December 9, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode of The Huddle Within Podcast, We once again bring the latest sporting news covering a wide range of sporting news, including the recent Formula 1 championship, the ongoing Ashes between Australia and England, and the upcoming Boxing Day Test. We also discuss the World Cup group draw, John Cena's last wrestling match on Saturday Night's Main Event against Gunther, highlights from the Premier League, predictions for the NBA Cup, and a recap of the NFL week.
🎧 Tune in, subscribe, and join the conversation.
Instagram
TikTok
YouTube
X
Bluesky
Chapters:
00:00 Formula One Championship Recap
02:13 Cricket: Australia vs England Showdown
04:28 The Excitement of Test Cricket
06:18 World Cup 2026: Australia’s Group Draw
09:29 World Cup Predictions and Controversies
11:12 John Cena's Last Match: A Wrestling Icon
12:01 Premier League Highlights and Analysis
26:05 NBA Cup Predictions and Insights
32:36 NFL Week Highlights and Future Matchups
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What is going on, everybody? And welcome to this week's
episode of The Huddle Within podcast.
Thank you very much for tuning in once again to another episode
44, breaking down the latest andgreatest Sporting News.
There's actually a lot to cover on this episode.
I don't know where to start really, because there's been
(00:20):
some top headlines. I guess we can make a start with
Formula One. We have the official drivers
champion and that is Lando Norris in honestly a fucking
real boring race. Like Max finished first in pole,
Norris was second, Pierce, she was third in the sort of
qualifications, and then we justhad a dead race.
(00:44):
You thought that when Lennon Norris got into the pits and
Yuki Sonoda was in front, he could have probably done a
better job in in protecting Max and trying to defend that
position for him. But yeah, and that didn't
happen. And I don't know if that's
because Yuki is 1 foot out the door already or that's if the
car's just simply not good enough.
But Lando wins it. And yeah, I'm not happy about
(01:08):
it. But I guess commiserations to
Oscar, commiserations to Max, who put up a unbelievable
comeback. And for Lando, like, yeah, he
did deserve it. But at the same time, I feel
like it was such a spoon fed given championship, like you got
to earn it. You, you, you got to earn it to
get there. He did earn it.
(01:28):
He was consistent throughout thewhole year.
His car was amazing. But I always thought that Oscar
was the much better driver and the way they positioned him in
in the strategy and what they did to him was quite unfair.
And it really killed his confidence and and derailed him
for sure. And then Max is Max.
He's just unbelievable. Like the fact that he got to a
point where he was within a few points from being a driver's
(01:51):
champion just just shows how much of a good driver he is.
So yeah, Congrats to Lando. I don't really want to speak
about it too much because it frustrates me.
Like, Oscar had a chance to be the world champion, F1 champion
for the first time in a very long time for Australians.
But Lando gets the victory here.All the British press, all the
media will be happy about it because that's one thing that
(02:13):
the British have done well and that great gives me great
segment to talk about what they haven't been doing well and
that's playing cricket. They invented the sport and
they're rubbish. I I just see Piers Morgan just
yapping about on X saying that they've got a chance, mate, our
whole team is killing you and wedon't even have our spinner.
(02:34):
Well, he got dropped our captainand Mitch Stark is just just
bowling away like a Beastie is with his left hand.
He's just been unbelievable first innings.
We just had a all round great batting performance across the
board start getting the most runs and just shows how strong
our bowling lineup is batting aswell.
They always seem to find runs when we when we need it at most
(02:55):
and just just consistency acrossthe whole board where the whole
doing really well and yeah, the bowling lineup unbelievable.
But England, they I think they blew this one because they had a
lot of drop catches and they hada really strong first innings.
Joe Root had a really good display then showing that he's a
he's a really good batsman. And him and Stokes just just
(03:15):
need the help really. Like, yeah, they have Joffre
Archer. But the last, the last moment
where all of a sudden he decidedthat he wanted to start bowling
150 KS didn't mean much and and Steve Smith let him know about
it and literally ran free in hishead.
I like Archer so I don't want toclan him too much on it.
But it was definitely a moment for Archer to forget when Smudge
(03:35):
was just hitting him up the park, despite Archer deciding
that he wanted to bowl 150 and bowl fast.
And I think that's the aggression that England truly
need to have a chance to win a series because quite frankly,
they've just been rubbish. And it's just the same old story
for for England every time they come to Australia.
The last time they were good was15 years ago.
I remember when they had Alistair Cook, Strauss, they
(03:58):
they tear us up. But this, this, this team is
just, it's just not good enough.And yeah, I don't know how to
solve it for them. But I'm all happy for Australia
and it's great to see Australians just up and about
winning Test cricket, living rent free and people like Piers
Morgan's ahead. And yeah, we love it.
Like the Bance is all for it. Like I'm not going to sit there
(04:19):
and say I hate Joffre Aja for it.
I I kind of love it. It brings the entertainment.
I love a bit of beef and a lot of the head to head clashes
between the cricketers and it just calls for entertainment.
But it's just great to have Australian cricket like cricket.
When Australia hosts cricket andteams tour here.
It's a spectacle to me. Like you have it up all day,
(04:41):
just watch the time go by. I'm actually a big fan of Test
cricket. IA lot of casual cricket fans
will love like the 2020 but I don't I don't like 2020 at all.
I really like Test cricket. I think Test cricket is my
favourite form of cricket, just the shots and sort of the way
that it goes for five days, the mental battle and also like just
having your best display of batsman.
(05:02):
I love it. So it's it's great to see five
days of cricket. And we're coming up on the next
series and that's going to be atthe Adelaide Oval and it's going
to be a normal day Test. So England can't complain about
the night Test and that being a disadvantage.
They've got a chance to to make it 2 one at Adelaide and then
we're off the Boxing Day, which I'm really excited for.
I'm still trying to get a ticketfor it.
(05:23):
I originally was going to but I think I've jumped on too late to
it and now I'm craving a ticket because Boxing Day test is is
something else. If if there is anyone that lives
in Australia that's never been to a Boxing Day test, it has to
go on your bucket list and it's some.
Even if you don't like cricket, you just spend the whole day
enjoying the sun getting on the Pierce, and the atmosphere is
(05:44):
just second to none. It's a full stadium, it's a full
crowd, and you get the MCG stadium experience, which to me,
I've been to a lot of stadiums. I've been to Old Trafford, I've
been to so far, stadium in America, which has the massive
jambatron, been to multiple stadiums across Europe, across
the United States. And let me tell you, the MCG for
me is still #100,000 cedar, iconic, an Oval shape.
(06:08):
It's, it's simply incredible. And I, and I'll, I'll say that
all the time, I don't think there is a better stadium than
the MCG if I'm, if I'm totally honest.
So having an opportunity to go there, even if it's not day one,
the tickets are sold out, maybe jumping on day four or five to
go watch a bit of Test cricket. You can't go wrong.
And yeah, I'm excited to see it.I'm, I'm calling for a
whitewash. To be honest.
(06:29):
I think we can beat them five nil.
But I don't want to get too ahead of myself and be cocky
because we've got one more Test to win.
And yeah, I would prefer that weseal it in Melbourne, but again,
it'd be good to just go 3 nil and retain the Ashes.
It's always good that we retain there.
But I think we're calling for the Ashes to be in England.
I'm I'm keen to sort of see how we go on their home turf.
(06:51):
I feel like it's been a while since we've battled there, so
that would be cool to see. But again, the Australians are
flying crickets on the tally. How good for any Australian.
You don't even have to be a massive cricket fan to love Test
cricket and just see the Aussiesperform because let's be honest,
in all our international sports we really do struggle.
But when it comes to cricket, where we're simply up there and
(07:12):
I don't know what's been with the segments, but I'm, I'm doing
great segues into international comps.
And we've just been told our World Cup group, Australia
obviously qualified a sport thatwe do struggling.
But the Australian spirit comes alive when the World Cup comes
and everyone comes together and loves football or soccer.
When the World Cup comes and we've got a nice attractive
(07:35):
group. We've got the USA, we've got
Turkey potentially if they do qualify, Kosovo or Slovakia or
Romania as well. They're doing a playoff at the
moment, so the winner of qualifying Group C and then
we've got Paraguay as well. So to me it screams US
qualifying. But this iteration of the
(07:58):
Australian national team gives me a lot of questions. the US
are really happy that they've drawn us.
They we were probably one of theeasiest teams in Part 2, but
they were also the easiest team in Part 1.
So I'm actually all for taking on the US and I'd love to
fucking beat them on their own, on their own stadium and just
just suck it up to those American fans.
(08:19):
That would be lovely. Paragraph won't be easy, I'll be
honest. South American teams we always
struggle against. We just got knocked out the park
by both Venezuela and Colombia. So Paraguay are going to be
easy. And then whoever comes out of
this Europe fixture, for bias purposes, I'm hoping Kosovo
does. I think that would be really
exciting to see. But I think based on the four
teams, it could be the Slovakia,Slovakia, Slovakia, Slovakia or
(08:41):
Turkey taking that out and potentially being probably the
strongest team in that World Cupgroup, believe it or not, just
shows how strong Europe is there.
So yeah, I'm not holding anything for ransom, but I'm
really backing the the Australian, the Australians
there. And how awesome is that?
The first game of the World Cup is going to be a blast from the
(09:01):
blast 2010, same exact dates, different years.
Obviously South Africa take on Mexico and Mexico's the host
station will look to get some payback on South Africa who
smacked them up three nil to thegoal that he scored.
Shabba Lava is iconic with the nice Jubilani ball.
Oh man, I'm keen for the World Cup, let's say, and, and just
(09:23):
seeing that first match will be awesome.
Mexico, Canada, US. I'm so keen to to talk about the
World Cup when it comes. So talking about the groups now
obviously is is awesome, but obviously the, the, the sort of
celebratory and and the entertainment piece was quite
controversial and very weird, I would say, but that's America
(09:44):
for you. I think they're just pride on
their entertainment and showbiz.So not ruling it out, but we
have a very exciting World Cup and lots of new teams.
There's a lot of, there's a lot more teams this year.
So questions are whether the group stages are going to be as
good as last time. There's no real group of death.
There is some random teams. They're all all good to them.
(10:06):
Like nothing against them. It's just I think the
competition isn't as strong likecrew sales in Hades in Panama's
in like already talking three teams in the north, in the
Caribbean, in North America thatrealistically are not better
than some of the European teams that are missing out.
So I feel as though there's a lot of teams from those
confederations like even Asia and Africa that are not probably
(10:28):
to the standard. But at the same time, the World
Cup is about the sort of diversity and having multiple
teams from different confederations brings a bit of
joy to these countries. So I'm I'm not really against
it, to be honest. And also just makes the moment
better for those countries. Like I'm sure Cruise out will be
so happy to be in a World Cup. I'm sure countries like Haiti,
(10:49):
countries like I would say Panama as well, be really keen
there. And even even some continents in
Asia, I think Iraq's in there aswell, qualifying.
It's just awesome for them. So yeah, you got to, you got to,
you got to give credit where credit's due when it comes to
that moment. And I think, yeah, the World Cup
will be exciting nevertheless because once we get to the
finals, that's where the tasty part starts.
(11:12):
I think in terms of favourites, if I'm going to call out a
favourite right now, I can't. But I will say that Portugal are
looking really strong. It's one of the strongest
Portuguese teams to ever, I think, go to a World Cup in a
long time. So can Ronaldo get a World Cup
and create that debate with Messi on on being the GOAT?
(11:33):
It's a great discussion. We'll have to see what happens,
but I think if the time is is now, it is for Portugal because
their team is is solid, a few Champions League winners playing
at PSG who are killing it as well and and just some reputable
Premier League players as well on top of that.
So it might be the year for Portugal that I'm just going to
(11:53):
call that out early. I don't know if it will happen,
but having that World Cup will be amazing for Ronaldo and I
think I think considering his career and how amazing he's
been, I wouldn't be against it. I just would like Messi to have
that again up on him. So then the GOAT sort of debate
is close because to me, Messi isthe greatest player to ever play
(12:14):
the sport. Like, I don't think there is a
debate for me. And Speaking of Goats, Oh my
God, I'm not doing this on purpose.
I promise you I'm not. But John Cena is finishing up
next week, so I have to go to it.
The GOAT of wrestling, the greatest of all time, no debate
is finishing up this week on Saturday night's Main event.
You must watch the show think it's going to be on Netflix.
(12:36):
If not, it is on YouTube. Watch the show.
It's John Cena's last time in the ring.
Like everyone's grown up with John Cena.
Everyone at a stage loved wrestling until they they got
here with the hard reality that it's fake.
I'm doing air quotes for those in the listening to the audio
fake. It's definitely not fake.
Yes, it's it's sort of scripted and there's an A pre a
preconceived outcome, but the moves and the sets is not fake.
(13:00):
Just saying, OK, I will defend that with my life as I slap my
microphone. Anyway, John Cena's finishing
up. That's going to be crazy.
So just be excited for that. I think that we're looking at
the last time John Cena will ever perform in the ring.
And because he said it, I believe it.
I do believe it. So, yeah, look out for that.
(13:20):
I think will be a spectacle. He's taking on Gunther.
And if anyone's heard anything about Gunther, all you have to
know about him is that he is a textbook old school wrestler
from Austria. Absolute machine.
He won the the last time he's now tournament and he's
qualified to take on John Cena in his last match, where I
(13:40):
suspect that Gunther will probably win the bloody match.
But again, it's not about him, it's about John Cena.
And I'm actually going to be really sad when he finishes up
with WWE and never wrestling again.
So I'm excited. You should be as well.
Even if you don't support it, it's always good to see go to
perform in any craft, sport or entertainment, whatever it is.
But there will also be some other nice matches too.
(14:02):
You've got Over Femi taking on Cody Rhodes.
Over Femi is an up and coming NXT star.
I wouldn't really say up and coming.
He's been around the game for a while, but he's destined for a
main card appearance and to be signed on to Raw Smackdown for
sure and it's going to be a great display for him.
We've got Soul Rooka taking on Bailey as well, She's another up
and coming * And then we've got a TNA star who I can't get the
(14:25):
name out of my tongue right now,and a young this guy's up and
coming. This guy's going to be a
machine. He's athletically gifted and
he's insane. Javon Evans taking on AJ Styles
and Dragon Lee and the purpose of this main event Saturday
night main event pay per view orPLA is to be off with John Cena,
out with the old and on with thenew.
(14:45):
And John Cena's purposely stagedthis is and scripted this
himself, created this card himself for him to start the
match and showcase the future. And I like that from John Cena
putting over young and upcoming stars.
It's going to be awesome. And yeah, he truly is the GOAT.
So there's really no debate in that, especially when it comes
to entertainment points there, there really is no no debate.
(15:07):
As as mentioned as well. Just wanted to take a moment to
thank you guys for tuning into another episode of the huddle
within podcast. If you do enjoy episodes like
this or this episode specifically, be sure to leave a
comment and a five star review wherever you do get your
podcasts. It'd be also great if you could
like and subscribe wherever you do get your podcasts so we can
(15:28):
continue to show this out to people that see sports exactly
the way that you do. But without further ado, let's
get straight back into it. So we're I'm going to quickly
talk about the APL and I will get to the seller point because
I think that's one of the biggest news that has come out
of I guess this week when it comes to Premier League.
Hatewatch successful for Aston Villa, they get a 94th minute
(15:50):
winner from Bandia to be Arsenal21 at Villas home ground to open
up the title race. I think City and Aston Villa are
seeing three points behind them now which is quite crazy.
Evident take a solid 3 nil win. Drisby Hall is making a case to
be in the England squad which iscrazy is doing a really good
job. Got Newcastle beating Burnley
21. A solid performance from
(16:11):
Newcastle with A10 men Burnley that is struggling.
Man City making quick work of a 10 man Sunderland.
We may have thought there has been an upset but could this
kick start cities run into potentially getting to another
Premier League title? Tottenham made quick work of
Brentford 2 nil a solid performance there.
We had Bournemouth drawing with Chelsea nil nil Brighton and
(16:34):
West Ham drawing 11 as well so West Ham getting a much needed
point away from home. Crystal Palace defeating Fulham
21. Crystal Palace are just flying
right now, they're just they're doing so well as a mid table
team and despite losing a lot oftheir players, Glasner's the guy
there that's just making everything tick.
And my Gay is just a machine too, let's be honest.
(16:54):
And I think he needs to go to Liverpool.
Scores an 87th minute winner here and Liverpool won.
Much desperate need of him I think.
And United defeat Wolves 41, andif we're beating Wolves 41, that
just shows how shit Wolves are. Like, I think they're going
straight down. They're in massive, massive
trouble. Let's be honest here.
Bruno Fernandez getting a brace,Byron Boomer and Mason Mound
(17:17):
scoring there as well. So yeah, I think Halls are done.
Like, there's not much to say about that.
It's great that United get a victory here.
That pushes us up to a more better, respectable spot on the
table. We're now sitting at 6th place.
So we're in the hunt for European competition.
We're on the same points as Chelsea, Crystal Palace.
(17:39):
I said they're fucking mid table.
They're actually sitting 4th at the moment.
The mid table is quite competitive like from Newcastle
was sitting on 22 points. Crystal Palace is sitting on 26
at 4:00. So there's a four point gap
between the following teams, Chelsea, Man United, Crystal
Palace, Everton, Brighton, Sunderland, Liverpool,
(17:59):
Tottenham, Newcastle and you caneven throw Bournemouth in there
who was sitting on on 20 points too.
It's just, it's quite, it's quite amazing.
I think the quality has gone up big time.
I think the league's been reallyimpressive and Premier League is
just getting tougher every year.And you can't, you can't afford
to just slip back and and take days off because teams like
Palace, Everton bride and all the teams I've mentioned that
(18:21):
are not the big 6 will come in and take points off you with
ease. Aston Villa is sitting
comfortably at 30 points, Man City 2 points away, not 3
sitting at 31. But the story of the week has
been Liverpool, particularly Mohamed Salah who did not get on
the pitch. Leeds were the Liverpool were
(18:43):
two nil up actually and Leeds managed to come back 22
Liverpool, they're making it 32.Sabala getting a winner.
I think him and Ekatika have been the only two good players
for the club. Let's be real, Sabala has been
working so hard this season and everyone else has not been up to
it. But Tanaka getting a 96 minute
doing the reverse Liverpool to solidify a point and all the
(19:04):
headlines were about Mohamed Salah complaining about not
getting minutes, saying that he's lost the relationship with
Arne Slot, saying he doesn't know if he'll play another game
for Liverpool and the fact that he's being disrespected.
Now, there can be two ways generically and objectively, you
can view this. OK, one, you can sit there and
(19:26):
say Salah had a 43 goal slash assist season last year.
He's a legend at the club. He's brings, he's brung so, so
many trophies, so much success. He's been a goal scoring
machine. He's been unbelievable
throughout his whole tenure at Liverpool.
You can also say that the fact that I think he got convinced by
Liverpool to sign on for anothertwo years and there may have
(19:47):
been some broken promises, theremay have been things that was
mentioned that didn't happen andnow he finds himself on the
bench. It can come as a surprise.
And then the other point is the fact that he's potentially being
selfish. He's also not considering the
team and he's probably not really having a good hard look
at himself and the fact that he's not performing either,
(20:10):
which the reality is he isn't. Now I don't think Arne Slot is
dropping him because he wants tobe disrespectful, he's trying to
prove a point. I just simply think that Salah
hasn't been good enough and ultimately when you're not good
enough, you don't really deserveto play.
And the fact of the matter is I do not disrespect anything
(20:30):
Muhammad Saleh has done, but I've seen enough to know that if
he's not scoring or contributingto any goals in a game, whether
it's an assist, whether it's a goal or whether it's like a 70
minute penalty, he's not doing much like there were.
There were so many games where he scored a goal and he hasn't
performed. So when you take away the one
(20:52):
thing that makes him the player he is and that is putting the
ball in the back of the net and contributing to goals go and
that's out of his game, then like how can you justify him
having good performance because he's not making an impact
anywhere else. If he's not making an impact on
the scoreboard, he's certainly not coming back and defending.
He's certainly not playing a killer pass to another player at
(21:13):
the moment. He's certainly not having the
speed and skill to take on two or three players, get the ball
in the box. It just it just hasn't been
happening for him. So I just don't think that Kim
coming out and making it about himself.
And I'll go with the latter, to be honest, maybe as a biassed
United fan and maybe because I don't like when things
personally go public and, and you make things about yourself,
(21:37):
it's it justifies why I'd be criticising.
Because at the end of the day, this is about Liverpool Football
Club. This is about them struggling.
This is not about you and your minutes, Mohamed Salah.
As much as you bring in so much to the table, as much as there
may have been some broken promises, you may feel
disrespected. At the end of the day, the fact
(21:57):
of the matter is the team is struggling and you haven't been
able to help and perform to helpthem get out of it.
When you've done that so many times in the past.
I'll be honest, I'll sit there and say Mohammed Salah has been
the same grace for Liverpool on multiple occasions.
It's just unfortunately when it comes to what's happening right
now, it's it's not impacting winning and it ultimately slot.
(22:22):
He's under pressure and he needsto get results.
So Hekatika has been performing better than him.
He deserves to play and that's why he's playing.
In the moment of the Leeds game,you have to also remember that
Liverpool 32 up. So why on earth would you bring
Mohamed Salah to try hold out the game when you really are in
desperate need for three points?These are great conversations
(22:44):
that I'd love to have with my fellow Liverpool brethrens who
don't want to get on the pod. I've asked for multiple weeks.
I still don't want to get there.I'm trying to get this done.
I think I'm trying all right, help me out.
If you guys want to see Liverpool versus THW jump on the
comments, jump on the pod and and let's get this happening
man. Let's call out the guys I know a
(23:06):
lot of views are my mates. Let's be honest.
Call out Anthony, call out Brent, call out Nath, call out
Michael, call out even Brave whodidn't get on the pod to just
fucking get on and talk about these fucking shit show teams.
Because yeah, Liverpool just, they're just big shit, let's be
honest. And their their run isn't going
to get any easier. They've got a lot of hard
fixtures coming up, especially in Europe.
(23:26):
I'm pretty sure they've got Inter coming up and then
Brighton next week, which is notgoing to be easy, followed by
Tottenham. So yeah, lots of hard fixtures
there and yeah, they're not doing really well.
So that's probably enough for myLiverpool ran.
I will just quickly break down the matches that are having that
occurring this week. We've got Chelsea, Everton,
(23:47):
Liverpool take on Brighton. I'll just give my predictions.
Why not Chelsea, Everton? I expect this to be a draw.
I think Chelsea won't get the result.
I know it's at Stamford Bridge. I'm expecting a draw on this
one. Liverpool and Brighton, I think
they do get a win here. Liverpool, I think they all the
sort of headlines of Salah and the fact that they've been
struggling. I think they come back and punch
(24:08):
Brighton in the mouth and and it's it's more of a reaction
thing. Burnley and Fulham.
I'm going to go for a draw on this one.
I just don't really see Fulham taking a win at home away from
Burnley. I think Burnley can hold out,
but I don't think they can get the three points.
Arsenal and Wolves, like that's a bye week for Arsenal.
They should bounce back quick and make quick work of the
(24:29):
Wolves. Crystal Palace and Man City,
that's going to be a very, very good game.
Man City are coming off top form.
But you know what, I'm going to give this one a drawer as well
and I've put a lot of drawers inhere, probably going safe, but I
don't see Crystal Palace dropping a game against Man City
at home. I know United did it, but we're
a bit, I'm joking, but we're just just a different output.
(24:50):
I think Crystal Palace, Man Citywill have the ball United will
set up for counter attacking football, but I think Man City
will have the ball more and it'll suit Crystal Palace to
really jump on the on the counter too.
And then for me, the game of theround, which I've been waiting
so long for this game and this match up.
It's been years since we've had it, but it's also even this
(25:11):
season, Sunderland versus Newcastle and it's at 1:00 AM on
a Monday. I actually might TuneIn for this
one because it's actually one ofmy favourite derbies to watch.
There's so much history between these two clubs and I think
Sunderland at home to Newcastle where you thought Newcastle
would be the dominating team with all the the Saudi money and
making Champions League and whatnot.
(25:31):
And now Sunderland have come outthe gates firing and are killing
it. And yeah, they lost to Man City,
but they're going to come out I think all guns blazing and I
think they're going to get the victory here.
Newcastle have a woeful away record.
I know they've won recently awaybut their away record this
season has been woeful and I generally think Sunderland and
get a victory here and and make quick work here.
I won't say quick work, but I'm going to go 31 to Sunderland.
(25:55):
Believe it or not. I think 31 will be the score
here. They call me crazy but I just
think Sunderland will be up for it.
The fans will go crazy and it's their first Toon Derby in so
long, so why wouldn't they go out with a bang and try punch
Newcastle down the throat now? We'll have to say, but I'm keen.
I think I'm going to tune into that one.
I'm really excited for that matchup.
Nottingham Forest taking on Tottenham, man, that's a tough
(26:20):
one. I'm gonna go to Tottenham.
I'll do the hot take here. I think Tottenham can get a
victory here. They're in much need of
victories. They get a win against
Brentford, I think they can build on it and get a victory
here. West Ham and Aston Villa, I
think Aston Villa get them with victory.
Despite West Ham's form at the moment, they've been pretty
solid. I don't see them beating Aston
(26:40):
Villa. I think Aston Villa on on fire
right now and absolutely killingit.
We've got Brentford and Leeds. I expect Brentford to win this
one. Igor Tiago to get on the
scoresheet for sure. That man's been killing it.
And then United and Bournemouth for our third consecutive 7:00
AM game, which is quite good forme.
I'm I'm not complaining about it.
Don't get me wrong. I can't sit there and say United
(27:03):
will win the match. I'm going to support them all
the way and back us. But like, I've seen us draw
against West Ham at home, seen us lose to Everton at home.
There's something about us playing at Old Trafford where I
think the pressure is getting tothe teams, to the fans and
everything. And I think there's a bit of a
hostile atmosphere at Old Trafford rather than a +1.
(27:25):
So for that, I'm gonna give Bournemouth the edge to draw.
I'm never gonna say they're gonna win because I'm always
gonna back United. But I just don't really see us
unfortunately winning this match, as much as I hate to say
it. But again, Premier League action
has been fantastic. And yeah, I'm really excited to
see how things will go moving forward as well for the Premier
(27:47):
League because the title race has gone tighter with Arsenal
dropping points there. And yeah, just wanted to take a
moment to thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of
The Huddle Within podcast. If you do enjoy episodes like
this or this episode specifically, be sure to leave a
comment and a five star review wherever you do get your
podcasts. It'd be also great if you could
(28:09):
like and subscribe wherever you do get your podcasts so we can
continue to show this out to people that see sports exactly
the way that you do. But without further ado, let's
get straight back into it. So I've got the start of the NBA
Cup knockout rounds tomorrow with the Magic and he taking on
each other and the Raptors taking on the Knicks as well.
(28:29):
So 2 exciting games to sort of wrap up NBA Cup action.
I will get my quick predictions on who I think will win.
I think the Heat will beat the Magic.
I think that they have too many players that are injured at the
moment. France went down.
He's going to be out for three to four weeks, which is not
really good for my fantasy. I did get the win, but him being
(28:52):
injured really doesn't help my cause at the moment.
Friends has been playing pretty well, but I don't think he's
going to be available to play. So I don't see the Magic getting
a win here if I'm honest or despite them playing at home.
So I'm going to go with the Heatin this one and then we've got
the Raptors taking on the Knicksas well and I'm going to have to
go to the Knicks too. I think the Knicks will get this
one done too. I think they have in a poised
(29:14):
position to win and I think whenit matters, they have the
experience in these type of games and I think that will make
quick work honestly. Actually of the of the Toronto
Raptors, who to be fair have been playing pretty well.
So I can't really knock them down too bad.
But I have to give the Knicks the victory here.
We then have the Thunder taking on the Suns.
(29:38):
The Thunder should win this one.Let's be honest, if the Suns do
win, I'm going to be really impressed with them because
they've been bawling the hell out.
Let's be honest, I took the overon them and I'm so proud of
myself for doing it, but I didn't think they'd be this
good. It just shows a shift in culture
having Gillian Brooks there and even Colin Gillespie's just been
bawling out. So like the Suns could give him
a battle here, but I just don't see it.
(29:59):
Unfortunately. I think the Thunder will just be
too good and then we've got the Lakers and Spurs and like
Castles back. But if Wemby's not back, I think
the Lakers take this one out andthat will lead to semi finals
where I've got the heat taking on the Knicks.
I expect the Knicks to win that match up, but I wouldn't be
surprised if the heat beats them, especially with their
culture and everything else. And then the Lakers versus the
(30:23):
Thunder. I scream Thunder, but I just
feel like, oh fuck, I don't wantto do it, but I'm going to have
to give the Lakers the victory. I, I think Thunder loses.
I I am crazy to say it. They've been on a Peter, but I
think the Lakers get it done against the Thunder.
(30:44):
Call me crazy, call me whatever,but I just think we're going to
see a legacy Luca Doncic game. I think the lights are shining
real bright on them. They will perform and they are a
previous NBA Cup champion. So how can I knock the Lakers
down? I know how can I knock the
Thunder down either when they are the current or previous NBA
(31:05):
champions as well and probably have a big chance to go back to
back. But I'm just going with my gut
and my feeling. There's really no rationale
behind it. The Thunder could really blow
them out and it will just be a whitewash and they end up taking
on the whole NBA Cup. But I generally think the Lakers
can cause a really big upset here, and that will lead to, I
think, ESPN and mainstream basketball media's dream.
(31:29):
And that'll be a Lakers versus Knicks NBA Cup final.
Talk about box office, talk about the hype in that match.
And I think I'll go with the Knicks to beat the Lakers.
I know it's just crazy. And the only reason why I'm
doing that is because I actuallydon't want the Lakers to win.
I think the Lakers are probably a better team than the Knicks,
(31:52):
but I think when it comes to that final, I just would much
prefer the Knicks winning and I and I want to support them.
So I'm going to say that they'llwin it and the Knicks are my NBA
2025 Cup winners based on my prediction.
But let's be honest, I'm probably going to be completely
wrong. And the Thunder, we'll just
we'll just take it out. But not really much going on
(32:13):
this week with NBA. What I will say last week and
especially particularly today, Derek Queen went off from a
triple double. That boy's amazing.
That guy's just killing it. And what I would do to have him
being drafted to the Wizards, being a native Maryland player
and someone that's from Marylandcould have easily drafted him,
could have moved up to get him. We were in that position to
(32:35):
probably draught him. I know the Pelicans went all in
for it and it might look stupid because they are at the bottom,
but ultimately I think they got their guy for the future and
pairing him up with Jeremiah Fears, she has been a bit off.
He's still an unbelievable pointguard and a really good player.
So yeah, Queen of fears killing it.
Castle made his return was pretty solid this whole week.
(32:57):
And how how about Kevin Porter Junior doing that magic for the
Bucks man? Like, no, Giannis, he's really
taken strides to be elite this season.
And yeah, I think when it comes to the table, it's it's sort of
the same situation. The Pistons are first, the
Knicks are second. The Celtics are killing it.
They've won their last five. And I also put the over on them.
(33:17):
So they've been impressing me asof late.
The Thunder 23 and one, the Lakers are 17 and six.
So there's second seed. So you see see exciting times.
Thunder Lakers could be could bea massive, massive clash.
You never know. That's where I see the Lakers
potentially winning. And then the same with the
Knicks. The Raptors have lost their last
three. That's why I went for him.
So that's where sort of the standings are sitting.
(33:39):
The Hawks have been struggling as of yet, other than yet, but
who isn't struggling is Jaylen Johnson.
That bloke is a machine. And fucking Wizards, man.
I've been crying every day, every time I see a Jaylen
Johnson performance that we should have been the ones to
draught him. We really should have because
he's a stud. And I think now they're thinking
(33:59):
that they could potentially tellTrey to pack his bags and go
because there has been a lot of rumours that that Trey Young
could leave. And if there's an opportunity to
bring in a player, why not buildaround someone like Jaylen
Johnson? When you've got nice little
pieces around him, you just needto pair them up with someone
that's probably young and upcoming and a star.
And they've got that pick to do it next season.
(34:20):
Because if the Pelicans continuehow they're going, they might be
able to pair up someone like Peterson, the bandstar Boozer
along with him. And that could be a serious
threat moving forward. But at the moment they're really
struggling. So we'll that's probably enough
for Atlanta Hawks talk. But yeah, that pretty much wraps
up NBA this week. So get keen for the NBA Cup,
Tune into that because there's alot of good fixtures there. 500K
(34:43):
for each player. So they're going to really want
to ball hard, especially the minimum players.
They want to get that bag quick.So look out for it.
I've got New York Knicks winningit, but I think it'll be the
Thunder realistically, let's be honest, like let's not go too
crazy, Daniel. Let's not go with the hot tapes,
Daniel, because I think the Thunder will probably win this
one. And then we'll quickly wrap off
(35:11):
with some NFL action. The Packers beating the Bears.
I hyped this one up to be a big match and the Packers very
clutch on defence, got the win for them.
So that that was awesome. A great performance from them
all round, particularly the likes of Jordan Love. 3
touchdowns, 234 yards, simply impressive.
(35:32):
Caleb Williams did a pretty goodjob as well on the other end
too. But Jordan Love just killed it.
Watson 2 touchdowns as well. Human, human love just were
telepathic killing it. I'm on the offensive side and
Josh Jacobs chimed in for a touchdown too, which is which is
always good as well. But one team I want to talk
about and you know it, it's my bloody Saints.
(35:55):
They beat the Bucks away from home.
Unbelievable. Tyler shocked 144 yards, one
interception. I think he had a running
touchdown as well. So he had a solid, solid game.
Devon Valet looking like a decent receiver and a young
Devon Neil who got 1 touchdown and 70 yards.
(36:15):
The fact that Alvin Kamara hasn't been playing, can we look
to jump in onto Devon? Devon Neil and he can be our
future running back. Who knows?
He's been, he's been pretty solid.
Haven't really we've been able to watch the games given that
it's been like 4:00 AM, but I'vebeen keeping up with the
highlights. We got him as a six round pick
and he looks to be someone that could potentially be really good
(36:38):
for us. He had a really good displaying
his rush for 178 yards. He's had one touchdown and he
looks solid without Alvin Kamarathere.
Now I know when Alvin Kamara comes back we'll probably start.
But at the end of the day, we dohave some nice pieces for the
future and maybe we don't need to get a quarterback because
Shock could be the guy who knowsthe Rams smacking up Cardinals
(36:59):
45 to 17. Puke is just an unbelievable
player and he really carried my fantasy at the moment, which has
been great because I've made it to the playoffs and I'm really
excited to lock into NFL fantasy.
I haven't been talking about it,but all I will say is that I had
a record of seven and eight, I'mpretty sure.
So it was a negative record, butI had the second highest points
(37:21):
and my team is really good and Ithink I'll be in poised position
to potentially make a deep playoff run.
It's just that unfortunately, every single fucking week that
I've been versing another player, they've had their best
scores against me and I just hate when that shit happens.
But that's just me crashing out to fantasy as I normally do.
But games a game. Broncos beating the Raiders and
(37:42):
they go on another 10 game win streak.
Them and the Patriots are just sitting comfortably at 11:00 and
2:00. But someone that has been
sitting uncomfortably has been the Colts.
They've dropped down to 8 and five.
They got smacked up by the Jaguars in a must win game and
now that they've got like 3 quarterbacks injured, they're in
big trouble. They they started really strong,
(38:02):
but now they've lost their last three and I don't think they're
going to get out of the AFC S because the Texans who have won
their last five, who arguably have the best defence in the
NFL. Go check out our NFL recap.
TJ talks a lot about them and sodoes Kenny.
The Texans beat the Kansas City Chiefs, who are out of the
playoffs. Wow, wow, wow, wow.
(38:25):
Two weeks ago we were talking about how they could make the
finals, and now we're sitting there saying that they're
eliminated. I'm glad for it.
I'm black again. When you have dynasties, you
kind of get over teams just doing so well.
And it's an end to Kansas City for this season.
And, you know, bring on a new team, bring on a new player of
the AFC. I've still got the Bills to take
(38:47):
out the AFC and it's just wide open there.
We found the Patriots and and the Broncos playing how they are
and just performing how they are.
You can't really write them off either.
So it's going to be fun. It's going to be really fun
there. We did have an early match, the
Lions on Thursday Night Footballbeating the Cowboys, too.
How good is Jameer Gibbs? The NFC North is very tight at
(39:11):
the moment. Like, we don't really know who's
going to come out and be the topof that Division 2.
The Packers made a statement, but the Bears are still solid
and the Detroit Lions will stillhave a lot to say going forward
as well. For sure.
We had the Seahawks getting a victory as well.
Jackson Smith and Jig, there's just elite what a play out like
(39:32):
him and Jonathan Taylor should be offensive player of the year.
I think lately now it might fallto Jackson Smith just because of
the fact that the Colts have dropped down a bit.
But still, I think either of them would be good enough to
sort of cap out that reward as well.
And two more weeks or three moreweeks to the playoffs.
So next week, highlights is highlighted by division game on
(39:56):
Thursday night, the Buccaneers taking on the Falcons.
Can Falcons also play spoiler toallow for the Panthers to
potentially take out the division where they do take on
the Saints? How good would it be if the
Panthers? I'm rooting for the Panthers.
I'm not supposed to root for anyone in the NFC South, let's
be honest. But I would love just to see the
Panthers. Take out the division because
I'm just sick of the Buccaneers.And I think it'd be a cool
(40:18):
underdog story to see the Panthers go and do something in
in a division that is. Yeah, it is the bloody the worst
division in the in the in the NFL.
Let's be honest. Like the thing that the one
that's probably worse right now is the AFC North, where the the
Steelers are 7 and six and the Ravens are six and seven.
Yeah, you said everyone said it in their head.
(40:40):
Let's be honest. Let's let's be honest, I'm not,
I'm not going to say it again. But yeah, the, the, the
Baltimore Ravens are what they are.
And you can make those jokes in your head after I said it.
But yeah, next week is highlighted by that.
It's also highlighted by the Patriots and the Bills.
And this is like a AFC championship potential.
(41:00):
We've got the, the pack, the, the, that I've lost it in my in
my freaking voice. We've got the Broncos taking on
the Packers as well. Let's see, Packers is in my
head, but the Broncos is who I was talking about to highlight
that round as well. So Patriots, Bills, Buccaneers,
Falcons, divisional games, both divisional games and the Broncos
(41:23):
and Packers. I've also got the Rams and Lions
and the Seahawks and Colts. Know what?
This is actually a really fun round.
I think it's going to be very, very fun.
Lots of NFL action, lots of big teams taking on each other as
well. But I think I think mainly the
highlight will be the the Bills taking on the Patriots.
Can the Bills make a statement in the AFC East and potentially
(41:45):
get closer to the Patriots and snap A10 game win streak?
The NFL Awesome, awesome sport. I love it.
I just wish I could wake up for red zone and be able to watch
all the games because they're atsuch a rough time at 5:00 AM on
a Monday, especially when like you've got Premier League,
that's the night before. So if I'm going to go watch
(42:07):
Newcastle and Sunderland, how amI going to wake up and watch
Redstone at 5:00 AM? It's it's a tough one.
And then you've got a factor in full time work.
That's why we do this podcast topotentially get out of it.
But you know, if I could sit there and just watch sport all
day every day as part of my job,then I'd be loving my life.
(42:28):
And you know, you never know, I could do that one day.
And that's why we're on this pod.
But that pretty much wraps up all the Sporting News.
So like I said, there was a lot to get through in this episode.
Lots of headlines, lots of different things happening,
which is which is awesome and welove that.
But again, it's been your boy Daniel.
You listen to another episode ofthe Huddle within.
If you do enjoy this episode, again, feel free to to leave a
(42:51):
comment, subscribe wherever you do get your podcasts.
And yeah, just your comments, comments, comments, comments.
Just leave some comments. Tell me what you like.
I'm looking, I'm very close to getting in a guest.
I think I've got one locked in for for Jan potentially.
So get excited for that. Don't want to reveal too much on
that until we get it out. But we also have, I'm going to
(43:13):
push for the Liverpool and THW pod as well.
I think it's needed and I think it's something that will be
really good to listen to as wellacross the board.
But again, it's been your boy Daniel, and I'll catch you guys
next week. Cheers.
So that's a wrap for this week'sepisode of the Huddle Within
podcast. I appreciate you for tuning in
and being part of this communitywhere we go beyond the game and
into what really matters. If this episode resonated with
(43:36):
you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it
with someone who sees sports just the way that we do.
And hey, I'd love to hear from you.
Connect with me on my social medias, which will be linked
below, send in your thoughts andeven be part of a future
episode. Until next time, keep that
passion alive, stay in the huddle, and remember it's always
deeper than the game. Cheers.
What is going on, everybody? And welcome to this week's
episode of The Huddle Within podcast.
Thank you very much for tuning in once again to another episode
44, breaking down the latest andgreatest Sporting News.
There's actually a lot to cover on this episode.
I don't know where to start really, because there's been
(00:20):
some top headlines. I guess we can make a start with
Formula One. We have the official drivers
champion and that is Lando Norris in honestly a fucking
real boring race. Like Max finished first in pole,
Norris was second, Pierce, she was third in the sort of
qualifications, and then we justhad a dead race.
(00:44):
You thought that when Lennon Norris got into the pits and
Yuki Sonoda was in front, he could have probably done a
better job in in protecting Max and trying to defend that
position for him. But yeah, and that didn't
happen. And I don't know if that's
because Yuki is 1 foot out the door already or that's if the
car's just simply not good enough.
But Lando wins it. And yeah, I'm not happy about
(01:08):
it. But I guess commiserations to
Oscar, commiserations to Max, who put up a unbelievable
comeback. And for Lando, like, yeah, he
did deserve it. But at the same time, I feel
like it was such a spoon fed given championship, like you got
to earn it. You, you, you got to earn it to
get there. He did earn it.
(01:28):
He was consistent throughout thewhole year.
His car was amazing. But I always thought that Oscar
was the much better driver and the way they positioned him in
in the strategy and what they did to him was quite unfair.
And it really killed his confidence and and derailed him
for sure. And then Max is Max.
He's just unbelievable. Like the fact that he got to a
point where he was within a few points from being a driver's
(01:51):
champion just just shows how much of a good driver he is.
So yeah, Congrats to Lando. I don't really want to speak
about it too much because it frustrates me.
Like, Oscar had a chance to be the world champion, F1 champion
for the first time in a very long time for Australians.
But Lando gets the victory here.All the British press, all the
media will be happy about it because that's one thing that
(02:13):
the British have done well and that great gives me great
segment to talk about what they haven't been doing well and
that's playing cricket. They invented the sport and
they're rubbish. I I just see Piers Morgan just
yapping about on X saying that they've got a chance, mate, our
whole team is killing you and wedon't even have our spinner.
(02:34):
Well, he got dropped our captainand Mitch Stark is just just
bowling away like a Beastie is with his left hand.
He's just been unbelievable first innings.
We just had a all round great batting performance across the
board start getting the most runs and just shows how strong
our bowling lineup is batting aswell.
They always seem to find runs when we when we need it at most
(02:55):
and just just consistency acrossthe whole board where the whole
doing really well and yeah, the bowling lineup unbelievable.
But England, they I think they blew this one because they had a
lot of drop catches and they hada really strong first innings.
Joe Root had a really good display then showing that he's a
he's a really good batsman. And him and Stokes just just
(03:15):
need the help really. Like, yeah, they have Joffre
Archer. But the last, the last moment
where all of a sudden he decidedthat he wanted to start bowling
150 KS didn't mean much and and Steve Smith let him know about
it and literally ran free in hishead.
I like Archer so I don't want toclan him too much on it.
But it was definitely a moment for Archer to forget when Smudge
(03:35):
was just hitting him up the park, despite Archer deciding
that he wanted to bowl 150 and bowl fast.
And I think that's the aggression that England truly
need to have a chance to win a series because quite frankly,
they've just been rubbish. And it's just the same old story
for for England every time they come to Australia.
The last time they were good was15 years ago.
I remember when they had Alistair Cook, Strauss, they
(03:58):
they tear us up. But this, this, this team is
just, it's just not good enough.And yeah, I don't know how to
solve it for them. But I'm all happy for Australia
and it's great to see Australians just up and about
winning Test cricket, living rent free and people like Piers
Morgan's ahead. And yeah, we love it.
Like the Bance is all for it. Like I'm not going to sit there
(04:19):
and say I hate Joffre Aja for it.
I I kind of love it. It brings the entertainment.
I love a bit of beef and a lot of the head to head clashes
between the cricketers and it just calls for entertainment.
But it's just great to have Australian cricket like cricket.
When Australia hosts cricket andteams tour here.
It's a spectacle to me. Like you have it up all day,
(04:41):
just watch the time go by. I'm actually a big fan of Test
cricket. IA lot of casual cricket fans
will love like the 2020 but I don't I don't like 2020 at all.
I really like Test cricket. I think Test cricket is my
favourite form of cricket, just the shots and sort of the way
that it goes for five days, the mental battle and also like just
having your best display of batsman.
(05:02):
I love it. So it's it's great to see five
days of cricket. And we're coming up on the next
series and that's going to be atthe Adelaide Oval and it's going
to be a normal day Test. So England can't complain about
the night Test and that being a disadvantage.
They've got a chance to to make it 2 one at Adelaide and then
we're off the Boxing Day, which I'm really excited for.
I'm still trying to get a ticketfor it.
(05:23):
I originally was going to but I think I've jumped on too late to
it and now I'm craving a ticket because Boxing Day test is is
something else. If if there is anyone that lives
in Australia that's never been to a Boxing Day test, it has to
go on your bucket list and it's some.
Even if you don't like cricket, you just spend the whole day
enjoying the sun getting on the Pierce, and the atmosphere is
(05:44):
just second to none. It's a full stadium, it's a full
crowd, and you get the MCG stadium experience, which to me,
I've been to a lot of stadiums. I've been to Old Trafford, I've
been to so far, stadium in America, which has the massive
jambatron, been to multiple stadiums across Europe, across
the United States. And let me tell you, the MCG for
me is still #100,000 cedar, iconic, an Oval shape.
(06:08):
It's, it's simply incredible. And I, and I'll, I'll say that
all the time, I don't think there is a better stadium than
the MCG if I'm, if I'm totally honest.
So having an opportunity to go there, even if it's not day one,
the tickets are sold out, maybe jumping on day four or five to
go watch a bit of Test cricket. You can't go wrong.
And yeah, I'm excited to see it.I'm, I'm calling for a
whitewash. To be honest.
(06:29):
I think we can beat them five nil.
But I don't want to get too ahead of myself and be cocky
because we've got one more Test to win.
And yeah, I would prefer that weseal it in Melbourne, but again,
it'd be good to just go 3 nil and retain the Ashes.
It's always good that we retain there.
But I think we're calling for the Ashes to be in England.
I'm I'm keen to sort of see how we go on their home turf.
(06:51):
I feel like it's been a while since we've battled there, so
that would be cool to see. But again, the Australians are
flying crickets on the tally. How good for any Australian.
You don't even have to be a massive cricket fan to love Test
cricket and just see the Aussiesperform because let's be honest,
in all our international sports we really do struggle.
But when it comes to cricket, where we're simply up there and
(07:12):
I don't know what's been with the segments, but I'm, I'm doing
great segues into international comps.
And we've just been told our World Cup group, Australia
obviously qualified a sport thatwe do struggling.
But the Australian spirit comes alive when the World Cup comes
and everyone comes together and loves football or soccer.
When the World Cup comes and we've got a nice attractive
(07:35):
group. We've got the USA, we've got
Turkey potentially if they do qualify, Kosovo or Slovakia or
Romania as well. They're doing a playoff at the
moment, so the winner of qualifying Group C and then
we've got Paraguay as well. So to me it screams US
qualifying. But this iteration of the
(07:58):
Australian national team gives me a lot of questions. the US
are really happy that they've drawn us.
They we were probably one of theeasiest teams in Part 2, but
they were also the easiest team in Part 1.
So I'm actually all for taking on the US and I'd love to
fucking beat them on their own, on their own stadium and just
just suck it up to those American fans.
(08:19):
That would be lovely. Paragraph won't be easy, I'll be
honest. South American teams we always
struggle against. We just got knocked out the park
by both Venezuela and Colombia. So Paraguay are going to be
easy. And then whoever comes out of
this Europe fixture, for bias purposes, I'm hoping Kosovo
does. I think that would be really
exciting to see. But I think based on the four
teams, it could be the Slovakia,Slovakia, Slovakia, Slovakia or
(08:41):
Turkey taking that out and potentially being probably the
strongest team in that World Cupgroup, believe it or not, just
shows how strong Europe is there.
So yeah, I'm not holding anything for ransom, but I'm
really backing the the Australian, the Australians
there. And how awesome is that?
The first game of the World Cup is going to be a blast from the
(09:01):
blast 2010, same exact dates, different years.
Obviously South Africa take on Mexico and Mexico's the host
station will look to get some payback on South Africa who
smacked them up three nil to thegoal that he scored.
Shabba Lava is iconic with the nice Jubilani ball.
Oh man, I'm keen for the World Cup, let's say, and, and just
(09:23):
seeing that first match will be awesome.
Mexico, Canada, US. I'm so keen to to talk about the
World Cup when it comes. So talking about the groups now
obviously is is awesome, but obviously the, the, the sort of
celebratory and and the entertainment piece was quite
controversial and very weird, I would say, but that's America
(09:44):
for you. I think they're just pride on
their entertainment and showbiz.So not ruling it out, but we
have a very exciting World Cup and lots of new teams.
There's a lot of, there's a lot more teams this year.
So questions are whether the group stages are going to be as
good as last time. There's no real group of death.
There is some random teams. They're all all good to them.
(10:06):
Like nothing against them. It's just I think the
competition isn't as strong likecrew sales in Hades in Panama's
in like already talking three teams in the north, in the
Caribbean, in North America thatrealistically are not better
than some of the European teams that are missing out.
So I feel as though there's a lot of teams from those
confederations like even Asia and Africa that are not probably
(10:28):
to the standard. But at the same time, the World
Cup is about the sort of diversity and having multiple
teams from different confederations brings a bit of
joy to these countries. So I'm I'm not really against
it, to be honest. And also just makes the moment
better for those countries. Like I'm sure Cruise out will be
so happy to be in a World Cup. I'm sure countries like Haiti,
(10:49):
countries like I would say Panama as well, be really keen
there. And even even some continents in
Asia, I think Iraq's in there aswell, qualifying.
It's just awesome for them. So yeah, you got to, you got to,
you got to give credit where credit's due when it comes to
that moment. And I think, yeah, the World Cup
will be exciting nevertheless because once we get to the
finals, that's where the tasty part starts.
(11:12):
I think in terms of favourites, if I'm going to call out a
favourite right now, I can't. But I will say that Portugal are
looking really strong. It's one of the strongest
Portuguese teams to ever, I think, go to a World Cup in a
long time. So can Ronaldo get a World Cup
and create that debate with Messi on on being the GOAT?
(11:33):
It's a great discussion. We'll have to see what happens,
but I think if the time is is now, it is for Portugal because
their team is is solid, a few Champions League winners playing
at PSG who are killing it as well and and just some reputable
Premier League players as well on top of that.
So it might be the year for Portugal that I'm just going to
(11:53):
call that out early. I don't know if it will happen,
but having that World Cup will be amazing for Ronaldo and I
think I think considering his career and how amazing he's
been, I wouldn't be against it. I just would like Messi to have
that again up on him. So then the GOAT sort of debate
is close because to me, Messi isthe greatest player to ever play
(12:14):
the sport. Like, I don't think there is a
debate for me. And Speaking of Goats, Oh my
God, I'm not doing this on purpose.
I promise you I'm not. But John Cena is finishing up
next week, so I have to go to it.
The GOAT of wrestling, the greatest of all time, no debate
is finishing up this week on Saturday night's Main event.
You must watch the show think it's going to be on Netflix.
(12:36):
If not, it is on YouTube. Watch the show.
It's John Cena's last time in the ring.
Like everyone's grown up with John Cena.
Everyone at a stage loved wrestling until they they got
here with the hard reality that it's fake.
I'm doing air quotes for those in the listening to the audio
fake. It's definitely not fake.
Yes, it's it's sort of scripted and there's an A pre a
preconceived outcome, but the moves and the sets is not fake.
(13:00):
Just saying, OK, I will defend that with my life as I slap my
microphone. Anyway, John Cena's finishing
up. That's going to be crazy.
So just be excited for that. I think that we're looking at
the last time John Cena will ever perform in the ring.
And because he said it, I believe it.
I do believe it. So, yeah, look out for that.
(13:20):
I think will be a spectacle. He's taking on Gunther.
And if anyone's heard anything about Gunther, all you have to
know about him is that he is a textbook old school wrestler
from Austria. Absolute machine.
He won the the last time he's now tournament and he's
qualified to take on John Cena in his last match, where I
(13:40):
suspect that Gunther will probably win the bloody match.
But again, it's not about him, it's about John Cena.
And I'm actually going to be really sad when he finishes up
with WWE and never wrestling again.
So I'm excited. You should be as well.
Even if you don't support it, it's always good to see go to
perform in any craft, sport or entertainment, whatever it is.
But there will also be some other nice matches too.
(14:02):
You've got Over Femi taking on Cody Rhodes.
Over Femi is an up and coming NXT star.
I wouldn't really say up and coming.
He's been around the game for a while, but he's destined for a
main card appearance and to be signed on to Raw Smackdown for
sure and it's going to be a great display for him.
We've got Soul Rooka taking on Bailey as well, She's another up
and coming * And then we've got a TNA star who I can't get the
(14:25):
name out of my tongue right now,and a young this guy's up and
coming. This guy's going to be a
machine. He's athletically gifted and
he's insane. Javon Evans taking on AJ Styles
and Dragon Lee and the purpose of this main event Saturday
night main event pay per view orPLA is to be off with John Cena,
out with the old and on with thenew.
(14:45):
And John Cena's purposely stagedthis is and scripted this
himself, created this card himself for him to start the
match and showcase the future. And I like that from John Cena
putting over young and upcoming stars.
It's going to be awesome. And yeah, he truly is the GOAT.
So there's really no debate in that, especially when it comes
to entertainment points there, there really is no no debate.
(15:07):
As as mentioned as well. Just wanted to take a moment to
thank you guys for tuning into another episode of the huddle
within podcast. If you do enjoy episodes like
this or this episode specifically, be sure to leave a
comment and a five star review wherever you do get your
podcasts. It'd be also great if you could
like and subscribe wherever you do get your podcasts so we can
(15:28):
continue to show this out to people that see sports exactly
the way that you do. But without further ado, let's
get straight back into it. So we're I'm going to quickly
talk about the APL and I will get to the seller point because
I think that's one of the biggest news that has come out
of I guess this week when it comes to Premier League.
Hatewatch successful for Aston Villa, they get a 94th minute
(15:50):
winner from Bandia to be Arsenal21 at Villas home ground to open
up the title race. I think City and Aston Villa are
seeing three points behind them now which is quite crazy.
Evident take a solid 3 nil win. Drisby Hall is making a case to
be in the England squad which iscrazy is doing a really good
job. Got Newcastle beating Burnley
21. A solid performance from
(16:11):
Newcastle with A10 men Burnley that is struggling.
Man City making quick work of a 10 man Sunderland.
We may have thought there has been an upset but could this
kick start cities run into potentially getting to another
Premier League title? Tottenham made quick work of
Brentford 2 nil a solid performance there.
We had Bournemouth drawing with Chelsea nil nil Brighton and
(16:34):
West Ham drawing 11 as well so West Ham getting a much needed
point away from home. Crystal Palace defeating Fulham
21. Crystal Palace are just flying
right now, they're just they're doing so well as a mid table
team and despite losing a lot oftheir players, Glasner's the guy
there that's just making everything tick.
And my Gay is just a machine too, let's be honest.
(16:54):
And I think he needs to go to Liverpool.
Scores an 87th minute winner here and Liverpool won.
Much desperate need of him I think.
And United defeat Wolves 41, andif we're beating Wolves 41, that
just shows how shit Wolves are. Like, I think they're going
straight down. They're in massive, massive
trouble. Let's be honest here.
Bruno Fernandez getting a brace,Byron Boomer and Mason Mound
(17:17):
scoring there as well. So yeah, I think Halls are done.
Like, there's not much to say about that.
It's great that United get a victory here.
That pushes us up to a more better, respectable spot on the
table. We're now sitting at 6th place.
So we're in the hunt for European competition.
We're on the same points as Chelsea, Crystal Palace.
(17:39):
I said they're fucking mid table.
They're actually sitting 4th at the moment.
The mid table is quite competitive like from Newcastle
was sitting on 22 points. Crystal Palace is sitting on 26
at 4:00. So there's a four point gap
between the following teams, Chelsea, Man United, Crystal
Palace, Everton, Brighton, Sunderland, Liverpool,
(17:59):
Tottenham, Newcastle and you caneven throw Bournemouth in there
who was sitting on on 20 points too.
It's just, it's quite, it's quite amazing.
I think the quality has gone up big time.
I think the league's been reallyimpressive and Premier League is
just getting tougher every year.And you can't, you can't afford
to just slip back and and take days off because teams like
Palace, Everton bride and all the teams I've mentioned that
(18:21):
are not the big 6 will come in and take points off you with
ease. Aston Villa is sitting
comfortably at 30 points, Man City 2 points away, not 3
sitting at 31. But the story of the week has
been Liverpool, particularly Mohamed Salah who did not get on
the pitch. Leeds were the Liverpool were
(18:43):
two nil up actually and Leeds managed to come back 22
Liverpool, they're making it 32.Sabala getting a winner.
I think him and Ekatika have been the only two good players
for the club. Let's be real, Sabala has been
working so hard this season and everyone else has not been up to
it. But Tanaka getting a 96 minute
doing the reverse Liverpool to solidify a point and all the
(19:04):
headlines were about Mohamed Salah complaining about not
getting minutes, saying that he's lost the relationship with
Arne Slot, saying he doesn't know if he'll play another game
for Liverpool and the fact that he's being disrespected.
Now, there can be two ways generically and objectively, you
can view this. OK, one, you can sit there and
(19:26):
say Salah had a 43 goal slash assist season last year.
He's a legend at the club. He's brings, he's brung so, so
many trophies, so much success. He's been a goal scoring
machine. He's been unbelievable
throughout his whole tenure at Liverpool.
You can also say that the fact that I think he got convinced by
Liverpool to sign on for anothertwo years and there may have
(19:47):
been some broken promises, theremay have been things that was
mentioned that didn't happen andnow he finds himself on the
bench. It can come as a surprise.
And then the other point is the fact that he's potentially being
selfish. He's also not considering the
team and he's probably not really having a good hard look
at himself and the fact that he's not performing either,
(20:10):
which the reality is he isn't. Now I don't think Arne Slot is
dropping him because he wants tobe disrespectful, he's trying to
prove a point. I just simply think that Salah
hasn't been good enough and ultimately when you're not good
enough, you don't really deserveto play.
And the fact of the matter is I do not disrespect anything
(20:30):
Muhammad Saleh has done, but I've seen enough to know that if
he's not scoring or contributingto any goals in a game, whether
it's an assist, whether it's a goal or whether it's like a 70
minute penalty, he's not doing much like there were.
There were so many games where he scored a goal and he hasn't
performed. So when you take away the one
(20:52):
thing that makes him the player he is and that is putting the
ball in the back of the net and contributing to goals go and
that's out of his game, then like how can you justify him
having good performance because he's not making an impact
anywhere else. If he's not making an impact on
the scoreboard, he's certainly not coming back and defending.
He's certainly not playing a killer pass to another player at
(21:13):
the moment. He's certainly not having the
speed and skill to take on two or three players, get the ball
in the box. It just it just hasn't been
happening for him. So I just don't think that Kim
coming out and making it about himself.
And I'll go with the latter, to be honest, maybe as a biassed
United fan and maybe because I don't like when things
personally go public and, and you make things about yourself,
(21:37):
it's it justifies why I'd be criticising.
Because at the end of the day, this is about Liverpool Football
Club. This is about them struggling.
This is not about you and your minutes, Mohamed Salah.
As much as you bring in so much to the table, as much as there
may have been some broken promises, you may feel
disrespected. At the end of the day, the fact
(21:57):
of the matter is the team is struggling and you haven't been
able to help and perform to helpthem get out of it.
When you've done that so many times in the past.
I'll be honest, I'll sit there and say Mohammed Salah has been
the same grace for Liverpool on multiple occasions.
It's just unfortunately when it comes to what's happening right
now, it's it's not impacting winning and it ultimately slot.
(22:22):
He's under pressure and he needsto get results.
So Hekatika has been performing better than him.
He deserves to play and that's why he's playing.
In the moment of the Leeds game,you have to also remember that
Liverpool 32 up. So why on earth would you bring
Mohamed Salah to try hold out the game when you really are in
desperate need for three points?These are great conversations
(22:44):
that I'd love to have with my fellow Liverpool brethrens who
don't want to get on the pod. I've asked for multiple weeks.
I still don't want to get there.I'm trying to get this done.
I think I'm trying all right, help me out.
If you guys want to see Liverpool versus THW jump on the
comments, jump on the pod and and let's get this happening
man. Let's call out the guys I know a
(23:06):
lot of views are my mates. Let's be honest.
Call out Anthony, call out Brent, call out Nath, call out
Michael, call out even Brave whodidn't get on the pod to just
fucking get on and talk about these fucking shit show teams.
Because yeah, Liverpool just, they're just big shit, let's be
honest. And their their run isn't going
to get any easier. They've got a lot of hard
fixtures coming up, especially in Europe.
(23:26):
I'm pretty sure they've got Inter coming up and then
Brighton next week, which is notgoing to be easy, followed by
Tottenham. So yeah, lots of hard fixtures
there and yeah, they're not doing really well.
So that's probably enough for myLiverpool ran.
I will just quickly break down the matches that are having that
occurring this week. We've got Chelsea, Everton,
(23:47):
Liverpool take on Brighton. I'll just give my predictions.
Why not Chelsea, Everton? I expect this to be a draw.
I think Chelsea won't get the result.
I know it's at Stamford Bridge. I'm expecting a draw on this
one. Liverpool and Brighton, I think
they do get a win here. Liverpool, I think they all the
sort of headlines of Salah and the fact that they've been
struggling. I think they come back and punch
(24:08):
Brighton in the mouth and and it's it's more of a reaction
thing. Burnley and Fulham.
I'm going to go for a draw on this one.
I just don't really see Fulham taking a win at home away from
Burnley. I think Burnley can hold out,
but I don't think they can get the three points.
Arsenal and Wolves, like that's a bye week for Arsenal.
They should bounce back quick and make quick work of the
(24:29):
Wolves. Crystal Palace and Man City,
that's going to be a very, very good game.
Man City are coming off top form.
But you know what, I'm going to give this one a drawer as well
and I've put a lot of drawers inhere, probably going safe, but I
don't see Crystal Palace dropping a game against Man City
at home. I know United did it, but we're
a bit, I'm joking, but we're just just a different output.
(24:50):
I think Crystal Palace, Man Citywill have the ball United will
set up for counter attacking football, but I think Man City
will have the ball more and it'll suit Crystal Palace to
really jump on the on the counter too.
And then for me, the game of theround, which I've been waiting
so long for this game and this match up.
It's been years since we've had it, but it's also even this
(25:11):
season, Sunderland versus Newcastle and it's at 1:00 AM on
a Monday. I actually might TuneIn for this
one because it's actually one ofmy favourite derbies to watch.
There's so much history between these two clubs and I think
Sunderland at home to Newcastle where you thought Newcastle
would be the dominating team with all the the Saudi money and
making Champions League and whatnot.
(25:31):
And now Sunderland have come outthe gates firing and are killing
it. And yeah, they lost to Man City,
but they're going to come out I think all guns blazing and I
think they're going to get the victory here.
Newcastle have a woeful away record.
I know they've won recently awaybut their away record this
season has been woeful and I generally think Sunderland and
get a victory here and and make quick work here.
I won't say quick work, but I'm going to go 31 to Sunderland.
(25:55):
Believe it or not. I think 31 will be the score
here. They call me crazy but I just
think Sunderland will be up for it.
The fans will go crazy and it's their first Toon Derby in so
long, so why wouldn't they go out with a bang and try punch
Newcastle down the throat now? We'll have to say, but I'm keen.
I think I'm going to tune into that one.
I'm really excited for that matchup.
Nottingham Forest taking on Tottenham, man, that's a tough
(26:20):
one. I'm gonna go to Tottenham.
I'll do the hot take here. I think Tottenham can get a
victory here. They're in much need of
victories. They get a win against
Brentford, I think they can build on it and get a victory
here. West Ham and Aston Villa, I
think Aston Villa get them with victory.
Despite West Ham's form at the moment, they've been pretty
solid. I don't see them beating Aston
(26:40):
Villa. I think Aston Villa on on fire
right now and absolutely killingit.
We've got Brentford and Leeds. I expect Brentford to win this
one. Igor Tiago to get on the
scoresheet for sure. That man's been killing it.
And then United and Bournemouth for our third consecutive 7:00
AM game, which is quite good forme.
I'm I'm not complaining about it.
Don't get me wrong. I can't sit there and say United
(27:03):
will win the match. I'm going to support them all
the way and back us. But like, I've seen us draw
against West Ham at home, seen us lose to Everton at home.
There's something about us playing at Old Trafford where I
think the pressure is getting tothe teams, to the fans and
everything. And I think there's a bit of a
hostile atmosphere at Old Trafford rather than a +1.
(27:25):
So for that, I'm gonna give Bournemouth the edge to draw.
I'm never gonna say they're gonna win because I'm always
gonna back United. But I just don't really see us
unfortunately winning this match, as much as I hate to say
it. But again, Premier League action
has been fantastic. And yeah, I'm really excited to
see how things will go moving forward as well for the Premier
(27:47):
League because the title race has gone tighter with Arsenal
dropping points there. And yeah, just wanted to take a
moment to thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of
The Huddle Within podcast. If you do enjoy episodes like
this or this episode specifically, be sure to leave a
comment and a five star review wherever you do get your
podcasts. It'd be also great if you could
(28:09):
like and subscribe wherever you do get your podcasts so we can
continue to show this out to people that see sports exactly
the way that you do. But without further ado, let's
get straight back into it. So I've got the start of the NBA
Cup knockout rounds tomorrow with the Magic and he taking on
each other and the Raptors taking on the Knicks as well.
(28:29):
So 2 exciting games to sort of wrap up NBA Cup action.
I will get my quick predictions on who I think will win.
I think the Heat will beat the Magic.
I think that they have too many players that are injured at the
moment. France went down.
He's going to be out for three to four weeks, which is not
really good for my fantasy. I did get the win, but him being
(28:52):
injured really doesn't help my cause at the moment.
Friends has been playing pretty well, but I don't think he's
going to be available to play. So I don't see the Magic getting
a win here if I'm honest or despite them playing at home.
So I'm going to go with the Heatin this one and then we've got
the Raptors taking on the Knicksas well and I'm going to have to
go to the Knicks too. I think the Knicks will get this
one done too. I think they have in a poised
(29:14):
position to win and I think whenit matters, they have the
experience in these type of games and I think that will make
quick work honestly. Actually of the of the Toronto
Raptors, who to be fair have been playing pretty well.
So I can't really knock them down too bad.
But I have to give the Knicks the victory here.
We then have the Thunder taking on the Suns.
(29:38):
The Thunder should win this one.Let's be honest, if the Suns do
win, I'm going to be really impressed with them because
they've been bawling the hell out.
Let's be honest, I took the overon them and I'm so proud of
myself for doing it, but I didn't think they'd be this
good. It just shows a shift in culture
having Gillian Brooks there and even Colin Gillespie's just been
bawling out. So like the Suns could give him
a battle here, but I just don't see it.
(29:59):
Unfortunately. I think the Thunder will just be
too good and then we've got the Lakers and Spurs and like
Castles back. But if Wemby's not back, I think
the Lakers take this one out andthat will lead to semi finals
where I've got the heat taking on the Knicks.
I expect the Knicks to win that match up, but I wouldn't be
surprised if the heat beats them, especially with their
culture and everything else. And then the Lakers versus the
(30:23):
Thunder. I scream Thunder, but I just
feel like, oh fuck, I don't wantto do it, but I'm going to have
to give the Lakers the victory. I, I think Thunder loses.
I I am crazy to say it. They've been on a Peter, but I
think the Lakers get it done against the Thunder.
(30:44):
Call me crazy, call me whatever,but I just think we're going to
see a legacy Luca Doncic game. I think the lights are shining
real bright on them. They will perform and they are a
previous NBA Cup champion. So how can I knock the Lakers
down? I know how can I knock the
Thunder down either when they are the current or previous NBA
(31:05):
champions as well and probably have a big chance to go back to
back. But I'm just going with my gut
and my feeling. There's really no rationale
behind it. The Thunder could really blow
them out and it will just be a whitewash and they end up taking
on the whole NBA Cup. But I generally think the Lakers
can cause a really big upset here, and that will lead to, I
think, ESPN and mainstream basketball media's dream.
(31:29):
And that'll be a Lakers versus Knicks NBA Cup final.
Talk about box office, talk about the hype in that match.
And I think I'll go with the Knicks to beat the Lakers.
I know it's just crazy. And the only reason why I'm
doing that is because I actuallydon't want the Lakers to win.
I think the Lakers are probably a better team than the Knicks,
(31:52):
but I think when it comes to that final, I just would much
prefer the Knicks winning and I and I want to support them.
So I'm going to say that they'llwin it and the Knicks are my NBA
2025 Cup winners based on my prediction.
But let's be honest, I'm probably going to be completely
wrong. And the Thunder, we'll just
we'll just take it out. But not really much going on
(32:13):
this week with NBA. What I will say last week and
especially particularly today, Derek Queen went off from a
triple double. That boy's amazing.
That guy's just killing it. And what I would do to have him
being drafted to the Wizards, being a native Maryland player
and someone that's from Marylandcould have easily drafted him,
could have moved up to get him. We were in that position to
(32:35):
probably draught him. I know the Pelicans went all in
for it and it might look stupid because they are at the bottom,
but ultimately I think they got their guy for the future and
pairing him up with Jeremiah Fears, she has been a bit off.
He's still an unbelievable pointguard and a really good player.
So yeah, Queen of fears killing it.
Castle made his return was pretty solid this whole week.
(32:57):
And how how about Kevin Porter Junior doing that magic for the
Bucks man? Like, no, Giannis, he's really
taken strides to be elite this season.
And yeah, I think when it comes to the table, it's it's sort of
the same situation. The Pistons are first, the
Knicks are second. The Celtics are killing it.
They've won their last five. And I also put the over on them.
(33:17):
So they've been impressing me asof late.
The Thunder 23 and one, the Lakers are 17 and six.
So there's second seed. So you see see exciting times.
Thunder Lakers could be could bea massive, massive clash.
You never know. That's where I see the Lakers
potentially winning. And then the same with the
Knicks. The Raptors have lost their last
three. That's why I went for him.
So that's where sort of the standings are sitting.
(33:39):
The Hawks have been struggling as of yet, other than yet, but
who isn't struggling is Jaylen Johnson.
That bloke is a machine. And fucking Wizards, man.
I've been crying every day, every time I see a Jaylen
Johnson performance that we should have been the ones to
draught him. We really should have because
he's a stud. And I think now they're thinking
(33:59):
that they could potentially tellTrey to pack his bags and go
because there has been a lot of rumours that that Trey Young
could leave. And if there's an opportunity to
bring in a player, why not buildaround someone like Jaylen
Johnson? When you've got nice little
pieces around him, you just needto pair them up with someone
that's probably young and upcoming and a star.
And they've got that pick to do it next season.
(34:20):
Because if the Pelicans continuehow they're going, they might be
able to pair up someone like Peterson, the bandstar Boozer
along with him. And that could be a serious
threat moving forward. But at the moment they're really
struggling. So we'll that's probably enough
for Atlanta Hawks talk. But yeah, that pretty much wraps
up NBA this week. So get keen for the NBA Cup,
Tune into that because there's alot of good fixtures there. 500K
(34:43):
for each player. So they're going to really want
to ball hard, especially the minimum players.
They want to get that bag quick.So look out for it.
I've got New York Knicks winningit, but I think it'll be the
Thunder realistically, let's be honest, like let's not go too
crazy, Daniel. Let's not go with the hot tapes,
Daniel, because I think the Thunder will probably win this
one. And then we'll quickly wrap off
(35:11):
with some NFL action. The Packers beating the Bears.
I hyped this one up to be a big match and the Packers very
clutch on defence, got the win for them.
So that that was awesome. A great performance from them
all round, particularly the likes of Jordan Love. 3
touchdowns, 234 yards, simply impressive.
(35:32):
Caleb Williams did a pretty goodjob as well on the other end
too. But Jordan Love just killed it.
Watson 2 touchdowns as well. Human, human love just were
telepathic killing it. I'm on the offensive side and
Josh Jacobs chimed in for a touchdown too, which is which is
always good as well. But one team I want to talk
about and you know it, it's my bloody Saints.
(35:55):
They beat the Bucks away from home.
Unbelievable. Tyler shocked 144 yards, one
interception. I think he had a running
touchdown as well. So he had a solid, solid game.
Devon Valet looking like a decent receiver and a young
Devon Neil who got 1 touchdown and 70 yards.
(36:15):
The fact that Alvin Kamara hasn't been playing, can we look
to jump in onto Devon? Devon Neil and he can be our
future running back. Who knows?
He's been, he's been pretty solid.
Haven't really we've been able to watch the games given that
it's been like 4:00 AM, but I'vebeen keeping up with the
highlights. We got him as a six round pick
and he looks to be someone that could potentially be really good
(36:38):
for us. He had a really good displaying
his rush for 178 yards. He's had one touchdown and he
looks solid without Alvin Kamarathere.
Now I know when Alvin Kamara comes back we'll probably start.
But at the end of the day, we dohave some nice pieces for the
future and maybe we don't need to get a quarterback because
Shock could be the guy who knowsthe Rams smacking up Cardinals
(36:59):
45 to 17. Puke is just an unbelievable
player and he really carried my fantasy at the moment, which has
been great because I've made it to the playoffs and I'm really
excited to lock into NFL fantasy.
I haven't been talking about it,but all I will say is that I had
a record of seven and eight, I'mpretty sure.
So it was a negative record, butI had the second highest points
(37:21):
and my team is really good and Ithink I'll be in poised position
to potentially make a deep playoff run.
It's just that unfortunately, every single fucking week that
I've been versing another player, they've had their best
scores against me and I just hate when that shit happens.
But that's just me crashing out to fantasy as I normally do.
But games a game. Broncos beating the Raiders and
(37:42):
they go on another 10 game win streak.
Them and the Patriots are just sitting comfortably at 11:00 and
2:00. But someone that has been
sitting uncomfortably has been the Colts.
They've dropped down to 8 and five.
They got smacked up by the Jaguars in a must win game and
now that they've got like 3 quarterbacks injured, they're in
big trouble. They they started really strong,
(38:02):
but now they've lost their last three and I don't think they're
going to get out of the AFC S because the Texans who have won
their last five, who arguably have the best defence in the
NFL. Go check out our NFL recap.
TJ talks a lot about them and sodoes Kenny.
The Texans beat the Kansas City Chiefs, who are out of the
playoffs. Wow, wow, wow, wow.
(38:25):
Two weeks ago we were talking about how they could make the
finals, and now we're sitting there saying that they're
eliminated. I'm glad for it.
I'm black again. When you have dynasties, you
kind of get over teams just doing so well.
And it's an end to Kansas City for this season.
And, you know, bring on a new team, bring on a new player of
the AFC. I've still got the Bills to take
(38:47):
out the AFC and it's just wide open there.
We found the Patriots and and the Broncos playing how they are
and just performing how they are.
You can't really write them off either.
So it's going to be fun. It's going to be really fun
there. We did have an early match, the
Lions on Thursday Night Footballbeating the Cowboys, too.
How good is Jameer Gibbs? The NFC North is very tight at
(39:11):
the moment. Like, we don't really know who's
going to come out and be the topof that Division 2.
The Packers made a statement, but the Bears are still solid
and the Detroit Lions will stillhave a lot to say going forward
as well. For sure.
We had the Seahawks getting a victory as well.
Jackson Smith and Jig, there's just elite what a play out like
(39:32):
him and Jonathan Taylor should be offensive player of the year.
I think lately now it might fallto Jackson Smith just because of
the fact that the Colts have dropped down a bit.
But still, I think either of them would be good enough to
sort of cap out that reward as well.
And two more weeks or three moreweeks to the playoffs.
So next week, highlights is highlighted by division game on
(39:56):
Thursday night, the Buccaneers taking on the Falcons.
Can Falcons also play spoiler toallow for the Panthers to
potentially take out the division where they do take on
the Saints? How good would it be if the
Panthers? I'm rooting for the Panthers.
I'm not supposed to root for anyone in the NFC South, let's
be honest. But I would love just to see the
Panthers. Take out the division because
I'm just sick of the Buccaneers.And I think it'd be a cool
(40:18):
underdog story to see the Panthers go and do something in
in a division that is. Yeah, it is the bloody the worst
division in the in the in the NFL.
Let's be honest. Like the thing that the one
that's probably worse right now is the AFC North, where the the
Steelers are 7 and six and the Ravens are six and seven.
Yeah, you said everyone said it in their head.
(40:40):
Let's be honest. Let's let's be honest, I'm not,
I'm not going to say it again. But yeah, the, the, the
Baltimore Ravens are what they are.
And you can make those jokes in your head after I said it.
But yeah, next week is highlighted by that.
It's also highlighted by the Patriots and the Bills.
And this is like a AFC championship potential.
(41:00):
We've got the, the pack, the, the, that I've lost it in my in
my freaking voice. We've got the Broncos taking on
the Packers as well. Let's see, Packers is in my
head, but the Broncos is who I was talking about to highlight
that round as well. So Patriots, Bills, Buccaneers,
Falcons, divisional games, both divisional games and the Broncos
(41:23):
and Packers. I've also got the Rams and Lions
and the Seahawks and Colts. Know what?
This is actually a really fun round.
I think it's going to be very, very fun.
Lots of NFL action, lots of big teams taking on each other as
well. But I think I think mainly the
highlight will be the the Bills taking on the Patriots.
Can the Bills make a statement in the AFC East and potentially
(41:45):
get closer to the Patriots and snap A10 game win streak?
The NFL Awesome, awesome sport. I love it.
I just wish I could wake up for red zone and be able to watch
all the games because they're atsuch a rough time at 5:00 AM on
a Monday, especially when like you've got Premier League,
that's the night before. So if I'm going to go watch
(42:07):
Newcastle and Sunderland, how amI going to wake up and watch
Redstone at 5:00 AM? It's it's a tough one.
And then you've got a factor in full time work.
That's why we do this podcast topotentially get out of it.
But you know, if I could sit there and just watch sport all
day every day as part of my job,then I'd be loving my life.
(42:28):
And you know, you never know, I could do that one day.
And that's why we're on this pod.
But that pretty much wraps up all the Sporting News.
So like I said, there was a lot to get through in this episode.
Lots of headlines, lots of different things happening,
which is which is awesome and welove that.
But again, it's been your boy Daniel.
You listen to another episode ofthe Huddle within.
If you do enjoy this episode, again, feel free to to leave a
(42:51):
comment, subscribe wherever you do get your podcasts.
And yeah, just your comments, comments, comments, comments.
Just leave some comments. Tell me what you like.
I'm looking, I'm very close to getting in a guest.
I think I've got one locked in for for Jan potentially.
So get excited for that. Don't want to reveal too much on
that until we get it out. But we also have, I'm going to
(43:13):
push for the Liverpool and THW pod as well.
I think it's needed and I think it's something that will be
really good to listen to as wellacross the board.
But again, it's been your boy Daniel, and I'll catch you guys
next week. Cheers.
So that's a wrap for this week'sepisode of the Huddle Within
podcast. I appreciate you for tuning in
and being part of this communitywhere we go beyond the game and
into what really matters. If this episode resonated with
(43:36):
you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it
with someone who sees sports just the way that we do.
And hey, I'd love to hear from you.
Connect with me on my social medias, which will be linked
below, send in your thoughts andeven be part of a future
episode. Until next time, keep that
passion alive, stay in the huddle, and remember it's always
deeper than the game. Cheers.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.