December 30, 2025 • 45 mins
Ben Goessling joins the show for Hour 2 to talk about the Star Tribune as well as Brian Flores future.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Nine to noon, Ben Gesling joining us in just moments.
I do want to remind people though eleven am, we're
gonna have head coach Kevin O'Connell.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Here in studio.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Studio weekly x's and no's with head coach Kevin O'Connell.
I need some talkbacks free iHeartRadio app use that microphone.
Give us up to your best thirty seconds. A question
for the coach as we look forward to the Border
Battle and the finale of the twenty twenty five Viking season.
A question for the coach, A talkback of the day.
(01:51):
Please send them in and then one of them. I'm
gonna read through them, listen to them, and we're gonna
play one for the coach as he joins at eleven
o'clock and he's.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Followed by John Hines, Coach of the Wild meanwhile joining
us now Ben Gestling, Star Tribune, Star Tribune dot Com
at Ben Gesling via x into the season finale versus
the Green Bay Packers Sunday at noon. K f A,
M and Ben. Segments are sponsored by and have been
all season by Standard Heating and Air. Standard Heating dot Com.
(02:21):
What's the what's the access Vikings off season Plan, the
very popular, sometimes controversial podcast What's the off Season Plan?
And good Morning, Good Morning. Yeah, we are. We'll keep
at it during the off season. We'll have more probably
more content during the off season than we have in
the past. We've kind of gone on a as needed
basis in the past. I think that'll probably be more consistent.
(02:44):
I would assume probably at least every couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Maybe a little bit more. Awful we're a couple times
a week during the season.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I would think we will be probably more frequent than
the every couple of weeks thing.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
This offseason. Some new new things come and mention be
kind of fun. What about the newsletter?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
The newsletter will keep going as well, weekly, probably not
weekly weekly, but it'll probably be again more frequent than
it's been. I think last year is an organization short
by the way, because they might give you the opportunity
you might have to do it weekly.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
That's now busy the off season could be let's keep
this newsletter going.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
That is probably true.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
There's there's generally enough going on, and the busy stretches
of the off season, we're kind of full up like
we normally would be. And this could be yet another
off season where we have plenty to talk about. I think, hey,
I saw a tweet yesterday and and I don't want
to forget this because I know somehow it impacts part
of your covenant, most likely the professional covenant, but that
(03:43):
also can always get into the personal situation. And here's
the question, what's big with the Star Tribune not being
printed in Minnesota. Yeah, and that's like new, right, that
is new, And it just started on Monday, I believe,
was our first edition not printed in the Minnesota in the
history of the newspaper. So pretty significant change for us.
(04:04):
The printing press in you know, just kind of along
the Mississippi River is now closed. The Start Tribute decided
to stop doing that and have the printer the paper
printed in Des Moines, Iowa. So the upshot of that
is that the print edition is probably less of a
focus for us than it has been probably at any
(04:26):
point in the Star Tremuan's history.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
And some of that is the natural change in the business.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
People are getting their news online more often, so the
shift for us is more towards digital content. It's more
toward kind of the twenty four hour news cycle online
where we are updating the website obviously, and then there's
digital content, podcast videos. I mean, a lot of these
things that you're seeing the vikings people do are going
to become a little more widespread throughout the paper. But
(04:51):
the costs of printing the paper I think got to
the point where they said, this is more efficient if
we just do it elsewhere. It means our print deadlines
are earlier. It's going to mean that fewer late sports
scores get in the print paper. So the print paper
is going to become more of an anthology of the
things that we've done throughout the week, and the updated
stuff will be more digitally focused.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Well, I was going to ask, and certainly in the industry,
you've had to drill into numbers and you figure out
via circulation and plus the clicks and you're watching. You
mentioned the standards or the normalcy of your of your
readership and views is certainly trending more digital, and and
you kind of answer in a way just how your
workflow changes based on deadlines and potentially at the sacrifice
(05:37):
of updated content for a certain percentage of your readers.
That still, I mean, we just had Pat mcletea. I
see Pat when he would come in studio all the time,
and he's always got the sports section stuffed in the
back pocket of his jeens, and he's got today's lines.
You guys don't have Korean Baseball lines typically in the
strip has to go elsewhere for that. But the idea
(05:59):
of some of that updated information that's just not going
to be available kind of with the efficiency, I guess
in this case of changing the location of print, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
It does change a lot of that stuff in terms
of the immediacy of the print products. And we still
get the Sunday paper at home. I still enjoy reading
the print product. I grew up reading it every day,
grew up reading ROYSI and Borero and all that said. Obviously,
so that is a part of my upbringing and part
that I welcomed and relished. And things are going to
(06:29):
be different, and I you know, I've gone through this
where I've worked at online outlets and it was at ESPN,
and obviously coming back to the newspaper, I think from
a workflow perspective for me, it actually makes for longer days,
believe it or not, because you're not sitting there with
a deadline of this has to get done for print.
So this is the best I have at this hour
(06:49):
of the day. I can take more time and do
there's you know, the length limits, the deadline limits are
not the same when you're not trying to hit a
print deadline. So in some ways it actually leads to
I mean, my game stories are going to get longer.
They probably already have. Sorry editors, Sorry, not sorry editors really,
but those things I think change the workflow for me
(07:11):
a little bit in the sense that when you're in
the digital world, you're not constrained by the things that
you typically are in print. So for depth and breadth
of content, it's probably actually a good thing. But the
times they are changing, as Hipping's oone Bob Dylan wants saying,
so yes, a lot of this is kind of changing
with it. So if there's like this game coming up
(07:34):
Sunday at noon, if for the print edition, yeah, okay,
so it's noon, story can be filed five thirty or
six depending on the length it does it still work
like this where editor, a sports editor, associate editor whatever,
tells you bet we need nineteen inches yeah for the
(07:55):
for the Vikings Packer story. Okay, And what's funny, I'm
just see if my editors are listening to so like, yeah,
he hasn't read a file like a nineteen inch story
in years. But but does it still work that way? Yeah,
I mean you're still talking about so old school. When
I started at the Pasadena Star News in nineteen eighty nine,
(08:15):
you know, I was very fortunate to work on the
copy desk, so I added in a lot of people's
stories coming in. It really helped learn the importance of
the pithy nature of phraseology. Yes, the English language, you know,
avoiding non essential clauses, things like that. So with that said,
(08:37):
if it's nineteen inches and you go twenty one, Yeah,
how do they determine what to cut? Well, it's not
especially if you're on deadline.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It's not the same as it used to be where
they were. I mean in the old pols. They're not
just physically hacking off the bottom of the story. I
mean that used to be what happened. A lot of
it now is you're doing it digitally, of course, and
you have an inch counter that's in real time. You
take a couple of words, it goes from twenty one
point one two five to night or twenty point eight
(09:06):
seventy five or.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Something like that.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
If you if you take a couple of sentences out,
so it tells you exactly how far you over, how
far you are over the length limit at all times,
so you can you can do a lot of trimming
and a lot of it. With apologies to our eleven
o'clock guests. Is the quotes are a little verbose set times.
He sometimes the dot dot dot and the paraphrase the ellipses.
(09:29):
The ellipses sometimes is useful when transcribing mister O'Connell.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
So okay, sometimes that becomes a thing.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Within the last year, I did a podcast with Jim Suhan. Yeah,
and Jim and I are close to the same age.
We're both older than you when you started writing in
the newspaper business. Because Jim, I think was fascinated that
I knew this about old school newspaper and I think
he knew that that I worked in it for five years.
But like when you would send your stories that there
(09:58):
was a computer device I called a trasher. Yeah, I
didn't have to work on one. I've heard a lot
of stories about the trash aighten and then and you
would send stories with couplers on phones and it would
sound like what the Facts machine used to sound like.
When you would call a certain number, it would send
your story via the phone. If there was a bad
(10:19):
phone connection, it would be what was known as garbled
and you had to re send it. So did you
ever get to see that or experience that. No, I did,
that was everyday life.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
And I've heard enough stories that when people talk about
the newspapers being the daily miracle, I mean there's still
a lot of coordination in moving parts that have to
happen very efficiently to get the paper out.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
But in those days, it's like, how did you guys
do it?
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Like the technology feels like it would have been so
unreliable that, you know, people having to call in and
dictate their stories.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
People got it done every day.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
But yeah, the technology certainly has, like a lot of
things in life, has made it easier to get things
sent in a expedient and precise fashion.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Oh go ahead, well, I just I've the technology growth.
So prior to getting into radio, I had switched from
a completely different career and trying to get ultimately I
get my foot in the door on the news talk side.
Well for extra coin, because I completely started over in
life I'm delivering in those little green trucks.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Yeah, on the weekends.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And what was that second Street or just right off
behind Washington, maybe tenth Street or tenth Avenue.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Sue trucks.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, I was driving one of those little green trucks, dude.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, North Minneapolis downtown and Nickel It that was my route.
But inside that building, when you're seeing I mean just
those giant rooms, and there were so many people working
overnight and it was just you know, everything else is
just shutting down, and at three am, this place is
coming a lot. It's just impressive really, the scope and
(11:54):
even you get it, thousands, tens of thousands of papers. Yeah,
the scope of putting that together. I kind of appreciate
how the cost has ballooned over the course of time.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Well yeah, I mean newsprint has got more expensive, all
of those things. But the people that worked in that
heritage plants did fantastic work. And those people, as part
of this, end up losing their jobs. So just to
spare a moment for them as they go through this transition.
They've done fantastic work for a long time doing something
that is kind of an essential part of our community,
(12:25):
making sure that the newspaper shows up every day. I mean,
it's people putting the content together on the front end
of it where I am, but it doesn't get to
you in print without those people doing their jobs on
the back end. So you know, shout out to all
of those folks who am out through a tough time
right now, but you know, incredible work that they've done
over the years, and you know, wish them the best
as they go forward. Here and here's a piece of
(12:47):
advice where I actually had my hand in that for
probably two months, two and a half months, all right,
and it was weak what I did back in nineteen
eighty six, over twenty two, just out of high school,
just starting Pasadena City College and about to start with
the Pasadena Star News as an intern. And so therefore
(13:08):
I think it was in Diamond Bar, California or Pomona,
something like that. Right off fifty seven. One of my
first jobs was working at an ancillary Los Angeles Times
facility like Nordo just described, where it involved inserts. Okay,
so newspapers have inserts as yeah, well I just started
(13:31):
as insert guy.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
All right.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
So it's like it's may or June. While I'm a
massive Boston Celtics fan. I played basketball through junior college.
I've had just moved from the East Coast to southern California.
Everybody loved Magic. I even tried to cater my shot
after Larry Bird. Yeah, just off my right ear. Well,
so anyway, it was Lakers and Celtics. Man, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Man, I got to be there at eight o'clock until
like midnight doing the inserts. Well, the game, I think
a deciding game from the Boston Garden began at like
seven thirty or eight or seven.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
I'm like, this sucks. I got no phone to follow
the right nothing.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Yeah, so I'm forty five minutes into this job, inserting
into the La Times for the calendar section for the weekend,
and I just I just left. I said, I took
a break, took a fifteen minute break, left the job.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
God score.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
No. I went home, Yeah, and never came back. I
mean it was as weak as it gets. Yeah, twenty
two year olds, I'm sure I've executed weaker situations than
I just described. Actually, when you described that heritage nor
to driving the green truck, it took me back to
eighty six. Unbelievable NBA Finals I think Magic wanted with
(14:46):
the baby hooks in the Boston garden yep.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And I'm like, I can't, I can't do this.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I have to leave. And I just left and never
came back.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, my dad's I think one of my dad's first
jobs as a kid was working at a hot dog
factory back in the seventy and he has a similar
story where he worked there the first day, went to
you know, saw how the sausage is made, and went
to lunch and decided, nope, I'm done, not coming back.
They'll figure it out. Didn't call anybody, just said, you know,
they'll they'll get to justice. Probably probably not the first
(15:15):
one to do it.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Just just impressive though again that operation and the need
for change, what it impacts, positives and negatives.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
But I would part of it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
When I was driving the green trucks, I got upgraded
to an opportunity to drive a sprinter van out to
Wada to drop off a.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Van load of paper.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
A long time, I think they would go to Fargo
or Alexandria, obviously outstate areas. But but just now now
I got a picture that all those trucks coming up. Yeah,
I mean, what a process just from a logistics standpoint,
to have that happen on a daily basis, you know.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Get to nostalgic here whether we had for the first
run coming from Des Moines to here with the snow.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
So it made it.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I mean, there probably are a fair amount of thirty
year olds and under listening right now wondering when the
McCarthy finger terrorism talk starts. Jail and Nailor's unrestricted. Just
so many pertinent vikings topics. Yeah, and they will. But
this is not a finger wag old people get off
our lawn type conversation.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
But there was a time where the.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Evening news sixty minutes on the weekend and the daily
newspaper was everything. Yep, it was everything, and cracking open
a newspaper was I mean it was.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
It had immortality to it. It still does.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
It's you know, just just look at this, the beginning
stages of this game calling depth chart that I do.
I mean, it's I could do it via PowerPoint. I mean,
I could, like all the other boxes that I see
around the league. I like to write it right because
I'm writing it, I'm looking at something, then I'm looking
at it again, then I'm looking at it again.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
And it helps with the quick twins.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
When handicapping horse racing, I can go to dr dot com,
the only racing form dot Com handicap right off that
I would prefer to print the past performances, sit down,
get the right light, and handicap them that way. I
just I feel the retention is dramatically better than just boom,
there it is, write it down one time, move on. Yeah,
(17:22):
there've actually been a lot of studies on this that
we are better at retaining information when we get it
from a hard copy. I mean this is you know,
kids studying for school, that sort of thing as well.
Probably there's fewer distractions. There must be something about how
your eye picks it up as well when you're reading
it in a hard copy as opposed to digital.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
But yeah, that's that's the thing. Well, I'm even dinosaur style.
I can't do kindler nooks. So many people do those,
like the e books. Yeah, I'm old enough, even at
forty one. I'm Rampa style, Like I have to have
a physical I like having books. Yeah, I like filling
shelves with books and having the physical physically turning the page.
(18:00):
If I just do like on an eok on a
tablet or something like that. I start to like fall
asleep right after a half hour. I need to be
physically engaged with it.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, more old people talk. I guess right.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I'm with you on that. And I like reading now,
you know, I'll read the Bible quite a bit, and
I can find Bibles with bigger fonts.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
To make it so if I got the right light,
I'm gonna be a week from today, I'm gonna be sixteen,
and I have not given in and really had the
need to give in to cheaters at this stage. God, God,
for whatever the reason, has blessed me with good vision
where I don't need to use. Are they called cheaters
or readers or both or whatever?
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Cheaters?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
However, you know, if my eyes are a little tired
and the font is eleven or ten or below, like
a lot of books, then I'm with Nordo. I want
to sit down. I like the smell of the books.
I like turning the pages. It has a nostalgia to it.
But if the light ain't right and the font's not
big enough, I'm not going to those cheaters until I
(19:01):
absolutely have to.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
But it keeps me from reading a little bit like that.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Yeah, yeah, there are what are your kind of kind
of a new car smell? Yeah, like you buy I
think the last book I read was Laura Hildebrandt's Unbroken
and then like you get a new book book, like
like I'll buy Christmas gifts at Barnes and Noble and
you'll see a book and it hasn't really been opened
or touched that much, and you like flip through the
(19:28):
pages and you kind of get a smell to it.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
There's a little there's a little new book smell.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Yeah, I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, that's the thing, like the old smell of the
newsprint in the newspaper the first works at the start tribute,
like there's a I mean you know what it is
that that smell of the inchor newsprint or whatever it is.
You walk in and the whole place smells like that.
So I can still like think of what that smelled like.
It's reference immortality for Barrero, who is quote an ink
stained red yep end quote from all the way, uh
(19:56):
you know, back in the day. Yeah, when when things
like that matter?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
All right?
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Because of the Minnesota Vikings are eight to eight? Is
the Vikings defense not only truly one of the very
best in the NFL, but one of the league's most
underrated stories because of that middling record. Yeah, and I
think that's probably right. It's probably an underrated story. It's
probably the reason this team is eight and eight and
(20:23):
not four and twelve or something. I mean, there's a
lot of games that that defense has kept them in
and some games that the defense has all all but
one for them. You know, I think the Lions game
in some ways, when that offense got the ball in
Lions territory as much as it did and didn't have
(20:43):
to drive a long way until that Jordan Aison run.
I think the longest drive the offense had all day
was twenty nine yards and that ended in a punt.
So that defense getting the takeaways it did, getting the
stops it has throughout the season, that is a lot
of the reason they have a chance to finish with
a winning record on Sunday. Yeah, it has been really
(21:05):
impressive to watch what they've done. I think, you know,
they got a lot more attention last year because they
were fourteen and three. The takeaways, the cambine, the viral dances,
all of that kind of stuff, But this group has
been put in so many situations. We've talked about it
a lot this year, but where it's hey, you have
to go back out and make another stop because offense,
(21:27):
you know, it was six plays, twelve yards and now
they're punting the ball away again and you have to
go out and just answer the bell once again. So
the fact that this group has done it to the
degree that it has, and especially in the second half
of the year, has been awfully impressive to watch. And yeah,
it's probably not being talked about a ton. You know,
(21:47):
we'll see how much it's talked about with regard to
Brian Flores, right, and a head coaching possibility, But yeah,
it has been as impressive of a defensive showing as
I've seen. Or are are we sure off you know,
at least one run of trying to become a head
coach like last year where he didn't get a sniff? Yeah,
I don't think he got an interview. He had three.
(22:08):
He had three. Okay, it was the year before I believe.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Correct. Okay, are we.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
How much conviction do you have that he really really
wants to become a head coach? I mean, you know,
I kind of talked about this a little bit yesterday speculating.
I don't know what he makes. I don't care what
he makes. It's this has some blank checked terrorism to it.
If he stays here, it feels like that. But you know,
getting to know him and his family a little bit
(22:36):
and where they live, and how immersed within the sports
programs they are, how much they love the schools here,
you know. I just I'm not as certain that Brian
is as dead set to become a head coach and
go through that whole rigamarole again as some other sink.
What do you think? So I've talked him about this
a couple of times, and he is unique in the
(22:57):
sense that he spent the first fIF teen years of
his career or whatever it was in one place, which
you know, you guys know well, most coaches don't do that.
Most coaches bounce around to five places in eight years
or you know, if they're lucky three and ten or
something like that. And he did that, and then he
goes from New England all that time, to Miami to
Pittsburgh to Minnesota in the span of like five years.
(23:20):
And when your family is growing up and they're not
used to that, I think that took a toll. So yes,
I do think I think he's going to be picky.
I think it would take the right fit, It would
take the right situation probably for both him and a
team for it to happen. Otherwise, I know he has
enjoyed working here. I know he feels like, you know,
(23:41):
when you have as much say in this defense, in
as much leeway to be innovative, be kind of a
cavalier in some ways. I mean talking to players on Sunday,
it had that conversation with Harrison Smith and Blake Cashm
in the locker room. The number of guys that come
in to this scheme like really, we're going to do this,
and it takes a long time to be like, yes,
we are going to do this, and it can work
(24:02):
if you commit to it and you get all the
details right.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
But no, it's not as crazy as it sounds.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
There are not a lot of places that would just
be like, yeah, you know, the defense is yours to
craft as you wish to that degree, So I think
some of those things are attractive to stay here. And I,
like you said, I think the connections he's made in
this community have been something that may play a big
role in this as well. You know, I know he
wants to kind of see what the market looks like
(24:29):
and see how things shake out, but yeah, I think
there is a lot of appeal for him to stay
here as well. Nordo brought something up yesterday that I
hadn't been thinking about, and I thought quite a bit
about it since he said it. And it involves Mike
Tomlin and Pittsburgh. Yeah, where if the Tomlin run is over,
because that year has kind of Tomlin's right hand man, yep,
(24:50):
just to decompress after Miami and Stephen Raws and Brady
and the yacht and the lawsuits and the whole thing.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
Yep, that was a vital year for him.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yes, And the reason this defense exists the way it
does because he met Patton Nardoozy and started picking his brain.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Yeah, I didn't know that story in this maybe a
year or so ago, but jeez. Because they share a
practice facility with pitt and Patt Nardoozy is like the
king of all of the hot coverages and hot zone
stuff where it's playing zone coverage behind all the blitzer
and saying we're not going to cover everything. A lot
of that stuff that they run now, yeah, is because
of that year he was in Pittsburgh. Well, the difference
would be so say Tomlin's board with it done. Yeah, yeah,
(25:28):
I believe the Rooney family would give Brian a big
chance to become the head coach.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
But but Mike, Mike has morphed into the ultimate CEO. Yeah,
on the side, he's not calling a blaze. I mean
he's he's handling everything, with everything, And I'm not saying
Brian's not capable of doing that.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Brian and rolling in there.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
To be the CEO, rolling in there to be the
play call defensive play calling head coach. I got TJ.
Watt here, got all these guys back here. Yeah, so
it's a different situation, but it did resonate with me
the way he Yeah, I mean there is I think
that would be a place that would make a lot
of sense. I know that year in Pittsburgh was something
he enjoyed and appreciated, and some of those connections with
(26:10):
the Roonies, with that organization, I think we're genuine. But
it is that question of do you want that life,
so to speak, do you want to be the guy that, hey,
the marketing folks need something, or you know, the owner
wants to talk on Monday about how did everything go? Hey,
you called this on third and eight. The analytics would
suggest that you probably should have gone this way. What
(26:31):
were you thinking there? I mean, do you want all
of that that's going to take you away from just
being able to do football? I remember talking to Mike
Pennon about this when Kevin O'Connell got the job, about
he needs somebody that can tell him I will take
care of this stuff because I've been a head coach before.
I can talk to these people and pass it along
(26:51):
and tell them what you're thinking. You need an hour
where you can just shut your door and go grind film.
So that is harder for head coaches to do in
this especially than it probably was in the past because
there is so much of a CEO component of this job.
So do you want that? Do you want your life
to look like that? I think is part of the
question everybody has to ask. It is not all Hey,
(27:14):
the paycheck's bigger, the spotlight's bigger. I mean, those things
are true, but there's also a lot more that goes
into it that I think you have to kind of
figure out if it's the right fit for you and
where you want to go in your career.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
That's a great point with Tomlin too, because when he
first they had Dick Lebau there, who had been the
DC with Cower right, and it's very rare that a
coordinator would stick around. Well yeah, well respected dude with
tons of equity. Yes, I think he coached into like
his sixties or seventy. I think it was his seventies
and they used him. And I've just reading fan fodder
(27:44):
in various things, just rube like of me. But a
lot of people attribute kind of some problems with that
def like losing that stone cold locked defensive coordinator despite
Tomlin's great defensive mind, creating issues, you know, post Lebau
finding the next answer, the.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
Face of the franchise part, that's big. Yeah, I mean
think about O'Connell. Okay, mondays, let's say twelve thirty press
conference Tuesday, X's and O's contractually obligated or not Wednesday,
into the next game press conference Thursday, maybe some national stuff,
some McAfee stuff like that, maybe Friday post practice press
(28:26):
conference into the weekend Saturdays. Say we go on the road,
we do a lot of our granted, this whole thing's
ten minutes, but pregame tape and production meetings with TV
networks that can last a half hour, then game press
conference after game, A family, by the way, get ready
(28:49):
for the next way.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
Wow, yep, that's a lot now that we think about it.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
All right, we're going to fade to black on this
segment and when we return more with the scribe on KFAM.
(29:37):
I am dozed off at halftime of that Monday night
football game last night, Kirk Oat Chains in Atlanta absolutely
throttling the Rams. Rams came back, made it an interesting game.
Atlanta won the game in totality. How did Cousins end
up looking and if he did something like egregious and
I have looked at the box score or anything, apologies,
(29:59):
but i've you look pretty good.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
You look fine. I mean, I don't think he made
any big mistakes.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
And Bejon Robinson was kind of carrying that the whole operation,
I mean kind of drove that bus reality fantasy.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
He was both and me to fantasy titles.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
It sounds like great covering to colap for winning a
fantasy way.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Those things ain't easy, No, they're not.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
So I wonder I wonder if in any way like
that impacts the Rams into the postseason. I mean, I
know that they couldn't get the one seed, but it.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Was five or six seed is what they they're vye.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
For, right, No, DeVante Adams. They had a couple of
offensive linemen down. I mean, that just feels like a
pushbutton operation. Right yet Adams back at those two offensive
linemen back make one big run. Would you would you
pick them to go to the Super Bowl? From the NFC?
I like them a lot because of the coach and
the quarterback. I mean, they have a better combination of that,
(30:53):
and obviously those things make a big difference in the playoffs.
They have a coach that's won it, they have a
quarterback that's on it, and yeah, if you get DeVante
Adams back, it makes a big difference. But yeah, I
like them as much as anybody the NFC. It's harder
when you have to go on the road, but it's
gonna be a lot of teams in their division they're.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Gonna have to beat.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
If it's the Seahawks that have the one seed, and uh,
obviously the forty nine ers are part of that too,
So I think even if they have to go on
the road, I mean they heck that. I think they
did it the year they won it with O'Connell's offense. Now,
I think they had to play through the first.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Round of that.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
So they won at Tampa Bay, Yes, in a game
they had no business winning, right with the Cooper Cup
bong catch and run.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
Oh that's right.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yeah, and Antoine Winfield Junior maybe got lost a little bit,
was kind of in the clutch that game. They beat
Kyler at home, Yeah, wild card, and then they went
to Tampa.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
They're like a three or four seed or something something
like that.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
So no, I then they played the Niners at so
far right, I think they had not beat the Niners
and they did get to host the Niners. Yeah, and
the Niners, I mean they had more fans than the
Rams than that NFC title game. Yeah, they did all right,
to the to the local team to finish. Will Harrison
Smith playing next year? My thought most of the year
(32:09):
has been no, right, I've thought that he was going
to be done, but he is. The last two years
I thought the same thing he was. I remember talking
to him in the locker room in Detroit at the
end of twenty three and thought, boy, I have not
seen and I've covered his first year was my first
year on the beat. I realized this this week, with
(32:29):
my fourteenth year covering him, I've covered him more longer
than any athlete in my career.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Wow, probably won't cover anybody as long as him.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
The idea that I'm going to cover somebody else for
fourteen years is probably fairly unlikely.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
So same here.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
He's probably the athlete I will have covered the longest
of any stretch of my career the last two years.
So I say that to say, as long as I've
covered him and have a pretty good feel for him,
I think. But to have a feel for him is
also to know that he's unpredictable. And I remember him
crying in the Detroit locker room thing, boy, this is
not something I've seen them before. I think he's done,
(33:03):
and then he comes back and that was the famous
send Chris Thomas in the Prince picture year and look
it off if you don't know it. It's the greatest
thing ever, the greatest Twitter exchange ever. Then the next
year I thought he was done. I remember texting him
and he writes back, I wish I had a Prince
photo to send you. He should have filmed this short.
(33:24):
It is like, does that mean you're back. Yeah, it
means I'm back. So the last couple of years he
has surprised me in that sense. I think even you know,
the last week, I thought this is probably the Swan song.
I mean, it depends on how he's feeling, how his
family feels about things. But he could still play. I mean,
(33:46):
I if there's no a little I agree with that.
I think it's going to have to be Flores here
for him to think about it. But I could see
him going, you know what I feel? All right, I
think I could still play. They still want me, what
the heck, let's do one more. It would not shock
be because he is one of these players I think
that has heard this from other players that went beforehand,
(34:07):
that play as long as you can because once you leave,
it's done, it's over and you have the rest of
your life. So there are players that will say, as
long as you can be on the ride with teammates, Yeah,
you got to grind through the season with the highs
of winning games like they did on Christmas Day. You
don't get that back. So I wouldn't be shocked. I
(34:28):
guess I think I'm more open to the possibility that
would happen It's obviously not my decision, but I would
be less surprised by it, let's put it that way
than I would have been maybe a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
And he played into this finale, then are we just on?
We're on McCarthy watch all week?
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Right?
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Just is he gonna play? And what's up with the
hand grip strength? It's really coming down to his ability
to physically grip the flat all kind of the a
topic with the position as.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Yeah, yep, that'll probably take the week and it'll probably
take a while for us to know who the starter
is going to be. But yes, they want him to
play if he can Border battle subter refusions, well it
could be that too, I suppose, But yes, there's well
the packers probably gonna sit on the starters, so probably
not going to be the most climactic border battle ever.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
But yes, I think they want to see him.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
They want to get one more for him, as Kevin
O'Connell said yesterday, And I think it will depend on
the grip strength. Do you expect Javon Hargrave and Jonathan
Allen both to be back with the team next year?
Speaker 4 (35:23):
I do not.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I think they have salary cap questions that are fairly big,
and Javon Hargrave especially, they'd save a lot of money
if they were to release him.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
I would think that.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
I mean the money they save for Allen is not
that much because of how the dead money works out.
So I would think Allen has a better chance to
be back than Hargrave.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I don't think they're both here.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Hargrave would be the name I'd kind of have an
eye on in terms of a possible cut. Lastly, here
do you think they drafted Ty Felton as Jalen Naylor
replacement insurance? I mean Felton has three catches?
Speaker 4 (35:58):
Yeah? Year?
Speaker 3 (35:59):
Now if you I mean they came into the season
clearly thinking Jefferson, Addison, Naylor, Yeah, Hawkinson, Aaron Jones yep.
So you can draft somebody third round and not, you know,
immediately get them up to speed as the replacement. That's
why you have the next offseason. But do you see
it that way that they took Felton thinking wow, from
(36:20):
a cap standpoint, we may not be able to sign
Jalen Naylor. Well, I think there's probably some of that
because you spend all the money in March and then
you go into the draft in April knowing that you're
may not going to have the room to sign Jalen Naylor,
especially if he has a good year, which he has.
I think the way they're probably looking at it now
is there's a good chance Jalen Naylor gets paid by
somebody and they can't afford to keep him. So whether
(36:43):
or not they drafted him for that reason, you know,
I think some of it was they wanted the catch
and run guy too. That was gonna be run Dale Moore,
and I think Felton has some of that to him,
So I think there was some of a let's get
another flavor in this in this wide receiver group to
an extent. But yeah, I think think it will turn
out that way. I think Felton and I know they've
felt good about some of the things he's done in
(37:05):
practices and kind of behind the scenes. I think the
hope would be that he does kind of turn into
that because I think it may work out that way.
Did I miss the All Vikings All Time piece? Was
that Christmas Day?
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (37:15):
Yeah? Yeah, man, so you can go online and see
it correct. Yeah, So they did some cool design. They
basically like anybody they picked on the team, it's like
a tops trading car when you can put the back
and get the stats. And so the design was pretty cool.
Oh that's cool. I'll start Tribune dot Com all right, man.
Hopefully we'll see you next week at ten o'clock at KFAM.
After that, you know how it goes. Man, we're low
(37:35):
key here. You need time away from radio, You just
want time to decompress from everything. Just let us know. Yeah,
but we love having you each and every Tuesday.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
I love doing it. We'll keep it rolling. Thanks guys.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
It's been gasline Tuesdays. Here Friday with a burrero courtesy
of Standard Heating and Air. Kevin O'Connell, head coach of
the Minnesota Vikings, fifteen minutes from now to the league.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Nine to noon news Denord is always brought to you
by Canterbury Park, Canterbury's Card Casino. The casino at Canterbury
Park where you're playing, I mean you're feeling the felt
each and every day, twenty four to seven poker, blackjacket
table games. I don't know when Derek Allen's working, but
if you see him at Chips, make sure to tip him.
Potentially in Chips, can you tip people in chips at Canterbury.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
I think you can.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Yes, he is supervisor guy today I think five and
he'll be back at chipstowne No, he'll be a third
floor paddock bar tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
If you want to spot up a.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
Little bit on some teleracing Minnesota Wild, we're gonna get
to hear from the head coach already chatted with Pat
mcletty during the first hour. They are at the Sharks
for a mid afternoon affair tomorrow three o'clock puck drop.
You're gonna get to hear that here, I believe, on
your home for a Wild Hockey the Fan. But last night,
I mean you want to talk about four points between
(39:27):
the Marcus Johansson, Jule Ericson Eck and Matt boldieline it
was a beauty five to two, just a beat down,
dominating effort over the golden nights the Wild there and
it's still it's we're just past Christmas here, but the
Wild third place in the central. You're starting to see
this top three separation between what the Wild Stars and
(39:49):
Abs are doing. Abs still completely untouchable and the rest
of what is starting to appear to be a very
mediocre in midd Lane NHL Central Division. So that's some
to watch, very excited something to watch and listen to.
Wild at the Sharks tomorrow. Head coach John Hines is
going to join us around eleven thirty.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
And then last night the Minnesota Timberwolves also in action.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
You would have gotten to hear that on your home
for Wolves Basketball the fan right after the Slovakia team
USA affair. I believe the Americans won six' five in that,
one and The.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
Bulls at The.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
BULLS i was really pumped last, Night pa to See
Kobe white and YOUR lfl trained and. Raised you brought
me into, This you've guided me along THIS lfl.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Journey whoeverre your fond just five? Minutes are you kidding?
Me With Kobe white last? Night CALVE i tuned, in
he heard his. Calf, yeah he played six minutes in the.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
Game but the STORY nas read thirty some points and
maybe a sub story that's.
Speaker 4 (40:46):
Really cool as part of.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
THAT i think it was fourteen dimes From Julius randall
last night as. Well So wolves bouncing back from the
Bad nets game prior to, that and they are at
The hawks also an afternoon affair, Tomorrow New Year's, eve two.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Pm tip.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Offs to get THOSE lfl lineups started is set, early
ladies and.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Gentlemen Nikhil Alexander, walker we get to see naw he
at six three pinners last. Night he's he's had an awesome.
Season yeah for The Atlanta hawks that that's a really
toothless defensive. Team Jalen johnson's one of the real underrated
stars in THE. Nba wise he underrated because he plays
for The hawks and The hawks ain't very good these. Days,
(41:29):
well last night from an injury standpoint for The Chicago.
Bulls if you are a hard Hardcore chimberwolves fan and
you are looking for a serviceable point guard to give
you maybe eighteen to twenty seven minutes a, game and
you want to pick On chicago because.
Speaker 4 (41:49):
Du, somo, however you, say, YEAH i have no.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
Idea Trey, Jones Apple, Valley Josh, giddy And Kobe. White,
okay they have four there who can play the. Point
white went down with a calf last night And Josh
giddy heard his hamstring AND i don't think it's, good
so they all of a. Sudden Kevin, herder by the,
way is a. Tweener he plays point and, two so
(42:13):
they have a bebby of ball handlers who can play
one or. Two but they lost their best to last. Night,
YEAH i don't know if so that you, know if
you're looking to pill for that, team for any kind
of a point. Guard it got a little dicey last.
Night TIMBERWOLVES i thought were well below average fair amount
of the first. Half Then Anthony edwards got pissed. Off
(42:37):
they put the pedal to the. MEDAL i swear they
outscored this team like one hundred and ten to fifty
eight from one point of the second quarter all the
way through the end of the. Game it was an
impressive display once they started, Rolling so we know they
have it in, them and that was. Cool The wild
thorough domination The, pacific The Western division whatever it's. Called, Pacific,
(43:00):
yeah wants nothing to do with The Minnesota. WILD i
think the teams like ten oh one one or ten
ten one and two or something against The west against The,
pacific and now they play a different brand of hockey out.
There but The wild were up five zero before the
midway point of the.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Game, YEP i mean it was just utter butt whooping last.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Night, no it was a beautiful. Thing it was not
a butt.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Whooping but The, falcons dude the, minutes there's actually an
interesting bit here where, apparently and they said this on the.
BROADCAST i wasn't, aware SO i Thought Panthers bucks was
just winning in but, it, TECHNICALLY.
Speaker 4 (43:34):
I, guess is.
Speaker 1 (43:35):
Not.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
So The falcons.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Beat The rams last night twenty seven to twenty, four
And stafford threw a few. Picks still should be favored
to BE, mvp but we'll. See drake may right on his.
Heels cousins thirteen to Twenty buck twenty six didn't have
to do much Because bijeon had two hundred and twenty
nine total yards and a couple, scores and.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
We had a block punt for.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
It it was actually or a block kick for A
td From Jared. Verse it was a really entertaining. Game
falcons get out seven and. Nine, well apparently according to
the broadcast last, night The falcons if they are to
beat The saints On, sunday and that's probably one of the,
nooners and then of Course bucks And carolina are Playing
(44:16):
saturday after.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
NOON i think If.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
Carolina loses to The, bucks so The bucks are Celebrating saturday.
Speaker 4 (44:23):
Night, yeah we won the.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Division, actually, no, really if The falcons beat The saints
On sunday because of a three win, tie three team,
tie there's some sort of tie breaker that still pushes
The panthers into the.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Postseason so even if.
Speaker 4 (44:44):
The atlanta cannot win the, division no they.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Cannot, yeah that's all, Right so they're, eliminated but they
can play spoiler to The. Bucks if The bucks win
against The panthers and The falcons finish eight to nine
with a win over The, saints The, panthers regardless of
that loss On, saturday would still go into the.
Speaker 3 (45:02):
Postseason so we are On kevin O'Connell Watch. Minutia, yeah that's.
Nice we have a couple of head coaches going back to.
Back First kevin, O'Connell the head coach of The Minnesota,
vikings about five six minutes from, now followed By John,
hines coach of The Minnesota wild calling us from The
west coast about eleven thirty eleven thirty. Five you're listening
(45:22):
to nine to noon AT fn one hundred point THREE
kfam
Nine to noon, Ben Gesling joining us in just moments.
I do want to remind people though eleven am, we're
gonna have head coach Kevin O'Connell.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Here in studio.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Studio weekly x's and no's with head coach Kevin O'Connell.
I need some talkbacks free iHeartRadio app use that microphone.
Give us up to your best thirty seconds. A question
for the coach as we look forward to the Border
Battle and the finale of the twenty twenty five Viking season.
A question for the coach, A talkback of the day.
(01:51):
Please send them in and then one of them. I'm
gonna read through them, listen to them, and we're gonna
play one for the coach as he joins at eleven
o'clock and he's.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Followed by John Hines, Coach of the Wild meanwhile joining
us now Ben Gestling, Star Tribune, Star Tribune dot Com
at Ben Gesling via x into the season finale versus
the Green Bay Packers Sunday at noon. K f A,
M and Ben. Segments are sponsored by and have been
all season by Standard Heating and Air. Standard Heating dot Com.
(02:21):
What's the what's the access Vikings off season Plan, the
very popular, sometimes controversial podcast What's the off Season Plan?
And good Morning, Good Morning. Yeah, we are. We'll keep
at it during the off season. We'll have more probably
more content during the off season than we have in
the past. We've kind of gone on a as needed
basis in the past. I think that'll probably be more consistent.
(02:44):
I would assume probably at least every couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Maybe a little bit more. Awful we're a couple times
a week during the season.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I would think we will be probably more frequent than
the every couple of weeks thing.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
This offseason. Some new new things come and mention be
kind of fun. What about the newsletter?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
The newsletter will keep going as well, weekly, probably not
weekly weekly, but it'll probably be again more frequent than
it's been. I think last year is an organization short
by the way, because they might give you the opportunity
you might have to do it weekly.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
That's now busy the off season could be let's keep
this newsletter going.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
That is probably true.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
There's there's generally enough going on, and the busy stretches
of the off season, we're kind of full up like
we normally would be. And this could be yet another
off season where we have plenty to talk about. I think, hey,
I saw a tweet yesterday and and I don't want
to forget this because I know somehow it impacts part
of your covenant, most likely the professional covenant, but that
(03:43):
also can always get into the personal situation. And here's
the question, what's big with the Star Tribune not being
printed in Minnesota. Yeah, and that's like new, right, that
is new, And it just started on Monday, I believe,
was our first edition not printed in the Minnesota in the
history of the newspaper. So pretty significant change for us.
(04:04):
The printing press in you know, just kind of along
the Mississippi River is now closed. The Start Tribute decided
to stop doing that and have the printer the paper
printed in Des Moines, Iowa. So the upshot of that
is that the print edition is probably less of a
focus for us than it has been probably at any
(04:26):
point in the Star Tremuan's history.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
And some of that is the natural change in the business.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
People are getting their news online more often, so the
shift for us is more towards digital content. It's more
toward kind of the twenty four hour news cycle online
where we are updating the website obviously, and then there's
digital content, podcast videos. I mean, a lot of these
things that you're seeing the vikings people do are going
to become a little more widespread throughout the paper. But
(04:51):
the costs of printing the paper I think got to
the point where they said, this is more efficient if
we just do it elsewhere. It means our print deadlines
are earlier. It's going to mean that fewer late sports
scores get in the print paper. So the print paper
is going to become more of an anthology of the
things that we've done throughout the week, and the updated
stuff will be more digitally focused.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Well, I was going to ask, and certainly in the industry,
you've had to drill into numbers and you figure out
via circulation and plus the clicks and you're watching. You
mentioned the standards or the normalcy of your of your
readership and views is certainly trending more digital, and and
you kind of answer in a way just how your
workflow changes based on deadlines and potentially at the sacrifice
(05:37):
of updated content for a certain percentage of your readers.
That still, I mean, we just had Pat mcletea. I
see Pat when he would come in studio all the time,
and he's always got the sports section stuffed in the
back pocket of his jeens, and he's got today's lines.
You guys don't have Korean Baseball lines typically in the
strip has to go elsewhere for that. But the idea
(05:59):
of some of that updated information that's just not going
to be available kind of with the efficiency, I guess
in this case of changing the location of print, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
It does change a lot of that stuff in terms
of the immediacy of the print products. And we still
get the Sunday paper at home. I still enjoy reading
the print product. I grew up reading it every day,
grew up reading ROYSI and Borero and all that said. Obviously,
so that is a part of my upbringing and part
that I welcomed and relished. And things are going to
(06:29):
be different, and I you know, I've gone through this
where I've worked at online outlets and it was at ESPN,
and obviously coming back to the newspaper, I think from
a workflow perspective for me, it actually makes for longer days,
believe it or not, because you're not sitting there with
a deadline of this has to get done for print.
So this is the best I have at this hour
(06:49):
of the day. I can take more time and do
there's you know, the length limits, the deadline limits are
not the same when you're not trying to hit a
print deadline. So in some ways it actually leads to
I mean, my game stories are going to get longer.
They probably already have. Sorry editors, Sorry, not sorry editors really,
but those things I think change the workflow for me
(07:11):
a little bit in the sense that when you're in
the digital world, you're not constrained by the things that
you typically are in print. So for depth and breadth
of content, it's probably actually a good thing. But the
times they are changing, as Hipping's oone Bob Dylan wants saying,
so yes, a lot of this is kind of changing
with it. So if there's like this game coming up
(07:34):
Sunday at noon, if for the print edition, yeah, okay,
so it's noon, story can be filed five thirty or
six depending on the length it does it still work
like this where editor, a sports editor, associate editor whatever,
tells you bet we need nineteen inches yeah for the
(07:55):
for the Vikings Packer story. Okay, And what's funny, I'm
just see if my editors are listening to so like, yeah,
he hasn't read a file like a nineteen inch story
in years. But but does it still work that way? Yeah,
I mean you're still talking about so old school. When
I started at the Pasadena Star News in nineteen eighty nine,
(08:15):
you know, I was very fortunate to work on the
copy desk, so I added in a lot of people's
stories coming in. It really helped learn the importance of
the pithy nature of phraseology. Yes, the English language, you know,
avoiding non essential clauses, things like that. So with that said,
(08:37):
if it's nineteen inches and you go twenty one, Yeah,
how do they determine what to cut? Well, it's not
especially if you're on deadline.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It's not the same as it used to be where
they were. I mean in the old pols. They're not
just physically hacking off the bottom of the story. I
mean that used to be what happened. A lot of
it now is you're doing it digitally, of course, and
you have an inch counter that's in real time. You
take a couple of words, it goes from twenty one
point one two five to night or twenty point eight
(09:06):
seventy five or.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Something like that.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
If you if you take a couple of sentences out,
so it tells you exactly how far you over, how
far you are over the length limit at all times,
so you can you can do a lot of trimming
and a lot of it. With apologies to our eleven
o'clock guests. Is the quotes are a little verbose set times.
He sometimes the dot dot dot and the paraphrase the ellipses.
(09:29):
The ellipses sometimes is useful when transcribing mister O'Connell.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
So okay, sometimes that becomes a thing.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Within the last year, I did a podcast with Jim Suhan. Yeah,
and Jim and I are close to the same age.
We're both older than you when you started writing in
the newspaper business. Because Jim, I think was fascinated that
I knew this about old school newspaper and I think
he knew that that I worked in it for five years.
But like when you would send your stories that there
(09:58):
was a computer device I called a trasher. Yeah, I
didn't have to work on one. I've heard a lot
of stories about the trash aighten and then and you
would send stories with couplers on phones and it would
sound like what the Facts machine used to sound like.
When you would call a certain number, it would send
your story via the phone. If there was a bad
(10:19):
phone connection, it would be what was known as garbled
and you had to re send it. So did you
ever get to see that or experience that. No, I did,
that was everyday life.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
And I've heard enough stories that when people talk about
the newspapers being the daily miracle, I mean there's still
a lot of coordination in moving parts that have to
happen very efficiently to get the paper out.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
But in those days, it's like, how did you guys
do it?
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Like the technology feels like it would have been so
unreliable that, you know, people having to call in and
dictate their stories.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
People got it done every day.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
But yeah, the technology certainly has, like a lot of
things in life, has made it easier to get things
sent in a expedient and precise fashion.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Oh go ahead, well, I just I've the technology growth.
So prior to getting into radio, I had switched from
a completely different career and trying to get ultimately I
get my foot in the door on the news talk side.
Well for extra coin, because I completely started over in
life I'm delivering in those little green trucks.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Yeah, on the weekends.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And what was that second Street or just right off
behind Washington, maybe tenth Street or tenth Avenue.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Sue trucks.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, I was driving one of those little green trucks, dude.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, North Minneapolis downtown and Nickel It that was my route.
But inside that building, when you're seeing I mean just
those giant rooms, and there were so many people working
overnight and it was just you know, everything else is
just shutting down, and at three am, this place is
coming a lot. It's just impressive really, the scope and
(11:54):
even you get it, thousands, tens of thousands of papers. Yeah,
the scope of putting that together. I kind of appreciate
how the cost has ballooned over the course of time.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Well yeah, I mean newsprint has got more expensive, all
of those things. But the people that worked in that
heritage plants did fantastic work. And those people, as part
of this, end up losing their jobs. So just to
spare a moment for them as they go through this transition.
They've done fantastic work for a long time doing something
that is kind of an essential part of our community,
(12:25):
making sure that the newspaper shows up every day. I mean,
it's people putting the content together on the front end
of it where I am, but it doesn't get to
you in print without those people doing their jobs on
the back end. So you know, shout out to all
of those folks who am out through a tough time
right now, but you know, incredible work that they've done
over the years, and you know, wish them the best
as they go forward. Here and here's a piece of
(12:47):
advice where I actually had my hand in that for
probably two months, two and a half months, all right,
and it was weak what I did back in nineteen
eighty six, over twenty two, just out of high school,
just starting Pasadena City College and about to start with
the Pasadena Star News as an intern. And so therefore
(13:08):
I think it was in Diamond Bar, California or Pomona,
something like that. Right off fifty seven. One of my
first jobs was working at an ancillary Los Angeles Times
facility like Nordo just described, where it involved inserts. Okay,
so newspapers have inserts as yeah, well I just started
(13:31):
as insert guy.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
All right.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
So it's like it's may or June. While I'm a
massive Boston Celtics fan. I played basketball through junior college.
I've had just moved from the East Coast to southern California.
Everybody loved Magic. I even tried to cater my shot
after Larry Bird. Yeah, just off my right ear. Well,
so anyway, it was Lakers and Celtics. Man, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Man, I got to be there at eight o'clock until
like midnight doing the inserts. Well, the game, I think
a deciding game from the Boston Garden began at like
seven thirty or eight or seven.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
I'm like, this sucks. I got no phone to follow
the right nothing.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Yeah, so I'm forty five minutes into this job, inserting
into the La Times for the calendar section for the weekend,
and I just I just left. I said, I took
a break, took a fifteen minute break, left the job.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
God score.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
No. I went home, Yeah, and never came back. I
mean it was as weak as it gets. Yeah, twenty
two year olds, I'm sure I've executed weaker situations than
I just described. Actually, when you described that heritage nor
to driving the green truck, it took me back to
eighty six. Unbelievable NBA Finals I think Magic wanted with
(14:46):
the baby hooks in the Boston garden yep.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And I'm like, I can't, I can't do this.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I have to leave. And I just left and never
came back.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, my dad's I think one of my dad's first
jobs as a kid was working at a hot dog
factory back in the seventy and he has a similar
story where he worked there the first day, went to
you know, saw how the sausage is made, and went
to lunch and decided, nope, I'm done, not coming back.
They'll figure it out. Didn't call anybody, just said, you know,
they'll they'll get to justice. Probably probably not the first
(15:15):
one to do it.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Just just impressive though again that operation and the need
for change, what it impacts, positives and negatives.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
But I would part of it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
When I was driving the green trucks, I got upgraded
to an opportunity to drive a sprinter van out to
Wada to drop off a.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Van load of paper.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
A long time, I think they would go to Fargo
or Alexandria, obviously outstate areas. But but just now now
I got a picture that all those trucks coming up. Yeah,
I mean, what a process just from a logistics standpoint,
to have that happen on a daily basis, you know.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Get to nostalgic here whether we had for the first
run coming from Des Moines to here with the snow.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
So it made it.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I mean, there probably are a fair amount of thirty
year olds and under listening right now wondering when the
McCarthy finger terrorism talk starts. Jail and Nailor's unrestricted. Just
so many pertinent vikings topics. Yeah, and they will. But
this is not a finger wag old people get off
our lawn type conversation.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
But there was a time where the.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Evening news sixty minutes on the weekend and the daily
newspaper was everything. Yep, it was everything, and cracking open
a newspaper was I mean it was.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
It had immortality to it. It still does.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
It's you know, just just look at this, the beginning
stages of this game calling depth chart that I do.
I mean, it's I could do it via PowerPoint. I mean,
I could, like all the other boxes that I see
around the league. I like to write it right because
I'm writing it, I'm looking at something, then I'm looking
at it again, then I'm looking at it again.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
And it helps with the quick twins.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
When handicapping horse racing, I can go to dr dot com,
the only racing form dot Com handicap right off that
I would prefer to print the past performances, sit down,
get the right light, and handicap them that way. I
just I feel the retention is dramatically better than just boom,
there it is, write it down one time, move on. Yeah,
(17:22):
there've actually been a lot of studies on this that
we are better at retaining information when we get it
from a hard copy. I mean this is you know,
kids studying for school, that sort of thing as well.
Probably there's fewer distractions. There must be something about how
your eye picks it up as well when you're reading
it in a hard copy as opposed to digital.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
But yeah, that's that's the thing. Well, I'm even dinosaur style.
I can't do kindler nooks. So many people do those,
like the e books. Yeah, I'm old enough, even at
forty one. I'm Rampa style, Like I have to have
a physical I like having books. Yeah, I like filling
shelves with books and having the physical physically turning the page.
(18:00):
If I just do like on an eok on a
tablet or something like that. I start to like fall
asleep right after a half hour. I need to be
physically engaged with it.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, more old people talk. I guess right.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I'm with you on that. And I like reading now,
you know, I'll read the Bible quite a bit, and
I can find Bibles with bigger fonts.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
To make it so if I got the right light,
I'm gonna be a week from today, I'm gonna be sixteen,
and I have not given in and really had the
need to give in to cheaters at this stage. God, God,
for whatever the reason, has blessed me with good vision
where I don't need to use. Are they called cheaters
or readers or both or whatever?
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Cheaters?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
However, you know, if my eyes are a little tired
and the font is eleven or ten or below, like
a lot of books, then I'm with Nordo. I want
to sit down. I like the smell of the books.
I like turning the pages. It has a nostalgia to it.
But if the light ain't right and the font's not
big enough, I'm not going to those cheaters until I
(19:01):
absolutely have to.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
But it keeps me from reading a little bit like that.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Yeah, yeah, there are what are your kind of kind
of a new car smell? Yeah, like you buy I
think the last book I read was Laura Hildebrandt's Unbroken
and then like you get a new book book, like
like I'll buy Christmas gifts at Barnes and Noble and
you'll see a book and it hasn't really been opened
or touched that much, and you like flip through the
(19:28):
pages and you kind of get a smell to it.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
There's a little there's a little new book smell.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Yeah, I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, that's the thing, like the old smell of the
newsprint in the newspaper the first works at the start tribute,
like there's a I mean you know what it is
that that smell of the inchor newsprint or whatever it is.
You walk in and the whole place smells like that.
So I can still like think of what that smelled like.
It's reference immortality for Barrero, who is quote an ink
stained red yep end quote from all the way, uh
(19:56):
you know, back in the day. Yeah, when when things
like that matter?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
All right?
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Because of the Minnesota Vikings are eight to eight? Is
the Vikings defense not only truly one of the very
best in the NFL, but one of the league's most
underrated stories because of that middling record. Yeah, and I
think that's probably right. It's probably an underrated story. It's
probably the reason this team is eight and eight and
(20:23):
not four and twelve or something. I mean, there's a
lot of games that that defense has kept them in
and some games that the defense has all all but
one for them. You know, I think the Lions game
in some ways, when that offense got the ball in
Lions territory as much as it did and didn't have
(20:43):
to drive a long way until that Jordan Aison run.
I think the longest drive the offense had all day
was twenty nine yards and that ended in a punt.
So that defense getting the takeaways it did, getting the
stops it has throughout the season, that is a lot
of the reason they have a chance to finish with
a winning record on Sunday. Yeah, it has been really
(21:05):
impressive to watch what they've done. I think, you know,
they got a lot more attention last year because they
were fourteen and three. The takeaways, the cambine, the viral dances,
all of that kind of stuff, But this group has
been put in so many situations. We've talked about it
a lot this year, but where it's hey, you have
to go back out and make another stop because offense,
(21:27):
you know, it was six plays, twelve yards and now
they're punting the ball away again and you have to
go out and just answer the bell once again. So
the fact that this group has done it to the
degree that it has, and especially in the second half
of the year, has been awfully impressive to watch. And yeah,
it's probably not being talked about a ton. You know,
(21:47):
we'll see how much it's talked about with regard to
Brian Flores, right, and a head coaching possibility, But yeah,
it has been as impressive of a defensive showing as
I've seen. Or are are we sure off you know,
at least one run of trying to become a head
coach like last year where he didn't get a sniff? Yeah,
I don't think he got an interview. He had three.
(22:08):
He had three. Okay, it was the year before I believe.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Correct. Okay, are we.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
How much conviction do you have that he really really
wants to become a head coach? I mean, you know,
I kind of talked about this a little bit yesterday speculating.
I don't know what he makes. I don't care what
he makes. It's this has some blank checked terrorism to it.
If he stays here, it feels like that. But you know,
getting to know him and his family a little bit
(22:36):
and where they live, and how immersed within the sports
programs they are, how much they love the schools here,
you know. I just I'm not as certain that Brian
is as dead set to become a head coach and
go through that whole rigamarole again as some other sink.
What do you think? So I've talked him about this
a couple of times, and he is unique in the
(22:57):
sense that he spent the first fIF teen years of
his career or whatever it was in one place, which
you know, you guys know well, most coaches don't do that.
Most coaches bounce around to five places in eight years
or you know, if they're lucky three and ten or
something like that. And he did that, and then he
goes from New England all that time, to Miami to
Pittsburgh to Minnesota in the span of like five years.
(23:20):
And when your family is growing up and they're not
used to that, I think that took a toll. So yes,
I do think I think he's going to be picky.
I think it would take the right fit, It would
take the right situation probably for both him and a
team for it to happen. Otherwise, I know he has
enjoyed working here. I know he feels like, you know,
(23:41):
when you have as much say in this defense, in
as much leeway to be innovative, be kind of a
cavalier in some ways. I mean talking to players on Sunday,
it had that conversation with Harrison Smith and Blake Cashm
in the locker room. The number of guys that come
in to this scheme like really, we're going to do this,
and it takes a long time to be like, yes,
we are going to do this, and it can work
(24:02):
if you commit to it and you get all the
details right.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
But no, it's not as crazy as it sounds.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
There are not a lot of places that would just
be like, yeah, you know, the defense is yours to
craft as you wish to that degree, So I think
some of those things are attractive to stay here. And I,
like you said, I think the connections he's made in
this community have been something that may play a big
role in this as well. You know, I know he
wants to kind of see what the market looks like
(24:29):
and see how things shake out, but yeah, I think
there is a lot of appeal for him to stay
here as well. Nordo brought something up yesterday that I
hadn't been thinking about, and I thought quite a bit
about it since he said it. And it involves Mike
Tomlin and Pittsburgh. Yeah, where if the Tomlin run is over,
because that year has kind of Tomlin's right hand man, yep,
(24:50):
just to decompress after Miami and Stephen Raws and Brady
and the yacht and the lawsuits and the whole thing.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
Yep, that was a vital year for him.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yes, And the reason this defense exists the way it
does because he met Patton Nardoozy and started picking his brain.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Yeah, I didn't know that story in this maybe a
year or so ago, but jeez. Because they share a
practice facility with pitt and Patt Nardoozy is like the
king of all of the hot coverages and hot zone
stuff where it's playing zone coverage behind all the blitzer
and saying we're not going to cover everything. A lot
of that stuff that they run now, yeah, is because
of that year he was in Pittsburgh. Well, the difference
would be so say Tomlin's board with it done. Yeah, yeah,
(25:28):
I believe the Rooney family would give Brian a big
chance to become the head coach.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
But but Mike, Mike has morphed into the ultimate CEO. Yeah,
on the side, he's not calling a blaze. I mean
he's he's handling everything, with everything, And I'm not saying
Brian's not capable of doing that.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Brian and rolling in there.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
To be the CEO, rolling in there to be the
play call defensive play calling head coach. I got TJ.
Watt here, got all these guys back here. Yeah, so
it's a different situation, but it did resonate with me
the way he Yeah, I mean there is I think
that would be a place that would make a lot
of sense. I know that year in Pittsburgh was something
he enjoyed and appreciated, and some of those connections with
(26:10):
the Roonies, with that organization, I think we're genuine. But
it is that question of do you want that life,
so to speak, do you want to be the guy that, hey,
the marketing folks need something, or you know, the owner
wants to talk on Monday about how did everything go? Hey,
you called this on third and eight. The analytics would
suggest that you probably should have gone this way. What
(26:31):
were you thinking there? I mean, do you want all
of that that's going to take you away from just
being able to do football? I remember talking to Mike
Pennon about this when Kevin O'Connell got the job, about
he needs somebody that can tell him I will take
care of this stuff because I've been a head coach before.
I can talk to these people and pass it along
(26:51):
and tell them what you're thinking. You need an hour
where you can just shut your door and go grind film.
So that is harder for head coaches to do in
this especially than it probably was in the past because
there is so much of a CEO component of this job.
So do you want that? Do you want your life
to look like that? I think is part of the
question everybody has to ask. It is not all Hey,
(27:14):
the paycheck's bigger, the spotlight's bigger. I mean, those things
are true, but there's also a lot more that goes
into it that I think you have to kind of
figure out if it's the right fit for you and
where you want to go in your career.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
That's a great point with Tomlin too, because when he
first they had Dick Lebau there, who had been the
DC with Cower right, and it's very rare that a
coordinator would stick around. Well yeah, well respected dude with
tons of equity. Yes, I think he coached into like
his sixties or seventy. I think it was his seventies
and they used him. And I've just reading fan fodder
(27:44):
in various things, just rube like of me. But a
lot of people attribute kind of some problems with that
def like losing that stone cold locked defensive coordinator despite
Tomlin's great defensive mind, creating issues, you know, post Lebau
finding the next answer, the.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
Face of the franchise part, that's big. Yeah, I mean
think about O'Connell. Okay, mondays, let's say twelve thirty press
conference Tuesday, X's and O's contractually obligated or not Wednesday,
into the next game press conference Thursday, maybe some national stuff,
some McAfee stuff like that, maybe Friday post practice press
(28:26):
conference into the weekend Saturdays. Say we go on the road,
we do a lot of our granted, this whole thing's
ten minutes, but pregame tape and production meetings with TV
networks that can last a half hour, then game press
conference after game, A family, by the way, get ready
(28:49):
for the next way.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
Wow, yep, that's a lot now that we think about it.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
All right, we're going to fade to black on this
segment and when we return more with the scribe on KFAM.
(29:37):
I am dozed off at halftime of that Monday night
football game last night, Kirk Oat Chains in Atlanta absolutely
throttling the Rams. Rams came back, made it an interesting game.
Atlanta won the game in totality. How did Cousins end
up looking and if he did something like egregious and
I have looked at the box score or anything, apologies,
(29:59):
but i've you look pretty good.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
You look fine. I mean, I don't think he made
any big mistakes.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
And Bejon Robinson was kind of carrying that the whole operation,
I mean kind of drove that bus reality fantasy.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
He was both and me to fantasy titles.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
It sounds like great covering to colap for winning a
fantasy way.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Those things ain't easy, No, they're not.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
So I wonder I wonder if in any way like
that impacts the Rams into the postseason. I mean, I
know that they couldn't get the one seed, but it.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Was five or six seed is what they they're vye.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
For, right, No, DeVante Adams. They had a couple of
offensive linemen down. I mean, that just feels like a
pushbutton operation. Right yet Adams back at those two offensive
linemen back make one big run. Would you would you
pick them to go to the Super Bowl? From the NFC?
I like them a lot because of the coach and
the quarterback. I mean, they have a better combination of that,
(30:53):
and obviously those things make a big difference in the playoffs.
They have a coach that's won it, they have a
quarterback that's on it, and yeah, if you get DeVante
Adams back, it makes a big difference. But yeah, I
like them as much as anybody the NFC. It's harder
when you have to go on the road, but it's
gonna be a lot of teams in their division they're.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Gonna have to beat.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
If it's the Seahawks that have the one seed, and uh,
obviously the forty nine ers are part of that too,
So I think even if they have to go on
the road, I mean they heck that. I think they
did it the year they won it with O'Connell's offense. Now,
I think they had to play through the first.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Round of that.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
So they won at Tampa Bay, Yes, in a game
they had no business winning, right with the Cooper Cup
bong catch and run.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
Oh that's right.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yeah, and Antoine Winfield Junior maybe got lost a little bit,
was kind of in the clutch that game. They beat
Kyler at home, Yeah, wild card, and then they went
to Tampa.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
They're like a three or four seed or something something
like that.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
So no, I then they played the Niners at so
far right, I think they had not beat the Niners
and they did get to host the Niners. Yeah, and
the Niners, I mean they had more fans than the
Rams than that NFC title game. Yeah, they did all right,
to the to the local team to finish. Will Harrison
Smith playing next year? My thought most of the year
(32:09):
has been no, right, I've thought that he was going
to be done, but he is. The last two years
I thought the same thing he was. I remember talking
to him in the locker room in Detroit at the
end of twenty three and thought, boy, I have not
seen and I've covered his first year was my first
year on the beat. I realized this this week, with
(32:29):
my fourteenth year covering him, I've covered him more longer
than any athlete in my career.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Wow, probably won't cover anybody as long as him.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
The idea that I'm going to cover somebody else for
fourteen years is probably fairly unlikely.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
So same here.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
He's probably the athlete I will have covered the longest
of any stretch of my career the last two years.
So I say that to say, as long as I've
covered him and have a pretty good feel for him,
I think. But to have a feel for him is
also to know that he's unpredictable. And I remember him
crying in the Detroit locker room thing, boy, this is
not something I've seen them before. I think he's done,
(33:03):
and then he comes back and that was the famous
send Chris Thomas in the Prince picture year and look
it off if you don't know it. It's the greatest
thing ever, the greatest Twitter exchange ever. Then the next
year I thought he was done. I remember texting him
and he writes back, I wish I had a Prince
photo to send you. He should have filmed this short.
(33:24):
It is like, does that mean you're back. Yeah, it
means I'm back. So the last couple of years he
has surprised me in that sense. I think even you know,
the last week, I thought this is probably the Swan song.
I mean, it depends on how he's feeling, how his
family feels about things. But he could still play. I mean,
(33:46):
I if there's no a little I agree with that.
I think it's going to have to be Flores here
for him to think about it. But I could see
him going, you know what I feel? All right, I
think I could still play. They still want me, what
the heck, let's do one more. It would not shock
be because he is one of these players I think
that has heard this from other players that went beforehand,
(34:07):
that play as long as you can because once you leave,
it's done, it's over and you have the rest of
your life. So there are players that will say, as
long as you can be on the ride with teammates, Yeah,
you got to grind through the season with the highs
of winning games like they did on Christmas Day. You
don't get that back. So I wouldn't be shocked. I
(34:28):
guess I think I'm more open to the possibility that
would happen It's obviously not my decision, but I would
be less surprised by it, let's put it that way
than I would have been maybe a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
And he played into this finale, then are we just on?
We're on McCarthy watch all week?
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Right?
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Just is he gonna play? And what's up with the
hand grip strength? It's really coming down to his ability
to physically grip the flat all kind of the a
topic with the position as.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Yeah, yep, that'll probably take the week and it'll probably
take a while for us to know who the starter
is going to be. But yes, they want him to
play if he can Border battle subter refusions, well it
could be that too, I suppose, But yes, there's well
the packers probably gonna sit on the starters, so probably
not going to be the most climactic border battle ever.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
But yes, I think they want to see him.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
They want to get one more for him, as Kevin
O'Connell said yesterday, And I think it will depend on
the grip strength. Do you expect Javon Hargrave and Jonathan
Allen both to be back with the team next year?
Speaker 4 (35:23):
I do not.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I think they have salary cap questions that are fairly big,
and Javon Hargrave especially, they'd save a lot of money
if they were to release him.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
I would think that.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
I mean the money they save for Allen is not
that much because of how the dead money works out.
So I would think Allen has a better chance to
be back than Hargrave.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I don't think they're both here.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Hargrave would be the name I'd kind of have an
eye on in terms of a possible cut. Lastly, here
do you think they drafted Ty Felton as Jalen Naylor
replacement insurance? I mean Felton has three catches?
Speaker 4 (35:58):
Yeah? Year?
Speaker 3 (35:59):
Now if you I mean they came into the season
clearly thinking Jefferson, Addison, Naylor, Yeah, Hawkinson, Aaron Jones yep.
So you can draft somebody third round and not, you know,
immediately get them up to speed as the replacement. That's
why you have the next offseason. But do you see
it that way that they took Felton thinking wow, from
(36:20):
a cap standpoint, we may not be able to sign
Jalen Naylor. Well, I think there's probably some of that
because you spend all the money in March and then
you go into the draft in April knowing that you're
may not going to have the room to sign Jalen Naylor,
especially if he has a good year, which he has.
I think the way they're probably looking at it now
is there's a good chance Jalen Naylor gets paid by
somebody and they can't afford to keep him. So whether
(36:43):
or not they drafted him for that reason, you know,
I think some of it was they wanted the catch
and run guy too. That was gonna be run Dale Moore,
and I think Felton has some of that to him,
So I think there was some of a let's get
another flavor in this in this wide receiver group to
an extent. But yeah, I think think it will turn
out that way. I think Felton and I know they've
felt good about some of the things he's done in
(37:05):
practices and kind of behind the scenes. I think the
hope would be that he does kind of turn into
that because I think it may work out that way.
Did I miss the All Vikings All Time piece? Was
that Christmas Day?
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (37:15):
Yeah? Yeah, man, so you can go online and see
it correct. Yeah, So they did some cool design. They
basically like anybody they picked on the team, it's like
a tops trading car when you can put the back
and get the stats. And so the design was pretty cool.
Oh that's cool. I'll start Tribune dot Com all right, man.
Hopefully we'll see you next week at ten o'clock at KFAM.
After that, you know how it goes. Man, we're low
(37:35):
key here. You need time away from radio, You just
want time to decompress from everything. Just let us know. Yeah,
but we love having you each and every Tuesday.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
I love doing it. We'll keep it rolling. Thanks guys.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
It's been gasline Tuesdays. Here Friday with a burrero courtesy
of Standard Heating and Air. Kevin O'Connell, head coach of
the Minnesota Vikings, fifteen minutes from now to the league.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Nine to noon news Denord is always brought to you
by Canterbury Park, Canterbury's Card Casino. The casino at Canterbury
Park where you're playing, I mean you're feeling the felt
each and every day, twenty four to seven poker, blackjacket
table games. I don't know when Derek Allen's working, but
if you see him at Chips, make sure to tip him.
Potentially in Chips, can you tip people in chips at Canterbury.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
I think you can.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Yes, he is supervisor guy today I think five and
he'll be back at chipstowne No, he'll be a third
floor paddock bar tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
If you want to spot up a.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
Little bit on some teleracing Minnesota Wild, we're gonna get
to hear from the head coach already chatted with Pat
mcletty during the first hour. They are at the Sharks
for a mid afternoon affair tomorrow three o'clock puck drop.
You're gonna get to hear that here, I believe, on
your home for a Wild Hockey the Fan. But last night,
I mean you want to talk about four points between
(39:27):
the Marcus Johansson, Jule Ericson Eck and Matt boldieline it
was a beauty five to two, just a beat down,
dominating effort over the golden nights the Wild there and
it's still it's we're just past Christmas here, but the
Wild third place in the central. You're starting to see
this top three separation between what the Wild Stars and
(39:49):
Abs are doing. Abs still completely untouchable and the rest
of what is starting to appear to be a very
mediocre in midd Lane NHL Central Division. So that's some
to watch, very excited something to watch and listen to.
Wild at the Sharks tomorrow. Head coach John Hines is
going to join us around eleven thirty.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
And then last night the Minnesota Timberwolves also in action.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
You would have gotten to hear that on your home
for Wolves Basketball the fan right after the Slovakia team
USA affair. I believe the Americans won six' five in that,
one and The.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
Bulls at The.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
BULLS i was really pumped last, Night pa to See
Kobe white and YOUR lfl trained and. Raised you brought
me into, This you've guided me along THIS lfl.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Journey whoeverre your fond just five? Minutes are you kidding?
Me With Kobe white last? Night CALVE i tuned, in
he heard his. Calf, yeah he played six minutes in the.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
Game but the STORY nas read thirty some points and
maybe a sub story that's.
Speaker 4 (40:46):
Really cool as part of.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
THAT i think it was fourteen dimes From Julius randall
last night as. Well So wolves bouncing back from the
Bad nets game prior to, that and they are at
The hawks also an afternoon affair, Tomorrow New Year's, eve two.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Pm tip.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Offs to get THOSE lfl lineups started is set, early
ladies and.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Gentlemen Nikhil Alexander, walker we get to see naw he
at six three pinners last. Night he's he's had an awesome.
Season yeah for The Atlanta hawks that that's a really
toothless defensive. Team Jalen johnson's one of the real underrated
stars in THE. Nba wise he underrated because he plays
for The hawks and The hawks ain't very good these. Days,
(41:29):
well last night from an injury standpoint for The Chicago.
Bulls if you are a hard Hardcore chimberwolves fan and
you are looking for a serviceable point guard to give
you maybe eighteen to twenty seven minutes a, game and
you want to pick On chicago because.
Speaker 4 (41:49):
Du, somo, however you, say, YEAH i have no.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
Idea Trey, Jones Apple, Valley Josh, giddy And Kobe. White,
okay they have four there who can play the. Point
white went down with a calf last night And Josh
giddy heard his hamstring AND i don't think it's, good
so they all of a. Sudden Kevin, herder by the,
way is a. Tweener he plays point and, two so
(42:13):
they have a bebby of ball handlers who can play
one or. Two but they lost their best to last. Night,
YEAH i don't know if so that you, know if
you're looking to pill for that, team for any kind
of a point. Guard it got a little dicey last.
Night TIMBERWOLVES i thought were well below average fair amount
of the first. Half Then Anthony edwards got pissed. Off
(42:37):
they put the pedal to the. MEDAL i swear they
outscored this team like one hundred and ten to fifty
eight from one point of the second quarter all the
way through the end of the. Game it was an
impressive display once they started, Rolling so we know they
have it in, them and that was. Cool The wild
thorough domination The, pacific The Western division whatever it's. Called, Pacific,
(43:00):
yeah wants nothing to do with The Minnesota. WILD i
think the teams like ten oh one one or ten
ten one and two or something against The west against The,
pacific and now they play a different brand of hockey out.
There but The wild were up five zero before the
midway point of the.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Game, YEP i mean it was just utter butt whooping last.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Night, no it was a beautiful. Thing it was not
a butt.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Whooping but The, falcons dude the, minutes there's actually an
interesting bit here where, apparently and they said this on the.
BROADCAST i wasn't, aware SO i Thought Panthers bucks was
just winning in but, it, TECHNICALLY.
Speaker 4 (43:34):
I, guess is.
Speaker 1 (43:35):
Not.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
So The falcons.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Beat The rams last night twenty seven to twenty, four
And stafford threw a few. Picks still should be favored
to BE, mvp but we'll. See drake may right on his.
Heels cousins thirteen to Twenty buck twenty six didn't have
to do much Because bijeon had two hundred and twenty
nine total yards and a couple, scores and.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
We had a block punt for.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
It it was actually or a block kick for A
td From Jared. Verse it was a really entertaining. Game
falcons get out seven and. Nine, well apparently according to
the broadcast last, night The falcons if they are to
beat The saints On, sunday and that's probably one of the,
nooners and then of Course bucks And carolina are Playing
(44:16):
saturday after.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
NOON i think If.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
Carolina loses to The, bucks so The bucks are Celebrating saturday.
Speaker 4 (44:23):
Night, yeah we won the.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Division, actually, no, really if The falcons beat The saints
On sunday because of a three win, tie three team,
tie there's some sort of tie breaker that still pushes
The panthers into the.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Postseason so even if.
Speaker 4 (44:44):
The atlanta cannot win the, division no they.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Cannot, yeah that's all, Right so they're, eliminated but they
can play spoiler to The. Bucks if The bucks win
against The panthers and The falcons finish eight to nine
with a win over The, saints The, panthers regardless of
that loss On, saturday would still go into the.
Speaker 3 (45:02):
Postseason so we are On kevin O'Connell Watch. Minutia, yeah that's.
Nice we have a couple of head coaches going back to.
Back First kevin, O'Connell the head coach of The Minnesota,
vikings about five six minutes from, now followed By John,
hines coach of The Minnesota wild calling us from The
west coast about eleven thirty eleven thirty. Five you're listening
(45:22):
to nine to noon AT fn one hundred point THREE
kfam
Popular Podcasts
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
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.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!