September 25, 2025 • 10 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Smoke and I were talking about the great body transformations
all time among athletes and celebrities a little while ago,
and you might think, KB, that's weird. Why would you
be talking about that, Well, because Zion Williamson has apparently
dropped I don't know how many pal like twenty five
thirty pounds, the leanest version of Zion Williamson that we
have ever seen.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
The guy's got cheek bones, real cheekbones. Now.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
And we got to talking about athletes and celebrities who
had made insane body transformations. The name Edward Norton came up,
and then I got a text from Willie P who says,
I've got a great Edward Norton story for you when
I come on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
So we go. I don't know this story. Let's hear
this one. Let's bring on Willie P.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Will Polachic voice of Charlotte FC WFNZ host reporter. He's
back for a Thursday conversation. What is this Edward Norton
story you have?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
First things?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
First, KB, you had me feeling like I had some
scar tissue with your talk about Indiana over the weekend,
because I, like many was thwarting Illinois's preseason hype, and
let's just say, came the closest I ever had to
sleeping on the couch because of how ticked off my
wife was at me for allegedly invalidating Indiana's victory.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So that was not good.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
But the Edward Norton story is, when I was working
in Atlanta, he was doing the movie I think it
was called Motherless Brooklyn. It was a movie that he
had taken like very very personally. It was an adapted screenplay,
so he was like it was one of those like meta,
big serious artist type movies.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
It was absolutely awful. Plummeted at the box.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
He was doing a promo tour for it, and I
know it was awful because I got to see it,
but it plummeted at the box. I was, but he
was doing a tour for it, and I was working
in Atlanta in radio on the afternoon show with Mike Bell,
and he comes through the studio and he's got an
entourage of like five people. And on the copy points
you get these all the time when these actors come in.
(01:51):
On the cockpoints, it says, in very big bold red letters,
please do not call him Ed Norton. His name is
Edward Norton, and I'm like, okay on whatever he likes
to be called it with Norton whatever. So we're in
the interview, live on the air. The pr person grabs
my earphones while we're on in front of a live
mike and whispers in my ear please call him Edward
(02:13):
not ed, and my co host Mike Bell because he
doesn't remember anything that happened five minutes ago, called him
Ed Norton in the middle of the interview, and I'm
sitting there and I'm just like, for crying out loud, Mike, why,
how did how did Eddie boy respond? He was fine, Okay,
It's like he's like ed Norton, I mean Edward Norton,
(02:34):
Like it was like one of those things.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I'm just sitting and I'm just like, I had my
head in my hands. I'm thinking, like, man, guys, that's awesome.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
I ran into Mike Bell at Army Navy last year.
He said, I think he sent his regards to you
via me. By the way, that's a funny guy. I'm
not the least bit surprised by that. Man is one
of my favorite people in radio. Yes, he's hilarious.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
He is.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
He's a good dude. He's a really good dude. Hey,
before you and I talk about FC, we just rattled
off the injury report for the Panthers there a minute ago.
What do you make of the fact that Xavier league
Get did not participate again today. It's a hamstring injury,
and I'm very careful, as I'm sure you are, to
not question athlete injuries because if a guy says he's injured,
he's injured. But you know, this has led to a
(03:12):
lot of speculation in the last couple of days, and
especially now that you know what's going on here, there
are rumors online that they could be shopping him, which
I'm not sure I agree with.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
But what do you make of this?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, I very much was like everybody that kind of
raised an eyebrow when we saw the injury first pop up.
And again, you know, hamstring injuries happen. Then you know
it can be very innocuous, and the one thing we
know about hamstring injuries is that they linger. And I
think a lot of people when they saw xavierly Get
not play because of the hamstring injury that popped up
(03:44):
middle of the week last week, we thought maybe this
gives them the birth to not play him and call
it like a mental health day for him or whatever.
But now, at least for me, that makes me stand
the reason that it actually is a legitimate injury. I
don't think shopping him makes a whole lot of sense.
They spent assets to go up and get him. They're
still very very high on him, and it does seem like,
(04:04):
at least in my view from the people who I
talk to in the building on and off the record,
that they are still very very high on him until
much to the point where they almost feel like they
have to justify taking him after the kind of downturn
it's taken over the course of the middle part of
last year and then looping into the early part of
this year.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I still think they believe in him.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
But I do find it rather curious, Kyle, just because
of the fact that, again, this is a player who
had a very unceremonious start to his sophomore NFL campaign.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Okay, how do you feel about New England on Sunday?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
By the way, I I mean, the thing about it is,
I want to have respect for what New England puts
on the field. But the problem I think of it
also is if the Panthers were at full strengthen this game,
I would see them as a team that probably could
win this football game.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Out right, very easily.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
The injuries to the defensive line maybe have me pushing
the pushing the pause button on those things. Particularly if
they lose both DJ Wanham and Pat Jones. That means
obviously a lot more time for a DJ Johnson, more
time obviously for Nick Gorton.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
The Scorton part, I don't think is a bad thing.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I think s Gorton acquitted himself admirably and I really
love what they were doing with that NASCAR package that
had wantam A, Sean, Nick and Princey in pastors situations.
I think they can be a very big weapon when
the Panthers get themselves back fully healthy. But at the
same point in time, if they are able to get
pressure on Drake May, this could be a game that
very much tilts in the panthers favor. I think it's
(05:29):
like fourteen sacks this season that Drake May has suffered
this year. Their actual wide receivers don't scare me. Obviously.
The tight end Hunter Henry is big. Austin Hooper has
had success in places that have not been necessarily New England,
and they know they play a lot of twelve personnel
with what they run with, So from that perspective, that's
something that they do well. The Panthers have not showed
(05:51):
an adeptness to doing well. I think it all just
also comes down to what Bryce can do against this defense.
Because while last week a lot of the fantasyros and
Bryce Hays will tell you well, Panthers only had two
hundred and twenty one yards a total offense. I think
he managed the game well. But I think this is
a game that I feel like if the Panthers is
going to win, you have to see a good performance
out of Bryce and the offense as a whole. So
(06:13):
I look for that to be maybe something that also
swings the pendulum more so in the panthers favor.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Playing away from home.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Is never easy, but I think this is one that
I think is definitely gettable from Carolina's perspective.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
All right, Will Polachia hanging out with us here for
a Thursday conversation. We all know last week that the
nine match win streak ended and New York City FC
top Charlotte FC two to nothing. You never want to lose.
It's never a good thing that you lose. It was
always probably going to come to an end at some point.
How do you characterize this one? Is this one of
those losses where you're just like, hey, you know, the
(06:44):
odds are it was going to happen, it needed to happen. Like,
how do you feel about it coming out of a
two zero loss?
Speaker 3 (06:50):
It's a Murphy's law type game to me, Kyle, Everything
that could have gone wrong went wrong. It was a
twelve o'clock game, which is never easy, and I know
that both teams have to adjust to it, but it
did feel very much like a sleepy time kick. There
were less than ten thousand people in the stands and
Yankee Stadium, with all respect to know the hallowed halls
that are there, or at least the even the building
that was across the street, probably a little bit more
(07:11):
how than the one that's there currently.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
It's not a soccer field, it's not a soccer pitch.
It's actually just.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
At the MLS and FIFA qualifications for the dimensions of
what a soccer pitch could be, there's like minimum and maximum,
and it's like right at the minimum it is, for example,
seventeen yards narrower than the Charlotte dev C home pitch,
and I think it's somewhere in the neighborhood. Are twenty
two feet shorter length wise than Charlotte of f c's pitch.
(07:39):
And one of Charlotte ofugh c's ways that they do
a lot of their build up is with long direct passing.
I think fourth or fifth in the league in accurate
long balls played, and that really limited a lot of
that type of play. From charlottop c's perspective, the field
of the middle of the field was very, very clogged up.
They surrendered a penalty early that I thought was dubious
at best, soft at the very kindest, and it changed
(08:02):
the way that New York tactically played the game. And
I even asked this a Dean Smith earlier today. I said,
would it be fair to say that we never really
even saw your game plan because of that penalty in
the early ten minutes of the games?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
He said, yes, that's very fair.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
So I think we don't even know how Charlotte's he
was going to attack that game because there was a
call made by the referee early in the game that
changed the complexion of it the second penalty definitely was
a legitimate penalty and took Charlotte to see out of
the opportunity to really win that game out right. But
at the same point in time, there was always going
to be a game at some point down the stretch
here where you know, they you know, the fifty to
(08:32):
thety balls don't go your way, you know, the ball
luck doesn't go your way, and things that you were
getting to have happened during the streak don't happen. I
think it's a great place for a mental reset. And
you got two very winnable games right off the bat
here going into the stretch run, and then a game
on the final day of the season against a team
that's at the top of the table, which will vide
(08:53):
a very nice tune up for the playoffs. It sets
up very nicely for Charlotte and hopefully they get these
two here, maybe the one in the final day of
the season, finished top four, get hopefield advantage in the
opening round.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
So last thing, then as we come down the stretch,
three matches left to go here. Now what in terms
of tightening up, tweaking things, you know, with the playoffs
in mind, they've clinched a playoff spot. Of course, we
talk about this in other sports as the playoffs near. Obviously,
staying healthy is a big part of it. But in
terms of tweaks, changes, anything that you would think or
expect that Dean Smith would do as we near the postseason,
(09:25):
what are you watching for?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
I'm wondering if in these two games we see maybe
some laboratory work done by Dean Smith. You know, I
wouldn't be shocked if maybe there's a change at winger
in one of these two games to give Leel Abata,
you know, one last chance maybe win that right wing
spot out right from Carown Vargas. Carowen's kind of had
the run of it here very much lately, but I
think Leelle might have a claim to it at some
(09:49):
point here in these maybe next two or three games.
I also think too, you know, trying to shure up
the midfield. They've not had pet bl from the start.
In the last couple of contests, he picked up a
bit of tendonitis in the knee. Don't know whether or
not he's going to go this weekend. Dean Smith called
at fifty to fifty at best. They're also trying to
wait on the injury to Harry Toffelow to get injured,
(10:09):
so get getting healthy is probably one of the biggest
chiefs concerns and getting back to what they did well
during the streak. And I asked Dean Smith, what's the
biggest thing that you guys have done in these nine
games that you weren't doing in the May and June swoon,
And it's being dominant in both boxes, being able to
be the aggressor on offense and being able to, you know,
make sure that chances are not allowed in your defensive third.
(10:31):
Is the big, big thing that keeps teams winning in
this league, keeps teams winning in soccer overall. If they
can get back to that, they'll be a very tough
outcome the postseason.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Willie, we appreciate you, buddy, have a great weekend and
I'll talk to you very soon.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Pleasures mind as always, k B. Thank you. Will Pilotchack
hanging out with us here on a Thursday
Smoke and I were talking about the great body transformations
all time among athletes and celebrities a little while ago,
and you might think, KB, that's weird. Why would you
be talking about that, Well, because Zion Williamson has apparently
dropped I don't know how many pal like twenty five
thirty pounds, the leanest version of Zion Williamson that we
have ever seen.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
The guy's got cheek bones, real cheekbones. Now.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
And we got to talking about athletes and celebrities who
had made insane body transformations. The name Edward Norton came up,
and then I got a text from Willie P who says,
I've got a great Edward Norton story for you when
I come on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
So we go. I don't know this story. Let's hear
this one. Let's bring on Willie P.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Will Polachic voice of Charlotte FC WFNZ host reporter. He's
back for a Thursday conversation. What is this Edward Norton
story you have?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
First things?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
First, KB, you had me feeling like I had some
scar tissue with your talk about Indiana over the weekend,
because I, like many was thwarting Illinois's preseason hype, and
let's just say, came the closest I ever had to
sleeping on the couch because of how ticked off my
wife was at me for allegedly invalidating Indiana's victory.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So that was not good.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
But the Edward Norton story is, when I was working
in Atlanta, he was doing the movie I think it
was called Motherless Brooklyn. It was a movie that he
had taken like very very personally. It was an adapted screenplay,
so he was like it was one of those like meta,
big serious artist type movies.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
It was absolutely awful. Plummeted at the box.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
He was doing a promo tour for it, and I
know it was awful because I got to see it,
but it plummeted at the box. I was, but he
was doing a tour for it, and I was working
in Atlanta in radio on the afternoon show with Mike Bell,
and he comes through the studio and he's got an
entourage of like five people. And on the copy points
you get these all the time when these actors come in.
(01:51):
On the cockpoints, it says, in very big bold red letters,
please do not call him Ed Norton. His name is
Edward Norton, and I'm like, okay on whatever he likes
to be called it with Norton whatever. So we're in
the interview, live on the air. The pr person grabs
my earphones while we're on in front of a live
mike and whispers in my ear please call him Edward
(02:13):
not ed, and my co host Mike Bell because he
doesn't remember anything that happened five minutes ago, called him
Ed Norton in the middle of the interview, and I'm
sitting there and I'm just like, for crying out loud, Mike, why,
how did how did Eddie boy respond? He was fine, Okay,
It's like he's like ed Norton, I mean Edward Norton,
(02:34):
Like it was like one of those things.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I'm just sitting and I'm just like, I had my
head in my hands. I'm thinking, like, man, guys, that's awesome.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
I ran into Mike Bell at Army Navy last year.
He said, I think he sent his regards to you
via me. By the way, that's a funny guy. I'm
not the least bit surprised by that. Man is one
of my favorite people in radio. Yes, he's hilarious.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
He is.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
He's a good dude. He's a really good dude. Hey,
before you and I talk about FC, we just rattled
off the injury report for the Panthers there a minute ago.
What do you make of the fact that Xavier league
Get did not participate again today. It's a hamstring injury,
and I'm very careful, as I'm sure you are, to
not question athlete injuries because if a guy says he's injured,
he's injured. But you know, this has led to a
(03:12):
lot of speculation in the last couple of days, and
especially now that you know what's going on here, there
are rumors online that they could be shopping him, which
I'm not sure I agree with.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
But what do you make of this?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, I very much was like everybody that kind of
raised an eyebrow when we saw the injury first pop up.
And again, you know, hamstring injuries happen. Then you know
it can be very innocuous, and the one thing we
know about hamstring injuries is that they linger. And I
think a lot of people when they saw xavierly Get
not play because of the hamstring injury that popped up
(03:44):
middle of the week last week, we thought maybe this
gives them the birth to not play him and call
it like a mental health day for him or whatever.
But now, at least for me, that makes me stand
the reason that it actually is a legitimate injury. I
don't think shopping him makes a whole lot of sense.
They spent assets to go up and get him. They're
still very very high on him, and it does seem like,
(04:04):
at least in my view from the people who I
talk to in the building on and off the record,
that they are still very very high on him until
much to the point where they almost feel like they
have to justify taking him after the kind of downturn
it's taken over the course of the middle part of
last year and then looping into the early part of
this year.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I still think they believe in him.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
But I do find it rather curious, Kyle, just because
of the fact that, again, this is a player who
had a very unceremonious start to his sophomore NFL campaign.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Okay, how do you feel about New England on Sunday?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
By the way, I I mean, the thing about it is,
I want to have respect for what New England puts
on the field. But the problem I think of it
also is if the Panthers were at full strengthen this game,
I would see them as a team that probably could
win this football game.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Out right, very easily.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
The injuries to the defensive line maybe have me pushing
the pushing the pause button on those things. Particularly if
they lose both DJ Wanham and Pat Jones. That means
obviously a lot more time for a DJ Johnson, more
time obviously for Nick Gorton.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
The Scorton part, I don't think is a bad thing.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I think s Gorton acquitted himself admirably and I really
love what they were doing with that NASCAR package that
had wantam A, Sean, Nick and Princey in pastors situations.
I think they can be a very big weapon when
the Panthers get themselves back fully healthy. But at the
same point in time, if they are able to get
pressure on Drake May, this could be a game that
very much tilts in the panthers favor. I think it's
(05:29):
like fourteen sacks this season that Drake May has suffered
this year. Their actual wide receivers don't scare me. Obviously.
The tight end Hunter Henry is big. Austin Hooper has
had success in places that have not been necessarily New England,
and they know they play a lot of twelve personnel
with what they run with, So from that perspective, that's
something that they do well. The Panthers have not showed
(05:51):
an adeptness to doing well. I think it all just
also comes down to what Bryce can do against this defense.
Because while last week a lot of the fantasyros and
Bryce Hays will tell you well, Panthers only had two
hundred and twenty one yards a total offense. I think
he managed the game well. But I think this is
a game that I feel like if the Panthers is
going to win, you have to see a good performance
out of Bryce and the offense as a whole. So
(06:13):
I look for that to be maybe something that also
swings the pendulum more so in the panthers favor.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Playing away from home.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Is never easy, but I think this is one that
I think is definitely gettable from Carolina's perspective.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
All right, Will Polachia hanging out with us here for
a Thursday conversation. We all know last week that the
nine match win streak ended and New York City FC
top Charlotte FC two to nothing. You never want to lose.
It's never a good thing that you lose. It was
always probably going to come to an end at some point.
How do you characterize this one? Is this one of
those losses where you're just like, hey, you know, the
(06:44):
odds are it was going to happen, it needed to happen. Like,
how do you feel about it coming out of a
two zero loss?
Speaker 3 (06:50):
It's a Murphy's law type game to me, Kyle, Everything
that could have gone wrong went wrong. It was a
twelve o'clock game, which is never easy, and I know
that both teams have to adjust to it, but it
did feel very much like a sleepy time kick. There
were less than ten thousand people in the stands and
Yankee Stadium, with all respect to know the hallowed halls
that are there, or at least the even the building
that was across the street, probably a little bit more
(07:11):
how than the one that's there currently.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
It's not a soccer field, it's not a soccer pitch.
It's actually just.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
At the MLS and FIFA qualifications for the dimensions of
what a soccer pitch could be, there's like minimum and maximum,
and it's like right at the minimum it is, for example,
seventeen yards narrower than the Charlotte dev C home pitch,
and I think it's somewhere in the neighborhood. Are twenty
two feet shorter length wise than Charlotte of f c's pitch.
(07:39):
And one of Charlotte ofugh c's ways that they do
a lot of their build up is with long direct passing.
I think fourth or fifth in the league in accurate
long balls played, and that really limited a lot of
that type of play. From charlottop c's perspective, the field
of the middle of the field was very, very clogged up.
They surrendered a penalty early that I thought was dubious
at best, soft at the very kindest, and it changed
(08:02):
the way that New York tactically played the game. And
I even asked this a Dean Smith earlier today. I said,
would it be fair to say that we never really
even saw your game plan because of that penalty in
the early ten minutes of the games?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
He said, yes, that's very fair.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
So I think we don't even know how Charlotte's he
was going to attack that game because there was a
call made by the referee early in the game that
changed the complexion of it the second penalty definitely was
a legitimate penalty and took Charlotte to see out of
the opportunity to really win that game out right. But
at the same point in time, there was always going
to be a game at some point down the stretch
here where you know, they you know, the fifty to
(08:32):
thety balls don't go your way, you know, the ball
luck doesn't go your way, and things that you were
getting to have happened during the streak don't happen. I
think it's a great place for a mental reset. And
you got two very winnable games right off the bat
here going into the stretch run, and then a game
on the final day of the season against a team
that's at the top of the table, which will vide
(08:53):
a very nice tune up for the playoffs. It sets
up very nicely for Charlotte and hopefully they get these
two here, maybe the one in the final day of
the season, finished top four, get hopefield advantage in the
opening round.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
So last thing, then as we come down the stretch,
three matches left to go here. Now what in terms
of tightening up, tweaking things, you know, with the playoffs
in mind, they've clinched a playoff spot. Of course, we
talk about this in other sports as the playoffs near. Obviously,
staying healthy is a big part of it. But in
terms of tweaks, changes, anything that you would think or
expect that Dean Smith would do as we near the postseason,
(09:25):
what are you watching for?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
I'm wondering if in these two games we see maybe
some laboratory work done by Dean Smith. You know, I
wouldn't be shocked if maybe there's a change at winger
in one of these two games to give Leel Abata,
you know, one last chance maybe win that right wing
spot out right from Carown Vargas. Carowen's kind of had
the run of it here very much lately, but I
think Leelle might have a claim to it at some
(09:49):
point here in these maybe next two or three games.
I also think too, you know, trying to shure up
the midfield. They've not had pet bl from the start.
In the last couple of contests, he picked up a
bit of tendonitis in the knee. Don't know whether or
not he's going to go this weekend. Dean Smith called
at fifty to fifty at best. They're also trying to
wait on the injury to Harry Toffelow to get injured,
(10:09):
so get getting healthy is probably one of the biggest
chiefs concerns and getting back to what they did well
during the streak. And I asked Dean Smith, what's the
biggest thing that you guys have done in these nine
games that you weren't doing in the May and June swoon,
And it's being dominant in both boxes, being able to
be the aggressor on offense and being able to, you know,
make sure that chances are not allowed in your defensive third.
(10:31):
Is the big, big thing that keeps teams winning in
this league, keeps teams winning in soccer overall. If they
can get back to that, they'll be a very tough
outcome the postseason.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Willie, we appreciate you, buddy, have a great weekend and
I'll talk to you very soon.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Pleasures mind as always, k B. Thank you. Will Pilotchack
hanging out with us here on a Thursday
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Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.