiders. But
the fact that these two teams played each other twice
a year, and the defense has actually stepped it up
for the same So that's why they're betting this game
a little bit under. And the Dolphins are currently what
(29:45):
going off as a ten point home favorite against the Bengals,
and we still don't know for sure who's going to
be starting at quarterback for them this Sunday. Would the
line be any different if too it gets to start
over Ryan Fitzpatrick or vice versa. Now now the line
would the line would basically say the same with either
(30:05):
quarterback because the Dolphins team here is really stout defensively
and playing against the Bengals with their backup quarterback. That's
really not going to change the line with either quarterback
in there, even though Fitzgerald has a little bit obviously
a lot more experience, but basically the line is based
(30:26):
upon that Dolphin defensive versus that Bengal offense. All right,
last thing for me, Lamar, the Raiders currently eight and
a half point role favorites over the Jets. Jets are horrible.
It looks like they're clearly tanking for Trevor Lawrence. But
the Raiders just got blown out last week and then
we found that out today. They're gonna be without Josh Jacobs.
(30:46):
They're great running back. What kind of action are you
seeing on this one? Well, believe it or not, everyone
is on the Raiders side here. I mean money's about
five to one on the Raiders, take accounts about six
on the Raiders. I think the Leaders remember what happened
to them last year when they went up there and
they got blasted against the Jets when they were supposed
(31:07):
to win this game. So that's fresh in their memory
and they'll be hungry coming off of that porous, really
awful defeat last week at Atlanta. Yeah, that was all right,
the last one for me. I'm looking on the board.
I see the Chargers are still holding firm one and
a half point home favorites over the Patriots. This one
is interesting to me because New England still has an
(31:28):
outshot shot at the playoffs. I'm gonna bet the Patriots
and the Chargers can't when the clothes came to save
their life. So where are the sharps on this one? Well,
we haven't had this one up because we're trying to
figure out what's going on with Cam Newton. We last
last week had it, Like you said, we had it
at one, but we haven't off right now due to
(31:50):
Cam Newton, although his numbers haven't been up to Cam
Newton's standards. But the little action that we did see,
it was pretty it was bet pretty evenly. But you're right.
I mean, the Patriots still have that need that game.
It's a huge game for them. It's it's yeah, it's
gonna determine if they're gonna be five hundred or not
and be in the playoff on And you're right. The Chargers,
(32:11):
the way they perform, they always find a way to
snatch victory out of their hands. All right, that's our man,
Lamar Jackson, Lamar Mitchell, look at you, Akin Jackson. That's right, Yes, yes, indeed,
(32:32):
we'll check you out next week. I guess you'll see
Rob pretty soon. That's right. I'm gonna wave and say hello,
no doubt about it, all right, looking forward to you.
Gotta have a great night and thanks for having me. Yeah,
all right, The pigs can pick off is next, Keep
it locked a couple of Fox Sports Radio. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris
Broussard and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four
(32:54):
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app.
It's the I Chris and Rob wrapping up a funky
flashback Friday Christmas style. We're coming to live from the
Geico Fox Sports Radio studios, of course, and we got
a special treat for you. Speaking of Christmas is a gift.
(33:15):
We're introducing Discovery Plus Why. It's a new streaming service
that brings you the greatest collection of real life entertainment
from your favorite brands, plus exclusive originals that you won't
find anywhere else. Discover Plus start streaming early twenty twenty
one US only. It's time for the NFL Pigskin Pickoff.
(33:42):
You ready to retire the odd couple is gonna make
you rich gambling corruptions their pigskin Pickoff. Yes, sir, it
is the pigskin Pickoff the NFL. Christ and Rob picking
games against the spread. Help you to buy that boat
for the wind their time when they go on sale.
That's the only time we can afford them on the
(34:03):
way to do it is to follow these guys with
their picks, because they're pretty good at it, sometimes not
all the time of the Actually, you know what, the
better thing just fade every pick that they make. You'll
probably make more money that way. So let's keep just
because Robbie struck. We know what, Chris, You're like you
had deleted the first half of the season because that's
how bad he were doing. All right, we're gonna start
(34:28):
off here. We talked about this one with Lamar Saints
minus three at the Falcons. Chris, who liking this one?
You know what, I'm gonna shock people. Taysom Hill did
not impress me one iota last week. I know he
scored two touchdowns running. He looked pretty good running the ball.
But uh, I'm gonna go with Atlanta and this one,
(34:49):
I'm going there at home. They've been playing well. They
obviously coming off a huge win over the Rams, and
uh yeah, I'm going with the Falcons in this. I'm taking,
uh the Saints. Their defense is what it's all about.
It's not about Taysom Hill. It's about the defense, and
they have been stingy, so they'll be stingy against the Falcons,
(35:14):
that fraudulent football team. Chris, I'm glad you said the
Falcons beat the Rams last week. I'm glad that you
mix that up. They didn't feel good. I appreciate it. Yeah, No,
it was the Rams. We'll say it was the Ram
that final It was Rams games like the movie that
you win that you don't remember the day hashtag reality high.
(35:35):
I heard it got seven downloads on Netflix, which is
all right. No, it was really Game number two Cleveland
Browns Baker Mayfield Battle the Game Managers against Ryan Tannehill
and the Titans. Titans five and a half point on favorites,
Rob Parker, who you got? I'm going with the Titans
at home. I expect this to be a low scoring game.
Titans win it by one touchdown and they covered the
(35:57):
five and a half. Yeah, I'm with Rob or that one.
As much as it pains me to say. The Cleveland's
obviously playing well, but you know, they really haven't beaten
a lot of great teams obviously, and there's no buzz
on that tis at all. This would be a great
win for them. If they won this, people would start
to believe because it looks like they're gonna make the playoffs.
(36:20):
But I got Tennessee in this one, and I do
think they cover well. Speaking of great teams, my Las
Vegas Raiders eight and a half point road favorites, against
the Jet. It's a big number. Chris, who you're liking
this one? Well, you reminded me it was them, the
Raiders that got stumped, molly wopped by Atlanta mediocre Atlanta
(36:43):
Falcons team. But it's good because finally you can put
your playoff hopes to rest. You know, you just you've
been talking them up. You got your hopes up too high. However,
I think they're gonna come out highly motivated, highly upset,
and they are gonna blow the doors off the New
York Jets. So I got the Las Vegas Raiders. I'm
(37:03):
with you. The Jetropolitans will get to steam rolled. The
Raiders were embarrassed last week. They've had some big wins
this year, but that was terrible, and I think they
bounced back and they put the Jets in their place.
So I like the Raiders. I think that's I'm gonna
bet ads on that. That's right, That's right, all right.
(37:24):
Game number four, the Picks get picked up. The Rams
three point road favorites against the Cardinals. Rock Parker, you like.
Part of me is like, oh my god, I think
the Cardinals have to win that game and the Rams
I'm gonna go against the Rams are playing better. I
know a golf struggle last week. I'm gonna take the
(37:46):
Cardinals because this season hinges on it. If they lose
this game at home, they might be done. Yeah. You
sounded like you were gonna go with the Rams for
a minute, but I'm with you. I do think this
was the toughest one of our list to pick um.
But I'm gonna go with the Cardinals as well, because,
like Rob said, what, they've lost three of their last
four I think three straight, um or three of the
(38:10):
three last three straight and four of their last five
I think, so they definitely need to win. So um, Yeah,
I'm good with Arizon all right. Last one Rob's favorite guys,
Carson went to get Aaron Rodgers Packers. They and a
half point home favorites, Chris w Do you like quickly?
Green Bay? Double up on that, double up two hundred
shekels Packers minus eight and a half. They win by thirteen.
(38:33):
Old Rob's got money. We forgot about that. Well, I
think I want to change some of my picks. I
got four of the same picks as Rob. I'm not
whatever about that. The best part about this week is
that Rob didn't say what the picks were last week.
Thanks Rob Well no said five, don't say Rob g
(38:54):
Wow coming
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