Ep. 1057: Hot Take Monday: MSU football as the season nears, the Tigers, Lions, and people watching

We dug into our takes and yours — on Michigan State football and the state of the defense and other areas, on MSU basketball's need for go-to players to emerge, on the Lions' injuries, the Tigers' season, what MSU fans want for CMU, people watching in East Lansing, and more.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:23):
All up. Oh oh.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Wow o.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Do do do do?

Speaker 1 (01:14):
What do you get when you cross a know it
all newspaper columnist with an awkward, unsophisticated every man. Yeah, well,
I'm just not sure about that right now. Welcome to

(01:39):
Couch and the Room. Welcome to Couch in the Room
our Monday show, presented by our friends at Comcasts and Exfinity.
Exfinity is here to help students out. If you are
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(02:00):
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can hear more about it and learn what's going on,
including at Michigan State this Friday and Saturday at eleven

(02:21):
am to five pm at five to fifty five East
Grand River Avenue the Infinity Zone. Swing by the Xfinity
Zone for personalized advice, a gaming competition, free food, photo booth,
chance to win daily prizes including like the Xbox series X, Beats, headphones,
all sorts of good stuff. Five to fifty five East
Grand River Avenue, eleven am to five pm. That's August

(02:42):
fifteenth and sixteen, this Friday and Saturday, five fifty five
East Grand River Avenue. Jason, how you doing, brother? Go
out there, play hard?

Speaker 3 (02:51):
Stick your cleaves so far up their asses that they've
got to use to please, to brush your teeth with?

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Mean? I felt all of fred human Hey buddy, what's
going on? Man?

Speaker 2 (03:00):
I'm good, I glad to see you. I'm exhausted after
that weekend. Man, in laws? Have you ever had a
trip to the in laws that the trip the duration,
while like the amount of time in the car was almost,
if not the same or more than the amount of
time of time spent at this thing. I had to
drive to Illinois for something that we drove for, Like

(03:21):
it's like an eight hour event in the afternoon.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Twenty fifth anniversary for my sister in law Jen and
brother in law Pat.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, you gotta beef for if you make it twenty
five years in this marriage thing. You know, I'm gonna
show up and do what you need me to do.
But man, I I've I'm exhausted, cause I forget all
everybody's name in my wife's family, and I feel really bad,
Like I almost wanted to grab the microphone after they
did their little speech thingy, there was that thing. I
was like, hey, guys, I only see you like once

(03:48):
maybe twice a year. I'm sorry. I wish there were
name tags because I end up leaving it. Like this morning,
I'm feeling, ah, man.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, you don't know like your in law's names.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
No, I don't like the main characters, but the Lastrotio family.
You know, she's got like so many different layers of family.
Like me, I have my two sisters and like the
rest of I don't know where the rest of my
family is. So it's easy for me. I know all
the heavy hitters, like my father in law, you know,
his wife and all that stuff. But some of the friends,
the cousins, Like she has these cousins and I'm just like,

(04:17):
what is her name again?

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Damn it? But you only see him once or twice
a year, you know. I feel like name takes are wanted. Yeah, yeah, no, it's.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Been eight years, and I know I should. I just
I have this problem where I just get in my
brain where someone's walking towards you, and I'm just like, ah,
what is this person's name?

Speaker 1 (04:32):
Shit?

Speaker 2 (04:33):
And if you get it wrong. That's the other terrifying
thing that goes on in the head too, with the
anxiety thing. I'm like, you call him Sharon and it's like,
actually it's Cheryl.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
And you're like fuck.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
The rest of the day, you're just staring down. You
don't want to see anybody. So anyway, we had in
lass over this weekend too. It was an in laws
type deal. We didn't have to try to come to you. Yeah,
they see, then I can go to trees who's coming over?

Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah? Yeah, we There was the only snap foo this
weekend was I'm a huge fan of the game Uker, Right,
it's a good card. It's a Michigan card game. People
in Michigan play Uka oh Boy, and they'll tell you
about it and yeah, and so I assume it's invented
in Michigan, and I think michigan Anders are logical people,
and so I like, I'm very proud of Youker until
this weekend. We're playing and I'm on a team with

(05:15):
my stepfather in law and my wife and her mom
are on a team, and my wife's not getting great
hands dealt to her, and she's getting a little frustrated,
and then she comes up with this rule ace no face.
It's called I don't know if you've ever heard of
this in Ker. Is that a part of the Asian line? No,
But basically, if you have only aces and no face cards,

(05:39):
you can call for a redeal. But it makes no
logical sense because I understand, other than the jacks you want, right,
you want to have the option of having bowers if
you know Uker, But the ace cards are better than
a queen or a king. So just because it rhymes
doesn't mean to make sense. She had a handle like
three aces and two faces or not, you know, like

(06:02):
a nine out of ten. I've read that that's not
the worst hand. That's ace no face. Doesn't make it
just because it rhymes, that's a jack, ebling. I have
pissed me off, and like I was frustrated for a face,
I went changed my opinion of Ker and just who
came up and we looked it up. It's a real rule.
I understand if you have a zero, if all you
have is nines or tens, maybe call for a redeal. Anyway,

(06:24):
I was annoyed by it. I don't know who came
up with it. It's illogical. It needs to be kicked
out of the system in Michigan if if we're going
to come up.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
I just love that you have no vote though, that's
the rule. Like, oh, it's our house though, do what
I get to say in the house rules.

Speaker 1 (06:38):
Also her rule. It's also her house, and so that's
right me. Yeah, yeah, sixty forty that house that it
did not go well. But I threw a fit like
a twelve year old for a little while, Like I
did not let it go until people were put clearly pissed.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
People get so into Yuker and you can't really gamble
on it to where like I don't know. I used
to play it and people wanted me to play it
at my grandparents' house and they're like, are you good,
And I'm like, I don't think so. Jesus, you gotta
get those bowers. I'm like, all right, man, I'm done
with you forever.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
And my stepfather in law he's got a he's got
an issue where he always likes to have you pick
it up even if you don't have the like if
you're the dealer or he'll pick it up, like even
if his hand's not that good. And at the end
you're like, why did we pick that up? You had
like one decent card. I don't he can't.

Speaker 2 (07:19):
I'm sure you just you know, you have a poker face.
You don't wear your emotions on your sleeve. When Stepdad
does that. Oh my god, right, can't pass. He can't pass.
I guess I have to, all right. So we both
had good weekends. Yeah, yeah, Otherwise it was good.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, it was.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
It was a sorry I forgot everybody's name, but I
don't think they care about mine either. Sometimes that guy's here,
what's the name John's husband, I'd asked, the guy with
the shitty tattoos?

Speaker 1 (07:48):
I know, I mean, you can tell who I am,
I think, right. Do you think when they first met
you that they thought she was gonna marry you? Who
her dad and ship? Yeah? In laws, Yeah, the to
the cousins other people in.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
That there was not no because there was no marriage
in sight. Really when we first started the first couple
of years, I was pretty adamant no kids obviously, but
I wasn't really big into the marriage thing.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
Twenty nineteen.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
I don't know, because I love my wife and like,
as we were dating, I realized how much I loved
my wife, and I you know, I was getting up
there in age, and it was just a great relationship
that I never had in my life before. So Jesus,
I feel like now I'm having my twenty fifth anniversary
thing where I've got to give a speech. But you know, yeah,
but I knew that the marriage thing obviously would change,

(08:33):
because you can be steadfast against that. When you're a
guy that's single and you've been going diff different girls
for six months and this and that, it's like, yeah,
marriage is not in the cards. Who would want to
marry this absolute piece of shit? At the time, I mean,
I couldn't imagine anybody wanting to marry me. That's why
I cannot believe Trees actually stayed with me. So that's
why it was never in the cards. The kids thing
that was definitely foot down, like absolutely not.

Speaker 1 (08:53):
I have said, given your second date, the fact that
she married you is one of the more remarkable feats
in this world.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
I when I wake up and I see her next
to be something, I'm like, Jesus, what is this?

Speaker 1 (09:02):
How does woman do this?

Speaker 2 (09:03):
But yeah, man, but you know, as I quit drinking,
and I became a better human being the past five years.
I think you know I've gotten adding to that when
I see these people. But yeah, I'm sure at first,
as I was hammering Jaegermeister and drinking fucking you know,
keystone lights out of a cooler, I'm sure people are
going like Jesus H Teres really knows how to pick
these guys.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
But you know the story we're telling, presenting by our
friends at Midtown Brewing Company in downtown Lansing, by the way,
which on Tuesdays Taco Tuesdays and Trivia great taco offerings,
but Trivia seven pm every Tuesday and seven and eight pm.
It's a great way to check out Midtown Brewing Company
or just swing on by for a date night, a drink,

(09:44):
after work, lunch, a group event, whatever it might be.
We've had live shows there. It's a great spot, and
I think most people who have been there for those
events or any other time will tell you the absolute same.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
All right, do we want to start with our takes?
Go ahead, man, I know you're chomping at the bit.
You got tape that you were crushing, I'm sure Jonathan Smith, right, Well.

Speaker 1 (10:08):
Jonathan Smithish football Talk. I came straight from Michigan State
Interviews and Availability. Football interviews and Availability. There's a little
practice this morning. Shot some video crushing. We don't have
enough time for all of that. Crush them some tape
of some drills. Nice put them out there. It was
not the most exciting wide receiver curl, Oh my god.
It was not the most exciting highlights, but managed to
cobble something together. It's up there for folks who want
to see it. If you like a cobbled together piece

(10:31):
of work, yeah, there you are. I'm not the worst
editor in the world. You know, Columbia College grad, you
know film school, been there. You don't have to tell us.
You know. The thing that stands out Jonathan Smith Folk today,
the defensive line coach Boke today, a couple of defensive linemen.
The thing that stands out right now is, and I

(10:53):
don't know how this will translate, but with their defense
and Jonathan Smith talking about the defense, there is a
quiet confidence about what this group will be. And I
think it's the group that I am the least confident in.
And so there's sort of there's this contradiction a little bit.
I have the least amount of faith in their defense
and their ability to have playmakers there and and really

(11:15):
take a gigantic step from last year, which they need
to do. And I think they have the most confidence
in that unit. So it's and obviously they see it
day to day and there it's not like this brash
they're going to be good. They're not talking a lot
of shit, but it's this. It's very clear they think
like the interior of the defensive line is a lot

(11:36):
of guys that is very deep. But you know, you
hear that before and then last year happens. It's very
clear that last year scarred them and it'll be interesting
to see the impact. Like they talk about Jalen Thompson
as a guy who really left last year thinking he
had more to give and has really worked toward not
just being a player does his job, but it can
be an impact player and and a lot of the

(11:58):
you know what it does to you when you're on
part of a unit that doesn't get to the quarterback
for game after game after game, and the coaching staff
left the year thinking that should have been more than
a five win team, and what could have they done
differently in this game in that game. And so when
you have a year like that, there usually is a response, right,
There's a chip that comes with it, There's a focus

(12:19):
that comes with it, and I'm curious to see what
that looks like. That's clearly there. It does not mean
they will have enough to be great. And one of
the challenges of this season in terms of evaluating that is,
I think we all remember the defense early last year,
before they got in the Power Conference play, the defense
was really effective at getting the quarterback. They had a
ton of sacks of the first few games. They brought
pressure in waves. They were a great mid major defense.

(12:41):
The problem is they play in the Big Ten, and
so the question is now, what is you know, how
do you know after the first playing Western Michigan or
playing these teams early on, that that really exists. Now.
The Boston College game pretty early helps, But I don't
know if after the first game will be able to
say anything definitively. I do know they feel a whole

(13:03):
lot better about where they are, and I think a
lot of that stems from enduring last year. You know,
the staff realizing what they didn't have, and you know,
getting a few extra guys here and there, and then
the internal development, so that that really stands out. I
mean there were other little little nuggets, you know. I
think you know there. Jonathan Smith talked about how happy
they are with a lessio the backup quarterback, and I

(13:26):
think that's important for this year because you know, you
got a guy in Aidan Shiles and the style he plays.
At some point, that guy is going to take a
hit that puts him out for a couple series or
puts him out for a game. Right, It's just bound
to happen. It just happens in football. And if so
much of the season is only on him, and you
you know, if that's a game you really need to
win or a game that's winnable. When that happens and

(13:47):
you can't win it because you don't have the quarterback
at the level behind him that allows you to continue playing,
then you're in trouble. I think they feel really really
good about the backup quarterback that was that was brought
up unprompted. So there are a few things there, you know. Uh.
I think a receiver Mark Kelly is is definitely the
number two, and he and Nick marsh are the one

(14:08):
and two and beyond that, Jonathan Smith talked about guys
that are battling for that three spot, but one and
two is pretty much settled. So some interesting stuff. But
the defense and just the the quiet confidence that's there
and the feeling that they're better. It's just such a
contradiction to how I feel. And so it's interesting and

(14:30):
I'm you know, obviously they know more than me, but
I can't trust it yet. But it is interesting that
they just sound the way they.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
I think the way you feel is the way the
fan base feels. That's trying to wait and sit there and.

Speaker 1 (14:40):
You know, yeah, yeah, and and look if they're right,
and they may look Joe Rossi's a good coordinator. I
think everybody would say he's a good coordinator. He's had
he's got a good track record. They had a year
to evaluate where they were to go get guys where
they needed it, who they thought could develop and and
you know what else was dead in the transfer portal.

(15:01):
They chose to make some transfer editions at certain positions
and not as many at others. And that evaluation, I mean,
that's part of college coaching. Now. It's not just about
developing guys. It's not just about you know, in game coaching,
it's it's how you pick your team year to year,
and and so you evaluate the staff whether they did enough,
and they did they chose guys at the right positions

(15:23):
based on what we see, and you know, but there's
a there's definitely a difference in the defense in terms
of what they think they're going to be. And it's
it's not even in that there's no boasting. There's no
it's just you can tell and the way they nothing
to boast about well, and they're aware of living a
little bit. Yeah, they were one hundred percent humbled last

(15:43):
year and it's interesting to see what comes out of that.
What's your first take start?

Speaker 2 (15:49):
If he's sty important, Detroy spik are a scampling thing.
And my god, was I panicking on Friday, gram Trek
Scuble on the mound. It's Friday. We were talking about
best bets and I was like, man, let's tell your
schedules lining up that they need these wins. A lot
of these are must win games with the Guardians making

(16:12):
a comeback, even though I think the Guardians are ass
they lost to the White Sox yesterday, but Chris Paddock
has to win this game, right, Is this a must win?
For him against the White Sox against Chicago. Right this bullpen,
by the way, I and I guess you know, Casey
Mice is our number two starter, right instead of Flarity
if the playoffs started today? Right, schooble Casey Mice. I know,

(16:34):
Casey gets himself. I know, but it gets worse after
Casey because the thing is myz does he gets into
jams early, but he's been getting out of these jams.
So I don't mind if you want to sit there
and get into jams and make me sweat my dick
off the first second inning.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
I can.

Speaker 2 (16:47):
I can deal with that. But the problem is guys
like Jack Flarerty who are getting lit up. And then
after Casey Mice, like Charlie Morton, was he gonna do
start game three of a series four? I mean, I
just and then when you get past the starting pitching.
I know we've talked about this ad nauseum, but it
just blows my mind because I don't trust the bullpen.
Maybe outside of Tyler Holton Graham, but like Rafael Montero,

(17:09):
how much more shit do we need to see from
this guy? Is he going to be around? I Just
like my friend Drew Lane from the Drew Lane podcast
told me he's like, who auditions in August? Who auditions
the bullpen? And I'm like, I agree, I don't understand.
Why what are we doing here, especially after a trade
deadline when you knew for weeks going in we needed
some sort of help and some relief. My god, I'm

(17:32):
not panicking about the division per se. I'm more of
thinking further down the line of like if we're in
a playoff series and everybody's like, well, the fan base
is not really excited about a great team because you know,
we've had this record throughout the season to where we've
kind of overshadowed some things. But man, with the injuries
that have you know, have come up into this lineup,
it's like, shit, dude. It's not that I want to

(17:53):
be able to cheer, but when you look at it,
it's kind of dire.

Speaker 1 (17:56):
When you look at the depth chart, the Tigers is
some how made what was a really fun season depressing.
I mean, it's unbelieve to say I'm depressed. I'm still
excited about the season, are you, Yeah? I am. I
am not. It's a depressing season because it's the opposite
of what you'd.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
Rather be shit, not being a playoff hunt and leading
the division. I mean, I albeit, it's what six games again,
but no, I mean there are worse place seems a
big word. Well, there are worse places to be and
the Tigers were there for a lot of years, you know.
And obviously it's the inverse of last year, right where
they were off to a horrible start and then got
incredibly hot and that was unbelievably fun and nobody expects
that sort of run all the time. But to not

(18:36):
react to a start that clearly they were playing a
little bit above their skis for a while. It showed,
they showed their warts. They had an opportunity to address
them and chose not to. And they're wasting a postseason.
They're wasting one year, they're wasting one of the two
years they have Trek Scuoball left. Maybe they're wasting a
postseason appearance which probably will still happen where they have
zero chance to win in the playoffs because they just

(18:58):
don't have a bullpen and bullpens or everything in the postseason.
I mean, it's remarkable that you waste something like this,
and you to do it in a sport where the
postseason is so much about chance. You do need a bullpen,
though you can't. You know, there's a lot of you know,
there's a lot of volatility in the like you can
be great all regular season not win a World Series.
You can be average is a playoff team in the

(19:21):
regular season and win the World Tiers. But you have
to have certain things. The Tigers are not a playoff
team now. They are only going to be in the
playoffs because of their start and because maybe Cleveland doesn't
catch them in the division, although I still think Cleveland might.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
We know, we know, you love the Guardians, even though
you call them the Indians here. No, it's depressing, and
this weekend's depressing. And even when they win, it's depressing
because you can see their awards, you can see their warts.
It's just I don't think yesterday wasn't very depressing.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
I kind of enjoyed that nine to four kind of
I understand what you're saying when you see a guy
like Rafael Montaro and it's like, shit, that guy is depressing.
But to use the word, I mean, there still is
a decent amount of baseball left. And if Scott Harris
wants to it there and sit back and then what
you know, if it ends up this bullpen the way
it is currently in October somehow works out, you can't

(20:07):
tell me right now, Scott, that you see this coming
from what these guys are doing currently. Well, that's the price.
You can't see. You can't say I told you so
in October. If somehow this ship ends up working out
for you, there's no I told you so. Regard they
can win a World Series. It's not I told you
so because they were They didn't say pretty much anything. Well, yeah,
world series. You could say the bigger Baseball to have
a bigger problem if they won a World Series, because

(20:28):
that would mean that they're wasting six months of the
year just playing a regular season that has no meaning.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
But I it is, it's it's hard to watch this
Tiger's team. It's it's I don't like when teams waste time,
and that's what this Tiger's team has done. They have
weight and I'm not in baseball is the wrong sport.
Then to watch everything in life is wasting time? Really,
I mean listening, if you're listening to the show, you're
wasting time right now. Chances you can be doing something

(20:54):
more productive. It's depressing when you put it that way. Yeah,
but yeah, right, on all accounts, the both of us
could be doing something more productive. No, this is it,
This is me. You possibly but me, No, this is
all I got.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
Okay, Well I'm going to mow the lawn later, so yeah, yeah,
you know, all right, Well give it all.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
A half here it is, Yeah, I just I can't.
It's it's a strong word. It is a strong word.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
You know, but that's just how you're not a fan anymore.
So it's easy for you to take yourself out of it.
And a lot of the times, you know, when these
things occur, especially during the Lion season, I try, you know,
being a dumb guy, you try to talk yourself into
this thing will work itself out. But as you watch
this bullpen even dumb me, I'm like, shit, I can't
even go Tony Dombrowski on.

Speaker 1 (21:36):
This right now. Yeah, and look, I'm not a fan.

Speaker 2 (21:38):
Thinking about Paddock later it's seven to ten, it's like,
oh shit, if he looks terrible. I'm not saying he
couldn't get depressing as we go on, but as of
currently right now, I wouldn't say depression is a word.

Speaker 1 (21:48):
Okay, Well, it's demoralizing. It's ass ass Yeah, you and
I'm not a fan in the ways that I kid,
but I I still you know, it's the only team
I watch. It's the only team I'm invested in at all,
and in terms of wanting to see them do well,
it's not. I don't know what you know. But you're
a columnist first, you know, you do sports columns.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
So you just want to make sure you tell everybody
you're detached, you know, to make sure that you don't
that you're not a homer.

Speaker 1 (22:11):
I get all that. I don't want to come across
like Herb Street. Yeah, I don't want The kids are
on Clemson. I just I can't talk about the game,
though I will do four hours off a broadcast. But
if you asked me before the game, who's gonna win?
Do you have any other takes?

Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah, the Lions. The Lions game Friday night as well
with Maurice Norris, he's in concussion protocol. Absolutely fine. So
that's really good because Friday night I had that on
one of the TVs and I didn't really see what
was happening, but then I see Dan Campbell and Raheem
Morris kind of with their like I saw the ambulance
and everything right, and I figured, like, yeah, why are
you gonna keep playing the game? But then the clock

(22:51):
kept winding down.

Speaker 1 (22:52):
I'm like, what is this like?

Speaker 2 (22:53):
An official And I understand, and you know, when some
incident like that happens, you have to go, okay, we
have to figure this out with A and the coach.
But you could see the players were like, we're not playing.
So it just went on and on for like fifteen minutes.
My question, I mean with him being great, he's okay
health wise, which is nice, nice to see, but what
happens in a regular season game where you are all

(23:16):
games canceled? Now, because you remember when we were younger,
when a situation like this, when someone would come on
the field with an ambulance, it was dire, like that
person was going straight to the hospital. They were We
all remember what the line like Reggie Brown, I was
at there. That was when Barry broke two thousand yards too.
There was a wild day seeing that. And I'm not
saying that the players should not be treated this way

(23:37):
because we've come so far with it, you know, medical advancements.
I'm just asking now, thankfully, Maurice Moore and Norris is okay,
Like I said, but you know, if this happens on
a football Sunday, which is a regular season game, do
they just cancel that game? Like, where do we go
from here? Well, I mean we saw it, Deamar Hamlin.
They canceled that game because and rightfully so they did that.
They came back and finished it because that's what you

(23:57):
have to do in the regular season. So that's that's the.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
Look. Football is a ridiculously violent game, and everybody knows
what they've signed up for. There are points, there are
the I think. I think it's one of those things
you know when you see it. And obviously the preseason
is different than the regular season. If you yeah, if
you feel like the mat if you may have just
watched somebody die, then you feel like, I don't want

(24:22):
to play. I think there is a lot you're saying.

Speaker 2 (24:24):
If they bust out pads to shock the chest, to
shock the heart, like, then that's a whole another that's
a deal. But if they just rip a guy, make
sure he's breathing, he's everything.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
He puts the thumbs up, it's like you keep playing,
and that's that's weird and it sucks, but you know
that's the sport. It's not.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
Because yeah, preseason game, like what do you how do
you sit there after that and go all right, guys,
let's get back there and hit hard.

Speaker 1 (24:46):
And well yeah, And there's part of me that you
originally you think, well, are there guys this is the
fourth quarter, right, so are there guys thinking this is
my one chance to make this team and if I
get to show off and this is my career in
my livelihood. But the flip side of that is there's
so much talk about eliminating preseason games are already and
so much more can be done in practice and control scrimmage.
Is you don't worry about that it was appropriate to
cancel it, but it is. It is a question because

(25:07):
it's sometimes and those even when they continue games in
these sort of settings, it ruins. It ruins because that
seems cheap that somebody's life has to take. But it
changes the vibe. Right, You're no longer like both teams,
nobody's out there going I want to tear this guy's
face off. You know, it's a different that it kills
the whole vibeism, the whole crowd.

Speaker 2 (25:26):
Everybody is just like, oh my god, because when you
see an ambulance, you're like, Okay, something is obviously not good,
and people frantically going around.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
So the cour of the crowd is just eerily quiet,
and it's a different game from then on. And so
the question is, but you know, if you come back
and replay, that's play it. That's a logistical nightmare and
all these things, and you you want, you got the
integrity of the season and all that. You gotta have
games to finish. I think I think you know when
you see it, when it when it's something that you
just think we're not playing through that you don't. And

(25:52):
but unfortunately in the NFL and college football, when when
guys get stretched off and and are on you know,
boards of their next these states, you know, abile eyes
and all that stuff, that's just something that happens. We'll
see that, you know, six seven times this NFL season
in different games, and that's just that's the way it is.
And people sign up for it. And it's not that
you shouldn't react to it. It's not that you shouldn't
remember that there's something more human than the actual football

(26:14):
that's being played. But to stop, you know, to abandon
the game, I think is probably a bit much in
those situations. But we do have a listener hot take
on that very subject. Are you Are you ready to
dig into these Yeah? Man, let's do it.

Speaker 2 (26:29):
Eric Schultz up first, Izzo took a ton of justified
crap for refusing to bring in a center when there
appeared to be obvious deficiencies at the position. If MSU
fails this year in large part due to lacking a
pass rush, the response to Smith should be similar to
what is O fhasd.

Speaker 1 (26:52):
So, yeah, I do think you're right in this sense.
They've had time to pick their their roster and if
you don't, don't have enough to do what's needed to
be done after it was such an issue a year ago.
It is almost the same thing. And like centers, good
pass rushers are not cheap, they're not easy to find
in the portal. They're not like receivers. There are very

(27:14):
few of them and you're up against the behemoths of
college football to land them, and so it's better to
develop within. But if it's a huge problem this year again,
and I'm not saying that they've made bad like you
have to in college football now, especially if you know
if you've got certain amount of resources, and you've got
to spend it on players. You've got to make the

(27:36):
right smart decisions. Where do you need it most, where
it's most cost efficient, How do you win? Where are
you where are you weak? Where can you get buy
what you know? All that sort of stuff, What needs
to be of the identity of your team. These are
things you need to think about. And I think it's
a harder roster to put together than it is a
basketball roster where they are fewer guys, right, and the
needs are sometimes more obvious. But to Eric's points, this

(27:56):
is a good one. Like that center position, especially that
second year, that year that they went with so Soco,
Cohler and Cooper, when Cooper and Cohler were just sophomores.
That was a mistake and Izo deserved all that criticism,
and I think the years after that less so. And
you can argue whether they have enough and all that

(28:16):
sort of stuff, but I think this would be one
of those similar situations. If they don't have it, why
was that not a bigger priority? Why is it not fixed?
Because you know, in the old days when it wasn't
you couldn't fix with transfers and everything was about development
and freshmen. You know, something that was a problem one

(28:37):
year could only be fixed to some extent sometimes the
next year because you needed guys to develop, you need
they were true freshmen. That's a tough position. Whatever you
tried to do it. But there's less of an excuse now.
It just has to be a priority and it has
to be something you know get. They don't sound incredibly
worried about it, and so to some degree I have

(28:58):
my doubts still because I think we'll watch last year
and it's hard to get that out of your mind.
But you also want to give them the benefit of
the doubt, and so we'll see it. Yeah, we'll see
if it's an issue or not. But it's as a
fair point. The Nal Portal Dominic next number one.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
This Tiger's bullpen should have should have had Lang, Foley
and Bowbrisky who didn't pitch like Freeberg.

Speaker 1 (29:20):
That's John Freeberg.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
Sorry, Harris deadline was just fucking lazy man. They'll win
the division, they'll get in, but this is a fucking miss.
How big of a miss? Ask me when Schooble signs
with the Dodgers too. There was a West Side neighborhood
block party on Saturday to celebrate the first female umpire
Major League falling fire. It's rumored, through though unconfirmed, that

(29:45):
an open mic jam session every spouse from Graham Couch
David Andrews apologized to their wives for being born with a.

Speaker 1 (29:52):
Penis dominic was there? He's a penish? Yeah, three questions
out of take.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
If Graham can have a two show week, I can
do whatever the fuck I want?

Speaker 1 (30:03):
All right? So next, would you rather listen.

Speaker 2 (30:06):
To every episode of the Big Show with Michael Patrick
Shields for the rest of its run or get eaten
one limited time by a great white shark wearing a
Maga hat mm to bonus, I saw. I just realized
my entire relationship was the movie Pretty Woman. And if
you watched it in reverse and the credits rolled when

(30:28):
she was walking on Santa Monica Boulevard looking to get
railed by the entire cast of oz Man, she was great.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
Yeah, starting to get a few.

Speaker 2 (30:40):
Uh, just one, I get one limb eaten by a
shark or one limit of time?

Speaker 1 (30:45):
Oh so they all go right, So yeah, it's one
limited time. Yeah, sharks are scary. See the trick to
Michael Patrick shield the reason he's so successful as everybody does.
Like nobody's ever offended. He does not offend people. If
you've listened to the show, Wow, it was hard to
do it.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
I don't know, if you heard the Kwami kill Patrick interview,
you might want to go back and listen to that one.
Maybe a like fantastic. There may be a few, but
that's sort of the trick. But it wasn't really offensive
on his end. He was just kissing. Kwame's to do it.
If you do it, Yeah, you do a politically you
do a political show, doesn't anger people. It's pretty remarkable.
It's uh, it's almost impossible, it is. Yeah, it's you

(31:21):
can't even like say it, like your political takes in
a supermarket without utting people pissed. Right, damn that's impressive. No,
So it's you know, you know, it's what we're saying
is shark. You'd you'd rather, yeah, kick the maga hat
off after the you know, eats my other leg. Are

(31:42):
we done with that one?

Speaker 1 (31:42):
Yeah? Okay, maybe maybe number one.

Speaker 2 (31:45):
If a preseason game can end for a serious injury,
so can a regular season game. Dude, not a fan
of the D'Antonio style Jesus camp football teams. We don't
have to run back the prayer circles and Bible study stories.
Do we bring into tom I didn't play football, but still.

Speaker 1 (32:03):
Yeah, so there was a little of this last week.
And and people should be genuine to who they are.
It's and that was a big part of the D'Antonio
era and a lot of guys that I think they recruited,
you know, that was part of the fit and people.
You know, if that's something that's important to you, it's
it's it that you should be true to who you are.

(32:23):
I would tell players that when that becomes a big
part of your story. Most people, I have zero interest
in writing about you, Like I never wrote about Jonathan
Kim because you know, I just can't. You know, when
you preface it with like, oh God gave me this leg,
it's just too much. And you know, I remember doing
a piece on Nate Carter, and I knew that was

(32:45):
gonna be a big part of it, and I was
able to because there was enough else interesting there. But
sometimes it becomes it just you just know with readers,
it's to turn off. That's the problem. People don't people
don't want that there There are certain words that if
you put in the headline, your story will do negive
page views. Jesus, Well, yeah, if if driven by faith

(33:05):
the word leadership, don't put leadership in the headline. Nobody
wants to read about leadership. They want leadership, and nobody
wants to read about it. There are certain things you
don't nobody. If somebody improves, that's great. You need to
be more specific. That can't be in a headline. Improves leadership, faith,
those things cannot be in a headline. You will not
read it. I know from experience.

Speaker 2 (33:25):
Timbo says waiting for pre marital sex was worth it?

Speaker 1 (33:29):
Well, that would people will reading column? Yeah, that people
will read. That's a good headline. Though, that's true. That's
a good headline. It's way good headline.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
You want to hear about Tvo talking about not getting
laid while being the best quarterback in college.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
Man, great times I had. That's an argument that that's
not the great Saturday nights you Yeah, no, but no,
it's interesting because one reporter, so what you're saying is
God's boring. But like if you do like it, but
but there's nothing wrong with it, Like people should people
should be who they are. I think being yourself is
a really important thing, and your faith is a really
important thing to you. And know you're part of a group,

(34:03):
you know, whether it be an athlete, group of athletes
who who you know, pray together, worship together, or on
any of that stuff. That's one hundred percent fine. Just
know if that's the most interesting thing about you, you're
not that interesting that what if you're a good football
player or a great football player. It's too bad because
right you.

Speaker 2 (34:20):
Want to yeah, yeah, Unfortunately you don't want to read
a story about it. Yeah it's with Jeff Smoker shit
or well there it is.

Speaker 1 (34:27):
I mean, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (34:28):
People can't are desperate for the Jeff Smoker story that
happened twenty years ago. Forgets no pun intendant Jeb and
die MSU football in twenty thirteen, twenty seventeen, twenty twenty one,
and soon twenty twenty five, not saying they'll compete for
a Big ten title, but it'll be the season to
show us. Jonathan Smith is the guy and Bonus is

(34:49):
kind of ear good. On the Blittanikoff Award Watchless panel, So.

Speaker 1 (34:53):
Michigan said had two receivers make the Blittanikoff Award to
watch list Kray and Kelly but not Nick marsh And then,
I mean, let me tell you about the Blittant Cough
List and how bullshit this whole award is. I have
been a blittant Cough voter now for maybe a decade really,
and I've never known brag up, it's not in your

(35:14):
Twitter bio because I've never voted. Oh, every year they
ask for my ballot, they send me all sorts of stuff.
I've never voted because I don't know. I don't know.
I mean, it's one thing to do the Heisman. It's
it's enough of a farce for me to do the Heisman,
to act like I know every receiver in the country
who's good, and to make that a genuine ballot, like
the Blittanticoff Award is just complete joke. And the fact
that their watch list has one guy who's battling for

(35:37):
the third spot on Michigan State's football team, another guy
is number two, and another guy who's not or doesn't
have the guy who's you know, probably the most heralded,
speaks to it. And first of all, watch this list
didn't exist. I mean, this is this is one of
the reasons why But it's Yeah, the Blitankoff Award is
is because if they're if other people like me are voting,

(35:58):
part of the reason I don't vote is good. My
vote would have zero credibility because I don't see enough
of it. I see one game most week, sometimes two.
How the hell am I going to know what other
receivers are doing around the country and who's better? I'm
stats crush? Well no, but yeah, right, and more than anything,
receiver is a position where, based on the offense, you
could play and you can put up big, big numbers.
That has nothing to do with how great a receiver

(36:19):
you are. Andre Risen just could say it was throwing
the ball five times a game. He was an unbelievable receiver. Right,
He's an All American And people could see that to
some degree back then, just because your coach is running
the veer and doesn't know anything else, I yeah, I'm
not a But to Jebedi's first point, this being the
year for Jonathan Smith, it'll be the year to Jonathan Smith,
the show that he is the guy. This is you know,

(36:41):
it speaks to what we were talking about earlier with
the defense. This is a year. It's a response here.
Last year was not just unacceptable for the fan base,
I think the coaching staff and the players left this
feeling like, yeah, like there's more to give. That can't
be it. They're better than this and they have to
be better at this. And so the year that follows
the struggling year, what is your response? And the hard

(37:02):
thing for Michigan State is, hey, I just had a
couple of years like it because the year really three
in a row. But the year before it, because of
what happened with melt Tucker and everything, was was sort
of this disaster and then the response was sort of
in a tough spot. But this is a this is
a really big response here. There's no question Kurt.

Speaker 2 (37:19):
Was Newski MSU's defense. We'll have more than thirty five
sacks this year. And bonus, cats are far superior to dogs.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
That's crazy. You're you're a dog person much more than
I do.

Speaker 2 (37:31):
Love cats. Yeah, yeah, but far superior. No, I get it.
You know Kurt's a cat person. Yeah, I like to
get it. Obviously, Spots in my life and I'm a
big Spot fan. Only when cats are stolen to his
couch would agree with a bonus question.

Speaker 1 (37:45):
We had a We have a friend staying over the
other night who had a who brought her dog with her.
Little dog doesn't shed worked in our house all right,
But I have never seen Spot less happy about this
like Spot kind of And Spot lives with the dog,
and his other home is real home, and there are
tons of dog walking in our neighborhood, so it's not

(38:05):
like Spot the cat doesn't can't deal with dog, doesn't
like other cats, but this is his vacation home. But
he's yet right. This Spot dog was not all that
much bigger than Spot and soup. Spot had a couple
swipes and then late in the night before it was
dark out though, my wife and I walk into the kitchen.
We look out the side door and Spot is just

(38:25):
by our car, just glaring in the window, not knowing,
but he could tell. He's just so mad. It was
like a scorned lover out there, just angry, just like,
what is going on in that house? Why is there
this other creature? And just like my whole life has
been thrown outside? Yeah, what is going on? We haven't
seen Spot since, so we don't know. Hopefully we'll see
Spot soon. But yeah, I changed my name to call

(38:47):
my real name that is the story almost we're telling,
presented by our friends at Midtown Brewing Company and Downtown Lancing.

Speaker 2 (38:54):
I'm just waiting for the AI meme or whatever it's
going to be sent out by Matt Drolette.

Speaker 1 (38:58):
It's my favorite, is the best. His last one was incredible,
the one with me.

Speaker 2 (39:03):
They're both yeah, yeah, yeah, pretty much doesn't miss on
those Yeah. MVC five twelve number one. Joe Rossi's three
four defense focuses on linebacker play. With MSU's depth and
talent at linebacker, the defense will overachieve this season. Two
white football helmets are the best looking helmet and bonus
shout out to Monica and the Groovy Donuts East Lancing

(39:25):
staff for bringing donuts to the Costco break room this weekend.
Other than having the best donut you'll ever eat, the
love and respect they have with the local community is
top tier and often unmentioned here here.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
No, they're great people and they do care. They love
supporting other small businesses. They do all sorts of events
around the community. You can support them by going to
Groovy Donuts dot com and placing an order or swing
by either location on Lake Lanting Road in East Lancing
or in Williamson at seven am to one pm Thursday
through Sunday. Appreciate you, MVC of them, iss you Holmeutch like.

(40:00):
I like the classic Greens. I like, but I think
everybody has a feeling of a certain age. Maybe I
love the give me, give me the old the thick stripe,
you know from the from the eighties, the thick stripe
with the green. Add that's that's that's the best bag
of my day, Sparky Barb.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
Next number one, Jack Vellying that catches over eight touchdowns
this season. Holy shit, Barb, we're going to be betting
some props. Can we still do that? Is that still legal?

Speaker 1 (40:28):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (40:28):
Two MSU's corners will have over fifteen interceptions this season.
And three MSU football wins five games by three points
or less. And bonus, MSU beats Michigan by two touchdowns
to bring Paul Bunyan back to East Lancy.

Speaker 1 (40:43):
So they go in five other games by three points
or less and went beat Michigan by two touchdowns. Barbass
and MG is going, Yeah, good takes. I would take
the under on the Velling touchdowns. Yeah, given that he
hasn't really been healthy yet, what do you know? And
the one thing. The other thing that was brought up
by Jonathan Smith the day was asked about and he answered,
was that just because we haven't heard much about the

(41:03):
kicking situation and apparently there's been a couple of groin
pulls and those guys have been out a little bit
like that is a position of like if there's a
thin margin of era, that could ruin a season if
they're not good there, if you're winning now. One reason
I think that the work in the red zone has
been such an emphasis this this fall, go for it,

(41:25):
like Dan Campbell, Well, it has a lot to do
with they were awful in the red zone last year
number one, and they had a great kicker. But if
you don't have as much faith in your kicker, you
better be great in the red zone, and they have
to be better there. They can't leave things up to
the long field goals.

Speaker 2 (41:39):
Scott, you a hot take question, what are the chances
that Jace Clarizio ends up not being red shirted this
season and plays an impactful amount of snaps by November?

Speaker 1 (41:51):
You know, I would be very surprised. I want a
very surprise. I would be surprised if he red shirts.
I mean, I think he's part of the group of
four guys and while they're only play two at a time,
So if he's not in the top two, you know,
he might not have carries in a given game. I
think his speed and skill and in a position where
you're talking about a guy who they flipped from Alabama

(42:14):
originally committed to Michigan State, went to you know, pledge
Alabama flips back in an era where people can transfer,
like I running back. You just the idea you would
red shirt that kid if he's part of your top
four backs would be really really surprising to me. I
just and I do think he could play impactful snaps
this year. He's already part of that group, and I

(42:35):
know he had you know, at least there was some
mention of his performance in the scrimmage. I don't know,
you know it was Jonathan Smith went by it pretty vaguely,
so I don't know how good he was or what,
but he at least made one decent play in the
scrimmage and it was worth Jonathan Smith mentioning Spartan Dog
ninety seven.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
Instead of canceling the CMU games, CMU should have to
come play MSU for free. That's way more punitive than
a allowing them to collect a paycheck from another team
man from money Bag, MSU fans are not as divided
on Central Michigan as Graham.

Speaker 1 (43:06):
Keeps saying they are. Do a poll. I bet the
large majority want more than one game canceled and wouldn't
have a problem with it if we never played them again.
So I think the problem would be doing a Twitter poll.
I think you might be right. I don't, and sometimes
in Twitter used to be much more representative. I think
of the larger fan base. I think if you really

(43:28):
hit people with a true pole, and you really like
included the fan base at large, well, not just not
just a flimsy Twitter one, not just Twitter, not just
the venom from Twitter, I think it would be you'd
have much different opinions. But I I don't know this entirely,
and I yeah, I mean, do you really need to

(43:51):
punish them forever? Yeah? I don't think most. I think
there are a lot of MSU fans who have connections
to CMU who feel differently about me. Yeah, I don't.
I don't think they're as much venom as you think
there is, or that you feel or maybe in your
circle you feel and I think, you know, this is
one of those things there's a little bit of a
silo where I don't know, maybe maybe.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
They should be a better program. So you're gonna kick
their ass, so why not? YEA, Well, I'm with them
both on the you know they should maybe play for
fifty grand. Well there's time instead of charging the four
hundred and fifty thousand, the go play somewhere else. They're
not going to do that.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
Then, then I tell you I'm not against some sort
of reprimand I mean I've talked about this, so some
sort of acknowledgment apology. I'm not even if you canceled
one game, I no issue with that. I just think
there has to be a limit to what they did.
Was was not great obviously, and then but those people
aren't there. But the problem is the current ad is

(44:43):
somebody who's been there through this whole thing, in the
response and the investigation and everything, something from her has
to be said at one point. And you know, the
previous A d Alan Haller felt disrespected by CMU. But
on this front and their lack of communication, and I'm
curious to see what Jay Batt says. And that's something
hopefully this month that'll be something we get answered.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
Rich seeing next number one and losing Jonathan Kim to
graduation is going to hurt this MSU football team more
than expected, and to which MSU d lineman will start
making a name for himself this year as an able
run stopper. My money is on Alex Van summerin he's
due and three. With the commitment of Carlos Medlock junior,
Izzough suddenly has several other guys in the top one

(45:25):
hundred that are showing MSU in their top one hundred list.

Speaker 1 (45:29):
Everyone gets excited about that.

Speaker 2 (45:31):
In reality, we may get one of those, and bonus
Graham needs to get into the muck racking style of
journalism and really go after all the other bs corruption
and protecting major programs in both football and basketball, not
just Michigan but the basketball stuff with Kansas at North
Carolina punishment. Not if you're one of the geese laying

(45:53):
the golden eggs.

Speaker 1 (45:58):
Alex fingk Summer and is available to day and chat
with him for a minute. He is one of those guys.
I don't know, you know what sort of season I'll have,
But if you were to pick somebody based on a
appearance in voice. He's got a stupid looking face. WHOA,
I did not say that. That's me. Yeah, well, but
not about him. That's brat Ausmas. He's got a stupid
looking face. You would you would pick him though, because

(46:20):
he is like an intimidating like when you you know
how there are certain people are like characteratures of mobsters
and you see them, they're like, that guy's a mobster.
Alex Van Summeron is a defensive lineman. Like when you
look at him, when you hear him, you're like, that
guy plays defensive line, like in life. For the rest
of his life, he'll be fifty five years old, he'll be,
you know, working in a pet store. I might do that.
He might do something else, but I'm just saying, like

(46:41):
you'd be like that guy played defensive line.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
So he's not a mobster. He doesn't remind you of
a mobster. That example. That's my example, okay, because I
was character and good fellows like like better example, not
pets store. I don't know fifty five that was dumb.
I fix that in post Alex, I could see you
working at a store. Better example is this as soon
as he graduates for the next five or seven years.
Say he doesn't make it in the NFL, he could

(47:05):
be in football sports movies playing a football player. Yeah,
like Randall tex Cob. There you go remever him, No, no,
google it.

Speaker 1 (47:13):
Miserable sports fan Next?

Speaker 2 (47:15):
Which would be more beneficial for the MSU basketball team
Trey Fort, Kurtang Cohen Carr being a sixteen points per
game score and the others being six to eight points
per game or are all three scoring from the eight
to eleven point range? Also, I'd love to hear Jason
talk about UFC bets.

Speaker 1 (47:35):
Shit would be electric.

Speaker 2 (47:38):
I don't watch UFC anymore, So it's not really did
when did you stop? Oh in early two thousand, dude?
Like early two Yeah? Yeah, the it's just I don't know,
I'm not like super into I love boxing still and
all that stuff.

Speaker 1 (47:51):
But they need somebody who's, you know, an uppertunity. You
can't have guys because the problem with having too many
guys who are like in that eight to eleven range
and not having people who score in the teens is
is there are gonna be certain games where nobody's on
That means you don't really have a guy, and they
need they need a couple of guys who's who score
consistently in the teams sixteen doesn't have to be there,

(48:12):
but you need you need a couple of guys in
that that fourteen range without question. So you thought I
was still into UFC.

Speaker 2 (48:18):
I thought you were, my God, So I just proved
everybody that we're not friends, like outside of this.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
How would that be possible? I don't talk about UFC.
I've never have, Like, but well, but Jesus Man, Terese's
son is in UFC.

Speaker 2 (48:31):
No, he does boxing. He's a boxer, but he has
a buddy that was in the UFC. That's right, that's
Counter McGregor that TV show. So I was, you know,
in that? So okay, I thought I thought he did
some UFC as well. I could I apologize ology not needed?
JB leets Next, if the NCAA wants to expand the
men's basketball tournament and do away with conference tournaments at

(48:54):
least for the power conferences, they're played out and meaningless, instead,
figure out a way to have the SoC bubble teams
play for the last handful of large.

Speaker 1 (49:03):
Bids at large bits. Yeah. No, the the problem with
expanding the tournament to me and as I've talked about this.
It's the whole thing is the bracket, right. The bracket
is this nice thing that fits on a sheet of
paper that you or fits on a screen that you
you you know you you play your pool. And I
get that. Now we don't print out brackets as much

(49:24):
as we've probably used to, but people still like it.
The bracket is the key. It is what brings in
so many casuals. There is very few sports have something
like the NCAA tournament where people who are not into
it at all, not into the sport at all all year,
really get into it. It's fun. Everybody fills out a
pool in your office. Everybody feels, you know whatever. People
And I think when you make the bracket more convoluted,

(49:48):
too big, you're not really I think you lose some
of that and you risk damaging what you have. And
I don't get it. I don't get It's not like
the TV contract's going to change, it's not like there's
extra I'm to put in these games. I think it
just hurts the tournament. I understand coaches want it because
more of them get into the tournament, they get their
bonuses and all that bullshit. It does not help. Do
not listen to coaches on this because coaches are selfish

(50:10):
on this. They want to save their jobs, they want
to be in the tournament. This is not There is
no good explanation, no good reason to expand the NCAA tournament.
There's an argument against conference tournaments, at least at the
high major level. Whatever. I don't mind them because it
gives everybody one more chance. I think there's something to that.
But the NCAA tournament expanding to where it is hard

(50:32):
to have a good, sensible, confined bracket is just dumb
unless you're going to make a ton more money, which
they're not, and so unless they can explain on look,
this is how you finance this, this and this, or
you have to cut these programs if you don't. I
don't think there's a lot more money involved in it.
I haven't heard an explanation that there would be. I

(50:52):
think it's dumb.

Speaker 2 (50:54):
John Johnson, Next, do you think MSU has a better
chance at a national championship? Per your post? And il
coffee is the beer of caffeinated beverages. Energy drinks is
the liquor. Beer is a better, cleaner, more fun buzz
than liquor, but takes an acquired taste. Coffee energy feels
like actual energy and mood enhancer, but energy drinks just

(51:15):
make you feel anxious and jittery.

Speaker 1 (51:17):
I'm a huge coffee guy. Crys Salari is a huge
energy drink guy. I think that should tell you everything,
right that the that the play. Graham Graham to John's
first question, does you have a better chance in a
national championship p R post n I L. I don't
know if this is football or basketball, and I I

(51:39):
think the argument would be better pre n I L
to this point, because we've seen in basketball then win
one pre and I L. We've seen them have teams
that were at that level and even if they didn't
get it done pre n I L. And in football
you saw the D'Antonio era, which had multiple teams at
that level pre and I. It doesn't mean post ANIL.

(52:02):
That can't be that. But the evidence to this point
is it was pre in IL. That could change, but
they've got to show.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
That Munfield caag Next, Graham's people watching take was truly
something else you people watch on a patio with a
drink in hand at the Woodward Dream Cruise. Not international
Student Welcome Week truly one of my favorite recent podcast moments,
and thank you Jason for always being the voice of
reason for stuff like this. And from Fart Soup Couches

(52:29):
go to East Lancing and watch the Asians take is
the take of the summer. Might as well not even
have a hot take show again. Until January.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
I didn't realize it was going to resonate quite so much.
It's an all timer. Okay, I was legit crying, Okay,
real tears. Interesting, it was the best. I'm telling you.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
I know that you're blown away by the fact that
people are amazed that you would.

Speaker 1 (52:49):
You know, I stand by it. Don't blame you, Big
John Hawg.

Speaker 2 (52:52):
Number one, Couches East Lancing equals Beijing is up there
with the Bonnie Blue Smurfette thing, absolutely hysteric. And two
it's the best Monday of the year high school football
is back. And three, I wonder what Couches e harmony
profile look like. I wonder what Chad Lass's tender profile
looks like. Maybe I don't want to know. I don't

(53:13):
even remember. I don't God, I wish we could get
our hands on that. Yeah, I'm grateful it doesn't exist.
I mean maybe I wonder if I try to log
in today, if I could do the harmony still exist.
I have not seen this where you act done. No,
I remember they get it. You have a wife, you
gotta act. I'm just saying that there's this like, oh,
I don't know this is justin Bble Lieber guy. I
don't know any of his music, Bieber bieberb.

Speaker 1 (53:35):
I'm just saying harmony commercials, you know all the time,
there's anymore still a thing? How would you still have
a password? You still think that works? An audio deleted?
Maybe an auto lockets?

Speaker 3 (53:48):
Oh boy, I am the I ride through the suites,
all right, I see the.

Speaker 1 (54:05):
Stars come out of the sky.

Speaker 3 (54:08):
Yeah, the bride and hollow scy.

Speaker 1 (54:11):
You know it looks so good to nice password Treadmillson's done.
I don't even remember what email address I was using
back then? Is he the harmony still a thing? It is?
It appears to be so get who gets you? Is
the did your bookmark pop right up when you it did?
Actually still on here? Yeah? Two thousand and six?

Speaker 2 (54:32):
Huh yeah, uh damn yeah you to find that?

Speaker 1 (54:37):
What are you gonna do? Uh?

Speaker 2 (54:38):
Cooper Number one Humidity is the worst part of Michigan summers.
Would rather be sub zero than have a ninety percent
humidity day. And to MSU, football will live and die
by their defensive line this season. If the boys can't
get to the quarterback, I don't see how many hit
or see how they hit the over on season wins.

Speaker 1 (54:59):
I think that's a a point if they If it's not,
you know, they don't got to get to the quarterback. Yeah,
it can't be like last year. It doesn't have to
be like they don't have to be dominant there. But
it can't be at all like last year because you
just how many sacks. Well, they went six weeks without one,
so that's pretty bad. That's pretty amazing. It's almost impossible.
You'd think we are getting to the point in the
summer where people prefer winter, like that's what they are

(55:21):
full of shit. The winter is ass. It's complete ass.

Speaker 2 (55:25):
I look forward, I understand the humidity blows and go
inside and sit there conditioning to winning.

Speaker 1 (55:30):
You can go out again.

Speaker 2 (55:31):
But if you're gonna tell me that this is you'd
rather sit through the gray and cold and bittersh.

Speaker 1 (55:38):
It's just a terrible take. I love the routine of
January ass it's complete.

Speaker 2 (55:42):
Dick Oh all right, Spartan eighteen seven seven zero number one.
Paid subscriptions for the news sites are just as bad
as the streaming services. Soon, us poor people will only
be able to get our news from regional sports podcast
influencers like US. Oh shit, that's gonna have tot reading
stuff then too. The Peanut Barrel announced over the weekend

(56:03):
that their patio area will be closed.

Speaker 1 (56:05):
Until further notice. Well, here's some news for you, Spartan
one eight seven seven zero free but not behind a paywall.
I saw this from you, and I reached out to
Rachel Greco, who covers restaurants for us at the LSJ,
and she called over to the Peanut Barrel owner and
it was just like a one day thing. It recently
so they could take their staff somewhere on an outing.

(56:26):
And that's not a It was just a one day
thing here. But it said closed till further notice or
that Spartan made their own. Yeah, it was not a
great sign of it said that, because that's not what
it was, just a one day thing that patio was open.
Good investigative journalism by you. Thank you really digging in.

Speaker 2 (56:41):
You saw his tweet you called someone else. I mean,
my god, I think I might be back in on
this ls JS. That kind of teamwork's going on over there.
Only here's my nineteen ninety nine a month seventy seven
ninety nine now and or she yet if you get
the print product. My mom hasn't gotten her since last Wednesday.
But otherwise, you know, great Scotty greens Elk come you
know number one. Maybe it's me, but this generation of

(57:03):
students doesn't seem as connected to the football team and
live and die by every Saturday, our kids up before
daybreak to tailgate like we were in the mid nineties.
Maybe it's all the extra social media distractions and to
construction is ass Why does it seem like it takes
five years to complete any sort of significant project.

Speaker 1 (57:22):
I drive by an.

Speaker 2 (57:23):
Area and find myself always saying that I can't believe
it's still not done.

Speaker 1 (57:27):
I'm a huge fan of the idea, and I know
it costs more, but twenty four to seven construction until
it's done, you know what I mean? Just pay the overtime.
Pay the extra crew is like bringing them a life.
You have to go overtime. Can't you have another crew
that could be the nighttime crew. It costs a lot,
but yeah, I mean it should already cost a lot.
Some of this stuff is remarkable. To the first point
here from Scotti Green's Alchemino, I mean, this is the question.

(57:49):
I don't think we know how connected students are to
Michigan State's football team or therefore our old farts, and
we're not connected to those kids anymore, correct, because what
we don't know is what did old farts think about
out young people when you were young or when we
were young, or well, you know, I don't know exactly now,
but it's great to be stupid. So yeah, that's what
they looked at. We may not have the complete pulse

(58:10):
of that, but it is the question because I do
think there's a chance there is less of a connection
and they feel less of a connection they feel and
if there is and they're not as connected when they're
in their thirties and forties and fifties, you got a
big problem. And that's you know, I'll say this though,
If you want to help students stay connected, Exfinity dot
Com slash students, right, they go in. There's all sorts

(58:31):
of great deals for students only. So when Michigan State's
football team is on the road, or their basketball teams
on the road, or they can't just go to the game.
They can make sure they have Exfinity, make sure they
have you know, the Wi Fi capabilities in their room
to stream what they need to Exfinity, dot Com, slash
students and some special deals there that you can't get

(58:53):
if your old farts like us. Just for the young
folks to help them feel connected to their teams.

Speaker 2 (58:58):
What a segue to that livery almost by accident to
started clapping like that was really good. We shoot on
you for other things. We got to applaud you, my god,
what a livery pasy. Graham is extremely naive and thinking.
Bola will have to cop to the rose bul suspension
if he ever becomes the head coach. We live in
a post accountability world. And bonus, if you could report

(59:19):
one story, would it be the Rose Bowl suspension or
twenty sixteen locker room? Well, the rose ball suspension thing
is you know, well, you know, yeah, I mean the
twenty sixteen locker room.

Speaker 1 (59:29):
That's a book, correct, rose The rose is lengthy. The
rose Ball thing is like is right, it's a one column.
It's whatever it's not it's not it's not that bad.
The twenty sixteen locker room would be the story. It's
the story I uh, you know, sort of had but
couldn't get enough people at the time to speak on record.
We're coming up on ten years, and so maybe a

(59:50):
year from now people will be willing to I don't
know that they will to anybody that, you know, the
guy who's I mean, so what happened for those who
don't know, is the twenty sixteen lie locker room was
divided in part by the twenty sixteen election. And think
about how new that was and the rhetoric that was
happening and all that stuff, and they just didn't have
the leadership in the locker room. If it happened a

(01:00:11):
year earlier, if the twenty fifteen locker room was around
in twenty sixteen, team probably would have been fined.

Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
A number of Clinton supporters in that locker room. That
we're saying a lot of variables. And so a year
from now, you know, I don't know where we'll be,
and certainly the president, the guy who's running for president
then will still be president. So I would love to
retroactively give that another swing. I probably will take another swing,
but to this point have taken a couple of swings
at it, and people have been uncomfortable putting their names

(01:00:37):
on it. And this is one of those stories that
you have to be willing to put your name onto
some degree.

Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
I can't. You can't be taking shots at people like
I think we could, though, I think you could go
no name, I seem give us no. I don't care
what their name is. Anonymous sourcing is fine in certain settings.
It is not okay to shoot on people's character or
to shoot on their behavior without putting your name to it.
That is you see that. Sometimes that stuff drives me
absolutely nuts. One of the things that's juicy to read,

(01:01:04):
but I think also journalistically unethical is when you do
those like behind the scenes NFL scout and they're like,
this guy's a shithole anonymous scout. Well, you know, maybe
if you're going to say that, puts your name to it.
And I hate that stuff. I hate that stuff because
to me, if you want to talk about hey, I mean,
there's certain things anonymous sourcing is really important for and

(01:01:24):
good for, and you can't but if you're gonna you're
gonna crap on somebody's character. You need to put a
name to it, or you're going to talk about something
that's sensed.

Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
They get both name or no name. You get my
click DMB number one. So many shots at couch. This month,
unlike the routine of January, August is hot, tense, and unpredictable.
Hang in there, Pal two MSU has an elite home schedule.
Three September home games Ucla at noon, Michigan, Penn State,
and Maryland at Ford Field. Should be favored in most

(01:01:54):
games and within a touchdown spread.

Speaker 1 (01:01:56):
Besides Penn State, it is a very good schedule. Yeah,
I think it's you know, I was thinking back to
when my dad got season tickets for us when I
was in high school and that first schedule had, you know,
Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska. It really had like three Marquee
games in Minnesota. I think we might have been on there,

(01:02:16):
we can't remember. But the this year, when you I
mean UCLA is you know, I don't think the program's
in a great place, but you know it's a UCLA brand.
It's it's Michigan and Penn State at home is a
great schedule. Boston College is not a bad game at
night early in the year. It's a good home schedule,
it's a good ticket this year, and I you know,

(01:02:38):
the ford Field thing. If you're going to play Maryland
then the year. I think ford Field works and I
think people enjoy that and not already feels that way.
But you know, last year and again last year. I'm
conflicted about last year a little bit because they did
lose forty one to fourteen the Rutgers, and so it's hard.
The state of things going into that game were not
great either, but that was really a showing of you know,

(01:03:02):
it's hard to can play and put in a game
at ford Field. It'll be interesting to see what Jay
Batt thinks about this. He's inheriting this, and what does
he think about games at ford Field end the season
going forward.

Speaker 2 (01:03:11):
Clinton Bainey next number one MSU leads the Big Ten
in receiving yards this year. Two is Oll retires in
twenty twenty eight, and three Courtney Hawkins will be a
D one head coach in five years and one ball
bonus take Notre Dame to join the Big Ten.

Speaker 1 (01:03:28):
The Courtney Hawkins take is a good one. If he
gets the chance. You know, he's an he got into
this game older. He was in the high school and
obviously he played for a long time. He was a
high school ad and coach and flint beacher and was
really revered for how you know, he for the job
he did there. It'll be interesting to see if he

(01:03:48):
gets that sort of chance, you know, in his you know,
mid fifties or whatnot. And I think he's a guy
who's impressive every time he talked to him. I think
he's somebody who has a lot of skills. It would
be good in that sort of role. I think you
can recruit obviously what sort of job that would be.
And is that a good job anymore? You know, I

(01:04:09):
don't know if that'll be there. Notre Dame joins a
big ten. I think there's a much greater chance of
this in the next fifteen years than there was in
any other period of time, just because of how much
has changed. What it really comes down to is for
Notre Dame, is it stops making sense to be an independent.
I think I know their relationship was with the ACC,
but I think if it's stopped making sense to be
an independent to some degree, the Big ten is ultimately

(01:04:30):
where they'd land.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
The Harry Beck of Southern Maine next. People may shit
on Kirk Signetti for his scheduling approach, but I wish
MSU would have dropped Boston College for Eastern or something
last season. It's okay to artificial, artificially inflate your win
total when you're a new coach and have seventy five
percent roster turnover.

Speaker 1 (01:04:50):
Well, there are years for it when you're looking to
build confidence. This is like in college basketball. You can
play a nothing non conference schedule and years where you
need comf evidence and ye's where you need wins. That's okay.
But when everything goes well and people are saying to
you you played a nothing non conference schedule, you can't
argue that you didn't because you did, and you can't

(01:05:11):
argue that your intent wasn't to do so. You know,
as long as you're as long as you're cool doing
what a nothing non conference schedule is good for. If
you're in Michigan State and you played a nothing non
conference schedule because you needed some wins you needed to
get to a bowl game, that's fine. But if all
of a sudden, you have a season where you're on
the cusp of the playoffs, that nothing non conference schedules
will hurt you like it should hurt Indiana. Now, it's
not that you can't overcome it. Indiana deserve to be

(01:05:33):
in the playoff by the sense that they want what
eleven games last year they have won loss. It wasn't
like they won nine or ten and were arguing it.
But they played a nothing non conference schedule, and I
think that should be factored into how But if you.

Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
Do root for that kind of scheduling, though, you can't
complain when the tickets, if you get season tickets, that
those games are in there obviously, Yeah, and they go
out and paying for these shit games because people want
to see better games at.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
The start of the season. Yeah, they're just baking and
hot afternoon blowouts, you know, at the beginning of the season.
I don't think that's a great experience. And I think
it's also bad because look, if you care about the team,
if you're a die hard and you just want winning
for your school, it's fine. But the overall entertainment product
of college football largely sucks. Right. It's it's it's three
four plays, four minute break time out, whatever the level

(01:06:18):
of play of Like I would challenge you a game
you do not have any money on or do not
have any investment in emotionally, watch like two mid tier
Power five teams play with their quarterbacks and everything and
try to sit through it. I mean, it's just not
no gambling, no gambling. It's brutal, you know, like watch
like a you know, Illinois, Wisconsin, you know, just Illinois
and whatever. Fun like no game correct in other words,

(01:06:41):
and it's just not in a good entertainment value spirit
of the game. Yeah, it's you know, and so just
just creating more ass among what's already a sport that
is largely asked to begin with outside of caring about it,
I think is I mean, that's that's the thing that
I don't think the players really and I'm not saying
they don't deserve the money because people are obsessed with

(01:07:02):
this sport. But in the product at the top is great.
The product with certain offenses is great. The product can
be very good. It's not well packaged right now, and
there are enough teams that aren't that great that to me,
play good teams, create good environments, build a playoff system
that rewards that and encourages that that that's what you

(01:07:22):
want to do.

Speaker 2 (01:07:23):
Kermit the Spartan next, the SEC should get away with
more shit or get way more shit for scheduling FCC
opponents during the conference season while still playing one fewer
conference game than Big Ten teams.

Speaker 1 (01:07:37):
Yeah. No, And the way they do it at the
end is I mean, it's a tremendous advantage. And yeah,
the SEC, he's quite acting like they've got it figured
out either, like they're always better, you know, you know
I feel about that, Yeah, David Cox.

Speaker 2 (01:07:51):
In terms of Jason Strayhorn being let go from the
Spartan football broadcasts, your son cannot play for the Weasels
and you still be in deployed by the Spartan football program.

Speaker 1 (01:08:02):
That's part of the criteria any other program. Fine, I
don't know about this because you can't look and I
don't know everything that's going on there yet. But to me,
you shouldn't have to meddle in your son's life to
keep your job. If your son wants to go play
for Michigan and you're somebody who's loyal to the program

(01:08:23):
you went to that you broadcast to for a long time,
like you, so.

Speaker 2 (01:08:27):
When they play Michigan, he has to sit out or
have someone do it with a block. Well, no, but
there is an army and it's going to be It
would have to be hard to be calling a game if.

Speaker 1 (01:08:34):
Well, and we do see people, you know, you see
herb Street do the Ohio State games or whatever. He's
a robot.

Speaker 2 (01:08:40):
Yeah, that's a national correct if kids were like third
string or something.

Speaker 1 (01:08:44):
If straight horn's kid is actually playing on the field,
you can argue that he doesn't doesn't broadcast that game.
And maybe that's enough. Maybe that's why. And I don't know,
but to me, it's it's you got to be more
adult than that. Maybe people straight horned kids unbelievable. I mean, like,
how do you do that? You know, chep Couch. Friday,
when you were discussing the Strayhorn issue, you said, I

(01:09:06):
had hoped other people were going to do this story,
but they aren't, So I guess I will. I legit.

Speaker 2 (01:09:11):
Love that your approach to professional sports journalism is hoping
someone else will do it. It seems like a microcosm
of journalism in the United States. Unfortunately, we are all
living through the consequences every day. I'm just busting your balls.
I love you, Graham, but.

Speaker 1 (01:09:26):
Try to give like twenty percent more of a shit touche.
This is about fifteen percent more. Yeah, twenty's crazy. Yeah,
here's what I would say to that. And when I
say that, it's a first of all, that's a fair criticism.
That's that should not be the approach. My role is, though,
is also as a columnist, like that's primarily my role

(01:09:49):
is to react to something. Now, some are reporting based
column so that's why this falls into purview. And I
do lots of features, and it's a different columnist role
than somebody's a general columnist because eighty ninety percent of
what I do is on MSU and so it's sort
of a beat columnist. And but what I meant by
that is I'm hoping that I was hoping that one
of the people who, like you know, Solari or ear

(01:10:09):
Good or wens Will had interest in it and would
do the story, and then I will I could react
to it, you know that Will. That's what I would
that's all laughing at you. Yeah, and none of them did,
so I will do it. But that's sometimes what's there.
It's that they are beat writers. This is the job,
and sometimes apparently they didn't have any interest in it.
My job is sometimes to react to things. My job
is also to report things, so I'm not You're one

(01:10:30):
hundred percent right that that is a hoping somebody else
will do. It is a shitty, shitty way to say something.
It does sound lazy as hell, but that that that's
what I meant by it. I do hear your voice
in my head when I take a shit. Max will
apparently an old guy long take. I love that.

Speaker 2 (01:10:48):
I got hooked on the free while in college at MSU.
After graduating and moving to Metro Detroit, I was a
daily subscriber. When I retired and moved to Northern Michigan,
I was no longer able to get home delivery, so
I subscribed to the online LSJ, which also gave me
the online version of the actual printed.

Speaker 1 (01:11:05):
Free, which I thought was a great deal.

Speaker 2 (01:11:08):
Moving the printing facilities to Ohio is the dumbest move ever.
An eleven thirty am deadline for sports stupid as it gets.
Even if we get a Saturday afternoon Spartan game again, someday,
we won't get the coverage until Monday.

Speaker 1 (01:11:22):
No wonder print media is failing. Yeah, I mean the
LSA deadlines. We're talking eight thirty in the morning for things.
I mean even my overnight late you know, columns that
I have to write after a night game. I have
to make sure I must working my ass off a
little bit there for poor people. But we feel your pain.
So you're right, I mean, this is the way it's
going though. It just Print is we appreciate those and

(01:11:46):
still subscribe to Print. My mother and whoever else is
out there max to other people very much appreciate you.
It puts the age demo on that. Yeah. The only
thing that's good about it is so I'll give you
an example. When we used to have like a four
o'clock four to thirty deadline, you know, you'd get the

(01:12:09):
Lions running gamer or you'd get my quick takes which
were perfect for those sort of scenarios and getting analysis
in there. The one advantage to being a day later,
if you sort of think of it differently, is that
what we packaged together is like analysis and just a
better overall coverage now that could still be there the

(01:12:31):
next day. Stuff. It's not an ideal situation. I'm not
going to try and tell you on that. I'm just
saying some of the stuff we were getting when the
deadlines were tight. Anyway, we're just like running gamers of
a game you'd already seen with one photo. Like, that's
not great stuff anyway, if you're still most people are
not still relying on print to find out what happened anymore. Anyway,
there are repercussions in high school sports with this too.

(01:12:52):
There's a lot. It sucks. It sucks. It's the way
it is. If a lot of people still were buying
the print product, though, we wouldn't be here putting it
on people though, because we have exacerbated this as well.
And like I said, my mom hasn't gotten a paper
since Wednesday, so I got to look into that.

Speaker 2 (01:13:08):
Kevin from Rochester Hills, The Tigers are a below average
team and we'll be lucky to hold on to the
division lead and bonus enough so NFL preseason games are
tryouts for the CFL.

Speaker 1 (01:13:19):
Well, the CFL seasons already going on, so I mean,
it doesn't you don't, but it isn't it a tryout?
What's the uh that's part of their league that they're
trying the Ufiyah with the rock Are they still doing that?
I don't know? Yeah, all right, yeah, Uh, Tigers be
very lucky to hold this division lead. Oh god, yeah,

(01:13:40):
really all right, what you don't think they will be?

Speaker 2 (01:13:42):
I just I'm not scared of Cleveland. I just don't
you know, if there was someone scary in the division
and they just had two of their relievers, you know,
we get accused of gambling on once the first pitch
of an inning. So like they don't really have a
great lineup. Their lineup stinks as well. So I just
as far as what do we do in the playoffs,
that is where I'm scared. But I don't know if

(01:14:04):
I'm scared of losing the central just yet. But a
Lion's reply guy number one Tesla is going to make
the Lions think they can move on from Jamison Williams.
He has the size, speed and hands. Jamo and Goff
never seem to be in sync in my opinion, because
Goff is always trying to play on time and surgical
and Jamo is just a freak athlete that runs fast,

(01:14:24):
not necessarily a precise route runner. And two, I have
a feeling Montgomery is going to be to be used
significantly less this year for the Lions in the backfield.
Maybe the playoff game being the last impression while he
was hurt is influencing this thought too much, but the
gap between him and Gibbs means too significant to split
carries and series the way they did last year.

Speaker 1 (01:14:45):
How do you think they used the running back situation similar?

Speaker 2 (01:14:48):
It's similar the same as they did last year, I believe,
And how would you change it?

Speaker 1 (01:14:51):
Yeah? And here's the thing I I mean, I also
think by doing that, the odds that Gibbs gets hurt
and he's still fresh light is important. You don't know
where Gibs down. That guy has who's the best pass
protector out of Gibbs in Montgomery? It's probably you might
need that.

Speaker 2 (01:15:06):
I mean, obviously with ragnow retiring, if that's what you
you know, but.

Speaker 1 (01:15:10):
You also need Gibbs play making healthy and fresh in
the playoffs. And to the to the JMO situation with
James and Williams, I've never thought they were going to
resign him, And it's more of a just the pure finances,
like he has to become a star to get resigned
because the money it'll cost, somebody will pay him because
of his speed, I think, oh god, yeah, And so
that's the difference maker for sure, and that's gonna be

(01:15:31):
why why the Lions have put up with his ship
for so long. Yeah, and when you talk about like
we've talked about this before, and this the next two
years before the rent comes due on some of these
guys is and I'm not saying they can't navigate that.
Lots of really good team this is That's where you'll
really that's a whole different era of Brad Holmes, how
he navigates it when things aren't easy with the cap.

(01:15:52):
But for the next two years, things are still pretty manageable.
That's why it would be the best the roster can
ever be is probably in these next two years. That's
to be amazing thing to get a Super Bowl done
in these two years. BPA.

Speaker 2 (01:16:04):
Next of couch frames the whole defensive end defensive rest
idea in the NFL as a sporadic, sporadic load management
instead of sitting a guy the first ten weeks, it'd
actually be a smart idea. The NBA Stars play seventy
percent of the season now, sit hutch and Arnold every
third to fourth game and as is necessary based on

(01:16:24):
the record and opponent.

Speaker 1 (01:16:25):
I'm with you. The hard thing with the you know,
figuring out which game is there's just so little separation
in the NFL between teams if.

Speaker 2 (01:16:33):
You players aren't going to want to sit out games
because they have stat stuff in their contracts where they
need to get a certain amount of stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:16:39):
Yeah, to make this work, it has to be certain
types of players. It doesn't really work with your star
player in their prime. It works with an older, you know,
player who's still got something left but probably is not
going to survive a season, or the old good ones
as good ones as he ever was, but not it
works with a certain type of player. The idea of
sitting for ten weeks and having a little depth in reserve.

(01:17:02):
It doesn't what You're not gonna sit your best defensive
linemen necessarily. I don't think you're not gonna sit, but
you know, we'll see. It'll be interesting if the Lions
were to go through something similar this year to last
year and just not have the bodies to do it
at the end of the year. I'd be curious to
see what anybody said to this idea, because obviously what
happened last year screwed them still in fifteen games. But yeah,

(01:17:26):
that's good.

Speaker 2 (01:17:26):
Couch on fire, more Lions on the ir for the season.
I'm going to go one better than Graham and call
for the Lions to have no practices or preseason games,
just do walk throughs until the games start and bonus.
Nothing better than exceeding low expectations the Tigers twenty twenty
four for example.

Speaker 1 (01:17:44):
So MSU football will The best part about exceeding expectations
are coming off a year with you know, where things
didn't go well, or having modest expectations is you get
to enjoy the small victories. Some of those seasons are
the most enjoyable years, and it's because, you know, beating
Boston College feels great, whereas when you're expected to win

(01:18:05):
ten eleven games, it doesn't. And so you can find
joy in those sort of years you can't find in
other years. I remember during the peak of that Antonio era,
the year they made the playoff, there was just sort
of this angst to stay undefeated, you know, and you
didn't enjoy the small victory. So there are you know,
I'm not saying you don't want the program where it
is now versus there. You would rather have it at
that level, but there are week to week advantages to it.

Speaker 2 (01:18:29):
MSU mountain Man next number one. I don't think meeting
your spouse on tender or other apps has theative negative stigma.

Speaker 1 (01:18:36):
It may have once had.

Speaker 2 (01:18:37):
I met my wife on Tinder over ten years ago
and have been to six other weddings that were tender
matches and two anytime. The gram clip I felt all
of Fred Human is not immediately followed up with the
great pianist quote is a missed opportunity and three MSU
Mountain Maine.

Speaker 1 (01:18:56):
What's he saying there? I don't know. I just leave
it in. I don't know if I might have screwed
something up, there might have been another I mean I
felt all of Fred's human. Yeah, I don really good Penis.
I felt all of Fred Human, really good penis, the
works the Yeah. No, I know, the stigma's gone. I
think if I was, you know, twenty years younger, I

(01:19:18):
probably would have met my wife on Jay date because
nobody is gonna date me without you know, well, that's true.
Actually you're harmless. What are you talking about it?

Speaker 2 (01:19:29):
Like you're some stud or something like here, you're one
to be questioned because your tear tear drop tattooed.

Speaker 1 (01:19:35):
I'm just silid, like what do you mean? Like? Why
is it I'm saying? The key is on? I feel
like a woman would look at you and be like,
I think I could take this guy. So no, no, no,
I mean I just mean in a profile, I can
I can adjust my face to the level where I
only have two chins. I can't. I can you know
whereas so I might have got to go up. I
might have had a better chance in this era. You
needed one of those David Andrews phone stick things. Yeah,

(01:19:57):
Richard Kane.

Speaker 2 (01:19:57):
Number one heartbreak for Rob mcin Deadpool with Wrexham's loss
at Southampton.

Speaker 1 (01:20:03):
Two.

Speaker 2 (01:20:03):
I'd like you to ask Jay Bat if he thinks
ads have any obligation as caretakers of the sports they oversee,
or if AD's only obligation is to their school without
consideration to other conferences. With explanation either way, and baked
the obvious answer to the time machine question. You go
to March of nineteen sixty nine to put twenty thousand

(01:20:23):
on the Mets to win the World Series at one
hundred to one. You return in October to collect after taxes,
you put your six hundred k into an index fund.
With the historical returns of ten percent, you'd have one
hundred and seventy nine million.

Speaker 1 (01:20:36):
Holy shit, Richard Kaine thinking it through, well done. It's
but how do you get back? You said, come you
return in October? I mean, Jesus, well do you have to?
It's a one time time machine. You can't just keep
going back and forth. We didn't set the parameters. Don't
think yeah, no, yeah, change. I'm like you with Uker.
I'm just a changing the rule. It's a good question

(01:20:57):
for ja Bat too. I mean that's I just put
it in my Jabab Questions file. And again, anybody who
has seriously, anybody who has questions they would like to
ask of Jabatt. You have a file. I do, Okay,
I do. And it's not like I'm gonna ask every
question that's out there. But like we said, if it's
the Epstein question, probably not gonna ask it. But if
it makes sense and it's something that I think is

(01:21:17):
a smart question, I'll ask it, all right, Skyler Verden
hot take.

Speaker 2 (01:21:20):
If you are in my car and not driving, feel
free to keep all your little comments on how I'm
not driving perfect to yourself. I promise we will get there,
so unless we crash, please just shut the fuck up
about my driving.

Speaker 1 (01:21:32):
This feels like Skyler just went through. This just went through.
He might be who was sitting in your car? Though,
my guess is he was driving significant other somewhere. He's
sitting in the car right now and she's in there
like she's in the store or whatever, and he's like.

Speaker 2 (01:21:46):
Oh, maybe not you. I wasn't talking about you. I
had Dale in the car last week. I was talking
about him.

Speaker 1 (01:21:50):
Yeah. I don't know why.

Speaker 2 (01:21:51):
It sounds like it does Teresa comment on your driving.
Hell no, but I comment on her on hers and
I've tried it. I'm getting better. I've gotten really, really
a lot better. Letter What do you mean. She's a
great driver, but I just sometimes I can't handle her
driving because I was in the car accident right right
when I was a twenty nine. So I've always I
don't know, I just if I'm not driving, I just
I feel like I'm not in control, and I just

(01:22:14):
try to help out.

Speaker 1 (01:22:15):
I really am. You know. That's you know Rex Road
is that same way. When when he was on the
on the beat as well, and he and I would
sometimes drive together, he could not not be behind the wheel.
I everythink once maybe he was working on a story
in the passenger seat, But there was a time it
was like it was me him and Diamond in the
car Diamond ung when he was them live, and we're
coming up from Bloomington to Deanna and there's a huge
snowstorm we didn't get out of on a time, and

(01:22:36):
that what should be a five hour drive took us
ten hours and we really should have stopped and pulled
over at Fort Wayne and Joe's white knucklement and I
had to be back to do Ebbling's Sunday Night Press
Pass show back when it was in this very studio.
Hell yeah, and Joe was like, and I told Joe,
I was like, if you're, you know, fried from this drive,
I'm happy to drive. But he couldn't let somebody else

(01:22:58):
do it. I'm like, well, then you've got to drive
the full ten We're not pulling over just because you're
fried and you've got a thing that nobody else can drive.
And so we drove all the way up here. They
held the show start and that's and Rex Road was
on the show. No, he wasn't even on the show.
He had to get this is before he was even
allowed to be on the show because he was still
doing Sunday Stout on Sports and Rex Road enter and
Stout and Ebling don't get along and you can't do
the two, So the you don't want to go on

(01:23:19):
that show. You can't can't do both. Yeah, and so anyway,
Market seven, we're battling here. So you had to drive
me all the way back just so I could be
on the show. No, everybody else in the car had
to suffer and White k nothing. That is a story
almost we're telling, but told anyway, presented by our friends
at Midtown Bruin Company and Downtown Lanting, a place that
you may run into Ebling and Stout, but probably not together.

Speaker 2 (01:23:42):
Tim Tim next number one, Jason Bennetti is corny and
beyond overrated. Give me Shepherd over him. To be honest,
I'll take a snooze snooze fest over Hackee swing and
miss jokes for two to three hours and two. Couch
talks with such certainty and clarity on major subjects and
like he has the ant but doesn't seem to even
have the basic time management skills in his own personal life.

(01:24:06):
Reminds me of when Oscar says he can solve dunder
Mifflin's issues but freezes up in front of the board.

Speaker 1 (01:24:12):
That's a painful episode for me because I would not
freeze up in that situation.

Speaker 2 (01:24:15):
And thanks was that the office? Yeah, and your number
one is bullshit. It has to be gambling related. Like,
I understand if Bennette's not for you, but he's a
great broadcaster and at least he likes to have some
fun here and there. I can understand if he's not
for you, But to say give me Shepherd over him.

Speaker 1 (01:24:30):
Yeah, I don't think he's close. Absolute garbage Tim Tim
about just Tim asshole, mister neurotic pants.

Speaker 2 (01:24:37):
Number one, it's unfortunate that Michigan Michigan Athletics is arrogant
and shit eating because I love Downtown and Arbor a
lot more than what was formerly East Lansing. And two
I still love my Spartans and love to hate Michigan Athletics.
And three you should discuss which donut is right for
celebrating sex changes. Let's do that something to donuts if

(01:25:02):
you're celebrating a sex.

Speaker 1 (01:25:03):
Change, going with the red velvet out of the I
don't know is that a party for real? I guess
the Yeah, He's sciencing has changed a lot. Some people
do not like it. I mean, I don't have an
issue with it. It's changed to go yeah right, No,
it is weird. You know you're someone that was down
there when it was Yeah, it's norrimble matsy out of

(01:25:24):
summer sports takes. But here's a baked one.

Speaker 2 (01:25:26):
I wish Dominic wouldn't have listened to it, listened to
his stripper ex girlfriend when she said she was only
dancing to get herself through nursing school. It would have
saved him a lot of pain.

Speaker 1 (01:25:37):
I'm gonna cast a lot of regrets, but that's probably. Yeah,
it's better just to not ask a question, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:25:43):
Hans Jergen number one the Best Western Okamuz has groovy
donuts as part of its free breakfast, said no one ever.

Speaker 1 (01:25:52):
Too. It would be better. I mean, I would you
the Best Western would be better off if it did, in
fact donut. I mean you think about that. If you're
a fair field in or you're someplace that like has
the breakfast, if you had groovy donuts, I mean that
would be something you could sell.

Speaker 2 (01:26:03):
People know you're chomping at the bit to do a
live read, but you've got a couple more. Okay, two, Yes,
I'm dot and I and everyone within five hundred miles
of Michigan knows the mackinaw Bridge will be closed on
Labor Day. Stop with the electronic signs, you fools and three.
I don't hate go Blow players. They are just a
bunch of mercenaries now, but I still hate their fans

(01:26:24):
and bonus On the banks of the Red Cedar. You
can catch small mouth bass again. When I was a student,
all you could catch in it was an old tire.
Maybe life is getting better, let's not fuck it up.

Speaker 1 (01:26:35):
I still think you can catch a scooter if you're
people throw scooters in there, right, you have to. Yeah,
you can catch a bike can catch you and maybe
a body you know, but uh, somebody, somebody pushes them
over or something. All right, Jake Hawkins number one. Let's
face it.

Speaker 2 (01:26:48):
Even if the Tigers hold on to win the division
and make the playoffs, they are a pretender for the
World Series, not a contender.

Speaker 1 (01:26:56):
You can drop.

Speaker 2 (01:26:57):
You can't drop a series at home against the No
Name Twins or drop one at home against the Angels
and too great column on MSU's running backs. Call me
crazy and this take extremely hot. But while it may,
uh it may, whatever the fuck you did? May a
running back bike? You know, it's just one word, it'll
kill you. Jace Clarizo will get quality playing time because

(01:27:19):
of his speed, and Elijah Tau Tolliver will be the
second coming of fellow sax State running back Camp Scataboo three.
Last week I got a reminder how short life can be.
I'm fine, but my personal care physician, doctor Peter Luia,
who worked at McLaren Greater Lancing on Lake Lancing Road,
was killed last Monday by Grand in Grand Rapids while

(01:27:40):
out jogging and being struck by a truck. Rest in
peace and prayers for his wife and nine nine kids.

Speaker 1 (01:27:48):
Did it was nine? Yeah? And hey, if you're a doctor,
it's okay to have nine. I guess right, if esus nine? Yeah,
that's not a typo. Yeah. I should go back and
look at the story and see if that's rest in peace.

Speaker 2 (01:28:01):
I just I you know, when you see people jogging
on certain street, you're like, man, I just don't trust
the drivers whatsoever out there.

Speaker 1 (01:28:08):
Yeah, and I don't know exactly what everything happened. For
when I know that the driver of the truck, it
wasn't a hit and run or anything. The driver the
truck stopped and called nine to one to one and
so you know, right, yeah it wasn't and that's how
full of nice. But you know the person still hit you. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:28:22):
Lastly, the jerk guy upper deck jerk guy number one.
Not certain exactly what it is, but I have the
lowest rate of enthusiasm for Spartan football that I've ever had. Wow, dude,
it's weird that the lack of newspapers being able to
sell classified ads is what brought the industry so low.

Speaker 1 (01:28:39):
There was a good response to this. Part of that was,
you know, the whole idea in the nineties was there
was so much money still being made on print, and
so even if you saw something coming, you couldn't veer.
The problem is they need to invest. You could have
done both. You could have everything should have been about
moving as an industry at the pace readership was changing,
and that was not done for a while. It was

(01:28:59):
too slow, and then some places did it too quickly.
And you know, that's just been done really, really poorly
throughout the last thirty years. This lack I don't sense
that from people about I think some people aren't as
has geeked about Michigan State football as they have been
certain years. But I think there have been years that
have been different than this. That's interesting that your your

(01:29:20):
enthusiasm is that low. I do not think everybody shares that,
but all it will take is one win over Western
Michigan and everybody will be back on both. We appreciate
all of you, thanks for producing. Our show is always
thanks to our friends at Exfinity and Comcast Exfinity dot
com slash students, or you can just go there if
you're not a student and type in your location Axfinity

(01:29:42):
dot com and you'll find the deals for you and
your community and you're what's offered best for you. Boy,
I really screwed that up. Let's fix that one and
post as well. We appreciate Midtown Brewing Company in Downtown
Lands in great place for any occasion. Visit them on Facebook.
They update new special happy hour things, new new dishes
from their their great chef, all sorts of things in

(01:30:03):
Midtown Brewing Company. We'll be back Wednesday, I promise this.
We can show many catch in the room.