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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine

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Speaker 1: from US Talks ed B.

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Speaker 2: Now going toward the gridiron. That's where the n if

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Speaker 2: LA's played. It's back for another big seasons.

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Speaker 3: First four Yama right to make the match.

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Speaker 2: It happened, So time wait to be down?

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Speaker 3: Yes, touchdown, I say.

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Speaker 2: Runners two head out of bounds. It's an interpree pa.

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Speaker 3: The game is over.

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Speaker 2: Kanasas City is live two forty three. It's first out

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Speaker 2: game Kansas City. With the victory there. Now we go

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Speaker 2: to old mate Ben Malla, A big hello to you, sir,

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Speaker 2: out of the USA, out of Fox Sport USA. He's

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Speaker 2: the man who runs it. Do you or not? And

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Speaker 2: you get a how are you?

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Speaker 3: Hey? Hey Darthy, I've been there long enough. I should

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Speaker 3: run that place. I've been there since the beginning, so

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Speaker 3: they should hire you should pay me more money. But

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Speaker 3: it's great to be on with the RCY. I always

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Speaker 3: look forward to it.

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Speaker 2: And it's the start of the season to be jolly

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Speaker 2: because this is it for American sports fans. And I mean,

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Speaker 2: you had your Olympic games, you got well cots, blind

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Speaker 2: blade blade, this is what everybody looks forward to. You

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Speaker 2: this is it for American sport. What a white to

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Speaker 2: start the season.

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Speaker 3: Huh yeah, Hey, Darcy, this is the one sport that

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Speaker 3: unites everybody. It's not regimented, and everyone's into the NFL here,

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Speaker 3: so we we are fired up. It's been a soft

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Speaker 3: launch so far. There've been a couple of games played.

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Speaker 3: We've already had one dramatic finish between the Chiefs, the

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Speaker 3: defending champions, and the Baltimore Ravens. The receiver, the tight

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Speaker 3: end for the Ravens, couldn't get his feet in bounds.

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Speaker 3: He had the feet were just out of bounds in

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Speaker 3: the in line, and so Baltimore lost that game to

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Speaker 3: Kansas City. And we've had our first injury, our first

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Speaker 3: big injury, only two games into the year, Darcy. The

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Speaker 3: Green Bay Packers lost to the Eagles a game played

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Speaker 3: in Brazil, amongst some controversy there in Brazil, and the

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Speaker 3: the quarterback for the Packers, just before the end of

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Speaker 3: the game, Jordan Love, he injured his knee and he's

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Speaker 3: gonna be out for the next at least three weeks,

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Speaker 3: probably longer than that. So the Packers, the Green Bay

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Speaker 3: Packers are in a tough spot and so that's how

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Speaker 3: it begins. Two games in, one dramatic finish and one

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Speaker 3: big injury.

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Speaker 2: Let's talk favorites right across both divisions of the AFC

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Speaker 2: and the NFC. Wait does that sit. You got a

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Speaker 2: defending champion and I'm gonna start calling them, much to

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Speaker 2: the chagrin of everybody. And we'll talk about this as well.

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Speaker 2: They are now going to be called the Kansas City Swifts.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, pretty much. Right, it's all about Taylor Swift's

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Speaker 3: she's all over the marketing. Well, you got to start

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Speaker 3: with that. We have not seen the Super Bowl's been

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Speaker 3: around Darcy since the nineteen sixties and we've never seen

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Speaker 3: a team win three in a row. And the Chiefs

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Speaker 3: are the favorite with Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift to

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Speaker 3: win their third straight championship this year. So we'll start

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Speaker 3: with that. Kansas City the boring pick because you like

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Speaker 3: to pick somebody new, but they're the top team. They've

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Speaker 3: improved from last year, even though they won the championship

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Speaker 3: last year. And then on the other side of the conference,

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Speaker 3: you've got the forty nine ers who were in the

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Speaker 3: Super Bowl last year, the Detroit Lions, the Rams are

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Speaker 3: also there. They lost Aaron Donald. They're a great defensive player.

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Speaker 3: But as far as the Chiefs and Taylor Swift and

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Speaker 3: Patrick Mahomes and all that, that's where the competition is.

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Speaker 3: In that side of the NFL bracket. You've got teams

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Speaker 3: like Baltimore, who took Kansas City down to the very end.

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Speaker 3: They're in the mix. And then you look around some

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Speaker 3: of the other teams that are pretty good this year.

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Speaker 3: Cincinnati's got their quarterback back, Joe Burrow. He's there. The

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Speaker 3: Houston Texans were a surprise team last year. They have

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Speaker 3: a good young quarterback named CJ. Stroud, so they're getting

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Speaker 3: a lot of attention, a lot of hype for Houston.

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Speaker 3: So there's about five or six teams that are all

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Speaker 3: at the very top in the NFL, and then you've

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Speaker 3: got a bunch of middle middleweight contenders I call the

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Speaker 3: mid contenders. Jim Harbaugh, who was a good coach back

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Speaker 3: in the day for the forty nine ers, he's back

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Speaker 3: with the Chargers in LA where I'm based, and so

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Speaker 3: he's back Darcy and his brother's coaching the Ravens, so

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Speaker 3: they're back together in the NFL. So there's some of

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Speaker 3: the teams to keep an eye.

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Speaker 2: On aside the teams, Bean Mal, what about players to

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Speaker 2: look out for, players that have popped through that maybe

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Speaker 2: made a bit of a got a bit of traction

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Speaker 2: last season, that are looking forward to doing something more

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Speaker 2: as freshman, or some rookies who do you like to

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Speaker 2: look off?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so the shiny new object, Darcy, There's a couple

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Speaker 3: of new quarterbacks that have everyone yappened though. The big

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Speaker 3: one is the Chicago Bears quarterback. They had the number

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Speaker 3: one pick Caleb Williams, who was a decorated college football player,

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Speaker 3: and the Chicago Bears getting a lot of attention. They're

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Speaker 3: actually a four point favorite over the Tennessee football team

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Speaker 3: they play tomorrow. Here's an amazing back to Derry, Darcy.

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Speaker 3: This is gonna surprise you. So if you go back

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Speaker 3: in the history of the NFL, Caleb Williams as a

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Speaker 3: rookie favored by four points in his debut, there has

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Speaker 3: not been a quarterback favored by that many or more

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Speaker 3: points since Terry Bradshaw over fifty years ago in nineteen

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Speaker 3: seventy when he made his debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers,

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Speaker 3: who had had a great defense at that time. So

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Speaker 3: is a lot of hype around Cable Williams, who was

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Speaker 3: the number one pick, but there's several other rookie quarterbacks,

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Speaker 3: including Jaden Daniels, who was also a guy that won

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Speaker 3: a Heisman, the top award in college football. He's with

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Speaker 3: the Washington football team now near the Capitol here of

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Speaker 3: America at Washington DC, and he's getting a lot of attention.

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Speaker 3: And I also mentioned CJ. Stroud. He's a sophomore second

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Speaker 3: year player for the Houston Texans and he had one

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Speaker 3: of the great rookie seasons. This guy was absolutely monster

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Speaker 3: mashing for Tennessee last year, or for the Texans rather Houston.

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Speaker 3: So he's back this year and he's getting a lot

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Speaker 3: of attention. So those are the three young quarterbacks that

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Speaker 3: are getting the most buzz as we head into the year.

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Speaker 3: And there's also some quarterbacks that change teams like Kirk

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Speaker 3: Cousins who had been a very good player when he

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Speaker 3: was playing in Minnesota, a good regular season player. He's

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Speaker 3: now on the Atlanta Falcons, so they're expected to be

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Speaker 3: better this year. And the Pittsburgh Steelers have two new quarterbacks.

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Speaker 3: They got Russell Wilson, who was supposed to start from

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Speaker 3: the old Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl,

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Speaker 3: and Russell Wilson's injured, so he's not gonna start. And

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Speaker 3: Justin Fields, who was with the Chicago Bears last year,

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Speaker 3: he's gonna start now for the Atlanta or for the

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Speaker 3: Steelers against the Falcons in that game that'll be played tomorrow.

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Speaker 3: So there's a lot of musical chairs that happen every year.

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Speaker 3: There's a bunch of coaches that have changed as well.

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Speaker 3: So it's it's a new beginning in the NFL, and

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Speaker 3: we're excited because it's to go all the way till

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Speaker 3: in February when they played the Super Bowl.

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Speaker 2: Years ago, when we first outed broadcasting to get it,

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Speaker 2: I mean years ago. We're talking decades now. I think

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Speaker 2: I said I wanted to follow a team, and you

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Speaker 2: said you need to follow this train, Rake, and you

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Speaker 2: gave me the Jacksonville Jaguars. Have they got any chance?

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Speaker 3: Well, they're not as bad as they were back then. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: that was a long time ago, Darcy. They were. They

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Speaker 3: were an embarrassment. They were a laughing stock, just an

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Speaker 3: absolute outhouse of a football team. So they were embarrassing,

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Speaker 3: but they're now. They were supposed to be good last

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Speaker 3: year and they disappointed this year. They're kind of a

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Speaker 3: middleweight contender. They have talent. They paid their quarterback, mister Lawrence,

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Speaker 3: a ton of money and he did not have a

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Speaker 3: great year. Least, it's kind of bizarre they gave him

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Speaker 3: so much money considering that he did not live up

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Speaker 3: to the hype. But they're not the worst, and they're

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Speaker 3: not at the top. They're somewhere in the middle. But

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Speaker 3: at least that's better than they were when we started

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Speaker 3: talking all those years back, Darcy, and they you had

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Speaker 3: to wear a bag over your head because they were

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Speaker 3: so bad.

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Speaker 2: And I knew that, and I keept on following them

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Speaker 2: through the great Blake Borthel's era wasn't very good, but

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Speaker 2: at least they won some games under and right, Ben,

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Speaker 2: great to get this up again. We've got to do

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Speaker 2: it again soon, mate. You look after yourself, go well,

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Speaker 2: and next time we talk, you can give me a

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Speaker 2: scorecard on the jockocracy that's still raining. Thanks for your time,

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Speaker 2: my friend. All right, Thanks, Darcy, No, I think you

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Speaker 2: love my friend. Ben Mallard has been a long time.

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Speaker 2: Great to be on with you again, Dorothy, Are you

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Speaker 2: that noise I've always got in my head.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live

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Speaker 1: to news talks it'd be weekends from midday, or follow

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Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio