James 'Big Jim' Nies

Earnest ‘EJ’ Christian is joined by podcast host and friend James ‘Big Jim’ Nies to discuss streaming, the mid Dallas Cowboys, the curious case of Jerry Jones, Notre Dame’s Natty chances, prioritizing health and fitness, and much more.

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Music performed by Gee Steelio

Podcast Art by Lauren Christian

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
The Earnestly Speaking Podcast is a show that is founded
on free flowing conversation and may it times venture into
mature subjects. Listener discretion is advised. Yeah, earnestly speaking, Parcus.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
It's kiddes, how much younging in New York give my
gammy carry heed so much more to storm a productive flood.
The street opinion Nation con Fama's see Oh ho fit,
the Late Nani's gonna see.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Me got my hustle on.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
No limitation, no fag army young the Touchables Opinionationous Dad
never went off season homemade and checked the numblice her propping.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
My whole waite supply your Southern comfort.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Earnestly speaking, my ego is well fanned, earnestly speaking of
to people, and don't.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Bread see I'm like a hurricane Dura mile breeze, earnestly speaking.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Leaving Elia Titas.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
Podcasts recording this Wednesday Night, Remember fifth, twenty and twenty five.
Nice still sit down here with that boy friend podcast
host met in many trades, My man, James Big jim Nye,
what's going on, buddy there?

Speaker 4 (01:22):
What's going on? Man?

Speaker 3 (01:23):
I can't call it man. This relaxed on this Wednesday
Wednesday evening here. You know what I'm saying, relaxed word.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
Your eyes are as read as af my head right now.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
It's been a day, Bro, It's been a day. I mean,
you know a lot of things going on to trade.
The line has passed us, Bro, what what? Let me
ask you this, quint, because I've been to be honest
with you and I was asking it's on. I just
planned on a couple of things I wanted to talk
to you about that I didn't. I didn't tell you
recently what's going on right now? Like I'm watching the

(01:56):
w right now. But as you know, this time of
year with the uh you know, football's back and basketball's back.
Everything everything is like truck crescendo, wrestling does suffer. Added
to the fact now that this whole ESPN deal, Bro,
I can't get access to it, and apparently this whole
three dollars a month thing. I put my foot down, Bro,

(02:17):
I can't do it.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
I don't.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
I don't other than other than like getting it for
the POS. There's nothing they have on ESPN I don't already.

Speaker 4 (02:25):
Have, right, And that's and that's I think my frustration
with it, and and I haven't bought it either. I
have a friend who has graciously shared his credentials with me.
Uh so I can log in and watch well what
I thought was going to be just watch the pay
per views right until as a YouTube TV customer, I

(02:48):
lost my ABC ESPN. So luckily I was able to
use that to watch an iter name Boston Colleges. But
that sucks bro and Monday Night Football. Well, to be fair,
I only watched about a quarter and three minutes of
Monday Night Football because I literally turned it off when
Ferguson fumbled when the down, We'll get there. To second brother,

(03:10):
we'll get there. But yeah, it's dude, and I don't
blame you man. I did the same thing with Xbox
Game Pass. They they literally doubled their subscription cost this year,
and I'm like, I don't. I don't do enough online
gaming to really make it worthwhile. So I'm like, you
know what, efit, I'm cutting that cord and and yeah

(03:32):
I didn't. I didn't do the ESPN thing because I'm like,
I'm I'm already paying to have it on my TV channels.
I shouldn't have to pay thirty dollars more to get
ESPN documentaries and things that I'm probably not going to
watch a whole lot of them anyhow, and the WWE
pay per views. So yeah, I just I didn't do it.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
There's still there's still one way ESPN can can get
me to pay the eight dollars. There's still one way.
And I've been saying on the podcast, no, no, no,
well I mean no, I mean.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
You do like the game pass or whatever? Right I
do the past.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, although although I've taken a stand on that too.
Also I last episode recorded, so episode I announced that I,
you know, updated, I ended up getting fanuel Sports because
like it's all my heat games at least, so at
least get that, Okay, But I also explained on the
last pot that I'm testing a theory here because the
NBA is so is kind of spread thin too. Also

(04:33):
because they show games nationally healthy at least for four
to seven days a week, and once football is over,
that's gonna increase. So I'm testing out of the theory
here to see if I can do without the pass. Obviously,
heat games are priority when they're on TVM. Was wanna
watch them, but outside of the heat and it is
all right now for the record, you know, you put

(04:53):
on like, uh, okay, let's say, because so now that
Peacaucus is the is the new home in the NBA,
you have Tuesday nights, well Tuesday, Yes, Tuesday Nights doubleheader
Coast to coast on Peacock Tonight Wednesa night. There's an
ESPN game right now Thursdays of Football anyway, so it's
a better Friday. There's an Amazon game. Saturday is all costball.

(05:13):
Sunday's NFL, right, so I really don't I can actually
justify not having a lead passed at the very least
for the first few months of a year. Now, once
the NFL is over, I may go back and cancel
NFL Plus because that's I get that solely for the
red zone. Once that's going, I can take that away
and then replace the cost places up with the cost
of le past fed acidic.

Speaker 4 (05:34):
Go that route. Yeah, And I think that's that's kind
of the game that we play at this point, right
is how much how much are they going to get
out of me per month? And yeah, I cut off,
Like I said, I cut off the Xbox thing. Uh
and and I used so I used to get I
used to get what did.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
That run you like twenty bucks a month.

Speaker 4 (05:57):
Yeah, it used to be like fifteen, sixteen, seventeen month.
I was still like thirty and I'm like that, oh
my god. Really yeah yeah, and and like I mean
they say old it and I get it, dude, Like
I'm probably not the target demographic for for Xbox Live
and Xbox Game Pass or whatever at this point because
I'm forty years old. I play basically uh sports games

(06:18):
and Grand Theft Auto I I oh dude, I still
play j gt A five on the regular. I love that?

Speaker 3 (06:27):
Which was five? Is that? What? This is My City?

Speaker 4 (06:29):
Three? Well? Vice Vice City was between like three and four.
That was back. Yeah, that was years ago. Uh GTA
four was when they did the expanded world in New York, Like, well,
what is Liberty City New York. H GTA five has
now gone through three, uh three different levels of console

(06:52):
because it was it started on like the for me,
the three sixty, then it went to the Xbox One.
Now it's on the Series X. I've owned it on
every console. Yeah. That's the one in uh Los Santos
basically Los Ange.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
Los Angeles. Yeah, what what which one is Sores?

Speaker 4 (07:09):
Uh? Well that one was by itself, so that one
was also kind of in the Los Santos uh uh
l a universe. But like, yeah, so I just I
don't I'm not really the target demographic, and it's not there.
Their big selling point was you get more, you get
more access to more games and free downloads, and and

(07:29):
I'm like, man, I play what I play. I I
don't have a ton of time to donate to gaming,
so it's like it's not it's not for me anymore,
you know. And I used to do the NHL Center
Ice thing, but they years ago, like I don't know,
ten years ago or something, a stream service, right, yeah,
well that's basically League Pass for the night watch every game.

(07:52):
But they they re they restructured the TV markets in
the NHL and where I live in South Center for Pennsylvania.
I'm now in the TV market for Washington, DC and
the Capitals, so my games on that were blacked out,
so there was no point to me to buy that
service anymore. But so, and then one of the big

(08:16):
reasons I had gone to YouTube TV was because, uh,
well then NBC Sports Washington now Monumental Sports, uh was
on YouTube TV. That's okay, all the Caps home games well,
in the world of the you know, the ESPN and
ABC and Fox and all those contract disputes, YouTube TV

(08:38):
and Monumental Sports had the same deal. Uh, it expired
no longer on there. So now I am a uh
subscribed to one year of Monumental Sports Plus, which is
its own streaming service. So that is I think they
ran they ran a special and I think it was

(09:00):
like one hundred and twenty for the year, So we're
really not that bad against twenty gives me. It gives
me all of the Capitals games. It gives me like
what Wizards and Mystics and all of that stuff if
I if I choose to that's like, so that's.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
I find the Sports racause the Heat the Heat games
on here.

Speaker 4 (09:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
But but it kind of screw you though, because like
I'm in South Florida, so you can get a package
of either the Heat and the Rays or the Marlins
and the Magic. But they do this shit on purpose,
make when and get both because they cross city to
fucking teams. I can't stand that stupid Yeah.

Speaker 4 (09:37):
Yeah, with Monumental like I don't I wouldn't get I
wouldn't get Commanders games or anything because because you know,
but they're not they're not they're not owned. So Monumental
Sports is the ownership group of the Capital's Mystics, Wizards,
I think DC United and okay, something like get there's yeah,

(10:00):
there's there's some other like smaller sports and stuff. So
like that. That's I get all of that stuff included.
There's there's two channels, and then they have uh you know,
like their own content that they create, like a little
documentaries or feature packages and things. So I mean, I
get it for the Capitals games. It it gets me
and I can watch it on my phone if if

(10:21):
I'm not at home, like a couple of weeks ago,
is up at the Hershey Bears game. Uh, and I was.
I was watching it from from my seat during intermission.
So it it. You know, it's worth it because I
get to see the Capitals and then that's Yeah.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
Here's the thing. You know, I always say on the show,
like I'm a capitalist, you know, yeah, this and that,
but look, look, come something what we're gonna do. But
if if you can, you have to use your voice.
If you want to be able to have an impact,
use your voice. Stop buying the stuff. If you keep
buying the material buying the streaming services and and and
just giving up on that. They're justifying themselves in raising

(10:58):
prices every year anyway, So you stop doing that.

Speaker 4 (11:02):
But people don't listen. They want they want make the
sacrifice exactly exactly. I mean, and you know, and I've
seen like that's that's kind of the debate everybody's going
through with the YouTube TV. Every everybody who everybody wants
to blame the faul.

Speaker 3 (11:18):
You think both of them? Why why both?

Speaker 4 (11:22):
Well, because obviously Disney wants people Disney and ESPN they
want people to go over to the to the new
app and the new service. They also want to get
more money out of that of YouTube TV, and YouTube
TV wants to get more money out of Disney. So
here's the deal. The reason I say that they're both
at fault is because first off, they're both you know,

(11:42):
it's it's Google versus Disney. Okay, Neither of those companies
are in it for the consumer. Neither of those companies
are uh, you know, the probably the most uprighteous or
upstanding or you know, the philanthropy, philanthropic or whatever, you know,
they they're there. They're billion dollar corporations. They want to

(12:05):
get as much out of you and out of their
business deals as possible. They want to pay the least
and get the most back. So you know it literally
in the last what are we in the early November,
in the last two months. This is the third contract
dispute with YouTube TV and and TV partners. Because going

(12:27):
into the first week of college football, it was the
Fox Networks. They're like, you're gonna lose Fox, and I
think it was Ohio State Texas right like that, this
is in jeopardy, You're not gonna be able to see
this game. They came to an agreement at the eleventh hour.
Then it was NBC, uh, and and and all the
Comcast channels is like, you're not gonna be able to
see Sunday night football. And then again at the eleventh hour, Uh,

(12:50):
you know they were able to uh to come to
an agreement. Uh. And then now this ESPN one, they
didn't come to an agreement. We're now going on I
think seven days or whatever of the them them not
having it together. And then everybody's everybody's pointing the finger
at Disney and ESPN because the other ones were able

(13:12):
to get the deal done right and anyway in the past,
but here's the thing, man, Yeah, they've gotten the deals
done in the past. But when I first subscribed to
YouTube TV, I think it was let's see, so I
put in at Infinity. I think I got YouTube TV
in like twenty twenty two or twenty twenty three.

Speaker 3 (13:32):
Late you were the late guys.

Speaker 4 (13:33):
Okay, well I was because I had I had Direct
TV for a while and we switched to Infinity when
we got Infinity Internet and TV in my town. So
I got the introductory packages at that Okay, that makes sense.
I got those cheap, you know, the cheap TV prices
for the first two years, and then once they weren't
cheap anymore, we said if it, let's you know, let's

(13:55):
look elsewhere. And that was also the year that YouTube
TV was getting the Sunday ticket deal, so it's like,
all right, let's go sign up for that, right And
at that point, I think it was I think it
was like sixty one ninety nine, so I wasn't in
it like the twenty eight dollars or forty dollars or
whatever it was. Everybody else was in it, but I

(14:16):
was in at like sixty bucks three years ago. Guess
what it's now eighty four dollars and spoiler alert, it's
probably going to go up again because they just made
new deals with Fox and NBC, because that's kind of
been the gimmick with them is you have these threats
of the services going off, and then somebody saves the
day at the eleventh hour, and then like six months later,

(14:36):
when you forget that there was the negotiations and you
might lose your programming. Oh hey, we want to give
you the best product possible. Here's thirteen dollars more in
in price. So it's not it's not really that much
cheaper than cable anymore. Because I actually started doing the
math right when we've had these disputes, because I'm like, okay,

(15:00):
let's just hypothetically say we lose NBC and ESPN and
ABC and all of that, right, Well, I want to
be able to watch the shows and things that I
like to watch. So I started doing the map, and
I started mapping mapping out the channel listings and what
the things that we record on DVR and the things
that we watch sports wise and all of that. To

(15:20):
have equivalent packages on on say like Fubo, I think
would end up being about twelve dollars more fifteen dollars more.
Exfinity that package I think would be about fifteen or
twenty dollars more. So guess what that that line is
starting to close for YouTube TV, and if their prices

(15:41):
go up again, then it's going to close even further.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
But I always said this tonight, and I caught on
this way early as on the very early court cutters.
You know, I've been at Cable since twenty fourteen. Honestly, yeah,
I've been one of the guys that's figured out how
to embrace streaming, you know. But the thing is, we
knew this was coming. We knew at some point these
low prices that Netflix are gonna end up changing. And

(16:07):
now we're here at a point and the people say, well, well,
here's the thing. Here, here's the thing that people don't understand.
And I said this early on, before it became obvious.
The value in streaming isn't about saving on costs now,
It's about being able to control the things you want
to watch. You know. Now, for the first time, you
can decide, Okay, well you know what I want Netflix,

(16:30):
I'm good, Yeah it sucks now, so I can get
rid of it. Not having been be into a contract
because if people forget too. Also, when you when you
get a stream, when you get cable and you get
a package, you're paying for channels you may not use.
So if you're not someone that cares about Lifetime or
the Food channel, you're still paying that character fee. So

(16:51):
the value releasing is in control of the stuff you
get to watch. It's all.

Speaker 4 (16:55):
But here's the thing. If you pay for HBO Max,
you're not watching everything on HBO Max acts.

Speaker 3 (17:00):
But the I mean, but the odds are you will
at least have well again, you have the choice, you see,
you get to decide on their content. H Fields of
Company Novels is trying to make variety of content now,
to make it make aplowful for people like myself and
you whatever to state, I don't know, maybe you don't
have the Max. I'm not sure I get.

Speaker 4 (17:22):
It through eighteen t but yeah, right, I don't.

Speaker 3 (17:25):
Don't they they're they're as a company, I'm trying to
make it more even more enticing now to keep that
streaming service. You know. So it's about the content they
put it in a day.

Speaker 4 (17:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (17:35):
So, but at least at least as a consumer you
get to you get to opt out of God, I
want that.

Speaker 4 (17:41):
I'm good, you know, I think actually, like with with
cable companies and now too, I mean obviously when you
like when you first sign up, like they want to
do those like Exfinity play where you get the phone,
TV and cable for two years at this price, and yeah,
yeah you're locked in. But then like once you're outside
of that like two year initial term, you kind of
pay on a monthly basis. So like once you're out

(18:03):
of the like you don't you don't have to agree
to a contract. You can just hey, I want this
package for this month or whatever, and and then that's
just what you're gonna pay. And so you don't have
to lock yourself in, which if I do end up
going back to back to Infinity, which may actually even
be an option.

Speaker 3 (18:21):
If doesn't ask that you are you are you construng?

Speaker 4 (18:24):
Yeah? I actually am, because you know, I like, I
just I'm looking at it and like I don't want
to have to keep like mooching off of a friend
to watch stuff on ESPN or people. And I know
I know that the friend that that shared it with me,
he he doesn't not he does not mind, and and
I yeah, I certainly I I share, you know, we

(18:48):
share as much as we can until the services start
locking you down like Netflix did uh. And I think
even Hulu has started playing that game a little bit.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
But I have the what I just recently did, the
Disney bubbledell. So I used to have the bundle Wars.
It was Disney, Hulu and ESPN. Now that we able
to have more choices now the wife decided to make
it Disney Disney Hulu. No, well, Disney Hulu and HBO
Max supposed to ESPN well.

Speaker 4 (19:20):
And it's like, I think the thing that the thing
that just like frustrates me is like when I when
I as I've been trying to shop around to look
at different different companies, right, there's not any one of
them that has every everything channel that I watch. Like,

(19:41):
I don't even care about some of the some of
the like channels that I don't like, I don't watch
whatever if I if they're in a package that I
end up paying for, and I just don't really watch
a big deal. But like there is a certain you know,
the twenty five channels or whatever that have stuff on
that that cheer I watch. There's not there's not one

(20:03):
single service that that has like all of them, so
it's just like it's it's annoying, Like I think. That's
what I said to her is I'm just like, I like,
especially with this ESPN thing, and I certainly don't fault anybody.
And I was actually having a back and forth with
a guy on Twitter tonight about it because I saw
him say, like, you know, I'm not caving to Disney

(20:26):
and you and you shouldn't either, And I was just like,
man like, telling anybody what they should or shouldn't do
with their their TV service right now is to me
is just kind of wild. Like as you agree, I
I watch TV when I'm done working and I'm done
with all the other shit I have to do, and

(20:48):
I want to sit in front of my TV and
either watch sports or watch a show and brain rot
for a couple hours before I go to bed. I
don't want to have to fucking go to war so
to speak with with with a cable company or a
TV company or a media company, uh, because they're in

(21:08):
the end. To me, they're just they're both greedy pricks
trying to get more money out of me. And and
like he and I were kind of going back and
forth and I was like, look, I don't fault anybody
that makes that decision to draw the line at ESPN
and Disney, but like for me, I'm like, I'm also

(21:29):
not going to feel bad if I end up canceling
YouTube TV and going to Fubo or going to Hulu
or going to back to Exfinity, so I can just
see the ship that I want to see when I'm
done doing all of the other ship in my day.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
What's you favorite stands service?

Speaker 4 (21:51):
Well, I'll discount Monumental Plus because that's solely for the NHL.
My favorite one, I would say it's it's probably still Netflix.
I think right now I'm watching the most stuff on
there obviously, and that's even taken away Monday Night Raw.

(22:12):
I'm certainly not a every week wrestle watcher at this
point in my life.

Speaker 3 (22:17):
I don't know how he could do it, bro, I
can't I do.

Speaker 4 (22:20):
Dude, Like, I mean I watched I actually watched Raw
last week, and I think it was the first time,
easily in seven or eight weeks that I had watched it.

Speaker 3 (22:31):
I mean, do you just watch recaps though, like on
on YouTube?

Speaker 4 (22:34):
Yeah? I mean I thought I checked social media. I
see what's going on. I see highlights, I'll check highlights
and you know, so I'm aware of things i've and
I watched paper views.

Speaker 3 (22:45):
Yeah, so appeals definitely are and that's what well, you know,
that's the conundrum though, because now we need ESPN to
make work.

Speaker 4 (22:55):
That's why I borrow friend's credentials.

Speaker 3 (22:57):
Yeah. I tried to by my buddies, but apparently his
his direct TV service. You can only do one one
one name Stevie too. Yeah, man, it's it's tough, bro,
It's RN streets bro. Look by. I said, there's only
one way that ESPN gave me get that get that
fucking app though, you know what it is. It's not

(23:17):
the NBA, No, it is actually if they do acquire
the library, the library, Yes, that is the only way
you can get.

Speaker 4 (23:26):
My ass to and might they certainly might and also.

Speaker 3 (23:30):
Assuming too also they disbanded w Revolts because right now
the Revolts supposed to I guess it's gonna be the
the what it is now until they sell off the
post parts.

Speaker 4 (23:40):
Yeah, because I think I think the deal with Peacock,
and don't hold me to this, but I think the
deal with Peacock goes through the end of next year
those this year, I thought it was twenty twenty six,
And again I I could be entirely rock rock the
track of all of these things. There's way too many
dates and things to remember, because if it was twenty

(24:01):
twenty five, I feel like we'd we'd be hearing stuff
about the negotiation process and they would probably have a
deal in place or would have one in place soon.
And maybe it's in like early twenty twenty six or something,
So I could be wrong about it being at the end,
but yeah, yeah, either way, I mean, if it's within

(24:24):
the next year, we should be hearing something about it soon,
because usually you don't wait till the eleventh hour to
get those deals done.

Speaker 3 (24:33):
Okay, So do do do do? Do do?

Speaker 2 (24:35):
Do?

Speaker 4 (24:36):
All?

Speaker 3 (24:36):
Right, So the library in PLS on n next remain
on Peacock into twenty twenty six. The original deal had
the Ples Street originally sets expire in March twenty twenty six,
so I'm assuming March March slash eight. What twent twenty
six is where the deal is probably gonna cut off.

Speaker 4 (24:53):
So here's the deal. We'll probably get an announcement on
that around Royal Rumble time. Would be my guess, yeah,
well but thing though too.

Speaker 3 (25:00):
Also what's different, what's changed now that they've not really
changed a lot. But you know, raw has a home,
it's not a home. So basically what's requiring is nostalgia,
you know, no from from a month from now to
forty something plus damn years of events and whatnot. So
it's not I don't think there's a rush yet to

(25:23):
a company to grab that library as yet.

Speaker 4 (25:26):
In fact, especially the fact that.

Speaker 3 (25:28):
The vault is the thing, and basically everything that's on
the Peacock it's in the vault for free, So there
you go.

Speaker 4 (25:36):
I'm also curious to see if Slash, when they get
a deal somewhere, if some of the vault content on
YouTube might disappear.

Speaker 3 (25:50):
Yeah, I guarantee you if they make a deal like it, like.

Speaker 4 (25:53):
You might have stuff go on there, but then it'll
it'll go away, like they'll premiere stuff and then they'll
have like a little blip at the box. I'm like,
of course, watch more content like this go to ESPN unlimited.

Speaker 3 (26:04):
But I'm trying now if indeed they make a deal
with whatever company they deal with where it's renewal Peacock ESPN, right,
the material that's there right now, will slowly go away
once the w places because they want they want the
I want to go that way because if you can watch,
if you can watch wrestling three for three on on YouTube,

(26:28):
why would I you know what I'm saying, So why
would I do that? That makes no sense? But you
know that's again, that's uh god, I wasn't one on
one and twenty twenty five, and in this America, it
is what it is.

Speaker 4 (26:39):
Hey, how about your Cowboys? Oh helped out them?

Speaker 3 (26:45):
Oh god, well I'm not down too, bro, because I
thought we'd be a little bit even after the Michel track. Okay, fine,
like a mic does hurt losing him, but they're still
gonna be pretty good. He's still not daging the boys whatnot?
And three five one? And I'm also forestraate too because
of this year. You know, you guys make me on
hull of all time about me being a fan, but
this year actually fan though.

Speaker 4 (27:03):
Right, well you have you're a fan of consumerism. Uh,
and that's at stake. It's not it's not a Cowboys
fanom it's a fandom of winning money from a pre selfishly.
I want to win for selfish reasons, right, yeah, it's
it's been crappy. Look man, Like, I I knew, I

(27:23):
knew going into the year that this year was going
to be was going to be a struggle. I I
had I think on Twitter, I actually predicted at the
start of the season. I think I had them at
I think it was six and eleven. It was my
was my final prediction on on them at. But the
problem is, uh, I had them winning some of the

(27:46):
games they've lost. Okay, I think I had them beating Carolina,
and I think I had them beating Arizona. I think
I might have even had the I think I might
have had the Bears as a loss because I felt
like going to Chicago it might just be one of
those stupid games that you lose. So they're there are

(28:06):
two games off my pace, right and and so if
if the rest of my prediction holds, they will uh,
they'll end up at what four and thirteen, uh, which
their only remaining win would be against the Raiders. Now
here's the thing. I think they might find a way
to beat Washington or the Giants at the end of

(28:28):
the year when it doesn't matter. But the scary part
is that you have the bye week this week, and
then you have the Raiders and then it just gets hard.
The schedule gets are very hard, very fast.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
Looking the Green Bay that they bad listen to Arizona
on Monday, really really son of back pick, I.

Speaker 4 (28:47):
Think, yeah, it's that that one. That one hurt. Obviously,
you you made. You made a couple of deals at
the deadline with Quinn Williams and and forgetting the guy's
name from the Bengals, the linebacker from the Bengals. And
here's the thing, they're not Those are not deals to

(29:10):
salvage twenty twenty five. Those are deals because when you
really look at at where this team is at, with
dak and and Ceedee Lamb and this offense and some
of the pieces on defense, you have about a two
to three year window to to really with this group

(29:34):
of players make a run and getting the getting the
pieces that you got at the at the at the deadline,
and with the draft capital from the Micah trade, you're
setting yourself up for the ability to add some more

(29:56):
pieces to try and make this run. So I knew
that this year was going to stay. So technically it's
actually worse than so far than I thought. The offense,
for the most part. The offense for the most part,
has been really really good. You've had You've had a
couple of games, uh, the Chicago game in this past Monday,

(30:17):
where the offense has kind of let out a dud.
But the problem is, for the rest of the season
so far, the offense is putting up thirty plus points
a game and they're losing or tying. And that sucks
because you you should never be in a position when
you need your offense to score yeah every drive. So

(30:43):
you know, I'm here's what I'm hoping that you you
made a couple of deals, that the defense will improve
a little bit, and even if your defense can just
get a little bit better, maybe it gives you a
chance to beat you know, looking over this schedule past
the Raiders, Philly, Casey, Detroit, Minnesota, Chargers, Washington, New York,

(31:04):
maybe the defense getting a little bit better gives you
a chance to beat a Chiefs team that's not clicking completely,
a Lions team that although what I think is, you know,
at least top three in the NFC, we have seen
moments where that offense sputters. Maybe you can catch them
on one vikings. They've had an up and down spot

(31:28):
Chargers are banged up, so maybe maybe you can get
lucky on a couple of them. Certainly not expecting a
win in those games, but if your defense can have
a little bit of a pulse, maybe it gives you
a shot. But it's been frustrating. I do like Schottenheimer, though,
I really do. I think I think Brian Ottenheimer that experiment,

(31:51):
despite being three to five and one, has been much
better than expected. I think that he does bring a different,
different feel, optics a word you love, uh to the offense.
I think the players really like him on both sides
of the ball. He doesn't seem to be like a

(32:12):
lost dog, and I think that was my fear. But
if you look around the league, man, this has kind
of been a trend. You know, Sirianni O'Connell McVeigh that
there's coaches who started out as coordinators that get head
coaching jobs and find a fine success. So you know,

(32:33):
I'm I'm hoping that they give him time, you.

Speaker 3 (32:39):
Know, three to four years, and Jerry's good about that.
I will say that's probably probably too good to be
honest to you, because there are a guys who are
there probably three or four years more than he should, like,
I mean, Jason.

Speaker 4 (32:49):
Garrett got the longest leash because it was an Aloys player,
so Jerry loved him because he was one of his players.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
But yeah, don't say not anyone not named uh Jimmy Johnson.
Of course, who you when tow Sup Bowls just to
get fired once after? It makes no sense?

Speaker 4 (33:03):
But whatever, I mean, at least watching that documentary, they
both kind of admitted that they were both, you know,
really good doctor a really good documentary, really good documentary,
and they both admitted, like, look, we're both stubborn, stubborn guys,

(33:24):
and we you know, neither of us would extend the hand.
So they both admitted. It doesn't made me feel any
better because the Cowboys probably should have won at least
two or three more Super Bowls in the nineties if
if that whole situation didn't break down. But yeah, so
so I do hope that that he continues that trend

(33:47):
with Schottenheimer, because I think he is going to be
really good.

Speaker 3 (33:50):
Yeah, yeah, I do, like I should I ask him saying,
bybe do is Seawanheimer too? Also that he's a pretty
decent but you know, the documentary, I can't something about it,
and this is Jerry Jones, dude. I mean, I'll tell
you what, man you do. We just have to accept
who this is. Who he is. He's not gonna change
you usually how much many you need to slide? You
okay with that until he decides to go whatever. This

(34:12):
is who he is. I mean, he I think. Look,
I think he does care about winning. He also gonna
make money as well too. I also think he wants
to me the reason they win. And I think that
that Jimmy, that that Jimmy jumpin Fire in Night ninety four,
thirty one years later, that should be that should have
been you biggest clue.

Speaker 4 (34:31):
Yeah, I think Jerry Jones likes the idea winning. But
ultimately I think Jerry Jones and and here's the thing.
Jerry Jones is a businessman. He is. He made He
made a ton of money in the oil business and

(34:54):
that's why he bought the Cowboys. So he's a businessman.
He's about making money. He's instilled that in his kids,
most notably Steven, who will probably be running the team
when Jerry no longer can. Steven likes to make money.
They set it into a microphone after the playoffs lost

(35:15):
two years ago. And the playoff loss a year ago.
So they they they admit it. They love when people
talk about them because it makes them money. So as
long as they're making money, I think there's a degree

(35:37):
of they're okay with not being super Bowl champions again.
I think Jerry would love to win another super Bowl.
He says it. I don't know if it's one hundred
percent genuine because a week before, you know, he said
this Monday after the game that that he wants to
win another super Bowl while he's still capable. A week ago,

(36:03):
he said in an interview that he made one hundred
and fifty million on a single natural gas deal with
this new gas project that him and his company is
working on. And this gas deal that he was having

(36:24):
a conference call about was the reason why he wasn't
making deals to fix the Cowboys defense that day. So
I can't fully buy in on the idea that Jerry
loves or wants to win, because if you want to win,

(36:45):
truly want to win, you would turn the keys over
to somebody to run the football side. But he wanted
to control of the situation. So as long as he
has the control and he's making money, then there then
there's a degree of sacrifice of victory that he's okay with.

(37:09):
And that's what's frustrating as a fan.

Speaker 3 (37:10):
Yeah, I see the quote here he goes, uh, he was.
He was talking about how the fact that quote it's
a hundred million dollar, hundred million dollars president value with
gas out there. That he said, that's why I'm talking
to you on a telephone rather than trying to fix
our dad with the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 4 (37:23):
I mean.

Speaker 3 (37:23):
And then here's the thing, you know, he he The
thing is the tu tars that unless Conway fans really
get stubborn and really stop putting money in his pocket
and find the merch, stop selling out games to stay home,
he's not gonna change that. He's eight three years old.
This is who he is and he's always been this
fanboyant and to his credit, it has worked because the

(37:44):
Cowboys are still look.

Speaker 4 (37:46):
They are relevant name. Yeah, and that's and again that's
the point.

Speaker 3 (37:51):
It wasn't so weird because they're so boring as ship Jim.
Let's be real, if you look at the Cowboys outside
Jerry Jones, forget the history, look at this about him
right now. But dat Prescott, who is fucking literally mayonnaise personality.

Speaker 4 (38:05):
Yeah, story, he's not more, he's not. No, you don't
have to apologize to me. It's true. But here's the thing,
I'm fine with it. I don't need I don't need,
you know, Michael Irvin as my quarterback, Like I I don't,
I don't, I don't. I don't need that. I'm fine. Look,
give me Jared Golf. Bro, give me Jared Golf. That
dude boring his ship. He plays football, he lives football,

(38:29):
he loves his wife, loves his daughter, and he plays football.

Speaker 3 (38:32):
That's it.

Speaker 4 (38:33):
We saw, we saw the quarterback documentary. There's nothing to
that dude that.

Speaker 3 (38:39):
He was out after a game like he he left
her on the on the season two, I liked awful lot,
Like yeah, oh, the Kurcuss is really cool too.

Speaker 4 (38:47):
Ray corny but yeah, corny, but he seems like a
fun guy. But like, yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine with that.
But yeah, I mean the Cowboys are boring. I mean,
it's it's a good it's a good offense. The flashiest
thing about him is right now, George Pickens. But yeah,
I mean there's nothing, there's nothing exciting about the Dallas Cowboys.
And I'm I don't say that insultingly, It's just a fact.

(39:08):
And but like the reason Jerry being the way he
is has made it easier for me to, like, on
Monday Night, you know, the Cowboys go too drives fail
to score, Cardinals get a ten point lead. I looked
at my wife and I said, if the Cowboys don't
score on this drive, I'm turning it off. And Ferguson

(39:32):
fumbled on third down and I put on Monday Night
raw and I didn't look back, so like it makes
it and and that was never me. That was never me.
Like I would stick through that shit until the painful end.
And I just don't do it anymore. And it's why,
you know, we make jokes over on Huddle Up about

(39:53):
me be in the Chargers van. But like like that,
that that sort of thing was something that a decade
ago was like verboting for me. Like I would not
I would not even like make a joke about being
a fan of another team. That's called maturity, buddy, right,
because like like here's the old and and and and
I always say this because like I I kind of

(40:13):
treat baseball. I kind of have quote unquote two teams
in baseball. The Orioles and the Phillies. But if the
Orioles play the Phillies like they did in the three
game series this past summer.

Speaker 3 (40:22):
When we were kids, if you were double having two teams,
you'd be fucking osti size where a group you were
two teams And now I.

Speaker 4 (40:31):
Got right exactly. But but like you know, if the
Orioles and Phillies were to get to the World Series
against each other, uh sorry even to my wife and
some of my best friends go Orioles. Like I'm an
Orioles fan at the true heart of me, and and
that would be the team that I'm rooting for. So
like I enjoy I've always liked Jim Harbaugh, and so

(40:55):
that is why I'm a quote unquote Chargers fan, because
like it gives me, It gives me something that's actually exciting.
It gives me something that and and I'm not there's
no super attachment there. So the Chargers lose a big deal.
It's a bummer, and they lost, but like when they win,
it's it's exciting and and and and and and and

(41:17):
I do it. Like I said, I enjoyed Jim Harbaugh
and and so it's it's kind of fun. Uh to
to see the success there, but like that, that's that
would be unheard of for me years ago. And and
it's just because I'm going man and and I and
I honestly think because I saw somebody. I think it
was a beat writer for the Cowboys. What was the

(41:39):
moment where you, as a fan like got got broken
to the point where like you stopped caring the same way.
And I go back to two years ago, and it
was the It was the the Packers loss, because man,
you were so good in the regular season and you're

(42:04):
you're at home, like every like everything set up you
had beaten. I think it was Detroit the week before
because it was the second round and it was like, man,
this team, this team's clicking, they're rolling, everything looks good,
and Green Bay just comes in and freight trains them
in their own building. Yeah, And I'm sitting there just

(42:26):
so pissed after the game. And that's where I heard
the Jerry Jones and Steven Jones quote yea, where like
they were basically almost verbatim, were like, you know, it
really doesn't matter because tomorrow on ESPN, they're gonna be
talking about us, and that's gonna make us money, and
I went, why the fuck am I breaking myself up?

Speaker 3 (42:50):
That's the thing I've always asked, like what is one's
breaking point when it comes to teams? So that all
they are just teams, you can go easy, but yep
we have sol like we can hard get loyal, But
what what is what is your breakpoint? Like it we
took about a lot to you and I about about like, Okay,
I'm done with the Cowboys, but you still are a
Cowboys fan?

Speaker 4 (43:10):
Like is there always?

Speaker 3 (43:12):
Is there a limit though, where you really do check out?
What what has to happen for you to check out
really as a fan?

Speaker 4 (43:19):
I mean so, so I think in a way I
already have right, like because I'm not I'm not the
same fan I was a few years ago. I love them,
I will still like when they're on, I turn the
games on. Now we do. We always get the red
Zone channel, so that's always we have two TVs in
their living room. Red Zone is always on the big

(43:41):
TV and then we have a smaller TV and I'll
put on one of the other two games that's on,
or if like say the Capitals are playing on a
Sunday afternoon, I'll put that on the Cowboys are on
that that goes on the second TV, and because we
use Roku devices, I will put an earbuton. I'll connect
it through Bluetooth through my I wrote Coo app, And
so I'll listen to the commentary on the Cowboys game.

(44:04):
Because yes, I am a Cowboys fan. Always will be right,
wrong or indifferent unless you know Jerry or somebody in
ownership or something in the team does something really morally reprehensive,
and it can actually it would actually force me to

(44:25):
make a choice. But like right now, just them being
bad bro. Again. For those that don't know me, I've
lived in Central Pennsylvania my entire life, but the only
Philadelphia team that I'm even a fan of is the Phillies.
They've won one World The Phillies won one World Series

(44:45):
in my lifetime, two thousand and eight eight the Washington Capitals.
You see the banner up above my head here only
Stanley Cup in franchise history twenty eighteen. Still hard to
believe that it's real, right, Yeah? Notre Dame. They won
the National Championship when I was three. The Cowboys, of course,

(45:10):
three Super Bowls in the nineties, the last one that
was won I was ten. That'll be thirty years ago
at his end. Uh. And then the Orioles have never
won a title in my life.

Speaker 3 (45:22):
That yeah, the eighty three last one, right, eighty.

Speaker 4 (45:24):
Three was their last world. Yeah, when they went twenty
losing seasons. I saw it from like the mid nineties
into the two thousand. It's like, so losing, losing is
not going to lose me as a fan. It's it's
it's when I get the impression that ownership and management

(45:45):
does not care. So why am I going? Why am
I going to care?

Speaker 3 (45:49):
Is it bad that someone decides they want to leave
because they're not the product they're getting is not liking.
Is that is that bad loyalty? I don't know.

Speaker 4 (45:58):
I mean I think it is. But my what what
my version of fandom is is different than others. You know,
I am a die hard. I am. I am pretty
crazy about it.

Speaker 2 (46:09):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (46:09):
And I admit that like it is it's kind of
a sickness. I mean, I've joked with people for for years,
like for the last couple of years as I've grown
more and more frustrated. But I've also got you know,
been a little bit more mature in my fandom. Is
I've been like, Man, if I could go back to
like seven year old me, it would be like, don't

(46:30):
don't pick the count. It seems like a good choice, now, Okay,
I get it. They just want to know they just
won a super Bowl, really good team. Everything looks great.
It looks a lot of fun. Right this this looks
to be a ton of fun. But it gonna it's
gonna get worse and it's gonna stay worse. Uh but
but but like really, you know, we're just we're just

(46:52):
talking about NFL. If you look over the last thirty years, right,
there's this sides the Patriots and now more recently the
Chiefs to a degree, like it's not like being a
fan of one team is going to give you a
lifetime of the ultimate success. No, because you know the

(47:17):
Eagles have won two, the Giants they won two to
twenty years ago.

Speaker 3 (47:22):
You know, Washington, it's been thirteen years as the last.

Speaker 4 (47:26):
One close enough, Washington hasn't won one since before the
Cowboys the forty nine ers, Like I like I jokingly
and you don't get me wrong, they've gotten closer, but
like forty nine years, fans like dogging on Cowboys fans
for not for how long it's been since they won one,
and they have one one longer than you guys, just

(47:47):
like it's it's that'll be thirty one this year most likely.

Speaker 3 (47:50):
You know.

Speaker 4 (47:50):
Obviously I can't see the future.

Speaker 3 (47:52):
But but they've gone a three since they.

Speaker 4 (47:55):
Have gone to three, Like I said, they've gotten closer
at least, but ultimately they haven't won. So like that,
that's just losing, you know, for me, is not going
to break it. But like not everybody's me. Uh so,
I you know, and I might tease people about it
friends of mine, like if they're if they're quicker to
uh to hop off. But honestly, most of my friends

(48:17):
we've picked our teams and we we suffer and uh
deal with it and get hurt year in, year out,
like like grown adults should.

Speaker 3 (48:26):
Yeah, if you if you're told to use the same
thirty year radius fifteen year old me, because yes, I'm
old that thirty years later, the Cowboys, the Niners, the Bears,
the once one time Redskins, well never went another title
in the thirty years. I would say, get out of here.

(48:48):
You how good importing those teams were back in the
nineties early nineties. You don't whatuld have thought that. No,
don't even consider that a thought.

Speaker 4 (48:54):
It's crazy, you know. Me. Well, then look at the
when you look at the NHL, look at like the
eighties and early nineties, it was the Islanders, the Oilers,
the Canadians, Rangers had one in the in the early nineties. Yep,
nothing since then, Devils, nothing since then, you know. So

(49:17):
like it's yeah, it's I mean, it's it's just kind
of it's kind of the way the Flyers. You know,
Flyers are one of the most recognized brands in the NHL.
They haven't won a Stanley Cup since nineteen seventy five.

Speaker 3 (49:30):
It's insane.

Speaker 4 (49:31):
Yeah, you know, so it it for you know, for me,
it's like I am I am loyal to a fault
in a lot of ways when it comes to I
sent an Instagram video to to my wife the one
day and it was like it was this woman, She's like,

(49:52):
you know how I know I'm not worried about my
man being unloyal, and she just shows he's wearing a
Dallas Cowboys hat, like if he could, if he's still
a Cowboys fan, he's gonna be fighting. And that's like
what I said, you know, like when I was when
I was growing up. Obviously, again, when I started watching
the NFL, the Cowboys were on all the time. It

(50:15):
wasn't regional coverage, it was national coverage. So the Cowboys
were on all the time. That's really kind of the
main reason why I became a Cowboys fan. As I
was started watching it. It's like, oh, these guys are
on every week, and I like the star on the
helmet and Michael Irvin's flashy, and Emmon Smith is really
good running back, and defense is good, and got a
different looking stadium with the hole in the roof, and

(50:37):
you know they they're America's team. Cool, all right, you know,
so like like you just you just kind of start
watching them and and uh, you know, you just I've
just attached to it, and and it's yeah, I with

(50:58):
with all of my teams, you just kind of you
kind of stick through it. And some years are good,
most years are bad. Obviously we haven't had any playoff success,
but just what you suffer.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
Yeah, would you say your name is parton of the
number one priority sports wise.

Speaker 4 (51:15):
Or uh yeah, currently, now hockey is my favorite sport,
but I've since I've seen the capitals when when it's
Stanley Cups.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
So if you powerrank your importance of teams college included,
how I go like, how you like? Okay, give me
like a top three or four?

Speaker 4 (51:35):
Uh? Or be Notre Dame Cowboys, Notre Dame Capitals, Uh
Cowboys Orioles Phillies. Okay, mix? But yeah, because I've seen
the Capitals win ones, certainly would love to see it again.
I would really love to see it while Alex Ovechkin's

(51:56):
still playing that Yeah, crazy amazing and the wildest part
about it, and like, right after he scored it and
kind of like was excited about that, I looked at
my wife and I'm like, the thing that still kills
me is if it wasn't for one and a half
seasons lost to a lockout and two COVID shortened seasons,
he'd be over one thousand easy, Yeah, which is just

(52:19):
I mean, is absolutely insane. But but I'm glad he
got nine hundred and we'll see how many can add
on to it. This is the last year of his contract.
They they he hasn't said like I'm retiring after this year,
but I did say that. No, I think there's a
lot of speculation, but it's it's the last year of

(52:39):
his contract. Personally, I don't think he'll play anywhere except Washington,
So I think it's gonna kind of come down to
does he want to continue to play in the NHL,
and if he does, do the Capitals want to resign him.
So well, we'll see how the year plays out. Hopefully
can get through another healthy year and but I'd love

(53:00):
to see them win another one. But honestly that the
number one thing if I could, if I could pick
anything in sports, would be anname national title.

Speaker 3 (53:09):
And that also have not seen well you were what
maybe I was three.

Speaker 4 (53:13):
I have not seen it.

Speaker 3 (53:15):
I mean the Mets, like and I was alive in
a mental Yeah, that's I.

Speaker 4 (53:18):
I was alive for it. I haven't seen it.

Speaker 3 (53:21):
Yeah, obviously the Rangers. I've seen, you know, four teams,
seen Arrangement win the Stanley Cup. I've seen three heat championships.
I've seen four to five Giants champion well four, uh
Super Bowls, although three the one I was really aware
of the first one I was sick.

Speaker 4 (53:35):
Man. The sad thing is truth be told, Like I
barely consider myself alive for the Cowboys ones like I
remember Super Bowl thirty against the Steelers. But I don't
really remember Super Bowls twenty seven and twenty eight because
I was seven and eight at that point.

Speaker 3 (53:51):
See I claimed the one in nine from the Giants
because I was actually watching football at that point regularly.
I still remember the teams he played on that run.
I remember WAT was watching those. I remember Wat was
watching those those playoff games. So I was actually best
as a child at ten.

Speaker 4 (54:03):
So yes, I've really only seen the Cowboys win one.
But yeah, I've not not seen Notre Dame. Spink of
Notre Dame. I mean, they're back in the picture again.
You know, what do you think they make going to
make a playoff? Uh? They should? So they are what
is it seven seven and two? Yeah, yeah, six six

(54:28):
and two, seven and two, uh, six and two because
they have four games and four games have to make
it twelve. Yeah. So they play Navy this weekend, Pit
next weekend. Then they close out with Syracuse and Stanford.
Pit's the hardest game left. They're currently ranked twenty third Navy.

(54:48):
Navy always plays physically tough. It's always a physically grueling
game for a Notre Dame.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (54:56):
So here's the thing. Notre Dame should win there. I
think a twenty in point favorite this Saturday, so that
they should win out. Uh, if they do win out,
they will be in the playoffs. They they came in
at number ten this week. Uh, there's not really a
position for anybody to like vault over them without beating
a team that's above them, so it would be kind

(55:17):
of an even trade. So I think if when Notre
Dame wins out, at worst, they'll be ten, they'll likely uh,
they will likely rise in the rankings. So yeah, they
they they should they they should get in. I won't
say will because they lost in Northern Illinois last year,
so nothing is guaranteed.

Speaker 3 (55:34):
Ohio like the only like constant there really because everything
else is wide open.

Speaker 4 (55:40):
Yes, here's here's what I say about Ohio State. Are
they the best team in the in the nation right now? Probably,
And I'll even say yes, I won't even give it. Probably.

Speaker 3 (55:51):
I'll call them I know that'll say.

Speaker 4 (55:55):
I'll say that, look that the def any national champs.
They're undefeated. Okay, they're the best team in college football.
This is what I'll say about them. They look very good.
They look pretty convincing. However, they have not been tested
period this year. They started the year against Texas, who
was number one at the time. We've learned that they're

(56:16):
a fraud. The only other ranked team they've played so far,
Illinois at the time, also proven to be a fraud.
So Ohio State really doesn't They don't have another challenge
in front of them until Michigan. The last game of
the year. Ohio State plays Purdue, UCLA Rutgers in Michigan,

(56:37):
So they're gonna go eleven games basically untested. And no,
and I don't think there's any doubt. I think my
wife has even probably said up more than I have.
Michigan shouldn't be a challenge to Ohio State this year. However,
Michigan shouldn't have been a challenge to Ohio State last
year in Columbus, and we saw what happened there. So

(57:01):
I I don't think Ohio State truly gets tested until
the Big Ten title game, likely against Indiana. So that
story of the year they've done, yeah, I mean, and
there I don't know that they've been super tested either.
They be organ right, Yeah, did beat Oregon, which how

(57:23):
goods Oregon? You know, we always I mean people people
say that's the best one in the year so far. Well,
I don't agree with that, but that's that's that's what
that's that's what it's. It's up there. I mean, Alabama
beating Georgia would like the word a little bit.

Speaker 3 (57:39):
I mean, I think Georgia is definitely not as good
as as these old teams, the older teams obviously.

Speaker 4 (57:43):
None of these teams are none of these.

Speaker 3 (57:46):
I think it's great. I mean, and was good. I mean,
I'm sorry, I think and I l is good for
I want to see competition. Bro.

Speaker 4 (57:55):
Yeah, the the another another win that that would rival
it for being one of the bet or wins. The
text a and m over Notre Dame. Unfortunately for me,
he's climbing.

Speaker 3 (58:06):
He's climbing the way you are.

Speaker 4 (58:08):
Yeah, And I mean, the thing about it is it
was a bobbled I never thought i'd see the day
where where both my NFL team and my college team
would lose on bobbled extra point snaps. But here I am,
because that's ultimately what Notre Dame in. But yeah, I mean, Indiana,

(58:29):
it's certainly a good win over Oregon. We we always
never are one hundred percent sure what organ is. But yeah,
Indiana looks great. But yeah, in terms of N I
L and and all of that stuff. I do think
it's great, and I think it's leveled the field to
the point where is the SEC the best conference? Sure
you can make the argument, but there I think that

(58:52):
the mindset is still framed in the old thinking, where
like that conference is God and everybody else is trying
to be God. And look, we've gone two full seasons
now without a SEC team, not only not winning a
national title, we've gone two straight years where an SEC

(59:15):
team hasn't even made it to the national championship game
because we remember Michigan versus then in the PAC twelve
Washington and then last year of course it was a
Higo state and Notre Dame. So the SEC is still
very good, but everybody else is going funny.

Speaker 3 (59:32):
Funny happens when you order it down slightly. It's a
little bit.

Speaker 4 (59:37):
Joke. And again, look, do I think that the SEC
was the only conference that had teams that were making
deals like legally legal deals? H No. I think every
major program was was pushing the boundaries before it was
legal to do so, and now everybody's just doing it

(59:58):
above board.

Speaker 3 (01:00:00):
Right, If we get out of here looking good, bro,
Thanks men I the waight Lossy told me about.

Speaker 4 (01:00:07):
I'm seeing it. Yeah, I'm seeing it at health though.
I've yeah, I've looked. I've looked back over like podcast
videos from and that's kind of been something that's kind
of been nice because I've been able to see a
like a framework in the same in the same place.
Literally I can take a screenshot here and compare it

(01:00:28):
to something a year ago. Uh same literally, same chair,
same studios, same everything. And I and I've looked, because
there there's been times I'm like, man, am I am
I really like losing? Or am I really like healthier
than I was? And I look at like a side
by side photo from a year ago, and I'm like, okay, ship,
yes I am. Uh yeah, and I can and I

(01:00:50):
can feel good about it. So yeah, back in back
in the spring, uh, truth me that my wife's been
trying to get me on just healthier lifestyle for years
and call it laziness, call it denial, whatever it was. Uh,
I just I just didn't. And then a couple of

(01:01:10):
friends of mine started doing weight Watchers and they started
losing weight, the three count guys, and we've even talked
about it on the air. Mark and Ryan started doing
uh started doing weight watchers, like Tam was starting to
like check his diet. Matt's always been smaller than all
of us, and it sounds, it sounds so strange and

(01:01:32):
so uh superficial. But I've told them this that I
didn't want to end up being the fattest guy on
the show, okay, or like have everybody else lose and
then I'm just here being me. And it's not that
I'm I was never unhappy with myself as a person, uh,

(01:01:53):
but like I'm like, I don't want to be like
the really really big guy left in the group, right
if everybody's gonna lose weight. So like finally I just
was like, okay, let's let's start. Let's start like watching
what we're eating and walking every day and stuff. So
we we both downloaded. It's the the Lose It app,

(01:02:15):
and we set like a go you basically se yeah yeah, yeah,
sorry yeah me and me and Dana, so we we
we Uh. You set like you're like a weight goal
in the app, and based on like the number of
days and the goals you want to hit, it'll set
a calorie limit for the day. And literally just as

(01:02:37):
as we're eating scan the barcode or enter the food
or were going to McDonald's. There's stuff that's once you
save something in the app, it's in the app. Anybody
can can access this, so like it's it's actually a
lot easier than than I thought it was going to be.
And that was always kind of like the lazy excuse, like, oh,

(01:02:57):
I gotta like measure my food and I gotta do this.
So we each of us has a portion scale upstairs.
I work from home. I have a portion scale by
my desk in my office. So if I want like
an afternoon snack, I measure, you know, one ounce of
pretzels or one ounce of of you know, veggie sticks
or chips or whatever. And it's really actually been easier

(01:03:23):
than I thought. And we just walk. We walk about
somewhere in between about a mile and a mile and
a half a day. And I got like some dumbbells.
We try to I mean it certainly if there's if
our schedule doesn't it doesn't allow us, or if it's
bad weather or something like that. But we have an

(01:03:44):
exercise bike. I have some dumbbells, like some weights, free
weights that I bought.

Speaker 3 (01:03:49):
Well, it is good for you what I'm telling you,
espcially older.

Speaker 4 (01:03:52):
Yeah, so like and it's like you don't have to
do a ton like I have. It's it's like basically
like a like five to seven minute routine with the
dumbbells that I do and that that's plenty for me
right now.

Speaker 3 (01:04:08):
Yeah, And that's the thing. The key is consistency, Like
you don't you don't have to go crazy diet or
this and that. Just bounce it out, eat more protein,
walk more, watch your eating, don't go crazy and sugar
like I mean obvious, gonna have a little bit of
sugar in there, but just don't go crazy. It'll be fine.
And people, I think people people trick themselves things. They

(01:04:29):
have to go to the full the full tilt, and
and look, if you could do that, great, how might
I might describe you? Not to do that and go
to full tilt if you can, if you can do it,
but you know, it's hard, it's hard. It's hard. I
tried it a couple of years ago and I couldn't
do it, you know, And I will say it ran
fastings out and helped me a lot though. That's definitely
been the thing that's really kept my even when I've
gotta going off the rails a little bit, get myself

(01:04:51):
a window to eat, and then after that, don't eat
for sixteen seventeen eight whatever many hours I decide to
fast that day. You know, it's really been a game
taine for me.

Speaker 4 (01:04:59):
Yeah. So, and I'm and I'm not ashamed, Like I'm
not ashamed of minute. There there was a point where
I like wouldn't have said the number. And I remember,
I don't remember exactly when it was, but looking back,
it was over three years ago. It was the first
time I crossed over four hundred pounds that big yeah, yeah, wow,

(01:05:25):
nobody guessed that. But uh, but earlier this year in
mid April, was was my highest four twenty two. Wow.
And Monday. So I and I've and I've been actually
forcing myself because there's been a couple of weeks where, uh,
usually I weigh myself on Monday morning, same time of
the day, like I get up, take a piss, come

(01:05:47):
back in and weigh myself. But I was starting to
fall into this trap where like I'd weigh myself, Oh,
just step on the scale when I'm getting dressed on Tuesdays,
step on the scale. But like if you go up,
you know, zero point three pounds because maybe you didn't
you know, you're retaining water that day, or you ate
a little too much, or you drank a couple of

(01:06:07):
beers watching football. So I'm like, Monday is my way
away in day. Uh So when I weighed myself on Monday,
three seventy nine point two.

Speaker 3 (01:06:17):
The only weighs of mondays, that's it.

Speaker 4 (01:06:19):
Yeah, yeah, do it once a week, same time every week.
So it kind of gives me that that that snapshot. Yeah,
three seventy nine point two, So I'm down, Uh what
was that thirty or no? Over forty pounds?

Speaker 3 (01:06:35):
There you go. It's amazing.

Speaker 4 (01:06:37):
That's in April.

Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
Yeah, and to me, like for me anyway, you living
in Florida in the weather, this is the time of
year where I should be on the gas stow because
I love walking.

Speaker 4 (01:06:47):
Because with walking, I got to do two things.

Speaker 3 (01:06:49):
I was thinking exercise whatnot, but also put some pust,
some headphones, do some podcasts. That's on my podcast. I'm
behind on and doing that walk and I'm now you.

Speaker 4 (01:06:59):
Go by yourself today, end like you when you go walking,
you go by yourself.

Speaker 3 (01:07:04):
It's funny among those people that I prefer I don't
mind going with people, but yeah, go by myself. I
and I prefer that way, honestly. You know why my speed,
my entertainments, I lose myself and I and now I'm
I'm now I'm doing four hours a day now for
four miles a day rather nice, you know, which is
like about an hour and fifteen minutes to do. But
it doesn't a lot for me, like for me with

(01:07:25):
walking to me especially, I was, I was, there's a
lot of physical things you get out of that, but
the mental clarity you get after a walk, that's the
wind right there, that's the win.

Speaker 4 (01:07:37):
Yeah. So I usually usually it's it's my wife and I,
like we've we've kind of been been doing this together.
So we each have an hour lunch break. We both
work from home, so we'll eat a quick lunch and
we go for a walk. Because really we actually learned
that that walking like right after a meal actually helps

(01:07:58):
with everything in metabolize.

Speaker 3 (01:08:00):
Oh oh absolutely, they say if you walk about ten
minutes after a meal, and actually especially if you eat
like a lot of car peavy stuff or even like
you know, anything with sugar, it limits the the spike
of your Yeah, locals.

Speaker 4 (01:08:19):
So that's kind of even like the reason we just
started doing like even like a ten minute walk because like,
again I was in not in a good way, you
know really when we started, so doing a pretty short
walk was about all we could do, and we've kind
of upped it a little bit, we go a little
bit further. And then in the evening, so it's after
lunch and after dinner is when we go, and we

(01:08:42):
do it together now and and and here's the thing,
and this this was like one of the first times
that it really started to click with me that I've
gotten this into a routine for me. And I'm a
routine person. I like I like to kind of know
what I'm doing and and and and just kind of
attack everything the same way. So there was a it

(01:09:06):
was it was maybe June or July. My wife had
a meeting like during her lunch hour, so she wasn't
able to go with me. So I sait in, I
eat my lunch, and I just throw in my earbut
and I just left. And I got part way down
the street from my house and I went I was like, oh,
I'm walking by myself, you know, so like as normally

(01:09:27):
if I'm like, oh, she's not doing it. That's an
excuse where I can just sit on the on the
couch and throwing the xbox for a half hour.

Speaker 3 (01:09:36):
Also, I I walked too fast with my wife, so
like that wouldn't work, and so I walked too slow
for touch with me, and then you know, I got frustrated.

Speaker 4 (01:09:46):
So it doesn't work. Really honestly, we we we actually
have have a pretty good pace with each other. So
and it's it's so yeah, we go like I said,
and now I mean it's funny. So this week now
with the time change, we get done work at five
o'clock and we eat dinner. It's it's dark. So we've

(01:10:07):
been we've had we take now we have street lights
you know inside walk the course, but you know, we
take a flashlight because there's spots where it you know,
the street lights don't hit. And I'm like, it almost
feels like we're doing something illegal, like walking walking at night.
But you know, I'm like, I'm not gonna let I'm
not gonna let night time stop me from what I'm doing.

(01:10:27):
I'm not And as up here in Pennsylvania where you know,
we get colder weather, but I'm like, you know, I
I golf when it's thirty five forty degrees, so like
I can walk for a little bit. I can put
a jacket on, put pants on, and then just go,
you know, go for a quick walk. Get the blood flowing.

Speaker 1 (01:10:44):
Now.

Speaker 4 (01:10:44):
Obviously, if it's sub zero or snow on the ground,
we will have to stay in and use our resources
in the house. But yeah, I'm not I'm not gonna
let winter uh derail me. And because like man like so,
I I I'm a huge Christmas Christmas. I have a
ton of Christmas shirts. I think I have enough that

(01:11:07):
I can wear a different one from Black Friday through Christmas.

Speaker 3 (01:11:11):
Wow, that's that's what.

Speaker 4 (01:11:15):
A little over thirty. But I also have a couple
of Thanksgiving shirts. And it started years ago. There was
like there's this like discount retail store up here that
had a like brown tied die shirt just with like
not like a cartoon turkey or not like a carved

(01:11:35):
cooked turkey. It was literally like the bird a turkey's
face and it just said Turkey Day. But I bought it,
and after about like one or two years, I literally
grew out of it. I grew too fat for it.
So I was pulling my stuff out because I wanted

(01:11:55):
to get an assessment on if any of my Christmas
shirts are too big for me now. And I pulled,
I pulled. I pulled this one out. And then my
my mom and stepdad had gone to the Christmas Story
House in Cleveland and they got me a T shirt
from there. It was and it was a three x
and it just never fit me. I tried both the

(01:12:16):
Turkey Day shirt and I tried that Christmas Story shirt
on today and they fit me. And like, dude, I
literally I don't even remember the last time I put
on a three XL T shirt and had it fit.

Speaker 3 (01:12:30):
And you're still going at it. Man, it is good.

Speaker 4 (01:12:32):
Yeah, and because it it feels, it feels good and
it sounds so funny, because I mean, I don't think
I think I rearranged themself. I don't have any jerseys
hanging up behind me anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:12:42):
But yeah, yeah, the three cup stuff tomorrow.

Speaker 4 (01:12:48):
But I'm I'm a big, big jersey guy. I have
hockey jerseys, football jerseys, baseball jerseys. But over the last
couple of years, as I've gotten bigger, I've joked like
and I go to games with my dad or my
brother I'm like, man, this this jersey has shrunk since
the last time I wore it. Haha, funny, funny, right
of course.

Speaker 3 (01:13:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:13:10):
So one of the things I said, look, I really
don't have a number, like a like a number of
weight that I want to get to. I'm like, I
want to be healthier, Like I'm turning forty this year.
I want to be healthier. I need to be healthier.
Like it's not even one at this point, it's it's need.
Like I went on a blood pressure medicine this year,
first time I've ever actually been on a required medicine. Yes,

(01:13:34):
the same thing. It's a low dose, but it was
just it was high enough that she's like, we have
to address it. Last year, my A one C was
uh five point nine. I got it down to five
five to two this year. So like but but one

(01:13:57):
of the one of the goals and I didn't have
a number. It's like, I want my sports jerseys to
fit better and and they do. So I actually wore
one I went to Hershie Bears game a couple of
weeks ago that I hadn't worn in like three seasons.
So and it's it's these little wins and it's like, man,
in a year that's been pretty frustrating overall in a

(01:14:19):
lot of ways. Uh, this has been one thing that
that really has been a positive.

Speaker 3 (01:14:24):
Would you say this had a positive impact on mental
health because you you know, you've been you've been very
vocal about that publicly about you know something your issue
of anxiety and whatnot. So I'm wondering maybe this is
actually done something for sure.

Speaker 4 (01:14:39):
And I even said to my counselor, I think of
my last appointment a couple of weeks ago that I
finally understand what people would say when there's like that
workout high or runners high, just because you know, I've
worked basically four hours, lunch break four hours and to

(01:15:07):
not only get an actual break where you get away
from the desk and get away from work, but then
to get outside sun, fresh air and and just literally
feet hitting the ground, body movement and and just it
really is kind of a it is it's it is
therapeutic as well as as as an exercise. So like,

(01:15:32):
you know, it gives my wife and I time to
talk during the day, and yeah, it's it's just it's
it has absolutely helped my mental health. And you know
when when you fit into things better and you get
and I mean so I mean you can see wedding
band on my hand. I've joked that I've been on

(01:15:54):
a journey with this thing because at my old job,
I used to have to do some more like physical work.
So I I don't know if you remember, there was
a time where like Jimmy Fallon, I think it was
maybe like a decade ago, had a situation where he
had like fell at his house and I forget what
they call it, but basically his ring caught on something

(01:16:15):
and basically, yeah, he basically stripped the skin off of
his finger. Could the l accident happened, Yeah, because like
it caught on the metal and when it pulled the
ring off, it was it ripped ripped the skin off
his finger. So if you if you, if you actually look,
if you ever look at really close, I don't think
he wears a wedding ring anymore. And you can see

(01:16:38):
like a scar on his own. So like after that happened,
I started wearing like silicone wedding bands at at my job.
I would wear this then at home. So then the
pandemic hits and I kind of stopped eating and distress
and everything. I dropped a lot of weight to the

(01:16:58):
point where my wedding band would stay on my hand
it would fall off. So and then once I found
weight again, it made friends while it was away.

Speaker 3 (01:17:10):
And I got friends.

Speaker 4 (01:17:12):
I couldn't wear it anymore because because it was it
was my hand was too big, so I had to
I bought like bigger silicone bands. But now this year,
I'm back to being able to wear it and wear
it comfortably because when I first put it on, when
I started losing some weight, I first put it on,
it was tight, but it fits properly now. So it's

(01:17:33):
like just these little these little wings. Or you look
in you look in the mirror and like I said,
to cut my hair and like shaved around my goate yesterday,
and I'm like, I can actually like physically see and
notice a difference in my face and everything, and it's like, man,
it just it. It feels good because not that I

(01:17:55):
ever got and it didn't really get to a point
where I was like super beating myself up, but there
was times where I look in the mirror and I thought, man, like,
what what this has become? I guess somewhat almost unrecognizable,
And I thought I was looking older and just I
thought I was starting to look unhealthy. And that's certainly,

(01:18:18):
look I'm certainly I certainly still have a lot of
way to go.

Speaker 3 (01:18:22):
But but once you start, you know how to do
you know how to do it. Yeah, it becomes something
that is easier.

Speaker 4 (01:18:28):
And I don't. I don't. And and one thing that
we stressed from the beginning is is to not to
not make it like super strict and super restrictive. So
like if we want to have a day where so
last Friday, for example, Halloween, we went over to friends
of ours uh to hand out candy and do trick

(01:18:49):
or treat. You know, they have a neighborhood ton of kids,
So we went over to their house. We bought, we
got pizza, and we you know, we ate dinner and
handed out candy. I ate four pieces of pizza, I
drank three beers. I ate a Snickers bar and a
pack of peanut and M and m's. My my dinner
was more than my daily calorie. I didn't beat myself

(01:19:12):
up about it because literally before that day, it had
been over a month since I since I hit or
went over my daily limit.

Speaker 3 (01:19:24):
So there you go.

Speaker 4 (01:19:26):
I mean it's fine, you have you again. IM not
gonna tell anybody how to live their life. But for us,
it's like you have to let yourself enjoy life at
sometimes because especially for two reasons. One, it's been a
shitty year. It just it just has for a lot
of every year now, in a lot of years, in

(01:19:46):
a lot of ways. So like if I if I
want to have a fucking three beers and a candy bar,
I hate a fucking Snickers bar. When I came down
to the studio tonight, do it. It's okay, it's okay,
it's you know, walk an extra half mile tomorrow, punish yourself.
But also but also now I don't even look at

(01:20:09):
it that way. It's like it's okay, it's literally okay.
But also, uh do you never know when your numbers up?
You never know when your numbers up. So like I
can sit here and eat uh you know, six p's
for breakfast and a bowl of steam for lunch, and

(01:20:29):
I can be as as as healthy as I want
to be. But if you know, if my number gets called,
if I'm in a car accident, if you know, natural
causes whatever, like you don't know what's going to happen.
Uh what was it for? Like? What was it?

Speaker 3 (01:20:47):
Like?

Speaker 4 (01:20:47):
You know? And again it's about finding balance and being
okay with it. So yeah, and just I think I've
just just hit a much healthier mindset and approach to
how how I should live.

Speaker 3 (01:21:00):
With you brother? Anyway, any want to plug?

Speaker 4 (01:21:03):
Ah? Well yeah, I mean I got my podcast stuff
so at big Gym, Sports, Twitter, Blue Sky, my link
trees there. It takes all my projects three ct. I
guess this will when is this.

Speaker 3 (01:21:14):
Gonna air immediately?

Speaker 4 (01:21:17):
Okay? So Thursday we'll be live eight o'clock on our YouTube,
Facebook and Twitch. But it's the Thursday show that's the
more wrestling focused one. We have the Tuesday podcast that
hits the podcast feed and then uh how to loup podcasts.
We're in the about halfway through the year, which is
insane already. But you know, kudos to.

Speaker 3 (01:21:39):
You and you and Shawn, you brother for holding it
down because I mean, this has been the first year
we're we have not really have a stable panel, like
I've been there most weeks, but I've missed a couple
of episodes here obviously Mike and and and Kyle and
Matt have jumped in when I need you to, but man, you.

Speaker 4 (01:21:55):
Heard about it, honest to god. So this is this
is year like fifteen, I think fourteen or fifteen, since
I first started doing it, and the whole idea behind
it was for me and my brother to do a
show together because we you know, we look kind of alike,

(01:22:16):
we sound kind of alike. But besides Notre Dame and
the Phillies, we don't disagree on or we don't agree
on any teams. I'm a Capital's fan, he's a Flyers fan.
I'm a you know, obviously I'm an Oriels fan. In
his Phillies, I'm okay with the Phillies. But then I'm
a Cowboys fan. He's an Eagles fan. So like it's

(01:22:37):
it's was kind of this fun, fun concept of because
I think at that time Mike Golick and Mike Golick
Junior had a radio show, so it's like it was
like the father son thing. This is the kind of
the two brothers. But his his schedule on my schedule
just didn't really mesh out. So that's where I had
to find other people. And luckily he's he's been able

(01:22:59):
to you know, working into his schedule a little bit
better so yeah, it's been a lot of fun.

Speaker 3 (01:23:04):
Who would have thought he'd been in the constant in
the last two years. I don't think. I think it's
just like I think in the last two years, other
than prior to my being out this this season a
little bit, you know, he's been the most consistent member
of the.

Speaker 4 (01:23:18):
I would have lost a bet on that. I certainly
would have lost a bet on that. But yeah, we're
having a lot of fun with it. So we have
our YouTube channel, we're live there, Facebook and Twitch on
Tuesday nights, but I have content hitting the feed every day.
We have our show segments, we have the shorts. So yeah,
we're having a lot of fun with it.

Speaker 3 (01:23:37):
Yeah. Man, anyway, great job has always been love sit
and talk to you, but the ship awesome stuff. Bro,