#92Noon! 10am Hour 7/31 Ahmad Hicks, News Du Nord!

--Nordo is joined by Ahmad Hicks to talk Vikings, and he brings you the news.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Join Paul Charci and the Fantasy Football Weekly Crew Treasure
Island in the Full Deck Ballroom Friday, August sixteenth, from
six to nine pm for Fantasy Football Training Camp. Live
broadcast starts at six, followed by the Fantasy Football Deep
Dive right after great prizes including a one thousand dollars
grand prize. Everyone and a tenant's will received ten dollars
in free slot play ten dollars dining voucher. Full details now.

(00:24):
KFA dot com keyword calendar.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Is that time of the year for fantasy and for reality.
For the reality perspective on things. Amad Hicks in studio
am Od Hicks tvva X and you can watch them
on Fox nine. How you doing, man, I'm good. Thanks
for having me. It's been a while. It feels like
it has been. But that's tiss the season and we
were talking off air. It's it's one of those things

(00:51):
where this time of year, you're I don't want to
say you're dragging, but you're on the grind right now
because it's it's absolutely go time. Which camp and your
schedule out Negan you freaking live there. I don't know
if they're if they're giving you a room at the
Omni next door, but you should get one.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
You know what, That actually makes a lot of sense.
I'll have to bring that up to my managers. Because
we get out there at like twelve thirty for the
twelve forty five press conference, then you hang around into
a practice start at two fifteen, and then we have
a streaming show of Viking Training Camp live on Fox
Local on all your smart TVs and smart devices, so
that goes from three to three thirty. Then we go
watch practice for like thirty thirty five minutes, and then

(01:28):
we're prepping our five and six o'clock and seven o'clock content.

Speaker 4 (01:31):
So it's turn and burn now, yeah, it is.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
And they have great food at the Omni, so you
get parlay that into a dinner, into a room, and
then you wake up and start all over again. And
as we were joking off air, it's kind of one
of those things. Yeah, it's it's a grind and we're
getting back into it, and you know we're obviously no
one should feel bad for us in any vein, but
it's also like, hey, remember All Star Week.

Speaker 4 (01:56):
But we didn't have anything to do.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Who were sitting around just kicking our like oh, football,
football will be here soon.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
I'll have something to do then. Oh yeah. I was
telling people back home.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
All my friends are like, well, are you gonna be
able to come back home anytime soon? I was like,
once football season starts, school starts for me, like summer's over.
Like that, this is the reminder that summer is over
for us, the unofficial end to summer.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
So how has and you've been out there? I've I've
been out there three times. Now, you've been out there
every day? What how's camp going for you?

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Camp's going It's getting hotter, But I can't complain. I'm
from the Midwest, you know where the humidity is crazy.
So this is nothing. But honestly, I don't understand you.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
People that I'm built for the north Man. I could
live in I could live in bamp I mean, I
could live in like the Yukon territories. My wife and
children would hate that, of course, But I know how
to make a fire right, keep it cold. I can
always put more on and and you know you'd be
out there. I bet in like a like a long
sleeve like light light fabric.

Speaker 4 (02:53):
Some days.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, and I'm days as soon as it gets above seventy.
I mean, I need another shirt. I have to bring
like a like a carry on duffel with me for
a wardrobe changes.

Speaker 4 (03:03):
Just to do nine to nouone on the perch, so unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
It's funny because like where I'm from, Saint Louis, it
gets brought up every time I come here. But like
in the middle of the summer, you could walk outside
at nine ten o'clock at night and you're instantly sweating,
like the lotion you just put on and everything. So
now it's like I go outside, I'm sweating. It's a
little hot, but it's like I love this, like I
can take this. So the players are are doing just
finding it. I mean, granted they're not down in South
Florida having to deal with that humidity, so it could

(03:27):
be a lot worse for the guys.

Speaker 4 (03:29):
But right now it's been fun. You know.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
They just got out of that shorts and T shirts
and just the helmets phase of practice, so they're ramping
things up. Put the pads on the other day, took
it a step back. Yesterday had shells on. That's when
you really get to see real football. So camp's been
fun so far, but it's kind of what you see
in OTA's in mini camp, and it's just like, all right,
everybody looks good without the pass. When the pads come on,

(03:52):
the rush starts coming after the quarterback, he has to
look down at the line. That's when you start to realize, like,
all right, this is football time, now, this is what
we're gonna get it. So I don't really have any
wow assessments right now after a couple of days a
training camp, because the pats just got on, like I said,
But I think once the live bullets start flying a
little bit more, we'll see what we have. The interesting note, though,

(04:12):
JJ McCarthy has been taking the reps at the number
two position at quarterback and starting to get sprinkled in
with the ones. So the confidence is growing and he
understands the playbook, which is key for rookie quarterbacks.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
And that's been you know, a subject and we talked
about it at length, even during the first hours, is
how to how to over or underanalyze these situations where
you know you can nitpick every single throw and just
and then kind of the the JJ McCarthy propaganda that's
coming out, this is a completely different form of McCarthyism.

Speaker 4 (04:42):
Here.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
This is.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
This is one side saying that he's actually, in some
ways looked better yeah than Sam Darnold at this point
in camp. And then there are others that say, man,
I mean he's really struggling, he's really trying, he's really
having trouble picking this thing up for sure, And so
I'm trying. I'm trying to balance that the rub in
me wants JJ McCarthy to take this job. And then

(05:05):
the other side of it says, well, let's be patient
here kids twenty one and work his way in, sprinkle
him in. And you've seen that kind of play out
on the field thus far.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, I've seen it play out on the field, and
I've seen it play out on social media. The way
everybody over analyzes a fifteen second clip on text, it's
just laughable. Like the fake Twitter account like Dan Cloveman
or whatever his name, I'm climmon, yeah, and how he
just put out a tweet yesterday like JJ McCarthy is
reportedly struggling big time versus the one Vikings defense and

(05:37):
the video clip he posts it it wasn't even of
the one defense, right, it was just like what are
we doing?

Speaker 4 (05:41):
Right? That's even worse. He threw he threw a pick
to Jay Warnamb.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
I mean, but it's practice, you know what I'm saying,
Like that you feel me like So that's why I
really hate young quarterbacks playing right now because of social media,
because everyone is just ready to ridicule them after two
or three bags games instead of just letting them grow
and letting them develop. I think what I will notice
Sam Donald has seemed to be more of a risk
taker at practice. From what I understand, He's trying to

(06:08):
fit the ball in tight windows. That's what you expect
quarterbacks to do. Whereas JJ McCarthy is, he's going through
his progressions and he's taking his check down.

Speaker 4 (06:15):
Yes, he is flourishing in red zone drills.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
He did have one day where he had four touchdowns
out of five throwing attempts. But it's also like, look,
he's also locking in on his first read and he's
not going through his progressions and looking off anyone else.

Speaker 4 (06:26):
So you can take that with the grain of salt.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
Like in the game, you're not going to be able
to stare down your number one target for four seconds
and then throw the ball that way.

Speaker 4 (06:33):
So JJ's doing some good things.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
I remember the one minute drill yesterday, he led the
team down to go get a field.

Speaker 4 (06:39):
Go.

Speaker 3 (06:39):
Sam Donald threw an interception on the very first play,
trying to fit the ball into Justin.

Speaker 4 (06:42):
Jefferson caught him.

Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yeah, you know exactly, So everyone's like, oh man, Sam
Donald struggling. It's like, let the pass get on, though,
I think until the pass get on and they get
in their actual game, you really can't judge what you're
saying right now.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah, And with JJ, the only thing that I've been
able to think of to sum it up is the
arm talents. I think he's got an absolute cannon, So
I think that's all real. But I'm glad you pointed
out the fact that he's still he's eyeballing one guy.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
So there's a particular purpose to these plays.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
And I think in some ways that's within the safe
confines of what Kevin O'Connell's going to kind kind of
do throughout camp, right, is that today we're we're accomplishing
as we developed footwork, as we develop Okay, we locked
in on one, now today we're locking in on two.
So you're hitting your A read and you're specifically not
going to go to him. You're looking for the second guy.

(07:31):
It is kind of baby steps with him.

Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah, I mean, because, like Kevin O'Connell said, when they
drafted him, the number one thing was fixing his footwork.
And you just don't fix the footwork through eight practices
in the off season and then through six practices during
training camp, Like that's something you have to drill home
each and every day and kind of correct those bad
habits that he that he has. And so I think,
like you said development, like you're talking about footwork one day.

(07:54):
Now we're talking about just spitting the plays out in
the huddle, so everyone can be confident in your abilities. Now,
now we'll get to reading defense's pre snap, then looking
at where they're going post snap.

Speaker 4 (08:04):
All that will come.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
But JJ can't learn the true NFL style of play
until he plays in an actual game. We can talk
about practice all we want, but everyone knows the quarterback
does not get hit it practice. They're not allowed to
get hit a practice, So you don't have to think
about that defensive line rush in practice, whereas you will
in the game and have to be ready to take
that throw with someone coming down to knock you out.

(08:26):
So just take it with the grain.

Speaker 4 (08:27):
And salt.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Right.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
Now, everything you see on social media, he's doing good.
He's showing flashes. That's what you want to see opposed
to someone struggling mightily a practice.

Speaker 4 (08:35):
That was the first round draft pick.

Speaker 3 (08:36):
But I think we should hold off our our critiques
until after that first preseason game.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well, now I'm thinking about it. See this is where
JJ McCarthy has gone wrong. Then this is where the
vikings have aired. Is you know the so from a
propaganda standpoint, getting videos out there, everyone's everything's on social media. Yeah,
think about Jamis Winston. Have you ever seen those videos
of him doing the footwork bits and then like one
of his buddies is hitting him with.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
A fun noodle. Yeah, or he's he's doing it and there's.

Speaker 2 (09:04):
Like a family cookout in the background, and then just
a bunch of his buddies are just kind of shoving him,
trying there, trying.

Speaker 4 (09:09):
To slap at the ball. Yes, I've seen those.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
Why didn't we see any JJ McCarthy videos. We got dad,
we got fiance in the mix or girlfriend or whatever.

Speaker 4 (09:18):
So he tried to hit him with fun noodles.

Speaker 3 (09:19):
We got a couple of teases, or he was he
was throwing the ball with Adam Thling. You know, they
didn't show up the fun noodles or anything like that.
But he was, like you said, he's I don't know
how KOC would feel about this, saying that Adam Thieling
is no longer a Minnesota Viking, but he said that
he was calling out the plays out there and DeLand
was familiar with the plays because he was here so
he could be comfortable once training can start. So we

(09:40):
didn't get that, but we probably didn't want to see
that on social media because we don't want anybody picking
up on those play calls, right, nor that's right?

Speaker 4 (09:46):
That is correct. Got to keep everything.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
Everything's about concealment, secretcy, with secrecy.

Speaker 4 (09:52):
Privacy, all of that.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
Uh you played, you played wide receiver at one point
for the Sulukis Is that accurate?

Speaker 4 (09:59):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (10:00):
So when you're out there and you're watching these guys
among the many talkers, I mean, in some ways almost
every day, and I'm glad you hit on it until
you get really reps in rhythm with pads on and
we're gonna have a night practice I think on Monday,
and eventually they're gonna play the Raiders a week from Saturday.

Speaker 4 (10:16):
So that's sweet, and it's coming up fast.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
Until that happens, you can kind of just play the
hits in terms of okay, the quarterback spot and then
after that. A really popular talker has been the Jalen
Naylors of the world, the Brandon Powells and those sorts
of things. So in shells or just in shirts. In shorts,
you're not able to see the punches at the line
of scrimmage in the truest form. You're not getting contact.

(10:39):
How do these guys get open? What have you seen
from the wide outs thus far in camp?

Speaker 4 (10:45):
Jalen Naylor looks hungry every day.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
He's healthy. I mean he's moving fast like. He's really fast,
like he's like Jordan Adison type fast like, and he
can catch the ball. I was talking to someone yesterday.
He's very similar to kJ Osbourne, but we think he's
a lot faster than case Osbourne. The hands are very similar,
and he may have a better route tree than kJ Osborne.
And I say that kindly to kJ Osborne because I

(11:07):
think kJ Osbourne is a really good route runner.

Speaker 4 (11:09):
But Jalen Naylor is a guy.

Speaker 3 (11:11):
If he would have been healthy, he would have played
the last two to three seasons, but he hasn't been healthy.
Now he's healthy, He said he adapted pilates and yoga
in the offseason to give him more flexibility because that
goes a long way in this football and this teamwork. Yes,
it does. Like the more flexible you are, the faster
you are. The less flexible you are, the tighter you are,
the slower you run, the harder it is to recover

(11:31):
after a game, and things like that. So Jalen Naylor
has been showing flashes and he's been like sticky hands,
like everything that comes this way, he catches the ball.
Trent Chirfield is another guy, but I just don't think
that we're going to see a lot of flashes from
him because he reminds me of like a Deebo Samuel
type player, Like you just get the ball in his
hands and he's going to make something happen with this.
So I don't think we're going to see a lot

(11:52):
from Trent Shirfield. To practice, we haven't seen a lot
from him. Lucky Jackson is another guy who's buying for
a spot. Had to drop yesterday and practice those things
you can't see from a guy vying.

Speaker 4 (12:01):
Was that the one fun side of the end zone? Yes?

Speaker 3 (12:03):
It was okay, yeah, yeah, So I thought he should
have caught that one. So Lucky Jackson is another guy
that makes But if I'm being honest, it's justin Jefferson,
It's Jordan Addison, and then it's Jalen Naylor's job to lose.
I think everybody after that, the Tristan Jackson's, the Trent Shairfields,
you know, the Brandon Powell's, they'll kind of get sprinkled
in after that. But I think it's Jalen Naylor's job
to lose.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
Well, how about Brandon Powell though punt returner a year
ago and I've seen, actually multiple days in a row
Jordan Addison actually taking reps on the punt returns. Now,
I wouldn't foresee him being that number one option once
we get into the season, once they figure all that
off field stuff out, I think he's going to be
focused on catching passes. But this new kickoff bit, that's

(12:44):
a current where they're forcing the action, I mean, and
trying everything they can to eliminate touchbacks. You know, the
utility of a Brandon Powell and potentially the utility of
a Jordan Addison in that respect is really interesting to me.
But Powell as a third receiver save for that game
winning score against the Falcons, I'm having trouble seeing that.

Speaker 4 (13:05):
What do you think?

Speaker 3 (13:06):
I'm agreeing with you, And I do think that the
last couple of days that I've been out with training camp,
the first week it was Brandon Powell running with the ones.
He was giving that wide receiver three spot. The last
couple of days it's been Jalen Naylor going in there.
And then yesterday, I think Justin Jefferson kind of had
like a vet day where he didn't have to participate
in some of the team drills, and so it was
Jaalen Naylor in there with Jordan Addison and Brandon Powell,

(13:28):
and Jaalen Naylor was stepping in. So I think Brandon
Powell is one of those guys that Kevin O'Connell trust
and he's like, look, if we need a number three
and a number three goes down, you're our guy. And
he very well could be the number three if Jordan
Addison starts the season suspended for a couple of games,
like it could be Justin Jefferson, Jalen Naylor and then
Brandon Powell.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
I love Brandon Powell. He's just small and when you're.

Speaker 3 (13:51):
Talking about size, you're talking about quarterbacks that aren't huge,
and you got to look over an offensive line. Makes
it a little bit harder to find a smaller guy
down the field. Now, does that mean he can't get
the job done? Absolutely not. He totally can. But I
still think the Vikings need a little bit of size.
I mean Justin Jefferson is their biggest receiver. Now, granted
he plays much bigger than he actually is, but don't

(14:11):
you want a quarterback friendly target, someone in the red
zone where you're like, outside of Justin Jefferson, I can
throw this FAE ball to and you can go jump
up and get it. I don't see Brandon Powell as
that type of guy. I think he's a punt return specialist.
And talking about punt return, Jordan Addison used to feel
punts last year during training camp, and he would also
go out every game with the specialist to catch punts.
So I don't think that's anything new that he's you know,

(14:33):
back there fieldings and punts.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
That's that's good because I didn't remember that. I'm glad
you mentioned that. So Okay, so we're gonna stop focusing
on Adam. There's nothing is afoot. You'll say, business business
as usual. Now, business is usual with talking about Jalen Naylor,
talking about Justin Jefferson and the key with the key

(14:55):
that you mentioned red zone. So this team had seven
rushing touchdowns a year ago, not a lot, and sadly
the red zone offense was absolutely pitiful in part because
of that, for sure. And this was a team that
inside the five, we're throwing a heck of a lot
more than they really needed to. And you mentioned JJ's
the biggest guy on the team. What about the twelve
tight ends we got on the team. Any of those
guys gonna step up? You know, a year ago this time,

(15:18):
Meet Sauce and I were doing a night practice and
we were doing a broadcast at TCO and I think
you guys are doing like a simulcast.

Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah we are.

Speaker 2 (15:27):
We have a special at eight thirty, So Pa and
Peter Arena are going to actually be with you guys
on TV simulcasting. So that's super sweet. But a year ago,
it was like Nikhil Harry, you know, former first round pick.
You want to talk about a big bodied guy, he's
the guy right now. A year later, he's transitioned to
tight end. We know that nothing came to fruition a

(15:47):
year ago, but you know, as TJ is on the mend,
he's running on the side practice field and doing his thing,
trying to get better. You think any of those other
eleven tight ends, those other fifteen tight ends the team
have they can one of those guys like, are you
you got some Robert Tunyan opinions that you can throw out?

Speaker 4 (16:05):
He made a really nice catch yesterday from Sam Darnold.

Speaker 3 (16:07):
He's an athletic dude. I threaded the needle. I think
it was over Josh Mantellus. The ball just went right
over Mattellus's helmet, and Robert Tunyan snagged it. It was
a phenomenal catch and a phenomenal throw. You love to
see that, But I mean, you would love to see
Nick kill Harry come into his own I mean talking
about being a former first round pick, a guy who
had a lot of expectations and a lot of hypes

(16:27):
surrounding him, and he just simply has not lived up
to that yet. I got a chance to ask him
some questions during OTA's and I was like, look, how
do you feel, I said, because I know you had
to pick up some weight to play this position. He
was like, yeah, I picked up ten to fifteen pounds,
he said, But I still feel fast as I ever have.
He was like, I'm just getting comfortable with putting my
hand in the dirt, he said. But I'm really looking
forward to those matchups of me being lined up against

(16:48):
the safety that's maybe a little bit smaller than me,
or me being lined up against the linebacker where I
get to run away from him. But like we said,
we won't get to see those things until the games
actually start happening. So I think right now, Johnnymunt, Nick Muse,
Robert like those are going to be the guys that
make the roster because they had that NFL experience of
being a tight end. They know how to block and
put their hands in the dirt. I think nik Kill
Harry will have to show his work during the preseason

(17:10):
just to say, hey, Ko, I can block, but I
can also be a threat for you down the field,
because we all know Ko wants more threats, you know,
for his quarterback. So if nik Kill Harry can show
he's a playmaker and a difference maker, He'll be a
welcomed addition to that tight end room. If not, I'm
just thinking it's Robert Tunyan and Johnny Munt who are
going to, you know, carry the ship until t. J.

Speaker 4 (17:28):
Hockinson comes back.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
Indeed, that's a mod Hicks Fox nine. I had a
mod Hicks TV via X. You know, we're talking about
being on the grind and all these things we're discussing
Right now, we're back into the thick of it. Football
is here and we love it, but we are still
kind of on the waiting game. So the other day
I'm out, I'm out at TCO and we're walking in
after the show and I see Kna Wan Woo and

(17:50):
then Aaron Jones rolls out and it was the first
chance shook hands with Aaron, and it's now. I didn't
sit there and talk with him for twenty minutes, just
exchange pleasantries and such. He's an awesome dude, he is,
and he was I think he was with Gabe Henderson
and the ven Folks over the weekend. So there's some
interview content. You've heard him nine to noon and on
the fan throughout since he arrived. But that is one

(18:12):
of my favorite things that I'm still having to wait
for so its pads on and this is happening, et cetera.
I need to see what that looks like, and I
need to see what it looks like so fast, because
if we're going to start projecting into the future in
terms of wins and losses, being competitive in the North,
kiddies are favored. Bear's got Caleb and Rome and they

(18:33):
just pay dj the whole thing. I need to see
if we can actually physically run the ball. And I
know he's probably not going to play in the preseason,
so it's probably the joints against the Cleveland Browns.

Speaker 4 (18:44):
Other than that, it's all for fun.

Speaker 2 (18:46):
I just need to see. I need to see what
Aaron looks like, because I really like Aaron and I'm excited.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
He still looks fast, he's still catching the ball out
the backfield. I think everything that we saw in Green
Bay will see times ten here because I think he
will be more of a focal point where last year,
you know, he was splitting time in the backfield with
aj Dillon and they were still trying to figure out
if Jordan Love was that quarterback and whatnot, Whereas now
you're talking about we know what type of player Aaron
Jones is and I got a chance to ask him

(19:11):
last week. I said, look, you've been looking at Koc's
offense from AFAR for a very long time. I said,
what makes you most excited to get in this offense?
He said, the things you can do, he said, it's limitless.
He said, from running the ball, to catching the ball
out the backfield to lining up at the wide receiver position.
He was like, there's nothing I can't do in this offense.
And he was like, I'm really looking forward to showing

(19:31):
the rest of the NFL world why I think I'm
one of the top running backs. And then Alex Lewis
asked him. He said, you feel like you're underrated and
he was like yeah. He was like, you look at
the numbers. You look at the top running backs coming
out every year. Everyone glosses over me. He was like,
but at the end of my career, when you throw
up that resume and those statistics, he was like, I
will probably go down as one of the better running
backs in the NFL. And when I asked him, I said,

(19:53):
fifteen plus touchdowns this year. He said more than that.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
I was like, all right, do yeah, Now I will
say that, I will say the fifteen TDS thing. It
reminds me of and prior to you being here, Adrian Peterson,
though you are familiar, absolutely, but every single off season,
every spring, we'd go down and training camp used to
be in fan Cato and or and then the facility
would be in Eden Prairie and we'd go there and

(20:17):
Adrian big smile, and he would intentionally try to break
my hand every time I shook hands with him, as
he would with anybody who he would meet. But it
was always, now, I'm gonna run for you know, what's
your goal? What's your goal?

Speaker 4 (20:28):
This year?

Speaker 2 (20:29):
You know, lead the league in rushing, yawn, et cetera. Touchdowns.
You know he had nearly one hundred with the Vikings.
I'm gonna run for twenty five hundred yards every every
single season. Crazy he was thirty. You know, he's thirty two,
thirty three years old saying the same thing, trying to
trying to keep the thing going. I don't know if
he's chasing finances or if he's chasing stats.

Speaker 4 (20:46):
I don't know a little bit of both man, but
maybe a little bit of Colin A and B.

Speaker 2 (20:51):
But that reminds me that but you know, speaking of
and we're gonna break soon and come back. And I
saw a chat you had with Jay Ward that's peaking
my curiosity right now too, because it's the land of
opportunity in the secondary Fabian moros here. And he probably
won't even be the last guy that ultimately is added
to this team at some point this this next month.
But the land of opportunity for a team that has

(21:13):
struggled so mightily running the ball, and the fact that
you know, we're going to give Ty Chandler the fairest
of opportunities to participate in this whole thing, right, But
the land of opportunity is here for Aaron on a
one year deal to go out there and make plays
with a guy that in Sam Darnold, regardless of who's
playing right, they need they need better. They need better
stats from the run game, they need better efficiency, they

(21:37):
need better explosion, they need everything better for this thing
to work well in twenty twenty four. And Aaron Jones
knows that he's that guy. And that's that's part of
that fun too.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
As funny as it sounds, this is like a proven
year for Aaron Jones. Running Backs don't sign one year
deals in the National Football League because they need that
type of security. He's coming here to basically say, I'm
going to stick it to Green Bay twice a year.
I'm going to go out here star a thousand yards,
I'm going to have fifteen plus touchdowns, and then I'm
going to go sign for some more money and get
a bigger contract when it's all said and done. I
think this is going to be a big year for

(22:07):
Aaron Jones. And I was speaking to former Vikings running
back Ricky Young about you just the running back back field,
the landscape of it. He said, you can only go
as far as your offensive line. And I said, well,
we have the same offensive line for the third year
in a row. I said, how good does that help
or does it hurt this team? He said, look, continuity
helps an offensive line, he said, because you know what
the next guy next to you is about, how far

(22:29):
he's going to push himself.

Speaker 4 (22:30):
Things like that.

Speaker 3 (22:31):
He said, you can't just interchange the offensive line, throw
in someone every year and be like, all right, we're.

Speaker 4 (22:36):
Going to be better than we were the year before.
He said, you need that continuity.

Speaker 3 (22:38):
So Ricky Young believes this will be one of the
best years for the Vikings offensive line because it's their
third year in a row. I know we said that
there was a competition at the guard spot between Blake
Brando at Ingram Dalton Reisner. Doesn't look like a competition
right now. He ran, which is crazy because Dalton Reisner
was one of the best guards. He has a lot
of value, took a lot less money than he was
worth this past offseason and he's running with the twos

(23:00):
right now. So it's like, what are the Vikings doing.
I don't know. So is Blake Brandon, Blake Brandle and
Ed Ingram, you know, going to take another step this
year or will Daldon Reisner have to replace them a
step into either left guard or right guard.

Speaker 4 (23:10):
That's to be seen.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
So but we expect the offensive line to be better
because they're still together and Christian Darasace pay, Brian o'neils pay,
so they have to anchor those guys now.

Speaker 4 (23:20):
Absolutely, that's a mod Hicks. I'm nordowin for PA.

Speaker 2 (23:23):
When we return, we will talk about this cornerback situation
and the consistency. I keep calling it the land of Opportunity.
But some other camp cuts and some bits with the
mod in studio here Brett Blake Moore produces.

Speaker 4 (23:36):
It's nine to new on the fan.

Speaker 1 (23:39):
Minnesota based Hammermaide shirts are meant to help you look
the best at any special occasion. And now through August fourth,
they're holding their halftime sale with up to fifty percent
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(24:02):
dollars Hammermy gift Card one eight hundred three two zero
five three two six.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
Good luck, NORDO in for Pa. Pa not a vocal
maintenance day. Yes, Pa not.

Speaker 4 (24:18):
Sick, and but I did I did get a text message.
Let me see what time it was.

Speaker 2 (24:24):
It was eight fifty eight am.

Speaker 4 (24:27):
All clear.

Speaker 2 (24:29):
Back in five years O good. So he got the
oil change. He's going to be back in the mix, Minanna.
I think Ben Lieber might have Alec Lewis and continue
these conversations. Ahmad Hicks of Fox nine is in studio now,
and I read you because this kind of plays into
a conversation.

Speaker 4 (24:48):
I saw you.

Speaker 2 (24:48):
I was digging through audio last night. I saw you
chat with Jay Ward and kind of the buzz there
is jay Ward drafted a year ago out of LSU
and mostly special teams, but kind of that that's safety.
We even talked about it a year ago at this time,
maybe there was some flexibility or utility to Jay Ward's game.
And then you chatted with him and he's been getting
some run at cornerback again all hands on deck. But

(25:11):
then I saw this text message six four six eighty six.
Did the Vikings have a cornerback curse? Look at the history?
And he goes on, this is Paul Trey Wayns pick eleven,
twenty fifteen. He played out his rookie contract with the Vikings,
then he gets free agent cash with the Bengals, fizzles out.
Mackenzie Alexander, I think we actually tried mac twice, but
pick fifty four to twenty sixteen didn't end up top

(25:34):
of the food chain.

Speaker 4 (25:36):
Remember him?

Speaker 3 (25:37):
Was he?

Speaker 4 (25:37):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (25:37):
And played a Clemson Mike Hughes like the fuse with
Mike Hughes his first NFL game Pick six Jimmy g
at us Bank Stadium and a win over the Niners
twenty eighteen, Central Florida kick return potential. All of that
tears is acl I think against the Arizona Cardinals and
it wasn't the same since most recently, I've seen him
with the Chiefs.

Speaker 4 (25:57):
I've seen him elsewhere. I forget who he was. Was
he what the Lions last year? Potentially?

Speaker 2 (26:02):
But anyway, first round pick, not great Jeff Gladney and
this this is a sad thing.

Speaker 4 (26:07):
He ends up.

Speaker 2 (26:07):
He's no longer with us. He passed away. But he
was picked thirty one twenty twenty. There were some ups
and downs to his rookie season. There was some off
field stuff. Cam Danceler third round Mississippi State maybe, but
he was twenty twenty. I remember him when I got
here yet yeah funny, yeah, just drifting into the end zone.
I'm and Ross Saint Brown. You know not that all
of that one hundred and twenty million was based off

(26:29):
of how he put Cam Danceler on skates. But it
was not a good look. As the Lions would win
in the clutch. I think they hadn't won in like
almost a calendar year.

Speaker 4 (26:38):
It had been a long time.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
Cam Danceler, What are you doing Harrison hand. Now, this
is a Day three pick twenty twenty didn't work out.
Makai Blackman season ending ACL injury. There were ups and downs,
good times, bad times with McKay, but I can't and
would you agree?

Speaker 4 (26:54):
I was kind of looking like some promise in the
year two. He showed some flashes.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
He was dealing with this odor injury towards the end
of last season, so I did think he was going
to be a guy to make that next step. Was
he going to be a starter, a top thirty corner
in the league. Who knows? But I was looking forward
to a season.

Speaker 2 (27:10):
And then and then sadly, most most recently as well
this season fourth round pick Kyrie Jackson, and he passes
away in that tragic accident about a month ago as well,
So he's Paul's framing it up as a corner back curse.
But looking at those looking at those names, and then
now you talking with Jay Ward yesterday, this is has

(27:33):
been a problem via the draft. Yeah, this has been
a problem with off field misery and tragedy. And in
the end, we have the fourth or fifth rounder from
a year ago who the last time I saw him,
he was creating false starts on special teams plays. Now
talking with you after practice about getting repsick corner, Yeah,
the land of opportunity is in full bloom a mine here.

Speaker 3 (27:56):
It's here, you know. And as Jay Ward said, I
just want to be on the field. And as you
all know, there is a deep safety room with the
Minnesota Viking started with Harrison Smith, cam bind them, Josh mctellis, THEO,
Jackson Lewis sen Jay Ward to throw on that mix,
and Bobby McCain, who they just brought in the other day.

Speaker 4 (28:14):
So it is a deep room.

Speaker 3 (28:15):
So Jay Ward sees his opportunity to get on the
field at the cornerback position. When I got a chance
to ask him about that yesterday, he just pretty much said, look,
I'm a ball player.

Speaker 4 (28:23):
He was like, I'm a football player.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
Some people can call me a corner, some people can
call me a safety, but I'm a ballplayer. Said, I
played corner in college before, So it's all about technique.

Speaker 4 (28:31):
You have to get your technique down.

Speaker 3 (28:32):
And when I was speaking with defensive coordinator Brian Floor,
it's just about safeties in general, making that transition to cornerback.
He said, it's all about technique, but it's all about
your mental toughness. And he was like, can you go
out there and do what you're supposed to do each
and every play and move on from the play where
maybe you didn't have a good play, but you move
on to the next one. He said, that's the key,
you know, to play cornerback in this NFL. But he said,

(28:54):
right now, jay Ward looked good at practice, but ultimately
you won't know what you're getting from guys making that
transition until they get out and they line up at
corner in an actual NFL game. So I think jay
Ward is it's at the opportunity to play, and I
think there's an opportunity for him to play at cornerback
because right now of Caleb Ebans and Birah Murphy with
the injury to Shaq Griffin are your starting cornerbacks.

Speaker 4 (29:14):
We all know that did not work towards the end
of last season.

Speaker 3 (29:17):
I also asked the Caleb Evans about his bitching towards
the end of last season, what that's like on your
mental psyche and how you bounce back from that, and
he said, honestly, I had been focusing on mental health
prior to the start of last season. So he said,
had I not done that and got benched towards the
end of last season, who knows how I would have
been able to respond, respond or bounce back from that.

(29:38):
But because he's been working on his mental health, he
said he spent a lot of time with his family,
his friends, and the people that love him this offseason,
and his core focus was to get in shape because
he feels like his conditioning was not good enough last year.
And he used to be able to run up and
down the field, go on a go route, come back,
be able to cover a slant.

Speaker 4 (29:55):
So it's all about confidence.

Speaker 3 (29:56):
And I even asked Andrew Booth Junior that, who said
he's not having the best camp right now, And I said,
what goes into that? Do?

Speaker 4 (30:02):
I said, you have the skill set, you have the
physical makeup. What is it?

Speaker 3 (30:05):
He was like, it's mental dou He's like, it's so
hard to get out of your head mentally in this
day and age being an NFL player. He's like, you
make one bad mistake, you're worried about the coach is
benching you, things like that. So I think that's something
that Jay Ward, Caleb Evans, and Andrew Booth Junior will
have to focus on this year is the mental toughness
and moving on to the next play.

Speaker 2 (30:24):
Yeah, that's interesting. It's kind of football's version of gripping
the stick. The situation with Andrew Booth is such. Is
his his NFL life, or at least his Viking's life
is on the line. It is And that's and that's
even despite this land of opportunity, Lewis Sceene having trouble
getting on the field and helped them the leg strain
and such.

Speaker 4 (30:44):
I mean, you know, kind of the way we were
putting it earlier.

Speaker 2 (30:46):
He can't catch a break and he's also he hasn't
made a lot of his own breaks either. No, so
the mental side of that, now, just a couple more
for you here to the good side of things. How
about this Dallas Turner cat. Oh man, you know, of
all the things that we can talk about and project,
and this is what's gonna happen. We're gonna pontificate, We're
going to predict and all of that into the season.

(31:07):
Where the hell's this cat going to play? Because I've
seen him, he'll roll up from the inside. He's meeting
with linebackers, the inside linebackers. Excuse me, he's obviously on
the outside. This guy's doing everything. He's lightning freaking quick,
and the paths just came on. But now we're going
to start getting to see via one on ones and
other things. We're gonna get to see strength v strength,

(31:28):
dari saw v Turner, heavyweight battles, and camp where they
will be friends that are foes and friends again once
the first first game starts.

Speaker 4 (31:37):
But how cool is I mean? He just looks magnificent
out there.

Speaker 3 (31:41):
I've been watching him since he was a true freshman
at Alabama where he was dealing some time from Will
Anderson towards the end of the season as they were
vuying for a national championship. Like this guy has been
he was born to play football, Like we say this
all the time. Like some NFL players like they developed
that the characteristics and traits over.

Speaker 4 (31:57):
The course of time.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
Some other guys are just born to be INFL football players.
Dallas Turner is that guy. Watching him at Christian Darassol
battle at practice right now. It's fun. Christian Darrisol got
the better of him yesterday. But Christian Darisol also said
after OTA's earlier this year that he is a freak
talking about Dallas Turner, He's going to be a problem
for answering your question order Where's he going to play everywhere?

(32:18):
And I think that's the ability that he has when
you're throw on his tape from Alabama. He could play
the outside linebacker position, he could put his hand in
the dirt, he could stand up and rush the quarterback.
And he's also very, very active in the run game.
And so I think that's something that Brian Flores will
eat up. He's going to have him probably playing a
little nose guard lined up over the center, He'll have
him outside. He's going to do everything. It's an embarrassment

(32:39):
of riches. Especially on the other side you have Jonathan Grenard,
Blake Cashman, and Andrew Vankinkle.

Speaker 4 (32:43):
Like Brian Flores is going to have some fun this year.

Speaker 2 (32:46):
Well see, and that's the thing where I'm trying to
you know, we were talking about over analyzing. This cornerback
situation is dire, So there's no doubt about that. However, simultaneously,
I do feel like they got much more athletic. Sure,
if we're just putting Cashman in, you know, we're just
you know, names on a depth chart. Cashman in Jordan
Hicks out appreciated Jordan Hicks. He was awesome, big barbecue

(33:09):
by guy by the way, so instant fast friends. But
Jordan Hicks out Cashman in there's athleticism. Danil's an absolute beast.
But the combination of Grenard and now we're adding depth
with Van Ginkel and the new draft turner, this team
got deeper in the front seven.

Speaker 4 (33:26):
You said that Pat Jones, and he's hungry.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
And he's hungry because you want to talk about NFL
lives on the line. He is still finding and I
think he's actually a sneaky option from the inside. If
you think about what we're gonna do, you got Bullard,
you got Harrison Phillips, and this team was pretty damn
good against the run last year, all things considered, eighth
against the run, but in the end finding ways to
get that middle thrust, which has been whether we called

(33:49):
it three technique in the four to three, if he's
a d ND in this particular format, however Flores lines
it up.

Speaker 4 (33:55):
I think we got deeper. I think we got more athletic.

Speaker 2 (33:57):
I think we actually got better in the front seven, which,
to lend some faith and optimism, I have ultimately that
this defense could still even improve despite our focus and
obsession over the quarnerback spot.

Speaker 4 (34:08):
Yeah. Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (34:08):
When I was talking to Jordan Addison and the offseason
just about his growth and everything, and I was kind
of talking up the offense and I was like, dude,
you guys are going to be good if you can
just get something out of the quarterback play. And he
was like, don't sleep on our defense. He's like, our
defense is fire. That's what he said to me. I
was like, you think so he was like yeah, man,
he was like, just look at who we have up front.
The guy's getting after the quarterback. And when you think

(34:29):
about the depletion and the defensive backfield right now, it's
honestly not that big of a deal when you talk
about the front seven Nordo, Because if those guys can
generate some pressure on the quarterback where you're talking about,
they get to play the passing lanes, they get to go.

Speaker 4 (34:41):
Jump the ball, you feel me.

Speaker 3 (34:42):
So they're not having to cover in zone coverage five
to eight seconds, you know, like last year, where because
Jonathan Gernard and Dallas Turner are going to get home
to the quarterback. So now you're talking about covering for
two to three seconds and having that ability to jump
the passing lanes and go get some interceptions.

Speaker 2 (34:56):
So I mean Duke Shelley can cover for two to
three exactly exactly.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
So if the rush can get home, you're talking about
more PBUs, more interceptions possibly for this defense. So they
do need to an experience corner. And when I asked
Brian Floris yesterday, I said, do you have former guys
just hitting you up wanting to play with you? He
was like, absolutely, But it's a numbers game. He was like,
that's not my job. I don't control that. I just
control what they give me and I go make it work.
And it seems like right now, he said, he's excited.

(35:21):
He said, the install that's going good. He said a
lot of his playbook is in, and he said this
group is ready to get after it and he's excited
to coach them.

Speaker 4 (35:28):
Man, I'm ready to get after it. Thanks for hanging out, dude,
Thanks for having me. It's always fun. This is awesome.
I appreciate it. And you're gonna be down.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
We got streaming shows on Fox, we got camp coverage,
we got interviews, we got.

Speaker 4 (35:38):
Social You're all over the place. Yes, sir, all over
the place. I need you to go take a quick
nap and get ready for the grind today. I'll get
recharged and if you're out there, I'll see you out there.
Oh cheers, brother.

Speaker 2 (35:48):
That's a mod Hicks at Ahmad Hicks TV via x
and following via Fox nine, Fox nine all over local
coverage you mentioned even Monday. We'll get more details in
front of you here before then. But there's going to
be a simulcast on Fox nine of the highly touted
night practice on Monday nights. So camp coverage. Fox has
got it. We got it here on the fan, and

(36:09):
we got news. Next, it's Nordo and for Pa on
the fan.

Speaker 1 (36:13):
Head over a contest pace register for your chance to
win a pair of passes to an early screening of
the new Prime video movie One Fast Move Kfan dot
Com Keyword Contest Center.

Speaker 4 (36:26):
Welcome back nine to Noon, Dan Hayes. At the top
of the hour, The Athletic.

Speaker 2 (36:32):
Theathletic dot Com Minnesota Twins trade deadline has passed. As
at five pm. The dinner bell rang yesterday and the
trade deadline was over. But they added somebody and we're
gonna talk about them. We're also going to talk about
a team plus two rip what is it? Fifteen to two?
So they're getting out scored seventeen to two through these

(36:53):
two games, a little lopsided. Typically if we were I suppose,
if we were doing true statistics, we might throw out
the out liar, right, But third games today it's an
owner looking forward to that final hour. Some more NFL
bits we'll get into your texts Always appreciated six four
six eighty six Bradshaw Bryan text line and news and
Nord's brought to you by the casino at Canterbury Park.

(37:16):
Canterbury Park dot com. Live racing is in play, Feeling
the Felt, poker, blackjack and table games all year round.
Today is Wednesday, So I think, I mean, there's no
chance that Derek Allen was standing bedside with Paul Allen
during his I guess I don't know how that works.

(37:37):
You'd probably be a little woozy. There's some anesthesia involved,
and but he wouldn't miss his shift at Chips at Canterbury.
Would he have dad uber home?

Speaker 4 (37:51):
Say that is having young children someday, I would.

Speaker 2 (37:56):
Like to be bedside with me while I deal with
my own who.

Speaker 4 (38:03):
Knows no need for a spot or there are you ready?
Who's denor thank you? Yes number one.

Speaker 1 (38:11):
Let's go to partie. We'll start with the women's gymnastics
team gold. Yes, how about that gold? Indie gymnastics competitions,
at least the team portion of it, Simoan Biles and co.
Your thoughts, did you watch any of it? And are
you continuing to watch the Olympics. I've got two more
Olympics nuggets to get to, but just in general, your

(38:33):
thoughts so far?

Speaker 4 (38:34):
So I've been very passive.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
I mean, I'm watching I think this is the all
around final that's in front of me. Paul Judah is
on the rings, and so I'm watching it very passively.
I think it's somebody just took a complete l on
the pommel horse within the last ten minutes while I
was talking to a mob. Very passive on the Olympics,

(38:56):
but all in on the women's gymnastics team. So I
mentioned my children and I have twin daughters. They're nine
years old and they are obsessed with gymnastics.

Speaker 4 (39:05):
They like soccer, swimming and gymnastics. Thank you that they
don't want to do dance, but.

Speaker 2 (39:13):
They're they're on at weird times and My kids have
a bunch of camps going on, so we we've dvrred
from Sunday. We DVRD the qualifying bits, dvrd the final yesterday.
They get home from camp, we sit down and we
watch it wire to wire. The women's gymnastics teams unbelievable
and they one of my daughters has Simone Biles poster.

(39:33):
She took some some block sticker letters and wrote her
name up on the wall. My kids love them some
Simone Biles, they love them. Saint Paul's fine as Sunny Lee,
they love them some Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey as well.
And admittedly I did not know that Hesley Rivera was
on the team, and she actually did not compete. I

(39:56):
don't believe in the final yesterday, but she's part of
the mix, so she's she's in there. Congratulations to her
and everybody. I Simone Biles is just I don't I
is she human?

Speaker 4 (40:06):
I don't.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
I mean from the difficulty of everything that she does.
And this is coming from I mean, I'm straight, I'm rude.
Novice Territory and my kids in their gymnastics classes aren't
doing anything near they're One of them has just mastered
the back handspring, which is super cool, and I have
to go out in the backyard every day and watch

(40:27):
fifty renditions of it.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
And I'm proud of her. It's my baby girl. I
love it.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
But all overall, I'm not in tune with the difficulty
of certain things. The floor exercises, the twists, the artist reinvolved.
We want to see some personality, we want to see
it match the music, et cetera.

Speaker 4 (40:42):
I'm not in on all of that.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
Apparently, the difficulty of the things that Simone Biles does
are so far and away above everything else. Every other
female on the planet is doing that. Even if she misssteps,
even if she makes a mistake, it is so difficult
what she is attempting to do that she is still

(41:07):
ten miles ahead of every other female that participates in
the Olympics. It is amazing and it's cool to watch
my kids be able to see that they're on cloud
nine about it. I mentioned this the other day from
when they first did the qualifying because it's a two
per country limit in the individual bits. I don't know

(41:28):
when the individual finals are. Jordan Giles was amazing and
she finished like a I mean a tenth of a point.
It was something just very minuscule behind Sunny. It was American,
American American. It was Simone, Sunni and Chiles, and Giles
takes the ylt. She's the third best on the planet
in the individuals. She should be in the finals. So

(41:49):
she gets completely screwed over there. She was terrific yesterday.
Jade Carey, who I believe. I think it was the
floor in the individuals, in the qualifying, that's her thing,
and she completely laid an egg. She had some trouble
with it. She went out of bounds a couple of times.
Again Novice just regurgitating what he was subjected to three

(42:09):
hours of on Sunday afternoon, she comes back and just
nails this vault. Yesterday she apparently has been dealing with
the flu. Simone had the calf or the ankle thing.
There's just they are so much better than everybody else.
It is so unbelievable to watch. And that is really

(42:30):
the extent of what I've enjoyed. I watch a little
bit of the basketball.

Speaker 4 (42:35):
But the women's gymnastics.

Speaker 2 (42:36):
Admittedly, I would not have watched a wire to wire
if my kids weren't so interested in it, But they
are so I am, and it was super cool. So
congratulations to them, world dominance. Indeed unbelievable. And Simone's back.
She had the mental thing four years ago in Tokyo,
the twisties, something I never even really would have considered.
Oh yeah, when you're up in the air and you're

(42:58):
flipping and twisting around like four or five times, if
you get it in your head, the gymnastics version of
the yips, and you're doing something that's super dangerous, maybe
that's a problem. I never even really considered that until
thinking through it and watching more of it. But she's
she's just, I mean, just unbelievable. And Sony again, Sony

(43:18):
Minnesota's finest. I forget there was a spot said North
Metro where was she doing her youth training? But how
about you know, congratulations to Suny. I think she's dealt
with injury issues. It seems like each of these gals
has some sort of backstory as to why this was
going to be. This was going to be a big
test for them. But then in the end, I mean,

(43:39):
they're just there's no contest. It was just on display. Hey,
we're better than everybody on earth.

Speaker 4 (43:47):
At this It was super cool. You mentioned him number two.

Speaker 1 (43:50):
U asked basketball today against South Sudan, which, if you remember,
in the warm up games, get him a little scare
South Sudan. But now this one counts for real. It's
in lil France, still lil lil, Still not sure how
to say that. And I watched soccer US basketball South Sudan.

(44:11):
Your previous starts at two.

Speaker 4 (44:14):
By the way, what not in soccer?

Speaker 1 (44:18):
No, I've well, because that's a club in France, and
I still don't know how to pronounce it.

Speaker 4 (44:22):
It wasn't wasn't a sick brag.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
Okay, h the team, yeah, will beat South Sudan by
more than one point today. I honestly, I don't want
to say I've been. I don't want to say that
I've been. I've been underwhelmed by it. I just don't
have any big opinions on it. It was kind of interesting.
Jason Tatum really not in the mix in the first match.
Apparently Kurz you know, he's going to implement him more

(44:44):
today and watch Anthony. Anthony not the bell of the ball,
but he's been in the mix doing his thing. And
they got to march. They got to march on through this,
so you'll watch it at two o'clock today. Just watch
them put the pedal down, not bleep around, and just
win a game against a far inferior team.

Speaker 4 (45:03):
So that's really it.

Speaker 2 (45:04):
I again, outside of gymnastics, I've been super passive on everything.
I want to see Anthony Edwards do well at the
Olympics here. I want to see this incarnation the quote
unquote Dream Team twenty twenty four edition. I want to
see them hoist gold. That's super sweet, but I just
I'm not I'm not.

Speaker 4 (45:22):
Compelled at this stage. I want to see something.

Speaker 2 (45:24):
You know, if we're talking further down the line, we're
talking about a cool matchup with Australia, we're talking a
cool matchup with France later on, Like.

Speaker 4 (45:32):
I'll dig into that.

Speaker 2 (45:33):
That'd be cool, Like you know, Ant posterizing Rudy in
an Olympic game, Like that'd be pretty sweet.

Speaker 4 (45:38):
But ultimately whatever, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (45:41):
Gymnastics kind of that brought me in and the rest
is kind of fodder.

Speaker 4 (45:46):
Airsoft shooting. I got again.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
I got men's gymnastics here. There was swimming earlier. We
got soccer in the mix. The men's team, who did
they beat the other day was it Israel. They beat
no like Guinea somebody. Okay, well, win's a win. Don't
underrate giddy men's team won a game number three.

Speaker 1 (46:07):
This is what Well, this is all Olympics here. Well,
that's the first three are Olympics here. You doubted them.
You doubted them because we've talked about this US team,
and I believe at one point you said on these
airwaves they haven't even qualified for the damn Olympics in forever.

Speaker 4 (46:22):
Now they're here. And not only that is.

Speaker 1 (46:24):
Three straight games, by the way, not only that, I
understand that. Not only that, and that's a youth team.
It's the World Juniors of soccer. Basically, they're through to
the quarterfinals for the first time since two thousand.

Speaker 4 (46:36):
Yes, take that. What do you think of this team down, Nords? Yeah,
good for them.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
How many members of the American Olympic team are on
the national team playing in COPA.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
And beyond maybe a half a half of a person? Yeah,
I mean they're on the bench. Yeah, so it's the
World Juniors of Soccer.

Speaker 4 (46:54):
Nords.

Speaker 2 (46:54):
No, I'm hey, I'm Johnny America here. Okay, we're we're red,
white and blue, and we're ready, no doubt about it.
It's good for them, but again, there are far bigger
issues and conversations that need to be had about a
post Greg Berhalter in you know, existence for this national
team and what's looking ahead for the for the World Cup.
But no, super super cool. How about the rugby team

(47:16):
the other day? Oh that their final play? Yeah, well
the final play and then the other gal I forget
her name, but she looked like Derrick Henry in the
Wide Open. Just a gazelle stiff armed somebody in the
next year in route to a is it a score?

Speaker 4 (47:32):
Is it a try? I'm not a rugby sevens expert.

Speaker 2 (47:35):
But congratulate the American women with the bronze medal and
in rugby sevens too. So cool stuff happening at the Olympics.
And but we got to get to the Minnesota Twins.
Minnesota Twins made a move yesterday in front of the
trade deadline.

Speaker 4 (47:47):
They're trying to make moves out in New York against
the Mets.

Speaker 2 (47:50):
First pitch actually within minutes, I believe her, excuse me,
in Eastern Central time? What time, Zonian Nordo, It'll be
about an hour from now. First pitch in the rubber
mat with with the New York Metropolitans, so we'll talk
with Dan Hayes the athletic final hour ahead of US
nine to noon