Ep. 1083: Twitter Questions: What's best for MSU football vs. Michigan? And MSU basketball thoughts

We answered your questions — on Michigan State football, the future of the program and what outcome is best for the Spartans against Michigan, on MSU basketball after the Spartans' exhibition game against Bowling Green, on the Tigers, the NBA's gambling problem, life and more.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
S s s. Sh oh oh oh, oh oh.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
What do you get when you cross a know it
all newspaper columnist with an awkward, unsophisticated every man.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, ah, well, I'm just not sure about that right now, Well.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
And the room.

Speaker 4 (02:10):
Welcome to couch in the Room, our Friday show presented
by our friends at fire Keepers Casino and the fire
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Bet the games we're betting, come up with your own bets.
Maybe you bet a little bit on the Michigan State
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(02:35):
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Sportsbook at Firekeeper's Casino off Fine ninety four and Battle Creek.
Enjoy the in house sportsbook experience right here in Michigan.
Don't need to go to Vegas. It's better here, right
here at Dacy's Taperman Sportsbook. Jason, now you're doing brother.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Out the hard stick.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Your cleaves so far up their asses that they've got
to use the cleans to brush your teeth with.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
God, what's up, buddy, did you change your profile pick
to I believe? Is that what you're saying talking about
sprinkling Michigan State money line. I did not do that.
I saw Chad lads doing it. Yeah. And now are
we believing that Michigan State can beat Michigan or that
Jonathan Smith can get it done here? Like I'm just confused?
So like after this week, do we not believe anymore?

(03:27):
It's a good question, Okay.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
I think you will have to ask the players then, okay,
and we'll know it on the field, all right. And
believing is great, you know, I mean, look, sure, I
am a delusional m effort right about a lot of things.
It was really you are, oh yeah yeah, especially athletically.
Oh yeah, well yeah personally you didn't say personally, right,
But sometimes delusions only get you so far. And so

(03:51):
we'll see what believing does for Michigan State. You know,
I think I think it could be an interesting game.
I did to go either way? Is that what you're
doing to do well in THEORYA?

Speaker 3 (04:02):
In theory?

Speaker 1 (04:02):
It good?

Speaker 4 (04:03):
I just you know, I'm not picking it to go
either way. What are these tea leaves you're dropping it?
I wish I had bet in Michigan here, I do.
I do think over the time, I've been so wrong
about this rivalry so many times. And this goes back to,
you know, twenty sixteen, when I thought Michigan State was
going to get absolutely spanked. They were twenty five and

(04:24):
a half point underdogs, and they lost by nine. And
then look, that game got closer late than it was
most of the time, but it still was a reasonable,
you know, respectable defeat in a three and nine season.
Nobody had any clue that was coming. In twenty twenty.
I think Michigan was a little better in twenty twenty one,
and Michigan State raised its game, especially Kenneth Walker. There

(04:44):
have been a number of games that, you know, you
just get this wrong because there are so many parts
to this rivalry that are just I mean, there's so
much intensity, so much venom. It's just different on the field.
And I think that's one area of Michigan State failed
last year. So the question is, with more experience in
the rivalry, are they better equipped there?

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Now?

Speaker 4 (05:03):
What does it mean for a quarterback like Bryce Underwood
who's never been part of it, does that matter? Is
he just better than is he just good enough? To
overcome it is does it matter if because if he
just plays to his normal level, I think Michigan's probably okay.
So I don't know a lot I would This is
not one of those games that I would recommend people
bet on unless you're unless you're like trying to.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Less you're it was take those fourteen and a half.
Well it's down to fourteen some places. Are you taking
the fort Did you take it for fourteen and a half? Okay?
I did.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
That's probably the right side of things. I mean, I'm
picking a thirty one to twenty, so that would mean
fourteen and a half is the right side of it.

Speaker 3 (05:37):
I'm starting to question my bet after the open here.
You don't seem like you're too confident as you were
maybe a couple of days ago. But I don't know. Yeah,
I'm gonna ride with it. I'm alright with it. I've
just watched too much of this sem issue. Do you
believe to be confident in anything?

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Can?

Speaker 3 (05:50):
I should?

Speaker 4 (05:51):
I put that as my Twitter like I believe in
fourteen and a half? I want you to I do
believe in that. I believe in Chauncey Billups, maybe.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
Chauncey Hey let's let the facts come out, right.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
Well, we'll get into that and the groovy done at
Twitter questions here coming up.

Speaker 3 (06:08):
More importantly, asked what the hell is going on with
Big ten plus? I forgot about them. That's the worst
part about basketball coming back for me. It's like, all right,
the exhibition Big ten plus, I gotta pay attention. Yeah,
it's uh, I'll just follow up. It was a little
slari and was it really bad production? I did not

(06:28):
tune in. Okay, so then I did not tune in.
Maybe it was great.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
I know.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
It's not about the production. It's the fact that they're
trying to charge more. They have students like doing the games,
like I am for the students doing the games. Actually
had one reach out and asked if I could do
a review of it. I was like, it's not about you.
It's about the CEOs and these upper management Big ten people.
It's one of the Big ten network people that sit
there and want to charge thirteen dollars for a ship product.

(06:54):
They knows the ship product, and they put they put students,
you know on the microphone, which I'm I'm four, but
don't charge me thirteen.

Speaker 4 (07:01):
Dollars for it. Is somebody who's not specs howard, because
somebody who makes a living charging more than thirteen dollars
for a ship products.

Speaker 3 (07:08):
Yeah, you guys think too. I I so.

Speaker 4 (07:12):
Let's do this. The newspapers next. I know where they're
coming from. And the thing is, I here's where it's
worth it. It's not worth it for most people. If bro,
are you spin zoning big ten plus today?

Speaker 3 (07:24):
This doesn't need spin. This is an easy sale. A
sales pitch will give me the spin zone. I'm gonna yeah.
College a.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Spinal ten pluses asked, go ahead, Like, if you like
women's basketball in Michigan State, if you like hockey, if
you like gymnastics, if you like a lot of their
other sports, if you follow more than just men's basketball
and football, Big ten plus is a must and you

(07:54):
get a ton of stuff women's soccer, everything men's soccer like,
So it is valuable if if you care beyond football
and men's basketball.

Speaker 4 (08:02):
If you care beyond football men's basketball, they try to
get you with this one exhibition game. Sometimes there's a
second game somewhere, but really they're just you know, they're thinking,
this is the this is the heroin people will pay
for it, and.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
And that's why they do it. It's it's really it's kind
of rough, but it's always a good sales pitch when
you use heroin.

Speaker 4 (08:19):
Hey it works, you know, that's uh so, But it
is not. It is very much valuable if you if
you like to watch a lot of the other sports
Michigan say plays, it's one hundred percent valuable because then
overpriced if you're not if you're getting you know, you're
getting all those women's basketball games, all those side you
get so much stuff. If you're watching you know, seven
eight games a month of different sports, that's okay.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
So it's good for Sparky Barb and a lot of
other people who are the other ninety eight percent of people.
It's not worth shit.

Speaker 4 (08:46):
I think the percentages, I think you're off on your percentages.
I mean, I respect your eighty nine. I would say
seventy four. That's right, seventy four ten plus. All right,
that's where we're starting this show. This show can only
go up hill from there before we get into well,

(09:06):
I'll give you, I mean the basketball game yesterday. I
I'll give you a little bit on that. Are some blocks.
Yeah I did see that. Well, I didn't see it.
I heard about it. It was a you know, it's
one of those games where you have to see more
to see if there's red flags or or or things
that are really promising. I think Cohen Carr looked like
a little bit better version of the player that he

(09:27):
was last year.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
He's a bull in a China clause.

Speaker 4 (09:30):
But we didn't see the stuff that that has sort
of been touted, the idea of getting giving him the
ball in the half court, letting him get to the rack.
He took one, three missed to badly, didn't shoot another one,
and but he was fantastic in terms of effort when
he had five blocks. The way he was just uh,
you know, punishing the rim and transition and I mean
he did a lot of really good things and that'll

(09:53):
play against some opponents. They're gonna need more against other opponents.
And that's why I think this Yukon exhibition Tuesday is
so good because look the Todd Simon guy. I like
a lot from Folller good coach puts together a lot
of talent at Bowling Green and and has to remake
his roster every year and does a nice job there.
So just Tom tum Nair and that whole staff. But

(10:14):
and and so I think they are a decent exhibition
game test when you've got a lot of new players,
and now you know, I've seen Michigan State lose the
Grand Valley and an exhibition game, and that's it. That's
a decent team. But there were things you do see
in terms of defense at the rim, defense period, rebounding,
like areas that they're going to have to be better
than they were, and I think they might be. There

(10:37):
was when they put in a bunch of the subs
the first time. It was like one of the worst
two minute stretches you'll ever see these guys making their
their debuts for Michigan State. And then they were a
lot better in the second half, so you know it.
I think there were things like Jeremy Fears I thought
was a really promising sign. There's a guy who it's
clearly his show. He looks very comfortable out there. He
knows he's going to a lot of it's going to

(10:57):
go through him. He made two of four threes. I
think he looks like a guy is not going to
hesitate on those, and he needs people to come out
and get him because it changes who he is attacking
the basket of people are respecting that outside shot. I
think they're gonna have enough shooting. They're eight for twenty
five from three. They were better for a while than that.
It's very clear they have some guys who are gonna

(11:17):
be fine. Ker Tang is a shooter. There's one. There
was one catch and shoot three in transition. Just that's
exactly what you want to see from just a pure stroke.
And then Trey Ford had a couple of threes. Cohler
had one, and and Jesse McCullough comes in and hit
the three that was the dagger, hit another jump shot,
like he really grew into the game. Only played eleven minutes,

(11:41):
but that was a good sign for him because I
thought he was a little you could tell a little
nervous early. And so you have to think between Cohler,
McCullough and the two two guards Tang and Ford, that
they're always going to have, you know, two guys who
are decent shooters from outside on the floor and if
Fears is hitting him and then other guys are going

(12:02):
to you know, I think cam Ward is capable at it.
I think there are other guys who will be capable.
But you got to kind of have a point guard
who can knock him down when he's open, and two
other shooters on the floor. Minimum to have enough spacing,
and so I think they have just enough spacing and
if Cohen Carr starts hitting them or Carson Cooper, whatever,
bonus right. But like the I think they'll be okay there.

(12:26):
It didn't look like it has last year. I think
the big difference. And this is where you know, I mean,
I like jay Nakens a lot, and I think he
did a lot of good things for them, but his
struggles shooting the ball hurt them a lot at the
position he was playing. And you're seeing from Tang or
at least you saw last night the shots from Tang
and trey Ford. And I'm not saying they bring everything

(12:47):
that the Akins did to the table elsewhere, but that
position I think is going to be better hit shooting
from outside, and that'll help we will get into much
more of the game. There are a lot of questions
about it in the Groovy Donate Twitter questions.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
The American way, except America has gotten soft before we
do all that.

Speaker 4 (13:04):
What we're betting this weekend presented by FireKeepers and the
fire Keeper's eye casino in sportsbook cap, Jason, are you
betting anything this weekend?

Speaker 3 (13:11):
Of course? The World Series starts tonight and I have
to get my World Series MVP kind of bet in there,
and I agree with Harry. I picked Freddy Freeman last year.
I got him at thirty five to one. This year
you can, I know, Harry said nine to one. You
can get him at some books. I saw it on
FanDuel twenty was it twenty to one or twelve fifteen O. Anyway,
I'm gonna go Max Munsey, a guy that's a World

(13:33):
Series veteran, hit some big home runs, because I just
don't know without Showhy, I just think it's Otani's to win, right,
But if I want to sprinkle for some value, I
think Max Mondy, a left handed bat, you know, against
the Blue Jays pitching staff. I think he has some
success there, maybe starts it off Game one tonight with
a Grand Slam, kind of like Freddy Freeman did last
year for me. So I'm gonna sprinkle a little bit.

(13:54):
I did get one hundred percent bonus on one of
these things, so it's like sixty to one, So I'm
sprinkling on the as far as college football. There's three games.
I like Ucla I got it at a twenty four
and a half at Indiana. I'm a little scared of Signetti,
and especially since Harry took Indiana to absolutely blow him
out of the water. But I just think twenty four

(14:15):
because Signetti likes to cover spreads like that just to
prove a point. But I do like that game. I
like Minnesota plus eight and a half at Iowa. I mean, really,
are we're talking about Iowa covering that big of a spread.
I just don't see it. But lastly, Illinois plus four
and a half on the road at Washington, Washington with
a disgusting display last week against Michigan. So it's a

(14:36):
little bit of a spipe bet. So I'm taking the
points this week. Graham, I'm a parlay kid this week.
Oh yeah, trouble.

Speaker 4 (14:44):
Parlays usually don't go well, but starting in the Premier League,
a couple things I do like. I like Arsenal minus
two thirty at home against Crystal Palace, who just Lai
has been great, but Lay a bad performance been a
week cost me some money in the in the champ
or the conference league, which which annoyed me so I'm

(15:04):
a little annoyed right now. I like Crystal Palace generally,
but Arsenal minus two thirty. This is not a spie
bet because I do like Crystal Palace. That's crazy, and
I do think there is value in in parlaying now
figuring out the perfect parlay with them is not. Chelsea
at home Sunderland is the way I'm gonna go. There

(15:24):
are some other options, but Chelsea minus two sixty gets
you about even money. So Chelsea at home to win,
Arsenal at home to win against Crystal Palace. I think
both are actually decent bets to win to nil, which
means you know that's zero, oh is it?

Speaker 3 (15:41):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (15:41):
And so I like I like both of those if
you wanted to bet them individually and get a better,
better price. And also, in the NFL a lot of
actual sport, yes, yeah, yes, lack a lot of a
lot of games. I like putting them together for one,
I really like I really like the Falcons with the
Dolphins minus four twenty five. Obviously it's a big number.

(16:04):
Oh you're going money line, money line? Yea, yeah, yeah, yeah,
you know money line parlays man, this is uh.

Speaker 3 (16:09):
You had it like a losing streak and you're just
trying to get this is a Harry Gagnin like classic minus.

Speaker 4 (16:14):
Give me, give me the Falcons the Colts, which is
a big even bigger number, and then the Chiefs, and
that gets you close to even money. If you need
to throw something else in there, I would suggest the
Ravens against the Bears. That puts you in plus money
by a little bit, just a little, just a little
make it worthwhile?

Speaker 3 (16:32):
Yeah? All right? How much should I put on this? Graham?
Two thousands? All right, that's what we're betting this weekend,
presented by fire Keepers and the fire Keepers I Casino
and Sports book app. Are you ready to dig into
these groovy ah? Yeah, of course. Eric schaltzup, First, you

(16:53):
say you think winning this game isn't enough for Jonathan
Smith to keep his job. How sure of you are that?
Would you wager a chest tattoo on it? I would
not wager chess tattoo on it would be a good start, though, right,
Like for your scenario you've mentioned of him winning this
game and then.

Speaker 4 (17:10):
If he oh yeah no, no, it's a huge like
any shot he has of coming back to me is
based on it starts this week, and I know, I know, yeah,
I mean, I know you could say, well, what if
they lose close this week and then beat Minnesota, beat
Penn State, beat IOI be like, I get it. There
there is I guess there is another path, but it

(17:32):
realistically it starts with this because they need to get
a little run going. But this is also the beginning
of sort of changing hearts and minds. And it's not
changing who he is or I think people always not
feel great about the way he connects and everything. But
it would have to be about them accepting who he
is and finding some endearing qualities in that. I think

(17:54):
that's a struggle. And and I don't think they're gonna win,
and I don't think just winning this game is enough.
But you know, if there's he could still keep his
job this season if he had the right finish, probably
because it would just be strange too, Like if he
if he got to seven wins and beat Michigan, getting

(18:16):
rid of that guy would just be the most bizarre
decision in the world. Right, I don't see that path.

Speaker 3 (18:20):
I just don't.

Speaker 4 (18:21):
Look, we're all watching the same Michigan State defense, right,
even if they somehow beat Michigan with a defense. Well,
even if they beat Michigan with a performance that you
know is out of character, or they get some turnovers
or things go right, the odds that that's going to
be repeated throughout the rest of the season regularly. Again,
the realistic scenario that makes things interesting is if they

(18:46):
were to beat Michigan, you get a disheartened Penn State
program without a quarterback or its head coach, and he
beat them as well, and then he beat Maryland at
the end of the year, and now you're at six
and six. So the win over miss Michigan, winning two
of your last three, three of your last five, including
a win over Michigan, And it's like, and I my

(19:09):
hunch is that still crazy.

Speaker 3 (19:11):
I don't know. They go to a poll game, it
gets it gets interesting. I think that. I think.

Speaker 4 (19:15):
I think right now the inclination is to move on
if they can figure it out, and I think Jonathan
Smith's got to do something to prove that otherwise. And
I don't think this would be enough.

Speaker 3 (19:25):
Next one from Eric, even if winning isn't enough for
Smith to keep his job, is losing this game and
the best interest for the program in the long run.
I don't think so losing.

Speaker 4 (19:36):
I mean, to me, you don't you want don't want
to ever get so far down the road that this
is just a lopsided rivalry and people assume it. And
how Michigan State does in this rivalry also is how,
you know, shapes the perception of the program. This is
a game a lot of people will see NBC primetime game.
It's now, you want to win this game the best

(19:57):
interest of the program, even if it's for the next coach, whatever,
it is the momentum for you want to win this game.
And if you're Jonathan Smith, even if you're not going
to be wrong, you want to win this game because
you have It would be a signature win. It would
be and I know it's not the greatest Michigan team
in the world, but of all the games, like if
this was it, if this season was it for Jonathan
Smith and he won this game, like we'd remember that

(20:18):
and he'd remember that, and it would be the signature
win of a short tenure.

Speaker 3 (20:21):
This is my Bowl game, money bag. What should I
make of your comments that you're hearing the MSU football
team is going to check out after this week. I
know you have backtracked saying they might buy in if
they win, but it sounds like a team that has
already quit, and if so, that's pathetic. So I think,
I think and as possible, I just misconstrued. You've either

(20:43):
misconstrued what I've said or I overstated things. Here's what
I I think they're dialed in.

Speaker 4 (20:50):
I think they're also a little annoyed about what they've
heard in the outside. I think they they're unsure about
their future. I don't think they feel a whole lot
of love, and you know, you can understand why, and frankly,
they haven't earned it. So I think they are dialed
in this week. I just it's just my intuition. It

(21:11):
is not something I've heard, and nobody has said to
me these guys are checked out after this week. But
it is my intuition just reading Tea leaves I and
and I'm usually decent at this part of the game,
that there's a there's a chance that this is the
last last hurrah and could be wrong, and maybe they
have better leadership than that, and maybe a win changes

(21:32):
that and maybe they just you know, I'm but that's
that's just that's but that's not anything that anybody said
to me. So it's unfair to say that this is
a team that's already quick. But it's hard to.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
Think that these guys, you know, we talked about it
as well as these players giving up, I guess because
you want to put good stuff on film, if you
want to get out of here to say hey for
other teams just to look at you, right, to make
money in the future. Yeah, and everybody, I mean, it's
hard in today's game to kind of give up.

Speaker 4 (21:59):
Now, everybody's situation is different too, And that's the that's
the thing that makes college football. I mean, college football
is the ultimate team game, right And you know, we've
heard for years a coach will say, yeah, we had
ten guys in the right spot and one guy screwed
up and boom, it didn't work. That's the problem. When
you lose focus, that's the problem. When a guy or
two checks out, that's the problem when it you know, and.

Speaker 3 (22:21):
What do we mean by checking out? Because I wear
my emotions on my sleeve here, and if it's like
if we stunk on ice, I would just not be
able to like, you know, if you ask me about
the game coming up on Saturday, but like, yeah, we're
gonna try to win this. You know, I'd be it.
You have to be different if it be fake phony
LinkedIn guy, Like, it's tough and not everybody, not everybody
will be of the same mind, right, But yeah, like

(22:44):
we're gonna go out there and try to kick their ass.
You know, I don't know. Yeah, I don't want to.

Speaker 4 (22:47):
I don't want to get too much into what checked
out means until we see it happen, like, cause it
might not happen. I could be totally wrong on that.
It's just my thought is they are definitely dialed in
this week, like you can just you sense it. And
I think that's that's a really good sign for giving
them a chance to be competitive and maybe pulling up set.
I just I really question beyond that. And I hope,

(23:10):
you know, for their sake that they shove that intuition
in my face and they look great for you know,
you ever shoved anybody's intuition.

Speaker 3 (23:18):
In their face? Just my intuition? Yeah, here you go.
I don't know if I as you're talking about it,
but yeah, that's that's my best attempt. All right, money bag?
Have you heard of there being any chance Caleb Glenn
plays this year. The way he moves and warm ups
and some practice clips doesn't look like a guy that
should be out all year.

Speaker 4 (23:35):
He is not going to play this year. Tom Izzo
has been asked this and answered it, and I think
he is moving well and he looks good. But I
think from an injury risk assessment, the best way to
be one hundred percent is next year and not messed
with it. And he'll still because he has the retcher
year available this year, won't kind of against it, like
if he came back in February and March, he'd lose

(23:56):
a full year of eligibility. Instead, he'll still have two
full years of eligibility remaining starting next year.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
Is it bad to do as a fan? Because I agree.
I understand what money Bag is saying, because when I
see a guy's out for a year or something or
out for a significant amount of time, and I see
him on the bench jumping up and down and holler,
I'm not going like, what's injured? You can't come back
and play? So very miserable sports fan. Next saw some
leaps and Cohen Cars ball handling and play making and

(24:22):
msuse exhibition and Jeremy Fears seeming to be more aggressive offensively,
rebounding was surprisingly ugly outside of Colder. Really, what are
three things like WEDNSDA that Wednesday like to see? What
is this? Sorry? See in the Yukon exhibition to make
this team the next level?

Speaker 4 (24:40):
Sorry, I should edit that last line. He was really
good on the first two lines and I trusted his
last line. The I think the big thing that you
want to see some other guys grow into this a
little bit, right. I want to see more of Kirtang.
I want to see more of Jesse McCullough. I want
to see more of cam Ward, who I think really
plays within himself all that sort of stuff. So there's

(25:00):
a lot of just overall, like how deep are there,
what a role is going to be? Trying to figure
that out there. They clearly have three guys they are
going to lean heavily on and Jeremy Fear's Cohen Carr
and Jackson Kohler and and and same to a large
degree from Carson Cooper, I think, but but offensively and
and but you do want to see better rebounding and

(25:21):
better defense on the perimeter. And you know at one
point he put in a lineup pretty early on that
was all new guys. And so when you've got a
standard at a program defensively in rebounding, and you've got
nobody on the floor who's ever lived that, that can
be tricky. And I think the types of rotations he
puts out there, you saw more realistic rotations a little
bit in the second half for a while. That'll be

(25:42):
that'll be interesting to watch. But yeah, I think the defense, like,
this team is not going to be good enough to
not be very good as a defensive club and rebounding
club and and and still win. And so those two
things have to become strength. And I'm not willing one
game in where they were just defensively and not always
great on the boards to say that's going to be

(26:03):
an issue. But you're gonna face a team with you know,
big you know, big time athletes, big ten top of
the Big ten type talent, and you'll get a better
sense of where they are.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
Wait, you're not gonna overreact to an exhibition game against
Bowling Green. I mean, what are we paying you for them?
I mean, come on, this is like twenty bucks a month. Yeah,
you got to get some reaction. Well, there is exhibit
There is a tier of LSJ subscription. Oh, one seventy
nine a month gets messreaction. That's what my mother pays.
She gets you on the physical copy. You got to
pay one seventy nine a month.

Speaker 4 (26:33):
I mean, people think I walk with my mother daily
because I love my mother, and I do love my mother.
But those walks, that's that's that's part of the subscription.
You pay one seventy nine a month, I will walk
with you every day. That's the way it works.

Speaker 3 (26:44):
What a gift, David p Next was it resilent? And
notice Jay Batt immediately put more court side seats down
where media row was. At what point were you informed
that you'd be relegated to the mezzanine might have to
start standing? Ending your quick take columns with I think
because I can't see as well anymore. And from Danny Z,
where the heck did you sit at the basketball game?

(27:08):
No media by the floor?

Speaker 4 (27:09):
Yeah, we were told like a week and a half
ago or so. I knew this was coming eventually. So
at some point when money became everything in college athletics,
and we're taking up these floor seats that could be
sold for a lot of money, and well, sometimes Rico
Beard comes down there and takes a seat. It's not
signed to him, but no way, yeah, what do you know?

(27:33):
But anyway, I knew it was coming. At some point
they took away a bunch of the seats, so all
the outside of the some of the mainstays, the maybe
the four to six people are you know, considered like
the priority whatever. We were still down there, but they
had moved everybody else up already, and I figured this
is coming. You get a new ad. And my hope

(27:55):
was that Jay Batt was like not paying attention, had
enough on his plate that it would be like and
he looked down at us and be like, wait a second,
we could sell those seats. What are those morons doing
down there? But apparently he's more on top of it
than that. And they moved us this year, and look
everywhere else other than Illinois, we're not on the floor anymore.
Illinois is a great setup, and there are disadvantages to it.

(28:15):
You do miss things you cannot tell certain like I
really like the game on the floor because I can
tell matchups really quick, and there are things you just
see that you can just tell when a team doesn't
have a chance, or when there's a physical mismatch or
you can. You can just see a lot more. But
those are the breaks. And yeah, I definitely have my binoculars.

(28:37):
It's not that high, but you know, you gotta. It's
it's not the it's not I like, I'd like to
use binoxes to see like interactions between coaches and players
up close and things like that.

Speaker 3 (28:48):
Just be someone get us a picture of you using binoculars.
It's someone at the game, please, it's a pic. I
just want a picture of you with the binoculars, like
you're looking for Yeah, looking for coaches. Come on. A
great pick, suburban spartan dead by year's end. Who averages
more points per game? Trey Ford or Kertang? Great question.

(29:09):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (29:11):
I would have told you trey Ford for a while,
and I still think that's probably the answer. But Kurz
got something to a shot, and I think as he
grows into the season. The reason I think trey Ford's
the answer here is while I think Kerteng is a
slightly more natural shooter, trey Ford obviously had a couple threes.
He's finding that area. I think he's got a more
complete game of better ability to attack the rim. And

(29:36):
even though he struggled a little bit defensively. Defense is
not kerk Tank's strength either, So it's not like Kertang's
defense is going to keep Trey Ford off the floor.
So I think it's probably tray.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
Ford, Alex Mayer and Sparti Barb. Next biggest concern from
Thursday Night's MSU exhibition game and biggest bright spot do
you want me keep going? Yeah? Yeah, coming out of
the Bowling Green game, who is your biggest concern defensively
for MSU basketball? And from Andrew Andrew Zuiza if the
goal is to win a national title? Was MSU's exhibition

(30:07):
game encouraging or discourage? That was? It was?

Speaker 4 (30:12):
It was just okay, It was neither. It wasn't like,
I mean, there goes the Natty. Yeah, it was not
a game where you went, holy crap, look at these guys.
But it also wasn't a game where I went, holy crap,
look at these guys, you know, like it's look at
those thighs.

Speaker 3 (30:25):
It was.

Speaker 4 (30:26):
It was not one of those games you walked away
from going to Oh. The biggest bright spot to me
was was fears. I mean, I know everybody's gonna say
Cohen Carr played really well, and he had seventeen points
and five blocks.

Speaker 3 (30:37):
He was really good. But you expect that.

Speaker 4 (30:39):
From car I think Fears has to be the guy
for them this year that gets them into a lot
of gets them a lot of their shots. Not just
for himself obviously, but he's got to run the whole thing.
And he looked very comfortable doing it, and he looked
comfortable taking shots. You know, he only had one turnover
until very late in the game at eight or nine assists.
He was just he was really good most of the

(31:00):
time he was out there, and I think that was
the most encouraging I would say the biggest bright spot.
I mean there were things like I cam Ward only
took like one or two shots. I think that guy's
going to be a player. I think he plays. He
just understands what he's capable of and what he's not
and he will be somebody whose role only increases as

(31:21):
the season goes on. Jesse McCullough was a bright spot
at times. There were there were there were a lot
of guys had moments kind of flashes.

Speaker 3 (31:29):
You know.

Speaker 4 (31:29):
I think Kohler's physicality is something they really need and
and it it showed again and uh biggest concern defensively though,
is do they put enough you know, are they good
enough at the perimeter defensively, Like the whole thing is,
oh runs this sort of gap help defense, and they
just didn't look like a team that was really trusting

(31:51):
of each other yet and enough guys who were in
the right places to make that work. And because of that,
you wound up with a lot of you know, opportunities
at the rim and guys getting by guys and it
just did looked great again, a lot of new pieces.
Not overly concerned, but you know, we'll have a better
field Tuesday.

Speaker 3 (32:07):
Next one from Sparti barb fill in the blank. For
MSU to win Saturday, Michigan needs to shit the bed.
Is that what we're looking for? Cockburn?

Speaker 4 (32:18):
Turn the ball over twice, and I do hear your
voice in my head when I take that. Turn the
ball over twice and looked like the team they've been
against Wisconsin and USC more than the team they were
against Washington, which I thought was a fairly disciplined, good
solid across the board performance. Before they played Washington, I

(32:40):
thought MSU had a much better chance of pulling off
on upset. Now Michigan State hadn't been playing well either,
But the Washington game I actually thought was pretty I
know it's a home game and that, you know, everything's relative,
but I thought that was a pretty good performance.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
Corey Ostrom. Next, do you have a sense of the
truth as to who on the injury list are not
working hard to get back? As Steven Brooks and Jack
Ebling alluded to, what, I've been suspicious for a couple
of weeks now myself with a mile long injury list
compared to the opposition each week, and from Ryan Schaltz
Graham for the Indiana game injury report, we had six

(33:17):
players out for the season and eleven players either out
or questionable for the game. Indiana had two players out
for the season. And that's it. You said, it's fair
to fire Smith when people start quitting. Do you seriously
think all of these injuries were legit to the point
that all of those guys really couldn't play. If not,
doesn't that indicate players are quitting on the team, or

(33:40):
if they are legit. Can you finally admit that MSU
has an uncommon frequency of injuries related to other programs.

Speaker 4 (33:49):
Yeah, I mean they've had a lot of injuries this year, don't.
I don't think it's all that uncommon. However, there is
one interesting like when you talk about the comparison Indiana,
which we've heard Signetty talk about wanting guys fresh, short
quick pass practice is very efficient. They do not do
a lot of like he's trying to. You know, Mel
Tucker used to talk about this and they weren't always

(34:10):
successful at it, but you got to get to the
game healthy.

Speaker 3 (34:13):
Indiana seems to do We don't have enough time for
all of that.

Speaker 4 (34:15):
Indiana seems to do it well. And in Michigan State
is Jonathan Smith talked about maybe they need to ease
up and practice, so I don't.

Speaker 3 (34:22):
I don't.

Speaker 4 (34:22):
Maybe there is a little too much physicality as they're
trying to set a tone and and and work through
some things. But I think you'll see a lot of
teams like that. Like if you look at Boston College's
injury list, it was it was far worse than than
Michigan State's for for quite a while. So there are
other teams out there. The in terms of the quitting

(34:45):
versus you know, are you really injured and you that
is a thing when in today's college football and it's
interesting that, you know, you put them on the injury report.
Maybe that exists other places, the guys thinking they're gonna
red shirt and not play, and they just don't put
them on the injury report. They're just not playing play them.
So I don't you know, I don't know what that
is to me, Whether players have stopped responding to a

(35:08):
coaching staff or quit or whatever it is that that
shows up on the field. And we didn't see that
last week. We saw it against UCLA or what appeared
to be it against UCLA. They said that wasn't it,
but you know, it didn't look good last week was
not that at all. And so all I'm going to
judge in terms of how players are responding is the
players they choose to put on the field, what they
look like, the other stuff, you know, I you know,

(35:29):
I don't know. It's a fair question because people have
done that before. You saw it a lot the earmail
Tucker got fired. It is an interesting point, though. The
numbers are are glaring. But you know, we say this
about the Lions, certainly the Pistons. I mean, just the
odds that somehow in the state of Michigan, every franchise
people care about happen to have hired the worst fucking

(35:52):
trainers and strength and conditioning people. It's just Michigan. They
just can't get it right. Tom Gore's moron, you know,
Bradh moron, Like they just none of these guys can
get it right. It's amazing the odds of that just
just you know.

Speaker 3 (36:06):
Let mean, we were not calling anyone a moron. We're
just wondering why our guys get hurt more than other teams.

Speaker 4 (36:11):
I mean, I don't think they do. Course, my one
point is I don't think they do. I think right
now at Michigan State, you do have a situation where
you do have a rash of injuries. What that what's
created that? Maybe there is something to the practices or
something that's been too physical. Maybe there is some guys
who would rather take a red scher ear than come back,
So there could be something there.

Speaker 3 (36:32):
I just see you're telling me I can go to
Indiana and score a lot of points and not have
to practice a lot. Yeah. Oh, Mike, it's a good deal.
And college footballs are wrap. Indiana's taken over. Siggy Corey Ostrom.
How can you root against MSU winning Saturday and call
yourself a fan or supporter just so Jonathan Smith can
be fired because you don't see him as a fit.

(36:52):
Your angst is with the administration and donors, not Smith. Shameful,
go Green. I think most people there there will be
a few Matt see out there. You know, there'll be
a few folks who are maybe finding themselves rooting for
Michigan or rooting against Michigan State. I just don't believe
Matt Ce's really rooting for Michigan. I don't. You know,
maybe he can tell me otherwise, but it's hard to
believe that. People.

Speaker 4 (37:13):
I mean, you got to be one spiteful dude toward
Jonathan Smith. And here's here's my look. I get the
people out on him as the coach and all that stuff,
but I also find him to be a pretty decent dude,
like just sort of the only man. The venom for
him is a little much like you can say he's
not a fit in the Matt Shepherd Hall of Fame.
Yeah he really, it's first ballot.

Speaker 3 (37:31):
Yeah it's okay, Yeah, we know he's a good guy.
You don't have to keep telling us that it's not
about that. It's just not a fit? What right?

Speaker 4 (37:39):
It hasn't been a fit, and he's been unable to
connect with people, and that's been one of the great
lessons of his time in a ten years so far,
is what it is important that a coach can connect
with fans and is that fit And at Michigan State
that usually looks like something different than what Jonathan Smith
is and that's a part of the problem.

Speaker 3 (37:56):
Next one from Corey, how do you win as a
spartan fan, whether the team wins or loses by going
to Fort Myers Beach for the weekend? Of course, I'm
excited for high eighty tempts and sweat down my back
and under my moves and the bo is gonna be awful.
I'm jealous, Cory, Can I go? Can I go?

Speaker 4 (38:14):
Hang, I'll be up here in my musco's flannel, enjoying
some groovy donuts and just a.

Speaker 3 (38:18):
With sweat down your back in moves. Well, guys all
have the same thing. Yeah, I'm not saying I'm gonna
listening to the Whitmery interview all over again, sweating your
dick off? Ah, are you good? Yeah? All right, Matt
c Why should anyone believe in MSU football. All right,
maybe he answered it what a corny mantra heading into
the Michigan game. This is officially our rich Rod you

(38:39):
raise me up moment.

Speaker 4 (38:41):
Rich Rod did not connect with Michigan, and he made
a lot of mistakes right away in terms of not connecting.
But rich Rod was a hell of a football coach
and ball coach. There is an argument that that was
partly a Michigan could have won rich Rod if they
could have gotten over themselves. So rich Rod's not a
great example to me, like the Brady Hoke is a

(39:02):
better example of somebodyll The Brady hook was more of
a fit, just want of the great. But rich Rod
was a bad fit. And so and I understand that
that there's an element of the rich Rod and the
fit what we're seeing. But maybe that's the same deal.
Football coach doesn't fit good football coach. But in the
rich Rod situation, if Michigan could have got its ass
out of its way when I had to go through everything,
it did, but it was a little too snooty, and

(39:25):
you know, and rich Rod, you know, deserves criticism for
how he handled and how he taught, and he didn't
get it. He didn't get what Michigan football was either,
and so you got to meet people where they are.
But that that one was also partly on the fans,
and so I don't know if and maybe that's what's
happening here too.

Speaker 3 (39:44):
Max. Next, could Jonathan Smith become our Brian Ellerby? He
had some improbable success, which led Michigan to keep him
around for much too long, exacerbating the demise of the
basketball program following the Ed Martin scandal. I went tomorrow,
along with a couple more. Could the same to us,
legitimate or insane. This is why you have.

Speaker 4 (40:04):
To have great leadership in your athletic director and your
president right because you have to be able to it.
It can't matter if somebody is not the right fit
and you win a game or two and it doesn't
change what you think is the trajectory of things. If
it does change the trajectory of things, or you see
a light or you see a possibility, then then you reassess.

(40:26):
But if it doesn't change the trajectory of things, you
have to be firm enough to say, yeah, you know what,
that's six and six in a bowl game, but you know,
we don't think this is the right direction you've got.
That's part of the gig. And likewise, like I've said before,
if somebody was four and eight you think they are
the right person, you've got to be strong enough to
tell your fan base to hang in there and that

(40:46):
this is the right person and put your name behind So. Yeah,
Brian Ellerby was a rough coach for a long long time.
And you know when Brian Ellerby started to screw up
when he didn't recruit David Bailey out of Westing High
in Chicago. Barry Sanders of basketball guy went to Loyola,
was incredible little point guard just like Tyler euliss Is.

Speaker 3 (41:07):
Oh damn, this guy knows ball.

Speaker 4 (41:08):
I'm telling you right now. You skip out on these
little point guards a lot of times, it bites you.
A lot of coaches get fired for that. Brian Ellerby
or Shott Phillips, Peter Oh geezus shot.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
The ultimate man. And he lets you know about it too.
Oh I'm glad he does. He plays his own film
like on Instagram. He's the best.

Speaker 4 (41:23):
Anytime a coach acts like you know more than you,
just remind him on these little point guards they passed
on that would have won more things. I mean Tomzo
might have a second national championship if he had just
recruited Tyler Eulis. Brian Ellerby might have coached another five
years at Michigan he had recruited David Bailey. It just
happens everywhere.

Speaker 3 (41:39):
They just I mean, sixteen year old Rube saw it
Rashot Phillips and was like, oh my god, this guy's unbelievable.

Speaker 4 (41:44):
Remember when Hue when d J Cooper from Ohio was
running circles around Georgetown and Michigan in the NCAA tournament.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
I don't know as much ball as you.

Speaker 4 (41:51):
Anybody could have had DJ Cooper out of Chicago, right, Nope, Nope,
too small.

Speaker 3 (41:55):
So there you go. You lose anyway, don't I get
fired up a little point. Don't get him starting? Sorry
Ryan who says sorry, this is longer. I love when
they start that way. Obviously I'm disappointed too, But I
don't understand why everyone is horrified about MSU football this
year when they are at or slightly below preseason expectations.
We saw in the portal that they weren't paying for

(42:17):
top talent. Why are we assigning most of the fault
to the coaching staff? How many times do you think
that they have a good play called but do not
have the players to execute it? Ola Marsh Are there
a lot of programs out there spending at the level
of MSU with better results. The BC game could have
easily been a loss. Imagine the outrage now if that

(42:38):
had happened. Save the buyout money and spend twenty million
on top of the revenue share next year on a
roster that can compete at the high Big ten level. Graham,
you suggested many times in July and August to use
the Smith buyout money for getting transfer players instead of
firing him. Why has that changed? Do you want me
to play the spin Zoner?

Speaker 4 (42:59):
No, No, I don't need to spin why they probably
are gonna have to move on from him. What has changed,
and for me, what really changed is Nebraska and UCLA
and those were What's changed is the games that are winnable,
they're not winning. And what's changed is the inability to
connect with people is just it's become more and more evident.

(43:22):
But the biggest part of that is you're just not
winning the games that they they have a chance to win.
They should beat Ucla, they should have beaten a bad
Nebraska team. Show me the game where they faced a
team that had pretty much equal talent to them, where
they rose up and were the better team because they
were better prepared and executed better. It just hasn't happened.
So you have that element of it, and then you

(43:43):
have the idea that he's not connecting, and then you
have the idea that the donor base isn't excited, and
that's become more and more clear that people there are
out and regardless, you know, I can agree with you
that if they put more money into him, he would
have like if he had Mike Elcho's defensive line, they'd
be good, they'd be a lot better. But that's just
not going to happen. So the reality is, it's not
whether Jonathan Smith can ever be a good coach somewhere again,

(44:05):
it's whether it can happen in MSU with all the
variables and politics and everything and and the fit and
the you know, the midwestern thing and understanding Michigan state
and all of that. And and I thought for a
while he could overcome that. I no longer really think
he can. And the idea of spending twenty million on
top of the revenue, yare next year that the buyout

(44:26):
isn't twenty million next year, thirty million next year, the
buyout would be like seven million next year. Again, that's
good money to spend if you have it instead of
using in a buyout. And the way the REVS share
works and everything too, and and look, the Scores Act
is not going to pass, so I think it's going
to look like good old fashioned inn il and the
wild West out there again in Michigan. State's gonna have
to be on top of that stuff. So I'm not

(44:47):
saying that's that's there's not an argument for it. But
in the long term, you need to be able to
raise money. You need a coach who's able to sell
the program, and I think Smith struggles there too. I
was in the Bowling Green locker room last night before
the before the Michigan State game talking Todd Simon from Fowler,
the Bowling Green coach, and even at their level, like

(45:08):
he's got eleven new players this year. He had ten
new players last year. Like everybody moves on or moves up,
like it's a brutal being a mid major coach sucks ass,
but a lot of it. Also the hardest thing is
even at that level. It's about fundraise because the money
baby less, but it's still in the six figures range,

(45:28):
and so you can think you have a guy and
somebody comes in with fifty one hundred grand more at
the end and you're just out of So you know,
he doesn't. His recruiting looks different. Instead of recruiting on
a given Saturday, he's always at the football game because
he's got a press flesh. He's always you know, these
are he's dealing with donors more like he talked about that,
like this is the job you have to A big
part of being a head coach these days is selling

(45:50):
the program. And I'm not saying Smith isn't trying to
do that. I just don't think he's a natural atit
or that it's worked with this specific donor base and
how they feel about him. And I can say myself,
I think he could still be good coach. I can whatever,
even though it hasn't shown yet on the field, which
is part of the problem. So it hurts any argument
I have on that. But ultimately, if the people with
the money and the people who want to back and

(46:11):
be inspired and give MSU the engine to compete at
a high level, don't feel strongly about him, don't feel
good about him, and you don't hear anybody other than
Tom Izzo on his radio show and here and there
sort of quasi supporting him. You know, when you don't
have Jay Back coming out and saying he's our guy,
you don't have donors stepping up, you know. You know,

(46:32):
if there was the great Jim Heos, for example, you know,
came out and said pound the bushes, this is the
guy you know like you, you'd well, maybe he needs
to be interviewed. Maybe Haos is saying that I'll talk
to Fred Human, so let's talk about it.

Speaker 3 (46:47):
I mean, I felt all of Fred Human pressing flash
Munfield keg. What if one of the MSU billionaires created
a fund to give players who stay three to four
years a one time fifty K payment when they turned thirty?
Really all right? Or do you think recruits and families
are too short sighted to think down the line. I'm
just thinking outside of the box here, But who wouldn't

(47:09):
want thirty to thirty five k after.

Speaker 4 (47:11):
Taxes at thirty one time payment. It's just not compared
to what some of these guys are making. That's just
not I got to.

Speaker 3 (47:17):
Say, as someone who had forty grand at one time
and one point in my life. Yeah, it went fast. Yeah,
so I mean it's fifty k. That's why I laughed.
I was like, I don't know what fifty k? If
you told them at thirty you would get fifty k,
if that would keep them there? What if you delivered
in a duffel bag and a jeep like you had it? Yeah,
but I'm white trash like. It was exciting to me.
I'm talking about guys that have an ability to make
hundreds of thousands. Yeah by the time, I mean, you

(47:39):
know what I mean. And the thing is put forty
k in front of a white trash k like myself.
It gets exciting.

Speaker 4 (47:44):
When you're twenty thirty seems old, It seems a long
way off. Yeah, I mean, what am I gonna do
with fifty k at thirty? That's what you think. I
remember being twenty six and watching the World Cup in
two thousand and six and they started talking about the
two thousand and ten World Cup. I was like, I
don't want to fucking hear I'm thirty, then I'm not.
That's that's not even that, that's beyond death.

Speaker 3 (48:05):
College football schedules like in twenty fifty five are gonna
be playing at home and home and Notre Dame, like.

Speaker 4 (48:09):
Who gives it shit? Don't want to know it. I
do think to Monfield Keke's point, though, I do think
creativity is in line, and this is part of what
Jay Bat's got to do. And and these billionaires who've
made money by being hard working and creative somehow can't
be creative here. Like I've thought for a long time,
the best thing you could do is create some sort
of nil for the offensive line that becomes your identity.

(48:31):
Maybe it's an offensive and defensive line. Whatever, you can
name them two different things, the hogs on one side
and the badasses on the other.

Speaker 3 (48:36):
Whatever you want to call concerts for it. Yeah, you
can do it.

Speaker 4 (48:39):
You do all sorts of stuff, and you put these
guys in commercials and they make that it becomes a thing.
Whatever you do, it's it's you have j Batt's number,
let's just do this. That's that to me is the
way you do it.

Speaker 3 (48:50):
But you know again, what we'll we'll see what what
all that would all that look like. The other thing
you can do, by the way, is a lifetime supply
of Groovy Donuts. Like if I'm recruiting, I'm coming at
an offensive lineman with the lifetime supply of Groovy Donuts
because I think that would work, or just a good box,
you know, and you two can live the groovy donut lifestyle.
Go to Groovy Donuts dot com or swing by either
one of their locations at Lake Lanting Road in East

(49:12):
Lanting and also in Williamston seven am to one pm
Thursday through Sunday. They've got some excellent stuff going right now.
Make you definitely want to make Groovy Donuts part of
your Halloween. And I'm not saying you want to pass
out donuts. That's a little messy for the kid on
a night. But if you're passing out candy, you know,
Snickers bar for the kid, a little donut for me,
or if you're having a Halloween party, Groovy Donuts is

(49:34):
here for you. All sorts of cool stuff right now, Chocolate,
monster bites, jack O lanterns, the Mummy ghosts, all sorts
of really cool donuts. And also something I was introduced
to recently that's available in October only, the Raspberry Hot
honey fritter. Worth your time. Go to Groovy donuts dot
com place your order today or swing by either location.

(49:57):
C Dubs ninety one. Does it hurt for bad to
get a competent NIL together and beta run it in
twenty six with a coach who has experience with the
program and whom players seem to really love. Then if
it still doesn't work, then go get your guy.

Speaker 4 (50:11):
So this is the idea of running it back, trying
to get as much money as you can, seeing what
it works, trying some things with anil, seeing what the
system is going to be. Like, you know, the argument
for bringing Jonathan Smith back, if you're going to make it,
would be that you think he's still a good coach,
you think, and they'd have to have some momentum leaving
the season that they haven't shown, so things would have

(50:32):
to be different. But then it would also be that,
like there's a lot of uncertainty with how like part
of Michigan State's problem now is that they did not
have funds beyond the REV share going into this this
pre July first period where a lot of guys were
signed to NIL deals and they're behind because of that,

(50:54):
and their roster reflects it right, especially defensively, just really
reflects it's a problem, and you don't know what next
year's an entire look look like. I mean, I know
Jay Batt wanted the Scores Act to happen. That is
not going to happen in times for next year. So
what does next year look like? And if you're uncertain
and you're trying to figure it all out, are you
better off doing your best with what you have and

(51:15):
getting a dry run at it and adapting and then
looking at it and making a move. The problem with
that approach is this, I think as soon as you
decide somebody shouldn't be your coach in five years, or
isn't likely to be successful in five years, or isn't
the answer in this day and age, you don't want
to fall too far behind. You have to be gutsy
enough and courageous enough just to make that move, even

(51:36):
if it's painful, even if it isn't entirely fair. Maybe
it's nineteen games in, it's two years in, whatever it
might be. But I think for those sort of conversations
to even be considered, you've got to have some momentum
heading out of this season that we just haven't seen
signs of happening yet.

Speaker 3 (51:53):
C Dubs ninety one. Why do you think Breslin was
so empty Thursday night? I didn't think at that empty
because Big ten plus is so great when you can
sit at home and watch that production.

Speaker 4 (52:04):
I mean, it's an exhibition game on Thursday night in October,
two days before a home football game against Michigan's against Michigan.
So if you think about it, if you're not two
whole days before the game, oh my god. What I
mean is that to prepare if you live in gross
Point or Luddington, or you know, wherever in Michigan you
come in for football games, and you also have season

(52:26):
basketball tickets if you go to basket or you'd like
to go to a few games a year and get tickets,
and you're making that trip down for a full day
of tailgating on Saturday, you might not be coming down
on Thursday night. That's all I'm saying, all right, And
it's also bowling green in exhibition.

Speaker 3 (52:38):
By the way, Dominic just wrote in via text because
apparently he doesn't see our Twitter or ask for the
questions or something you mute it. He said, I never
got a question alert, But if you get a chance,
ask Graham why Adam Schefter is such a raging blue
penis the problem with Welcome to the Blue Wall, the problem

(52:59):
with Schefter and all he's gilly no, no, how much time,
I have to have some issues with these guys who
are these breaking news insiders, because you're already carrying off
just a boatload of water, right for people, and so
you're already a little annoying in that sense, and Schefters
just kind of smear me annoying as it is. And

(53:19):
then when you turn around and have this outward fan,
upid looking face, outward fandom towards your university, it just
it really makes it look like you're somebody who just
carries water all the time for whoever you That's the problem.
Your job is already kind of and so don't be more.
But it was his job, wasn't Yeah, it wasn't meant
to be. He made it. Well, he's made it worse

(53:39):
than it has to be, That's what I mean. Yeah,
like every job was kind of a fun gig and
now it's turned into some crazy thing where he's just
promoting whatever he feels is necessary. Yeah, he's he's there,
I mean in the NBA side. And then like like
you know, all these guys have to do it to
some degree, like Jeff Passing has to. But Passing and
Shams these guys aren't. But he has like a cool dude,

(53:59):
you're interviewed, you go allright, like Passing, That's what I mean.
You can do this and not come across as a
douche Like what was the guy that did it before
Sean's uh? I tried selling his photos? Yeah, I mean
this is like the guy tried selling his cell phones.
He used to break some news that no one gave
a shit about, even NBA die hards like.

Speaker 4 (54:17):
I had mixed feelings on him. I know people liked him,
and I know some people he was very unkind to,
and that that stuff bothers me.

Speaker 3 (54:25):
Jay Riemenschneider, who doesn't bother anyone. I'm sure. Yeah, MSU
is bad, but Michigan has just decent themselves. Why are
there so many MSU fans talking as if they have
no chance at all, especially with the game being at home.

Speaker 4 (54:39):
Because they've watched his defense long enough and they've just
seen too much. And I think if you were at
that UCLA game, it felt like that was it and
it did, And I mean that's why I wrote what
I did coming out of that game. And and I
still think that there's a lot of what we saw
against UCLA in this program and and and this team,
and that's a problem. They were better against Indiana, without question.

(55:03):
If they're the team they were against Indiana, what does
that game look like against Michigan. They don't beat Michigan,
I don't think, not the Michigan team we saw against Washington.
Both teams are who they were last week. Michigan State
is not going to win this game, but they will
move the ball and Michigan, You're right, is not? Is
it not Michigan's best team? And they do have some

(55:23):
youth at quarterback that could lead to a bad performance
or some mistakes, even though he's got a lot of talent.
I just think the other thing is Michigan may not
have quite the NFL talent. It's hat at the line
of scrimmage, but man, Michigan State would kill for the talent.
Michigan has the line of scrimmage right now.

Speaker 3 (55:43):
Next one from Jay Graham, including your own shows? How
many different shows, podcasts, written, interviews, et cetera. Have you
done this week? I feel like shows and podcasts are
the same thing though, Yeah, yeah, I'm doing you been busy?
Feels like he looked busy when he came in today.
He's got flip flops and shorts on socks. But I
got the rolls in here. It's amazing. The Muscock's flannel

(56:03):
and basketball. Yeah, that's incredible. Yeah, the to my.

Speaker 4 (56:07):
Look, I was like, must be a busy week for you.
Should have see the woman at the U. I had
to go to the post office before I came in
here and walk it in.

Speaker 3 (56:14):
With a There no vagrants, Muscos flannel. Not a vagrance
there down the street. Let's see.

Speaker 4 (56:20):
Uh, can you go to the park. You're disgusting. It's
my way of wearing shorts and not showing my man boobs.
But Muscock's flannel, you too can avoid the appearance of
man boobs with the Muskots flannel.

Speaker 3 (56:31):
It is true. That's one of the best things about them.
It really is. It's it's it's it hides one of
my chins and hides both my breasts. Oh, the question
how many shows I I did? Castellani's locked on Spartans,
Castellani's got a podcast now, Yeah, he's had a podcast
for It's good. It's good.

Speaker 4 (56:49):
Uh, he's he's a really good interview and I enjoyed
that conversation. I did one on one of the Michigan one.
I did five or six maybe Yeah, Yeah, that wasn't overwhelming. Well,
you just schedule them and then, uh, it's a fun
week in that sense because you get to you know,
you get to have a lot of By the end
of the week, you have a lot of knowledge about
the game because you just talked to a lot of
people with different views, and yeah, it's a kind of

(57:11):
fun week that way.

Speaker 3 (57:12):
All right, Jay, You always say if MSU basketball just
had got their four main stays in the portal, they
would be a top fifteen team. Others say, if Izzo
wasn't the coach, they wouldn't even be ranked.

Speaker 4 (57:22):
Who's right, Well, you can both be right there. If
Iso wasn't the coach, who knows what Michigan State basketball
would be no either way, But yeah, I do believe
they would have more juice to them preseason. If Cohen Carr,
Jackson Cohler and Jeremy Fears especially, we're portal guys, it'd

(57:43):
be like, well, that's a that's a heck of a
portal hall. That's gonna be a really good team, and
that's just going to be the way it is in
college basketball for a while. That's why you ignore preseason
polls in Michigan Sate. Frankly, though they lose a first
round draft pick who freshmen who carried them a lot
of the way, they're gonna have to They're still going
to have to prove it though, and that's fine too.
I don't have I mean, the football poll. I have
bigger issues with the basketball poll. There's at least time

(58:05):
to watch other games. It doesn't have the impact, I
don't think overall. Yeah, it's it's I don't have. I mean,
the people get it wrong, and I like to make
fun of it, but I don't have the serious gripes
I do with football.

Speaker 3 (58:18):
Jarrett. Next, what are your thoughts on the sports gambling
ring that was arrested. Do you think that sports gambling
should become illegal again due to more tampering and from
Dinos Pimoni Interested to hear ge Gez Graham's take on
this NBA scan g in it. Yeah, it appears the
betting abs caught wind of Rosier faking an injury and
told the NBA, and the NBA made it look like

(58:40):
he was out for the season because of injury, to
pub to the public, to not be upset whatever he's
saying here, how big of a scandal is this? I
love the people, the squares that don't bet and everything, like,
here we go, here's what we need to see, like
without even reading the forty page friggin thing of it. Yeah,
I've read some of it. Actually it is long. I

(59:01):
didn't read all of it, but I tried to crush
forty pages.

Speaker 4 (59:04):
Yes, I did not crush forty pages. I crushed what
was on what was available on social media. That was
the actual writing. Actual what is billups doing?

Speaker 3 (59:13):
Though? It's it's insane. I mean poker game and the
you know, it's alleged that he also was telling people
that they were going to tank game man, and there
were there was there. That's the big problem with him,
the poker thing. You know, there's one game. There's one game.
Was it last year?

Speaker 4 (59:30):
You know it was last year where I mean it's
they were up eight with like or down eight with
like four seconds to go in a nine point spread
and they fouled, you know, and like that's the stuff
that makes people now go, wait what And then that
game apparently wound up being what changed the order between
the Mavericks and Bulls, and the Mavericks wound up with
Cooper Flag. The NBA really wanted to like get bold here.

(59:53):
They just tell Cooper Flag he's a Chicago bul right now.

Speaker 3 (59:56):
But is this bigger than the Tim donaghe donaghue hee
or however you say his last name? Though, I thought
the ref thing was bigger than me, of like aha,
because we thought for you guys like Scott Foster, and
you know, I always think ref's are ass anyway, I
mean this thing, Terry Rogier, I just don't understand how
you get to NBA guys, like how you even with
college guys. They cap these bets. These the the the

(01:00:17):
prop bets for individual player bets. They are capped and
monitored to the highest end. Like you just mentioned, you know,
they were noticing Rogier and they were, you know, contacting
the NBA saying it one of your guys is doing this.
So I think a lot of it's on silver in
the NBA.

Speaker 4 (01:00:33):
It's a problem. I had a buddy call me today
and say, you know, the NBA has been good with it.
If you were good with the Jordan rules, and why
do you care about this? The NBA has been doing
this for oh yeah, thirty years and and the NBA
has been essentially fixing the game. Now, I disagree with that.
It was emotional. Uh take from my friend, my buddy,
Larry Morasco. Some people some people, oh, don't get Morasco though,

(01:00:53):
but you know better. But I do think I don't
think it's the scandal that like bring down the NBA,
but I do think it plays into people's perceptions. And
it had been a really good start to the season
for the NBA, right You'd had this great NBC lead
in the Kenny Chuck and Shack our back and looked
like the Old Show even though it's on ESPN. There

(01:01:14):
are a lot of good things about the park. When
they lost one hundred pounds. Yeah, Opening night was fun
and you had some great games. I watched the end
of that that overtime game between the Nuggets and Warriors
last night. Just fantastic stuff. Wemb ya, I mean, just
incredible uh stuff. It's all fake but related. But this
is something. I mean, I think this is going to
be something that's just an issue for a little while

(01:01:35):
while people because here's the thing, this stuff might have
existed beforehand and you just didn't know about it. You
bring stuff to light. I mean, part of the idea
of legalized gambling is there's more regulation.

Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:01:48):
I didn't start. I didn't start gambling when gambling became
legal in Michigan. I learned this shit in college with
sportsbook dot Com. And you had a mule from Venezuela
delivered your check from the Royal Ontarian whatever, like you know,
like you know, and you had a guy here or this,
and like like this stuff's been out there and and
I believe, you know, putting a light on it helps

(01:02:10):
to some degree. I think there are things they can do.
I will be very curious.

Speaker 3 (01:02:13):
How about getting rid of all of these betting commercials
and they you know, ESPN even had to lift that
one of their ESPN bet things when they were talking
about this breaking news, which I thought was.

Speaker 4 (01:02:24):
You can limit prop bets to even greater, like you know,
you don't need prop bets for people who aren't mainstays
players I heard.

Speaker 3 (01:02:34):
But if you see money coming in on it, like
I'm telling you, you're not going to get away with
betting on these guys. If even if you collude and
get a player in on it to get enough money
across the board on bets like this. It will be
monitored if all of a sudden a bench player is
all of a sudden getting thousands of dollars put on them,
even hundreds of dollars.

Speaker 4 (01:02:51):
This this, this stuff that's happening now is going to actually,
I think be a pretty good deterrent. I do, because
guys are going to go serve prison time for this stuff.
And you know, players are going to realize how hard
it is not to get caught these days, right, And
I just think it's not gonna be now. It's just
it's a bad look for the NBA. It's something they
need to make sure they're on top of and make

(01:03:13):
sure it doesn't become a thing. And I think they
need to harshly like you if you're if you do
this your band, you're you're done. You're done.

Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
That's it. You don't get to be no gambling if
you are a professional player, and that maybe can go
outside and doo casinos. And that's how like, how do
you get to a Terry Rozier who makes twenty six million,
You get him involved in some gambling thing where he
owes you a lot of money and has to do
you favor. That's pretty much the only way for NBA guys.
I just I can't imagine making that much money and
having these mafia guys get a handle of it. Well,

(01:03:38):
the poker ring stuff's insane stuff. Poker, yes, but that's
a whole different scenario of wearing glasses and seeing the
cards rather than the integrity of a basketball game. I
just I just refuse to believe. And then, you know,
the theory and listening to people. That's what drives me
nuts is waking up and reading You're like, oh, that's it,
that's gambling. Should be back to illegal. I just I
hate that mentality. We have to be able to Well,

(01:04:03):
we got another Twitter questions about what we'll get into
that more here as we go on. So p Z,
which one of my childhood heroes gets arrested next, it
must be time for Barry Sanders. Maybe come on, I'm sorry, Ah,
the world will crumble if Barry gets involved. No, I'm
just kidding. Yeah, Berry's not Yeah, that would that would
be I mean, Barry's making enough money now, hopefully he
doesn't need to do, you know, anything like Allen Iverson.

(01:04:24):
Thank god he had that Rebok bailout money was gonna
Chauncey is a surprising one, at least from my perspective.
But if it's this poker game, like, I need to
hear all of it come out, even the he told
somebody who's gonna tank some games. Are you at a
poker game? Did you lose a certain amount of money
they told you they'd wipe it clean. You're just a
tongue in cheat going and we got to tank these

(01:04:45):
next four games. Just a head or something like that'll
be interesting. I can understand getting fired, but I don't
know if it tarnishes his legacy forever. Historically, the FEDS
don't charge you unless they've got you, so yeah, but
I heard that about the p Diddy case too, and
then now that shit. You know that, you know, because
the FEDS came after Diddy and I was like, oh man,
he's going away for twenty twenty five large and you know,

(01:05:05):
and this.

Speaker 4 (01:05:06):
Goes beyond who's I say large, I don't charge. He
said that, this goes beyond who's in charge of the
FBI right now. I think this goes back to the
cash ptel. This goes back to the college basketball situation. Right,
they went after all these guys and all they did
was put a couple assistant coaches in jail for a
little bit of time, and they didn't get any of
the main players. The FBI lost its teeth in sport,
I think with that college basketball investigation and when it

(01:05:29):
went nowhere and that par all got out of that.
So but historically this is not good. This isn't that good,
TC Brunsey. Isn't it time to pull back a bit
from sports betting? It's become per pervasive. I know that
word pervasive outside of the NBA, and it's not not
hyperbole to say has a negative effect on programs and people,

(01:05:50):
even in moderation. I like it, and I think everything
in moderation is okay. But I would but there's an
argument for it. I would say this. I will give
you sports betting, but you got to give me social media.
And because I think it's fine, I think what social
media does the teenagers is way well, I don't say
way worse, but it's it's bad.

Speaker 3 (01:06:07):
It's really bad.

Speaker 4 (01:06:08):
And so I don't want to hear about sports betting
until we all admit that no fifteen year old should
be on social media and what it's doing to these
kids is wrong. I mean, we wouldn't let I mean,
this is my far out take here, but we wouldn't
let fifteen year olds have cocaine. We shouldn't let them
be on social media like it is bad, and social media.

Speaker 3 (01:06:24):
Is that bad. And I think years from now we
always don't let this seventeen year olds have cocaine.

Speaker 1 (01:06:28):
What do you mean?

Speaker 3 (01:06:28):
I'm just saying it is really bad. It's that level
of bad for kids. And so to me, if we
can have the sports betting conversation after we freaking get
rid of social media for all children and all team
I about the advertising, Why does that have to start
with the gambling itself or people that can handle themselves
and gamble responsibly. We have to just all of a
sudden get rid of it because people can't handle themselves.

(01:06:50):
And again it goes on, Yeah, you can't take care
of everyone. Want to take care of everybody and let
them know things that are you know, It's just I've
had enough of it. Start getting rid of these draftking
ads and fail and duel and shit every two seconds,
or the pharmaceutical ads that you diseases. I don't even
know existed. Now I got to sit there and call
my doctor and ask for if do I have d
c K or some fucking thing because I got to

(01:07:11):
take some drug. There's always go to go via fucking hell,
like there's always aly dish charge. But hey, heaven forbid,
if I want to gamble on a fucking Saturday, do
a three leg parlay. They might not win, probably won't win,
but who gives a shit. I do think there needs
to be better education sports betting. Like it's a new
thing and it came at people all at once and
a lot of people have jumped into it, and there
are people have gotten themselves in a big trouble. I

(01:07:31):
think we do need a better do a better job.
Like what what if you go to a casino? There
is a two percent chance that you're gonna know how
many times have I gone to a casino with high
hopes and everything like that.

Speaker 4 (01:07:41):
I'm talking about people on apps with credit cards and
stuff like that. You're getting themselves in real trouble or
adults and gambling is a problems. It's a addictive thing.

Speaker 3 (01:07:50):
For people to use a credit card on your yeah
and your gambling apps. You can use credit some of them, Yeah,
not all of them. Someone different, Yeah, offshore. I don't know.
I've had to use a debit, so really, I don't
never don't tell me that.

Speaker 4 (01:08:04):
I'm pretty sure you can use credit. I shouldn't tell
you that. Never mind, Jason, it's cash only, okay, and
you got to go meet the Is there a high
percentage I might not win this parlay this weekend?

Speaker 3 (01:08:14):
Graham? Or should you tell me that? Yeah, these guys
have been telling me it's can't miss. These guys sell
their picks. They went five and oh g quing. If
it wasn't Chauncey Billups, which of the back to work
Pistons do you think would engage in gambling? From Joe Dumars,
I know he wasn't a player, but you know, yeah,

(01:08:35):
I gotta say it wouldn't shock me. It's just the
way he went out. It was like, okay, right, just
the way. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:08:41):
It feels like somebody owes somebody somebody to make some
of the moves he made. Yeah, right. It couldn't really
make sense of a lot of it, And I figured
Joe had like yeah, yeah, uh.

Speaker 3 (01:08:51):
Daniel R. Patterson should allegations of card game scamming unrelated
to the NBA cost Chauncey billups his job now or
should he be allowed to coach through his due process? Well, no,
I think I don't think you should be allowed to coach.
I think you're suspending he's suspended now. I think I
don't think you coach through you do. It's too much
of a distraction. It's unfair.

Speaker 4 (01:09:09):
Well, it may feel unfair to him, but it's also
unfair to the rest of your team in your organization.

Speaker 3 (01:09:13):
If this guy's got this and it's not just the
poker game, he's also being talked about it, even though
they don't use his name, but use his whole freaking
correct LinkedIn profile to tell you pretty much it's Chauncey both.

Speaker 4 (01:09:24):
Yeah, he's involved in the other there's a lot of
a lot of crossover, and so he absolutely can't coach now.
You don't have to fight like a big proponent of
You don't have to fire him now. Maybe if he
gets cleared, who knows if they'd want him back entirely.
But he's got to be clear of the whole thing
to get his job back and have a chance of
that or to coach again. But yeah, you can't let
him coach while it's on going.

Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
Matt Drolette next hear me out. MSU would have had
to pay mel Tucker in the neighborhood of seventy five
million to buy out his contract. Jonathan Smith's buy out
is thirty million. Wouldn't MSU essentially be saving forty five
million by firing Jonathan Smith?

Speaker 4 (01:10:01):
Sounds like a deal to me. I mean, you could
look at that way. It's not going to feel like
a savings right now. I mean MSU is a is
a university just cut what ninety nine people jobs, so
that that timing of this also isn't great in that sense.
Now MSU Athletics lives on its own separately, and it's
going to have to Now you really couldn't do anything
that was university money with the cuts that are being

(01:10:23):
made throughout the university. You have to be you have
to stand on your own and I so, but yeah,
you could, you could look at it that way. But again,
we throw these dollar figures around like their lump sums.
These are these are like annual these you know, these
are paid paid out in like seven million dollars a
year three five hundred thousand dollars a month things like that, that
it's it's.

Speaker 3 (01:10:43):
They don't just deposit the whole thing in your checking
aig and not really how it works.

Speaker 4 (01:10:45):
Yeah so but yeah, I mean, look, I do not
think if they decide it's time to move on from
Jonathan Smith, I think they will figure out how to
do it financially.

Speaker 3 (01:10:56):
Neurotic pants, would you agree that any new MSU football
coach will have to use simplified schemes and play calls
due to the portal or be a drill sergeant? The
timetable and approach are different.

Speaker 4 (01:11:07):
Now, Yeah, and mshu's coaches have talked about this too.
You do have to. I think some of these guys
struggle with that a little bit. You You know, so
many of your players, even their players who are contributors,
are guys who are coming in who are new. You know,
in the old days, you might have a freshman or
two who saw playing time. You might have a transfer
who's on your team starting, but then the other eight

(01:11:29):
guys where like returners, had been in the program. And
now that's just not the way it is. And you've
got guys that key positions who are fairly new and
coming and going each year, and so you do have
to you'd yeah, I think you do have to do
it a little differently.

Speaker 3 (01:11:43):
Uh, neurotic pants. Could MSU negotiate a less expensive exit
with an out of play Smith? You should go back
to Oregon State and finish.

Speaker 4 (01:11:50):
I don't know if they want them and finish what
Like they're a mid major now. That's the problem for him,
is like the thing that sucks is and you can
always remember this if like it feels like it sucks
to NMSH football fan. It's so much worse to be
an Oregon State football fan. It's like you have no
league that's relevant. You're just you're out of it. You
got left behind. And unless something drastic changes in sort

(01:12:11):
of the plates shifting of college, you know, college athletics again,
Oregon State's going to be a poise state for the
rest of time. And while that's not a horrible place,
that's not what they were, that's not where their dreams
were because they were in the in the Pac twelve
and Pac ten.

Speaker 3 (01:12:29):
Before they have a blue field or something. Yeah, orange field.
It's sick. It's a tough spot. This will make it interesting.
Gauge Lee next, what under the radar, Guys, need to
have a bigger impact than usual for MSU to get
the win this weekend. Malik Spencer, Jordan Hall feels like
there is a perfect spot for one of these experienced
guys on d to get remember here, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:12:51):
There's the guy who has the pick six. I don't
know who that is, but you want to be a
hero have a pick six. Yeah, I don't know who
that's going to be because we just haven't seen you know,
We've seen moments like Jalen Thompson will have moments where
you go, boy, that guy looks like a difference maker,
but it just hasn't happened often enough, and so I'm
curious what Jordan Hall has been very productive. I think

(01:13:12):
part of Michigan State's problem on defense is they have
five or six guys.

Speaker 3 (01:13:16):
Who would be who could be really good.

Speaker 4 (01:13:19):
Players on a great defense if there were five or
six other guys who were great players, and instead, in
Michigan State's defense, the five or six are the top
five or six, you know, and so it's not that
they don't have some guys who could be on great
dal And Jordan Hall is a guy who I think
could be a good player on a team. I think
he's been very good, inn't been perfect, and he's trying
to lead a defense that doesn't have a lot of

(01:13:41):
things working for it. But this would certainly be a
day for somebody to have a moment.

Speaker 3 (01:13:46):
David Jackson. Next, if MSU had lost its whole roster
of contributors after last season, as Michigan basketball did, but
we're bringing in our current five starters as portal transfers,
would we be ranked in the top ten as Michigan is.
If you could bet on who would have the better
conference record this year, who would you take?

Speaker 4 (01:14:09):
I mean, I like Michigan's roster a lot. You know,
the thing that Michigan State will have, I don't they
have a little more, They have more continuity, I think.
I mean, I picked Michigan and finished ahead of Michigan State,
so I'm gonna take Michigan here. But I do think
there's a chance in the regular season, and how is

(01:14:29):
oh prioritizes Big ten play and usually gets his teams
to have that, you know, I mean, I don't know
last year's I don't want last year to cloud my
judgment on this because before that they weren't really in contention.
And I don't know if this team is going to
have the goods to contend. And I don't know if
Michigan's gonna have the guard play and experience certain places
or it's all going to come together.

Speaker 3 (01:14:47):
But I would I would give it. I would take Michigan. David,
how much in the minority am I? When I state
my belief that MSU is a real chance to win
on Saturday? And if that happens, the four remaining opponents,
particularly without Aller and Franklin gone, are such that we
should win two of those four and go to a bowl,
and this saves Smith's job.

Speaker 4 (01:15:07):
That is the question. Does six and six win over Michigan,
Penn State, Maryland. I don't think they're gonna be the
Iowa on the road, you know, Minnesota. I would guess not.
You never know, But like I does, what does that do?
And I I don't know because before the season, what
I was sort of told by people is just how
badly they needed to get to a bowl, they needed

(01:15:29):
that experience. I don't know if too much there's been
too much negativity, too much that it's just gone too far.
The other way to get it back by just getting
the six and six and how it's looked and what's happened.
And you know, if they if they had beaten Ucla,
I think the conversation would be very different. It's weird

(01:15:50):
that like one game can do that, but that game
was so bad and was so alarming in that moment.
And again, if in the if UCLA like goes to
Bloomington this week and smacks around Indiana out of nowhere,
maybe we'll have to like reconsider everything, because then maybe
UCLA has just found some magic pixie dust that they

(01:16:11):
didn't have. And but I, yeah, I don't don't. I
just don't think he's gonna be back. And I don't
think the Michigan State's gonna get to that point. I
don't think MSG's gonna be a bold iss.

Speaker 3 (01:16:20):
Year next one from David. Despite having lots of yardage,
MSU football isn't scoring enough. Could it be as simple
as trying for more big play passes? We have two
guys who can make those plays, plus an athletic freshman
tight end who could definitely split his own defense. What
do we have to lose? Aired out like Bobby Haybear.

Speaker 4 (01:16:39):
Yeah, there isn't a whole lot to lose. I do think,
you know, we weather dependent. When dependent, like we've seen
Adan Chiles struggle a little bit on the deep ball
of late now he was good earlier. I think it's
a mix. I think they've been at their best this

(01:16:59):
season and they move the ball when they put together
long drives, and they've used the short passing game in
some ways for a substitute for the running game, and
it's gotten the ball in Nick Marsh's hands, in Amari
Kelly's hands, and maybe you know short intermediate routes. I
do think they got to try and take the top
off a few times. But ultimately, part of beating Michigan
will be the same formula as beating Indiana. It's keeping

(01:17:21):
Michigan's offense off the field. Now, Michigan's offense isn't nearly
as dangerous as Indiana's, but it's the same thing. Your
weakness at Michigan State is your defense. And if you
can score quickly, you take the points. I'm not saying
you don't, but your game plan is drives, is touchdowns,
is have the ball for seven, eight to nine minutes.
That would be ideal if you're Michigan State.

Speaker 3 (01:17:42):
Next one from David am I the only guy who
thinks that being in a shotgun or pistol formation on
third or fourth and short as stupid removes the threat
of a quarterback sneak when we line up way that
way that week in the situation. If I line up
that way in that situation, I said to the wife,
that's futile. Now watch us get stuffed, which then happened.

(01:18:05):
A lot of people hate that. Yeah, called it out
to the wife though, Yeah, now watch us get stuffed
and then it happens. I mean, that's gotta be a
turn on for her. David, that's it right there. I
mean coma. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:18:15):
No, I'm not a huge fan of the I think
you should be under center. It's it's if you're trying
to get a yard or two.

Speaker 3 (01:18:22):
Delayed run play, Yeah, I like those two. Those are
my favorite. Slow developing a good slow on fourth and one.
A slow developing run play. Something that's really one of
the teams I root for. Do that gets me rock Nate.
When's the last time MSU ran a trick play? Not
saying it needs to be a regular thing, but with

(01:18:43):
the run game issues and the injuries, I'm surprised we
haven't seen a little more creativity. Why do you think
that is let's get the ball to marsh That's why? Yeah, No,
I think this is a pull out the stops week.
But we've seen a trick play. What was the was
it usc where they threw the ball to Omari Kelly
and it was like a bad pass you had to
pick it up and then throw it like there There
have been a couple of trick plays. Was that a
part of the trick play? Though?

Speaker 4 (01:19:05):
Intentionally I think this is a bring out all the
stops week, but you know, you do it where you
need it. But yeah, I would be you know, don't
don't leave anything in the bag if you if you're
Jonathan Smith and Brian Lincoln.

Speaker 3 (01:19:18):
Dan Grave all season long, you bring a reporter that
covers MSU's opponents when they face Michigan.

Speaker 4 (01:19:24):
You don't why, Well, we had Sean Windsor on who
covers both teams and he's blue wall. Yeah, part of
it and alcome to the blue wall, you know, I
think part of it. I was doing a podcast the
part of Spartan. We put up the Spartans Peak feet
it's in the Spartan feak feed as well. But we
did a podcast salary and I did with the with
the guys Angelique, No, but the guys from the Free

(01:19:46):
Poo do the Michigan do the Michigan podcast. So I
kind of did that there. But I just thought Windsor
was a good guest for this and is somebody people
would want to hear from and could have gone with
Tony Garcia, could have brought Angelique on or something, but
just yeah, it It had nothing to do with like,
oh it's Michigan, we got a we got a blue
wallet here, Just yeah, it wasn't.

Speaker 3 (01:20:07):
Maddy Bae. Do you feel like MSU fans would be
so quick to bail on Smith if you didn't have
a prominent voice like Vilenni constantly having reactionary extreme takes,
not saying this is working or he's wrong. But does
he have influence on the speed people give up? I think?
Do they barely talk Michigan State though? Like I listened
after the Lions, you know, like Monday or something like that,

(01:20:31):
and they never maybe for ten minutes or something.

Speaker 4 (01:20:34):
And Lenni VI Lenny does. He's really good at what
he does. He does have a sizeable audience. I'm not
saying that, but I think he has less influence than
you think. Like I never every once in a while
I'll hear sort of what ve Lenny said mimicked through
a question, uh, through certain people I know listen to
him here and whatnot. And but you know, I.

Speaker 3 (01:20:54):
Mostly so someone's taking what Velenny says. And then well
you can just sort of you just sort of tell,
you're not question or take. You can sort of tell
or you know, but so hearn's no, no, everybody. I mean,
you see it with everybody from like our guy Jay Hawkins,
and there are other other in their listeners.

Speaker 4 (01:21:08):
You see it here and there. But I and there's
nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying, most of the
emails I get, most of the responses I get, don't
sound like they're Valente listeners. I think that the number
of people who are MSU football fans who will be
in that stadium on Saturday, who are Valenti listeners who
are impacted by him versus one who have just come
to their own conclusion is probably less than you think.

(01:21:30):
Doesn't mean he doesn't have a big audience. He's got
a bigger audience than us. He's you know, yeah, he hope.

Speaker 3 (01:21:35):
So you know, he's obviously does a good job, but
I don't think that's what's dry. It may drive some people,
and it may drive some of the online discourse because
I bet his Twitter to you know, heavy Twitter usage
to sports talk radio correlation is probably well, he doesn't
really he doesn't have any social media nor does he
go to any games, So I think, right, But I'm

(01:21:57):
just saying people were on Twitter tend to be people
who might listen. Then, maddibe, is there a worse take
than the people who point out that the leagues have
gambling sponsorships when scandals like this week break, it's fairly
obvious the separation between people betting on their couch and
players who can influence results. Yeah. I mean, I just

(01:22:19):
think it's because sports gambling is a losing proposition that
I don't think people like we always talk about if
you're a fifty one and a half percent winner, that
is like unbelievable in gambling sports gambling. Yeah, that's what
makes sharp betters if you win fifty three percent of
your the bets you make. And I think people think
that these guys, because I think it's a lot of
the guys on Instagram, these betting expert people throwing you

(01:22:42):
trying to sell you picks and claiming how much money
they make. They get people thinking, like, I know sports,
I can do this.

Speaker 4 (01:22:48):
We I mean, that's how you know you're not a sharp,
Like we know we're not sharps because we want to
win one hundred percent of our bets. We're not out
for the fifty three percent. Oh I'm out for fifty
three percent. I'm realistic. Oh absolutely, I've got to. I've
become a way better sports better, believe me, than I
was four or five years ago. So if you're out
for the fifty three per percent, it's smart because then
you don't chase bets, you don't do stupid things. I

(01:23:09):
still do that, but.

Speaker 3 (01:23:10):
I have just a certain amount of money set aside
that I know because I don't have kids, so I
have some disposable income that I can throw at it
if it happens to win, and it just I don't know,
so I can have fun with it. But yeah, I've
been fortunate to where it's never gotten bad for me,
and I understand that it does get bad for some people.
But just because it's not bad for you doesn't mean

(01:23:31):
that we have to get rid of gambling for everything.

Speaker 4 (01:23:33):
Just because some people get handled or yeah, or some
athletes are influenced, and I am curious, like I'm curious
what the NBA will do, and I'm curious what this
looks like in ten years is people are more used
to this. And again I'm not saying it.

Speaker 3 (01:23:46):
Couldn't even like I've stopped betting on the NBA years
ago because they didn't make it fun anymore. Well, the
NBA is one of the dumbest things you can bet
on because it's they need to get a handle on there,
on the reporting of the injury reports and things that
come out. Like, you know, you just could never trust
some of these guys that they would play if you
either bet on some of their props or.

Speaker 4 (01:24:05):
Something like game to game. It's just there's just too
much unpredictability.

Speaker 3 (01:24:08):
It's yeah, Tim, Tim next Graham compared MSU's keys to
winning the same as he would a MAX school, and
then the entire fan base decided to make their profile
pick say, we believe the most mac thing ever. My
ball's hurt from the cringe. We believe, we believe, we believe,
but I want to know believe what though believe you

(01:24:28):
can beat Michigan believe Smith can still like figure it
out here because I mean, like, okay, so if he
doesn't beat Michigan, do you guys still believe or no?

Speaker 4 (01:24:38):
How how specific was Ted Lasso when you put the
sign up that said believe, I mean it, just believe, man.

Speaker 3 (01:24:43):
I didn't see that. You didn't see Ted Lasso. I
have never watched Ted Lasso. I'm not gonna watch it.
You should watch tim I don't want to. You have to.
Why do you do this? We're gonna take a break
and go live while you watch Ted Lasso. Yeah, yeah,
I don't want to. People can listen to you watch
Ted Lasso. Watch Eastbound Down for the eight hundredth time,
can't you? Is there anything more on brand than that

(01:25:04):
All State commercial where the Michigan fans steals the kids
cotton candy.

Speaker 4 (01:25:09):
It's actually a funny commercial, though I have not seen it.
That's pretty good, real pretty good. The guy, the acting
is good. The guy's on the jumbo trot and he's
picking the cotton candy from the kid in front him.

Speaker 3 (01:25:18):
It's it's good. It is a little on brand, but
it's also good. Oh DMB I used to email Mark
Hollis about Pat Nardoozy's sucking and the lack of Porta Johns.
In two thousand and nine, his assistant emailed back once
and gracefully told me to please stop. Bathroom scene is
still garbage? But what should be on my wish list?
When I email j Batt next week? Can't you block?

(01:25:43):
You can block people from your email, right or do
you just ignore him? Right? But I mean if someone's
firing them off like DMB was.

Speaker 4 (01:25:49):
Back, yeah, you can make you can tell it spam
or whatever. Yeah, you won't see it.

Speaker 3 (01:25:53):
I just love Hollis like telling his assistant, Hey, could
you email this guy back and just tell him?

Speaker 4 (01:25:58):
How about a defensive tackle? Put that on the lift,
A really really ferocious defensive lineman. I put that on
your wish list. However you get that, that's.

Speaker 3 (01:26:06):
What you need. DMB, my buddy said, Coach Smith looks
like a guy America just received from a prisoner swam.
I agree, he looks fucking miserable. What should coach do
to cheer up before a big game? A few mgs
and some loving from miss Smith? Missus Smith. Yeah, I

(01:26:29):
don't think. I don't think he's having a ton of
fun right now. I don't I don't. I mean, I
just can't be a lot on. Wow, that's pretty We
had to give up the Merchant of Death for Smith,
but you know it's worth it. Fossman eighty during its
next head coaching search, will Jabatt have the stones to
look at Farris States, Tony and Nesse. The guy is
a flat out winner wherever. He has coached. One hundred

(01:26:51):
and ninety five and forty one record in high school,
three state championships at Miss Skegan High School, thirty and
four record at Grand Rapids Community College. You get it,
he does. He's on a lot here. He's gonna keep going.
We may have the next Kurt Signetti, a mire one
hundred and nine miles away from East.

Speaker 4 (01:27:06):
Lancy, so there is always that chance. He's an older
guy at this point. He's won everywhere, and now those
coaches are you know how old hold On.

Speaker 1 (01:27:24):
I am.

Speaker 4 (01:27:26):
So he is the sixty five already sixty four, yep,
the old guy. Yeah, old guys are where it's at. Yeah,
the and you know, look, and I'm not saying it
wouldn't work, because but even Signetti had moved up to
coach a couple of Division I schools and had great
success there before going to Indiana.

Speaker 3 (01:27:47):
Is it?

Speaker 4 (01:27:47):
It's a different jump in what's weird in football as
you see it more than anywhere you see D two
coaches go to be like position coaches at the D
one level and back and forth.

Speaker 3 (01:27:56):
We don't have time for that, right, but got to
move it up. I'm not sixty four. He can handle it.

Speaker 4 (01:28:01):
I'm not saying he's twenty five a bold higher. It's
just does he put.

Speaker 3 (01:28:05):
His hands on his hips like signetti? Have you ever
caught yourself doing that? I caught myself like last week.
I was like, oh God, don't do that. I'm getting
the love handles. It would be it would be an
interesting higher. I look after what happened in the early
eighties of the Michigan State and a successful D two coach.
I don't know that ms she would ever do that again. Again,
that's forty five years ago. I just I don't think

(01:28:26):
he's going to get a look. But it's it may
be unfair, and you may be right about that. Even
a low good win, you don't even think he'd get
a look. I don't. I don't.

Speaker 4 (01:28:34):
I don't because I just think, when's the last time
you saw a D two coach jump to a power
for school.

Speaker 3 (01:28:42):
You just have a different era of college football. If
he if he, if he had, he's old. Apparently old
guys work. Now you'd have to have a plan, does
he like short practices? You have to have a plan,
like a real like nil plan. But oh, that's what
I mean, that's it's a little different. But yeah, you know,
I've talked to him a few times. He is a
bright guy who is a fantastic football coaches won everywhere,

(01:29:03):
and I know there's you know, and look I'm not
I'm not poo pooing it. I just don't think it
would happen, don't you dare papoo pig Miller. MSU hockey
looks like a juggernaut. Are the expectations for Nightingale Final
four or bust title or bust? Well?

Speaker 4 (01:29:18):
Yeah, I mean I think after what happened last year
the postseason, everybody will be on like pins and needles.
And it's good pressure though, it's good pressure. It's a
good place to be and they do have a team
I think that's much more built for postseason success this year,
in the sense that they're second and even third lines
are better. I mean you're talking draft picks and and

(01:29:38):
what that allows to happen is if you have a
line that's shut down, which is you can sometimes shut
down one line in a game like what happened a
little bit with with Cornell in Michigan State, it's harder
to shut it down the whole team. It's it's harder
to have a game that winds up in Michigan State.
It's more likely to put a team like Cornell away now.
Still one game scenario is dogshit shouldn't be But the

(01:29:59):
nca he doesn't care about hockey, so they don't have
a legitimate postseason.

Speaker 3 (01:30:04):
Couch on fire. What are the chances the Tigers get
a middle of the order bat this offseason? Starting pitcher
three four level.

Speaker 4 (01:30:13):
Well Bregman is a middle of the order bat would
be good. I think I think they'll be in the
conversation for him. From everything I've read and heard, you know,
and I think they I think a lot of pictures.
I think the Tigers are gonna be active. It's tough
to say middle of the order. I think they're going
to the order has been. I think they're going to
trade school. I just have this hunch, really hunch.

Speaker 3 (01:30:30):
Yeah, yeah, I don't see it when I don't know
winter meetings, I don't know whenever you do. So you
haven't thought it through or anything. You're just firing that
out there.

Speaker 4 (01:30:39):
No, I just I just I just I think they
know he's not going to resign. So but the problem
is your best team next year probably has him on
there that you have to.

Speaker 3 (01:30:47):
Take some calls. You got to talk to some people
and see what they're offering.

Speaker 4 (01:30:50):
Yeah, and if it's a great any thing is if
you get legitimate major leaguers and prospects in return, and
then you use money. You were playing here's the key.
The key is money and asked that you were planning
to use to sign Schoogle if you would sign with you,
you got to put elsewhere. Oh yeah, you got to.
You got to show people that. I mean, and that's
the thing. But I just have this weird feeling that's
gonna happen.

Speaker 3 (01:31:10):
Couch on fire. Why do MSU opponents in the pre
Big Ten Conference games always have someone go off on
them Bowling Green, Big twenty and twelve. Really stupefying, but
happens so many times. That is so true, though it
does seem to happen or does it happen everywhere or
just Michigan State.

Speaker 4 (01:31:28):
There's no real scouting report on a lot of these
guys too, And you're playing these exhibitions.

Speaker 3 (01:31:31):
Boo booie. Well that's Northwestern, I understand, but it's just
like always these one guy and you're.

Speaker 4 (01:31:36):
Like, yeah, no, bowling green, Yeah no it guy shoots
lights out. Interesting looking character too, boo booie, No bowling
green kid.

Speaker 3 (01:31:45):
What do you mean it just doesn't doesn't look like
a baller? Yeah, look like, oh he's white. Yeah. Oh
why couldn't you just say that? Because it's more white
more than that. Yeah, yeah, what's his name? Like? Now,
I got to look this kid up? Come on, hafit
pretty serious? Actually, sun to look up? What's his name?

Speaker 1 (01:32:04):
I ride through the series back, so.

Speaker 3 (01:32:09):
Answer the same questions to see this kid?

Speaker 5 (01:32:11):
Yeah, the Bride in the Hollows guy. You know it
looks so good, nice slogan.

Speaker 3 (01:32:27):
Yeah, yeah, all right, I just turned it off. Hold on,
that's all right, look through the windows Bride Jackson, Pardons,
Greg Spurgeon, Hollows.

Speaker 4 (01:32:43):
Yeah, I'm sorry, I can't even open this thing. I
don't know what's going on here. Oh, here we go,
Here we go. Here's a what are we talking about? Yeah,
I'm sorry, yeah, sorry about this guy.

Speaker 3 (01:32:50):
Yeah, yeah, I gotta know. This is Oh my god,
we ran out of Half Carol. It was no Sam Towns.
Sam Towns isn't white.

Speaker 4 (01:32:58):
Oh yeah no it was the other guy was thinking
it was white. Yeah, towns and Towns is not Towns
was really good last night. So but there's another kid.
It was interesting.

Speaker 3 (01:33:04):
It was Mohammed Maximoud. That's a good name.

Speaker 4 (01:33:08):
Yeah, I figured out yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, same town's. Yeah,
you're right, I'm thinking.

Speaker 3 (01:33:12):
Of the other kids. Sorry I did that. We'll fix
that and pull the whole show. I apologize. It's got
you and X. Will you be at Yukon on Tuesday?
I will. Yeah, going to Yukon, going to an exhibition.
Yeah this guy. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:33:27):
And here's what tell your editor is this. If you're
in this business, the exhibitions you gotta go to because
that's where there's everybody's in, everybody's curious. It's where tape
gets crushed. That's that's where the readership is. If you're
gonna skip some something, skip the Champions Classic, million reporters.
There still football season People don't read as much unless
they really win, right, But you never skipped the exhibition

(01:33:48):
exhibition against a D two opponent. People are all in,
you don't skip that game.

Speaker 3 (01:33:53):
It'scot you between three months of Peacock, Yukon Plus and
Big ten Plus. Is this the most expensive season to
watch all of MSU hoops Peacock? Yeah, I don't. I
got to look into what the Yukon Plus thing is
and see, wouldn't it be now if you went to
Yukon Plus and they just had a one game, like
one of those scan codes that you could just on
your phone and throw them to ninety nine or whatever

(01:34:14):
you need when you make more money Yukon Plus or
Big ten Plus, Big ten Network Plus, you know.

Speaker 4 (01:34:20):
And I don't know what they have right now and
how accessible it is, damasu fans. I've got to look
at that, but I haven't. I haven't done that, dude.
I will the beginning next week.

Speaker 3 (01:34:28):
Dave. With that said, I know this is long winded.
I love when people started like that, what restaurant in
the Lansing area that's no longer around? You miss the
most child childhood? Me would say Amles College. Me would
say Mena's the original Lewin Harry's or Taie one O two.
Adult me would say Clara's de Lucas or Reno's East.

(01:34:48):
I would love your thoughts and hope you have a
great week with some groovy donuts. Thank you, Dave. I
was I miss as.

Speaker 4 (01:34:57):
Amos is great. Yeah, Clara's on West on the west side.
Claire's is a fun place to go. Claire's had their
menu was probably a little too large, but they had
a fun brunch. And I like Clara's to Lucas though,
I mean De Lucas was my place. I missed to
Lucas quite a bit.

Speaker 3 (01:35:11):
Yeah, all right, mister Benjen, greetings from Leboca. You wrote
in your quick takes that Fears is going to create
an awful lot of ms MSU's offense. Does that include
threes or is he still hesitant to shoot from distance?
Will he be effective from behind behind the arc?

Speaker 4 (01:35:29):
I think he will be effective as a spot up
shooter on open threes, and I think he'll get some
of those. I don't think he's a guy who's gonna, like,
you know, become He's not a shooter shooter. You know,
you know, Kirk Tang is a shooter. But I do
think I do think Fears is gonna be comfortable beyond
the arc. He shot a decent percentag last year. He's

(01:35:49):
just a little hesitant, and Teams kind of knew it.
He does not look hesitant, now, Ben.

Speaker 3 (01:35:54):
Jen, would you hire him if the donuts were groovy?
I interviewed a guy five minutes in. He's swears, his
wife yells at him, and a dog barks. He brought
home donuts, left them on the counter the dog. How's
the dozen? The wife knee jerk, used him as a
whipping boy, then punish the dog. What this doesn't sound good.

(01:36:15):
I don't know what is happening. I don't know what's happening,
mister bench and yeah, decided we need to hear this.
But so he was interviewing a guy. During the interview
and he swears, but he swears, his wife yells at
him for sweat. It's kind of weird if you're during
an interview.

Speaker 4 (01:36:29):
With dog barks and any but he brought home donuts,
left them on the counter the dog. How's the dozen?
So the wife's panic, he's a dog going to get
sick or what?

Speaker 3 (01:36:39):
Yeah? I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:36:39):
Shit everywhere, Yeah, it's not great. I was trying to
figure out a library job. Donuts quite get there. I
couldn't get there, man.

Speaker 3 (01:36:47):
My bad. I didn't see the fishing for a live
and find it couldn't Why does he keep going on
and not all right? Bench? Should Spartan fans be concerned
that the Dodgers World Series game starts a half hour
after kickoff? It seems like Smith learned his lesson to
not comment about his favorite baseball team during Michigan Week. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:37:05):
I don't think he's going to be plugged into the
Dodgers game. Just game one, Game seven? Hey man, Yeah,
that's a ballplayer both sides. How about them, Dodgers pitcher.
If you want to lose the fan base forever, lose
forty to ten and then walk into the post games,
how about them Dodgers?

Speaker 3 (01:37:21):
Bulky Bart Taking this imagine we are back in twenty
twenty one and the Spartans just went eleven and two,
ranked number ten in the country. Dan Campbell's first season
ends at three and thirteen. Would you make a deal
with the devil to turn the Lions into an elite
NFL team in exchange for the Spartans football program collapsing
depends on who you are. Jason would Yeah, yeah, I

(01:37:43):
would have. I'm sorry, guys, Yeah, I believe in fourteen
and a half. Matt c would not. It really depends.
Eric Schultz would not. Is that the only deal with
the devil? Like I don't have to give my soul? Yeah?
Just Miligan State Football Class A class. I would think
about it, though, I guarantee would think about that's supposed
to make my you feel better? No, no, no no,
I'm just trying to tell people like I wouldn't just

(01:38:04):
throw it away right away. I definitely would sleep on it.
I'd probably call them middle of the night. But yeah,
let's make a deal, uh, Chris. Last year, MSU had
a significant number of new players and played a very
straightforward game plan, while Sharon and company used every trick
play in their playbook. In your conversations with players and
staff this year, what do you expect that to happen again?

(01:38:25):
And do you feel that they get the hostility now?

Speaker 4 (01:38:27):
I have no idea what they're going to hit them
with game plan wise. I and some of that depends
on how well you're doing with what you you know,
what you do right? If usually the lesser team up
front is the one that's got to use a little
little more trickeration. I do feel Michigan State gets the hostility,
though I do feel their players do. I do feel

(01:38:47):
the coaches do. The coaches feel it from their own
fan base a little right now too, But I think
they get it, and so I'm curious to see what
that means and if that matters on.

Speaker 3 (01:38:58):
Saturday, Thomas, what's the highest number of smoke plumes from
burning couches you've seen when leaving Spartan Spartan Stadium after
a Michigan game.

Speaker 4 (01:39:06):
I did not endorse burning couches, period. Its just don't
do it. It's just a bad thing in life. It's
a bad thing in life. Is that your PSA'SSA. Don't
burn couches. You can burn anything else, don't burn a couch.

Speaker 3 (01:39:21):
Don't light that match. The Mary Marin Marius pont Mercy
of Southern Maine was the coaching staff, the only people
in the building last year, the only ones that didn't
know alex Orgy was going to run the ball. Yeah,
I think so.

Speaker 4 (01:39:37):
They actually accidentally had film with Peyton Manning and they
got it wrong, and that's what happened.

Speaker 3 (01:39:43):
Oh sucks. It's got you. What's going on with Jays Clarizo.
He hasn't listed on the injury or report. Does he
dress for games? Is he not as good as the
staff thought before the season they were saying he would
fit in into the rotation.

Speaker 4 (01:39:57):
Yeah, he had an injury before the It was a
calf or what. I'm blanking on the specifics of it now,
But he had an injury that wound up being a
little more long term thing than they thought. And he
was I'm trying to remember the last time people asked
about him, and it was not that long ago, and
they've been vague, and it's a good question. It's something
that needs to be looked into more. And don't I
don't know one hundred percent of what is going on there?

Speaker 3 (01:40:19):
All right? Southern main guy? Did aston Vella beat Spurs
one day and then lose to a team called go
Ahead Eagles three days later? Hopefully they can redeem themselves
against the young boys? Ah, the young boys? How are
they doing this year? The Atlanta young Boys?

Speaker 4 (01:40:33):
They're in the Europa League. So yeah, it's uh there.
I don't know how they did the other day, asked
the villa did cost me money? Losing to the go ahead, eagles,
go ahead, you can go ahead of eagles.

Speaker 3 (01:40:43):
Man. That's your ASI line. Not not not good at all, Professor.
What are the logistics around your interview with the governor
and how did it come about?

Speaker 4 (01:40:53):
I just promised groovy donuts. If you want the governor
or anybody else, any dignitary to show up at your place,
just say you're gonna have groovy donuts. That's all it took.
Like there's no other promises. Just will have groovy donuts
she shows up. If you worry people don't like you,
or you want them to like you, or you want
them to want your presents, I'm telling you groovy donuts
is the trick. Be at a party, be at a gathering,
whatever it might be, a workplace. If you've funked a

(01:41:16):
test or just been a jackass, Groovy Donuts can solve that.
Go to groovy donuts dot com. You can have place
the custom order. You can place an order on Halloween Donuts,
or you can just swing on by either of two
locations Lake Lancing Road, Niese Lancing and in Williamson seven
am to one pm Thursday through Sunday. Make Groovy Donuts
part of your Michigan Michigan say tailgate, whether you're outside

(01:41:39):
the stadium or at home.

Speaker 3 (01:41:40):
JB. Why didn't you ask the governor about her opinion
on the Lancing promise?

Speaker 4 (01:41:45):
And I also didn't ask the professor answered the professor's question.
The original interview came to together because I placed soccer
on Monday nights with her chief speechwriter and we were
just chatting about it one time, and it was something
that you know, she seemed interested in doing.

Speaker 3 (01:42:01):
So you play adult soccer. I play adult soccer co
ed soccer. Well you have to specify because sometimes you
like to coach people's kids.

Speaker 4 (01:42:08):
That is fair enough. He's not six year olds. Yeah,
it was not like I was coaching the governor's children
or anything. The Yeah, and I haven't actually played in
a little while, but this was That's how that happened.
The Lancing promise was not really I mean, that's all
I really wanted to talk about, but it wasn't.

Speaker 1 (01:42:23):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (01:42:24):
Yeah, she's not really a part of the lance. I mean,
she's an East Lancing person who's the governor. If the
mayor had been here, that would have been the entire conversation.
Oh sure, yeah, sure, had been in here.

Speaker 3 (01:42:37):
Happened, never stopped talking. Scotty Green's al Camino, Jason, why
didn't you do the windsor taint drop during couches interview
with Whitmer. Could you imagine him stumbling over his words
trying to explain it to her missed opportunity. I wasn't here.
That's the taints the see. Yeah, he didn't cut a
new one for me the other day, so you know

(01:42:58):
it's huge, Like what is he talking about? You get
it pretty good, it's pretty clear. Not's the taint. It's
just yeah, Scotty Green, alchemy know. How about Kirk Cousins
as a future MSU football coach? Checks every box? Oh yeah,
expect the coach coaching experience.

Speaker 4 (01:43:16):
Except the coach. It's miss spelled expect except yeah, sorry,
it's my bed. Sorry, Yeah, I know again, that's I
think there are certain things that are trying too hard
for the tie tie in the Michigan State. You need
you need some coaching experiences. It's not a job you
walk into just because you've been a player.

Speaker 3 (01:43:35):
John Noughty, Next, if Jonathan Smith happens to not be
the coach next year, who do you think Iszo would
want to replace him? And who do you think donors want? Yeah,
I mean we're not quite there yet, but I do
question for Yeah, it's it's it's one of your takes,
A question.

Speaker 4 (01:43:50):
For after Uh. You know, I think there are some
after the aw Shucks Bowl. I think there's some. Yeah,
I'll get into this, John and uh, And I'm happy
to answer this privately with you, but I'll get into
this once, you know, if this is the road things
go down, because I do think there are some names
out there that are interesting.

Speaker 3 (01:44:07):
John, am I the only one already excited for Izzo
season and hockey? We got teams A lot.

Speaker 4 (01:44:13):
Of people are and football has done a good job
of making people excited for basketball and hockey this year
in a lot of years, hockey is I think it's
gonna be an incredible winter. I think it's gonna be
a lot of fun over there and just the buzz,
the excitement, the level of player seeing and we'll see
if we'll see what basketball does. But you know, last
year brought a lot about goodwill and a lot of
hope for basketball. And there are a lot of guys

(01:44:34):
on this team that I think people like and people
think can do some good.

Speaker 3 (01:44:38):
All right, Original Dark, Mantonio. If I'm wearing a Michigan
hat or shirt and someone else is wearing it too,
you always get the obligatory, obligatory go blue, which I hate,
but I always reciprocate. But I never see MSU fans
say go green, go whites when passing each other.

Speaker 4 (01:44:53):
Is that a thing or not? Yeah, it's absolutely a thing.
I don't know how you miss it. Yeah, I hear
all the time when I'm around Michigan State people. That's
like the thing.

Speaker 3 (01:45:00):
Graham's like Cooy, he has to whisper it. I don't
say it. Yeah, that's awkward. It's really because he tries
to explain that he's not a fan anymore because he
but it's still long winded. People just keep walking. Yeah,
and he's learned just to be like Cooy and they're
like that guy's a really punchable face. Original Dark. You
always said there was no way MSU would part ways
with Jonathan Smith this early. It seemed to have changed

(01:45:20):
your mind. When was the moment that changed you? U?
C l A.

Speaker 4 (01:45:26):
I mean, Nebraska was was rough, but UCLA was the game.
It just looked different and and and somewhere in there.
You know, the more people I talked to, uh just
and I'm not talking about talking like talk to Jay Batt.
I'm talking talking to like fans and donors and just
the lack of connection. The number of people were out

(01:45:47):
on them already. But the U c l A was
it's just one of those games you can't have and
you can't have it a pivotal time coming off that
Nebraska game. It was they needed something else that day,
and that was That was the first moment I really thought.

Speaker 3 (01:46:01):
This. I mean, I knew there was a chance this
wasn't gonna work, but that was the first moment I
thought this might be this season. Original. If Izzo had
gotten fired in the first three years and MSU had
a new basketball coach every six to seven years, same
as football, do you think the MSU sports community would
be as strong and passionate as it is today.

Speaker 4 (01:46:21):
It would be a different climate, but yeah, people would
still be I mean, they wouldn't have something to hang
their hat on the same way. I think ISO has
done a lot for self esteem of the school and
the athletic programs. But yeah, people would be passionate because
they care about their school and they you know, the
alumni certainly would be. You might not have as many

(01:46:43):
people who became MSU basketball fans because of Izzo who
weren't like alums and stuff, but it would so it'd
be a little different.

Speaker 3 (01:46:50):
Mojo Jojo. Given the blood bath, I'm anticipating Saturday very
dead inside. Where would you recommend Ja Smith take the
visiting recruits instead? Cask forty three, Cask forty three, Casking
Company in front forty three, killing Groovy D's chi Omega,
the unemployment office.

Speaker 4 (01:47:07):
I think right now what I would do is I
would bring him downtown, get him away, get him away
from me, slancing in some of the negativity, and bring
him to Midtown Brewing Company in downtown Lancing. Sweet place.
You can watch them games there, but the games aren't
gonna overwhelm you. Great you know, have an American stout,
enjoy the menu. Chef does a great job. And if

(01:47:29):
you're looking for something to also Twilight Theme Trivia next Thursday,
seven pm. Their next theme Trivia at Midtown Brewing Company
in downtown Lancing. Do a great job with those. But yeah,
if you're looking for a date night this weekend, you're
looking just to be away from me. Slancing in a
place that it's great character, a great meal, good vibes,
Midtown Brewing Company in downtown Lancing.

Speaker 3 (01:47:49):
Mojo Jojo giving the out of left field report about Chauncey,
a childhood hero and really nice guy from meeting him
a couple of times getting arrested. Are you worried, Graham
that the FBI may come for you? Next hashtag stairgate. Yeah,
I've covered my tracks. I'm ready to talk if they
need me. I've covered my tracks. We're good. Huh, unbelievable,
I knew it, Mojo. Shout out to Matt dro Let

(01:48:11):
and uh open Open AI for the Couch and the
Roob cartoons, Best in the Busins, Kelvin and Hawks, which
is y'all's favorite. Y'alls, by the way, big stuff coming
from teacups dot org on Monday. Okay with Matt dro
Let's cartoons, So stay tuned Monday. Nice nice? Yeah. Which
would you have a favorite cartoon? I'd have to think

(01:48:33):
about that. The one where you and I are holding
each other like the uh those CEOs that the cold
Play thing always makes me laugh. There are a few
that that cracked me up. The one of me is
I love the everyone's spot is in and the hovering
donut or the donut that he's pawing through ship like,
I don't know, I like every single one, uh Matt does.

Speaker 4 (01:48:54):
He's got another one that just came out today. That's
it's pretty good. New one dropped, one dropped, the uh
the man.

Speaker 3 (01:49:00):
We need to talk because we have to make sure
that you're cool with us using these things and we'll
put you in your.

Speaker 4 (01:49:04):
Name image and like this or wow, you know it
is his idea and yeah, I know, undred percent. Yeah, No,
I love the one where I'm here like your sidekick
and that little uh uh motorcycle thing?

Speaker 3 (01:49:15):
What was the hold on? Let me pull up the
thing that dropped right now? I got it right here,
I get go lie.

Speaker 4 (01:49:23):
So this is this one's great. It's uh it's me
interviewing h Whitmer with spot and the donut and it says,
have you ever heard of a Philadelphia sidecar?

Speaker 3 (01:49:34):
It looks nothing like whitmuh graminito couch. Is there anything
baseball as a whole can do to reclaim some semblance
of popularity versus football? I love the Tigers, but gotta
be honest, not watching if they're not in it.

Speaker 4 (01:49:46):
Keep doing what you're doing because you're you're more alone
than you think. More people are, young people are I
was talking to Windsor about this with his boys are
into it like this is a uh. They baseball did
a hell of a job and they got to make
sure they don't go to some lockout or strike soon here.
But baseball did a hell of a job changing the
game in terms of the you know, the pitch clock,

(01:50:07):
speeding things up, the amount of pitching changes and stoppage,
you have, the extra innings with the runner on second,
all that stuff has worked. I watched more baseball than before,
and again, you're not trying to appeal to people who
are setting their ways, but it has worked to some degree.
It's younger people and baseball is more appealing, and I
think like college football is going the other way. And
I'm not saying their numbers aren't real goodright now because

(01:50:28):
it's football. But if you eventually, if you just put
a turd on a plate, we'll figure out it's a turd.

Speaker 3 (01:50:32):
Grahmon, Nito kyuch. Who would you both consider the throat goat?
Tate McCrae, Addison, Ray Beyonce, adele or Taylor Swift. I'm
going t Swift, especially giving her latest album Big a
Dell Guy. Maybe the throw goat's my wife, I mean obviously, oh,
we're talking to just singers. Oh, I didn't realize where
we were going there, Nick's yeah, Oh, you wouldn't consider

(01:50:55):
your wife a throw goat. Many people who played empty
and lay Miz who've been the thrown coat? All right,
I don't think coach knows what the throw goat means.
Fart soup. What do you think the MSU athletics department
would look like if it was run by Dom Maker
and Matt c.

Speaker 4 (01:51:10):
It'll be wild. It'd be wild it they'd be on
their fourth coach this season. Press conferences would be wild. Yeah, yeah,
but two guys going up reading notes? First, fart soup.

Speaker 3 (01:51:21):
When do you think the next big shift is in
terms of the way college football operates? Can it happened sooner?
At the minimum, I'd like to see the Big ten
go to division. Oh wait, that's why we had the
Pac twelve. Man.

Speaker 4 (01:51:34):
I hate whatever this era of college football is, it'll
be interesting. I mean, obviously the money is dictating what
we're doing, and football is I think going to stay
the way it is. What will get interesting is with
the other sports where this just doesn't make financial sense,
it doesn't make competitive sense, does not make sense for
softball and field hockey teams to be, you know, traveling
all over the country and.

Speaker 3 (01:51:54):
Just it's it's it's stupid. And I do think we
will get to a point where people realize that and
we we find ways to at least create things that
make a little more sense for the non revs. Fart
soup next, Graham, we had a huge dinner last night, steak, potatoes, wine.
We boofed hard. When was the last time you boof

(01:52:15):
something that? Good? Man? I don't want to look up
booth do I What do you mean you haven't boofed? Absolutely?
I mean fucking everybody, masterbach A, damn it, you have
never boofed anything, bro mushrooms? Oh no, what is it?

(01:52:38):
Is it the wine? It's the wine? Is the potatoes boofing?
Let's move on. Let's see the images shop. Why does
every high end hotel, resort and country club have a
cooler in the lobby? Is that the lsj's laptop. No,
actually have a new one coming tomorrow. So I'm excited,
so set that one on fine, all right, boof d,

(01:52:59):
all right, shep. Why does every high end hotel, resort,
country club have a cooler in the lobby of infused water,
water with ice and some bullshit floating in it? Cucumber, lemon,
et cetera. What the fuck? I'm hot and thirsty and
I want ice water. Who the fuck decided that water
with bullshit in it is an elevated experience. It's fucking ass.

(01:53:20):
And whoever decided this was the thing that rational humans
would enjoy deserves to be repeatedly kicked in the balls. Wow,
this is a lot of anger for Uh, you're assuming
it's someone that makes that those decisions that has balls.
I think it's like a female thing that likes Yeah,
I don't mind it. I you know. I again, well
I'm not surprisingly, but I don't like sponsored by Hallmark Movies.
By the way, I saw some of the Christmas stuff

(01:53:41):
they have coming up, going like, how does couch so good? Oh? Man,
you don't watch like the what was the commercial for? Anyway? Sorry?
He's like, there's no way, there's some like, uh dating show,
Like you don't have to watch those shows? No, okay,
I just watched the like where they make arts and crafts,
like do you watch those? I don't know if I
believe that. But anyway, Rich Kane did a freshman or

(01:54:04):
anybody else actually lose his spot after Louisville brought in
a g leaguer London Johnson.

Speaker 4 (01:54:10):
Well somebody will play less and somebody won't have the
role they thought, right, So that's maybe I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:54:17):
He didn't get into that because it kind of broke.
I think after Wednesday, right, yeah? Or when did it break?
I like that aunt Wright had a good tweet where
he was trying to fool people into thinking cam Reddish
with him. He had cam Reddish had it down to
three schools.

Speaker 4 (01:54:31):
I think this is I think the funny thing about
this and like this always wants people to write this,
and Selari wrote it for him and and then he
doesn't understand how social media works because w I l
X having video and that got picked up. That's what
you need to go viral and it did, and then
ESPN wrote a story and that's how you get your
opinion out there. Now every coach is being asked about it.
But the problem with all of this is, and I'm

(01:54:51):
not saying it's good for college basketball. I'm just saying,
like college hockey's been doing a lot. College hockey is
most of the things are allowed to do in college
hockey are sort of the argument why you should be
able to do anything in college football and basketball because
they've been having twenty two year old freshmen forever. They've
been come out of I mean, now you're coming out
of the Canadian junior ranks and now the pro stuff's

(01:55:12):
a little different. But you know, I don't know, I
don't love it, but I also see the argument about
how you're gonna stop it. If you're allowing this, this
and this, and you're allowing this in other sports, I
think you just again you got to set some rules
and not be afraid to get sued and say this
is what we're not going to allow and tell the
lawyers and the you know, everybody's coming at you to
fuck off and fight.

Speaker 3 (01:55:33):
You for it. Rich Gaine has MSU hoops shown any
interest in the Finnish freak Mika Murian.

Speaker 4 (01:55:40):
I do not, not that I know if that name
has not come up in any conversation I've had.

Speaker 3 (01:55:44):
Really, it's two highs and two k's. I mean, it's
a pretty weird name. I think if you saw that,
it'd be like, damn, fill up with three l's. I've
seen it all, you know. Alec Baldwin prop gun next
couch sounded like a smitting teenage boy interviewing whitmer Did
you go home and beat off? Did you go home
and beat off to your dear communist leader?

Speaker 4 (01:56:06):
If anybody wonders if we you know, we leave everything in,
We leave everyone in, Yeah, you really do. I know
sometime that one was not ready, that one probably should
have made it.

Speaker 3 (01:56:15):
Did you go home? All right? Hans jerging MSU basketball
looks like a nine seed. Tell me I'm wrong. I
can't right now. Uh, that's something they're gonna have to
prove and we'll see over you know when they play.
You go home? Oh man. And by the way, I
have been politics, I've been smitting over Brendan Quinn than
I was the governor.

Speaker 4 (01:56:34):
That is true. It stood to be fair. I mean, yeah,
I'm gonna beat off to anybody, you know. Sorry, what hey,
this guy is weird?

Speaker 3 (01:56:41):
All right? Upper deck jerk guy. Did you count the
number of bricks thrown up by the Spartans last night?
I didn't.

Speaker 4 (01:56:49):
I mean, it's on the shot chart, But yeah, they
missed some shots. But you know, I actually, I mean
they were at one point, like for quite a while,
I six for fourteen from three, and it felt they
feel like that kind of team. They were about forty percent.
It didn't feel like the games where they just couldn't
hit a shot.

Speaker 3 (01:57:02):
Jerk guy. If Carr has the same amount of development
as he did last year, where will he be drafted?

Speaker 4 (01:57:07):
What's what that development looks like? He's got to be
able to hit shots, like you can't. That player he
is is an amazing college basketball player, but if you
can't knock down shots from outside, that doesn't really fit
what they do in the NBA right now. And and
don't get me wrong, there are players who are super
athletes who are in the NBA who can't hit a
shot and their wings and they're you know, but they
got to believe that you can develop it to some degree,

(01:57:30):
and so that that'll be a real question on whether
he's you know, he's an NBA guy or now.

Speaker 3 (01:57:37):
Jerk guy, do you ever think about downsizing the staff
on the show from two to one? Yeah, I can
understand that it's me with a mic not turned on,
talking you might have to learn the side of the equipment.
H jerk guy. Can we get the Michigan man's look
at tomorrow's game? Oh yeah, Michigan man. O. What's going on? Coach?

(01:57:57):
I'm glad you're back from beating up Whitmer. I heard
that discussion, by the way, heard from Cash Pattel says
the defense ready to go, So screw the Spartans. By
the way, I heard there's a Michigan fan with two
different accounts that rights into the show. Is that true?
Couching the Rube go Michigan, Go Blue? Well done? Okay. Also,

(01:58:21):
I didn't know how to end that upper deeck your guy.
Finally with this one chicken or fish? Chicken or fish?
Oh chicken all day? Yeah good? You know it could
go either way, go either way? Yeah good. Salmon, I'm
all in, you know the salmon. Yeah? Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:58:36):
I hope you guys everybody has a great weekend and
regardless of what happens, you're able to find some joy
in life. Maybe you have a Muskox flannel. Maybe you
have a groovy donut, maybe a dozen groovy donuts. Go
to groovy donuts dot com place in order or swing
on by either location Lake Lanting Road and East Lansing
or in Williamson seven am to one pm Thursday through Sunday.
We appreciate Midtown Brewing Company another good place to escape

(01:58:57):
this weekend, and of course our friends with fire Keepers
and the fire Keepers I Casino and Sportsbook App. Download
the app today, Bet the games we're betting, or or
better yet, come up with your own. Do it responsibly.
Don't be like Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier and and
and all these all these guys. We'll be back Monday
and get into your takes on everything that happens. Good
show man, yeah man, touching the group