November 13, 2025 • 39 mins
Mark and Tommy Radio talk some Skenes, some Will Howard, and some additional Steelers Bengals talk. Mark is also joined by Motley Crue's guitarist John 5
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of course today is going to be a tribute to Abba.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
But right now, let's pay tribute to Paul Skeens, who
won the cy Young Award as expected. And Sken's got
asked if he wants to play for the New York Yankees,
like that story said, and Skeen said, he loves Pittsburgh
and he wants to win here, and blah blah blah,
and everyone in Pittsburgh is energized by what Skeen said,
(00:28):
beating Bucks and all that. But Skeens didn't say he
didn't want to play for the Yankees. Skeins is very
good at saying exactly the right thing, very diplomatic. But
Paul Skeens is gonna get paid, and it won't be
in Pittsburgh. Skeins is going to be here at most
another year and a half. Skeens won't give a discount
(00:50):
to stan Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
No way.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
When Skeens goes to arbitration after next year, after maybe
a second straight Sai Young, Hey, when you bet against it,
I wouldn't his award and arbitration is gonna be like
fifty mil Nutting won't pay that even a small market
owner who wants to win and wants to spend some
(01:16):
couldn't afford to pay one guy that.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Skeens is gone in the not.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Too distant future, either with or without a cap after
they negotiate the next CBA after next season. Skeans talking
earnestly about his love for Pittsburgh will not make Nottting spend.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
It should be no Notting November, but it's not.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And by the way, Skeens would want to play for
the New York Yankees and not the LA Dodgers because
in LA, Skeens couldn't be the biggest.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Star in New York. You got judged. But he's not Otani.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And the other current instance of local fans being dults
is John Gruden, the ex coach. He said on the radio,
Will Howard, the Steelers rookie quote, has got everything you
want in a quarterback. I'll be shocked if Will Howard
isn't a good NFL quarterback unquote. And of course this
(02:22):
has Steeler fans believing that Will Howard can start for
the Steelers. With all due respect to coach Gruden, I'll
be shocked if Will Howard is a good NFL quarterback.
He's a fifth round pick being a backup is his ceiling.
Tom Brady was a sixth round pick, but he's the
(02:43):
exception and.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Not the rule.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Look around the NFL, all the great quarterbacks were selected
in the first round. Mahomes Alan keep going. The list
goes on. They're almost all first rounders. Brady in the
sixth round. Like I said, that's the exception, and Howard
will not be. The Steelers need to draft the quarterback
in the first round next year in Pittsburgh. The draft
(03:11):
is here. He got that big moment at the podium.
Use it to take a quarterback good pr good theater
and what the team needs. Even though I am absolutely
sure that they'll draft the wrong quarterback.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
And even if they draft the right.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
One, Tomlin will mangle him, just like he's mangled every
quarterback since been retired. Gruden's Quarterback Show never buries anybody.
Of course, he put Howard over. He told Heinzchel he's
the new Marino.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And he ain't.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Gruden also said Pitt's gonna beat note today because he
was on a Pittsburgh radio show. My name is Mark Madden.
Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood. You
can follow me on Twitter at Mark Madden at Let's
bring on Tommy Radio. Tom John Gruen said, Will Howard
(04:06):
could be a starter in the NFL?
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Do you agree? And what is his ceiling? I can't
believe we're talking about this right now. I can't believe.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
The Steelers are five and four have a game basically
for their lives, I think against Cincinnati on Sunday, and
we're talking about the freaking third string quarterback.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
You're criticizing my topics selection. No, I'm not because you
are forced in you are? I don't blame you, Am
I wrong?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I mean you were kind of forced into this topic
selection because of just this title wave of Will Howard
talk that started today.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Tom. I'm not forced into too much draft tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
It's a Steeler Thursday and we have Motley Cruz guitarist
on in the next segment.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
No, he's not a starting quarterback, Mark, he's a good
backup at best. I will be shocked, and so would
John Gruden, even though he's lying on the radio and
saying he wouldn't be surprised if he'd be a good
quarterback if he ends up being somebody in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Could the Steelers talk themselves into agreeing with Gruden, because
if you draft the quarterback in the first round, that
guy and Howard don't compete.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
That first round pick gets all the opportunity. At that point.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Howard's official ceiling is as a backup barring injury in
some kind of Cinderella story.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And I thought that's what the plan would have been
all along. It was just that this guy would be
able to be married to whoever your true franchise quarterback was.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
The first round pick. He's a good backup.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
You know, he's young too, so he could be a good,
you know, sounding bar, a friend almost to him, like
just a total, you know, safety net, someone to you know,
kind of sound off.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
I don't even see him as that.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think if the Steelers are what they hope they're
going to be, the first round pick will be the
starter in a couple of years, and established veteran will
be the backup and Will Howard will be the third
stringer or cuts.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Okay, so you don't even see him sliding into that,
you know, secondary role.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Ron pick.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Him f Gruden, No, I just why do we go
so nuts over the third string quarterback.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
All the day?
Speaker 3 (05:51):
It makes no sense. Usually it's the backup quarterback. Right,
let's give the kid a chance. Could he be any
war shay worse than what Rogers? Up until the LA game,
Rodgers was the savor of the team. Don't you think
that that's what nobody's claiming for Howard to play now?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yet?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
But don't you think that's how Howard would look right now?
More often than not is kind of what Rogers looked
like against LA. But honestly, worse ball sailing all over
the place.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I just don't think he's going to be any good.
And I know that because he was drafted in the
fifth round. You gotta love Paul Skeen's Tom in his
interview after winning the cy Young it really sounded like
he wants to stay in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Good win.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Now me, I'd like to spontaneously love it, Tate, I
have about the same chance of that happening.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
You pointed out something great on Twitter today, Mark, as
you often do. Of course I did.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
The question that they asked him was so poorly asked.
They didn't point back.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
I didn't hear it.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I only heard the response, But yeah, you should have
asked him point playing. Yes, did you tell a teammate
you want to play for the Yankees.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah, that's the juice, not hey, do you want to
play for the Yankees. No, it needs to be direct
and to the point of this story, says, you're telling
your own clubhouse, I want to.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Be a Yankee, true or false?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
And the answer that he gave not surprised because, as
you said, Paul Skeins has said the right thing almost
every single time he's opened his mouth.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
But it was such a.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Raw raw, you know, Bob Nutting smiling from year to
year hearing that because it's such a perfect pr statement.
Heading into this offseason world, they'll do the bare minimum,
but people will still drum up optimism.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Mark my words, Tom fifty million in arbitration.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
That'll be the award after next season and traded immediately
unless this new CBA eliminates arbitration. But like I said,
no small market owner, even one that wants to win
and wants to spend more, could afford to give fifty
million to one guy.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Absolutely, and I think it is heading to maybe not
fifty million, but to a historic mark. I mean, we've
got a Rookie of the Year and I think that's
the mark that they will set. It will for sure,
you want the second Cy Young Award. He gets fifty million, is.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
The ra's under too in his career. Who's to say
he's not going to too.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I think it's very likely he could go back to
back as far as its like if they gave it
to him this year on that bummy team at ten
to ten, they'll give it to him almost automatically, as
long as he posts a real.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
If he had come up earlier as a rookie, he
would have won the sign on. There's no question, and
Skeens when he gets it, will be worth every cet
of fifty million. It's incredible that the pirates are wasting him.
Uh Tom will Powart fits disengaged with Skien, has gone
after next year, Well, they just latch on to Connor
Griffin and continue to be marks.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
I'm very curious to see how that plays out, because
Skeens is an all time great player, I think on
the trajectory of that. But I do think that there
will be a tendency for most of them too. At
the beginning of Skeens leaving kind of make a big
stink about it, right, like I'll never be there again.
Then Connor Griffin's gonna have, you know, a nice three
hit game with a couple doubles, and they're gonna be like, oh.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well, attendance has dipped badly over the last couple of years,
but it's still you know, I mean, they don't need
to sell tickets to make money because of the TV
money and revenue sharing, although the local TV money that's
dipped dramatically as well. But but I don't think their
tenants will drop a lot below what it is. I
think anybody left is a stupid b hardcore And.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Don't you think the that they're having about you know, Hey,
our tendants has dipped our more gear to what more
like T shirt events can we have? Or drone shows
can we have? Or how can we get more bibbleheads
to get more people at the crowd not geared towards Hey,
we should spend money on players to be good.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
I'll tell you how to get more people.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
National anthem, played by Motley Crue guitarist John five five
fly solo at Juggle on Monday night, and he joins
us next year on one oh five nine the.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
X Friday afternoon, the Pen's face off against the Predators.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Game time is two.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Our coverage starts at one listen to every game and
the best Pens coverage on your home at the Pittsburgh
Penguins one five nine X.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
And you want to stay informed, you need the true
live app with the power of Pittsburgh's most visited local
news website. Ran it at your fingertips and get the link.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Okay, that's John five song, but we don't have John five.
We talked to him briefly. His phone is dying. We
might get him later. We might get him Monday. We'll
have to see, So we'll talk Steelers instead. This game
on Sunday, it's losable. The Steelers are favored by five
and a half and I can't imagine the Steelers being
(10:28):
swept two games by Cincinnati. But this game is losable.
Flacco is the Steelers bogie quarterback. Nobody on the Steelers
can cover Chase A.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Higgins.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Cincinnati's defense sucks, but the Steelers offense could very easily
stop itself and has. And you add in that Rogers
is getting a little spooky cookie and there is potential
for disaster. Pierre's going to start at corner and places sligh.
That's okay, Spencer Anderson is going to start le tackle
(11:00):
and place of Broderick Jones. I guess that's okay the
way Jones has been playing lately. But do you trust Tomlin?
Do you trust Arthur Smith? Do you trust the game plan?
Because I wouldn't trust the Steelers and Tomlin to wash
my car. This is going really bad for the Steelers,
(11:21):
or maybe it's going the same on the road to
nine and eight, sameys same, which is worse than five
and twelve on a lot of levels. To quote McCartney,
to go back to the top, you got to get
to the bottom. The Steelers just get stuck in the
mushy middle. Let's talk to Tommy Radio. Tom does this
(11:41):
game feel losable? Because I think so?
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Oh absolutely. You know, the Bengals offense since Joe Flacco
has been inserted, has been almost borderline elite mark. I mean,
the point totals that they've scored in their losses are insane.
They scored thirty eight points and lost to the Jets.
They scored forty two points and lost to the Bears.
So it's like nothing that that's the ball is doing wrong.
And honestly, I don't trust the Steelers offense to not
(12:05):
get in their own way enough.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
To be able to keep up with that Bengal offense.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Will Flacco out play Rogers because he did in Week
seven and won the game.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Yeah, I'm leaning towards he will because Flacco has those
weapons in the passing game and there will.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Rogers got sold a bill of goods.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
But then again, it wasn't nothing he couldn't have done
due diligence on Rogers has rotten weapons and Blaco has
nuclear weapons.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And the Bengals are willing to push that ball down
the field like they are kind of just putting Flacco
into that offense and being like you're Joe Burrow, you
know what I mean, Like they're gonna keep playing the
way they would if Burrow was back there, and he's
putting up monster numbers. It's working. Nothing is wrong with
that side.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Of the ball.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
You know what Flacco does better than Rogers is Flacco
gets the ball to Chase. Rogers doesn't get the ball
to Metcalf, And you could say Metcalf's double covered. Chase
is always double covered Chase either that or has the
team's cover coack, you know, right on top of him.
But Flacco gets the ball to Chase and Rogers doesn't
get the ball to Metcalf.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
You're one hundred percent right that Chase is seeing double covers.
He's seeing a ton of attention. But the Bengals did
build their receiving room in a proper way where they
have a Higgins too. That can take some of that
attention away from him.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well, right, but but it doesn't change the Chase is
either getting double covered. No questioner team's cover corner in
Week seven it was Ramsey and he got torched.
Speaker 5 (13:25):
No.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I think it's a little bit of call him man
col hm B.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I think DK Metcalf is sucking for someone who's getting
paid thirty million dollars no Chase.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
No comparison. He's the best receiver in football.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
And I also think the Steelers poorly constructed their wide
receiver room where you really only have one viable option there.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
I'm obsessed with Rogers now. I'm convinced he's ready to crack.
The entire Steelers team feels ready to crack.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, they are teetering on the edge. And if they
lose this game to Cincinnati, I find it very hard
to believe that they will make the playoffs. It does
not look like the North is going to get more
than one team out of it. And if you go
to five, if you allow the Ravens to catch you
without them having to eat even play you after their
one in five start, I mean it's over.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Is this the week the crowded Akroscher turns on the Steelers,
especially if things go badly early.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
It's a good chance of that happening because of that
opponent and more specifically that quarterback. Right like if Joe
Flacco is about to beat the Steelers for the second
time this season, revive the Bengals hopes again put them
back in the division race, and pretty much send the
Steelers towards not making the playoffs this year. Real good
chance that it gets a little ugly in that stadium.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I'm just about ready to say the Steelers lose this
game because I think it's gonna take at least thirty
points to win this game, because since he's gonna score
twenty four to twenty seven something like that and maybe more,
I don't feel that Steelers offense is capable of scoring
that many points, not even on a terrible defense like Cincinnati's.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
After all the complaining about the field at Akrosser Stadium
being just a piece of crap, this year when that
helped the Steelers. Now in this case, if pittanand just
chewed that up the day before and they could I'm
serious though, they could slow down that Cincinnati offense a
little bit and try to you know, maybe have Chase
and Higgins slip on that.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You know, what is it sand? It looks like they're
thrown out there. Yeah, every place there's a bald patch,
they put sand. Yeah, like they're fixing a divot on
a golf course.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Like it's like it's another sequel to doune It just it,
just it. I mean, like, like it has been said often,
if the Steelers wanted to spend the money to make
that turf immaculate, they could, but they don't. And part
of that they want to keep their their their local guys,
their long term employees in there indefinitely, probably some of
the same guys who attended to the carpet at three
(15:31):
River Stadium.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
And they want to keep it generational too, right, And
you say it's a lot of passing down there, like
it's a lot of juniors that are out there.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I'm assuming so.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
But but at any rate, it could be fixed, and
they don't care enough to do it. They put money first.
The Steelers are like a big budget version of the Pirates.
It's all based on money and budget. The Steelers, though,
they do stirry an x amount of wanting to win,
but they they're cheap at the fringes is probably a
good way to put it.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
They have the OPI though, of actually paying players, you
know what I mean, where the Pirates obviously fail in that.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
The Steelers do not scrimp on player payroll. They script
on coaching staff size, coaching staff payroll, They get cheap guys,
and they scrimp on stuff like making sure the field's good.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I actually think they should scrimp a little more on
payroll too, right, I mean, DK Metcalf is not worth
a trade for thirty million dollars, and then TJ. Watt,
I mean it's just a mistake to hand him forty
one million dollars right now?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
What do you expect when you have a bean Connor
is the GM.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
I mean he's gonna spend on some scrimp on others,
and he doesn't know enough about football to do any
of them, but collect football cards to play fantasy league.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
And Tomlin obviously has his finger in that pie. But
Tomlin's star struck all the time too. That's what it is.
It's a fantasy team, it's football cards.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
As a bean counter. He's failing in that aspect too, though. Mark,
he's not counting his beans well enough because he just
handed forty one million of him to TJ. Watt, who's aging.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Yeah, I think that's well. No, I was gonna say,
I think that's an owner thing. But you know, Tomin,
that one's a mark and they have to pay the guy.
The fans love that money, at least in their mind
they did. Although if they would have told him he
had to play out his contract, he would have no
doubt about that.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
TJ. Watt. Yeah, yeah, I don't see him holding in,
pulling a bell, you know, sitting out for a season.
He would have showed up for that Week one matchup
against the Jets. Yeah, might have not shown up at
camp at all. I don't think so. He wouldn't played
the preseason.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
It would have bitched and moaned and wet his pants,
but he would have showed up. He wouldn't have passed
up the payday and it would have had nothing to
do with letting his teammates don It would have had
to do with getting the payday.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
He's proven to me that he's mostly.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
About money, and he would have loved that baby face
turn right after sitting out all of preseasons, showing up
the first week of practice before the Jets.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Like I'm putting these differences aside for the bettermen of
the team.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
You know, would be better for the team against the
Bengals is if the offense could move the sticks and
stay on the field the way the Steelers play what
Tom Win emphasizes, it's dependent on time of possession. And
they ranked second last in the league, ahead of only
the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Right, and they can't get anything going in the ground game,
and they don't know what.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
They're doing with their running back room. I mean, it's
just not utilized properly.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Properly, they don't have Jalen Warren on the field on
third downs because they feel like they got to put
Kenneth Gainwell out there on third downs.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
That's a mistake. Caleb Johnson.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
I don't know if he just sucks or they're just
getting cold feet with him, whatever it is, he's not
involved at all. Like they're running room, which is the
best way to keep time of possession.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Is just a mess. Right now, Tom, What.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Do you think is the is the bigger joke to
Paul Skeens is gonna stay here and win? Or that
Will Howard could be the Steelers started quarterback. Someday Paul
Skeans can stay here and win. I think that there
is a better chance that Howard ends up starting one
day and is decent actually than that.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So you're saying there's a chance one O five nine
the X one oh five nine The X as your
shot at X drug cash. See what I did.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
They're thirteen times a day, nine am through nine pm.
The X will give you the keyword at the top
of every hour, enterady WXDX and you could win one
thousand dollars With damage money you could buy like ten coffees.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
You know what. I was homeschooled.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
I'm not good at enough. Listen all day for your
chance has some extra cash on one oh five nine
the X.
Speaker 5 (19:15):
When you had a night packed with energy and un' is.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
A Turgles in Warrendale Monday Night as part of a
double bill of great Guitar players along with Richie Cottson.
He's been part of so much great music and now
as guitarist for Motley crue. It's a pleasure to welcome
to the program. John five. Uh, John, I saw your
tour bus almost direct.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Is everybody okay?
Speaker 6 (19:43):
Yeah? Yeah, hey, thanks for having me. Yeah. It was crazy, man.
I was in my bunk and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
what's going on? And the tire flew off the trailer
and the bus was going from lane to lane and
there was it hit the like you know what they
(20:05):
have like these bridges, it's like a center divide or thing,
and it smashed the window. So the driver, who is incredible,
like really saved our lives. He just you know, because
he was spinning out of control and really saved us.
(20:26):
But everybody was okay, So we were super happy about it,
so that everybody was it was terrifying. It was really
really terrifying, but everybody, uh turned out to be okay.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Now, John, I don't know where to begin when I
look at your resume. How do you pick a set
list for a show like Monday Nights with all the
great work you've done?
Speaker 6 (20:49):
You know, it's a great question because a lot of
people come that haven't seen me before that maybe aren't
guitar players. So I said to myself self, what do
I do to keep you know, the non musician person entertained.
So I'm doing all of these different styles of music.
(21:09):
Like you know, if you're getting hit in the face
with heavy rock all the time, it will get monoton this,
especially if there's no vocals or anything like that. So
I'm doing like just an amalgamation of all these different
styles of music. So there's like bluegrass, and there's jazz,
and there's rock of course, so it really works. And
(21:36):
there's like a show as well. There's like I put
on all these masks and we do all this crazy
stuff and people are really entertained. They love it. So
that's what I try to look at it as as
a show that people are just like walking into something
they're not really expecting. It's expecting to see.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
What's it like Playing on the bill with Richie Cotton,
who was also a great guitar player, is a cooperative
competitive maybe a bit of both.
Speaker 6 (22:05):
Well, you know, it's funny because Richie we know each other,
but I never really hung out with him, hung out
with him, and what happened was we have been getting
together and getting along so well. He's I mean, he's
an incredible singer, incredible guitar player. But we really get along,
(22:27):
really really well. And I'm not just saying that. Like
the tour has been so much fun. I would love
to do it again sometime because it's been just so enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
You're very prolific, just a lot of work and it's
all good. What's your songwriting process like, because that's a
very difficult part.
Speaker 6 (22:48):
I wish I could say there was some magical thing
where a spirit came down, you know, from the heavens
or something like that. But I usually just sit on
the couch watching netflick and come up with stuff and
drive my wife absolutely insane. And that's pretty much what happens.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
How did the Motley krue gig come about? From Zombie
to Crew back in twenty twenty two and it's worked
out great?
Speaker 1 (23:14):
From where I'm sitting.
Speaker 6 (23:16):
Yeah, it really is wonderful. It's been a dream. Mick retired,
and I'm you know, I've been close close friends with Nicky,
Mick and Tommy for I mean, probably with with Nicky
(23:37):
most of my life, Mick second, and of course Tommy
and I met Vince when I joined the band, so
I didn't really know Vince. But me and Mick were friends,
you know, are friends. I shouldn't say where we are friends.
And he retired and so they said, hey, you know,
(23:57):
Nicky said, hey, Mick's retiring. Would you like to step in?
And I said absolutely. So it's like playing in a
you know, in the band with your friends, and we're
all really close. And I still talk to Mick, of course,
and you know, I'm gonna be with Tommy on Thanksgiving,
and like, you know, we're all really really close, and
(24:18):
it's wonderful. It really is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
No, I agree.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I've seen you with Motley a half dozen times now,
including a couple of times on the residency in Vegas.
It just seems such a very comfortable natural fit. You
see some guys jump into established bands, you can tell
they're like the spare part, but not not in this case.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, we.
Speaker 6 (24:38):
All have too much fun together. You know, we just
really enjoy each other's company. And you know, I know
my role I am there, and I am the guitar
player that is, you know, I'm not I'm not a member,
i know, you know, And I'm just so happy to
(25:02):
be playing those songs and I'm playing them how they
were written. I'm not improvising or anything. I'm just playing
them how they're written, how they deserve to be played
and respected and all that stuff. So I'm super super
happy with all.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Your styles and the different kind of music you play. John,
I've always wanted to ask you this, what guitar players
do you look up to? Influences, heroes, whatever.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
So I always have epiphanies. I always love influence. I'm
always looking to be influenced. So it started when I
was a kid with Roy Clark and Chad Atkins and
Jimmy Hendricks and Edie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads and
Vey Molmstein and Paul Gilbert and the list goes on
and on. A Israeli of course, And I love nowadays.
(25:52):
I love Guthrie Govin, and I love Toast and Abassi.
I loved all these great guitar players. So I'm all
always looking to be inspired and influenced. I love it
so much.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
What's next for you?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Because you've done great solo work, You're a Motley, You're
you're definitely a guy who's in demand. You've played with
so many people.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
Yes, yes, it's been wonderful. It's absolutely been wonderful. I'm
I hate to say this, but I'm so content. I
love to play my instrumental stuff. I love playing with Motley,
and you know when you're content and comfortable, that's when
it gets you know, you get like comfortable if you will.
(26:33):
But I am so happy. If this was the end,
I'm so happy with where I am, just playing my
instrumental stuff and playing with Motley. If that's what I
was going to do for the rest of my life,
I'd be psyched.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Well in that Van John, what are the plans for
Motley moving forward? I'm hearing we might see you guys
next year.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
You know what. I can't say, but there is there.
I'm super excited, That's all I can say. I am
super excited, and I know you will be too. Seriously
by Joe.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
I think you know and I know, but we're both
kind of sworn to secrecy for for a little bit longer.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
Yeah, they call me tight looks Johnny.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
John, thank you so much for taking the time. I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Did your gear survive? I know that gear was in
the trailer. Did it survive the wreck?
Speaker 6 (27:25):
Yes, it survived, but you know it was really, really,
really bad. So we are super fortunate. We are super fortunate,
and thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. Well.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I can't wait to see you guys Monday night. Thank
you for taking the time, John.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
And we'll see it Jurgles.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
You take care.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
That's John five.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Gonna be at Jurgles Monday night, part of a double
guitar bill with Richie Cotson and uh, I mean, I
don't know if you've seen five with Crew, with Zombie,
with Marilyn Manson, with whoever. He's on freaking believable, So
check him out at Jurgles Monday Night. Up next, back
to Stiller Talk. We got the trifecta two one oh
five nine.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
It's The Woody Show weekday mornings at six Yeah one.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
X from the one five nine the ex Weather Center.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Our good friend and frequent guest, David Coverdale.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You hear him just now.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
The Rock Roll Hall of Famer Deep Purple White Snake,
Classic Rock Sinatra DC has announced his retirements.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Not unexpected at seventy eight, but the end of an era.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I think selling his publishing for thirty million probably made
the blow a bit easier to take. And think about it.
Here I go again. How many movies like old school
all over the place. Uh, there's nobody in Rock I love,
respect and admire more than David.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
So Maestro, I wish you well. And what a run
for David Wow.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
And uh, of course we will be attempting to get
him on the show at some point for an exit interview.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Thanks to John five too.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
He's a Jurgle Monday night and I'm a Carson's Tavern
in Scottdale Sunday at one pm four a Steelers Bengals
viewing party. That Skeans interview was like a psychological experiments.
It has pirate fins, so psyched, but nothing has changed.
Skean's got a two point five million dollar bonus for
(29:19):
winning the cy Young and that's not from MLB, that's
out of Nutting's pockets.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
Boo.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Yeah, gotta love that. Skean said his goal was to
win in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
I have several goals. One is to discover how to
time travel, another to levitate via mind control, and also
to become one leg of the US Olympic teams for
by one relay. We've barely talked about about the Steeler game.
We got yoe Yoh, we got Jim Florentine on we
(29:54):
got Dulac Gone, That'll be Steeler Talk.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
This show really is all over the friggin' place, Tom.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Are you surprised the traction that the Skeens and Howard
stories have gotten today on a Steeler Thursday? And does
it reflect the fact that people, as do I see
this Bengals game as losable and maybe don't want to
talk about it. I think it does reflect that.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I'm not surprised that Skeens has been able to take
over the talk because he won the cy Young he
had that great SoundBite about winning in Pittsburgh. That's not
surprising that he's driving the conversation on Thursday, and I
think he should probably drive some of the conversation today.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
But John Gruden just opening his mouth about Will Howard
and sending the entire city into a frenzy, I mean,
that's just absurd. It's the third string quarterback.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
But again, to reiterate, Skenes isn't staying He's not Nope.
I mean the latest he leaves is that the trade
deadline of the twenty twenty seven season.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Now, what could change things.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Is if the CBA, the new best MLBCBA really rocks
the foundation of the financial part of the game. But
I think it'll even if they do get a CBA,
it won't change things that much because that floor is.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Gonna be high.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Like the course, he said, the difference between the floor
and the cap in all the leagues isn't as big
as you'd think, And I looked that up and he's right.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
And a salary cap league wouldn't guarantee that Nutting just keeps,
you know, the superstar players, keeps the whales. He'll still
ship those off so he doesn't have to pay you know,
the crazy insane count tracts to them. And like you said,
that floor, it's gonna be high, but he's going to
hug it as close as he possibly can.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Well, he'll campaign against the cap and markets.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Wait, it's gonna be the weirdest CBA feu'd ever because
the big money owners, who normally would campaign against the cap,
they want the cap in baseball to get a financial certainty,
and the small market owners don't want to spend in
the floor, so I they'll campaign against the cap.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Do you think there'll be a little bit of a
schism with the big market owners though, like I could
see them the Mets owner just seems like he wants
to burn money, like he doesn't care.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
And same with the Dodgers, right, like the Dodgers are
all you know why, I don't think there will be.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
You know, one thing all those big money owners hate
is the luxury tax because it's money for nothing. They're
just giving it away because they spend too much. That
basically every salary cap is designed to protect the owners
from themselves.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
And it's got to be almost a guarantee that in
a capped league, revenue sharing goes out the door, right,
So that's another motivation for small market teams and small
market owners, like there's not going to be revenue sharing
for the bigger.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Markets if there is, Ompius Musk not as big of
a pie yet because.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
The cap, in theory, should make up the difference exactly.
That's the competitive balance where this is supposed to be
the competitive balance, but it just goes right to guys
like nuttings pockets.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
What absolutely has thrown all this out of whack and
has for a number of years is the collapse of
the regional sports networks which used to give those teams
like the Pirates so much money. The Pirates, I mean
I can't get an exact figure because nobody tells the
truth about them. But I've been told the pirates TV
money locally dropped by like, you know, thirty to forty
million maybe more per year.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
And then look at the team's actions, right, they cut
payroll at the trade deadline this year, and everybody's like, well,
that's because they're opening up stuff. That's stupid thing that
everybody said. They're opening up some stuff to spend now
in the offseason. No, they had to cut payroll because
they lost the TV deal. You were all over that
when it happened. You're like, they're gonna cut payroll because
of this.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
I hope, I hope they put a cap in so
at least when the usual suspects, the stewges, say that
they're opening up space on payroll, they actually are because
without a cap, you're not opening up anything.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
You can spend what you want. Yeah, exactly. Every team
has a budget still.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
That's just they're treating the situation like there is a
cap when there.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Is, yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
And again it's motivated on them and needing to save
money now because they lost the revenue from their TV deal.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
What's going to the trifecta, Tom, what do you got well?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Well, by the way, the pregame show brought to us
by Shendrorovi, shendro Opits and Fisherman, we love them.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
We can get into some Steeler talk here. I got
a Steelers Bengals trifecta.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Mark.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Here are three things that the Steelers offense has to
get right, has to get going against that abysmal Bengals defense,
and if they don't, we're in big trouble. Number one
is DK Metcalf has to have his biggest game of
the season. Bengals are the second worst passing defense in
the NFL. Do you know who the first is? You
know who the worst is? Go ahead, the Steelers. The
Steelers are the worst pass should have guessed, but the
(34:14):
Bengals are the second worst. And they got no one
in that secondary that should match up with the DK.
They got no two ones in that secondary. I don't
care about double teams. DK's got to go off in
this game. Number two, if the Steelers don't run the
football against Cincinnati, the absolute worst rush defense in football,
we got big, big problems in the running game. Because
Jalen Warren had his best game as a running back
(34:34):
against the Bengals in the first meeting. That's got to
carry over into this one. But number one, they gotta
be better on third down conversions in their past three games. Mark,
I don't know if you've heard this. Williamson pointed this
out in one of his stat blasts. They're converting just
fifteen percent of their third downs. Twitter, Yes, shotting them
fifteen percent of your third downs in the past three games. Well,
(34:55):
the Bengals give up third down conversions out of forty
nine point one percent.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Clip.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
It's like a coin flip every so you better convert
third down. What I'm always interested in.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
And by the way, the trifector brought to us by
Danny's patron Hogies, Great Pizza, Great Hogy since nineteen sixty.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
It's on Route eighty A to Bethel Park. Which always.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Intriguing me about third don conversion rate is I'd like
to know you know what the don and distance was,
and like it broken down further because if you're behind
the sticks, that explains a lot too. And I suspect
in these last three games the Steelers have been behind
the sticks a lot.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
No, I think they're terrible. No matter what I think.
If it's third and two, they don't get it. If
it's third and fifteen, they don't get it. They just
don't get third downs for whatever reason. They throw short
of the sticks constantly, they called wrong plays on short
yardage situations. But most importantly, their personnel packages are always wrong. Specifically,
Jalen Warren's never out there. He's their best player on
offense period this year, which is saying something. He's their
best player by far on third downs, and they have
(35:48):
Kenneth gain while out snapping him.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
Yeah, it's just yeah, I still can't believe gained Well
got more snapsus Stelley than Warren. I think the team,
I mean, I know people think I hate Tomlin. I
don't hate anybody. That's not true. I hate a lot
of people. No, I don't hate the guy. I don't
know the guy. I just think he's an incompetent coach.
I hate the way he's embraced by the national media.
(36:11):
You know, every a lot of local stooges. But that
you know, all that's declining. The bloom Is is going
off his rose very quickly. But I just think this
team is grossly mismanaged. I think it was horribly assembled
and now the application like like having what was supposed
to be a strength with your tight end room and
they all are underutilized, DK Metcalf being a bust, Warren
(36:34):
getting less steps than gain Well, that defense being the
highest paid the league history, and it still can disappear.
Tj walking in that contract and now being clearly in decline.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
I could go on and on about.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
In fact, I'm going to with my monologue next to Hoard,
I think I'm gonna just just delivered.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Too much of a spoiler.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
But how bad does this team have to be and
be assembled to be administered before people understand that it's
just once again got a one way ticket to Puluka.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
I don't know, because it is just hitting you in
the face all those things you listed, Roderick Jones, ruining
him face Rogers.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Rogers knows now when I see swing the ball to
the ground and discuss how many times in LA he
knows that this isn't what he bargained for.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Yeah, I think he is starting to realize that, and
I think he's recognizing things that we all are too,
Like why am I looking to my right on these
third downs? And Kenneth Gainwell is the person in my
shotgun sidecar. Why is this not Jalen Warren. He does
everything better than gain Well. He's more of a threat
to run the ball on like third and six. It's
actually better in press protection. He's better, way better in
(37:41):
pass protection. Again, they use Caleb Johnson on first and
second down.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
I don't know. Why won't they use Gainwell on first
and second down?
Speaker 6 (37:47):
Why?
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Why is that not an option? He did it fine
in Dublin. Just throw him out there early.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
You know who could totally ruin to Thomas's reputation is
Aaron Rodgers. If Aaron Rodgers said after this season it
wasn't what I thought, He's not what I thought. Things
were said not delivered. It just was a bad situation.
I don't know if I see him doing that really.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
Because he's a crack pod who likes to hear himself.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
There's ever a person this might be it, but I
don't know if I would bet on that. I don't know, though.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
You know what's funny.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
You know who the one person who could lead him
into that trap is Pat McAfee. But he wouldn't because
he's a tom win mark and a Steelers mark.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
He would avoid that completely and what other show is wrong.
I wonder if something actually happened between those two. I
wonder if there's more between, you know, the Steelers being like, hey, Rogers,
we suggested.
Speaker 6 (38:31):
No.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
No, I don't think any happened between.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
I don't know because Pat never even mentions him as much,
and he also hasn't had him on even sporadically.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
That's what I mean, like not even like a check
in kind of interview, mid season report or something like that.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I think the impetus was that the Steelers may not
have barred Rogers from doing McAfee because I don't think
that Rogers would respond well to that, and the Steelers
would know that, but I think they probably said we
would prefer that.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
I think you're right, But it'll be telling when Rogers
has done as a Steeler, you know how many months,
past years, maybe without him going on McAfee, then that
might tell a tale that it was more than just that.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Uh did you see uh what Pat said after he
had Trump on. No, that's tremendous. Pat got a lot
of criticism because he had Trump on on Veterans Day,
and Pat said that if you don't like Trump being
on his show Tuesday, then quote, you hate the troops.
He said that you hate the troops unquote. Pat said that,
and that he's at Fu too. You hate the troops
(39:26):
in Fu, ESPN. That is what the worldwide leaders become.
You should be embarrassed. I say that to you because
Pat knows no shame. But Pat's never been more unhinged,
and part of me likes it just a little bit.
One oh five to nine
Of course today is going to be a tribute to Abba.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
But right now, let's pay tribute to Paul Skeens, who
won the cy Young Award as expected. And Sken's got
asked if he wants to play for the New York Yankees,
like that story said, and Skeen said, he loves Pittsburgh
and he wants to win here, and blah blah blah,
and everyone in Pittsburgh is energized by what Skeen said,
(00:28):
beating Bucks and all that. But Skeens didn't say he
didn't want to play for the Yankees. Skeins is very
good at saying exactly the right thing, very diplomatic. But
Paul Skeens is gonna get paid, and it won't be
in Pittsburgh. Skeins is going to be here at most
another year and a half. Skeens won't give a discount
(00:50):
to stan Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
No way.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
When Skeens goes to arbitration after next year, after maybe
a second straight Sai Young, Hey, when you bet against it,
I wouldn't his award and arbitration is gonna be like
fifty mil Nutting won't pay that even a small market
owner who wants to win and wants to spend some
(01:16):
couldn't afford to pay one guy that.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Skeens is gone in the not.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Too distant future, either with or without a cap after
they negotiate the next CBA after next season. Skeans talking
earnestly about his love for Pittsburgh will not make Nottting spend.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
It should be no Notting November, but it's not.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And by the way, Skeens would want to play for
the New York Yankees and not the LA Dodgers because
in LA, Skeens couldn't be the biggest.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Star in New York. You got judged. But he's not Otani.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And the other current instance of local fans being dults
is John Gruden, the ex coach. He said on the radio,
Will Howard, the Steelers rookie quote, has got everything you
want in a quarterback. I'll be shocked if Will Howard
isn't a good NFL quarterback unquote. And of course this
(02:22):
has Steeler fans believing that Will Howard can start for
the Steelers. With all due respect to coach Gruden, I'll
be shocked if Will Howard is a good NFL quarterback.
He's a fifth round pick being a backup is his ceiling.
Tom Brady was a sixth round pick, but he's the
(02:43):
exception and.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Not the rule.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Look around the NFL, all the great quarterbacks were selected
in the first round. Mahomes Alan keep going. The list
goes on. They're almost all first rounders. Brady in the
sixth round. Like I said, that's the exception, and Howard
will not be. The Steelers need to draft the quarterback
in the first round next year in Pittsburgh. The draft
(03:11):
is here. He got that big moment at the podium.
Use it to take a quarterback good pr good theater
and what the team needs. Even though I am absolutely
sure that they'll draft the wrong quarterback.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
And even if they draft the right.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
One, Tomlin will mangle him, just like he's mangled every
quarterback since been retired. Gruden's Quarterback Show never buries anybody.
Of course, he put Howard over. He told Heinzchel he's
the new Marino.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And he ain't.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Gruden also said Pitt's gonna beat note today because he
was on a Pittsburgh radio show. My name is Mark Madden.
Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood. You
can follow me on Twitter at Mark Madden at Let's
bring on Tommy Radio. Tom John Gruen said, Will Howard
(04:06):
could be a starter in the NFL?
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Do you agree? And what is his ceiling? I can't
believe we're talking about this right now. I can't believe.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
The Steelers are five and four have a game basically
for their lives, I think against Cincinnati on Sunday, and
we're talking about the freaking third string quarterback.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
You're criticizing my topics selection. No, I'm not because you
are forced in you are? I don't blame you, Am
I wrong?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I mean you were kind of forced into this topic
selection because of just this title wave of Will Howard
talk that started today.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Tom. I'm not forced into too much draft tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
It's a Steeler Thursday and we have Motley Cruz guitarist
on in the next segment.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
No, he's not a starting quarterback, Mark, he's a good
backup at best. I will be shocked, and so would
John Gruden, even though he's lying on the radio and
saying he wouldn't be surprised if he'd be a good
quarterback if he ends up being somebody in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Could the Steelers talk themselves into agreeing with Gruden, because
if you draft the quarterback in the first round, that
guy and Howard don't compete.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
That first round pick gets all the opportunity. At that point.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Howard's official ceiling is as a backup barring injury in
some kind of Cinderella story.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And I thought that's what the plan would have been
all along. It was just that this guy would be
able to be married to whoever your true franchise quarterback was.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
The first round pick. He's a good backup.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
You know, he's young too, so he could be a good,
you know, sounding bar, a friend almost to him, like
just a total, you know, safety net, someone to you know,
kind of sound off.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
I don't even see him as that.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think if the Steelers are what they hope they're
going to be, the first round pick will be the
starter in a couple of years, and established veteran will
be the backup and Will Howard will be the third
stringer or cuts.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Okay, so you don't even see him sliding into that,
you know, secondary role.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Ron pick.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Him f Gruden, No, I just why do we go
so nuts over the third string quarterback.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
All the day?
Speaker 3 (05:51):
It makes no sense. Usually it's the backup quarterback. Right,
let's give the kid a chance. Could he be any
war shay worse than what Rogers? Up until the LA game,
Rodgers was the savor of the team. Don't you think
that that's what nobody's claiming for Howard to play now?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yet?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
But don't you think that's how Howard would look right now?
More often than not is kind of what Rogers looked
like against LA. But honestly, worse ball sailing all over
the place.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I just don't think he's going to be any good.
And I know that because he was drafted in the
fifth round. You gotta love Paul Skeen's Tom in his
interview after winning the cy Young it really sounded like
he wants to stay in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Good win.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Now me, I'd like to spontaneously love it, Tate, I
have about the same chance of that happening.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
You pointed out something great on Twitter today, Mark, as
you often do. Of course I did.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
The question that they asked him was so poorly asked.
They didn't point back.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
I didn't hear it.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I only heard the response, But yeah, you should have
asked him point playing. Yes, did you tell a teammate
you want to play for the Yankees.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah, that's the juice, not hey, do you want to
play for the Yankees. No, it needs to be direct
and to the point of this story, says, you're telling
your own clubhouse, I want to.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Be a Yankee, true or false?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
And the answer that he gave not surprised because, as
you said, Paul Skeins has said the right thing almost
every single time he's opened his mouth.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
But it was such a.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Raw raw, you know, Bob Nutting smiling from year to
year hearing that because it's such a perfect pr statement.
Heading into this offseason world, they'll do the bare minimum,
but people will still drum up optimism.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Mark my words, Tom fifty million in arbitration.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
That'll be the award after next season and traded immediately
unless this new CBA eliminates arbitration. But like I said,
no small market owner, even one that wants to win
and wants to spend more, could afford to give fifty
million to one guy.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Absolutely, and I think it is heading to maybe not
fifty million, but to a historic mark. I mean, we've
got a Rookie of the Year and I think that's
the mark that they will set. It will for sure,
you want the second Cy Young Award. He gets fifty million, is.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
The ra's under too in his career. Who's to say
he's not going to too.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I think it's very likely he could go back to
back as far as its like if they gave it
to him this year on that bummy team at ten
to ten, they'll give it to him almost automatically, as
long as he posts a real.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
If he had come up earlier as a rookie, he
would have won the sign on. There's no question, and
Skeens when he gets it, will be worth every cet
of fifty million. It's incredible that the pirates are wasting him.
Uh Tom will Powart fits disengaged with Skien, has gone
after next year, Well, they just latch on to Connor
Griffin and continue to be marks.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
I'm very curious to see how that plays out, because
Skeens is an all time great player, I think on
the trajectory of that. But I do think that there
will be a tendency for most of them too. At
the beginning of Skeens leaving kind of make a big
stink about it, right, like I'll never be there again.
Then Connor Griffin's gonna have, you know, a nice three
hit game with a couple doubles, and they're gonna be like, oh.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well, attendance has dipped badly over the last couple of years,
but it's still you know, I mean, they don't need
to sell tickets to make money because of the TV
money and revenue sharing, although the local TV money that's
dipped dramatically as well. But but I don't think their
tenants will drop a lot below what it is. I
think anybody left is a stupid b hardcore And.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Don't you think the that they're having about you know, Hey,
our tendants has dipped our more gear to what more
like T shirt events can we have? Or drone shows
can we have? Or how can we get more bibbleheads
to get more people at the crowd not geared towards Hey,
we should spend money on players to be good.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
I'll tell you how to get more people.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
National anthem, played by Motley Crue guitarist John five five
fly solo at Juggle on Monday night, and he joins
us next year on one oh five nine the.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
X Friday afternoon, the Pen's face off against the Predators.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Game time is two.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Our coverage starts at one listen to every game and
the best Pens coverage on your home at the Pittsburgh
Penguins one five nine X.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
And you want to stay informed, you need the true
live app with the power of Pittsburgh's most visited local
news website. Ran it at your fingertips and get the link.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Okay, that's John five song, but we don't have John five.
We talked to him briefly. His phone is dying. We
might get him later. We might get him Monday. We'll
have to see, So we'll talk Steelers instead. This game
on Sunday, it's losable. The Steelers are favored by five
and a half and I can't imagine the Steelers being
(10:28):
swept two games by Cincinnati. But this game is losable.
Flacco is the Steelers bogie quarterback. Nobody on the Steelers
can cover Chase A.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Higgins.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Cincinnati's defense sucks, but the Steelers offense could very easily
stop itself and has. And you add in that Rogers
is getting a little spooky cookie and there is potential
for disaster. Pierre's going to start at corner and places sligh.
That's okay, Spencer Anderson is going to start le tackle
(11:00):
and place of Broderick Jones. I guess that's okay the
way Jones has been playing lately. But do you trust Tomlin?
Do you trust Arthur Smith? Do you trust the game plan?
Because I wouldn't trust the Steelers and Tomlin to wash
my car. This is going really bad for the Steelers,
(11:21):
or maybe it's going the same on the road to
nine and eight, sameys same, which is worse than five
and twelve on a lot of levels. To quote McCartney,
to go back to the top, you got to get
to the bottom. The Steelers just get stuck in the
mushy middle. Let's talk to Tommy Radio. Tom does this
(11:41):
game feel losable? Because I think so?
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Oh absolutely. You know, the Bengals offense since Joe Flacco
has been inserted, has been almost borderline elite mark. I mean,
the point totals that they've scored in their losses are insane.
They scored thirty eight points and lost to the Jets.
They scored forty two points and lost to the Bears.
So it's like nothing that that's the ball is doing wrong.
And honestly, I don't trust the Steelers offense to not
(12:05):
get in their own way enough.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
To be able to keep up with that Bengal offense.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Will Flacco out play Rogers because he did in Week
seven and won the game.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Yeah, I'm leaning towards he will because Flacco has those
weapons in the passing game and there will.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Rogers got sold a bill of goods.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
But then again, it wasn't nothing he couldn't have done
due diligence on Rogers has rotten weapons and Blaco has
nuclear weapons.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And the Bengals are willing to push that ball down
the field like they are kind of just putting Flacco
into that offense and being like you're Joe Burrow, you
know what I mean, Like they're gonna keep playing the
way they would if Burrow was back there, and he's
putting up monster numbers. It's working. Nothing is wrong with
that side.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Of the ball.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
You know what Flacco does better than Rogers is Flacco
gets the ball to Chase. Rogers doesn't get the ball
to Metcalf, And you could say Metcalf's double covered. Chase
is always double covered Chase either that or has the
team's cover coack, you know, right on top of him.
But Flacco gets the ball to Chase and Rogers doesn't
get the ball to Metcalf.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
You're one hundred percent right that Chase is seeing double covers.
He's seeing a ton of attention. But the Bengals did
build their receiving room in a proper way where they
have a Higgins too. That can take some of that
attention away from him.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well, right, but but it doesn't change the Chase is
either getting double covered. No questioner team's cover corner in
Week seven it was Ramsey and he got torched.
Speaker 5 (13:25):
No.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I think it's a little bit of call him man
col hm B.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I think DK Metcalf is sucking for someone who's getting
paid thirty million dollars no Chase.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
No comparison. He's the best receiver in football.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
And I also think the Steelers poorly constructed their wide
receiver room where you really only have one viable option there.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
I'm obsessed with Rogers now. I'm convinced he's ready to crack.
The entire Steelers team feels ready to crack.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, they are teetering on the edge. And if they
lose this game to Cincinnati, I find it very hard
to believe that they will make the playoffs. It does
not look like the North is going to get more
than one team out of it. And if you go
to five, if you allow the Ravens to catch you
without them having to eat even play you after their
one in five start, I mean it's over.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Is this the week the crowded Akroscher turns on the Steelers,
especially if things go badly early.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
It's a good chance of that happening because of that
opponent and more specifically that quarterback. Right like if Joe
Flacco is about to beat the Steelers for the second
time this season, revive the Bengals hopes again put them
back in the division race, and pretty much send the
Steelers towards not making the playoffs this year. Real good
chance that it gets a little ugly in that stadium.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I'm just about ready to say the Steelers lose this
game because I think it's gonna take at least thirty
points to win this game, because since he's gonna score
twenty four to twenty seven something like that and maybe more,
I don't feel that Steelers offense is capable of scoring
that many points, not even on a terrible defense like Cincinnati's.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
After all the complaining about the field at Akrosser Stadium
being just a piece of crap, this year when that
helped the Steelers. Now in this case, if pittanand just
chewed that up the day before and they could I'm
serious though, they could slow down that Cincinnati offense a
little bit and try to you know, maybe have Chase
and Higgins slip on that.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You know, what is it sand? It looks like they're
thrown out there. Yeah, every place there's a bald patch,
they put sand. Yeah, like they're fixing a divot on
a golf course.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Like it's like it's another sequel to doune It just it,
just it. I mean, like, like it has been said often,
if the Steelers wanted to spend the money to make
that turf immaculate, they could, but they don't. And part
of that they want to keep their their their local guys,
their long term employees in there indefinitely, probably some of
the same guys who attended to the carpet at three
(15:31):
River Stadium.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
And they want to keep it generational too, right, And
you say it's a lot of passing down there, like
it's a lot of juniors that are out there.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I'm assuming so.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
But but at any rate, it could be fixed, and
they don't care enough to do it. They put money first.
The Steelers are like a big budget version of the Pirates.
It's all based on money and budget. The Steelers, though,
they do stirry an x amount of wanting to win,
but they they're cheap at the fringes is probably a
good way to put it.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
They have the OPI though, of actually paying players, you
know what I mean, where the Pirates obviously fail in that.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
The Steelers do not scrimp on player payroll. They script
on coaching staff size, coaching staff payroll, They get cheap guys,
and they scrimp on stuff like making sure the field's good.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I actually think they should scrimp a little more on
payroll too, right, I mean, DK Metcalf is not worth
a trade for thirty million dollars, and then TJ. Watt,
I mean it's just a mistake to hand him forty
one million dollars right now?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
What do you expect when you have a bean Connor
is the GM.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
I mean he's gonna spend on some scrimp on others,
and he doesn't know enough about football to do any
of them, but collect football cards to play fantasy league.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
And Tomlin obviously has his finger in that pie. But
Tomlin's star struck all the time too. That's what it is.
It's a fantasy team, it's football cards.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
As a bean counter. He's failing in that aspect too, though. Mark,
he's not counting his beans well enough because he just
handed forty one million of him to TJ. Watt, who's aging.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Yeah, I think that's well. No, I was gonna say,
I think that's an owner thing. But you know, Tomin,
that one's a mark and they have to pay the guy.
The fans love that money, at least in their mind
they did. Although if they would have told him he
had to play out his contract, he would have no
doubt about that.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
TJ. Watt. Yeah, yeah, I don't see him holding in,
pulling a bell, you know, sitting out for a season.
He would have showed up for that Week one matchup
against the Jets. Yeah, might have not shown up at
camp at all. I don't think so. He wouldn't played
the preseason.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
It would have bitched and moaned and wet his pants,
but he would have showed up. He wouldn't have passed
up the payday and it would have had nothing to
do with letting his teammates don It would have had
to do with getting the payday.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
He's proven to me that he's mostly.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
About money, and he would have loved that baby face
turn right after sitting out all of preseasons, showing up
the first week of practice before the Jets.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Like I'm putting these differences aside for the bettermen of
the team.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
You know, would be better for the team against the
Bengals is if the offense could move the sticks and
stay on the field the way the Steelers play what
Tom Win emphasizes, it's dependent on time of possession. And
they ranked second last in the league, ahead of only
the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Right, and they can't get anything going in the ground game,
and they don't know what.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
They're doing with their running back room. I mean, it's
just not utilized properly.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Properly, they don't have Jalen Warren on the field on
third downs because they feel like they got to put
Kenneth Gainwell out there on third downs.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
That's a mistake. Caleb Johnson.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
I don't know if he just sucks or they're just
getting cold feet with him, whatever it is, he's not
involved at all. Like they're running room, which is the
best way to keep time of possession.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Is just a mess. Right now, Tom, What.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Do you think is the is the bigger joke to
Paul Skeens is gonna stay here and win? Or that
Will Howard could be the Steelers started quarterback. Someday Paul
Skeans can stay here and win. I think that there
is a better chance that Howard ends up starting one
day and is decent actually than that.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So you're saying there's a chance one O five nine
the X one oh five nine The X as your
shot at X drug cash. See what I did.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
They're thirteen times a day, nine am through nine pm.
The X will give you the keyword at the top
of every hour, enterady WXDX and you could win one
thousand dollars With damage money you could buy like ten coffees.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
You know what. I was homeschooled.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
I'm not good at enough. Listen all day for your
chance has some extra cash on one oh five nine
the X.
Speaker 5 (19:15):
When you had a night packed with energy and un' is.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
A Turgles in Warrendale Monday Night as part of a
double bill of great Guitar players along with Richie Cottson.
He's been part of so much great music and now
as guitarist for Motley crue. It's a pleasure to welcome
to the program. John five. Uh, John, I saw your
tour bus almost direct.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Is everybody okay?
Speaker 6 (19:43):
Yeah? Yeah, hey, thanks for having me. Yeah. It was crazy, man.
I was in my bunk and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
what's going on? And the tire flew off the trailer
and the bus was going from lane to lane and
there was it hit the like you know what they
(20:05):
have like these bridges, it's like a center divide or thing,
and it smashed the window. So the driver, who is incredible,
like really saved our lives. He just you know, because
he was spinning out of control and really saved us.
(20:26):
But everybody was okay, So we were super happy about it,
so that everybody was it was terrifying. It was really
really terrifying, but everybody, uh turned out to be okay.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Now, John, I don't know where to begin when I
look at your resume. How do you pick a set
list for a show like Monday Nights with all the
great work you've done?
Speaker 6 (20:49):
You know, it's a great question because a lot of
people come that haven't seen me before that maybe aren't
guitar players. So I said to myself self, what do
I do to keep you know, the non musician person entertained.
So I'm doing all of these different styles of music.
(21:09):
Like you know, if you're getting hit in the face
with heavy rock all the time, it will get monoton this,
especially if there's no vocals or anything like that. So
I'm doing like just an amalgamation of all these different
styles of music. So there's like bluegrass, and there's jazz,
and there's rock of course, so it really works. And
(21:36):
there's like a show as well. There's like I put
on all these masks and we do all this crazy
stuff and people are really entertained. They love it. So
that's what I try to look at it as as
a show that people are just like walking into something
they're not really expecting. It's expecting to see.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
What's it like Playing on the bill with Richie Cotton,
who was also a great guitar player, is a cooperative
competitive maybe a bit of both.
Speaker 6 (22:05):
Well, you know, it's funny because Richie we know each other,
but I never really hung out with him, hung out
with him, and what happened was we have been getting
together and getting along so well. He's I mean, he's
an incredible singer, incredible guitar player. But we really get along,
(22:27):
really really well. And I'm not just saying that. Like
the tour has been so much fun. I would love
to do it again sometime because it's been just so enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
You're very prolific, just a lot of work and it's
all good. What's your songwriting process like, because that's a
very difficult part.
Speaker 6 (22:48):
I wish I could say there was some magical thing
where a spirit came down, you know, from the heavens
or something like that. But I usually just sit on
the couch watching netflick and come up with stuff and
drive my wife absolutely insane. And that's pretty much what happens.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
How did the Motley krue gig come about? From Zombie
to Crew back in twenty twenty two and it's worked
out great?
Speaker 1 (23:14):
From where I'm sitting.
Speaker 6 (23:16):
Yeah, it really is wonderful. It's been a dream. Mick retired,
and I'm you know, I've been close close friends with Nicky,
Mick and Tommy for I mean, probably with with Nicky
(23:37):
most of my life, Mick second, and of course Tommy
and I met Vince when I joined the band, so
I didn't really know Vince. But me and Mick were friends,
you know, are friends. I shouldn't say where we are friends.
And he retired and so they said, hey, you know,
(23:57):
Nicky said, hey, Mick's retiring. Would you like to step in?
And I said absolutely. So it's like playing in a
you know, in the band with your friends, and we're
all really close. And I still talk to Mick, of course,
and you know, I'm gonna be with Tommy on Thanksgiving,
and like, you know, we're all really really close, and
(24:18):
it's wonderful. It really is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
No, I agree.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I've seen you with Motley a half dozen times now,
including a couple of times on the residency in Vegas.
It just seems such a very comfortable natural fit. You
see some guys jump into established bands, you can tell
they're like the spare part, but not not in this case.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, we.
Speaker 6 (24:38):
All have too much fun together. You know, we just
really enjoy each other's company. And you know, I know
my role I am there, and I am the guitar
player that is, you know, I'm not I'm not a member,
i know, you know, And I'm just so happy to
(25:02):
be playing those songs and I'm playing them how they
were written. I'm not improvising or anything. I'm just playing
them how they're written, how they deserve to be played
and respected and all that stuff. So I'm super super
happy with all.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Your styles and the different kind of music you play. John,
I've always wanted to ask you this, what guitar players
do you look up to? Influences, heroes, whatever.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
So I always have epiphanies. I always love influence. I'm
always looking to be influenced. So it started when I
was a kid with Roy Clark and Chad Atkins and
Jimmy Hendricks and Edie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads and
Vey Molmstein and Paul Gilbert and the list goes on
and on. A Israeli of course, And I love nowadays.
(25:52):
I love Guthrie Govin, and I love Toast and Abassi.
I loved all these great guitar players. So I'm all
always looking to be inspired and influenced. I love it
so much.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
What's next for you?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Because you've done great solo work, You're a Motley, You're
you're definitely a guy who's in demand. You've played with
so many people.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
Yes, yes, it's been wonderful. It's absolutely been wonderful. I'm
I hate to say this, but I'm so content. I
love to play my instrumental stuff. I love playing with Motley,
and you know when you're content and comfortable, that's when
it gets you know, you get like comfortable if you will.
(26:33):
But I am so happy. If this was the end,
I'm so happy with where I am, just playing my
instrumental stuff and playing with Motley. If that's what I
was going to do for the rest of my life,
I'd be psyched.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Well in that Van John, what are the plans for
Motley moving forward? I'm hearing we might see you guys
next year.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
You know what. I can't say, but there is there.
I'm super excited, That's all I can say. I am
super excited, and I know you will be too. Seriously
by Joe.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
I think you know and I know, but we're both
kind of sworn to secrecy for for a little bit longer.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
Yeah, they call me tight looks Johnny.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
John, thank you so much for taking the time. I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Did your gear survive? I know that gear was in
the trailer. Did it survive the wreck?
Speaker 6 (27:25):
Yes, it survived, but you know it was really, really,
really bad. So we are super fortunate. We are super fortunate,
and thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. Well.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I can't wait to see you guys Monday night. Thank
you for taking the time, John.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
And we'll see it Jurgles.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
You take care.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
That's John five.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Gonna be at Jurgles Monday night, part of a double
guitar bill with Richie Cotson and uh, I mean, I
don't know if you've seen five with Crew, with Zombie,
with Marilyn Manson, with whoever. He's on freaking believable, So
check him out at Jurgles Monday Night. Up next, back
to Stiller Talk. We got the trifecta two one oh
five nine.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
It's The Woody Show weekday mornings at six Yeah one.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
X from the one five nine the ex Weather Center.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Our good friend and frequent guest, David Coverdale.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You hear him just now.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
The Rock Roll Hall of Famer Deep Purple White Snake,
Classic Rock Sinatra DC has announced his retirements.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Not unexpected at seventy eight, but the end of an era.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I think selling his publishing for thirty million probably made
the blow a bit easier to take. And think about it.
Here I go again. How many movies like old school
all over the place. Uh, there's nobody in Rock I love,
respect and admire more than David.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
So Maestro, I wish you well. And what a run
for David Wow.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
And uh, of course we will be attempting to get
him on the show at some point for an exit interview.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Thanks to John five too.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
He's a Jurgle Monday night and I'm a Carson's Tavern
in Scottdale Sunday at one pm four a Steelers Bengals
viewing party. That Skeans interview was like a psychological experiments.
It has pirate fins, so psyched, but nothing has changed.
Skean's got a two point five million dollar bonus for
(29:19):
winning the cy Young and that's not from MLB, that's
out of Nutting's pockets.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
Boo.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Yeah, gotta love that. Skean said his goal was to
win in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
I have several goals. One is to discover how to
time travel, another to levitate via mind control, and also
to become one leg of the US Olympic teams for
by one relay. We've barely talked about about the Steeler game.
We got yoe Yoh, we got Jim Florentine on we
(29:54):
got Dulac Gone, That'll be Steeler Talk.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
This show really is all over the friggin' place, Tom.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Are you surprised the traction that the Skeens and Howard
stories have gotten today on a Steeler Thursday? And does
it reflect the fact that people, as do I see
this Bengals game as losable and maybe don't want to
talk about it. I think it does reflect that.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I'm not surprised that Skeens has been able to take
over the talk because he won the cy Young he
had that great SoundBite about winning in Pittsburgh. That's not
surprising that he's driving the conversation on Thursday, and I
think he should probably drive some of the conversation today.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
But John Gruden just opening his mouth about Will Howard
and sending the entire city into a frenzy, I mean,
that's just absurd. It's the third string quarterback.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
But again, to reiterate, Skenes isn't staying He's not Nope.
I mean the latest he leaves is that the trade
deadline of the twenty twenty seven season.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Now, what could change things.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Is if the CBA, the new best MLBCBA really rocks
the foundation of the financial part of the game. But
I think it'll even if they do get a CBA,
it won't change things that much because that floor is.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Gonna be high.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Like the course, he said, the difference between the floor
and the cap in all the leagues isn't as big
as you'd think, And I looked that up and he's right.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
And a salary cap league wouldn't guarantee that Nutting just keeps,
you know, the superstar players, keeps the whales. He'll still
ship those off so he doesn't have to pay you know,
the crazy insane count tracts to them. And like you said,
that floor, it's gonna be high, but he's going to
hug it as close as he possibly can.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Well, he'll campaign against the cap and markets.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Wait, it's gonna be the weirdest CBA feu'd ever because
the big money owners, who normally would campaign against the cap,
they want the cap in baseball to get a financial certainty,
and the small market owners don't want to spend in
the floor, so I they'll campaign against the cap.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Do you think there'll be a little bit of a
schism with the big market owners though, like I could
see them the Mets owner just seems like he wants
to burn money, like he doesn't care.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
And same with the Dodgers, right, like the Dodgers are
all you know why, I don't think there will be.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
You know, one thing all those big money owners hate
is the luxury tax because it's money for nothing. They're
just giving it away because they spend too much. That
basically every salary cap is designed to protect the owners
from themselves.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
And it's got to be almost a guarantee that in
a capped league, revenue sharing goes out the door, right,
So that's another motivation for small market teams and small
market owners, like there's not going to be revenue sharing
for the bigger.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Markets if there is, Ompius Musk not as big of
a pie yet because.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
The cap, in theory, should make up the difference exactly.
That's the competitive balance where this is supposed to be
the competitive balance, but it just goes right to guys
like nuttings pockets.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
What absolutely has thrown all this out of whack and
has for a number of years is the collapse of
the regional sports networks which used to give those teams
like the Pirates so much money. The Pirates, I mean
I can't get an exact figure because nobody tells the
truth about them. But I've been told the pirates TV
money locally dropped by like, you know, thirty to forty
million maybe more per year.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
And then look at the team's actions, right, they cut
payroll at the trade deadline this year, and everybody's like, well,
that's because they're opening up stuff. That's stupid thing that
everybody said. They're opening up some stuff to spend now
in the offseason. No, they had to cut payroll because
they lost the TV deal. You were all over that
when it happened. You're like, they're gonna cut payroll because
of this.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
I hope, I hope they put a cap in so
at least when the usual suspects, the stewges, say that
they're opening up space on payroll, they actually are because
without a cap, you're not opening up anything.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
You can spend what you want. Yeah, exactly. Every team
has a budget still.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
That's just they're treating the situation like there is a
cap when there.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Is, yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
And again it's motivated on them and needing to save
money now because they lost the revenue from their TV deal.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
What's going to the trifecta, Tom, what do you got well?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Well, by the way, the pregame show brought to us
by Shendrorovi, shendro Opits and Fisherman, we love them.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
We can get into some Steeler talk here. I got
a Steelers Bengals trifecta.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Mark.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Here are three things that the Steelers offense has to
get right, has to get going against that abysmal Bengals defense,
and if they don't, we're in big trouble. Number one
is DK Metcalf has to have his biggest game of
the season. Bengals are the second worst passing defense in
the NFL. Do you know who the first is? You
know who the worst is? Go ahead, the Steelers. The
Steelers are the worst pass should have guessed, but the
(34:14):
Bengals are the second worst. And they got no one
in that secondary that should match up with the DK.
They got no two ones in that secondary. I don't
care about double teams. DK's got to go off in
this game. Number two, if the Steelers don't run the
football against Cincinnati, the absolute worst rush defense in football,
we got big, big problems in the running game. Because
Jalen Warren had his best game as a running back
(34:34):
against the Bengals in the first meeting. That's got to
carry over into this one. But number one, they gotta
be better on third down conversions in their past three games. Mark,
I don't know if you've heard this. Williamson pointed this
out in one of his stat blasts. They're converting just
fifteen percent of their third downs. Twitter, Yes, shotting them
fifteen percent of your third downs in the past three games. Well,
(34:55):
the Bengals give up third down conversions out of forty
nine point one percent.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Clip.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
It's like a coin flip every so you better convert
third down. What I'm always interested in.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
And by the way, the trifector brought to us by
Danny's patron Hogies, Great Pizza, Great Hogy since nineteen sixty.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
It's on Route eighty A to Bethel Park. Which always.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Intriguing me about third don conversion rate is I'd like
to know you know what the don and distance was,
and like it broken down further because if you're behind
the sticks, that explains a lot too. And I suspect
in these last three games the Steelers have been behind
the sticks a lot.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
No, I think they're terrible. No matter what I think.
If it's third and two, they don't get it. If
it's third and fifteen, they don't get it. They just
don't get third downs for whatever reason. They throw short
of the sticks constantly, they called wrong plays on short
yardage situations. But most importantly, their personnel packages are always wrong. Specifically,
Jalen Warren's never out there. He's their best player on
offense period this year, which is saying something. He's their
best player by far on third downs, and they have
(35:48):
Kenneth gain while out snapping him.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
Yeah, it's just yeah, I still can't believe gained Well
got more snapsus Stelley than Warren. I think the team,
I mean, I know people think I hate Tomlin. I
don't hate anybody. That's not true. I hate a lot
of people. No, I don't hate the guy. I don't
know the guy. I just think he's an incompetent coach.
I hate the way he's embraced by the national media.
(36:11):
You know, every a lot of local stooges. But that
you know, all that's declining. The bloom Is is going
off his rose very quickly. But I just think this
team is grossly mismanaged. I think it was horribly assembled
and now the application like like having what was supposed
to be a strength with your tight end room and
they all are underutilized, DK Metcalf being a bust, Warren
(36:34):
getting less steps than gain Well, that defense being the
highest paid the league history, and it still can disappear.
Tj walking in that contract and now being clearly in decline.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
I could go on and on about.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
In fact, I'm going to with my monologue next to Hoard,
I think I'm gonna just just delivered.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Too much of a spoiler.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
But how bad does this team have to be and
be assembled to be administered before people understand that it's
just once again got a one way ticket to Puluka.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
I don't know, because it is just hitting you in
the face all those things you listed, Roderick Jones, ruining
him face Rogers.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Rogers knows now when I see swing the ball to
the ground and discuss how many times in LA he
knows that this isn't what he bargained for.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Yeah, I think he is starting to realize that, and
I think he's recognizing things that we all are too,
Like why am I looking to my right on these
third downs? And Kenneth Gainwell is the person in my
shotgun sidecar. Why is this not Jalen Warren. He does
everything better than gain Well. He's more of a threat
to run the ball on like third and six. It's
actually better in press protection. He's better, way better in
(37:41):
pass protection. Again, they use Caleb Johnson on first and
second down.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
I don't know. Why won't they use Gainwell on first
and second down?
Speaker 6 (37:47):
Why?
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Why is that not an option? He did it fine
in Dublin. Just throw him out there early.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
You know who could totally ruin to Thomas's reputation is
Aaron Rodgers. If Aaron Rodgers said after this season it
wasn't what I thought, He's not what I thought. Things
were said not delivered. It just was a bad situation.
I don't know if I see him doing that really.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
Because he's a crack pod who likes to hear himself.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
There's ever a person this might be it, but I
don't know if I would bet on that. I don't know, though.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
You know what's funny.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
You know who the one person who could lead him
into that trap is Pat McAfee. But he wouldn't because
he's a tom win mark and a Steelers mark.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
He would avoid that completely and what other show is wrong.
I wonder if something actually happened between those two. I
wonder if there's more between, you know, the Steelers being like, hey, Rogers,
we suggested.
Speaker 6 (38:31):
No.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
No, I don't think any happened between.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
I don't know because Pat never even mentions him as much,
and he also hasn't had him on even sporadically.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
That's what I mean, like not even like a check
in kind of interview, mid season report or something like that.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I think the impetus was that the Steelers may not
have barred Rogers from doing McAfee because I don't think
that Rogers would respond well to that, and the Steelers
would know that, but I think they probably said we
would prefer that.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
I think you're right, But it'll be telling when Rogers
has done as a Steeler, you know how many months,
past years, maybe without him going on McAfee, then that
might tell a tale that it was more than just that.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Uh did you see uh what Pat said after he
had Trump on. No, that's tremendous. Pat got a lot
of criticism because he had Trump on on Veterans Day,
and Pat said that if you don't like Trump being
on his show Tuesday, then quote, you hate the troops.
He said that you hate the troops unquote. Pat said that,
and that he's at Fu too. You hate the troops
(39:26):
in Fu, ESPN. That is what the worldwide leaders become.
You should be embarrassed. I say that to you because
Pat knows no shame. But Pat's never been more unhinged,
and part of me likes it just a little bit.
One oh five to nine
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