November 4, 2025 • 32 mins
Sirens, stadiums, and spotlights collide as we trace how power, money, and fame shape what we fear, what we cheer, and what we let slide. We open with Hurricane Melissa’s race toward Jamaica, placing the storm in context—why building standards and uneven shelter access matter, how warning fatigue breeds complacency, and what real preparedness looks like when the difference between “overreacting” and “too late” is a single night’s surge.
From there, we dig into the allegations rocking pro sports: a gambling probe tied to organized crime and a separate case hinging on an injury that shifts odds. We talk integrity in a betting-saturated world, how a tiny number of bad actors can drain trust, and why the fix isn’t outrage but clear rules, independent enforcement, and transparency. Then we pivot to the culture war around the Super Bowl halftime headliner, examining language politics, brand risk, and why the NFL’s decision signals a bet on global pop and planned spectacle over panic.
Money threads through every segment. Shohei Ohtani’s headline-grabbing contract becomes a case study in modern sports economics, from rapid revenue recapture to the strategy behind massive deferrals. We show how a single athlete transforms ticket sales, merchandise, and international reach, and what that reveals about league scale and owner incentives. Alongside the economics, we address the human edge of fame: Britney Spears’ public volatility and the uncomfortable incentives of memoirs and social media, and the chilling moment a reporter is swarmed mid-broadcast—why it wasn’t harmless, and how newsrooms should respond.
If you care about safety, fairness, and the stories we reward with attention, this conversation offers context you can use and takes you won’t hear on highlight reels. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves sports and culture, and drop a review with the topic you want tackled next—what deserves accountability most right now?
Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.
Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.
Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.
Hello, and thank you for listening to Thirsty Topics podcast! I'm Lawrence Elrod, and every week Meryl Klemow and I dive deep into the stories that matter, the conversations that shape our world."
Please help support our show by following us and telling others about our show. New podcasts weekly.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
Hello everyone.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Thirsty Topics.
I'm Lauren Selrod.
And I'm Merrill Climo.
Hey Meryl, how are you doingthis week?
SPEAKER_00 (00:24):
Hi, I'm so good.
It's always so funny when I seeour videos on TikTok.
I'm like scrolling and then Igive myself a jump scare.
I'm always like, why is thatpeople too close to the camera?
I'm like, oh, that's me.
Okay.
But I love it.
I'm so happy to be here again inreal form with you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
Yes, I am definitely happy to be here as well.
How was your weekend?
SPEAKER_00 (00:45):
It was really good.
We had some friends in town.
Um, I gave them the wrongdirections.
So I told them the wrongrestaurant on a Friday night,
and though they still I don'tabout dinner, so it was it was a
fun but expensive weekend.
SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
Ah, okay, okay.
Well, at least you had a goodtime, right?
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Yeah, how about you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:02):
Well, actually, we went to a uh a Halloween party
at a neighbor's house.
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (01:08):
What did you go as?
SPEAKER_01 (01:10):
Uh I went as Dr.
Elrod.
So I had me some scrubs, I haduh my lanyard with my Dr.
Lrod on there, and I was good togo.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
That's so cool.
Well, if I had to get surgeryfrom like a pretend doctor,
you're there one that I wouldchoose.
SPEAKER_01 (01:24):
Well, I appreciate that.
I'll I'll borrow someone's ID tomake myself legit.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
Thank you.
Exactly, exactly.
It's like last week or two weeksago we talked about the the
nurse that was like threateningall the patients.
Yeah, I feel like I would trustyou over her.
SPEAKER_01 (01:38):
Yeah, you know the scary part is how long she was
doing that before she wascaught, though.
I know.
And it's like um when they triedto verify her credentials, I'm
just still shocked that okay,she couldn't provide any any
kind of documentation for thelast name and they kind of let
(01:59):
it go for months.
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Just makes you wonder, huh?
Yeah.
All right, Merle.
Well, I'm gonna let you startthis week.
SPEAKER_00 (02:09):
Okay, awesome.
Well, I picked a timely one.
Hopefully, by the time thatpeople hear this, it will have
simmered down a bunch.
But um, people are talking aboutHurricane Melissa, which is uh,
you know, obviously a hurricane,it has now intensified to a
category five, and it'sthreatening Jamaica with
catastrophic flooding.
Uh, it's the most powerful stormto hit the region since 1988,
(02:31):
and it could uh inundate some ofthe areas of eastern Jamaica
with up to 40 inches of rain.
Now, obviously, like, you know,people and infrastructure in
Jamaica aren't really set up theway that we are a lot of times,
in terms of like shelters andjust buildings that are able to
withstand a category fivehurricane.
So I've been watching on TikTok.
(02:52):
People have been um just kind oflike hunkering down and hoping
for the best, but also a littlebit preparing for the worst.
And so it was like sweepingacross southeastern Bahamas and
making its way all across um thesouthwest area of Jamaica,
Kingston.
SPEAKER_01 (03:09):
Yeah, it is pretty sad.
I mean, the interesting thing isthat um, you know, they have
these these hurricanes um thathappen every single year.
And, you know, I've been toJamaica greater some years ago,
and you know, a lot of thetourist areas, you know, you
really don't have to worry aboutit that much because you know,
those are concrete stone typebuildings and high rises, but
(03:32):
you kind of feel for the localsthat maybe don't have the
ability to have that kind ofstructure, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
Absolutely, and I feel like I feel like a lot of
times those if in case of anemergency, those shelters and
everything will be first used bythe tourists and taking up a lot
of resources of the people.
So yeah.
Remember, like, was it lastyear?
There was was it Milton thateveryone was like so scared
about in Florida?
And I remember being so so soterrified.
And that one, I mean, it wasbad, but it wasn't like
(03:59):
catastrophic the way that theexperts predicted.
So I'm hoping that this one willgo this way, and I feel like
it's better to be like overworried and prepared than it is
to just like not think anythingof it.
SPEAKER_01 (04:12):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, I would rather be overprepared and not need it versus
underprepared and go, oh my god,you know?
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
I feel like they there was atornado warning here like a year
or two ago, and no one took itseriously, and then it did not
help that nothing happened.
Because my I was I seriously wastexting my friends, and I have I
have texts from my friends thatare like, so anyway, are we
gonna go to the movies?
And I was like out and aboutlike driving to Chili's and then
not nothing happened, and I'mlike, this is not good for like
(04:41):
our like the boy that criedwolf.
SPEAKER_01 (04:45):
Yeah, that probably is not a good thing.
SPEAKER_00 (04:47):
Exactly.
So we'll see.
Um, but you know, they're takingit very seriously.
I know the uh the localgovernment and community
development are really tellingresidents to fill up on gas, uh,
get your generators, board upthe windows, all that stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (05:03):
Yes, yes, we'll definitely pray for them.
SPEAKER_00 (05:06):
Yep, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (05:08):
Well, I'm actually pretty surprised that we're even
talking about this, but uh headcoach Chauncey Billups of the
Portland Trail Blazers wasarrested for gambling uh
investigation tied to organizedcrime, aka the mafia.
Also, Miami Heat guard TerryRozier was also charged in a
(05:28):
separate gambling case.
So basically, for ChaunceyBillups, it was alleged that
they had these high-dollar pokergames, and it was totally rigged
by the mafia.
So basically, what his role wasallegedly is to get people to
come in, you know, high rollers.
(05:49):
They play these high dollarpoker games, but everything was
rigged from the way the cardswere shuffled, the table was
even rigged to where I guessthere was a way you can actually
see what the cards are whenthey're sitting on a table.
SPEAKER_02 (06:01):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
And I'm sitting there thinking, and then for the
separate one, uh, this is withum uh with Miami Heat guard
Terry Rozier.
He was he was arrested allegedlyfor kind of faking an injury
during a game.
And a few things to kind of Iguess do something with the odds
(06:26):
or whatever, like him faking aninjury, so he's taken out of the
game, stuff like that.
And you know the sad part is ifthis is true, it would be
really, really sad for both ofthem, and probably for the game
itself, because these are milmulti-millionaires, these are
just everyday people.
Yeah, it's not like, and I'm notsaying it's it's a reason, but
(06:48):
it's one thing if you'restruggling, you don't have any
money, whatever.
These are multimillionaires,they're playing a sport that you
know young kids grow grow up andstill have a dream of getting
into the NBA, you never will.
And to do something like thisand just ruin your whole career
to me is just unbelievablycrazy.
(07:10):
What do you think, Meryl?
SPEAKER_00 (07:11):
I think I think I mean, I always like, of course,
my conspiracy mind, anytime likeI see the Super Bowl or any
sports things or any even likeany match or tennis match or
something, I'm like, I reallywonder if it's already staged
and like the players are um likethere's already been bets behind
it and just like everything, youknow.
They obviously like the world isa stage, and so anytime I see
(07:32):
something, I'm like, okay, maybepeople are like rigging things
or like not making plays ormaking touchdowns like despite
something.
So I do think a lot of timeslike these things are maybe not
rigged, but like tilted incertain ways.
And I agree that I do think,like, especially high-stakes
poker and tournaments, like I itdoesn't uh that usually isn't
(07:55):
the most like wholesome categoryto begin with.
So I think of anything, nothingagainst gambling or whatever, I
think it's fine, but I do thinkif it's if it's going to happen
in any category, like sports,betting, and gambling always
seem like kind of the trifectaof um misbehavior.
SPEAKER_01 (08:12):
No, I definitely understand.
I I just don't understand it.
You know, you're making a lot ofmoney, you got a great career.
I just don't get it.
Why, why take the risk?
SPEAKER_00 (08:22):
You know, do you do you think maybe, I mean, A, do
you think they may be threatenedif they don't, or if it's kind
of or promise things if they do?
It's like, okay, we know thisperson will not catch a pass or
fake an injury or something, andthen you get like rewarded down
the line.
I don't know, maybe that's withlike a commercial or like some
type of other like industrypuppet string kind of thing.
SPEAKER_01 (08:44):
I don't know, it's interesting.
I know that obviously in thesports world, this is being
talked about everywhere.
And um on on um, I believe it'sESPN, they had Shaquille O'Neal,
Charles Barclay, and I think oneor two other uh sports
announcers on there talking.
Uh and you know, basically theywere saying how you know they
(09:08):
were just stupid for whatthey're doing.
And it's kind of a shame whatthey did to themselves, their
family, BA for what they did.
Um I don't know, it's it's justcrazy, you know, and again, it's
not to be real, it uh be belegitimate.
This is just craziness becauseagain, you know, you you've got
(09:29):
the type of job that most peoplein the sports world would love
to have and to destroy it oversomething stupid.
And I don't care if it was amillion-dollar game, you making
millions per year, you got agreat pension, great and and
think about it like this, Merle.
When you stop playing or whenyou stop coaching, you could
possibly become a comment uhcommentator on something.
(09:50):
Exactly.
So it's basically almost like ajob for life, if you think about
it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:56):
Totally.
And I think, yeah, you're right,where a lot of players have like
a long legacy ahead of them, anddoing brand deals.
Like I feel like in this day andage, whether it's online or on
commercials, who was it?
Uh wait, was Tom Brady DeflateGate?
Yes, he was.
Yeah.
So that would be one, and thenBrett Farber too.
I feel like there are certainpeople that I could think of
that have had like a lot of badpress that we all just seem to
(10:19):
forget about, or it kind ofdoesn't.
I mean, we all meaning like theaverage.
I don't I don't think that muchabout Tom Brady, but like um, I
think sometimes people doforget, but you're right that
why would you throw something tolike a certain way when you can
just keep on the straight andnarrow and have like a really
good long career?
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
Yeah, so we'll see how this goes, but um I'm quite
sure that uh we'll probably hearmore about, especially being
that there were over 30 peopleuh also arrested in this ring.
SPEAKER_00 (10:49):
So yeah, I want I need a Netflix documentary about
it immediately.
SPEAKER_01 (10:56):
You know, someone's gonna do that, right?
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
Yeah, exactly.
But that person will probably bepaid off or whatever.
It's always that saying, likefollow the money.
So I just think too, I don'tknow.
Do you ever think the SuperBowls, like how could it even
rig like a big baseball orfootball game?
Because so much of it seems likeleft up to chance and just like
human error, but but somethinglike it, you're right, where an
injury or like an actual eventhappening is like a way that you
(11:22):
can kind of tilt things.
SPEAKER_01 (11:24):
Oh, yeah, that's why a lot of a lot of professional
um organizations, sportsorganizations watch real closely
what's going on.
Because here's the thing aboutit you know, let's say you have
uh a referee who you know isdoing something and making calls
(11:45):
to affect the game.
So yeah, I mean, I think it'sone of those things where greed
is always gonna be there.
Most most players and coachesaren't gonna be this dumb to do
this, but unfortunately, everyso often you're gonna find some
idiots that for whatever reasondecide to give it a try.
SPEAKER_00 (12:04):
Exactly.
Yep.
And it can go so deep that maybethey have like dirt on a player
or something, and that you thinka lot of times people are like,
you're either going to do thisor we're going to like expose
you in this way or tell a storyabout you that's not even true,
or you know, like I think thingscan get very like dirty in that
realm.
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
Yeah, the scary part about what you said, Meryl, is
that could be true.
That's the scary part.
SPEAKER_00 (12:27):
Well, we'll keep an eye on that, but I'm all for the
conspiracy.
I watched the Super Bowl and I'mlike, he could have caught that.
I don't know.
Um, okay, the next one, my nextstory.
I'm going to say this.
I have an unpopular andunlikable opinion.
So I'm already preferencing thiswith please don't hate me, and
it's okay if everyone coulddisagree with me.
(12:48):
Um, it's about Britney Spearsand her ex-husband, Ketter,
Kevin Fetterline, has popped upyet again with like a new memoir
uh all about her and him, and umjust about how like the
children, he definitely exposeseverything about how Britney's
children uh don't really or likecan't be a part of her life
(13:09):
anymore because they're like tooscared and they kind of don't
know what's going to happen withtheir mom.
And you know, obviously it'svery tragic.
Um he definitely alleges druguse and um he describes her as
being financially andemotionally controlled by those
closest to her.
So, like, you know, there's kindof a he said, she said with like
her memoir and his memoir, uh,it doesn't help, I think, that
(13:31):
like Britney on social mediajust seems very unhinged.
And like my opinion is that likeif you're a true Britney fan,
you wouldn't just look past likehow she obviously looks like not
well in her things.
And like, I don't know, I feellike a lot of the Britney like
very, very fans seem to lookpast it and it's like she's
(13:51):
dancing and doing what sheloves, and it's like, no, anyone
like sane can look at what'shappening and say, I don't think
she's like fully healed or backto being like completely fine.
Um, but I also think that KevinVeterline just needs to kind of
like go away and live his life,and you know, if you if you're
doing what you say, which iswanting to be a good father,
like why are you gonna dredgethis all up together?
(14:13):
Um, with you know, for the boys.
So the whole thing just seemslike a mess.
But like I still stand by what Isaid a year ago, which is like I
think Brittany needs to be takenlike off social media, none of
her posts make sense, they allseem like so weird, and I think
we need to stop like glorifyingacting like this because it's
like it's sad and it's kind ofimplosive.
SPEAKER_01 (14:32):
Well, you know what?
I'm gonna take a really crazyapproach to this.
Yeah, what if, and again, somepeople are gonna disagree with
me, but what if Brittany knowswhat she's doing and she's
playing, you know, using socialmedia as a puppet.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
I mean, that I I get like if it's the best
performance art I've ever seen,because like I mean, she's like
lost me as a fan.
Like, not not that that wouldmatter what she is.
Oh, beyond.
Yeah, I I find it like veryirritating.
And like at one point, I feellike I had empathy for the
(15:11):
situation, but now it's turnedto just like I mean, I don't I
don't follow her, but anytime Ilook, I'm like, this is
annoying, and like I feel likeit's kind of tinking her legacy
and it's like making it looktragic.
But like I don't know,basically, I I totally get that,
but I don't know like what shewould be getting out of looking
insane and like spinning aroundand kind of looking like drugged
(15:33):
out on her Instagram wouldreally get, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (15:36):
Oh, I know what it'll give, it'll give millions
of people watching her.
SPEAKER_00 (15:40):
I know, I know, but I just view it as like I mean, I
guess if she does want millionsof people viewing her as like
like kind of looking in a trainwreck kind of way, but I feel
like we're all wanting the likeBritney in Vegas performing, or
you know what I mean?
Like the we want her to lookgood and uh, or at least I do,
like I would like to see itwhere she would like kind of
come back to the Britney we allknow and love, but I don't know,
(16:03):
it hers me watching her.
SPEAKER_01 (16:05):
So I don't know, maybe I'll reach out to her and
she'll come on our show.
SPEAKER_00 (16:09):
A hundred percent.
She'll spin around and stuff,yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like I feel like I'm the onlyone.
Everyone is like Queen Britney,all this kind of stuff.
I think she had her moment, andnow I think she needs to be
taken off social media and likesent to a place or or have
people around that like really,really help her.
I think she needs like deephealing, and that's what like
that's what I feel.
SPEAKER_01 (16:29):
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, um, I just saw
recently of a video of someonewho I guess was behind Britney
when she was driving, and itlooked like you know, she may
have been, you know, maybedriving drunk because she was
kind of swerving on the road.
SPEAKER_02 (16:45):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:46):
Going against uh the double lines.
And I guess my question is ifyou're really this concerned,
why don't you call the policeinstead of put this on social
media?
SPEAKER_00 (16:54):
Totally a hundred percent.
I agree with that too.
And like I was definitely partof the like free Britney
movement, and you know, I wantedher, I do think she's been
treated like horrendously, and Idon't feel like I don't think
any of this is her fault at all.
I think she was like a reallysweet girl that just got caught
up in like having the wrongpeople around her, so I don't
think she's a bad person at all.
But now it's like the freeBritney thing happened and she
(17:16):
got her conservative ship takenaway, and now it's like even
worse.
It just seems like nothing'sreally changed, and she's still
kind of like speaking in riddlesand just whatever.
But um I I don't know, like I dobelieve, I think Kevin Fairline
is slimy, but I do believe whathe says about like that we don't
even know half of the half ofit, and just like we would, you
(17:38):
know, we'd be shocked aboutwhat's happening behind the
scenes.
SPEAKER_01 (17:40):
Yeah, that's true, but I think he needs to be a
little careful because there maybe some stuff we don't know
about Britney that hasn't cameout, but there may be stuff
about him that hasn't came outeither.
SPEAKER_00 (17:50):
Yeah, oh I'm sure, I'm sure.
It'll be interesting to see likeas her sons get older, because
then I'm sure her sons are gonnapublish a memoir at some point
too.
And like if they I will Ibelieve them, and if they're
say, oh, we were like nine yearsold and we were watching our mom
do this and that, like I I willbelieve them, so yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:10):
Yeah, that's that's that's true.
Well, some people are gonna lovethis story, some people are
gonna hate it, but we'repolarizing this week.
The NFL uh will not replace BadBunny as the half-line head
halftime headliner for the 2026Super Bowl.
Now, of course, there was bigoutrage, especially from
(18:31):
conservatives, about Bad Bunny,you know, doing a halftime show,
saying that he doesn't evenspeak English, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
And basically, um, thecommissioner of the NFL said
that we stand behind ourposition and we are not
changing.
Good.
Now, I think you know, Jay-Z mayhave hinted that you know they
(18:52):
may be some surprises.
Because usually when there's ahalftime show, sometimes there's
one or two artists that weren'tscheduled to be on there or
weren't announced to be onthere, and they were like, yeah,
so they may do something likethat, but I think they're doing
the right thing because if theywere to take them off, then
they're submitting to politicalpressure, and they should not do
that.
SPEAKER_00 (19:13):
Yeah, I agree.
I a hundred percent agree.
I think if someone has an issuewith it or you don't like him,
just don't watch, you know, likeit's totally okay.
Like, I've had I've had peoplein the past before like where
you can just tune in or not tunein, or like have it be
background noise, and thatthat's ridiculous just because
someone like does or doesn'tspeak a language, or like in
(19:33):
your mind isn't American wherethey actually are, you know,
like it's so weird, and thatjust goes to show that like that
is a huge issue still, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
That's true, and it's a shame that it is an issue
because you know the thing isthat hey, he has a right to at
the Super Bowl, they want him toperform, and again, the Super
Bowl has had RB, they've hadpop, they've had rap.
They've you know, they gamingall different types of genres,
(20:03):
and there's something wrong withhaving him sing because guess
what?
You may not be a big uh bad badbunny fan, but he does have
millions of fans out there, he'snot a person, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (20:15):
Exactly.
Was it was before Kendrick, wasit Usher two years ago?
Uh yeah, it was Usher, yeah,like Usher roller skating stuff,
and that's the kind of thing islike at first I wasn't even that
excited, and then I saw Usher'sperformance and I loved it.
We were like screaming at theparty and dancing and stuff, and
then like Kendrick's obviouslyhad like a lot of you know, we a
lot of social discourse andpublic discourse.
(20:35):
I didn't like love that as aSuper Bowl performance, but like
that doesn't matter, andmillions of people did, and I I
could still exist, and like youdon't have to be upset about it,
you can just move on.
And so um, I think like I thinkthe same thing is people will
like I'm sat as the kids say,you know, I'm interested in in
seeing it, and so you can whoknows, like he may surprise us
with it being really highenergy, or he may it may be
(20:58):
awful, it may be boring, but um,I think we should give him the
respect of like just saying,Okay, let's you know, show us
what you got kind of thing, justlike we would with anyone.
SPEAKER_01 (21:08):
I agree, and people keep forgetting that whatever he
does is not gonna be a surpriseto the NFL because you know they
have to approve what he's gonnado on stage.
SPEAKER_02 (21:16):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:17):
People keep forgetting that.
So whatever his performance is,they're going to know before he
hits the stage.
SPEAKER_00 (21:22):
So it's not gonna be, you know, yeah, and then we
was it was it also before that?
Was it Rihanna that was likewhen she was pregnant and stuff?
SPEAKER_02 (21:30):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (21:31):
Okay, see, that's so funny, and I have been like a
critic.
Like, I love Rihanna, Iabsolutely love her, but I
thought that performance was Imean, she's pregnant, so she
couldn't like fly across theworld, but but I thought that
was a tiny bit like boring andnot giving enough.
So, like I feel like no matterwhat the performance, we don't
know exactly how it's gonna go,and everyone will feel
different.
Like, I have friends thatthought the Rihanna performance
(21:52):
was one of the best, and so Ifeel like we all see things
differently, and that's a goodthing.
SPEAKER_01 (21:57):
Oh, absolutely, and regardless of who you put on
stage, everyone's not gonna liketheir person.
SPEAKER_00 (22:02):
That's just a fact the J Lo and Shakira one.
I I liked it.
Oh, now I'm fired up again.
You know who it should beBritney Spears just proving us
all wrong and suddenly.
SPEAKER_01 (22:16):
You know what?
I would love to see that.
I would love to see that.
SPEAKER_00 (22:20):
It's her like spinning across the touchdown
line.
Um, well, I think we'll we'll beinterested in that.
Now, another sports-relatedthing, and of course I have to
or I get to deal with it a lothere in Los Angeles, is uh a lot
of Dodgers talk, you know,they're the playoffs and
everything.
So um I thought this was superinteresting where the Dodgers
reportedly earned the entiretyof Shohei Otani's 700 million
(22:44):
contract back in the firstseason.
Um, he hasn't even finished hissecond season yet with the
Dodgers, and Shohei is alreadyproviding surplus value to the
franchise just 22 months aftersigning a 10-year$700 million
contract in free agency.
So he's made that back throughticket sales, merchandise sales,
and worldwide marketing deals.
SPEAKER_01 (23:05):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:07):
But you know what that does, Meryl?
That kind of gives you a littlebit of a picture of how much
money these owners actuallymake.
SPEAKER_00 (23:13):
I know.
SPEAKER_01 (23:14):
They make a contract like that.
They they they're makingbillions upon billions of
dollars.
SPEAKER_00 (23:21):
So much.
And I remember um, wait, I justhad it because I thought it was
super interesting.
Oh, yeah, he he signed one ofthe most unique contracts in
sports history when he signed onum, it was a 10-year contract
and 700 million, but he uh hepresented the idea to structure
it with over so it's 680 millionbeing deferred over a 10-year
(23:42):
period from 2034 to 43.
So, like, you know, obviouslyhe's seen some of that money
yet, but like come 2034, that'sgonna be a rich, rich man.
And so you know, so that's Ithink that's so interesting,
like betting on your I mean, nopun intended, which I mean, but
like betting on yourself uhalmost a decade, like a decade
(24:03):
later.
And and also like if you're hiswife or you're his like that's
just so crazy knowing that inlike 10 years it's gonna get
like really, really good, youknow.
SPEAKER_01 (24:12):
Yeah, he's got he's he's making money for his great,
great, great, great, great,great, great great
grandchildren.
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
Exactly.
And I think that's good too,because it's not like he's not
being like, I need the moneyright away, and like blowing all
of it and you know what I mean,like in houses and just living
large.
I mean, I'm sure he is now.
Like, it's crazy that he couldhe could just exist now after
like of the interest of whathe's making, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (24:39):
It's so so true.
But uh wow, the the the themoney that these players are
making today are isunbelievable.
SPEAKER_00 (24:47):
Yeah, and I know they just said that he had like
a per a perfect game a few gamesago, which were like in
baseball.
So, you know, I do like I Iwhether or not he's like on you
know the winning team or theteam that people like, like I
respect his his hustle, and likeI don't know, he just always
seems so focused during thegames, and um, it'll be
interesting to watch.
SPEAKER_01 (25:08):
I agree, I agree a hundred percent.
Well, my final um topic today.
Um, this actually comes coverstwo different things.
You you have you heard about thethe 6-7 craze?
SPEAKER_00 (25:22):
Yes, yes.
I still don't quite understandit, but I have.
SPEAKER_01 (25:27):
I don't think they understand it, to be honest with
you.
SPEAKER_00 (25:30):
No, I don't get it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:31):
But recently they just took it up to a different
notch.
There was a young reporter, uhsports reporter, that was in the
middle of her interview, and youknow, she was doing her report,
and a bunch of these young mensurrounded her, you know, doing
uh six seven, six seven, sixseven, one idiot in front of the
camera.
(25:52):
And you know, she was a trooper,she did her job, whatever, but
you could kind of see hertearing up a little bit.
She didn't pull out cry, but youcould see her tearing up, and
I'm sitting there thinking, thisis not cute.
This is I know.
Yes, and you know, the otherthing that's a little shocking,
I would think that all of theirreporters would have a security
(26:13):
around them at all times, atleast one person.
SPEAKER_00 (26:16):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:18):
I mean, what are your thoughts about that, Merle?
SPEAKER_00 (26:20):
I mean, it's funny because I think back to like my
middle school or teenage days,and like I could see a scenario
where like a few of my friendswere just like giggling and or
surrounding like a newscasterand saying stuff, but those men
young men like did seem like apack of coyotes, like they
didn't really seem as like nice,and and they weren't like
giggling and uh they seemed likea little bit threatening for
(26:41):
sure.
So I think I mean A, I think thesix seven thing is so
ridiculous, but B, um yeah, Ithink that she had every right
to feel threatened and just likeit was not appropriate.
SPEAKER_01 (26:53):
I'm just surprised they didn't cut that that
newscast and just go back to thestation and be like, hey, you
know what?
Security, you need to help usout over here.
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
Something I know, I know.
I wonder if they knew at thetime they'd have like a viral
moment, or maybe they wanted tokeep rolling in case like
something did happen and they'dhave footage.
Um, but yeah, it's scary andcreepy.
SPEAKER_01 (27:13):
Yeah, and the thing about it is that with them being
that close to her, I mean, thankgod nothing happened.
But what if them decide to grabher or hit her or do something?
You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
She should press charges.
Like, I mean, if they were tograb her, like assault her in
any way, absolutely charges.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
I just hope that um they give her a little bit of
security because that's justridiculous.
No one needs to be harassed likethat to just to do the job, you
know.
SPEAKER_00 (27:40):
I think people tend to think of like local news
anchors as kind of like clowns,or you know what I mean?
Like like props almost of likehaha, they're not human, then I
think uh definitely going toofar.
SPEAKER_01 (27:52):
Yeah, I agree.
So like I said, I'm glad thatshe wasn't injured, but um when
you saw that when I saw it tome, when I saw the tears in her
eyes when it started at thattime, I was thinking, this is
not funny, guys.
This is not funny.
SPEAKER_00 (28:06):
I know, I know, and I feel like their parents need
to like reteach them like how tobe gentlemen out in the world
for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (28:13):
Yes, I agree 100% on that.
Well, talking about thingscoming up, what do you have
coming up, Beryl?
SPEAKER_00 (28:22):
Woohoo! Um, well, I keep on promoting it a lot, but
now I'm uh I'm excited, but I'mthinking about all the things I
want to promote.
Okay, I just got on a really funshow um November 12th.
I'm back at the La Jolla ComedyStore.
I know I'm gonna talk about it alot, but I'm back November 2012
um at the La Jolla Comedy Store,and I'm hosting, and the
(28:44):
headliner is Tom Arnold fromlike Roseanne and everything, so
that will be super cool.
SPEAKER_01 (28:50):
That is gonna be super cool.
SPEAKER_00 (28:52):
And he's really nice too.
I've done a bunch of shows wherehe's like been the headliner,
and he's um, if anyone iswondering, the T, he's very nice
to perform with, and he'sextremely funny and cool.
So if you're not gonna come forme, which I don't understand why
that wouldn't happen, then umthen come for Tom Arnold.
SPEAKER_01 (29:09):
Well, definitely if you're in the area, definitely
come out and support Meryl.
Come out and uh get a chance tosee Tom Arnold as well.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
Double exactly it's amazing how many of my family
family and friends care when I'mlike on a show with someone big.
They're suddenly they're likevery interested in my career.
SPEAKER_01 (29:26):
No, I'm very interested.
They just don't know how to showit.
That's all.
Exactly.
That's true, that's true.
Well, everyone, we had a greattime.
Um, I thank everyone forwatching us, listening to us,
and following us.
I'm Lauren Selrod.
I'm Merrill Climo.
Have a great day, everyone.
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
Bye bye.
Hello everyone.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Thirsty Topics.
I'm Lauren Selrod.
And I'm Merrill Climo.
Hey Meryl, how are you doingthis week?
SPEAKER_00 (00:24):
Hi, I'm so good.
It's always so funny when I seeour videos on TikTok.
I'm like scrolling and then Igive myself a jump scare.
I'm always like, why is thatpeople too close to the camera?
I'm like, oh, that's me.
Okay.
But I love it.
I'm so happy to be here again inreal form with you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
Yes, I am definitely happy to be here as well.
How was your weekend?
SPEAKER_00 (00:45):
It was really good.
We had some friends in town.
Um, I gave them the wrongdirections.
So I told them the wrongrestaurant on a Friday night,
and though they still I don'tabout dinner, so it was it was a
fun but expensive weekend.
SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
Ah, okay, okay.
Well, at least you had a goodtime, right?
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Yeah, how about you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:02):
Well, actually, we went to a uh a Halloween party
at a neighbor's house.
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (01:08):
What did you go as?
SPEAKER_01 (01:10):
Uh I went as Dr.
Elrod.
So I had me some scrubs, I haduh my lanyard with my Dr.
Lrod on there, and I was good togo.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
That's so cool.
Well, if I had to get surgeryfrom like a pretend doctor,
you're there one that I wouldchoose.
SPEAKER_01 (01:24):
Well, I appreciate that.
I'll I'll borrow someone's ID tomake myself legit.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
Thank you.
Exactly, exactly.
It's like last week or two weeksago we talked about the the
nurse that was like threateningall the patients.
Yeah, I feel like I would trustyou over her.
SPEAKER_01 (01:38):
Yeah, you know the scary part is how long she was
doing that before she wascaught, though.
I know.
And it's like um when they triedto verify her credentials, I'm
just still shocked that okay,she couldn't provide any any
kind of documentation for thelast name and they kind of let
(01:59):
it go for months.
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Just makes you wonder, huh?
Yeah.
All right, Merle.
Well, I'm gonna let you startthis week.
SPEAKER_00 (02:09):
Okay, awesome.
Well, I picked a timely one.
Hopefully, by the time thatpeople hear this, it will have
simmered down a bunch.
But um, people are talking aboutHurricane Melissa, which is uh,
you know, obviously a hurricane,it has now intensified to a
category five, and it'sthreatening Jamaica with
catastrophic flooding.
Uh, it's the most powerful stormto hit the region since 1988,
(02:31):
and it could uh inundate some ofthe areas of eastern Jamaica
with up to 40 inches of rain.
Now, obviously, like, you know,people and infrastructure in
Jamaica aren't really set up theway that we are a lot of times,
in terms of like shelters andjust buildings that are able to
withstand a category fivehurricane.
So I've been watching on TikTok.
(02:52):
People have been um just kind oflike hunkering down and hoping
for the best, but also a littlebit preparing for the worst.
And so it was like sweepingacross southeastern Bahamas and
making its way all across um thesouthwest area of Jamaica,
Kingston.
SPEAKER_01 (03:09):
Yeah, it is pretty sad.
I mean, the interesting thing isthat um, you know, they have
these these hurricanes um thathappen every single year.
And, you know, I've been toJamaica greater some years ago,
and you know, a lot of thetourist areas, you know, you
really don't have to worry aboutit that much because you know,
those are concrete stone typebuildings and high rises, but
(03:32):
you kind of feel for the localsthat maybe don't have the
ability to have that kind ofstructure, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
Absolutely, and I feel like I feel like a lot of
times those if in case of anemergency, those shelters and
everything will be first used bythe tourists and taking up a lot
of resources of the people.
So yeah.
Remember, like, was it lastyear?
There was was it Milton thateveryone was like so scared
about in Florida?
And I remember being so so soterrified.
And that one, I mean, it wasbad, but it wasn't like
(03:59):
catastrophic the way that theexperts predicted.
So I'm hoping that this one willgo this way, and I feel like
it's better to be like overworried and prepared than it is
to just like not think anythingof it.
SPEAKER_01 (04:12):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, I would rather be overprepared and not need it versus
underprepared and go, oh my god,you know?
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
I feel like they there was atornado warning here like a year
or two ago, and no one took itseriously, and then it did not
help that nothing happened.
Because my I was I seriously wastexting my friends, and I have I
have texts from my friends thatare like, so anyway, are we
gonna go to the movies?
And I was like out and aboutlike driving to Chili's and then
not nothing happened, and I'mlike, this is not good for like
(04:41):
our like the boy that criedwolf.
SPEAKER_01 (04:45):
Yeah, that probably is not a good thing.
SPEAKER_00 (04:47):
Exactly.
So we'll see.
Um, but you know, they're takingit very seriously.
I know the uh the localgovernment and community
development are really tellingresidents to fill up on gas, uh,
get your generators, board upthe windows, all that stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (05:03):
Yes, yes, we'll definitely pray for them.
SPEAKER_00 (05:06):
Yep, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (05:08):
Well, I'm actually pretty surprised that we're even
talking about this, but uh headcoach Chauncey Billups of the
Portland Trail Blazers wasarrested for gambling uh
investigation tied to organizedcrime, aka the mafia.
Also, Miami Heat guard TerryRozier was also charged in a
(05:28):
separate gambling case.
So basically, for ChaunceyBillups, it was alleged that
they had these high-dollar pokergames, and it was totally rigged
by the mafia.
So basically, what his role wasallegedly is to get people to
come in, you know, high rollers.
(05:49):
They play these high dollarpoker games, but everything was
rigged from the way the cardswere shuffled, the table was
even rigged to where I guessthere was a way you can actually
see what the cards are whenthey're sitting on a table.
SPEAKER_02 (06:01):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
And I'm sitting there thinking, and then for the
separate one, uh, this is withum uh with Miami Heat guard
Terry Rozier.
He was he was arrested allegedlyfor kind of faking an injury
during a game.
And a few things to kind of Iguess do something with the odds
(06:26):
or whatever, like him faking aninjury, so he's taken out of the
game, stuff like that.
And you know the sad part is ifthis is true, it would be
really, really sad for both ofthem, and probably for the game
itself, because these are milmulti-millionaires, these are
just everyday people.
Yeah, it's not like, and I'm notsaying it's it's a reason, but
(06:48):
it's one thing if you'restruggling, you don't have any
money, whatever.
These are multimillionaires,they're playing a sport that you
know young kids grow grow up andstill have a dream of getting
into the NBA, you never will.
And to do something like thisand just ruin your whole career
to me is just unbelievablycrazy.
(07:10):
What do you think, Meryl?
SPEAKER_00 (07:11):
I think I think I mean, I always like, of course,
my conspiracy mind, anytime likeI see the Super Bowl or any
sports things or any even likeany match or tennis match or
something, I'm like, I reallywonder if it's already staged
and like the players are um likethere's already been bets behind
it and just like everything, youknow.
They obviously like the world isa stage, and so anytime I see
(07:32):
something, I'm like, okay, maybepeople are like rigging things
or like not making plays ormaking touchdowns like despite
something.
So I do think a lot of timeslike these things are maybe not
rigged, but like tilted incertain ways.
And I agree that I do think,like, especially high-stakes
poker and tournaments, like I itdoesn't uh that usually isn't
(07:55):
the most like wholesome categoryto begin with.
So I think of anything, nothingagainst gambling or whatever, I
think it's fine, but I do thinkif it's if it's going to happen
in any category, like sports,betting, and gambling always
seem like kind of the trifectaof um misbehavior.
SPEAKER_01 (08:12):
No, I definitely understand.
I I just don't understand it.
You know, you're making a lot ofmoney, you got a great career.
I just don't get it.
Why, why take the risk?
SPEAKER_00 (08:22):
You know, do you do you think maybe, I mean, A, do
you think they may be threatenedif they don't, or if it's kind
of or promise things if they do?
It's like, okay, we know thisperson will not catch a pass or
fake an injury or something, andthen you get like rewarded down
the line.
I don't know, maybe that's withlike a commercial or like some
type of other like industrypuppet string kind of thing.
SPEAKER_01 (08:44):
I don't know, it's interesting.
I know that obviously in thesports world, this is being
talked about everywhere.
And um on on um, I believe it'sESPN, they had Shaquille O'Neal,
Charles Barclay, and I think oneor two other uh sports
announcers on there talking.
Uh and you know, basically theywere saying how you know they
(09:08):
were just stupid for whatthey're doing.
And it's kind of a shame whatthey did to themselves, their
family, BA for what they did.
Um I don't know, it's it's justcrazy, you know, and again, it's
not to be real, it uh be belegitimate.
This is just craziness becauseagain, you know, you you've got
(09:29):
the type of job that most peoplein the sports world would love
to have and to destroy it oversomething stupid.
And I don't care if it was amillion-dollar game, you making
millions per year, you got agreat pension, great and and
think about it like this, Merle.
When you stop playing or whenyou stop coaching, you could
possibly become a comment uhcommentator on something.
(09:50):
Exactly.
So it's basically almost like ajob for life, if you think about
it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:56):
Totally.
And I think, yeah, you're right,where a lot of players have like
a long legacy ahead of them, anddoing brand deals.
Like I feel like in this day andage, whether it's online or on
commercials, who was it?
Uh wait, was Tom Brady DeflateGate?
Yes, he was.
Yeah.
So that would be one, and thenBrett Farber too.
I feel like there are certainpeople that I could think of
that have had like a lot of badpress that we all just seem to
(10:19):
forget about, or it kind ofdoesn't.
I mean, we all meaning like theaverage.
I don't I don't think that muchabout Tom Brady, but like um, I
think sometimes people doforget, but you're right that
why would you throw something tolike a certain way when you can
just keep on the straight andnarrow and have like a really
good long career?
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
Yeah, so we'll see how this goes, but um I'm quite
sure that uh we'll probably hearmore about, especially being
that there were over 30 peopleuh also arrested in this ring.
SPEAKER_00 (10:49):
So yeah, I want I need a Netflix documentary about
it immediately.
SPEAKER_01 (10:56):
You know, someone's gonna do that, right?
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
Yeah, exactly.
But that person will probably bepaid off or whatever.
It's always that saying, likefollow the money.
So I just think too, I don'tknow.
Do you ever think the SuperBowls, like how could it even
rig like a big baseball orfootball game?
Because so much of it seems likeleft up to chance and just like
human error, but but somethinglike it, you're right, where an
injury or like an actual eventhappening is like a way that you
(11:22):
can kind of tilt things.
SPEAKER_01 (11:24):
Oh, yeah, that's why a lot of a lot of professional
um organizations, sportsorganizations watch real closely
what's going on.
Because here's the thing aboutit you know, let's say you have
uh a referee who you know isdoing something and making calls
(11:45):
to affect the game.
So yeah, I mean, I think it'sone of those things where greed
is always gonna be there.
Most most players and coachesaren't gonna be this dumb to do
this, but unfortunately, everyso often you're gonna find some
idiots that for whatever reasondecide to give it a try.
SPEAKER_00 (12:04):
Exactly.
Yep.
And it can go so deep that maybethey have like dirt on a player
or something, and that you thinka lot of times people are like,
you're either going to do thisor we're going to like expose
you in this way or tell a storyabout you that's not even true,
or you know, like I think thingscan get very like dirty in that
realm.
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
Yeah, the scary part about what you said, Meryl, is
that could be true.
That's the scary part.
SPEAKER_00 (12:27):
Well, we'll keep an eye on that, but I'm all for the
conspiracy.
I watched the Super Bowl and I'mlike, he could have caught that.
I don't know.
Um, okay, the next one, my nextstory.
I'm going to say this.
I have an unpopular andunlikable opinion.
So I'm already preferencing thiswith please don't hate me, and
it's okay if everyone coulddisagree with me.
(12:48):
Um, it's about Britney Spearsand her ex-husband, Ketter,
Kevin Fetterline, has popped upyet again with like a new memoir
uh all about her and him, and umjust about how like the
children, he definitely exposeseverything about how Britney's
children uh don't really or likecan't be a part of her life
(13:09):
anymore because they're like tooscared and they kind of don't
know what's going to happen withtheir mom.
And you know, obviously it'svery tragic.
Um he definitely alleges druguse and um he describes her as
being financially andemotionally controlled by those
closest to her.
So, like, you know, there's kindof a he said, she said with like
her memoir and his memoir, uh,it doesn't help, I think, that
(13:31):
like Britney on social mediajust seems very unhinged.
And like my opinion is that likeif you're a true Britney fan,
you wouldn't just look past likehow she obviously looks like not
well in her things.
And like, I don't know, I feellike a lot of the Britney like
very, very fans seem to lookpast it and it's like she's
(13:51):
dancing and doing what sheloves, and it's like, no, anyone
like sane can look at what'shappening and say, I don't think
she's like fully healed or backto being like completely fine.
Um, but I also think that KevinVeterline just needs to kind of
like go away and live his life,and you know, if you if you're
doing what you say, which iswanting to be a good father,
like why are you gonna dredgethis all up together?
(14:13):
Um, with you know, for the boys.
So the whole thing just seemslike a mess.
But like I still stand by what Isaid a year ago, which is like I
think Brittany needs to be takenlike off social media, none of
her posts make sense, they allseem like so weird, and I think
we need to stop like glorifyingacting like this because it's
like it's sad and it's kind ofimplosive.
SPEAKER_01 (14:32):
Well, you know what?
I'm gonna take a really crazyapproach to this.
Yeah, what if, and again, somepeople are gonna disagree with
me, but what if Brittany knowswhat she's doing and she's
playing, you know, using socialmedia as a puppet.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
I mean, that I I get like if it's the best
performance art I've ever seen,because like I mean, she's like
lost me as a fan.
Like, not not that that wouldmatter what she is.
Oh, beyond.
Yeah, I I find it like veryirritating.
And like at one point, I feellike I had empathy for the
(15:11):
situation, but now it's turnedto just like I mean, I don't I
don't follow her, but anytime Ilook, I'm like, this is
annoying, and like I feel likeit's kind of tinking her legacy
and it's like making it looktragic.
But like I don't know,basically, I I totally get that,
but I don't know like what shewould be getting out of looking
insane and like spinning aroundand kind of looking like drugged
(15:33):
out on her Instagram wouldreally get, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (15:36):
Oh, I know what it'll give, it'll give millions
of people watching her.
SPEAKER_00 (15:40):
I know, I know, but I just view it as like I mean, I
guess if she does want millionsof people viewing her as like
like kind of looking in a trainwreck kind of way, but I feel
like we're all wanting the likeBritney in Vegas performing, or
you know what I mean?
Like the we want her to lookgood and uh, or at least I do,
like I would like to see itwhere she would like kind of
come back to the Britney we allknow and love, but I don't know,
(16:03):
it hers me watching her.
SPEAKER_01 (16:05):
So I don't know, maybe I'll reach out to her and
she'll come on our show.
SPEAKER_00 (16:09):
A hundred percent.
She'll spin around and stuff,yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like I feel like I'm the onlyone.
Everyone is like Queen Britney,all this kind of stuff.
I think she had her moment, andnow I think she needs to be
taken off social media and likesent to a place or or have
people around that like really,really help her.
I think she needs like deephealing, and that's what like
that's what I feel.
SPEAKER_01 (16:29):
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, um, I just saw
recently of a video of someonewho I guess was behind Britney
when she was driving, and itlooked like you know, she may
have been, you know, maybedriving drunk because she was
kind of swerving on the road.
SPEAKER_02 (16:45):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:46):
Going against uh the double lines.
And I guess my question is ifyou're really this concerned,
why don't you call the policeinstead of put this on social
media?
SPEAKER_00 (16:54):
Totally a hundred percent.
I agree with that too.
And like I was definitely partof the like free Britney
movement, and you know, I wantedher, I do think she's been
treated like horrendously, and Idon't feel like I don't think
any of this is her fault at all.
I think she was like a reallysweet girl that just got caught
up in like having the wrongpeople around her, so I don't
think she's a bad person at all.
But now it's like the freeBritney thing happened and she
(17:16):
got her conservative ship takenaway, and now it's like even
worse.
It just seems like nothing'sreally changed, and she's still
kind of like speaking in riddlesand just whatever.
But um I I don't know, like I dobelieve, I think Kevin Fairline
is slimy, but I do believe whathe says about like that we don't
even know half of the half ofit, and just like we would, you
(17:38):
know, we'd be shocked aboutwhat's happening behind the
scenes.
SPEAKER_01 (17:40):
Yeah, that's true, but I think he needs to be a
little careful because there maybe some stuff we don't know
about Britney that hasn't cameout, but there may be stuff
about him that hasn't came outeither.
SPEAKER_00 (17:50):
Yeah, oh I'm sure, I'm sure.
It'll be interesting to see likeas her sons get older, because
then I'm sure her sons are gonnapublish a memoir at some point
too.
And like if they I will Ibelieve them, and if they're
say, oh, we were like nine yearsold and we were watching our mom
do this and that, like I I willbelieve them, so yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:10):
Yeah, that's that's that's true.
Well, some people are gonna lovethis story, some people are
gonna hate it, but we'repolarizing this week.
The NFL uh will not replace BadBunny as the half-line head
halftime headliner for the 2026Super Bowl.
Now, of course, there was bigoutrage, especially from
(18:31):
conservatives, about Bad Bunny,you know, doing a halftime show,
saying that he doesn't evenspeak English, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
And basically, um, thecommissioner of the NFL said
that we stand behind ourposition and we are not
changing.
Good.
Now, I think you know, Jay-Z mayhave hinted that you know they
(18:52):
may be some surprises.
Because usually when there's ahalftime show, sometimes there's
one or two artists that weren'tscheduled to be on there or
weren't announced to be onthere, and they were like, yeah,
so they may do something likethat, but I think they're doing
the right thing because if theywere to take them off, then
they're submitting to politicalpressure, and they should not do
that.
SPEAKER_00 (19:13):
Yeah, I agree.
I a hundred percent agree.
I think if someone has an issuewith it or you don't like him,
just don't watch, you know, likeit's totally okay.
Like, I've had I've had peoplein the past before like where
you can just tune in or not tunein, or like have it be
background noise, and thatthat's ridiculous just because
someone like does or doesn'tspeak a language, or like in
(19:33):
your mind isn't American wherethey actually are, you know,
like it's so weird, and thatjust goes to show that like that
is a huge issue still, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
That's true, and it's a shame that it is an issue
because you know the thing isthat hey, he has a right to at
the Super Bowl, they want him toperform, and again, the Super
Bowl has had RB, they've hadpop, they've had rap.
They've you know, they gamingall different types of genres,
(20:03):
and there's something wrong withhaving him sing because guess
what?
You may not be a big uh bad badbunny fan, but he does have
millions of fans out there, he'snot a person, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (20:15):
Exactly.
Was it was before Kendrick, wasit Usher two years ago?
Uh yeah, it was Usher, yeah,like Usher roller skating stuff,
and that's the kind of thing islike at first I wasn't even that
excited, and then I saw Usher'sperformance and I loved it.
We were like screaming at theparty and dancing and stuff, and
then like Kendrick's obviouslyhad like a lot of you know, we a
lot of social discourse andpublic discourse.
(20:35):
I didn't like love that as aSuper Bowl performance, but like
that doesn't matter, andmillions of people did, and I I
could still exist, and like youdon't have to be upset about it,
you can just move on.
And so um, I think like I thinkthe same thing is people will
like I'm sat as the kids say,you know, I'm interested in in
seeing it, and so you can whoknows, like he may surprise us
with it being really highenergy, or he may it may be
(20:58):
awful, it may be boring, but um,I think we should give him the
respect of like just saying,Okay, let's you know, show us
what you got kind of thing, justlike we would with anyone.
SPEAKER_01 (21:08):
I agree, and people keep forgetting that whatever he
does is not gonna be a surpriseto the NFL because you know they
have to approve what he's gonnado on stage.
SPEAKER_02 (21:16):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:17):
People keep forgetting that.
So whatever his performance is,they're going to know before he
hits the stage.
SPEAKER_00 (21:22):
So it's not gonna be, you know, yeah, and then we
was it was it also before that?
Was it Rihanna that was likewhen she was pregnant and stuff?
SPEAKER_02 (21:30):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (21:31):
Okay, see, that's so funny, and I have been like a
critic.
Like, I love Rihanna, Iabsolutely love her, but I
thought that performance was Imean, she's pregnant, so she
couldn't like fly across theworld, but but I thought that
was a tiny bit like boring andnot giving enough.
So, like I feel like no matterwhat the performance, we don't
know exactly how it's gonna go,and everyone will feel
different.
Like, I have friends thatthought the Rihanna performance
(21:52):
was one of the best, and so Ifeel like we all see things
differently, and that's a goodthing.
SPEAKER_01 (21:57):
Oh, absolutely, and regardless of who you put on
stage, everyone's not gonna liketheir person.
SPEAKER_00 (22:02):
That's just a fact the J Lo and Shakira one.
I I liked it.
Oh, now I'm fired up again.
You know who it should beBritney Spears just proving us
all wrong and suddenly.
SPEAKER_01 (22:16):
You know what?
I would love to see that.
I would love to see that.
SPEAKER_00 (22:20):
It's her like spinning across the touchdown
line.
Um, well, I think we'll we'll beinterested in that.
Now, another sports-relatedthing, and of course I have to
or I get to deal with it a lothere in Los Angeles, is uh a lot
of Dodgers talk, you know,they're the playoffs and
everything.
So um I thought this was superinteresting where the Dodgers
reportedly earned the entiretyof Shohei Otani's 700 million
(22:44):
contract back in the firstseason.
Um, he hasn't even finished hissecond season yet with the
Dodgers, and Shohei is alreadyproviding surplus value to the
franchise just 22 months aftersigning a 10-year$700 million
contract in free agency.
So he's made that back throughticket sales, merchandise sales,
and worldwide marketing deals.
SPEAKER_01 (23:05):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:07):
But you know what that does, Meryl?
That kind of gives you a littlebit of a picture of how much
money these owners actuallymake.
SPEAKER_00 (23:13):
I know.
SPEAKER_01 (23:14):
They make a contract like that.
They they they're makingbillions upon billions of
dollars.
SPEAKER_00 (23:21):
So much.
And I remember um, wait, I justhad it because I thought it was
super interesting.
Oh, yeah, he he signed one ofthe most unique contracts in
sports history when he signed onum, it was a 10-year contract
and 700 million, but he uh hepresented the idea to structure
it with over so it's 680 millionbeing deferred over a 10-year
(23:42):
period from 2034 to 43.
So, like, you know, obviouslyhe's seen some of that money
yet, but like come 2034, that'sgonna be a rich, rich man.
And so you know, so that's Ithink that's so interesting,
like betting on your I mean, nopun intended, which I mean, but
like betting on yourself uhalmost a decade, like a decade
(24:03):
later.
And and also like if you're hiswife or you're his like that's
just so crazy knowing that inlike 10 years it's gonna get
like really, really good, youknow.
SPEAKER_01 (24:12):
Yeah, he's got he's he's making money for his great,
great, great, great, great,great, great great
grandchildren.
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
Exactly.
And I think that's good too,because it's not like he's not
being like, I need the moneyright away, and like blowing all
of it and you know what I mean,like in houses and just living
large.
I mean, I'm sure he is now.
Like, it's crazy that he couldhe could just exist now after
like of the interest of whathe's making, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (24:39):
It's so so true.
But uh wow, the the the themoney that these players are
making today are isunbelievable.
SPEAKER_00 (24:47):
Yeah, and I know they just said that he had like
a per a perfect game a few gamesago, which were like in
baseball.
So, you know, I do like I Iwhether or not he's like on you
know the winning team or theteam that people like, like I
respect his his hustle, and likeI don't know, he just always
seems so focused during thegames, and um, it'll be
interesting to watch.
SPEAKER_01 (25:08):
I agree, I agree a hundred percent.
Well, my final um topic today.
Um, this actually comes coverstwo different things.
You you have you heard about thethe 6-7 craze?
SPEAKER_00 (25:22):
Yes, yes.
I still don't quite understandit, but I have.
SPEAKER_01 (25:27):
I don't think they understand it, to be honest with
you.
SPEAKER_00 (25:30):
No, I don't get it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:31):
But recently they just took it up to a different
notch.
There was a young reporter, uhsports reporter, that was in the
middle of her interview, and youknow, she was doing her report,
and a bunch of these young mensurrounded her, you know, doing
uh six seven, six seven, sixseven, one idiot in front of the
camera.
(25:52):
And you know, she was a trooper,she did her job, whatever, but
you could kind of see hertearing up a little bit.
She didn't pull out cry, but youcould see her tearing up, and
I'm sitting there thinking, thisis not cute.
This is I know.
Yes, and you know, the otherthing that's a little shocking,
I would think that all of theirreporters would have a security
(26:13):
around them at all times, atleast one person.
SPEAKER_00 (26:16):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:18):
I mean, what are your thoughts about that, Merle?
SPEAKER_00 (26:20):
I mean, it's funny because I think back to like my
middle school or teenage days,and like I could see a scenario
where like a few of my friendswere just like giggling and or
surrounding like a newscasterand saying stuff, but those men
young men like did seem like apack of coyotes, like they
didn't really seem as like nice,and and they weren't like
giggling and uh they seemed likea little bit threatening for
(26:41):
sure.
So I think I mean A, I think thesix seven thing is so
ridiculous, but B, um yeah, Ithink that she had every right
to feel threatened and just likeit was not appropriate.
SPEAKER_01 (26:53):
I'm just surprised they didn't cut that that
newscast and just go back to thestation and be like, hey, you
know what?
Security, you need to help usout over here.
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
Something I know, I know.
I wonder if they knew at thetime they'd have like a viral
moment, or maybe they wanted tokeep rolling in case like
something did happen and they'dhave footage.
Um, but yeah, it's scary andcreepy.
SPEAKER_01 (27:13):
Yeah, and the thing about it is that with them being
that close to her, I mean, thankgod nothing happened.
But what if them decide to grabher or hit her or do something?
You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
She should press charges.
Like, I mean, if they were tograb her, like assault her in
any way, absolutely charges.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
I just hope that um they give her a little bit of
security because that's justridiculous.
No one needs to be harassed likethat to just to do the job, you
know.
SPEAKER_00 (27:40):
I think people tend to think of like local news
anchors as kind of like clowns,or you know what I mean?
Like like props almost of likehaha, they're not human, then I
think uh definitely going toofar.
SPEAKER_01 (27:52):
Yeah, I agree.
So like I said, I'm glad thatshe wasn't injured, but um when
you saw that when I saw it tome, when I saw the tears in her
eyes when it started at thattime, I was thinking, this is
not funny, guys.
This is not funny.
SPEAKER_00 (28:06):
I know, I know, and I feel like their parents need
to like reteach them like how tobe gentlemen out in the world
for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (28:13):
Yes, I agree 100% on that.
Well, talking about thingscoming up, what do you have
coming up, Beryl?
SPEAKER_00 (28:22):
Woohoo! Um, well, I keep on promoting it a lot, but
now I'm uh I'm excited, but I'mthinking about all the things I
want to promote.
Okay, I just got on a really funshow um November 12th.
I'm back at the La Jolla ComedyStore.
I know I'm gonna talk about it alot, but I'm back November 2012
um at the La Jolla Comedy Store,and I'm hosting, and the
(28:44):
headliner is Tom Arnold fromlike Roseanne and everything, so
that will be super cool.
SPEAKER_01 (28:50):
That is gonna be super cool.
SPEAKER_00 (28:52):
And he's really nice too.
I've done a bunch of shows wherehe's like been the headliner,
and he's um, if anyone iswondering, the T, he's very nice
to perform with, and he'sextremely funny and cool.
So if you're not gonna come forme, which I don't understand why
that wouldn't happen, then umthen come for Tom Arnold.
SPEAKER_01 (29:09):
Well, definitely if you're in the area, definitely
come out and support Meryl.
Come out and uh get a chance tosee Tom Arnold as well.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
Double exactly it's amazing how many of my family
family and friends care when I'mlike on a show with someone big.
They're suddenly they're likevery interested in my career.
SPEAKER_01 (29:26):
No, I'm very interested.
They just don't know how to showit.
That's all.
Exactly.
That's true, that's true.
Well, everyone, we had a greattime.
Um, I thank everyone forwatching us, listening to us,
and following us.
I'm Lauren Selrod.
I'm Merrill Climo.
Have a great day, everyone.
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
Bye bye.
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