Ep. 2880 Friday

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Combining a team of reporters, columnists and commentators.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Are you serious?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Jack Ebling has brought thought provoking discussion.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
What are you doing?

Speaker 4 (00:19):
That's a day coaching the fake opinion.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Customers, the one who decides when the future gets here?

Speaker 5 (00:24):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
No, checking the forth? Are you married me?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
That?

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Games next?

Speaker 4 (00:32):
And overall infotainment.

Speaker 6 (00:34):
I'll take Jim Arba. What is done?

Speaker 5 (00:36):
Grease?

Speaker 7 (00:37):
Good to coming at you?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Quiet?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Please exactly fifteen seconds we'll be on the air. Thanks,
big fellow.

Speaker 8 (00:45):
Don't you let me come.

Speaker 9 (00:46):
Back here again?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
No arguments.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Those are called asht.

Speaker 4 (00:50):
So buckle up. You're telling me it's time for the
Drive with Jack Ebling.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (00:56):
For some reason or another, who signed a little to
love radio.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Great afternoon, mid Michigan and beyond, and welcome to the
Drive with Jack the Spotlight Radio Network. Jack Ebling here
with my producer Boston Rob. It is eighty one degrees
mostly sunny here in mid Michigan, and we are exactly
one week from the start of Michigan State's twenty twenty

(01:23):
five football season, eight days away from that for the
University of Michigan. Excited about that, Rob. Yesterday I had
a chance to stop out at Spartan Stadium for meet
the Spartans, and it was pretty well in progress, almost
I would say, heading toward completion when I got there.
But I did see a lot of people. I had

(01:44):
a great conversation with Todd Duckett and his family there.
But tremendous opportunity for fans to get autographs, see players,
maybe get a little feel for this, get some excitement,
a lot of souvenirs. I saw a couple of our
friends here leaving with autographed souvenirs, balls and clothing and

(02:08):
things like that. So they are.

Speaker 4 (02:10):
Ready, especially with those spring game this year. Right, this
is real, This is really what the fans could really
get to know the team and see the team and
get a feel forward a little bit, you know. And
like you said, a great time had by all good
weather and excitement most certainly is building, that is for sure.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Yeah. And and we have a big baseball series at
Comerica Park starting tonight. You wouldn't think with a nine
and a half game lead for the Tigers anything would
be crucial. But Tigers have a chance the next two
weekends to put the Kansas City Royals out of their misery.
And three games this weekend and then three back at

(02:54):
Kaufman Stadium in Casey, and Kansas City has been just
about the same place, whereas Cleveland has surged and then
fallen back. Kansas City is now second in the American
League Central. Which of those teams do you like better?
Rob Which is a better threat? A bigger threat? I

(03:15):
should say to the Tigers.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
Right now, Kansas City, I would say.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, yeah, I would agree.

Speaker 4 (03:22):
With that, and they are most certain in Cleveland. Cleveland
and Kansas City still in that playoff hunt for those
wild cards. So as we I've said a few times
this week when the Tigers have been brought up in
this series with Kansas City, most certainly, Kansas City is
still playing for something. I think, uh, you know, bowering
any type of major disaster. Knock on wood here. You know,

(03:46):
the division is the Tigers, There's no question, you know,
let's be honest about it. Things can happen, but I
would I would be shocked if they didn't win the
division here. But Kansas City is still playing some playing
for something as of this moment. So not only could
they crush them in the division, but they could really
knock them. The Tigers could really knock them out of
playoff contention with that, you know, for that wild card

(04:08):
spot as well, with six games coming up here in
a matter of what two weeks. So yeah, I mean,
so a lot to play for for Kansas City and
Detroit could really put a put their throat, you know,
foot on their throats any for a number of reasons.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yeah, And that's an important point. Rob the fact that
you say, well, hey, they're so far behind. You know,
they're not going to catch the Tigers. They're not trying
to catch the Tigers. They are they're trying to catch
Seattle or Boston or another team that would be or
or they have to stay ahead of Cleveland obviously Cleveland

(04:46):
likewise with Kansas City. But those teams are playing to
get in. Once they get in, if they get hot,
if they're healthy, they have a chance. Look at the
Tigers last year, the way they rallied, they made it
into the playoffs, and then they beat the Astros in
that first round series and nearly nearly beat the Indians

(05:07):
in the Alds that came down to the final game
and the Tigers led in that game. So certainly opportunities
for all of these teams. I'm wondering now how much
scoreboard watching Rob is going on the game last night
with the Yankees and Boston at Yankee Stadium, and Boston

(05:29):
did it again. That's seven straight wins in this series
this year. Yankees haven't beaten them yet. I think New
York is favored tonight. But if Boston could get a
win tonight and then try Garrett Crochet out there tomorrow,
wouldn't it be wild If Boston went thirteen to zero

(05:51):
against New York in the season.

Speaker 4 (05:55):
I think it will be outstanding? What are you talking?
Did you know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah. When the Tigers play Kansas City, the
first thing you think about is one of the I
think you have to say five best players in baseball.
It's just released that he is the fastest player in baseball.
His sprint speed in miles per hour is the fastest.

(06:24):
That is Bobby Witt Junior. And he's not hitting for
the tremendous power he did last year, but but his
wins above replacement, his war is still up there and
going to be very high by the end of the year,
and he is zeroing in on some major league records

(06:44):
this year. He has an excellent chance. I think last
night he had another double, his fortieth of the year,
two more steals number thirty three and thirty four. He
could be the first player ever to have fifty doubles
and forty steals in a season.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
I'll tell you what, Jack, I'm sure our first guest
is a big baseball fan, but I know he's even
a bigger Michigan State football fan.

Speaker 10 (07:13):
Ah.

Speaker 4 (07:14):
And I know he's ready to talk to some Spartan
football as we are, as you mentioned, one week away
from the first game. So why don't we go to
the Hall of Famer?

Speaker 2 (07:23):
Ah?

Speaker 3 (07:24):
That is terrific news. Want to welcome in George Blaha,
Hall of Fame, NBA voice of the Detroit Pistons and
a guy who started doing Michigan State games fifty four
seasons ago. But George, I always like to let our
listeners know that your relationship with Michigan State started a

(07:46):
long time before that. It was actually seventy two years
now since you saw the Spartans play the Iowa Hawk
guys in Iowa City.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
And I was not pulling for Michigan State that day,
and I was disappointed at the end of the day.
Michigan State twenty one, Iowa seven two. Great coaches Big
Eemont and forst Avishewsky went head to head. Anybody who
knows those names is either around my age or they've
been doing a good job of studying football history. But

(08:16):
though they were great coaches, obviously, Hey.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
Rob, I don't know exactly what it means. We are
not going to try to revoke George blajas Spartan Hall
of Fame card. But he was rooting for Iowa against
Michigan State in spartans first Big Ten game, and I
think he was rooting for Notre Dame in nineteen sixty six.

(08:41):
You're a proud domer and when you think about the
game of the century, that was before you established your
link to MSU.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Right, Absolutely correct. But I was in the SAMs with
my future father in law and a former Notre Dame
football player. I think we were in about the thirty
yard line maybe twenty rows up on the press box
side of Spartan Stadium, and you could hear the thuds

(09:15):
like at no other football game I ever attended, except
for maybe one Denver Bronco game when I was very
very close to the field because a buddy of mine
from high school owned the Broncos.

Speaker 11 (09:26):
At the time. Wow.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
I've talked to players on both of those teams, national
champion teams. They split the MacArthur Bowl and Notre Dame
took the rest that year. But I've talked to enough
players to say what a fierce game that was. And
at the end, George, they weren't exactly sure what to

(09:51):
make of it because ten ten and then players just
kind of walked off the field. There was no overtime,
nothing like that. And it was also anathmactic for all
of the build up. Where you were sitting, did you
understand then that, hey, this is going to go down
forever as a tie and we'll be talking about it
sixty years later.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
Well, you know what, Jack, I knew this. The whole country,
the entire country was talking about that game for two weeks,
maybe three prior to the kickoff. I mean, every newspaper
columnist in America at least did one column before the

(10:33):
game ever started, and probably two or three. There was
so much build up to that game, and rightfully so,
if you look back on I don't have the numbers
in front of me, but all the guys from those
teams who played in the Pros, it was unbelievable and
of course we all know that Michigan State had four
of the first eight picks I believe in the NFL

(10:57):
Draft that year, and nobody, not Miami with all their arrogance,
and certainly not Michigan with all theirs, can say anything
close to that four of the top eight in the
NFL draft. And Notre Dame had a bunch of pros.
They might have had more total pros than the Spartans had,

(11:19):
but both teams had great players. And you're looking at
George Webster and Jim Lynch, two of the all time
best linebackers, and on and on.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
It goes.

Speaker 1 (11:28):
So great game. From my perspective as a Notre Dame
graduate who broadcast Michigan State and has so many friends
that played for the Spartans and a few that played
for the Irish too, I'm glad it entered in a
ten ten tie, and I think both those programs should

(11:49):
be happy that it did end that way. If somebody
wins by one or whatever and then wins the national championship,
this thing has gone away long before now. We could
keep talking about it forever. It was a ten ten
time and that'll never go away. And I think it
was good for both schools.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
It really was.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
Yeah, and I think a lot of the players, George
realized that it took him a while. Clinton Jones always
said that was the best thing that ever happened. But
you talk about the magnitude of that game, and it's
the only game I know where. Seriously, they could have
sold two hundred thousand tickets. They had that many requests
from people all over the country. Question was whether President

(12:33):
Johnson would show up. Bob A. Pisa tells the story.
It's the first live sporting event shown in the Hawaiian Islands.
Everything was tape delayed because of the five hour difference,
but they put this baby on live. And they also
changed the rules, George, because you could only appear on
national television once in the year. And finally Congress got

(12:57):
involved in this thing that's usually dangerous, but Congress got
involved that said, you know what, we can't do it.
We're getting so many calls from our constituents. We got
to change this. So the nation got to see it.

Speaker 1 (13:12):
And one more thing, my friend, George Gedticky told me,
and maybe I've shared this with you and your listeners before,
but it's worth repeating. Michigan State could not go to
a bowl game because of the Big Ten rules they
had been in the year before, and Notre Dame did
not go to bowl games in those days. So they

(13:35):
all these guys played in All Star games, and a
bunch of them played on Christmas Day in Miami, and
on Christmas Eve, George Gedikey and a couple of other
domers and some of the some of the Spartans, including
Bubba Smith and I believe Charlie Thornhill, got together at

(13:59):
their hotel, got a couple of cases of beer and
sang Christmas carols. True story, true.

Speaker 3 (14:07):
Story of the video of that one.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
That's great, Oh man, that's great. So those guys respected
each other, and they should have and we all should
respect all those guys for all the blood, sweat and
tears over all those years. Everybody had tailgate parties, everybody
had a good time, everybody having good stories each and

(14:31):
every Saturday of our lives. But you got to take
your head off to the players who had to practice
every day and get in shape and put their life
on the line in the Big Ten anyway, playing college football.

Speaker 3 (14:45):
George, those teams will meet again now they've they've done
away with the annual matchups at least for now, but
they will meet next year the sixtieth anniversary of the
Ten Tent Tie. That one will be in South Bend,
and then in twenty twenty seven Notre Dame will come
to East Lansing, So looking forward to that. But I

(15:06):
want to talk about twenty twenty five and what we're
going to see beginning one week from tonight against Western Michigan.
What's your take on this team?

Speaker 1 (15:18):
Well, Western hand, I've been doing a little research on
the Broncos as best I can, and they've got a
two quarterback race going on down there. Both young men
have stellar resumes and they haven't played at Western until
this year. One's a great athlete and can run the ball,

(15:39):
and the others of elite passer who was about six three,
so they won't be without weapons. But they did lose
a ton of players from last year's squad that was
a Bowl game team, and the Spartans their nineteen and
a half point favorite. Somebody told me so. Obviously, people

(16:02):
figure that Spartans have more players than they did last year,
and Western has fewer players with experience anyway than they
had last year. I don't know if I've five Jonathan
Smith and the Spartans. I just want to play well
and win. Who cares if you blow them out or don't.
But I always think this is a great tradition at

(16:23):
Michigan State and I hope we keep it because you'll
get a chance to be in Spartan Stadium on what's
almost always a beautiful Friday night and watch your team
for the first time during the season. And I think
it's great when they play somebody from the state of
Michigan that's had success. This is not an unknown school.

(16:46):
This is Western and they've won their share. And when
you play Central the same way, so I think it's
a It's a great way to start the season.

Speaker 3 (16:56):
What about this Michigan State team and the biggest difference Georgia.
You've seen probably more practice than I have. But looking
at where this team is with Aidan Chiles as a
second year starting quarterback, lots of portal additions, but a
little bit more familiarity for the coaching staff. They understand

(17:17):
where to park their cars now. So uh huh, this
team's going to be a little different. It certainly looks different,
looks much more like a Big ten team.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
Well, when Jonathan Smith got the job. He suddenly went
halfway across the country, or even maybe two thirds of
the way across the country, changed leagues, changed from a
little more financial league to a neat and potatoes type
of football, and this guy had an awful lot of

(17:49):
catching up to do, and they did the best they could.
And he brought along a heck of a quarterback who
did a lot of great things and made more of
his share of mistakes unfortunately. And now they've had a
chance to assemble the kind of team that they like
and they want, and it seems to me that did
a nice job in the portal, a very nice job.

(18:11):
And you know, now they actually have enough offensive linemen
and they have maybe enough guys to rush the passer,
so they won't spend the last month and change of
the season without a stack. So this is going to
be a far more representative Jonathan Smith team than we
saw last year. And I know he's excited about it,

(18:34):
and I don't blame him. I think they put an
awful lot of hours trying to get this spartan program
up to speed and up to their kind of speed. Everybody,
all coaches want to play the way they want to
play and hopefully they could now play some legitimate Jonathan
Smith football and then to work out.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
George, is there an area, position group or an individual
player you're most excited about seeing or that you think
is going to take a quantum leap for the season.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
There's a position group I think at rush end that
is exciting. These guys. They're all coached by Chad Wilt.
They're not coach, but the d line coach, and I'm
sure they all fall one of the auspices of the
defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. But this is a group under

(19:31):
its own and their job is to pressure the quarterback
and change what happened last year into a new day.
And they got four or five guys over there that
look the part and so and I think two or
three of them are fighting to be the number one guy,
and I don't Sometimes when that happens, it means nobody's

(19:54):
good enough. But I think in this case, it means
two or three guys are good enough. I'm excited about that.
I'm excited about the additions at wide receiver with all
the speed, take a little of the heat off Nick
marsh and and and the offensive line I think can
help uh Aiden Childs avoid mistakes. And uh, you know,

(20:19):
when you're when you're running for your life, it's uh,
it's easy to lose your concentration.

Speaker 11 (20:28):
And uh so.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
The uh the fact that he's got guys who can
block uh and keep him semi safe. You're never safe
on a football field, but sem i safe. Uh it's
going to make a difference. And if if Aiden Childs
plays solid football, I don't mean mistake free. If you

(20:52):
have legs and you use them, sometimes you're going to
make a mistake. If you're just purely a pocket guy,
uh to throw it away if you have to, then
maybe you won't make many. But you know, we like
the fact that Aton Chiles can run and will run.
We like the fact that he'll take a chance now
and then. So if he just gets back to mainstream

(21:14):
relatively mistake free free football, this could be a very
interesting team. And they've got they got players, and they've
and I don't tell you another group that interests me,
and that is the secondary. I mean, if you're ready
to do your two taps from Michigan State at safety
in corner, you better have an awful lot of room

(21:36):
on your spot board. There are a number of kids
that transferred in, the kids from last year are going
to get a better shot. And the two safeties Martinez
and Spencer are probably the guys you can write down
as season long starters minus injuries. But everywhere else they

(21:59):
are all kinds of players, and there's even depth that safety.
I like the linebackers, and you know Vn Sumer is
going to be very good up front.

Speaker 7 (22:08):
He was already very good last year.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
So uh, there's nothing not to like about the guys
who actually play. I'm a little worried about who's going
to be healthy enough at place kicker, but in a
week or two, I don't think that'll be a problem.
So let's don't get out of the game. That comes
down to one field.

Speaker 3 (22:27):
Goal, right exactly, And now we know that that can
be the difference between making a bowl game or making
a better bowl game, can come down to one kicker
or even one snatcher. George, as you get ready for
yet another season, you got new broadcast partner. We all
know Jay Hugh Caulcrick. We've all seen him in the

(22:49):
end zone a lot. Can you talk a little bit
about Jay Hugh and what he brings to the team.

Speaker 1 (22:56):
Well, I told him last night in a Michigan Safe function.
The last running back that I worked with was Sherman Lewis,
but he was also a defensive coordinator in college. He
also won Super Bowl rings as an offensive coordinator and
as a running back coach and had a zillion long runs.

(23:16):
But Jay, you've had a zillion touchdowns. So it's a
different perspective. And I thought I did a very good
job last year on the sidelines. This is a different animal,
But I think we got to give him a chance
to grow a little bit and see how he does.

Speaker 3 (23:34):
What do you tell him in terms of the actual broadcast,
you just have to do practice broadcast do you just
have to get the feel of it for the first
few weeks, There's got to be a rhythm there.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
Right, Yeah. I think he wants to make sure that
he gets out before I or doesn't start his, uh
his analysis until I've finished the play call. That's not
the easiest thing in the world to do.

Speaker 7 (24:05):
But we'll see.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
How he does it. At times, you can't avoid that,
and you're gonna get excited if you're a Michigan State guy.
So uh, you know, if you just come came into
a regional TV broadcast. You don't care that this team
scores or that team scores personally anyway, you just want
to do a good broadcast. But in this case, you

(24:29):
got you got. You got two jobs here. Root for
your team and not make it too obvious, and shut
up when you need to shut up. So, uh, I
think he'll do just fun. He wants to do the
right thing.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
I'll say that.

Speaker 3 (24:42):
One difference for you, George, your longtime broadcast partner, Jason
Strahorn didn't score a touchdown for Michigan State. But Jay,
you scored so many that when you say touchdown MSU,
he's gonna think you're talking about him.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
Let's tell you what Jason had. The kind of a
job with a team that makes you understand everything is
going on. You've got to call those offensive line signals
versus the defense, and all the intricacies of your offense
and the intricacies excuse me of the other guy's defense

(25:21):
are things you have to know if you're the center.
So and I thought Jason did a great, great job.
I'm going to miss him, but let's see what.

Speaker 3 (25:30):
Happens, George. The next guest we have on is someone
you know very well, maybe the greatest offensive player. Some
would say the greatest player, but I'll say the greatest
offensive player in Michigan state history. Lorenzo White is going
to join us. You have a favorite moment of Lowe's

(25:51):
career at MSU.

Speaker 1 (25:55):
I just remember the Indiana game, Yeah, the Clinton Rose Bowl.

Speaker 2 (26:01):
Yeah, and.

Speaker 1 (26:04):
He absolutely pounded the Hoosiers. I can't even I couldn't
tell you how many times he carried. I'm thinking thirty
five and how many yards. He gave fifty six.

Speaker 3 (26:14):
Carries for two hundred and ninety two yards. And George
was mad because the NCAA record was fifty seven.

Speaker 7 (26:20):
He found that out after.

Speaker 3 (26:21):
The game, and he wishes he'd had him in instead
of taking him out for three plays and putting Blake
Ezor in. He wanted to get the record.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
And Blake deserved his time. But when you sign up
to play behind Lorenzo White, you're not gonna get as
much time as you with someplace else. A great running
back and a great guy. I'm anxious to hear what
he has to say, George.

Speaker 3 (26:44):
It was two years before that. It was in Lowe's
sophomore year when he set the NCAA record two thousand
and sixty six yards and he actually carried the football.
People don't believe this, but you can look it up
one hundred and two times in eight days.

Speaker 1 (27:00):
Hmmm, and tell me about it.

Speaker 3 (27:03):
Yeah. His mom he had fifty three and then he
had forty nine. And his mom, the Great Gloria Golden,
called me and said, mister Ebling, I'm worried about Lorenzo.
I said, well, you have to worry about I'm getting
in trouble because he didn't doing any dance after these games, doing.

Speaker 2 (27:19):
All the exactly field.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
Yeah, George, thanks great to have you with us as always,
and we'll see you at Spartan Stadium.

Speaker 1 (27:28):
Oh right, thanks Jack, We'll.

Speaker 3 (27:31):
Be right back with low number thirty four. Up next
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(27:51):
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(30:43):
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Check out our latest episode where we're joined by Cole Moore,
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(31:04):
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Until next time, I'm your host, Dave Russell.

Speaker 3 (31:29):
Welcome back. It is to drive with Jack Spotlight Radio Network.
Jack Evlin here with my producer Boston rob Little. I
want you back. Everyone wanted that back? The one who
played from Michigan State from nineteen eighty four through nineteen
eighty seven, his final game for the Spartans, coming in Pasadena,

(31:51):
a big win over USC. Lorenzo White joins us low.

Speaker 4 (31:56):
How are you I think we just lost him? Of course,
come by.

Speaker 3 (32:01):
Okay, We'll try to get Lorenzo back, get that connection going.
He is in South Florida as we speak, but he
will be here for several games during the season, including
Game two against Boston College. Looking forward to that, and
so are most of the Spartans. Yeah, you always want

(32:25):
to play Michigan. You can't wait for that game. You've
circled it, even when the teams are not as competitive
as you would like, even when you don't win. All
those Spartans have won ten of the last seventeen in
that series. Would come as a big surprise to some people,
but you look forward to opportunities to redress aggrievance, to

(32:47):
undo something that has been a bad taste in your
mouth for an entire year. And that's the situation for
Michigan State this year with Boston College. Go back to
that game year ago. Michigan State made just enough mistakes
to lose that game. Even at the end, the drop

(33:07):
pass at the goal line. It wasn't a fourth down
player I think it was a third down play that
would have given Michigan State to win. And so now
they have to beat Boston College.

Speaker 4 (33:20):
Well, I'll tell you what, Jack, our guest who's back
on the line, knows something about goal lines. I think
throughout his career, doesn't it.

Speaker 3 (33:27):
I love it, Yes, he certainly does, and he really
knows about goal lines. Against the opening game opponent, the
Western Michigan Broncos, Lo, I'll never forget that game in
nineteen eighty five when you went over the top on
fourth down the only touchdown of the day, Michigan State

(33:50):
escape with a seven to three win. George thought it
was a beautiful victory. I called it ugly. He got
mad at me. But In and you and NFL great
John Offer Doll met at the Apex and he still says,
you weren't in.

Speaker 7 (34:09):
Yeah, you know, you know John is doing well for
himself down here in South Slorida with his bagels at
bagel shops. But you know we always have that uh.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
That that that debate always come up.

Speaker 3 (34:21):
Loo.

Speaker 7 (34:21):
You didn't get in. I was I was over clearly
extended the ball a little bit.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
Did you know that you were in or did you
turn around were you happy to see the officials arms
in there?

Speaker 7 (34:35):
No, actually out, I I mean after I rolled over
the top, you know I was. I mean, I was
clearly I was clearly in at that point, you know.
Uh he uh And And I just always tease him.
I say, what, man, that second bonus that you got,
I think you should split it with me. All those

(34:55):
tackles you had on me.

Speaker 3 (34:59):
You know, it's funny when you get a play at
the goal line. And I've had this conversation a dozen times.
I swear with Chuck Long and it was your freshman
year in Iowa City and Long didn't start the game.
He was sick, and I think they thought that they
weren't going to need him. But at halftime they rolled
Charlie out of bed and he comes back and he

(35:21):
hit seventeen straight passes leads his big comeback. Iowa was
trailing I think by seventeen in that game, and they
made it seventeen sixteen the last minute and they're going
to go for two and Long keeps the ball and
he has stopped just short of the goal line. Shane Buller,

(35:45):
Jim Morrissey, guys made a tremendous goal line hit and
Hayden Fry to the day he died, said that that
was a game that Iowa was robbed. He had some
kind of a picture from an odd ain't gonna blown up?

Speaker 11 (36:01):
Uh in the office.

Speaker 3 (36:04):
And the funny part about it is a year later.

Speaker 7 (36:09):
Exactly both of that thing.

Speaker 3 (36:12):
Yeah, you're both at the Heisman ceremony, the first one
I attended at the Waldorf Astoria, and Chuck says to
this day that you cost him the Heisman because it's
put all the Midwest votes and you can say that
he cost you the Heisman.

Speaker 7 (36:27):
That's what I told him too. I said, I said, well,
we need to flip so we can redo this housing
trophy again so we can see who really gonna win him.
If one of us know whoever going to take all
the votes for the Midwest, then we'll be good. But
the craziest thing that you said, you know when you
talked about our freshman year with that, with that happening,

(36:50):
remember what happened the next year with this aphomore year
with the boot with the boots like the same thing last.

Speaker 3 (36:57):
Night right back in the connect Stadium, same place. Yeah,
and he had the last rack on that one.

Speaker 7 (37:05):
I think Coach Saban I don't know how thought he
blew one.

Speaker 3 (37:09):
Oh my god, you know I told this story earlier
this week, Lough, But I'm sitting in the press box
and there was a glass partition between where the writers
were and where the Michigan State coaches were, and that
glass was vibrating. Saban was screaming so loud down to
the field. He didn't need a phone, he didn't need
anything because you could hear him on the field and

(37:31):
he is screaming during this time out. Watch the fake,
Watch the fake. Fish enough, Keith Fisher watched the fake
and watched Chuck Longo right unto the end zone. And
if it could have got his hands on Keith Fisher
at that point, someone would have.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
Been hospital.

Speaker 7 (37:51):
Oh yeah, he's just like yesterday.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
Crazy.

Speaker 3 (37:56):
So what do you make of this Michigan State team.
You've seen more of it than I have actually out
on the field. But new running backs, a couple of
guys who were here last year and carried it just
a few times, Kye Frazier and Brandon Tullus. And then
they have a player in the portal who's come in.

(38:16):
I haven't heard quite as much about him as I
thought we would Elijah Tau Tolliver and then Jace Clarizio
who's been banged up a little bit and nothing really
wrong with him, but he did set out the scrimmage
the second scrimmage. But they really like these running backs.
What can you tell us about him?

Speaker 6 (38:33):
Well, I like, you know, I like what I see,
you know, and you know, if there's a anything to
be said about it, you know the line, you know,
making a making a a few cu through key blocks,
and you know one thing about it, they do run it.

Speaker 7 (38:52):
They do run it hard. So you know, this is
you know, football is a lot different.

Speaker 6 (38:58):
Now.

Speaker 7 (38:59):
I don't know anything until we go against the other team,
you know, but for looking you know, looking apart, yes.

Speaker 6 (39:06):
We okay with that part of it. I can see,
you know, Like.

Speaker 7 (39:09):
I said, everybody's doing what they have to do. But uh,
I guess how you get graded. It is on Saturday
or Friday night in midday night.

Speaker 3 (39:21):
In this case, lo George Blaha was just on ahead
of you and and he was talking about the Indiana game,
the Rose Bowl showdown in eighty seven, and I told
him it was fifty six carries one shy of Kent
Kitsman's nc A record that you had at the end
of that day. Do you think we'll ever see a
bat carry it fifty six times in the game again,

(39:43):
or as you did four hundred and nineteen times in
one season.

Speaker 2 (39:48):
Only if.

Speaker 7 (39:51):
Bo Shamberger come back alive. And what do you hate?

Speaker 5 (39:55):
We got?

Speaker 7 (40:01):
That's the only ten and the great George for that's
the only you.

Speaker 3 (40:09):
Know, you got a couple of blows and guys who
came in and did really well. And Craig Johnson, who,
by the way, is Jason Clarizio's dad, yeh from Blake
Ezor certainly, and he was a guy who relieved you
and and actually took the carriers that would have given
you that record at eighty seven. Would you would you
like to play in a system where you got the

(40:31):
ball less but you were fresher?

Speaker 7 (40:35):
Well, how about this, Jack, Let's let's just look at
how they all turned out for me. So on the
pro level, that's what happened, because what they're running is
what I ran down the Houston North.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
Right.

Speaker 7 (40:53):
THO was the one the one bike said, So you know,
I can you know I could have did it on
less curious but you know, like today this is like
I mean, that that was like everybody, I mean every
every every school is running one back.

Speaker 3 (41:16):
Yeah pretty much.

Speaker 7 (41:20):
Yeah so now yeah, so now you know when they
put that fullback. You know one thing about me, I
always love to run out of the eye, you know,
traditional tight end, you know. But you know one thing,
you know that that did happen. If you look at
my senior year when coach Wats came in, he actually

(41:41):
kind of like kind of like spread it, kind of
did something like, uh, spread some guys around, and we
kind of like did it a couple of times my
senior year. But man, this is every time. This is
like I don't care what game you look at. I mean,
it's one back.

Speaker 3 (41:59):
I I'm looking at last season's NCAA stats low and
the guy who led the nation in rushing amazing season
two thousand and six hundred and one yards, the second
most in history behind Barry Sanders. That's Ashton Genty from
Boise State and now with the Raiders. But he carried

(42:21):
it a nation high three hundred and seventy four times.
That's forty five times fewer than you did. And he
played two more games.

Speaker 7 (42:32):
Yes, well, yes, if you want to do that, if
you want to kind of do that math. We'll have
to go back to the Indiana game Myselo one year,
right right, right, right, Well he played two what ended
two hundred plays in the yard, yeah, and two plays
in the second half.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
Go back to the.

Speaker 7 (42:55):
What uh in that same year would have been with
con so pretty much almost the same thing, but probably
a few more players in the second half. And I
got checked out the game with another quarter. Go back
in the same game against Iowa with two twenty six,

(43:20):
two hundred and twenty six yards and correct and men
it had ninety some yards. Yeah, yeah, So I mean,
like I said, it was doable, you know, and then
and that would have been even with me getting hurt
in my junior year, right right, So when you add

(43:40):
when you add those days, when you add those games,
that that gives me I get close to the record
right there.

Speaker 3 (43:48):
You had the eighty two in the twenty five carries
in Bloomington and eighty five and if you had carried
the ball let's just say forty times, if you'd had
another fifteen carries, you're averaging more than eleven yards of carry.
So if you figure that, that's another one hundred and

(44:08):
sixty five yards low that is four hundred and forty
seven yards in that game.

Speaker 7 (44:16):
Yeah yeah, I mean you're right, you know, like I said,
just Iowa, Indiana, Just Ioway Indiana. You know, because that
we had a foot. We had a whole full third
quarter to go, I mean a fourth quarters to go.

(44:36):
We were still in the third quarter when I got
when I got my actually I got my ankle twisted.
And we were playing Michigan. So Jews came up to
me and say, no, that's it, that's enough.

Speaker 3 (44:46):
Yeah, yeah, all right, let's talk a little bit about
what Michigan State is going to do. And you played
for a coach in his second year. George truited you
after his first year at Michigan State after the nineteen
eighty three seasons, so your first year was his second,

(45:09):
and now you've got guys who are coming in for
Jonathan Smith's second year. How much difference do you think
there is or should be in a coaching staff the
second time around.

Speaker 2 (45:23):
I think.

Speaker 7 (45:26):
I think, you know, when you think about how what
George did, he had a he always said, is he
had what a five year plan?

Speaker 2 (45:40):
So you give.

Speaker 7 (45:41):
Yourself, you know, you give yourself, you give yourself a
little room but today, it's just so hard for the
coach now to even do that because you know, you
got n I he got nil and now with so
many kids going to different schools and coming here, so

(46:02):
it's a little bit different now sometimes just you know,
when he can go out and you can get a
couple of more players, so I think you would probably
you can cut that. You can kind of cut that
in half, you know, to maybe like a two I'll
say two and a half two and a half years,
But it all depends on But now, like I said,

(46:23):
but it's just hard.

Speaker 6 (46:25):
I mean, I'm feel sorry for the coach now.

Speaker 7 (46:30):
It's so much. You know, I think you know, trying
to go and but you get a chance to if
you can get some if you can land some players,
it gives you a little better chance, you know, a
lot quicker, you know, if you can get the right kids.

Speaker 3 (46:49):
Well, it's funny you mentioned George and the five year plan.
He didn't elaborate on this, but at one point I
asked him, I said, so, so what's with the five
years plan? How come you couldn't have a three year
plan or a four year plan or six year plan?
He said, because I had a five year contract.

Speaker 7 (47:17):
That would be George.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
That would be George, That would absolutely be George. So
for a team that was five and seven and now
coming out in a very difficult league, a league that
has produced the last two national champions and this year
another team that is maybe a co favorite, there's a

(47:42):
very good chance after the opening week that Penn State
will be number one in most of the polls. And
if that is the case, and now you've got Oregon
coming into the league and us USC and Washington played
for a national championship two years ago, getting any easier

(48:03):
for season now?

Speaker 7 (48:06):
I would say, uh, I would say a successful season
with so much Look, I mean to look forward where
the new teams come in.

Speaker 11 (48:21):
Yeah, yeah, I mean so, I mean I.

Speaker 7 (48:25):
Think like still have to be like, we still got
to find a way to get eight games.

Speaker 3 (48:30):
Eight wins. You gotta be first of all, you got
you gotta make that game right that.

Speaker 7 (48:35):
We gotta get we we we gotta we gotta get
we got to get eight we gotta get eight wins.

Speaker 3 (48:43):
Okay, Okay, we have.

Speaker 7 (48:46):
Yeah that I mean because you look at you know,
and I was just looking at what last year Indiana? Yeah, yeah, Indiana,
And who is the other.

Speaker 3 (48:59):
Team Indiana what eleven and two? And they were.

Speaker 7 (49:04):
But it was enough, It was enough.

Speaker 6 (49:07):
Do you have another team?

Speaker 7 (49:09):
Was it Illinois? Minnesota? Which one of those teams, which
was what one of those teams had?

Speaker 3 (49:20):
Illinois had ten wins, right, That's what I'm saying. So Illinois, Yeah,
Illinois had ten and and Ohio State of course wins
the national championship, and Penn State with thirteen wins. So
and there are a lot of wins for these top teams.
Michigan had a down year but finished strong. Uh So

(49:43):
it isn't a matter sometimes of how good you are,
how much your team has improved, there's some other guys
trying to do the same.

Speaker 7 (49:50):
Thing exactly exactly. Yeah, And that's why I said, you
know that eight win is count that the eight game winning,
you know, kind of make you, you know, pretty much
just right there, you know.

Speaker 3 (50:04):
And you know, George and I would would kind of
go back and forth on this because to him, a
win was a win, didn't matter, just count the baby.
And to me what mattered was whether the alumni left
and felt like their team had played well, if they
had given a great effort. And sometimes you can leave
the stadium, and you really wish that one play had

(50:26):
gone differently, but you're proud of the effort and others
you're you're really not so much. You can't lose the
last game of the year at home to Rutgers forty
one to fourteen.

Speaker 7 (50:39):
Yeah that hurts.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Yeah, that hurts. That definitely hurts. Hey, we're going to
see you in two weeks, right, you're gonna be here
for the BC game.

Speaker 6 (50:48):
Yes, yes, yes, we'll be there.

Speaker 3 (50:51):
You know what, I think this, This would be great, Lough.
Michigan State is playing in Bloomington this year. Why don't
we get you to come with us down to Indiana
and we'll put you out there in thirty four before
the game and all the Indiana fans will pass out.

Speaker 7 (51:10):
I think.

Speaker 2 (51:14):
I think we will.

Speaker 7 (51:16):
You think about Michigan's day anything that thirty four got
to do it in Indiana. I think they're gonna stop
me right at the right at the line.

Speaker 3 (51:25):
Game over, we quit? All right, I got it. Lorenzo White, Uh,
he is a Hall of Famer. He is the greatest
offensive player certainly in Michigan State football history. See you
in a couple of weeks. Low, all right, thank you, Jack,
We'll be right back and and we're going to talk
with Jim Gum. We've been teasing this all week. Jim

(51:46):
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to source for college football information on a weekly basis.
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Speaker 5 (52:16):
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Speaker 3 (52:17):
Can't be any simpler than that. We'll be right back
with Jim Gumm and much much more coming up on
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Speaker 4 (55:04):
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Speaker 3 (55:21):
Welcome back to the Driver with Jack the Spotlight Radio Network.
Jack Evling here with my producer of Boston Rob Rob.
When it's this time of year, you start thinking about
preseason magazines if you haven't already, if you haven't already
gotten them and devoured them, and you start thinking about
the Blitz newsletter. Want to welcome in as we will

(55:43):
often during the college football season and now the pro
football season.

Speaker 2 (55:47):
Two.

Speaker 3 (55:48):
Jim Gumm from Cleveland, Tennessee. Jim, how are you?

Speaker 5 (55:52):
I'm doing good?

Speaker 11 (55:53):
How are you?

Speaker 3 (55:54):
How was your off season? Did you have any more
time on your hands than Phil Steele did on.

Speaker 5 (55:59):
His I might have had a little bit more a
free time than Phil Steele. I mean that guy. He
puts together just an outstanding magazine. But I was pretty busy, though, man,
I was pretty busy.

Speaker 3 (56:12):
Before we get into your rankings. And congratulations on being
the only guy I know who had Ohio State number
one stuck with him, didn't jump off the bridge after
the Michigan game, and has a national championship to show
for it. But I want to look at Phil Steele
Atlon and Lindy's coming into this year, and you have

(56:35):
him listed side by side in issue one for volume
fifteen of the Blitz. I always say Phil Steele does
his homework, and I'm saying that even more this year
because his top two picks are the same as mine.
He is Penn State number one and Clemson number two.

(56:55):
Atlon and Lindy's both have Texas number one, Penn State
number two. And you're back with Ohio State again, right,
I am.

Speaker 5 (57:06):
I've still got Ohio State one. I've got Texas too.
But I mean it's a this is a tough year, man.
There's so many good programs out there that are you know,
unproven quarterbacks. I mean, you know, even Texas, I mean,
I know Arch Manning has played, but it's not like
he's been a starter for a year. Even those guys
have got a little bit of curious if you will.

(57:30):
You know, Penn State and Clamson obviously have got returning
the quarterback.

Speaker 3 (57:34):
So that's right, Drew Aller and Cave Club Nick and
Ohio State justin saying that he is going to get
the first shot at this but looking at the way
it stacks up in the coaches poll with Texas one
and Ohio State two, and then the eight p pole
the same as Atline and Lindy's with Texas one and

(57:56):
Penn State two. In any event, this is the first
time in history, Jim that a season opener will have
a number one ranked team as an underdog.

Speaker 5 (58:09):
Yeah, that's pretty Mets man when you think about it.
But I mean, listen, i mean the reason Texas is
an underdog is because the game is being played in Columbus.
I'm sure that if this game is being played in Austin,
Texas will be favored so as much as much to
do with the location of the game as much as anything.

Speaker 3 (58:27):
Right, Right, And they say that's normally worth three points
the home court at the home field advantage, so flip
that would mean six points. It would be three if
it's on a neutral field. But for something like that,
how many teams do you think are actually capable Jim
of being in the National championship Game?

Speaker 5 (58:47):
Oh, I'd say there's at least seven or eight teams
that realistically have a The roster is built to be
a championship team, and a lot of it has to
do obviously with the the quarterback play. It could be
up to ten teams, honestly, but I mean, I do
believe this is one of the more wide open seasons

(59:09):
to begin that I can remember. And obviously we all
know Jack that if there's a you know, a quarterback
goes down for the year, and that's gonna affect some
of these teams, assuming that every team stays healthy. I
think there's at least eight, maybe seven to ten teams
I think have a realistic shot.

Speaker 3 (59:29):
I ask you that, Jim, because I made a list
of the teams that can win it and teams that
wish they could win it. And I have ten teams
that I think could be in the championship game. Doesn't
mean they're going to win the last game, but Penn State, Clemson,
Notre Dame, Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Miami, Florida.

(59:57):
Who'd I leave about LSU? Those are the ten and
people like someone else that's the same thing you have. Okay,
so I think that group brenand there's a drop off.
And again when you say so many inexperienced quarterbacks, even
of those ten, Jim, you think about Georgia, not the

(01:00:20):
guy who's been there in the past, the guy who
filled in late in the year, Notre Dame new quarterback.
LSU has a quarterback, Alabama breaking in someone Georgia and
not what they thought Oregon breaking in a new quarterback,
but a guy who has started games at UCLA and
I think a lot of him Miami taking Georgia's quarterback,

(01:00:43):
so you can just about split it. And I think
there might be more teams that don't have an established
starting quarterback at least returning at that program than do.

Speaker 5 (01:00:55):
Well Ron And you know, I know you and you
mentioned LSU and that's my r he is coming back act.
But my thing about them is the coach, Brian Kelly.
For whatever reason, I just I'm hesitant on LSU, not
because of the roster, but because Brian Kelly, to me,
always finds a way to blow a game. And I

(01:01:17):
always wonder which game is he gonna blow this year?
We'll see, I mean, he may prove me wrong, but
that's the one. What's the one program that has a
returning quarterback that I'm still a little iffy about, iffy
about because the head coach is a tendency to, you know,
not be able to win the game. A lot of
people feel the same way about James Franklin at Penn State,

(01:01:38):
you know, and I know Penn State did win two
playoff games last year, but you know, it's not exactly
like they played the Who's Who. They played Boise State
and and SMU, but still you know you got that,
you got that thing that you got Certain coaches you're like, gosh,
can this guy really get it done? And I feel
that way about Brian Kelly.

Speaker 3 (01:01:59):
Yeah, I can see that. I've heard so much about
James Franklin, and I am not a James Franklin fan.
He not one of my favorite guys. But I don't
like to see people become whipping boys. And I went
back and said, well, how bad is James Franklin Because
I've heard all the jokes, you know that people in

(01:02:19):
Pennsylvania say they'd be better with Ben Franklin than James Franklin,
and oh, you know all this stuff. But I went
back through and looked, and in fairness, if you think
that he came in after Bill O'Brien very quick turnaround,
and they were still dealing with the Joe Paterno mess,
They still had a short roster, still had a lot

(01:02:41):
of problems, and he has never been picked number one
in the Big Ten. It's not like he's had chances.
I can go through from twenty fifteen through twenty twenty one,
one game a year that Jim Harbaugh clearly blew. I
can't find that with James Franklin. They did win the

(01:03:02):
Big Ten title in twenty sixteen, beat Ohio State and
lose a thrilling Rose Bowl to USC. Last year, they
won thirteen games. They finished two spots ahead of Ohio
State in the Big Ten standings and played a competitive
game with Oregon and played a very competitive game with

(01:03:22):
Notre Dame. People say, well, yeah, you know, they only
beat Boise State and Boise State team that, by the way,
almost beat Oregon in Eugene. But I look at that
game with Notre Dame and Penn State in the semi
final gym, and Penn State was one play one drew
Aller mistake away from being in the national championship game.

Speaker 5 (01:03:46):
Yeah, I mean, I get what you're saying, and I listen.
I'm not an anti James Franklin guy, but you know
all these you know, these bolas, like there were one
play away. Well, it seems like that's totally it's the case.
I'm not Lissa, I'm not dogging, Okay, James Franklin is
a really good coach. In ninety nine percent of the

(01:04:07):
programs out there would be better off with a guy
like him at the helm. But you know, he does
have some tendencies to when they are playing a highly
ranked team. They have a real problem with Ohio State.
I mean they really have as that's their Achilles hill.
But my gosh, I mean Ohio State beats almost everyone.
I mean they do have an issue with Michigan right now,

(01:04:27):
but I mean losing to Ohio State regularly, so is
everyone else. So I get it. But I guess this
one of these things, and I put James Franklin and
Brian Kelly kind of in the same category.

Speaker 3 (01:04:40):
You got to.

Speaker 5 (01:04:40):
Prove it to me that you can beat the big boys,
not such so much a highly ranked team, but a
highly ranked big boy team like a Georgia and Alabama,
Ohio State, someone like that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:50):
You beat them.

Speaker 5 (01:04:52):
Now I'll buy into it. You know, beating a highly
ranked Boise State and a highly ranked sm U doesn't
feel I know, I shouldn't say it, he doesn't feel
as big.

Speaker 3 (01:05:01):
This is the first time I can recall Jim and
I could be wrong. I watched the Saquon Barkley teams
up close and personal, but this is the first time
I can look at Penn State and say their personnel
is as good as any teams in the country. Now,
if this team loses three or four games, then I'm
in the same canoe with you. But I haven't seen

(01:05:24):
James Franklin have a team that was a Big Ten favorite.
I don't think that his teams have really underperformed. They've
performed about where they were picked to do. Now you
could say, well, he should get better players, but that's
a different question in terms of recruiting. And I think
if you're in the final four, it's like I get
this argument in basketball all the time about well, you're

(01:05:46):
in the Final four, but you didn't win it. If
you're in the semi finals of the college football playoffs,
you've done something right.

Speaker 5 (01:05:56):
Oh yo, there's no doubt and like that. And I
don't want anyone out there think that I'm bashing James Franklin.
I just I'm hesitant to pick them to win a
national championship until they've proved, until he proves that he can.
And listen, Ryan Day had a lot of the same
questions last year. A lot of people question, well, Ryan
Day can't win the Big One. Well guess well, Ryan

(01:06:16):
Da finally did win the Big One. Now you feel
different about Brian Day, And I would feel the exact
same way about James Franklin, and I would feel the
exact same way about Brian Kelly. If one of those
two guys goes out and wins a national championship or
at least plays in the National Championship game and plays
a competitive game. You know you know where I'm coming from.
I'm not an anti Brian Kelly or anti James Franklin.

(01:06:39):
I'm just hesitant.

Speaker 3 (01:06:42):
Yeah, I can see that, and you haven't seen it,
so there's no reason to believe it's going to be there.
I'm looking at your next five, especially eleven through fourteen,
and I find those to be very interesting picks, and
I like them. But you have three teams here from

(01:07:04):
the Big twelve, and I think a couple of them
are playing in Farmageddon, right Kansas State, yeahs Track the
best team money can buy. You have them in at thirteen.
So you have those three eleven, thirteen, and fourteen ahead
of some high profile teams. Are teams that were in

(01:07:25):
the playoff last year. Which of those four I guess,
if you want to throw Florida in two, which of
those four teams could crack the quarterfinals and be in
the final eight.

Speaker 5 (01:07:41):
Between Kansas State, Florida, Texas, Technolo State. I guess I'd
probably lean towards Kansas State because I like their quarterback
and DJ Lagway Florida is really good, but he tends
to not be able to stay healthy. So I really
like this Kansas State team. I really do. So I

(01:08:01):
don't know. I mean there again, I wouldn't pick either
one of those four teams to make a deep run
into the playoffs, but you know, I mean, they both
got good quarterbacks. Between FID and Kansas State, they both
got good quarterbacks assuming they both stay healthy, and that's
half the battle is right there. So, but Kansas State
would be the one I would choose over those four.

Speaker 3 (01:08:24):
Jim, you have six Big eighteen teams or Big ten
if you will, in your list from fifteen to thirty.
Very interesting. You have Michigan fifteen again breaking in a
new quarterback, twelve million dollar man. You have Illinois at eighteen.

(01:08:46):
I really like Illinois. They have a boatload of people
coming back. I think Brett Bielam is a little bit
underrated as a coach, and they did win ten games
last year, including that Bowl win over South Carolina. You
have a little higher than most I think at twenty
one with Dylan Royola and Indiana maybe a little lower

(01:09:07):
than most, although I can see that I'm hearing great
things about the transfer quarterback from cal and I'm looking
at the Indiana schedule. We talked about this last night.

Speaker 2 (01:09:18):
Jim.

Speaker 3 (01:09:19):
Did Kurt Signetti sit down and make this schedule out himself?

Speaker 11 (01:09:24):
You know?

Speaker 5 (01:09:24):
I mean as fuck, I've called people. What Kurse Signette
is doing in Indiana is very similar to what Bill
Snyder did at Kansas State. Yeah, he's not going to
schedule a tough non conference team, He's just not. He
wants to get three automatic wins and then if they
can win three games in the Big Ten, they're BO eligible.

(01:09:44):
We all know eleven and one what they did last year,
that's an anomaly. They have never That's the first time
that program's ever won double digits ever in their history.
This is a program that rarely rarely makes any type
of post. So I don't have a problem with what
Indiana does because of who they are, and people can

(01:10:05):
bash them all they want, but the bottom line is
they just want to become Bowl eligible and if they
do something spectacular and they make it to maybe affordable,
or they do what they did last year and make
a playoff run, then congratulations. But for the most part,
there's the struggle for Indiana just to make the postseason.
So I don't have a problem with what they do
in the non conference portion of their.

Speaker 3 (01:10:26):
Schedule, looking at even the Big ten matchups, and I
got a real break there on who they miss. I
think Indiana is going to be favored in ten games
and doesn't mean they're going to win them, but looking
at the competition there, I think Indiana got a very
favorable draw. You also have USC at twenty seven and

(01:10:48):
Iowa at thirty. Sell me on Nebraska if you can, Jim.

Speaker 5 (01:10:55):
Well, I just think that Bill and Rayla, I'm a
believer in this guy. I know he was very, very
highly talented, and he you know, is committed to about
three or four different schools. And Matt Ruhle's doing a
really good job there at Nebraska. And people say, here's
what people say when Nebraska is not what they want
to Who wants to go to Nebraska. They don't produce

(01:11:16):
football players in Nebraska. I'm like, listen, they didn't produce
football players in Nebraska back in the seventies, eighties, and
nineties either, but they did. They had a great job
in of recruiting. You can recruit to Nebraska. You can
because it's been done before. It's not like Nebraska used
to be a tropical paradise. It's always been sitting right

(01:11:37):
there in the middle of the Midwest, cold and blear
and dreary in the middle of the wintertime. But you know,
if it's been done before, it can be done again.
And I think the passion of the fans there. You
get a recruit there and there's eighty five thousand fans
and it's all this red and you get all these vibes.
I think there's some kids out there in high school

(01:11:59):
that would be like, yeah, I think I'd like to
be here, you know, and listen. Well know, these days
it's all about the nil money, and Nebraska's is gonna
do whatever they can to fork ount enough money to
get some really good players.

Speaker 3 (01:12:11):
Jim, how surprised would you be in Week one if
Miami beat Notre Dame in South Florida.

Speaker 5 (01:12:20):
I'm a Carson Beck fan. I like this guy at
It's in Miami, Okay, so you got an advantage there. Now,
typically Miami does not sell out football games, but when
they're playing a highly touted team like a Notre Dame.
There's gonna be a lot of the fair Weather fans
show up. There's a lot of Miami fans down there,

(01:12:41):
but they're very fickle and they select which games they attend.
But I think it's gonna be a hostile crowd. Now.
Notre Dame always has a lot of fans there at
any opposing stadium anyway, but I think Notre Dame's going
to have their hands full. It wouldn't shock me at all.
I'm picking Notre Dame to win that game, but it
wouldn't shocked me to see Carson can not Miami team
win that game.

Speaker 3 (01:13:03):
All right. Last thing, I'm looking at your bracket here
and you have Ohio State won Penn State four. That
means they would meet if they go all the way
through to the semifinals. And there's a good chance that
these teams could play three times if they are the
top two finishers into Big Ten. They could meet in Columbus,

(01:13:23):
then they could meet in the Big Ten championship game,
and then they could meet again. Pretty strange to think
that two Big Ten teams could play three times in
one year.

Speaker 5 (01:13:34):
It is I mean we saw it happen. You know,
we saw how Ston Oregon played twice last year, so yeah, yeah,
I mean it could happen. I think it's I think
the odds are against it, but yeah, there's no doubt
it could happen these days when you get a multi
tiered playoff system and two Holly po pouted teams, So yeah,

(01:13:55):
absolutely could happen.

Speaker 3 (01:13:57):
Jim tell our listeners again, those who don't remember from
last year. The best way to get a copy of
the Blitz it is your companion. You should have it
nearby if you want to look smart. It's the best
way to do it. How do fans get it?

Speaker 5 (01:14:12):
You know, there's two ways to get in touch with me.
You can email me and you can text me emails
Jim gum dot Blitz at yahoo dot com, this j
I M g U M M dot blitz bl I
t z at yahoo dot com. Or you can text
me four two three five eight four zero three six
zero that's four two three five eight four zero three

(01:14:33):
sixty and just say you heard me on your show, Jack,
and you'd like to see this preview issue and I'll
send it out to you.

Speaker 3 (01:14:39):
How many guests rob give their phone number on this
show that shows the accessibility of Jim Gum to his readers. Again,
that's four two three five eight four zero three six
Oho if you're driving, If you didn't have a pen
the first two times, so you've gave you the number.
You got it a third time, Jim, Thanks so much,

(01:15:00):
look forward to talking to you throughout the season.

Speaker 5 (01:15:03):
All right, same here, Jack, be right back on.

Speaker 3 (01:15:07):
A drive with Jack.

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That's right, Jack.

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Speaker 15 (01:17:45):
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Speaker 3 (01:18:03):
It is the Drive with Jack Spotlight Radio Network. Jack
Epplin here with my producer Boston rob Or reminder. Tigers
hosting the Kansas City Royals tonight, the first in a
three game set. Tigers nine and a half up over
the second place Royals in the American League Central Division.
All right, one week from tonight. We've said this a

(01:18:25):
couple times during the show. We're going to repeat it
in Michigan State opening the twenty twenty five football season,
I guess against the Western Michigan Broncos at Spartan Stadium.
I want to welcome in a guy who doesn't miss
many Michigan State games and sees a lot of other
games too, and that is Sparty Mike Sterner, Doctor Sterner,

(01:18:48):
How you doing, Doc?

Speaker 11 (01:18:50):
Good? Thanks for having me on, Jack, I'm doing well.

Speaker 3 (01:18:54):
Are you at McLaren?

Speaker 2 (01:18:57):
Now?

Speaker 3 (01:18:57):
Where are you as we speak?

Speaker 11 (01:18:59):
I just got out of McLaren. I'm no longer there,
but I was there all day today otherwise, and it
was a busy day.

Speaker 3 (01:19:09):
Okay, you say you just got out of McLaren, You
mean you left the hospital. You haven't stopped working there.

Speaker 11 (01:19:14):
No, I haven't stopped working there.

Speaker 2 (01:19:16):
No.

Speaker 11 (01:19:17):
I'm under contract for a couple more years, at least two.

Speaker 3 (01:19:20):
I got you, I got you. Okay. Well, you're also
under an emotional contract with Michigan State and the Detroit
Lions and a lot of other teams that you follow
around the country. What do you make of this Spartan team.

Speaker 11 (01:19:37):
I think that the thing I keep seeing is like
familiarity and depth. I mean, with Jonathan Smant and his
staff being here for another year, I see the depth
that they've added through the portal, but just a lot
of young guys that are coming back to the program
this year and they know the system and people are familiar,

(01:19:57):
you know, as you go from Aiden Child's down, everybody
really getting used to East Lancing. They're matured, they're growing,
and I expect them to have a better year this year,
and I'm pretty confident that they will.

Speaker 3 (01:20:09):
Is there a position or position group that you feel
particularly confident in things can match up with the best
in the Big Ten? And there's there one that really
concerns you.

Speaker 11 (01:20:22):
I would say that wide receiver. I don't think it
can just match up with anyone in the Big Ten.
I think you can match up with anybody in the country.
You have Nick Marsho's one of the best young receivers
in the country, and then you had one like Omari
Kelly and Krashan McCray, and I think, you know, you
have a really good group there. I think the group

(01:20:42):
that I'm probably most worried about is probably the offensive line,
because those skilled players and the quarterback and the running
game all rely on that, and you know, we've had
some pretty inconsistent offensive line play really over the last decade,
so we need to get that figured out.

Speaker 3 (01:21:02):
Yeah, I would agree with you about the wide outs.
I think Michigan State had six six wide receivers who
could have played for them in most years and many
of their most successful years. And I would have agreed
with you heading into the preseason camp about the offensive line.
I think my doubts there have been smoothed over to

(01:21:27):
some degree because of the depth, the number of players,
some experience that's been added, not going to be subject
injuries quite the way they were a year ago. But
I'm really concerned about the place kicking on this team.
And I could see that making a difference of two wins.

Speaker 11 (01:21:47):
Yeah, we saw it make a difference in the Indiana
game where we could have made a bowl game a
few years back, and so you know, we didn't really
have a kicker and then got it. Kim came and
blessed us the next year and he's no longer here here.

Speaker 3 (01:22:06):
Yeah, they're gonna miss Jonathan Kim. I think even though
he had the one kick against Michigan on the first drive,
the twenty five yard or he missed, but he didn't
miss many others. He made a lot of long ones
and anytime you I don't know what his combined distance was.
I should add it up against Iowa, but I think
it was a big ten record for the most yards

(01:22:28):
on field goals in one game.

Speaker 11 (01:22:30):
Well, he had the big ten record on an individual kick.
I was at that game, so I remember that. Yeah,
are they Kinnick Stadian record?

Speaker 3 (01:22:40):
I'm sorry, yeah, Kinnick Stadium? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know,
I saw a couple of transoceanic kicks for a Michigan
State MIC one with Morton Anderson, and you know, at
sixty was no big deal to him, but he would

(01:23:00):
try to make field goals on kickoffs. And then I
saw a game against Purdue. This was Georgia's first year
nineteen eighty three, and Spartans had to try a fifty
nine yard field goal to tie, and Ralph Mosienko drilled
that and it was twenty nine to twenty nine at
the end of the game, so no overtime, that was

(01:23:22):
just it. They both both walked away frustrated. How do
you think the big difference is going to be for
Jonathan Smith in year two.

Speaker 11 (01:23:32):
I think he's honestly understands Michigan State now. I think
he understands the culture here. I think that was probably
one of my big concerns when he came here. Has
come here from the West Coast team, and you know,
does he really understand the rivalry between Michigan, Does he
understand the region? And I think he's hired some guys

(01:23:53):
like Joe Rossi and other guy like Courtney Hawkins, guys
on the staff that do understand big ten culture Michigan State.
And I think he's fully adapted and now he's bought in,
and I think he's really reflected on things he would
have did differently in his first year. I mean it's
his first year. I think everybody. I just finished my
first year at McLaren Lanting and there's things I would

(01:24:14):
have did differently there. So I understand that notion. And
I think he's learned and growed, and I think he's
been a successful coach. And I think his players really
buy in. So I think adding that and then he's
really embracing the transfer portal nil culture that we have
along with our nude ad and I think you know

(01:24:35):
that those two as a team are going to become
a stronger group for our football program.

Speaker 3 (01:24:43):
Mike You and doctor Tom Jamison, longtime area family physician
and athletic physician probably talk to more Michigan State fans
than any docs. I know, what do you think the
fan expectations are this year and what would be satisfactory
in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 11 (01:25:05):
I think the floor expectation is we have to make
a Bowl game this year, no questions asked, and I think,
you know, the ceiling kind of expectation is looking at
eight or nine wins.

Speaker 3 (01:25:20):
Rico Beard, you probably are familiar with on our television show,
has twice said that not only does Jonathan Smith have
to win eight games this year, but he and his
staff also have to beat Michigan. That seems like a
pretty heavy expectation, a big lift for a second year's staff.

(01:25:43):
Do you think there's one game that is going to
be a litmus test or do you think that if
Michigan State can get an upset or two along the way,
it won't come down to a one game season.

Speaker 11 (01:25:56):
I don't think you can put anything on one game.
As much as I'd love to win the Michigan game,
you know, I think winning eight games in total over
winning five and winning the Michigan games matters more. But
I think that you know, having a school like Boston College,
a power conference school come into Michigan State and week two,

(01:26:17):
and you know, I felt like that was a really
big turning point for the for the season last year.
And if we would have won that game, who has
been to a Bowl game and a bunch of other things,
we might have even gotten another win with confidence and such.
So I think that one. You know, it's not the
first one you think of, but I think because it's
so early and it's at home, you got to get
it done.

Speaker 3 (01:26:40):
You've heard all of the hype about Bryce Underwood and
the question about does he win one Heisman or two,
and all of the talk about the money that he
got to play in an arbor after first committing to LSU.
Takes a lot to buy a player away from LSU.
But when you think about how good Underwood can be,

(01:27:03):
and if you saw him in high school, you know
that he's more than just lip service. Would you rather
have Aiden Hiles or Bryce Underwood this year?

Speaker 11 (01:27:13):
I think I'd rather have Aiden Giles just because I
think he's kind of been through the lumps, and he's
also you know, he doesn't lack and talent himself, but
he had to go through that maturity year behind. You know,
a beat up offensive line, and he had to learn
a lot about himself. And you know, maybe Bryce under
would will have to go through some of that himself
this year, maybe to the to the enjoyment of the

(01:27:36):
Spartans when Michigan comes here. But I think I'd rather
have the seasoned, more veteran type guy.

Speaker 2 (01:27:44):
All right.

Speaker 3 (01:27:45):
I know your habit of showing up at games and
unusual places, not just games here in East Lansing or
in Detroit. I don't know exactly how you do that
with your work shifts, but you managed to do it.
Do you know which road games Michigan State place? Five
of them? Where will you be?

Speaker 11 (01:28:06):
I'll one hundred percent be back in LA at where
I was a month ago for that game. I'm ninety
nine percent sure I'm going to go to Indiana. I'm
thinking about Minnesota, and then one of either Nebraska Iowa,
so almost all of them.

Speaker 3 (01:28:24):
Okay, Okay, Well I will see you or pass you
at some form in LA and I'm going with Jay
Green and someone else going to Bloomington and flying to Minnesota.
So if it turns out you're at those three places,
maybe we can grab a meal or something there. What
about the Lions. I know you've been to Green Bay,

(01:28:47):
show up other places for important games for Detroit. Looking
at the schedule, are you going to see any Lions
road games?

Speaker 11 (01:28:55):
I am going to every Lions road game, and I
have flights book for every Lion's road game except to
One of my goals is to see the Lions win
in every NFL stadium, not just a tend a game there,
but see them win. I've already been to Kansas City.
I watched them win that game a couple of years
ago on Sunday night or on the opening day game.

(01:29:15):
And then Baltimore is the weekend of the USC game,
so it's a Monday night game. But I don't know
if I want to be that crazy that weekend.

Speaker 3 (01:29:25):
Hey, Rob, When you hear Sparti Mike talk about being
at all of these road games and getting to every game,
I mean there will be players on the team who
won't be at every game. Some of them will be
home getting treatment for injuries. Can you imagine having that
kind of dedication and having games be that much a

(01:29:47):
part of your life.

Speaker 4 (01:29:49):
That's great to hear. I want to frequent fire miles.
That's what I want.

Speaker 3 (01:29:54):
I just want to make sure that he's as good
in the operating room, or that he is what he's
dealing with patients as he is getting to these games.

Speaker 11 (01:30:05):
Well, I will say Jack, I don't go in the
operating room. Bankfully, I'm not a surgeon, but I think
my patient care is okay at least okay.

Speaker 3 (01:30:13):
All right, So when you're talking to patients and let's
say you have one come in and they have a
big Michigan tattoo or they are resplendent from head to
toe in scarlet and gray, do you close your eyes
a little bit or do you do you suggest to

(01:30:35):
them that they'd feel better if they change their garb
or their logo.

Speaker 11 (01:30:41):
You know, if they are a new patients, you really
got to read the room. You can't afset people too much.
But if you think they can take it, you throw
some jabs at them, but all in good fun. And
if I know them long enough, I will definitely throw
some jabs at them. And sometimes they know me, even
when they're a Michigan pancel before they even come see me.

Speaker 3 (01:31:02):
So you're living in mid Michigan now, right. You were
not when you were going through your residency and all
these things.

Speaker 11 (01:31:10):
Correct, I am in East Lancing. Now, Previously I had
done my training at McLaren, McComb and Mount Clemons, and
I was living in Hazel Park where I grew up.

Speaker 3 (01:31:22):
So how long did it take you to get from
Hazel Park up here for the coaches shows? You're such
a fixture over at One North. It used to be
over at Reno's every show. A lot easier for you
right now. You're saving a lot of gas mileage for that.

Speaker 11 (01:31:41):
Yeah, I'm one hundred percent saying a lot of gas mileage.
It would take, depending on, you know what, the traffic
that we had in the construction. Sometimes two hours, so
I'd get in right when the show started. Sometimes, and
you know, I'm leaving from the east Side as they
call it in McComb where I was doing my training,
so I'd get right in the car. I'd have a

(01:32:02):
change that a change that go.

Speaker 3 (01:32:07):
You know what I'm thinking here, Rob, Let me ask
you first, who do you think as more devotion? I mean,
we're talking about the extreme of the extreme super fans,
right uh. Spartan Mike with Michigan State and what you
just heard about being at every Lion's game home and

(01:32:28):
away or the fabulous flying nesses.

Speaker 4 (01:32:32):
You just just combine them all, Yes, just have them all,
just have them gold all together.

Speaker 3 (01:32:40):
I mean, these guys perfect look like a casual fan
and that's so so you know what I think we
ought to do. Rob hold me to this so I
don't forget Okay, I think at some point after the
basketball season we ought to have a special event and
I can probably pay out five of the ten. But

(01:33:03):
since we're talking about the Big ten all year, let's
have a deal with the ten greatest super fans and
bring them over to One North and we'll have a
hell of a party. What do you think.

Speaker 11 (01:33:17):
It sounds like? Fun?

Speaker 7 (01:33:18):
Jack?

Speaker 3 (01:33:19):
Yeah? Yeah, there's still some openings on this list, folks.
So if you think you belong and I know some
people be clubbing each other to get spots eight, nine
to ten on this list, but I think we ought
to do that, and we'll mention again throughout the year.
But you have to let us know why you belong here.

(01:33:39):
I mean not just a fan, not just a devoted
fan or a diehard fan or a super fan. I'm
talking about almost an insane level of passion and loyalty
to follow the team and frankly, Frankly, a lot of
people can't do it. But Mike, you were doing this
before you were making doctor.

Speaker 11 (01:33:59):
Dough, right, Yeah, yeah, Jack. You know, I always told people,
you know, I'm not I'm not in the gambling, I'm
not really into drinking. I'm not into any of that stuff.
So I saved a lot of money with that, and
then I prioritized it because a lot of my colleagues
in medicine asked me, how are you able to do this?
And I mean, one thing, I don't have kids or

(01:34:19):
anything like that. I do have a fiance. But on
top of that, you know, I prioritized it. I got
a vice in medical school that if you want to
do stuff, you got to do it. Prioritize it now
because if you keep saying you're not going to do
it now, you're never going to do it. So I
took that to heart and I've always prioritized it. I
always tell people there's twenty four hours in every day,

(01:34:40):
and if you're you really want to do something, you
can figure it out.

Speaker 4 (01:34:45):
Your this is your addiction, right like, this is your addiction.

Speaker 11 (01:34:48):
Yes, that is That is a very fair way to
put it.

Speaker 3 (01:34:53):
Is there any kind of treatment or therapy for this,
if you knew someone else who had the same situation,
anything you would prescribe.

Speaker 11 (01:35:02):
Mike, Honestly, I don't know any ill side effects of
it other than like you don't truly have the money
for it, So I don't think I need to prescribe.
I honestly, I actually try to prescribe this lifestyle. The
more people.

Speaker 4 (01:35:19):
Work hard, play hard, right, gotcha? Okay, yes, work hard,
play hard.

Speaker 3 (01:35:24):
You mentioned your fiance, you might as well give her
a plug. You may need it at some point. What's
her name?

Speaker 11 (01:35:31):
Her name is Angelie, but I call her Jelly.

Speaker 2 (01:35:34):
Uh.

Speaker 11 (01:35:34):
She's she's actually from Nepaul uh uh, and she she
came here on uh what they call the green card lottery.
It's underrepresented countries in in the us U. They try
to get more people from there so that people literally
put their name in the hat for a lottery. And
she won it. And it's really funny because she plays

(01:35:56):
scratch card lottery all the time and she wins probably
every time.

Speaker 2 (01:36:00):
She does it.

Speaker 11 (01:36:00):
So I always joked her wife's spent a lottery, But
I'm really proud of her to go through that process.

Speaker 3 (01:36:08):
How long has she been in the country.

Speaker 7 (01:36:11):
Going on.

Speaker 11 (01:36:11):
I want to say eight years. I've known her for
a solid six years, and she got her citizenship five
years into that time. So she's a full US citizen.

Speaker 2 (01:36:21):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:36:22):
I was going to say, so you don't have to
worry about coming back from a road trip and finding
her gone. She's an American citizen.

Speaker 11 (01:36:28):
No, No, she's good.

Speaker 3 (01:36:31):
What does she say about this? Have you converted her?
Does she just think? Okay, well, that's the one thing
weird about my guy.

Speaker 11 (01:36:39):
So I always tell people I could never date somebody
who is as big of a fan as me, because
it would be like dating myself and I'd get sick
of it. Yeah, and so she doesn't care about sports
at all, but she has definitely started to come around,
and she's come to me with some games. She definitely

(01:37:00):
thinks I'm insane. She laughs at me and calls me crazy,
But yeah, she loves me.

Speaker 3 (01:37:06):
That's that's so cool. I say that as someone who
is celebrating the wedding anniversary number fifty tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (01:37:13):
So congratulating Jack, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:37:16):
If you and Jelly get the fifty, have Boston Rob
show up, I won't be around, but I hope that
I hope that you have that kind of longevity. One
more thing, Mike, I may have asked you this before,
but you are very well known for that outsized hat
that you have with you often, that Spartan hat. And

(01:37:38):
I've seen that put on doctor Johnson. You know, he's
in his nineties. He looked great in it. Is there
one person you would most like to see wearing that hat?

Speaker 11 (01:37:53):
Honestly, I think I need to and you suggested this,
but I do think I need to put it on Tom.
I don't know how he would react to it. I
know he thinks I already. He knows who I am,
and he thinks I'm insane. But I don't know how
he would react. I think you got to pick the
right moment for.

Speaker 3 (01:38:11):
Well. I'll tell you what I can make this happen
for you. If you can get Michigan State to win
a national championship, I can get that hat on his head.

Speaker 11 (01:38:21):
I'll try my best. Jack.

Speaker 3 (01:38:24):
I thought maybe Rob that Sparti. Mike would say, I've
got to see this on Desmond Howard's head.

Speaker 4 (01:38:32):
Or Edwards or Edward how about that?

Speaker 11 (01:38:38):
You know what, Jack, I surely would not want that
because I feel like my.

Speaker 4 (01:38:41):
Hat it would be tainted forever. Mike, you don't want that.
I gotta ask, do you do you do you show
the hat to some of your patients?

Speaker 2 (01:38:51):
Right?

Speaker 4 (01:38:51):
Do you tell him the story?

Speaker 2 (01:38:53):
You know what?

Speaker 11 (01:38:54):
So I part of why I have a big following
is I have like a Facebook page that my friend
started and there's a big following on it. He did
a lot of the labor report. But I have patients
that come into the clinic and they'll see my because
I teach residents, and so a lot of times I'll
go in the room after the residents are done seeing
the patient and wrap up the visit. A lot there's

(01:39:15):
been times where they know who I am. They say,
are you sparting?

Speaker 2 (01:39:20):
You?

Speaker 11 (01:39:20):
Mike? And so it's especially now living in this East
Lanting Lancing area. It's a lot more common than it
was down in the Detroit area. But it happens probably
twice a week. I'm not even kidding.

Speaker 2 (01:39:32):
Cool.

Speaker 3 (01:39:33):
So you are pretty new to the medical profession. It's
not like you have a ton of money set aside yet.
But yeah, in terms of what this costs you in
a year, do you have an estimate.

Speaker 11 (01:39:52):
It? Honestly, I don't know. I would say, probably in
the twenty to thirty thousand dollars range. I'm really pretty
I think I'm you know, I come from a you know,
my father is a kind of a frugal man, and
so I've learned some kind of frugal like I don't
need the fanciest hotel and I don't need the I
find out all the deals, like I use McLaren's company

(01:40:15):
company corporate deal for the rental cars and all that
kind of cool stuff.

Speaker 7 (01:40:20):
So it's a lot to do it.

Speaker 3 (01:40:23):
You know, you do it on not on the cheap,
but you know how to save money doing it. Yes, great,
that's great. So when you get a nice nest egg,
are you the kind of person who would be donating
to name, image and likeness? Would you be donating to facilities?
Would you be donating to personal upgrades for your hotel rooms?

(01:40:46):
What would you do?

Speaker 7 (01:40:49):
You know?

Speaker 11 (01:40:49):
I really do like to kind of give to the
players directly, and you know, so I don't know if
it's truly nil, but I'm really big and like doing
if they do any kind of autograph session, especially now
that they can truly get paid for it, I will,
I see it. I'm going to go to it as
long as they can attend it. So that's where a
lot of that goes to. But I probably wouldn't put

(01:41:10):
it fast myself to donate a little bit and money
towards it too. I don't need a hotel upgrade.

Speaker 3 (01:41:16):
Do you have a favorite autograph that you have received
or a favorite collectible.

Speaker 11 (01:41:23):
That's really hard. I do have one of the pro
combat helmets from the like twenty fourteen twenty fifteen era
that I had Coach D'Antonio sign. It's a game used helmet.
I got it from one of the spring games at
MSU they were selling it, so that that's pretty high

(01:41:44):
up there for me.

Speaker 4 (01:41:47):
I have.

Speaker 11 (01:41:48):
In terms of my Lion stuff, I have a couple
of Jared Goff issue jerseys. I actually have one of
his jerseys from when he is at CAL, so that's cool.
I like to call game U stuff like I got
a Kerry Carpenter game these jersey. So that's that's the
other side of me that I probably don't talk as
much about.

Speaker 3 (01:42:09):
All Right, Well, what would you pay We'll end it
right here, what would you pay for a game warn
Jared Goff Super Bowl jersey?

Speaker 11 (01:42:19):
Well? Would I pay on it? Put me on the spot.
I don't know, it wouldn't tell for this cheap, but
I probably would put like ten grand on that it
would not.

Speaker 3 (01:42:28):
We won't tell Jelly. We won't tell her what you're doing.

Speaker 11 (01:42:32):
She might hear this later, but that's okay.

Speaker 3 (01:42:34):
Yeah, all right, all right, Mike, thanks so much for
your time. I appreciate it. And how busy you are.
I'm sure I'll see you out at One North for
the Jonathan Smith Show, and I'll see you at games,
lots of games this year. You might actually be at
more games than I will, because I don't think I'm
going to Nebraska game, and I I don't know about Iowa.

(01:42:58):
I'm headed to Greece over Thanksgivings.

Speaker 11 (01:43:01):
We'll enjoy that.

Speaker 3 (01:43:02):
Yeah, it's funny when Michigan State plays Maryland at Ford
Field when the Spartans are playing. I'm actually going to
be in Sparta, believe it or not.

Speaker 11 (01:43:14):
That's fantastic. Well, you enjoy that, Jack, you des like that,
and thanks for having me on today.

Speaker 3 (01:43:20):
Spartan Mike Sterner none like him. All right, let's welcome
in another guy who is unique. Talk about Jay Green,
Proud Flintstone and now he's going to be a baseball guy. Rob.
This is two games this summer for Jay, which is

(01:43:41):
two more than his previous season record career record. Jay,
do you want to try to describe to our listeners
what that experience was like Wednesday in that clown car?

Speaker 2 (01:43:56):
It was. It was one of those things where person
like me would just sit back and just soak it
all in, like that's that's what it was. You just
had a lot of what I feel like was a
lot of knowledge about a lot of different things, and
I just sit back and soaked it in and listen
like that's that's what it was. For me. It was

(01:44:18):
a great experience, Uh, something that don't happen a lot,
but when it does, you you really appreciate it. So
that's that's what it was for me. It was just
a being being amongst some people that again have a
lot of knowledge and have a lot and have years
over me, so a lot more experience. So I'm just

(01:44:38):
like the you know, the kid who's learning it. And
that's what it was.

Speaker 3 (01:44:43):
Rob. It was probably a good thing that Jay came
into the strip with that here was because you had
five guys who loved to flap their gums and the
fact that Jay was sitting up front, just a sponge,
just taking it all in a couple of points. I
looked up there to see but he wasn't snoring, so
I know he was listening. And then we wound up there.

(01:45:06):
Jay got his picture taken down right by the dugout.
So now he's had the experience of being at the dugout,
of opposing with the big Tiger, jumping up with al
Kline and left field with the statues.

Speaker 4 (01:45:19):
Well, he saved the let he saved the last segment
of the show.

Speaker 3 (01:45:22):
If you remember, he did.

Speaker 4 (01:45:24):
He absolutely, he absolutely did. He was on the ball, thankfully.

Speaker 3 (01:45:28):
Absolutely. And can you describe the seats we were in.
We were originally up right behind home plate. We were
in foul ball territory over the screen. But those were
good seats. They weren't quite as good as the ones
that Jim Keaton arranged to get for us.

Speaker 2 (01:45:47):
No, I agree. The original season we were in were
very good seats. You could see everything but the but
the upgrade program was definitely in effect. And the seats
that we upgraded to for a wonderful seas for sure.

Speaker 3 (01:46:04):
And now you can't say that you've never seen the
Tigers win so you have that stake has been a race, right,
You're won in one year.

Speaker 2 (01:46:14):
Let's talk about.

Speaker 3 (01:46:15):
Let's talk about one week from tonight, Western Michigan. I
was telling a story about three matchups with the Broncos
with pretty good Michigan State teams that were scary. One
was a last minute touchdown disputed in a seven to
three win in nineteen eighty five. And then to start

(01:46:36):
the twenty thirteen season. You can't do any better than that.
I still think Michigan State would have had a chance
to win a national championship if there'd been a playoff
that year. More than a two teamer lost that game
at Notre Dame on all the pass interferences and won
the rest. But that season started with a loss, I mean,

(01:46:56):
excuse me, started with a win that looked like it
could be a loss against Western Michigan and Chuliqe. Calhoun
saved the day. But that was a very different Michigan
State team than the one that won the Rose Bowl.
And then there was a game in Kalamazoo, Jay, I
think you were at that one, and Michigan State won,
but it was a little scary well into the fourth quarter.

(01:47:20):
So what is it like to play a game like that.
You've had this experience against Mac teams, right, one that
lost to Mac teams.

Speaker 2 (01:47:29):
No, I think that it's a double ayer sport because
there are games that most people feel like you should win,
but I don't think that they understand the chip on
the shoulder of the guys that you play against because
a lot of them have been you know, shunn by
schools like yours. So it's kind of a, you know,
a weird situation because you know, when you expecting to

(01:47:53):
beat a team, you know, usually MAC teams aren't the
teams that you necessarily get up for. You know, it's
just kind of was a necessary evil in your mind.
But of course, you know, I lost two years in
a row to a Mac team, so yeah, you know,
I think as the years have gone along, the respect
has grown for those teams, and I don't think it

(01:48:14):
better's just a you know, give you in anymore. It
something that you actually got to prepare for. And now
I feel like the sentiment is you don't want to
be the one to lose to them, to a Mac
team or get embarrassed by them.

Speaker 3 (01:48:28):
You know, after those two losses, did the Chippewise herb
Do Romedy and Dick Flynn led teams down one twenty
seven and came back with the stunning victory, but played
a third time and I said to George, are you
sure you don't want to cancel this game? He chased
me out of the office and playing the Central Michigan

(01:48:52):
the third time, there was a sound that I have
never heard before in the stadium as close as you
could get would have been wholl We has trouble with
the snap, and the Michigan fans sitting there, I'm like,
what the hell just happened? But this was late in

(01:49:12):
the third quarter and Central comes back from a deficit
and ties the game, and the fans in Spartan Stadium
are like, you have got to be kidding me. I
can't lose three in a row. And then Craig Thomas
took over in the fourth quarter and Michigan State wound
up winning. I think it was forty eight to thirty four,

(01:49:34):
but it was a very very precarious win for a
long long time. Do you remember that game when Michigan
State finally got the best of Central?

Speaker 2 (01:49:44):
No, I'll do, because it was a weird again, a
weird feeling because you know we I feel like we
kind of switched rolls. You know, we were I feel
like they were kind of a favorite going into the game,
and you know, again we struggled with them and pulled
it out at the end luckily. So no, I know
exactly what you were talking about, and I'll remember those

(01:50:06):
feelings of feeling like, you know, here we go again.
But thank god it didn't happen, because there's no killing
what would have come of that.

Speaker 16 (01:50:14):
Yeah, yeah, let's talk a little bit about this Michigan
State team and now the selection of captains announced early in.

Speaker 3 (01:50:24):
The week and Michigan State with five captains. Matt Gulbin,
a center who is going to be leading this team
without ever leading it out of the tunnel. He's never
worn a Michigan State helmet in a game. Transfer from
Wake Forest Quendarius Dunagan, who to my knowledge, I mean,

(01:50:46):
I suppose this could have happened back before World War One,
but I don't know of a player who's been in
uniform seven years. This is his seventh season, so he
will have been a football on the collegiate level only
one year less than Jonathan Smith has been a head
coach at that level. Then you talk about Aiden Giles

(01:51:11):
and one of the youngest captains Michigan State has ever had.
Then you look at Jordan Hall and you think that, well,
he should have been a captain before he certainly was
born to be a captain. And then maybe my favorite
of these choices jay is Sam Edwards, and he has

(01:51:35):
done everything they've asked, played on every special team, a
walk on, a lancing guy. His dad very important in
academic support at Michigan State. Sam came in last year
after they had all the long snapper injuries and handled
that job. And he's been academic all Big Ten every

(01:51:56):
season he's been on campus. So what do you think
of this group?

Speaker 2 (01:52:01):
I think that the one thing I think about when
I see captains is the fact that it's voted on
by the players, and that leads me to believe that
these guys have have done something or stood out in
a way that probably others haven't. Not that others haven't
stood out, but it's just something about these guys that
made guys want, you know, want to have them leading them.

(01:52:23):
So that's that's what I always think about, the fact
that they are chosen by their peers, which you know
that's kind of the toughest not to crack is your peers.
You know, That's that's where you what you really care
about is what your peers think. So the fact, again,
the fact that the peers shows them, I think that
they saw some men them, especially Aiden, you know, I

(01:52:44):
think that they probably saw a lot of maturity in
him because you know, we talked about him not going
to the to the Big ten meetings and and you
know how that was. And the fact that now he's
a captain, I think says a lot. So I feel
like it just makes me kind of more excited to
see what's to come, you know, with the guys that

(01:53:05):
they've children. I would think that before the season or
before this came out, Jordan Hall might have been the
only name on that list that you probably would have picked.

Speaker 3 (01:53:16):
Yeah, yeah, certainly he'd have been the one who was
most likely. I'll buy that. As green blooded, and I
don't mean as a pun on your name. As you
are and were as a player, your loyalty was unquestioned you.
You'd have been a transfer portal wouldn't have mattered to you.
But in spite of all that, you were not a

(01:53:38):
candidate to be a captain. You were a voter for captains,
and what were you looking for when you cast your ballot?
How did you judge who would be a good captain?

Speaker 2 (01:53:50):
You just kind of look at, again, guys who are
who are standing out in whatever way, whether that's in workouts,
in meetings. Sometimes it's a guy that's vocal, but you know,
it's not always the fact that he's vocals the fact
that he's backing up you know, what are you saying?
So it's a lot of different things that you look for,
but I think the main thing is you're just looking

(01:54:12):
for a guy who stands out, because that's usually what
a captain, you know, is they're a leader and they're
the face of the program and what's going on. So
I think that those are kind of the qualities that
I know I look for, And I think different guys
look for different things. But as far as me, it's
just a guy who you know, stands out amongst everybody else.

Speaker 3 (01:54:34):
Is there a player or a couple of players. Since
you really got to Michigan State, let's say the last
thirty five years, and you look at you say that
guy was an ideal captain. You can't be much better
than he was.

Speaker 2 (01:54:52):
It's hard to say for teams that I that I
wasn't on because again that's the part of it is
the way that you rally your team, way that your
team teammates feel about you because of the person and
the leader that you are. I know that during my time,
I you know, it was some very good captains. A
matter of fact, Coach Hawk was a captain you know,

(01:55:13):
on one of the teams that I played on, and
I think that we see, you know, kind of what
he's doing now. So for every guy is different. But
for me, and I think the other thing is what
people need to understand is just because a guy is
not selected as a captain, don't mean that he's not
a leader on the team. You know, you can only
have so many, so just you know, captains are leaders,

(01:55:37):
but you also have other leaders on the team also, you.

Speaker 3 (01:55:42):
Know, Jay, I think back to Duffy Doherty in nineteen
sixty six and all of the incredible work that was
done for integration of college football, and Duffy was determined
that not only was he going to reward all Americans,
but he was going to be color blind. And when
they trotted out Clinton Jones and George Webster, as the captains,

(01:56:08):
and some people around the country with racist tendencies didn't
like that. But I can go back through Michigan State
in point to four captains that I thought were just
about as good as you could get. Might be able
to write the manual for captains. One of them was

(01:56:29):
a flint guy. It was George's second year Jay and
Jim Morrissey was the last solo captain. He was so good,
so much of a leader, He was the spear of
the stunt four to three defense that he didn't need
any help. He did it alone in nineteen eighty four.

(01:56:51):
And I think about a guy who could get anybody
fired up. I mean, if you weren't into the game
and you didn't respond to this guy, you didn't have
a pulse. And that was Ike Reese at Michigan State.
Great choice, incredible captain. And I think back to the
guy who really got the Mark D'Antonio era going, and

(01:57:14):
he was the last guy they brought in in the
first class and Kirk Cousins. You know, you don't have
to be a captain to be a great quarterback. Connor
Cook certainly proved that. But when you are the captain
and your team beats Michigan four straight years. You're doing
a lot of things right. And guys looked to him.

(01:57:34):
They called him Captain Kirk. That's what they called them,
and not just because of Star Trek and the fourth
guy Jay. And I think that he may have been
as good at captain as I've seen at Michigan State
in any sport. Was our buddy Darien Harris.

Speaker 2 (01:57:50):
And I think the interesting thing about that is I
don't Jim Morrissey I knew a little bit about, and
I've heard stories about Gries. I know very well. Kirk Cousins,
of course, you know, you hear a lot about and
Darien I know, and they are all different kind of
personalities who I feel like did things in different ways,

(01:58:12):
you know. Ike I feel like was very fiery and
like you said, he can get guys to run through
walls for him. I think I feel like Darien, even
though I wasn't on a team with him, was a
guy who was just very intelligent and kind of led
by example. Kirk Cousins was a guy who you know,
came in not very heralded, but then you know when

(01:58:34):
he left, you know he was a top draft pick.
So I think that they all kind of did it
in different ways. And I think that's the wonderful thing
about captains is each team is different and every you know,
every team needs different things, and all of those guys
gave their teams what they needed.

Speaker 3 (01:58:51):
Jay, thanks so much for joining us twice this week.
And next Friday, I'm going to see you on camp, Rob,
I'm going to be roaming around somewhere. I don't know how.
We're going to try to get this show done from
campus before the game, and then I think you'll join
me over there for the kickoff. But we'll be over

(01:59:12):
there and Jay, we'll hook up and do our segment
there on campus.

Speaker 2 (01:59:17):
I'll look forward to it.

Speaker 3 (01:59:20):
I want to thank all of our guests today the
end of a pretty interesting pre game week week. George Blaha,
Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Detroit Pistons and fifty
three fifty four years excuse me, fifty four years Carl
Banks number since he began broadcasting Spartan football in nineteen

(01:59:45):
seventy one. Lorenzo White twice finished fourth, a Heisman Trophy
and a Football Hall of Famer. Appreciate him joining us
as always. Jim Gumm from The Blitz news in Tennessee,
and he has the Ohio State Buckeyes as his number

(02:00:05):
one team defending their national championship. Spartan Mike Sterner, the
doctor who never misses Michigan State game or Alliance game.
And Jay Green, proud Flintstone Spartan dog for life. We'll
see you Sunday night on press Pass