December 30, 2025 • 40 mins
Mark is joined by Mike Defabo to break down the Steelers loss to the Browns. Colby Armstrong joins the show to talk about his Winter Classic dominance
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
We didn't think it would be a big game, but now,
I mean not to discuss. He covers the Steelers for
the Athletic. Always great to talk to, Mike de Fable. Mike,
you wrote that that loss of Cleveland was the worst
Tomlin special of all time?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
What made it so?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:24):
I mean, I think everyone knows. The Steelers knows that.
Mike Tomlin. Historically, it seems like every single year goes
on the road and loses the game that he shouldn't.
And we've seen Mike Tomlin lose to inferior opponents. We've
seen Mike Tomlin blow chances to clinch the division, including
last year. But if there is a time loan of
Steelers faced such an inferior opponent and had such a
(00:49):
great opportunity to clinch the division and go to the
playoffs and rest their starters, somebody please remind me of
when it was, because I can't think of a time
when the Steelers had so much at stake and played
such a poor football team and totally squandered their opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I mean, let's just put this in perspective.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Mark, the Cleveland Browns had as many wins going into
that game as they had starting quarterbacks. Shader Sanders played
like he had an anytime Kyle Duger interception. Prof bet
that's how bad that this team was for the Browns
and the Steelers totally blew their opportunity. And even if
the Steelers are able to win, in reality to the playoffs,
(01:27):
the fact that they weren't able to rest their starters
in this game could be a significant variable in their.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Chances of winning a playoff game.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
And so even if they win this game, I think
that that loss against the Browns is one that's going
to linger.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
No.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
I agree one hundred percent, but I don't think they
can bounce back against Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Mike, I mean, what do you think.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I don't see how they can fix that offense with
DK Metcalf still suspended because Scottie Miller ain't it.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Yeah, And I think that that's my biggest concern going
into this one. You know, you look back the first
matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, and the Ravens basically said,
Aaron Rodgers has not hit a deep ball in more
than a month. We absolutely dare you to throw it deep.
We're gonna challenge you with press man coverage. We're gonna
challenge you with single high safety coverage. And to Aaron
(02:16):
Rodgers credit, from the very first play from scrimmage for
the Steelers, he aired it out to DK Metcalt and
that was really the formula that they used to win
that football game.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You saw what.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Happened in the last game against the Browns, against another
team that deploys a very similar tactic. The Browns are
at the top of the league in terms of man coverage.
They run cover one on more than forty percent of snaps,
and guys like Scottie Miller in MVS and Adam Feelen
they just couldn't get open. You know, Aaron Rodgers sold
(02:46):
us a great narrative about these cast offs. The reality
is they are a bunch of washed up guys and
they played like it.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
On the last game. And I really fault Omar Con.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
For this because everybody that knew anything about football and
has followed the Steelers knew that they had created the
same situation.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
As last year when they had one store.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Receiver in George Pickens, a huge gap and then everybody
else and they remade and reshuffled their debt. But it's
the same dynamic one store receiver in dk metcast big
gap and then everybody else. And for a team that
never answered his question at wide receiver two, here they
are trying to play without wide receiver one and it's
an absolute nightmare. And it goes back to flawed.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Roster construction and just poor planning all around.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
That you think you can go into an NFL season
in twenty twenty five with one serious receiver and think
that you're going to be able to compete with teams.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
That's just not the way that the NFL works anymore.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Well, I do blame con for that.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I blame Tomlin too, because you know he has a
big imprint with roster construction. But I also blame Rogers
to some degree at this point because why does he
like Miller and MVS so much?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Because he's clearly taken over the offense.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
He's indulging his preferences, and he's done that to the
exclusion of Rowan Wilson and the tight ends.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
I think you're spot on with that, Mark.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
You know, one of my concerns when the Steelers signed
Aaron Rodgers was they would give him the keys and
they would basically bend a knee and whatever Aaron Rodgers wanted, Aaron.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Rodgers was going to get it. Did it did?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Like that was the problem with the Jets. That was
one of the biggest problems was they tried to do everything.
And that's the reason why Andy Widel's best friend, Joe
Douglas lost his job because he believed in Aaron Rodgers
too much and rather than being the GM of the Jets,
he allowed Aaron Rodgers to be the GM of the Jets.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
And I think the Steelers have done a.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Pretty decent job of keeping Rogers in his lane and
saying you're the quarterback until recently. And I think that
that game the MBS decision. And I don't remember how
many targets he got, like eleven or eight or something
like that. It was ridiculous the fact that he jumped
over top of Roman Wilson and leads for on the
(05:00):
depth chart.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
It has stunted Roman Wilson's growth. And it also just
frankly doesn't work.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Because MVS has been a cast off and he's been
a journeyman in the last couple of years for a reason,
because he's an old receiver that isn't as good as
he once was, and rather than developing a young guy
like Roman Wilson and building for the future. It's the
same problem that the Steelers have on so many other
places on their roster. They've been looking for these veteran
(05:28):
guys that they think they could squeeze one last ounce
of energy out of. And unfortunately, the risk that they're
running here, and I'm afraid it's going to happen, is
rather than building something towards the future, they're gonna end
up right where they started without anything to build upon
for next year.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Yeah, MBS nine targets at Cleveland, including the last three
being covered by their Pro Bowl quarterback Denzel Ward. It
doesn't and didn't add up, and just generally, Mike, I
thought Rogers was off with Cleveland, and he seems to
be a bit wobbly mentally right now, doesn't he. Both
on the field and in the aftermath.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Of that game.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, he was definitely a little bit snarky.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I've kind of noticed that about Rogers when he plays
a bad game, he's really a jerk after afterwards and
really wants to try to make you feel like you're
an idiot.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Not that he played poorly, and.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
That's kind of the way that he approached his press conference,
but he really played very poorly and even like the
fourth and one to Scotty Miller, that was just a
horrible decision if you look at the other side of
that formation that Arthur Smith actually called like a man
beating concept there and Adam Thielen was open, but Rogers
(06:42):
had predetermined that he was going to throw the ball
to Scotty Miller.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Who I mean, come on, man, what.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Are we talking about, Like he's Scotty Miller, for God's sakes, like.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
A helmet. Let alone be on the field, let alone
being targeted.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
The whole concept is ridiculous.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
No other team in the league would be trotting out
mvs and Adam Feelin and Scottie Miller at wide receiver.
It honestly sounds mark like a joke. It sounds like
if I had come on your show and said, like,
watch the Steelers, I bet you they're going to bring
in a bunch of Aaron Rodgers buddy, and a bunch
of washed up guys and a bunch of aging, undersized
wide receivers, and that's exactly what they did.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Reality is even stranger than fiction.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
This game Sunday has potential to be really ugly.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
I think I think the crowd's going to start off positive,
but if Baltimore gets off the good startup will turn hostile.
We'll get the fire Tom win. Chance, they'll boo renegade.
I just think that if I think if they lose,
there's no way to not fire Tom win, but they
won't anyway.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Yeah, it's really going to be It's gonna be fascinating
because I agree with you, Mark, I think that it
gets ugly.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
It's going to get really ugly.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
And I think I agree with you that there is
a scenari where they're chanting fire Tomlin at the end
of this game if they can't get it done, and
because and they should, because the reality is when the
Steelers chose to go this path, when they waited out
Aaron Rodgers, when they brought in a thirty one year
old Jalen Ramsey, when they brought in a thirty year
old John new Smith, when they re signed TJ. Watt,
(08:20):
so on and so forth, they thought that they could
win in this window, or at least win a playoff game.
It was a desperation moved by them to push whatever
these chips. And you know, they didn't go all in,
but they definitely tried to win within this window, and
if they can't even make the playoffs, they will have
fallen so far short of what the expectations were that
(08:43):
I think that it's merited. But like you mentioned, Mark,
I can't see the Steelers being the one to initiate
a breakup here. I still believe that they're going to
want to have stability, continuity, and more than anything else,
they're not going to want to pay Tomlin sixteen million
dollars this year, next year, or you know, through twenty
(09:05):
twenty seven not to coach. So to me, I think
it's just a question of at what point does Mike
Tomlin decide enough is enough and decide if fans are
chanting to fire him and he's not won and here
in Pittsburgh, he's not appreciated here in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Is it time for him to move on.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I think that's the only scenario in which it makes
sense that maybe he would step away or agree to
waive a no trade clause. But I mean, his approval
rating is already pretty low, and I think it's got
to be as low as it's ever going to be
if he loses this game on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
How do you beat Baltimore Because you don't have d case,
you can't really fix the offense Baltimore. Oddly enough, if
Lamar can't play, I think it simplifies things because you
can use the same playbook with Snoop, but you emphasize
Henry Moore. It seems like a lot of dominoes are
falling Baltimore's way heading into this game, not least what
happened this past weekend.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Yeah, I think that the key is really going to
be stopping Derrick Henry, and I mean Terarall Austin admitted
in the offseason the Steelers have a Baltimore problem, and
the last game it didn't look to me like they
were any closer to solving it. And especially after Derrick
Henry just rushed for four touchdowns and more than two
hundred yards against the Packers, I think he's going to
(10:23):
be a huge problem.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
So you're counting on guys.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Like Derek Harmon, who has been very good and run
stuffing situations. You're going to need a huge game out
of Cam Hayward. You're going to need a huge game
out of guys like Patrick Queen and Malie Harrison who
are stopping the run and I think that's really.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Going to tell the story.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
And if the Steelers hold Derrick Henry to fewer than
one hundred yards, I think they can win. If Derrick
Henry has more than one hundred yards, I think the
Steelers are going to lose. I know that's a simplified
way to look at this, but I think that the
Ravens are going to simplify their game plan and they're.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Going to realize you've got to give the ball to
Derrick Henry.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
To try to run it down the Steelers' throats like
they were able to do two meetings late last year,
and ultimately I think that that's going to tell the
story of the game.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I totally agree.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And I think the Steelers, again this is elementary, Mike,
like you said, but they need to lead at the
end of the first quarter. Baltimore comes into the game
with all the momentum the Steelers have none. If the
Steelers don't establish something early, it could go downhill and fast.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Yeah. I agree with you, Mark, where you want to
be dictating the terms here. You don't want the Ravens
to have the lead and feel comfortable just milking clock and.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Giving it to Derrick Henry over and over and over again.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So I mean, the one thing I think that goes
in the Steelers favor here is the Ravens are historic
choke artists. I think that's the biggest thing that gives
me optimism if you're a Steelers fan that you should
be counting upon is the Ravens.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
It's part of their DNA. They choke.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
They cannot win a big game. Lamar cannot win a
big game. This team cannot win a big game. And
I think that that's what you have to count on
if you're the Steelers, is that you can make Derek
Henry fumble. He's had fumbling problems and in the critical moment,
the Ravens are gonna make the critical air.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Mike, great stuff is always great stuff in the Athletic.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Let's see if we get another Tom Win special on
Sunday and we'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
That's great, Mark, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
That's Mike de Fabo doing some great work at the Athletic.
Make sure you check that out. He's brought to us
by Armstrong the Internet. You come on the people you
trust Armstrong one Wired dot Com up next. We got
calls at the fifteen, So call now get your Steeler
ranks dot there talk about the Penguins tonight. The new Penguin,
Chinnikov will make his debut this evening against Carolina.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Has Rogers screwed up the offense? I think he has.
I've been saying, why tell me what you think? But
when you got.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Miller and mvs as your featured receivers, and like Tommy
Radio said, you're spamming mvs with passes at the end
of the day game and it comes up shorts and
Roman Wilson can't even get a target. And Farmers can
get you to the rads though, but no throws once
you're inside it. Yeah, Rogers has screwed up the offense
and the Steelers have led him. The Steelers have acquiesced
(13:15):
to making him comfortable, and the offense is worse as
a result. Although we cannot understate how much the absence
of DK Metcalf hurts, nor can we understate how stupid
DK Metcalf is. So col now e three three four
one two wxdx at the bottom of the hour a
special treat It's the King of the Winner classic twenty
(13:37):
one seconds that won't live an infamy forever, Colby Armstrong
on one oh five nine, and.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Now the super genius Mark Madden.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
The cream comes to the top. I feel like I'm
just bubbling.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Over you panty on the air and would who told.
Speaker 6 (13:52):
You the ex at one oh five nine?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
If we can talk about.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
The Steeler Hall of Fame stuff if you want, Although
I find Hall Fame debate boring. Ward Harrison, Gary Anderson,
and Marquise Ponzi were all semi finalists, but none made
the finals. And honestly, I think the best case can
be made for James Harrison defensive Player of the Year,
biggest playing Super Bowl history, short but very productive prime
(14:21):
the others, yeah, I don't think so, even Harrison really
not really. Elsie Greenwood is among the finalists in the
old Folks Committee type things, So I don't know a
lot of Steelers from the seventy's already in it. I
guess there's always room for one more, but how many
are in ahead of him, like eight or nine?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
That's a lot gro.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Also talking about Aaron Rodgers, has he screwed up the
Steeler offense? Everybody wants to blame Dky's absence, and that's
a big part of it. I'm fine with blaming DK's
absence as long as you blame DK for it. But Rogers,
in his obsession with trying to four feed Scottie Miller
an MBS and the tight ends being uninvolved. Now that
(15:06):
the fat kids out, you've got two real tight ends
in there. I don't get it. I don't get it.
So call now eight three three four one two w XDX.
Let's go to caller X. That's mysterious color act you're.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
On with Mark?
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Hey?
Speaker 7 (15:19):
Mark, how you doing great?
Speaker 6 (15:21):
Hey?
Speaker 7 (15:22):
Let's let's talk about Tomlin for a minute. I love coaching.
I love good coaching. I think it's important whether pee
wee level all the way up to high school, college,
pro sports coaching is the utmost importance. The two best
ever John Wooden's UCLA, Kel Sanderson at Penn State.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
They never talk about winning. It's all about it's all
about excellence, the process.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I'm not I'm not sure where you're going with this,
because what does Tom Wan talk about?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
How's it different?
Speaker 7 (15:52):
Well, because Tomlin says, well, we're in the winning business.
That's all he talks about it.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
No, No, you're overestimating what he says. Tom Win just
speaks in empty these he says nothing of substance.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
You're right, I agree with that, But let me let
me break a couple of things down. And I think
you've said these things along the way. You know, he
inherited towers team, his coaches as leaders.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
As I've been saying for years.
Speaker 7 (16:16):
Yeah, and he inherited number seven, the best quarterback the
Steelers ever had.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
And might I add, as I said earlier, Tomlin's record
without number seven, his winning percentage, is one hundred points
lower than Cower's record was without number seven. I see
Bill Cower as an appreciably better coach and I always
have exactly.
Speaker 7 (16:35):
And when he had his team, his coaches, his leaders,
his culture, his quarterbacks, he's done nothing.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
He's been terrible, horrible.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Yeah, I hope you looking for an argument, And well.
Speaker 7 (16:49):
No, but this should be obvious. No coaching tree.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
It is obvious, but people don't want to see it.
No coaching tree. That's another thing. Thank you for your call.
I mean, we're going over the same ground here. I
gotta tell you though, and I'm not afraid to say this.
Nobody wants to criticize the airs pre eminent black coach.
That's not why he doesn't get fired. It's not the
Rooney rule, that's not true. It's because they just don't
fire the head coach. With the Steelers, Art the second
(17:16):
wants to do the same as Daddy and Granddaddy, and
they didn't fire the head coach. Well, Granddaddy did, but
that was a long time and and a lot of
different head coaches before Chuck Nol. But nobody wants to
criticize the Air as pre eminent black coach. That way's
heavily in Tomlin's favor, no question, no question.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Let's go to David. David, you're on with Mark.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
Hey, Mark, I'm I wanted to talk about Schinikov. I'm
pretty sure he's out tonight. Uh he said he was playing.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I'm tru Well, he's there, his equipment's in the stall.
Speaker 8 (17:49):
Okay, because I saw on Twitter that they said.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Okay, if you said he's out, then he's out. What's
your point.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Oh, he's not a big deal.
Speaker 8 (17:57):
I was just saying. But anyway, Uh, do you think
because you guys talked about you and peer him on
the top six, do you think he's too fast to
play on Gino's line or what do you think?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I haven't seen him play. I don't ever recall him
playing with Columbus, so I'll have to see I mean,
I mean, I liked, I liked, I like Gino. Between
the two bookends, the two big guys, Mantha and Brazo,
there's no point worrying about until he gets back here.
But if they put Chinnikov in a small role like
bottom six, then there was no point in getting them,
(18:28):
And then Dubas has to tell MWS what's up.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
The MEWS has to get back on track.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
MWS has done a terrible job for the best part
of a month because he doesn't understand what the purpose
of this season is not anymore. He was blinded by
the good start, and if he wants to dwell on
the good start and think they're a playoff team, he
doesn't understand either that the youthful energy the kids were
a big factor in that good start.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And he's minimized that. Thank you for the call up.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Next the King of the Winner Classic, it's Kolbe Armstrong
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Speaker 2 (19:15):
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Speaker 1 (19:18):
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Speaker 2 (19:35):
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Speaker 1 (19:37):
I'm talking sports, I'm talking blackjack, I'm talking craps, I'm
talking roulette, I'm talking hot online slots. I'm talking all
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(19:59):
has details gambling problem called one eight hundred Gambler. You
gotta be twenty one and in PA, New Jersey or
Michigan callby Armstrong. Next the King of the Winter Classic
on one oh five nine from the one oh five
nine The X.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
What They're gonna make us play a walker game. It's
not fair.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
It's not fair.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
It's not fair.
Speaker 6 (20:18):
The ex at one oh five nine's cross.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Be not by gamble and couldn't get the play star.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Call me Armstrong.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
After crossbeat with a dash by the defence and it's
one nothing.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Penguins twenty one seconds.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
In nine NHL players have five hundred goals, It's no
big deal. Over one hundred NHL players have a thousand points.
Once again, no big deal. But only one man has
(21:13):
the fastest goal in Winter Classic history, twenty one seconds
in the first ever Winter Classic at Buffalo's Rich Stadium
in two thousand and eight. First, best, forever and always,
and he's here with us right now.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
He is the King of the Winter Classic.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Exit the Penguins now in the media, live straight from
Zuki's in New Brighton.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
It's Kolby Armstrong.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Hello, Mark, thank you, thank you the intro that I
needed and listened to. The sniveling peasants of the frozen
ram Realm, gather around and bow before your undisputed king
of the NHL Winter Classic legends had shattered the silence
with the fast this goal in history twenty one seconds.
(22:02):
That's right, Mark, while you huddle in your pitiful stance,
shivering in the crowd like common SERTs. I struck lightning
fast on the ice, claiming eternal glory against those buffalo fools.
You do your chair from afar. No, this, no moral
has eclipsed my throne, Mark, not a single player over
(22:23):
the years, not one. So Neil, you rebel and worship
the speed that makes God jealous. The Winter Classic is
my domain, Mark, my domain.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
My God. You were more prepared for this than I was.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Great great work army in the Winter Classic is at
Miami on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Will you be there. It seems like you should be
an invited guest to VIP.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
I should be dropping the puck probably, But the NHL
hasn't caught up to the magnitude of this record yet. Mark.
And also, I am the king of the Winter Classic.
This is in Florida? Are they playing in Also? Is
there a roof on this on this stadium? May have
to put an asterisk.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
No, that's a good question.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I mean, I don't think the Winter Classic should necessarily
go everywhere like to Miami in Florida, you know, with
with temperatures well about freezing.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
I know they can do the ice, but it's just
not the same as in a wintery climate, is it.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
I don't know. I'm interested to see what it's gonna
be like. Like, I think that's great that we're trying
to do that. I mean, we had all kinds of trouble.
Where was that one out in uh? Or was that
one when they had the sunbeat Lake Taho where it
just didn't quite work out? They had to delay the game.
The ice was in tough times. I know that'll be
a little bit more controlled with a rooftop scenario. I
(23:45):
think they can take the roof down in that in
that stadium. But uh, I'm interested to see what it'll
be like. I think it's I think the concept of
it is awesome, and the fact that we're able to
even attempt to do it in Florida is kind of awesome.
Although the visuals, right, the visuals of that first Winter
Classic in Buffalo that makes it stand up to the
test of all these other ones was the visuals of
(24:07):
snowfalling and true Winter Classic form.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Do you sweat the first twenty one seconds when you
watch Winter Classic? If I were you, I would like
watch intently until you got to the twenty second second.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Then I'd barely pay attention afterwards. I just have a
couple of beers.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yeah, I cracked beers as soon as it's done, Mark,
like on January second, that's what I'll do. I'll sweat
it out the first twenty one seconds. I've done it
almost every year that it's happened, because, quite frankly, it's
the only record I have. Although it's a massive record,
it's my it's my only thing, Mark mass Alid, God,
and you're the one guy that keeps it going for me, buddy,
(24:44):
I one guy.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
I was there.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Don't forget I was there.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
I was barely in my seat when you score it
because they had these great wings in the press box
at Buffalo from Duffs.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
You ever have those there? Incredible? But I saw it.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I did get to my seat. I did bear witness
to the greatness.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Well yeah, no, Print the T shirts right, Print the
T shirts.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
Mark.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
I know you're a big guy for that, and you've
been talking about it. Print the T shirts, baby, How
are they.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Not T shirts? How are you not cashing in? If
you deserve it to, you're the king, get you should
get tribute.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
It would be an amazing T shirt. It would sell
like crazy. Can you imagine those coming out, especially this
time of the year when it is like stocking stuffers
all over the place. So a little late to it now,
but maybe it'll be in the works if this can
hold up another year now.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
That was the first Winter Classic two thousand and eight, Buffalo,
Rich Stadium.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
An army. To my mind, it's still really the best one.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Just enough snow, just enough cold, good ice, very good game.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Nothing since has topped it.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
I think the fans too, right, just typical in Buffalo,
I think too, with the mixture of NHL fans, Penguins fans,
Buffalo fans that like kind of embrace the situation, like
there's people with their shirts off, like the visuals. I
think from that game, I don't think I've been eclipsed,
just because of where it was and what it was.
(26:06):
And then on top of it, of course the Sydney
Crosby moment in the shootout where he got the win
for the Penguins over Buffalo, which was I think ideal
for the NHL and its inaugural one. So it was
everything about it was awesome, The ending was awesome, and
then the fans were fantastic too.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Now the sid shootout goal. Two things stick out looking
back at that.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
He does the same move now every time that he
did then, and he celebrated with this kind of jump
that looked kind of like he didn't know what to do.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
He didn't know how happy he should be.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
It looked like, yeah, I see, I know. And the
difference is then, like he scored, I don't. He hasn't
scored much of the shootouts of late, So that a
big moment, right, And I think at the time we
knew it was like kind of a cool event. I
remember thinking at the time, like is this an event
or is this a real game? Like in the lead
up to it, it was it was just the first
(26:59):
time we'd ever done like that. So and then also
just seeing him like that is it's kind of like
what we were used to seeing of him early in
his career, like the hair down over his forehead, sticking
out of his helmet, like just the kid, just the
actual kid in him coming out And yeah, he loves it.
(27:19):
He's he's a hockey rat, and and you know that's
kind of like probably was tough for him to harness
any kind of like emotion. He just turned into a
kid in that moment. It was great.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Walk us through the goal, pretend we're watching on YouTube,
which I do several times a day.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Walk us through the goal, you narrate.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Off the face off opening lineup on a line with
Malcolm and Crosby. Believe it or not, pretty incredible for
myself puck back. I remember Sid just making a quick
comment to everyone like, let's get it going right ahead
because the ice was covered in snow pretty heavily. We're
just gonna get it up ice right away. And Sid
got the pocket. He had ended up having a pretty
(28:00):
good angle, drawing a few guys to him, so good
at cutting into the net once we got it through
the neutral zone, just a pretty simple play really, and
then he just took it hard to the net and
everyone just kind of overflowed on the over back check
off of Buffalo and I kind of came in in
that next layer and it popped perfectly on a platter
right to me. How else should it not be served
(28:22):
to the king other than on a platter, no quan,
I just had to skate in and pop it right
in the net mark and that was it. Yeah, I remember,
it was like had happened so fast I was like,
is this even Like, is anyone in their seats yet?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
It was.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
It was just such a crazy situation so early in
that game, with planes flying over the anthem, the entrance,
the crazy entrance with like fireworks, kind of the whole deal,
and yeah, just kind of happened fast and then just
got absorbed into the rest of the game.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Uh, the Olympic Ross just come out tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Who's going to be a surprise guy to make it
a surprise guy to get cut for the US or Canada?
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Like, what bubble guys are you wondering right now?
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Yeah? For Canada, I'm all the bubble guys I think
are Badard? I heard you on with Pierre and Shifley.
I think is a great candidate to be like a
real complimentary player because he can play kind of a
grindy role although he's a very good player, but he's
just a really good all around player. In Winnipeg is
Mark Schiffley, and I think he's had a really good
year as well. The Badard injury is something that I'll
(29:24):
be wanting to keep an eye on because I think
it would have been tough to keep him off the
team with the season he's had the way he's looked
to Mark like he has been a dog, a dawg dog,
like he's been on it this year and completely transformed
himself from his previous couple of years with kind of
that mentality. Celebrini will be there. The thing I'm curious
about it everyone said he's gonna be there, is if
(29:44):
Bennington's gonna be there. Like Bennington for the goaltender for Canada,
he hasn't had a great year and I know he
got it done it for Nations, but he's not even
really like they're starting goalie in Saint Louis right now,
Like this hasn't been a good year for him. So
I'll be really curious for that. For the US. The
lots to talk about Roberts In if he in Dallas,
if he's going to be a guy, they'll make it
an oth Thompson is a hot topic as a a guy.
(30:06):
I think he'll be there and then on defense for them.
If if I don't know, like if Fox from the
Rangers is gonna make it, I'm hearing you know, there's
other candidates in there that they've been keep an eye on.
More size, more length, more speed as well. For the Americans.
So yeah, those are the big like the players that
(30:26):
will be snobbed, that will be the biggest topic, right,
like snobbed or flip flop they decided to go with
this guy instead of this guy, and how they build
their teams and how they want him to look. And
that's what everyone will be bantering about for the next
at least three weeks up until we get Olympic hockey
going again. But the initial roster drop should be fairly interesting.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Army.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
If the game was outdoor, you would be Cannada's first
line right wing.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
I have no doubt about that. I can't wait.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
They can't deny it.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Yeah, right outdoor. Come on, you're the king of all outdoors,
no doubt about that. And it should be noted. And
by the way, way, did you know that you're an
official record at NHL dot com. It's not informal. You're
not only fastest Winter Classic goal, your fastest optoor goal.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Wow, so this is real, right, like the King of
the Winter Classic. Maybe the King of the Winter is
just yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Yes, so my wow.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
My idea is this next year, we got to get
the T shirt, so we'll pick a charity.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Well, we'll make We'll make it for a good cause.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
And we need to have a Kolbe Armstrong Winter Classic
Symposium where we bring people to like a theater or
a big bar and get people in there so they
can hear from you in person. It's one thing on YouTube,
it's one thing to hear you on the radio. To
see you in person talk about this, relive it, bring
it right to the people.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
I think that is a big deal.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
On a throne at the next Winter Classic watch party somewhere. Yes,
if I thought they're dropping the park, that's the next
best thing. Mark.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
But the thing is, we need to do it here
because here you and I can for sure fool the people.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Did I say that, I didn't mean you.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Deal with your connections.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yes, you get the idea, Army. I am so glad.
Thanks for taking the time for reliving what is a magic.
Like I said, I was in the press box of Buffalo.
I'd been in my seat for about five seconds. The
pucket already dropped. I had a mouth full of wing.
I probably snuck a beer into the press box, and
you scored. I will relive that in my mind forever
and ever.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Thank you. You got the p history, the exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
The people out there, thank you, and it will never
be duplicated. Once again, I bow at the altar of
the Winter Classic.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
King, Well, thank you, thank you for having me on
and bringing the to the attention that it deserves. Mark,
I'll leave you with this tail the King or Freeze
in Obscurity.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's Kobe Armstrong. I'm Mark Madden. Time to ask Mark
anything that was a great close four one two three
three three wxd x.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
That's the back door number.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Or you can call eight three three four one two
w xdx, or you can leave a talk back via
the microphone icon at the iHeartMedia app.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
That's how you do it. One O five to nine.
Speaker 6 (33:14):
It's Travis every weekday at ten am starting your workday
commercial free on one.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Now the super genius Mark Madden.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Draft bringing the Duck Tate type of affairs.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
What they're gonna make us play a walker game? It's
not fair. It's not fair.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
It's not fair.
Speaker 6 (33:32):
The X at one O five nine.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
As we often do, we're watching football, the real football
during the show, Arsenal beating up on third place aston
Villa four nil. Late in the game, Arsenal top spot
in the Premier League. I thought Arsenal would win today,
but four nil that makes a statement. But we're just
at the season's halfway point New Year's Day. I don't
(34:01):
have to watch the game during the show hosting Leeds
at anfield should have gone, thought about it, should have gone.
I'm not ask Mark anything brought to us by People's
Natural Gas, People's hyphengas dot Com. Forgot to mention eighty
four lumber earlier in the program, so we'll play a
little catch up ball with them by mentioning them. Now,
(34:24):
what's going out of our good friend the Hebrew hammer?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Hammer? Yuck shamash.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Hey, yuck shamash.
Speaker 9 (34:30):
Mark, Hey, I have a question about college basketball, so
I thought you're the we're most expert on that.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
In town.
Speaker 9 (34:40):
There was a player who recently had a two way contract,
whatever that means, and he played.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
For the Bulls.
Speaker 9 (34:47):
He was in a game for the Chicago Bulls, and now.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Somehow he's he's going to college to play.
Speaker 9 (34:54):
I don't know if you've heard of that.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
No.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
I think just today the NBA ruled anybody who's excuse me,
college basketball. The NCAA ruled that whoever's played in the
NBA is ineligible to come back.
Speaker 9 (35:06):
Well, isn't it amazing they had a role on that.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Well, that's what Nil's done.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Nil has made all big time college sports a different
level of professional sports.
Speaker 9 (35:20):
It wouldn't it be interesting if, like, like when Lebron retires,
he'd be like forty five and he could come back
and play like for Akron Zips. Wouldn't that be wouldn't
that kind.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Of be interesting?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
No, not even a little bit.
Speaker 9 (35:34):
Hey, my next point, did you buy any chance happen
to catch the referees name on Sunday the Steelers game?
Speaker 6 (35:42):
No?
Speaker 2 (35:42):
What was it?
Speaker 3 (35:45):
John Hussey?
Speaker 9 (35:46):
And that's not a term we use much anymore, is it.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Well, that was used to refer to like a loose woman,
like a shameless hussy.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Correct, that's right, but I don't hear that much anymore.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
That's your cue whammy. You can call now, and I
wish you would after that. Eight three three four one
two wxdx. Let's go to.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
A talkback mark.
Speaker 10 (36:15):
The Steelers ever had a more embarrassing approach to the
standard being the standard than this year, where they had
a dry needling incident puncture along, they had a starting
player punch a fan and get suspended, and then they
lose to a three win team.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
I've been saying that all year, from top to bottom.
The organization's a joke. You're right, wat Gett is lung punctured.
Losing to the Browns with a chance to clinch the
AFC North, that's one thing that you got to, you know,
way together.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Losing to the three and twelve Browns is bad enough.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Blowing a chance to clinch the AFC North is bad enough.
But you did both of those things in the same day,
and in incredibly embarrassing fashion. Rogers has taken over the team.
You have Friarmouth and Johnny won the Payno Mind list,
you have mvs and Scottie.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Miller's featured receivers.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
The whole thing's just out of control, certainly out of
Tomlin's control, but the stuff he still does.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
ConTroll, he f's up horribly.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
It is a stink sandwich and everybody involved needs to
take a big bite. But to be honest, even though
Tom wins the most to blame and Rogers the most
to blame for losing that game of Cleveland, the owner's
soft art. Rooney the second is a soft owner and
he is the blame for everything. Trickling down from him
for being bullied by Tomlin, for letting Tom win wun
(37:39):
a team he owns and not to good effect, not
for a long time.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Let's go to Jacob. Jacob, you're on with the super genius.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
Mark, I'm running some NHL twenty one on PS four
franchise mode. Who should I trade for it to get
his Sydney Crosby's line mates?
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Who should I have run on Crosby's line? Thank you?
Speaker 1 (37:58):
If you're playing outdoor, don't trade Army. Let's go to
a talkback.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
With twenty twenty six on the horizon, I'd like to
hear your bold Pittsburgh sports predictions for the upcoming year.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
First off, don't feel the need when you leave a
talkback do use some manufactured voice that you think makes
you sign important that guy just calling out, All it
did was make you sound like an ass. As far
as my prediction for twenty twenty six, I don't know.
Penguins missed the playoffs, Pirates went about seventy seven games.
Steelers lose to Baltimore. How's that not really encouraging? But
(38:38):
at least I'm realistic. Let's go to a talkback.
Speaker 5 (38:42):
Hey, Mark, it's Zach again from Etna, And I just
want to ask you, how are you going to react
When I'm right and the Steelers make it to the
first round of the playoffs and win and get to
the second round.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
First off, I won't feel too bad because even if
all that happens, which I doubt in your rights, which
would be a first very likely, at the end of
the day, I'll still be living in a very rich community,
and You'll still be in Etna. That said, I like Keetna,
played a lot of street hockey. There have fond memories
of the dairy Queen that area, the baseball field down there,
(39:17):
Alioto's Pizza, which I think finally closed, used to be
the Blarney Stone down there. And there's a place I
gotta go too soon. There's a barbecue place I went
to down there last year. Barbecue and Etna. You wouldn't
think of it. It's true, Oh, it's damn true.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
If you consider making the playoffs after having lost to Cleveland,
if you consider beating Baltimore at home, which you should do,
and winning the AFC North, which you should have clinched
last week, and making the playoffs, which you intermittently do
but never win, a playoff game, if you consider that
a success, Yeah, you'll be right. Congratulations, Boy, won't I
feel stupid? And if you consider even winning one playoff
(39:54):
game after eight years of not, if you think that's
good enough.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
The standard is the so up standard.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
This segment was brought to us by People's Hyphengas dot
Com A three three four one two w x d
x
We didn't think it would be a big game, but now,
I mean not to discuss. He covers the Steelers for
the Athletic. Always great to talk to, Mike de Fable. Mike,
you wrote that that loss of Cleveland was the worst
Tomlin special of all time?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
What made it so?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:24):
I mean, I think everyone knows. The Steelers knows that.
Mike Tomlin. Historically, it seems like every single year goes
on the road and loses the game that he shouldn't.
And we've seen Mike Tomlin lose to inferior opponents. We've
seen Mike Tomlin blow chances to clinch the division, including
last year. But if there is a time loan of
Steelers faced such an inferior opponent and had such a
(00:49):
great opportunity to clinch the division and go to the
playoffs and rest their starters, somebody please remind me of
when it was, because I can't think of a time
when the Steelers had so much at stake and played
such a poor football team and totally squandered their opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I mean, let's just put this in perspective.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Mark, the Cleveland Browns had as many wins going into
that game as they had starting quarterbacks. Shader Sanders played
like he had an anytime Kyle Duger interception. Prof bet
that's how bad that this team was for the Browns
and the Steelers totally blew their opportunity. And even if
the Steelers are able to win, in reality to the playoffs,
(01:27):
the fact that they weren't able to rest their starters
in this game could be a significant variable in their.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Chances of winning a playoff game.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
And so even if they win this game, I think
that that loss against the Browns is one that's going
to linger.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
No.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
I agree one hundred percent, but I don't think they
can bounce back against Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Mike, I mean, what do you think.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I don't see how they can fix that offense with
DK Metcalf still suspended because Scottie Miller ain't it.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Yeah, And I think that that's my biggest concern going
into this one. You know, you look back the first
matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, and the Ravens basically said,
Aaron Rodgers has not hit a deep ball in more
than a month. We absolutely dare you to throw it deep.
We're gonna challenge you with press man coverage. We're gonna
challenge you with single high safety coverage. And to Aaron
(02:16):
Rodgers credit, from the very first play from scrimmage for
the Steelers, he aired it out to DK Metcalt and
that was really the formula that they used to win
that football game.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You saw what.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Happened in the last game against the Browns, against another
team that deploys a very similar tactic. The Browns are
at the top of the league in terms of man coverage.
They run cover one on more than forty percent of snaps,
and guys like Scottie Miller in MVS and Adam Feelen
they just couldn't get open. You know, Aaron Rodgers sold
(02:46):
us a great narrative about these cast offs. The reality
is they are a bunch of washed up guys and
they played like it.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
On the last game. And I really fault Omar Con.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
For this because everybody that knew anything about football and
has followed the Steelers knew that they had created the
same situation.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
As last year when they had one store.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Receiver in George Pickens, a huge gap and then everybody
else and they remade and reshuffled their debt. But it's
the same dynamic one store receiver in dk metcast big
gap and then everybody else. And for a team that
never answered his question at wide receiver two, here they
are trying to play without wide receiver one and it's
an absolute nightmare. And it goes back to flawed.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Roster construction and just poor planning all around.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
That you think you can go into an NFL season
in twenty twenty five with one serious receiver and think
that you're going to be able to compete with teams.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
That's just not the way that the NFL works anymore.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Well, I do blame con for that.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I blame Tomlin too, because you know he has a
big imprint with roster construction. But I also blame Rogers
to some degree at this point because why does he
like Miller and MVS so much?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Because he's clearly taken over the offense.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
He's indulging his preferences, and he's done that to the
exclusion of Rowan Wilson and the tight ends.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
I think you're spot on with that, Mark.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
You know, one of my concerns when the Steelers signed
Aaron Rodgers was they would give him the keys and
they would basically bend a knee and whatever Aaron Rodgers wanted, Aaron.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Rodgers was going to get it. Did it did?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Like that was the problem with the Jets. That was
one of the biggest problems was they tried to do everything.
And that's the reason why Andy Widel's best friend, Joe
Douglas lost his job because he believed in Aaron Rodgers
too much and rather than being the GM of the Jets,
he allowed Aaron Rodgers to be the GM of the Jets.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
And I think the Steelers have done a.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Pretty decent job of keeping Rogers in his lane and
saying you're the quarterback until recently. And I think that
that game the MBS decision. And I don't remember how
many targets he got, like eleven or eight or something
like that. It was ridiculous the fact that he jumped
over top of Roman Wilson and leads for on the
(05:00):
depth chart.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
It has stunted Roman Wilson's growth. And it also just
frankly doesn't work.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Because MVS has been a cast off and he's been
a journeyman in the last couple of years for a reason,
because he's an old receiver that isn't as good as
he once was, and rather than developing a young guy
like Roman Wilson and building for the future. It's the
same problem that the Steelers have on so many other
places on their roster. They've been looking for these veteran
(05:28):
guys that they think they could squeeze one last ounce
of energy out of. And unfortunately, the risk that they're
running here, and I'm afraid it's going to happen, is
rather than building something towards the future, they're gonna end
up right where they started without anything to build upon
for next year.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Yeah, MBS nine targets at Cleveland, including the last three
being covered by their Pro Bowl quarterback Denzel Ward. It
doesn't and didn't add up, and just generally, Mike, I
thought Rogers was off with Cleveland, and he seems to
be a bit wobbly mentally right now, doesn't he. Both
on the field and in the aftermath.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Of that game.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, he was definitely a little bit snarky.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I've kind of noticed that about Rogers when he plays
a bad game, he's really a jerk after afterwards and
really wants to try to make you feel like you're
an idiot.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Not that he played poorly, and.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
That's kind of the way that he approached his press conference,
but he really played very poorly and even like the
fourth and one to Scotty Miller, that was just a
horrible decision if you look at the other side of
that formation that Arthur Smith actually called like a man
beating concept there and Adam Thielen was open, but Rogers
(06:42):
had predetermined that he was going to throw the ball
to Scotty Miller.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Who I mean, come on, man, what.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Are we talking about, Like he's Scotty Miller, for God's sakes, like.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
A helmet. Let alone be on the field, let alone
being targeted.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
The whole concept is ridiculous.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
No other team in the league would be trotting out
mvs and Adam Feelin and Scottie Miller at wide receiver.
It honestly sounds mark like a joke. It sounds like
if I had come on your show and said, like,
watch the Steelers, I bet you they're going to bring
in a bunch of Aaron Rodgers buddy, and a bunch
of washed up guys and a bunch of aging, undersized
wide receivers, and that's exactly what they did.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Reality is even stranger than fiction.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
This game Sunday has potential to be really ugly.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
I think I think the crowd's going to start off positive,
but if Baltimore gets off the good startup will turn hostile.
We'll get the fire Tom win. Chance, they'll boo renegade.
I just think that if I think if they lose,
there's no way to not fire Tom win, but they
won't anyway.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Yeah, it's really going to be It's gonna be fascinating
because I agree with you, Mark, I think that it
gets ugly.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
It's going to get really ugly.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
And I think I agree with you that there is
a scenari where they're chanting fire Tomlin at the end
of this game if they can't get it done, and
because and they should, because the reality is when the
Steelers chose to go this path, when they waited out
Aaron Rodgers, when they brought in a thirty one year
old Jalen Ramsey, when they brought in a thirty year
old John new Smith, when they re signed TJ. Watt,
(08:20):
so on and so forth, they thought that they could
win in this window, or at least win a playoff game.
It was a desperation moved by them to push whatever
these chips. And you know, they didn't go all in,
but they definitely tried to win within this window, and
if they can't even make the playoffs, they will have
fallen so far short of what the expectations were that
(08:43):
I think that it's merited. But like you mentioned, Mark,
I can't see the Steelers being the one to initiate
a breakup here. I still believe that they're going to
want to have stability, continuity, and more than anything else,
they're not going to want to pay Tomlin sixteen million
dollars this year, next year, or you know, through twenty
(09:05):
twenty seven not to coach. So to me, I think
it's just a question of at what point does Mike
Tomlin decide enough is enough and decide if fans are
chanting to fire him and he's not won and here
in Pittsburgh, he's not appreciated here in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Is it time for him to move on.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I think that's the only scenario in which it makes
sense that maybe he would step away or agree to
waive a no trade clause. But I mean, his approval
rating is already pretty low, and I think it's got
to be as low as it's ever going to be
if he loses this game on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
How do you beat Baltimore Because you don't have d case,
you can't really fix the offense Baltimore. Oddly enough, if
Lamar can't play, I think it simplifies things because you
can use the same playbook with Snoop, but you emphasize
Henry Moore. It seems like a lot of dominoes are
falling Baltimore's way heading into this game, not least what
happened this past weekend.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Yeah, I think that the key is really going to
be stopping Derrick Henry, and I mean Terarall Austin admitted
in the offseason the Steelers have a Baltimore problem, and
the last game it didn't look to me like they
were any closer to solving it. And especially after Derrick
Henry just rushed for four touchdowns and more than two
hundred yards against the Packers, I think he's going to
(10:23):
be a huge problem.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
So you're counting on guys.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Like Derek Harmon, who has been very good and run
stuffing situations. You're going to need a huge game out
of Cam Hayward. You're going to need a huge game
out of guys like Patrick Queen and Malie Harrison who
are stopping the run and I think that's really.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Going to tell the story.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
And if the Steelers hold Derrick Henry to fewer than
one hundred yards, I think they can win. If Derrick
Henry has more than one hundred yards, I think the
Steelers are going to lose. I know that's a simplified
way to look at this, but I think that the
Ravens are going to simplify their game plan and they're.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Going to realize you've got to give the ball to
Derrick Henry.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
To try to run it down the Steelers' throats like
they were able to do two meetings late last year,
and ultimately I think that that's going to tell the
story of the game.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I totally agree.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And I think the Steelers, again this is elementary, Mike,
like you said, but they need to lead at the
end of the first quarter. Baltimore comes into the game
with all the momentum the Steelers have none. If the
Steelers don't establish something early, it could go downhill and fast.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Yeah. I agree with you, Mark, where you want to
be dictating the terms here. You don't want the Ravens
to have the lead and feel comfortable just milking clock and.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Giving it to Derrick Henry over and over and over again.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So I mean, the one thing I think that goes
in the Steelers favor here is the Ravens are historic
choke artists. I think that's the biggest thing that gives
me optimism if you're a Steelers fan that you should
be counting upon is the Ravens.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
It's part of their DNA. They choke.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
They cannot win a big game. Lamar cannot win a
big game. This team cannot win a big game. And
I think that that's what you have to count on
if you're the Steelers, is that you can make Derek
Henry fumble. He's had fumbling problems and in the critical moment,
the Ravens are gonna make the critical air.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Mike, great stuff is always great stuff in the Athletic.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Let's see if we get another Tom Win special on
Sunday and we'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
That's great, Mark, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
That's Mike de Fabo doing some great work at the Athletic.
Make sure you check that out. He's brought to us
by Armstrong the Internet. You come on the people you
trust Armstrong one Wired dot Com up next. We got
calls at the fifteen, So call now get your Steeler
ranks dot there talk about the Penguins tonight. The new Penguin,
Chinnikov will make his debut this evening against Carolina.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Has Rogers screwed up the offense? I think he has.
I've been saying, why tell me what you think? But
when you got.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Miller and mvs as your featured receivers, and like Tommy
Radio said, you're spamming mvs with passes at the end
of the day game and it comes up shorts and
Roman Wilson can't even get a target. And Farmers can
get you to the rads though, but no throws once
you're inside it. Yeah, Rogers has screwed up the offense
and the Steelers have led him. The Steelers have acquiesced
(13:15):
to making him comfortable, and the offense is worse as
a result. Although we cannot understate how much the absence
of DK Metcalf hurts, nor can we understate how stupid
DK Metcalf is. So col now e three three four
one two wxdx at the bottom of the hour a
special treat It's the King of the Winner classic twenty
(13:37):
one seconds that won't live an infamy forever, Colby Armstrong
on one oh five nine, and.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Now the super genius Mark Madden.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
The cream comes to the top. I feel like I'm
just bubbling.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Over you panty on the air and would who told.
Speaker 6 (13:52):
You the ex at one oh five nine?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
If we can talk about.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
The Steeler Hall of Fame stuff if you want, Although
I find Hall Fame debate boring. Ward Harrison, Gary Anderson,
and Marquise Ponzi were all semi finalists, but none made
the finals. And honestly, I think the best case can
be made for James Harrison defensive Player of the Year,
biggest playing Super Bowl history, short but very productive prime
(14:21):
the others, yeah, I don't think so, even Harrison really
not really. Elsie Greenwood is among the finalists in the
old Folks Committee type things, So I don't know a
lot of Steelers from the seventy's already in it. I
guess there's always room for one more, but how many
are in ahead of him, like eight or nine?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
That's a lot gro.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Also talking about Aaron Rodgers, has he screwed up the
Steeler offense? Everybody wants to blame Dky's absence, and that's
a big part of it. I'm fine with blaming DK's
absence as long as you blame DK for it. But Rogers,
in his obsession with trying to four feed Scottie Miller
an MBS and the tight ends being uninvolved. Now that
(15:06):
the fat kids out, you've got two real tight ends
in there. I don't get it. I don't get it.
So call now eight three three four one two w XDX.
Let's go to caller X. That's mysterious color act you're.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
On with Mark?
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Hey?
Speaker 7 (15:19):
Mark, how you doing great?
Speaker 6 (15:21):
Hey?
Speaker 7 (15:22):
Let's let's talk about Tomlin for a minute. I love coaching.
I love good coaching. I think it's important whether pee
wee level all the way up to high school, college,
pro sports coaching is the utmost importance. The two best
ever John Wooden's UCLA, Kel Sanderson at Penn State.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
They never talk about winning. It's all about it's all
about excellence, the process.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I'm not I'm not sure where you're going with this,
because what does Tom Wan talk about?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
How's it different?
Speaker 7 (15:52):
Well, because Tomlin says, well, we're in the winning business.
That's all he talks about it.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
No, No, you're overestimating what he says. Tom Win just
speaks in empty these he says nothing of substance.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
You're right, I agree with that, But let me let
me break a couple of things down. And I think
you've said these things along the way. You know, he
inherited towers team, his coaches as leaders.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
As I've been saying for years.
Speaker 7 (16:16):
Yeah, and he inherited number seven, the best quarterback the
Steelers ever had.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
And might I add, as I said earlier, Tomlin's record
without number seven, his winning percentage, is one hundred points
lower than Cower's record was without number seven. I see
Bill Cower as an appreciably better coach and I always
have exactly.
Speaker 7 (16:35):
And when he had his team, his coaches, his leaders,
his culture, his quarterbacks, he's done nothing.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
He's been terrible, horrible.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Yeah, I hope you looking for an argument, And well.
Speaker 7 (16:49):
No, but this should be obvious. No coaching tree.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
It is obvious, but people don't want to see it.
No coaching tree. That's another thing. Thank you for your call.
I mean, we're going over the same ground here. I
gotta tell you though, and I'm not afraid to say this.
Nobody wants to criticize the airs pre eminent black coach.
That's not why he doesn't get fired. It's not the
Rooney rule, that's not true. It's because they just don't
fire the head coach. With the Steelers, Art the second
(17:16):
wants to do the same as Daddy and Granddaddy, and
they didn't fire the head coach. Well, Granddaddy did, but
that was a long time and and a lot of
different head coaches before Chuck Nol. But nobody wants to
criticize the Air as pre eminent black coach. That way's
heavily in Tomlin's favor, no question, no question.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Let's go to David. David, you're on with Mark.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
Hey, Mark, I'm I wanted to talk about Schinikov. I'm
pretty sure he's out tonight. Uh he said he was playing.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I'm tru Well, he's there, his equipment's in the stall.
Speaker 8 (17:49):
Okay, because I saw on Twitter that they said.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Okay, if you said he's out, then he's out. What's
your point.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Oh, he's not a big deal.
Speaker 8 (17:57):
I was just saying. But anyway, Uh, do you think
because you guys talked about you and peer him on
the top six, do you think he's too fast to
play on Gino's line or what do you think?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I haven't seen him play. I don't ever recall him
playing with Columbus, so I'll have to see I mean,
I mean, I liked, I liked, I like Gino. Between
the two bookends, the two big guys, Mantha and Brazo,
there's no point worrying about until he gets back here.
But if they put Chinnikov in a small role like
bottom six, then there was no point in getting them,
(18:28):
And then Dubas has to tell MWS what's up.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
The MEWS has to get back on track.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
MWS has done a terrible job for the best part
of a month because he doesn't understand what the purpose
of this season is not anymore. He was blinded by
the good start, and if he wants to dwell on
the good start and think they're a playoff team, he
doesn't understand either that the youthful energy the kids were
a big factor in that good start.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And he's minimized that. Thank you for the call up.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Next the King of the Winner Classic, it's Kolbe Armstrong
just around the corner. Now, let's talk about bet parks
because live sports betting is better on the bet parks app.
It makes watching the game that much more fun. Bet
more than the score, bet on touchdown scores, bet individual
performances for passing, rushing, and much more.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Plus, bet Parks has a great holiday offer for new users.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Get a fifty dollars casino bonus on the new game
Huff and Lots of Puff that's an online slot, plus
up to one thousand dollars casino bonus back if you're
down in your first twenty four hours. Bet Parks is
the only app I recommend to bet on sports and
to play class at casino games.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I use it, I love it.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
I'm talking sports, I'm talking blackjack, I'm talking craps, I'm
talking roulette, I'm talking hot online slots. I'm talking all
the way live. Plus, the bet Parks online sports book
and casino gives you another way to win double the
spread on one select pro football game every weekend. Check
the bet Parks app every Friday afternoon. Betparks dot com
(19:59):
has details gambling problem called one eight hundred Gambler. You
gotta be twenty one and in PA, New Jersey or
Michigan callby Armstrong. Next the King of the Winter Classic
on one oh five nine from the one oh five
nine The X.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
What They're gonna make us play a walker game. It's
not fair.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
It's not fair.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
It's not fair.
Speaker 6 (20:18):
The ex at one oh five nine's cross.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Be not by gamble and couldn't get the play star.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Call me Armstrong.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
After crossbeat with a dash by the defence and it's
one nothing.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Penguins twenty one seconds.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
In nine NHL players have five hundred goals, It's no
big deal. Over one hundred NHL players have a thousand points.
Once again, no big deal. But only one man has
(21:13):
the fastest goal in Winter Classic history, twenty one seconds
in the first ever Winter Classic at Buffalo's Rich Stadium
in two thousand and eight. First, best, forever and always,
and he's here with us right now.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
He is the King of the Winter Classic.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Exit the Penguins now in the media, live straight from
Zuki's in New Brighton.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
It's Kolby Armstrong.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Hello, Mark, thank you, thank you the intro that I
needed and listened to. The sniveling peasants of the frozen
ram Realm, gather around and bow before your undisputed king
of the NHL Winter Classic legends had shattered the silence
with the fast this goal in history twenty one seconds.
(22:02):
That's right, Mark, while you huddle in your pitiful stance,
shivering in the crowd like common SERTs. I struck lightning
fast on the ice, claiming eternal glory against those buffalo fools.
You do your chair from afar. No, this, no moral
has eclipsed my throne, Mark, not a single player over
(22:23):
the years, not one. So Neil, you rebel and worship
the speed that makes God jealous. The Winter Classic is
my domain, Mark, my domain.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
My God. You were more prepared for this than I was.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Great great work army in the Winter Classic is at
Miami on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Will you be there. It seems like you should be
an invited guest to VIP.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
I should be dropping the puck probably, But the NHL
hasn't caught up to the magnitude of this record yet. Mark.
And also, I am the king of the Winter Classic.
This is in Florida? Are they playing in Also? Is
there a roof on this on this stadium? May have
to put an asterisk.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
No, that's a good question.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I mean, I don't think the Winter Classic should necessarily
go everywhere like to Miami in Florida, you know, with
with temperatures well about freezing.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
I know they can do the ice, but it's just
not the same as in a wintery climate, is it.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
I don't know. I'm interested to see what it's gonna
be like. Like, I think that's great that we're trying
to do that. I mean, we had all kinds of trouble.
Where was that one out in uh? Or was that
one when they had the sunbeat Lake Taho where it
just didn't quite work out? They had to delay the game.
The ice was in tough times. I know that'll be
a little bit more controlled with a rooftop scenario. I
(23:45):
think they can take the roof down in that in
that stadium. But uh, I'm interested to see what it'll
be like. I think it's I think the concept of
it is awesome, and the fact that we're able to
even attempt to do it in Florida is kind of awesome.
Although the visuals, right, the visuals of that first Winter
Classic in Buffalo that makes it stand up to the
test of all these other ones was the visuals of
(24:07):
snowfalling and true Winter Classic form.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Do you sweat the first twenty one seconds when you
watch Winter Classic? If I were you, I would like
watch intently until you got to the twenty second second.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Then I'd barely pay attention afterwards. I just have a
couple of beers.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yeah, I cracked beers as soon as it's done, Mark,
like on January second, that's what I'll do. I'll sweat
it out the first twenty one seconds. I've done it
almost every year that it's happened, because, quite frankly, it's
the only record I have. Although it's a massive record,
it's my it's my only thing, Mark mass Alid, God,
and you're the one guy that keeps it going for me, buddy,
(24:44):
I one guy.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
I was there.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Don't forget I was there.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
I was barely in my seat when you score it
because they had these great wings in the press box
at Buffalo from Duffs.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
You ever have those there? Incredible? But I saw it.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I did get to my seat. I did bear witness
to the greatness.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Well yeah, no, Print the T shirts right, Print the
T shirts.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
Mark.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
I know you're a big guy for that, and you've
been talking about it. Print the T shirts, baby, How
are they.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Not T shirts? How are you not cashing in? If
you deserve it to, you're the king, get you should
get tribute.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
It would be an amazing T shirt. It would sell
like crazy. Can you imagine those coming out, especially this
time of the year when it is like stocking stuffers
all over the place. So a little late to it now,
but maybe it'll be in the works if this can
hold up another year now.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
That was the first Winter Classic two thousand and eight, Buffalo,
Rich Stadium.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
An army. To my mind, it's still really the best one.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Just enough snow, just enough cold, good ice, very good game.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Nothing since has topped it.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
I think the fans too, right, just typical in Buffalo,
I think too, with the mixture of NHL fans, Penguins fans,
Buffalo fans that like kind of embrace the situation, like
there's people with their shirts off, like the visuals. I
think from that game, I don't think I've been eclipsed,
just because of where it was and what it was.
(26:06):
And then on top of it, of course the Sydney
Crosby moment in the shootout where he got the win
for the Penguins over Buffalo, which was I think ideal
for the NHL and its inaugural one. So it was
everything about it was awesome, The ending was awesome, and
then the fans were fantastic too.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Now the sid shootout goal. Two things stick out looking
back at that.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
He does the same move now every time that he
did then, and he celebrated with this kind of jump
that looked kind of like he didn't know what to do.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
He didn't know how happy he should be.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
It looked like, yeah, I see, I know. And the
difference is then, like he scored, I don't. He hasn't
scored much of the shootouts of late, So that a
big moment, right, And I think at the time we
knew it was like kind of a cool event. I
remember thinking at the time, like is this an event
or is this a real game? Like in the lead
up to it, it was it was just the first
(26:59):
time we'd ever done like that. So and then also
just seeing him like that is it's kind of like
what we were used to seeing of him early in
his career, like the hair down over his forehead, sticking
out of his helmet, like just the kid, just the
actual kid in him coming out And yeah, he loves it.
(27:19):
He's he's a hockey rat, and and you know that's
kind of like probably was tough for him to harness
any kind of like emotion. He just turned into a
kid in that moment. It was great.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Walk us through the goal, pretend we're watching on YouTube,
which I do several times a day.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Walk us through the goal, you narrate.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Off the face off opening lineup on a line with
Malcolm and Crosby. Believe it or not, pretty incredible for
myself puck back. I remember Sid just making a quick
comment to everyone like, let's get it going right ahead
because the ice was covered in snow pretty heavily. We're
just gonna get it up ice right away. And Sid
got the pocket. He had ended up having a pretty
(28:00):
good angle, drawing a few guys to him, so good
at cutting into the net once we got it through
the neutral zone, just a pretty simple play really, and
then he just took it hard to the net and
everyone just kind of overflowed on the over back check
off of Buffalo and I kind of came in in
that next layer and it popped perfectly on a platter
right to me. How else should it not be served
(28:22):
to the king other than on a platter, no quan,
I just had to skate in and pop it right
in the net mark and that was it. Yeah, I remember,
it was like had happened so fast I was like,
is this even Like, is anyone in their seats yet?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
It was.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
It was just such a crazy situation so early in
that game, with planes flying over the anthem, the entrance,
the crazy entrance with like fireworks, kind of the whole deal,
and yeah, just kind of happened fast and then just
got absorbed into the rest of the game.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Uh, the Olympic Ross just come out tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Who's going to be a surprise guy to make it
a surprise guy to get cut for the US or Canada?
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Like, what bubble guys are you wondering right now?
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Yeah? For Canada, I'm all the bubble guys I think
are Badard? I heard you on with Pierre and Shifley.
I think is a great candidate to be like a
real complimentary player because he can play kind of a
grindy role although he's a very good player, but he's
just a really good all around player. In Winnipeg is
Mark Schiffley, and I think he's had a really good
year as well. The Badard injury is something that I'll
(29:24):
be wanting to keep an eye on because I think
it would have been tough to keep him off the
team with the season he's had the way he's looked
to Mark like he has been a dog, a dawg dog,
like he's been on it this year and completely transformed
himself from his previous couple of years with kind of
that mentality. Celebrini will be there. The thing I'm curious
about it everyone said he's gonna be there, is if
(29:44):
Bennington's gonna be there. Like Bennington for the goaltender for Canada,
he hasn't had a great year and I know he
got it done it for Nations, but he's not even
really like they're starting goalie in Saint Louis right now,
Like this hasn't been a good year for him. So
I'll be really curious for that. For the US. The
lots to talk about Roberts In if he in Dallas,
if he's going to be a guy, they'll make it
an oth Thompson is a hot topic as a a guy.
(30:06):
I think he'll be there and then on defense for them.
If if I don't know, like if Fox from the
Rangers is gonna make it, I'm hearing you know, there's
other candidates in there that they've been keep an eye on.
More size, more length, more speed as well. For the Americans.
So yeah, those are the big like the players that
(30:26):
will be snobbed, that will be the biggest topic, right,
like snobbed or flip flop they decided to go with
this guy instead of this guy, and how they build
their teams and how they want him to look. And
that's what everyone will be bantering about for the next
at least three weeks up until we get Olympic hockey
going again. But the initial roster drop should be fairly interesting.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Army.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
If the game was outdoor, you would be Cannada's first
line right wing.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
I have no doubt about that. I can't wait.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
They can't deny it.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Yeah, right outdoor. Come on, you're the king of all outdoors,
no doubt about that. And it should be noted. And
by the way, way, did you know that you're an
official record at NHL dot com. It's not informal. You're
not only fastest Winter Classic goal, your fastest optoor goal.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Wow, so this is real, right, like the King of
the Winter Classic. Maybe the King of the Winter is
just yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Yes, so my wow.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
My idea is this next year, we got to get
the T shirt, so we'll pick a charity.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Well, we'll make We'll make it for a good cause.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
And we need to have a Kolbe Armstrong Winter Classic
Symposium where we bring people to like a theater or
a big bar and get people in there so they
can hear from you in person. It's one thing on YouTube,
it's one thing to hear you on the radio. To
see you in person talk about this, relive it, bring
it right to the people.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
I think that is a big deal.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
On a throne at the next Winter Classic watch party somewhere. Yes,
if I thought they're dropping the park, that's the next
best thing. Mark.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
But the thing is, we need to do it here
because here you and I can for sure fool the people.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Did I say that, I didn't mean you.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Deal with your connections.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yes, you get the idea, Army. I am so glad.
Thanks for taking the time for reliving what is a magic.
Like I said, I was in the press box of Buffalo.
I'd been in my seat for about five seconds. The
pucket already dropped. I had a mouth full of wing.
I probably snuck a beer into the press box, and
you scored. I will relive that in my mind forever
and ever.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Thank you. You got the p history, the exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
The people out there, thank you, and it will never
be duplicated. Once again, I bow at the altar of
the Winter Classic.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
King, Well, thank you, thank you for having me on
and bringing the to the attention that it deserves. Mark,
I'll leave you with this tail the King or Freeze
in Obscurity.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's Kobe Armstrong. I'm Mark Madden. Time to ask Mark
anything that was a great close four one two three
three three wxd x.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
That's the back door number.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Or you can call eight three three four one two
w xdx, or you can leave a talk back via
the microphone icon at the iHeartMedia app.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
That's how you do it. One O five to nine.
Speaker 6 (33:14):
It's Travis every weekday at ten am starting your workday
commercial free on one.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Now the super genius Mark Madden.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Draft bringing the Duck Tate type of affairs.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
What they're gonna make us play a walker game? It's
not fair. It's not fair.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
It's not fair.
Speaker 6 (33:32):
The X at one O five nine.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
As we often do, we're watching football, the real football
during the show, Arsenal beating up on third place aston
Villa four nil. Late in the game, Arsenal top spot
in the Premier League. I thought Arsenal would win today,
but four nil that makes a statement. But we're just
at the season's halfway point New Year's Day. I don't
(34:01):
have to watch the game during the show hosting Leeds
at anfield should have gone, thought about it, should have gone.
I'm not ask Mark anything brought to us by People's
Natural Gas, People's hyphengas dot Com. Forgot to mention eighty
four lumber earlier in the program, so we'll play a
little catch up ball with them by mentioning them. Now,
(34:24):
what's going out of our good friend the Hebrew hammer?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Hammer? Yuck shamash.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Hey, yuck shamash.
Speaker 9 (34:30):
Mark, Hey, I have a question about college basketball, so
I thought you're the we're most expert on that.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
In town.
Speaker 9 (34:40):
There was a player who recently had a two way contract,
whatever that means, and he played.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
For the Bulls.
Speaker 9 (34:47):
He was in a game for the Chicago Bulls, and now.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Somehow he's he's going to college to play.
Speaker 9 (34:54):
I don't know if you've heard of that.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
No.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
I think just today the NBA ruled anybody who's excuse me,
college basketball. The NCAA ruled that whoever's played in the
NBA is ineligible to come back.
Speaker 9 (35:06):
Well, isn't it amazing they had a role on that.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Well, that's what Nil's done.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Nil has made all big time college sports a different
level of professional sports.
Speaker 9 (35:20):
It wouldn't it be interesting if, like, like when Lebron retires,
he'd be like forty five and he could come back
and play like for Akron Zips. Wouldn't that be wouldn't
that kind.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Of be interesting?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
No, not even a little bit.
Speaker 9 (35:34):
Hey, my next point, did you buy any chance happen
to catch the referees name on Sunday the Steelers game?
Speaker 6 (35:42):
No?
Speaker 2 (35:42):
What was it?
Speaker 3 (35:45):
John Hussey?
Speaker 9 (35:46):
And that's not a term we use much anymore, is it.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Well, that was used to refer to like a loose woman,
like a shameless hussy.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Correct, that's right, but I don't hear that much anymore.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
That's your cue whammy. You can call now, and I
wish you would after that. Eight three three four one
two wxdx. Let's go to.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
A talkback mark.
Speaker 10 (36:15):
The Steelers ever had a more embarrassing approach to the
standard being the standard than this year, where they had
a dry needling incident puncture along, they had a starting
player punch a fan and get suspended, and then they
lose to a three win team.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
I've been saying that all year, from top to bottom.
The organization's a joke. You're right, wat Gett is lung punctured.
Losing to the Browns with a chance to clinch the
AFC North, that's one thing that you got to, you know,
way together.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Losing to the three and twelve Browns is bad enough.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Blowing a chance to clinch the AFC North is bad enough.
But you did both of those things in the same day,
and in incredibly embarrassing fashion. Rogers has taken over the team.
You have Friarmouth and Johnny won the Payno Mind list,
you have mvs and Scottie.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Miller's featured receivers.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
The whole thing's just out of control, certainly out of
Tomlin's control, but the stuff he still does.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
ConTroll, he f's up horribly.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
It is a stink sandwich and everybody involved needs to
take a big bite. But to be honest, even though
Tom wins the most to blame and Rogers the most
to blame for losing that game of Cleveland, the owner's
soft art. Rooney the second is a soft owner and
he is the blame for everything. Trickling down from him
for being bullied by Tomlin, for letting Tom win wun
(37:39):
a team he owns and not to good effect, not
for a long time.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Let's go to Jacob. Jacob, you're on with the super genius.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
Mark, I'm running some NHL twenty one on PS four
franchise mode. Who should I trade for it to get
his Sydney Crosby's line mates?
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Who should I have run on Crosby's line? Thank you?
Speaker 1 (37:58):
If you're playing outdoor, don't trade Army. Let's go to
a talkback.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
With twenty twenty six on the horizon, I'd like to
hear your bold Pittsburgh sports predictions for the upcoming year.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
First off, don't feel the need when you leave a
talkback do use some manufactured voice that you think makes
you sign important that guy just calling out, All it
did was make you sound like an ass. As far
as my prediction for twenty twenty six, I don't know.
Penguins missed the playoffs, Pirates went about seventy seven games.
Steelers lose to Baltimore. How's that not really encouraging? But
(38:38):
at least I'm realistic. Let's go to a talkback.
Speaker 5 (38:42):
Hey, Mark, it's Zach again from Etna, And I just
want to ask you, how are you going to react
When I'm right and the Steelers make it to the
first round of the playoffs and win and get to
the second round.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
First off, I won't feel too bad because even if
all that happens, which I doubt in your rights, which
would be a first very likely, at the end of
the day, I'll still be living in a very rich community,
and You'll still be in Etna. That said, I like Keetna,
played a lot of street hockey. There have fond memories
of the dairy Queen that area, the baseball field down there,
(39:17):
Alioto's Pizza, which I think finally closed, used to be
the Blarney Stone down there. And there's a place I
gotta go too soon. There's a barbecue place I went
to down there last year. Barbecue and Etna. You wouldn't
think of it. It's true, Oh, it's damn true.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
If you consider making the playoffs after having lost to Cleveland,
if you consider beating Baltimore at home, which you should do,
and winning the AFC North, which you should have clinched
last week, and making the playoffs, which you intermittently do
but never win, a playoff game, if you consider that
a success, Yeah, you'll be right. Congratulations, Boy, won't I
feel stupid? And if you consider even winning one playoff
(39:54):
game after eight years of not, if you think that's
good enough.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
The standard is the so up standard.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
This segment was brought to us by People's Hyphengas dot
Com A three three four one two w x d
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