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Speaker 1: This is you're another muscleman in the house leader fan

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Speaker 1: Fan Radio Network and k fan dot Com. Two minutes

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Speaker 1: fifty nine seconds past the hour of three o'clock Central

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Speaker 1: Standard time, we welcome you back to a Friday edition

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Speaker 1: of the Bumper to Bumper program on a slippery Isn't

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Speaker 1: it true? Pretty much every day lately slippery Friday afternoon

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Speaker 1: here in the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

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Speaker 1: My name is Dan Barrero. I host the program Guards,

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Speaker 1: he as the producer of the broadcast, and we are

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Speaker 1: delighted that you are along for today's ride. I apologize

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Speaker 1: for the delay, we were trying to reach our top

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Speaker 1: of the program guest, who has indeed on game day

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Speaker 1: kindly called us back and he is the latest muscleman

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Speaker 1: in the house, Eric Musselman, back in town with his

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Speaker 1: USC Trojans. They will be taking on the Golden Go

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Speaker 1: for men's basketball team tonight at William's Arena, a game Guards,

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Speaker 1: I'm assuming can be heard on the fan seven. Eric,

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Speaker 1: how are you man?

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Speaker 2: I'm doing great, dance. Thanks so much for having me on.

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Speaker 1: It's always a pleasure to have you on. Having heard

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Speaker 1: your voice and way way too long it sounds like,

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Speaker 1: did you guys get here like last Sunday? Seems like

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Speaker 1: you guys, I think we've been here about a month.

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Speaker 3: So we're the well, the first Big Ten team to

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Speaker 3: our knowledge in the history of the league that's played

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Speaker 3: three straight road games without ever going back home, you know. So,

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Speaker 3: and this will be after tonight, we'll have played five

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Speaker 3: Big Ten games, four of them on the road, So

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Speaker 3: kind of an unprecedented.

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Speaker 2: You know, schedule of four out of your first five

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Speaker 2: on the road.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, we've been here. We got to see a

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Speaker 3: couple of Timberwolves games. We're supposed to go to the Vikings,

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Speaker 3: but based on the way we played in ann Arbor

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Speaker 3: and East Lanston, the Viking trip got canceled. Wow for

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Speaker 3: some extra film sessions. But no, we've been here and

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Speaker 3: and uh, you know, it's it's been fun to catch

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Speaker 3: up with friends and and people that I've known for

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Speaker 3: many many years. And now we got to get down

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Speaker 3: and try to get a win against a Golden Golpher

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Speaker 3: team that's playing with great confidence. They're very very well coached.

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Speaker 3: The crowd against Iowa look like it was super enthusiastic,

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Speaker 3: you know, two great wins for for Nico and his

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Speaker 3: team beating Iowa and and and Indiana both ranked teams,

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Speaker 3: and they're they're nine to no at home, so you

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Speaker 3: know it's it's it'll be a tough test for us.

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Speaker 1: Well, well gonna get I want to get to the

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Speaker 1: basketball here in a minute, but I do want to

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Speaker 1: get to the personal side of it. So give me.

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Speaker 1: Can you give me some examples of some people run

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Speaker 1: into names that some folks might recognize that might be interesting.

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Speaker 1: I know you're you know, it's a business trip and

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Speaker 1: and and so you're here to get your team righted

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Speaker 1: very quickly. I know that's most important to you. But anybody, anybody,

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Speaker 1: we any names we would recognize? Who you who have

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Speaker 1: you tried to kind of catch up with?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, So walking into the uh you know, to the

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Speaker 3: Target Center. Yeah, the first person that I saw was

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Speaker 3: Jeff Munichy And and it was not planned, right, Jeff

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Speaker 3: knew that I was in town because we had asked

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Speaker 3: about practicing at.

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Speaker 2: The at the Wolves.

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Speaker 3: Practice site, which they were nice enough to let us

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Speaker 3: in and we so we got to go there.

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Speaker 2: But that was literally the first person.

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Speaker 3: Obviously, Jeff was with the inaugural Timberwolves when my dad

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Speaker 3: was here, so you know, and then you know, we

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Speaker 3: got tickets from from Jaden McDaniel's one of our assistant coaches,

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Speaker 3: Bill Conroy works works him out in the off season, and.

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Speaker 2: You know, Coach Conray kept saying, you.

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Speaker 3: Know, we'd walk to get a hot dog or he's like,

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Speaker 3: you know, people people are pointing you out.

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Speaker 2: And I'm like, it's not it's not me.

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Speaker 3: It's only a reflection of the impact that my father

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Speaker 3: had here. A guy I don't know what his name was,

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Speaker 3: but I recognized him, a guy that we used to

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Speaker 3: play pick up ball with when I was with the Wolves.

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Speaker 3: You know, Greg Lynch and Dan Lynch, two of my

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Speaker 3: you know, really super dear friends. They came to to

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Speaker 3: shoot around practice yesterday actually. And then there's you know,

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Speaker 3: obviously medium members like yourself and and and and Patrick Carus.

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Speaker 2: You know, people like that.

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Speaker 3: Even though Charlie Walters is not in town, just texting

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Speaker 3: people and reconnecting that way is always super fun as well.

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Speaker 1: Well, you know, I don't want to overstate it, but

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Speaker 1: I and it's not like you've never been back to

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Speaker 1: town all these years and very ways for various reasons.

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Speaker 1: But is it gonna be strange and a little bit

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Speaker 1: satisfying to walk up those steps to get to that

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Speaker 1: elevated floor. What half a century after your dad did?

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Speaker 1: I mean, for us, we guardian I've been talking about

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Speaker 1: We think it's incredibly cool. You know, if it was

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Speaker 1: up to me, you'd be walking on the other side

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Speaker 1: of the court. But that's another story for another day.

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Speaker 1: But what's it gonna be. Have you thought about that

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Speaker 1: at all? Or is it so long in the past

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Speaker 1: that it's not going to be quite as emotional as

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Speaker 1: I'm suggesting.

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Speaker 3: No, So, I mean, I mean I was like super excited.

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Speaker 3: Like my wife was not at the Michigan or Michigan

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Speaker 3: State game, but she did fly in here two days ago. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: so you know like that that that's the impact for

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Speaker 3: our family. My younger son, who was with our staff

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Speaker 3: last year, he's in near tier. He's not with us

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Speaker 3: because he got an assistants job. He's actually the youngest

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Speaker 3: Division one assistant coach in college basketball.

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Speaker 2: He's at Riverside.

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Speaker 1: Good for him.

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Speaker 3: My mom watched the entire IOWA game and she kept

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Speaker 3: texting me, no back doors, you got to pressure the

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Speaker 3: pass it. So my mom for sure does not want

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Speaker 3: us to lose the same tonight, and so there is

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Speaker 3: this special, you know thing that's going on with us

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Speaker 3: as a family. And I kind of thought it was

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Speaker 3: going to be cool and neat. But the first time

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Speaker 3: I had been in Williams Arena was practiced the other day,

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Speaker 3: and when we pulled up, it hit me like a

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Speaker 3: brick wall.

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Speaker 2: Like wow.

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Speaker 3: As soon as we pulled up, I knew exactly where

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Speaker 3: my dad parked in front of William's Arena. I remember

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Speaker 3: where I was standing when Luke Woody got wheeled out.

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Speaker 3: I know exactly what hallway I was in. And so

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Speaker 3: like all these things started coming back. And my mom's

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Speaker 3: last partying advice.

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Speaker 2: Was don't wet your pants.

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Speaker 3: And the story behind that is crazy George Shower and

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Speaker 3: I had worked on a ball handling routine that.

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Speaker 1: We were going to do.

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Speaker 3: In conjunction with the old pregame warm up, and it

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Speaker 3: was against Indiana, and I did the you know, Crazy

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Speaker 3: George acted like he was looking for a young Gopher fan,

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Speaker 3: and he was going from side to sideline looking acting

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Speaker 3: like he was squinting, and he finally pointed to me.

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Speaker 3: I came down, I mimicked whatever drills we had spun

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Speaker 3: the book two Balls, did the two ball dribbling and

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Speaker 3: when I finished, I got a standing ovation nineteen thousand

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Speaker 3: people as an eight year old, and I stood up, Dan,

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Speaker 3: to go back, you know, to join my mom. And

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Speaker 3: when I noticed the standing ovation, I wet my pants.

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Speaker 3: I sat down next to my mom. I started crying.

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Speaker 3: My mom said, what's wrong? You did autome with the

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Speaker 3: ballhand routine. I looked at her and said, Mom, I

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Speaker 3: wet my.

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Speaker 2: Pants when I got the standing ovations.

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Speaker 3: So my mom said, hey, whatever you do, don't don't

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Speaker 3: wet your pants.

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Speaker 1: That's outstanding. That is absolutely well, you know, it's it's

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Speaker 1: this is a good example of Look, it may well

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Speaker 1: be that you know that arena has run its course.

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Speaker 1: We can have that debate and Guardian, I have had

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Speaker 1: that discussion and debate many times, my producer. But what

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Speaker 1: you're telling us does remind us of is that the

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Speaker 1: sense of history places like that have that even though

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Speaker 1: that's as far back as that was, it still crystallizes

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Speaker 1: in you, in part because the building's been around that long.

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Speaker 3: No question, Dan, I mean, what so when I walked

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Speaker 3: in right away, I'm like, this the coolest building in

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Speaker 3: the Big ten. And I kept saying it, and I

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Speaker 3: kept saying it, and so my son Michael said, hey, Dad,

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Speaker 3: why don't you ask some other staff guys in the

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Speaker 3: players what they think of it too. Your visions blur. Sure,

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Speaker 3: it's because you've been here and your dad and all

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Speaker 3: this history. And so I started asking some of the players,

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Speaker 3: and like they thought it was super cool too, same

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Speaker 3: with the staff. And then you know, you've heard all

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Speaker 3: these stories, like you know, when bo Ryan used to

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Speaker 3: bring his team in in that left corner, any freshman

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Speaker 3: or new player in the program at Wisconsin, he used

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Speaker 3: to make them dive on the floor right at the

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Speaker 3: edge of it, and then they had to roll and

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Speaker 3: kind of fall off onto the concrete.

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Speaker 2: But he was trying to teach them how to not

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Speaker 2: get hurt if they dove on the floor.

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Speaker 3: So there's just all this history, you know that make

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Speaker 3: it super super special.

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Speaker 1: You know, one more look back about your dad's run there.

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Speaker 1: It's been well chronicled, it's been well you know documented,

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Speaker 1: the atmosphere that those teams that he helped to create

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Speaker 1: in part, and you know, I mentioned this yesterday. The

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Speaker 1: fascinating thing to me about your dad, among many things,

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Speaker 1: is that from a basketball x AS and O standpoint,

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Speaker 1: the guy was clearly big on fundamentals, a purist, and

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Speaker 1: yet he also had this showman side to him as

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Speaker 1: the as you mentioned, the the the pregame warmups revealed

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Speaker 1: and confirmed over and over again. And that's fascinating to

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Speaker 1: me because often, you know, the hardcore fundamental guides is

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Speaker 1: how we're no nonsense, we don't mess with all that

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Speaker 1: show business that has nothing to do with us. And

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Speaker 1: yet he was this curious combination of both correct.

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Speaker 3: Oh, I mean, it's it's super wild because I mean,

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Speaker 3: like when he was coaching at Ashland College and then

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Speaker 3: coaching the University of Minnesota, like, there was no bad shots,

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Speaker 3: there was no fast break, there was a matchup zone

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Speaker 3: that was this tough and as physical as anybody in

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Speaker 3: the history of basketball. And then there was the most

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Speaker 3: disciplined offensive system that you could ever have, milting the

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Speaker 3: clock and only taking you know, passing up good shots

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Speaker 3: for great shots. And then you're right, there was the

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Speaker 3: leather jacket that.

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Speaker 2: He would wear on the sidelines.

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Speaker 3: There was the pregame warm up and Dan I actually

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Speaker 3: had our team watched the pregame warm up the other day.

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Speaker 3: It was Wednesday, night after our team meal, our guys

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Speaker 3: were in disbelief. Half of them were on the floor laughing.

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Speaker 3: The other half were literally stunned in disbelief that this

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Speaker 3: happened in the seventies and the music and all that

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Speaker 3: stuff and the dance team and they like they were like,

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Speaker 3: was this just one game?

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Speaker 2: I'm like, no, this is.

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Speaker 3: Ever game, you know, and then to run through the

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Speaker 3: twenty foot Gopher, you know, when the starting lineups were named.

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Speaker 3: But you know, I do think that for whatever it was,

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Speaker 3: my dad had always said, your job as a coach

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Speaker 3: is to win as many basketball games as you can

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Speaker 3: and to fill the building up. And at Aslin they

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Speaker 3: had sellouts obviously, you know, the fan base here with

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Speaker 3: the Golden Gophers and with the Timberwolves. Like he took

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Speaker 3: as much pride in winning games with the Wolves as

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Speaker 3: he did the crowds that would attend the games. And

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Speaker 3: you know, I know that's one thing that throughout my career,

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Speaker 3: whether it was at Nevada or Arkansas, you know, trying

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Speaker 3: to create standing room only crowds. We haven't been able

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Speaker 3: to do that in LA and I don't know if

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Speaker 3: we'll even come close, just because of the market. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: we're trying. But that's the one cool thing about what's

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Speaker 3: going on right now is, you know, around town, if

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Speaker 3: maybe we were here two weeks ago. I don't know, Dan,

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Speaker 3: if there really was a buzz two weeks ago. But

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Speaker 3: I do think with Golden Gopher basketball right now, once

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Speaker 3: you get to this plateau of you're three and one

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Speaker 3: in league, you're playing better basketball over the last two weeks,

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Speaker 3: you won nine straight home games, I do think there's

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Speaker 3: a buzz right now. And I've only been here for

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Speaker 3: four or five days, but I do think there's a

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Speaker 3: lot of really great positive things that are going on

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Speaker 3: with the Golden Gopher programs.

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Speaker 1: I got to start somewhere. Like you said, sometimes it's

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Speaker 1: the first victory and then it's another big ten victory. Whatever.

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Speaker 1: What do we need to know that we don't already

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Speaker 1: know about Nico Medvett in terms of your impressions of

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Speaker 1: his approach, style of play, et cetera.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we played against Nico when.

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Speaker 3: He was at Colorado State, just building you know, that program,

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Speaker 3: but great passers, you know, like for us, you know,

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Speaker 3: we can't allow you know, touchdown passes or you know,

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Speaker 3: a pitcher to throw strikes because because their offense relies

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Speaker 3: on the pass and catching shoots or catching layups.

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Speaker 2: There's not a lot of.

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Speaker 3: One on one play at all, and they're actually one

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Speaker 3: of the lowest one on one teams in the league.

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Speaker 3: So they played their true basketball. You know, it's two

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Speaker 3: contrasting styles tonight because we do like isolation basketball. Our

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Speaker 3: game is predicated on drawing free throws attempted, and we're

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Speaker 3: in the you know, in the last thirteen years, we've

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Speaker 3: finished no lower than twelfth, and free throws attempted This year,

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Speaker 3: I think at least yesterday we were second in the country.

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Speaker 3: So it's two completely different styles. They would prefer more

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Speaker 3: of a methodical pace. We would prefer a little bit

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Speaker 3: more up tempo. But his teams are disciplined. I think

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Speaker 3: above all else, they understand their role. And you know,

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Speaker 3: they've had two injuries, and I actually think their team

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Speaker 3: is better the way it's constructed today than it was

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Speaker 3: when they were fully healthy. And sometimes that happens. It

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Speaker 3: happened to us at Nevattle and Cody Martin's took over

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Speaker 3: the point guard spot after we had an injury, and

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Speaker 3: I wasn't playing him at the point, but the injury

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Speaker 3: forced me to play him there and we became a

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Speaker 3: better basketball team. And now with Reynolds playing that point

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Speaker 3: guard position or even the guard position, he creates more

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Speaker 3: of a mismatch because he's super strong, and so that changes,

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Speaker 3: you know, the way that you you know, prepare for

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Speaker 3: a basketball game.

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Speaker 2: And on the flip.

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Speaker 3: Side, we have Rodney Rice, who's averaging twenty one points

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Speaker 3: a game season ending injury. We have a Marion Dickerson

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Speaker 3: who is a player of the year defensively in his.

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Speaker 2: League, out for the year.

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Speaker 3: And Elijah Renis, who's a potential lottery pick for Ushman

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Speaker 3: five Star, who has not played a game for us yet.

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Speaker 3: So our injuries are killing us. You know, Rodney Rice

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Speaker 3: took great care of the basketball tonight in our game

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Speaker 3: against Minnesota. We can't turn the ball over. We've been

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Speaker 3: very careless with the ball on this road trip, and

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Speaker 3: so our injuries have have have really really hurt us.

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Speaker 3: There was hope and thought that Elijah Arenas would play

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Speaker 3: tonight and and you know, it would have been super

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Speaker 3: special to have Elijah play his first game in Williams Arena,

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Speaker 3: but we are going to hold him out until he

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Speaker 3: gets one last evaluation at home, But we hope that

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Speaker 3: we're going to grow after this road trip, once we

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Speaker 3: get another potential player that can that can score at

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Speaker 3: a high level for US.

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Speaker 1: Eric Musselman is our guest. He brings his USC Trojans

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Speaker 1: into Williams Arena just a few hours, so we really

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Speaker 1: appreciate him joining us. Uh, basically the afternoon of the game.

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Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned your recollections of the days back

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Speaker 1: then when your dad was leading this program and kind

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Speaker 1: of igniting it. You were, I think eight ish eight

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Speaker 1: years old or in that range. You can tell me.

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Speaker 1: Were you old enough to sort of comprehend the I

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Speaker 1: guess the buzz? I mean you talked about that earlier?

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Speaker 1: Did you? Could you you know, were you observant enough

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Speaker 1: to say, this is unusual, there's something going on here,

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Speaker 1: because that was the story at the time. Obviously, that

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Speaker 1: was the story in this town. That's what got built

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Speaker 1: very very quickly at a place where you know, basketball

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Speaker 1: had had some moments, but nothing sustained like that. How

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Speaker 1: a where were you of the fact that that were

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Speaker 1: this is the talk of the town.

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Speaker 3: Well, I was. I thought that that was normal, right,

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Speaker 3: you know, I thought that shellouts were normal. And then

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Speaker 3: there's like certain things that like, you know, I went

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Speaker 3: to Normandale Hills Elementary, and you know, like if you're

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Speaker 3: in third grade, you know, and people are, you know,

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Speaker 3: in class and they're talking about the game, or they're

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Speaker 3: wearing a Gopher you know, hoodie, and and like all

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Speaker 3: that stuff. Like there's certain blurbs that I can remember. Sure,

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Speaker 3: you know, maybe your popularity in elementary school is a

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Speaker 3: lot different when your dad is coaching a team that's

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Speaker 3: playing for Big Ten championships. But when I moved to

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Speaker 3: San Diego, when my dad coached the San Diego Sales,

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Speaker 3: there was no fans, and so at that point I

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Speaker 3: started to realize, Wow, what was going on in Minnesota

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Speaker 3: was super, super special. And I think my dad, to

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Speaker 3: be honest with you, Dan, I think that through all

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Speaker 3: the courses of my dad's career after the University of Minnesota,

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Speaker 3: I think he knew and was well aware that what

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Speaker 3: had going on as a program was special. And I'm

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Speaker 3: not so sure that if he could have done it

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Speaker 3: all over again, you know, like there's a reason, you know,

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Speaker 3: he got the Wolves job because of the success of

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Speaker 3: what went on with the Gophers, but he also really

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Speaker 3: wanted that job, he pursued it, he prepared for it

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Speaker 3: with his interview process. And then when I even look

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Speaker 3: back and think, you know, he goes back and coaches

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Speaker 3: in the CBA, and where's he go back to Rochester?

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Speaker 2: And so to me, he.

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Speaker 3: Understood that in this state it was different for him.

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Speaker 3: There was when he walked into a restaurant, we probably

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Speaker 3: weren't paying for the food, you know, and all the

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Speaker 3: other places maybe popularity, but nothing even semi close to

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Speaker 3: what took place, you know, in the state of Minnesota.

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Speaker 1: I'll let you go there. I could talk to you

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Speaker 1: all hour, as you know, but you got stuff to do.

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Speaker 1: You got to get your team back in the right position.

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Speaker 1: Sounds like that might take a minute, given all the

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Speaker 1: players that you have out. It's such a pleasure to

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Speaker 1: chat with you about this story again and about you

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Speaker 1: getting back to town. And I'm gonna bug you probably

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Speaker 1: more than you like, even though you're kind of busy,

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Speaker 1: because I love you, know, like with your dad, I

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Speaker 1: just love talking basketball with you at all levels as well.

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Speaker 1: So be well again, good luck tonight, and safe travels

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Speaker 1: from here, and we'll try to stay in touch when

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Speaker 1: we can. Thanks for all the time.

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Speaker 3: Now, Thank you, Dan, appreciate you having me on.

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Speaker 1: Thank you appreciate that. Eric Musselman, the well former Timberwls assistant,

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Speaker 1: spent some of his formative years here as Bill his

360
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Speaker 1: father turned the University of Minnesota into a basketball destination.

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Speaker 1: Got bad at the end, but it was red hot

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Speaker 1: at its zenif that's for sure, went a little longer

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Speaker 1: than expected. Is Ben go Ling in the house right

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Speaker 1: behind me? Outstanding? I didn't see it, so I'll have

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Speaker 1: to probably apologize to Ben, because the plan was to

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Speaker 1: start earlier. But when Eric said he was available, well

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Speaker 1: you can. I mean, I don't think I have to explain.

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Speaker 1: He's such a good interview and there's such great history

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Speaker 1: for the Musselman family in this town. Made all the

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Speaker 1: sense in the world to try to take the opportunity

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Speaker 1: to chat with him. We will talk football with Ben Gooseling,

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Speaker 1: as Gerbi likes to call him. That means predictions are

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Speaker 1: going to be four o'clock. Is that a writ or

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Speaker 1: four or two? I'd say probably four to fifteen. I

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Speaker 1: was going to say, yeah. The other option is if

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Speaker 1: Ben wants to hang around and be part of the

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Speaker 1: prediction segment and offer his own we can include that.

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Speaker 1: We'll see we had meat sauce and Ryan Donaldson. Nice week.

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Speaker 1: We've got some nice comm.

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Speaker 4: A lot of celebrities that are joining the pick segment now,

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Speaker 4: so we'll see.

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Speaker 1: Lavelli e Meal at third is confirmed for five thirty?

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Speaker 1: Is that correct? He is pick segment probably four fifteen

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Speaker 1: with Gerby.

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Speaker 4: Lavelle's very disappointed that Max Coupler apparently has been popped

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Speaker 4: for an eighty game performance against drug suspension.

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Speaker 1: He texted me, like, I care. That doesn't sound like

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Speaker 1: a Minnesota twin or a former minutes right a twin,

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Speaker 1: does it? We don't behave like that, do we.

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Speaker 4: It is funny that the guys that get banged for

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Speaker 4: those suspensions, you look at their numbers.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Like what happened here? He's trying to hang on,

393
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Speaker 1: did you take the wrong illegal substance? Must question? Got

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Speaker 1: some expired stuff?

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Speaker 5: Something to handle the before target field concrete tries and

396
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Speaker 5: get the ball out of the parked a.

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Speaker 1: Very good point. Ben Gestling is indeed in the house,

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Speaker 1: usually joins us at four thirty, but he played program

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Speaker 1: password today, I'm told, and uh was kind enough to

400
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Speaker 1: hang around before we say hello to you in more depth.

401
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:06,320
Speaker 1: I meant to get to this text. In fact, I

402
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Speaker 1: just sent it to Eric Musselman, who just joined US.

403
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Speaker 1: John from Lakeville wrote, I went to Bill Musselm in

404
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,160
Speaker 1: basketball camp at Saint Olaf. I was in ninth grade.

405
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Speaker 1: Flip was a high school counselor between junior and senior year.

406
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Speaker 1: I went to a room to get my camp T shirt.

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Speaker 1: Flip panted me my shirt my T shirt. Well, little

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Speaker 1: Eric Musselman was sitting on his lap. I later played

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Speaker 1: against Flip in the Augsburg Summer League. We guarded each

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Speaker 1: other good memories. I hope Eric gets a kick out

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Speaker 1: of that as well. A lot of those crags talks

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Speaker 1: about those stories. That's true, very very true, one hundred

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Speaker 1: percent true. How the program password? Did you win? We

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Speaker 1: blew the lead late.

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Speaker 5: I think we'll be got a couple where they got

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Speaker 5: ten points, little being Alec Lewis got ten points, and

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Speaker 5: then you get into that thing of do we pass

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Speaker 5: yeah and we're losing or do we try to play

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Speaker 5: it on ten? And I think there was a couple

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Speaker 5: of those where it's probably a two question or two

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Speaker 5: clue word and we tried to take a shot at it,

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Speaker 5: so we I think we lost like eighty one to

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Speaker 5: sixty or something like that.

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Speaker 1: Positive competitive, but you blew the lead. You're saying, yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's never good. Yeah, never good. Questions for Ben Bradshaw

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Speaker 1: on Brian Cafe in text line is open at six

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Speaker 1: four six eighty six Find sponsor of this segment all

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Speaker 1: season long Standard Heating and air Conditioning. Where do we

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Speaker 1: want to begin? Here do we begin? I guess we

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Speaker 1: could start with maybe you can break the tie because

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Speaker 1: when it comes to Brian Flores because Johnny came on,

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Speaker 1: Krasinski came on Monday and seemed to try to get

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Speaker 1: something golding, kind of shock Jocket on some tension that

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00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,800
Speaker 1: may be contributing to the fact that Bflow hasn't yet

435
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,240
Speaker 1: signed a deal and maybe might not stay even if

436
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,920
Speaker 1: he doesn't get a head coaching opportunity. Then Seaford came

437
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,240
Speaker 1: on Tuesday, and I think kind of blew that out

438
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,960
Speaker 1: of the waters. And I don't see, I'm not aware

439
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,119
Speaker 1: of anything in particular in that regard. You want to

440
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:11,679
Speaker 1: try to break the tie. What do you make of

441
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:12,080
Speaker 1: all of this?

442
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,359
Speaker 5: Becket, Yeah, well, I would say, I mean nothing has

443
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,639
Speaker 5: been completely settled there for a while. I do think

444
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,560
Speaker 5: there have been some things that have they've had to

445
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:26,000
Speaker 5: figure out. And I know Brian Flores has been thinking

446
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 5: really since last year of I'm planning to coach this out.

447
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:33,080
Speaker 5: I mean I had heard that last summer that he

448
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,760
Speaker 5: probably would take this thing to the limit here.

449
00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:38,800
Speaker 1: Because he had a chance to sell, like everybody else,

450
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,960
Speaker 1: sign a contract extension before the season. Correct.

451
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,439
Speaker 5: Yeah, whether it's a long term deal or you can

452
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,000
Speaker 5: do the one year roll over, right, which is what

453
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 5: Wes Phillips ended up doing, So you can do that.

454
00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 5: But he said, you know, I want to play this out,

455
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,880
Speaker 5: and you could have signed a contract extension and been

456
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,000
Speaker 5: eligible to be a head coach like that wouldn't have

457
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,119
Speaker 5: prevented any of that from happening. So the fact that

458
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,120
Speaker 5: we've gotten to this point, I think he does want

459
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:00,760
Speaker 5: to look at options and this is going to be

460
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:02,240
Speaker 5: the thing that the Vikings have to figure out. He

461
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:06,520
Speaker 5: basically has, I believe, until next Wednesday before he can

462
00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,000
Speaker 5: talk to other teams about coordinator openings. Is typically you

463
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,399
Speaker 5: get a ten day okay, the team gets a ten

464
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 5: day negotiating window after the season to talk with a

465
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,000
Speaker 5: coach before he's free to talk to everybody else. So

466
00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,560
Speaker 5: we are approaching that he relatively quickly, and I think

467
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:23,560
Speaker 5: the fact that it's not done yet is worth noting.

468
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,120
Speaker 5: And I think there have been, you know, things of

469
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 5: you questions of probably a raise, and I don't think

470
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,360
Speaker 5: that would be the thing that would get to pay

471
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:36,080
Speaker 5: from half. No, I think they'll pay him enough to

472
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,879
Speaker 5: make that worth his while. You know, this question is

473
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:43,320
Speaker 5: about where is this team going, where is the quarterback thing?

474
00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:45,320
Speaker 5: Is this going to be a team that has the

475
00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,199
Speaker 5: potential to win like he's used to doing obviously in

476
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 5: New England. I think some of those things are questions

477
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,520
Speaker 5: and just yeah, I think there's been some things to

478
00:26:54,560 --> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 5: figure out in terms of inner organizational relationship kind of stuff.

479
00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:02,760
Speaker 5: I think that's there is I've heard some of those things,

480
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,440
Speaker 5: and I'm being a little bit vague here because there's

481
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:07,600
Speaker 5: some stuff that I still kind of trying to flesh out.

482
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:12,280
Speaker 5: But yeah, I think my expectation is that they want

483
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:14,359
Speaker 5: him back. They I mean, Kevin O'Connell has said that

484
00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,399
Speaker 5: everything I've heard behind the scenes would match that. But

485
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,840
Speaker 5: it will depend, I think on whether he decides no.

486
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,800
Speaker 5: I don't want to allow myself to look at any

487
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:26,639
Speaker 5: other coordinator options. I'm happy here I know he's enjoyed

488
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,720
Speaker 5: coaching this team. I know he's enjoyed working with Kevin O'Connell.

489
00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:32,560
Speaker 5: The organization as a whole has been I think a

490
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,440
Speaker 5: good fit for him. He's talked about that quite a bit.

491
00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:37,000
Speaker 5: But yeah, there's there's a lot to get figured out here.

492
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:38,720
Speaker 5: I think they'd like to get it done before they

493
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,240
Speaker 5: end up talking about season ending stuff in a press

494
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,920
Speaker 5: conference next week. But you know, we'll see if that happens.

495
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:46,600
Speaker 5: I mean, I think there's still a lot to figure out.

496
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,960
Speaker 1: So far, as far as we know on the record,

497
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,040
Speaker 1: the Ravens are the only team to ask permission to

498
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,680
Speaker 1: speak with him about a head coaching position. Is that correct? Yeah,

499
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,880
Speaker 1: we expect understanding Will the Raiders is always this thing

500
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:02,880
Speaker 1: people speculate on the Brady actor, but nothing has been

501
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,359
Speaker 1: officially suggested getily no, nothing yet officially.

502
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,399
Speaker 5: I think the Brady connection makes that an interesting option,

503
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:11,199
Speaker 5: and that would be a team that you know. The

504
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,040
Speaker 5: other the other piece you have to figure out here

505
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,600
Speaker 5: is is there going to be a team that hires

506
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:17,880
Speaker 5: him as the head coach given the fact, yes, he

507
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,240
Speaker 5: has been suing several teams and beensuing the NFL. I mean,

508
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:24,840
Speaker 5: the Raiders would be the team that are historically enough

509
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 5: of an iconoclassic franchise that would say, I don't care

510
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,920
Speaker 5: if we want them, let's take him. So I think

511
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,600
Speaker 5: that makes it an interesting option that way. But you know,

512
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,960
Speaker 5: I would expect he'll get more interviews. I would expect

513
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:39,120
Speaker 5: he'll get attention because of that scheme. I think people

514
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,800
Speaker 5: will want to pick his brain on how did you

515
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,400
Speaker 5: do it? How did you get involved with the scouting

516
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:48,520
Speaker 5: side of things, you know, kind of playing on that

517
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 5: background he had in New England to make that work here.

518
00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:53,000
Speaker 5: I think that will get him in the building. The

519
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:57,000
Speaker 5: question will be obviously with him, how would you manage

520
00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:59,160
Speaker 5: a quarterback if you're the head coach. I'm sure he'll

521
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,200
Speaker 5: have to answer that question after all the twist stuff,

522
00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,640
Speaker 5: and I think that's going to be the answer he

523
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 5: would have to provide to get somebody to say, yes,

524
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:07,320
Speaker 5: let's do this.

525
00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,280
Speaker 1: Would he be any reason to believe he might be

526
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:17,320
Speaker 1: dazzled by Dallas approaching him to be the conquering hero,

527
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,360
Speaker 1: the guy the defensive genius to come to the rescue.

528
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,160
Speaker 1: You know, it's a team that's got some issues. On

529
00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:26,600
Speaker 1: the other hand, it is Dallas it's the Cowboys. It's

530
00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:28,680
Speaker 1: still a massive brand, whether you like it or not.

531
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,560
Speaker 1: Is that something you think he might be dazzled by

532
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,080
Speaker 1: if they actually came calling and Jerry said, we'll pay

533
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:36,720
Speaker 1: you whatever we need to pay you just to be

534
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:37,880
Speaker 1: the coordinator.

535
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 5: Well, I mean there is that. I mean, if you

536
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 5: go to Dallas, you know you're going to get paid handsomely.

537
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,040
Speaker 5: I think they would have the ability to do that

538
00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,200
Speaker 5: without any questions about it, as the vikings with too.

539
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 5: But I think the question with them is do you

540
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 5: want to walk in there and feel like I'm having

541
00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,960
Speaker 5: to work in this particular universe where I'm not only

542
00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:02,520
Speaker 5: am I not the head coach, I'm probably not going

543
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:04,880
Speaker 5: to have the same amount of, say in the front

544
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:10,239
Speaker 5: office type of things that I've had in Minnesota. Koisiodolfo Mensa.

545
00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 5: I think for you know, good, bad, and indifferent on

546
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,320
Speaker 5: his resume, and there's certainly enough to fill all three

547
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,680
Speaker 5: of those columns. He has, I think done a good

548
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:23,160
Speaker 5: job of giving people an opportunity to voice what they

549
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,120
Speaker 5: want and then saying, let's work with you to get

550
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,320
Speaker 5: you what you need. And I think that has worked

551
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,360
Speaker 5: as well. On the defensive side of the ball as anything.

552
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,200
Speaker 5: Are you going to have that in Dallas with Jerry

553
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,800
Speaker 5: and Stephen Jones. I don't know that the autonomy he's

554
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 5: enjoyed here would be quite the same there. So that's

555
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 5: the question I'd have if he's going to go take

556
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 5: that job. I think there'd be things that would be

557
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,479
Speaker 5: attractive about it. Certainly would be a place that if

558
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:48,040
Speaker 5: he could go in and get things working, that would

559
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,800
Speaker 5: reflect very well on his resume. But they have a

560
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:52,840
Speaker 5: lot of things to figure out on that defense, obviously

561
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,040
Speaker 5: up to the Micah Parsons trades. So I think he

562
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 5: would want to know that he's going to have an

563
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,400
Speaker 5: opportunity to shape that how he wants.

564
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:03,480
Speaker 1: History is repeat eating itself regarding this franchise, even today,

565
00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:06,960
Speaker 1: right in front of my eyes, and it's a text

566
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:11,280
Speaker 1: that I get almost each day that we talk about

567
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:15,400
Speaker 1: Brian Flores, and it is I like this guy better

568
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,160
Speaker 1: than a head coach. Let's trade the head coach, get

569
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,040
Speaker 1: a couple draft picks, and just elevate b flow so

570
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,280
Speaker 1: we never lose him. Go all the way back to

571
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:30,000
Speaker 1: when Tony Dungee was on Denny's staff, Tomlin on Chili's staff, Right,

572
00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:34,680
Speaker 1: it is fascinating the number of times we've had a

573
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:38,720
Speaker 1: highly regarded defensive coordinator, and it's because it's almost like

574
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,040
Speaker 1: the backup quarterback center when we say, well, yes, elevator,

575
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:43,440
Speaker 1: that's the guy like better than the head coach. Let's

576
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,160
Speaker 1: just elevate him so we don't lose him because we

577
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:47,880
Speaker 1: know the next place he goes and when he becomes

578
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:49,880
Speaker 1: a head coach, he's gonna win titles. Yeah.

579
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,600
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean there is always that risk, and that's

580
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,200
Speaker 5: happened twice. Obviously, Dungee did it. Yeah, Tomlin did it

581
00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:58,520
Speaker 5: very quickly. I think Tomlin ended up doing it before

582
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:02,360
Speaker 5: Dungeee did in terms of actually winning a championship. Yeah,

583
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,280
Speaker 5: because I think Dungee finally did it. I mean he

584
00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,120
Speaker 5: Cruden won the championship with Dungee's players in I think

585
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,480
Speaker 5: two thousand and two. But by the time Dungee actually

586
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,320
Speaker 5: won a ring, I think Tomlin had already had one.

587
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,320
Speaker 5: But yeah, there is always that risk. I think the

588
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:19,240
Speaker 5: thing I would say to that is is appealing is

589
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,200
Speaker 5: that may sound to some there's no chance of that happening.

590
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,320
Speaker 5: I mean that the Vikings the Wilts are still one

591
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:25,880
Speaker 5: hundred percent behind Kevin O'Connell, and I think there's a

592
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:30,960
Speaker 5: lot of reason to be there, especially with the way

593
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,200
Speaker 5: he's led the organization as a whole, and the quarterback

594
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:35,960
Speaker 5: stuff is a lot to figure out.

595
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:38,719
Speaker 1: And that's the vulnerability right now. It is if you're

596
00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 1: a prisoner of the moment that says that, Okay, well

597
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:42,240
Speaker 1: this so far, this.

598
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,560
Speaker 5: This decision is not working out right, which and the

599
00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:46,600
Speaker 5: tricky thing with him is you have a lot of

600
00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:49,920
Speaker 5: points where he's been right about quarterbacks. Sam Darnold, the

601
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:53,000
Speaker 5: degree to which they loved Drake may looks like his

602
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:57,240
Speaker 5: evaluation of that was correct. Daniel Jones, I think having

603
00:32:57,320 --> 00:32:59,239
Speaker 5: some upside all of those things, even what he got

604
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,600
Speaker 5: out of Kirk Cousins, I think is a credit to him,

605
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:10,000
Speaker 5: which all makes the McCarthy thing look more troubling right now.

606
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,440
Speaker 5: But I think the overall resume for him on quarterbacks

607
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,920
Speaker 5: is pretty good. And that's a lot of the reason

608
00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:19,280
Speaker 5: I think he's going to continue to get opportunities here,

609
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,240
Speaker 5: because that track record would suggest that he knows what

610
00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:23,880
Speaker 5: he's doing. You knows how to evaluate, he knows how

611
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:25,960
Speaker 5: to coach the position, and you have to get to

612
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,600
Speaker 5: the point where the kid or whoever it is can

613
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,520
Speaker 5: handle the offense That was a big factor this year.

614
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,080
Speaker 5: How much does that offense get adapted to where your

615
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:36,280
Speaker 5: quarterback is at? And I think they kind of had

616
00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,560
Speaker 5: to go through that throughout the season. But overall, there's

617
00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:42,800
Speaker 5: a as a leader, as a director of the organization,

618
00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:46,320
Speaker 5: as an executive, as an offensive strategist. I don't sense

619
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:51,800
Speaker 5: any deviation from that whatsoever. So there is that risk

620
00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,680
Speaker 5: if you lose a guy, and I think there's always

621
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,000
Speaker 5: that going to be part of it, as it's been

622
00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,400
Speaker 5: for Sean McVay with the guys he's lost. But yeah,

623
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:01,680
Speaker 5: I don't think think that's going to move the Wilfs

624
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:03,720
Speaker 5: off of where they've been after they signed that contract

625
00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:04,680
Speaker 5: with O'Connell last year.

626
00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:07,840
Speaker 1: Who would be if b flow goals, whether it's a

627
00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,840
Speaker 1: head coaching job or you know, to actually be a

628
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:16,440
Speaker 1: coordinator someplace else. Is there an air apparent on this

629
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:18,800
Speaker 1: staff right now or you think they look outside?

630
00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:21,560
Speaker 5: Well, there are two people on the staff that I

631
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:23,680
Speaker 5: think would be very much in the mix. That would

632
00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:26,279
Speaker 5: be Deronte Jones, a defensive backs coach who's gotten some

633
00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:30,200
Speaker 5: defensive coordinator looks, including this year. I think the Cowboys

634
00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:31,960
Speaker 5: are already talking to him because they can talk to

635
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,040
Speaker 5: him before Flores is able to do it with the

636
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:37,000
Speaker 5: contracts being the way they are. And then Mike Saravo,

637
00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 5: they're inside linebackers coach, I think would be the other

638
00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:43,799
Speaker 5: guy that would be in that mix. Both of those

639
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,440
Speaker 5: guys have had opportunities in the preseason to call plays,

640
00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:49,319
Speaker 5: and Brian Flores has kind of done that with those two,

641
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:51,440
Speaker 5: as Kevin O'Connell has done it with West Phillips, to

642
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:53,839
Speaker 5: give them reps, to give them options to do it.

643
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:56,000
Speaker 1: I think they would both get looks.

644
00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,880
Speaker 5: I think they'd both get interviews because there is a

645
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:03,160
Speaker 5: uniqueness to what this defense has done that I'm not

646
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:05,480
Speaker 5: sure you're going to have somebody from the outside just

647
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,440
Speaker 5: come in and be able to pick up. And the

648
00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,279
Speaker 5: question I think would be, can anybody else call it

649
00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:12,279
Speaker 5: the same way Brian Flores has? How much of the

650
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:15,560
Speaker 5: secret sauce of this is just exactly Ryan Flores's creativity

651
00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:18,480
Speaker 5: ingenuity that they would have to figure out. But I

652
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,080
Speaker 5: think those two would certainly get looks because they would

653
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,919
Speaker 5: give you an opportunity to continue this thing the way

654
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:26,680
Speaker 5: it's gone, or at least pretty close to the way

655
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:28,359
Speaker 5: it's gone, they've been in the building, they've seen how

656
00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,959
Speaker 5: this gets called. They understand it. So I think those

657
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,200
Speaker 5: two would be whether it's air apparents or guys that

658
00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:36,160
Speaker 5: at least just get a long look, they certainly would

659
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:36,879
Speaker 5: be part of that mix.

660
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:39,239
Speaker 1: Ben Gessling is in the house, brought to you by

661
00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:41,799
Speaker 1: Standard Heating and Air Conditioning. A brief break. Lots more

662
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,279
Speaker 1: to cover before the prediction segment, probably about four or

663
00:35:45,320 --> 00:36:02,799
Speaker 1: fifteen statement. You know, one of the things we've noticed

664
00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 1: around here once the Minnesota Vikings are eliminated is that

665
00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:14,359
Speaker 1: the sometimes the seasonal commercial boost slows down a little bit.

666
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,439
Speaker 1: I'm wondering, and you know, that's why we talk about

667
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:21,240
Speaker 1: seasonal boost and love it. We love to be connected

668
00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:23,160
Speaker 1: to the playoffs in that way for you, Is it

669
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:25,480
Speaker 1: a relief in that because it's obviously it ads to

670
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,800
Speaker 1: your workload. On the other hand, I got to believe

671
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,520
Speaker 1: there's got to be some feeling of absence there because

672
00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,600
Speaker 1: you too are not as directly connected to this first weekend,

673
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:37,279
Speaker 1: which is a great weekend, right it is.

674
00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:40,359
Speaker 5: And yeah, there's certainly that feeling of when you're not

675
00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:43,200
Speaker 5: covering a playoff team. Yeah, it's got a different energy

676
00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:47,840
Speaker 5: or a lack of energy. In some ways, playoffs, when

677
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,399
Speaker 5: you're covering a team that is on the road, are

678
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,399
Speaker 5: a lot more grueling. So I think the thing I've

679
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,719
Speaker 5: come to on this and just finished your fourteen and

680
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:59,839
Speaker 5: the beat is if they're going to be in the playoffs,

681
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,360
Speaker 5: go the extra step and win the division and be

682
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,480
Speaker 5: at home, because what you end up doing the part

683
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,080
Speaker 5: that makes it grueling. And everybody is probably sitting here

684
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:10,520
Speaker 5: listening to this saying, oh poor, you feel terriblayer right,

685
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:11,280
Speaker 5: good for talking.

686
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:14,200
Speaker 4: You had to go to Arizona last year for a

687
00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:16,560
Speaker 4: playoff game. But was it a direct flight? At least

688
00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,200
Speaker 4: it was, did you? Yeah, No, we don't do big

689
00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:21,799
Speaker 4: ten road destinations in the NFL. There's no direct there's

690
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,840
Speaker 4: no connections. Have a sky Calta hub. I'm not in

691
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,040
Speaker 4: the sky club. I don't fly quite enough for that anymore.

692
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,799
Speaker 4: But if you know a couple more miles, I think

693
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 4: I think it was gold last year, didn't quite make

694
00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:34,560
Speaker 4: it the platinum. So maybe this year we'll take a

695
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:36,879
Speaker 4: swing at and get sky club. But you know, at

696
00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:40,160
Speaker 4: any rate, if you let me continue with my sobs, okay,

697
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:44,279
Speaker 4: thank you. Event Yeah, when you're flying back, you have

698
00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,600
Speaker 4: to assume the team is going to lose, because if

699
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:47,920
Speaker 4: they do, then locker room.

700
00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:48,880
Speaker 1: Clean out the next morning.

701
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:50,960
Speaker 5: So the last two times they've been on the road,

702
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:52,760
Speaker 5: it's been on the west coast. It's hard to get back,

703
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,520
Speaker 5: so you know, and you don't want to have to leave.

704
00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,799
Speaker 5: The sunshines and you know it's you're conflicted there. Let's

705
00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,160
Speaker 5: just put it at home so that there's not the

706
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:05,160
Speaker 5: every week flight type thing that you have to get

707
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,479
Speaker 5: figured out with travel and all of that. But yes,

708
00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,160
Speaker 5: there is, I mean, all joking aside, there is a

709
00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,080
Speaker 5: lack of buzz in the way that you experienced it.

710
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:17,640
Speaker 5: Especially I've only covered one that really made a run

711
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:19,839
Speaker 5: obviously twenty seventeen. But I mean, you guys have been

712
00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:23,879
Speaker 5: around long enough to know this that the energy compounds

713
00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:27,720
Speaker 5: every rounds, no question, not linear. It compounds the closer

714
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,640
Speaker 5: you get. So not having that is, yeah, you miss

715
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:32,640
Speaker 5: a little there. It's got to be a little bit

716
00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:34,880
Speaker 5: home or road to a certain extent.

717
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:38,520
Speaker 1: Let's stay on offense for a second and we'll get

718
00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:41,040
Speaker 1: to quarterback before we're done, because we have to. But

719
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,880
Speaker 1: a couple of people have texted about the receivers. Yeah,

720
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:49,719
Speaker 1: obviously beyond Justin Jefferson. So what's how do you think

721
00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:51,759
Speaker 1: the Vikings are going to go here? Who are they

722
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:55,600
Speaker 1: going to emphi? I guess you could say emphasize who

723
00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:57,719
Speaker 1: are they going to concentrate on and who might be

724
00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:00,799
Speaker 1: the odd receiver out this offseason.

725
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,319
Speaker 5: Well, Jalen Naylor is the guy I would keep an

726
00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:06,719
Speaker 5: eye on because he had a good enough year that

727
00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:09,600
Speaker 5: I think he's going to have a market. He'll be

728
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:12,680
Speaker 5: a free agent in March and was like a six

729
00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:14,560
Speaker 5: round pick, so this is his chance to get paid.

730
00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:15,960
Speaker 5: We talked with him about this a little bit this

731
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,239
Speaker 5: week and he turns around at his locker on clean

732
00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:21,399
Speaker 5: out day and there's probably fifteen reporters standing there and he's, boy,

733
00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:23,120
Speaker 5: this is a lot of attention for me. It's like, yeah,

734
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:25,560
Speaker 5: this is everybody's come to ask about the same thing.

735
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:27,360
Speaker 5: But he said, we're going to play this out and

736
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:29,040
Speaker 5: see where it goes, which I you know, I think

737
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 5: if he has a chance to get paid, yes, it's hard.

738
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,000
Speaker 1: It's hard to argue with that.

739
00:39:33,239 --> 00:39:34,800
Speaker 5: And I think there is going to be a team

740
00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:37,400
Speaker 5: that says, hey, this guy could fit us quite nicely.

741
00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:39,960
Speaker 5: You know, somebody that probably runs a similar scheme to

742
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,200
Speaker 5: what the Vikings do. If the Rams need somebody or

743
00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:44,080
Speaker 5: you know, even you know, some of the teams in

744
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,719
Speaker 5: this division that run a similar attack to what the

745
00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:49,560
Speaker 5: Vikings do, may look at him and say, this could

746
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,359
Speaker 5: be a nice piece for us, you know. So are

747
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,080
Speaker 5: they going to be priced out of it? No? I mean,

748
00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:57,480
Speaker 5: I don't think the contract will be so extravagant that

749
00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:00,040
Speaker 5: they couldn't do it. But when you're paying Jefferson and

750
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:01,720
Speaker 5: then you have to make a decision on Jordan Adison,

751
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:04,840
Speaker 5: could they end up losing Naylor? I think there's a

752
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:08,280
Speaker 5: possibility of that, especially if they feel like ty Felton

753
00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:10,359
Speaker 5: can come in and play a little more of a role.

754
00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:12,759
Speaker 5: Now Addison, the question is they have to make a

755
00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,759
Speaker 5: fifty year option decision this year, and I would think

756
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:17,960
Speaker 5: they'll pick that up to give themselves a little more time.

757
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,480
Speaker 5: But do you want to pay him and give him

758
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,600
Speaker 5: the long term deal that you know kind of sets

759
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,000
Speaker 5: him up for life, and you know, do you do

760
00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:29,279
Speaker 5: you trust him enough off the field? I think is

761
00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:31,879
Speaker 5: going to be where this goes. That's the decision they're

762
00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:33,359
Speaker 5: going to have to make, and especially when they're paying

763
00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:36,160
Speaker 5: Jefferson as much as they are, that's a lot invested

764
00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:38,920
Speaker 5: in that position. So yes, there is a lot to

765
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:41,239
Speaker 5: figure out at that spot. I mean, obviously, when they

766
00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:42,800
Speaker 5: make the trade that they did for Feeland at the

767
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:45,680
Speaker 5: beginning of the season, it was an admission that they

768
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:48,120
Speaker 5: knew they had depth to figure out there. And if

769
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:50,600
Speaker 5: you lose Naylor, you're right back in that spot where

770
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:53,000
Speaker 5: there's depth to figure out. And maybe it's time Felton,

771
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,120
Speaker 5: maybe it's somebody else, but I think they do have

772
00:40:55,239 --> 00:40:56,240
Speaker 5: needs at that spot.

773
00:40:56,680 --> 00:41:03,200
Speaker 1: Ben Lieber predicts or believe that the number one running

774
00:41:03,239 --> 00:41:05,680
Speaker 1: back on the twenty twenty six Vikings is not on

775
00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:10,440
Speaker 1: the roster right now. Controversial are actually perceptive.

776
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,160
Speaker 5: I think it's possible. I mean I think Aaron Jones,

777
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:15,080
Speaker 5: do you bring him back? It's going to be a

778
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:17,760
Speaker 5: question because they do have money they need to clear

779
00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:21,080
Speaker 5: and he would be one that if you're saying, well, okay,

780
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:22,720
Speaker 5: it's a lot of mileage, it's a lot of injuries.

781
00:41:22,719 --> 00:41:24,239
Speaker 5: I mean, it's the kind of the age old question

782
00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:27,239
Speaker 5: with Aaron Jones is he's shown he's still productive and

783
00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:30,680
Speaker 5: obviously he's beloved in that locker room, But when you're

784
00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:33,720
Speaker 5: going to be thirty one years old, yeah, and the injuries.

785
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:35,960
Speaker 5: The history is sack what it is. Yeah, so you're

786
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,239
Speaker 5: going to have that question. Jordan Mason, I think was

787
00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,840
Speaker 5: a nice piece for them. I think he gave them

788
00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:43,960
Speaker 5: a component that they didn't have previously. But is he

789
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:47,680
Speaker 5: going to be the guy that is getting the ball

790
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:49,920
Speaker 5: every down? I don't know that they're going to look

791
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,719
Speaker 5: for a Bell Cow, but I think they need somebody

792
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,480
Speaker 5: to add to that group, especially if it is Mason.

793
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:59,240
Speaker 5: I think you want somebody with a little more breakaway speed,

794
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:02,239
Speaker 5: a little more big playability. I would think would be

795
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:03,680
Speaker 5: the thing you'd be looking for. And I don't know

796
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:07,080
Speaker 5: that that's Aaron Jones at this point. So yeah, I

797
00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:10,000
Speaker 5: think it's very possible that running back is a need

798
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,800
Speaker 5: in the draft, and I wouldn't be shocked if they said,

799
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,719
Speaker 5: let's go kind of get the lightning version the compliment

800
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,840
Speaker 5: to Jordan Mason's thunder. I mean, they did really like

801
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:20,759
Speaker 5: Jamiir Gibbs in the draft a couple of years ago,

802
00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:22,960
Speaker 5: didn't get the chance to take him. Not sure they

803
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:25,600
Speaker 5: would have as it came down to it, because they

804
00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:28,520
Speaker 5: needed a receiver, but they certainly knew what they what

805
00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:31,560
Speaker 5: he could be, and he's been good enough, especially against them,

806
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:33,520
Speaker 5: not so much this year, but certainly last year, that

807
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,919
Speaker 5: the impact of a player like that has been made

808
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:40,440
Speaker 5: clear to them. I think it's very possible Wle invested

809
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:41,000
Speaker 5: in that position.

810
00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:46,360
Speaker 1: Coming into the twenty twenty five season, both the Bears

811
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:51,560
Speaker 1: and the Vikings doubled down on rebuilding their offensive line.

812
00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:51,799
Speaker 2: Yeah.

813
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:56,759
Speaker 1: Right, so it certainly appears that one team succeeded a

814
00:42:56,760 --> 00:42:59,000
Speaker 1: lot more dramatically and consistently than the other.

815
00:42:59,160 --> 00:42:59,319
Speaker 2: Yeap.

816
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:02,200
Speaker 1: What was it the Bears did right that the Vikings didn't.

817
00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:05,200
Speaker 1: Is it as simple as luck when it comes to injuries,

818
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,680
Speaker 1: or is it who you're investing in? What do you think?

819
00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:11,000
Speaker 5: Well, I think they hit on some things with the

820
00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:13,560
Speaker 5: pickups they made, and certainly I think, you know, some

821
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:14,880
Speaker 5: of the draft picks and some of the guys they

822
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:18,520
Speaker 5: brought in were successful. I think injuries were a part

823
00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:20,279
Speaker 5: of it for the Vikings. I mean, you know, the

824
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:22,000
Speaker 5: Bears have had to deal with some things there too,

825
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:23,640
Speaker 5: but injuries. I think we're a big part of this

826
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:26,960
Speaker 5: for the Vikings in the sense that Will Fryes was

827
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:29,920
Speaker 5: the big investment and Will Fries played every game. I

828
00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:33,040
Speaker 5: didn't think Will Fries had a great year, But there

829
00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:35,279
Speaker 5: is a little bit of this thing. I asked Brian

830
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:37,719
Speaker 5: O'Neil about this this week, that you get back from

831
00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:41,960
Speaker 5: an injury, and just because your back doesn't always mean

832
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:46,560
Speaker 5: you're back. You're not necessarily feeling like yourself that first

833
00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:49,040
Speaker 5: year while you're still trying to say, can I trust

834
00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:51,839
Speaker 5: my leg and can I put weight on this? Can

835
00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:54,000
Speaker 5: I stand up to defensive linemen as I go through

836
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:55,799
Speaker 5: it and when I have to anchor? All of that

837
00:43:55,880 --> 00:43:58,480
Speaker 5: stuff is part of it. And that certainly was the

838
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:01,400
Speaker 5: case I think for Will Fries this year. Obviously was

839
00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:03,880
Speaker 5: the case for Christian Darisaw. So when you have guys

840
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:06,920
Speaker 5: like that who are both coming off major injuries, year

841
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:10,839
Speaker 5: ending surgery type stuff, you probably weren't going to get

842
00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:16,560
Speaker 5: their very best this year. Now with Darisaw especially, that

843
00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:18,480
Speaker 5: has to change. I mean, I think they need to

844
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:21,160
Speaker 5: see more from him. Kevin O'Connell said, I expect this

845
00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:24,319
Speaker 5: will be behind us by next year with Darisaw in

846
00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:28,920
Speaker 5: terms of the aftermath of that injury. And I think

847
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:31,600
Speaker 5: they needed to be because the investments they've made in

848
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:36,120
Speaker 5: both Darsaw and Fries are significant and I think this

849
00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:38,480
Speaker 5: they expect this to be a better line than it was,

850
00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:41,320
Speaker 5: certainly a healthier line than it was. I think the injuries,

851
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:43,560
Speaker 5: both the ones that happen during the season and just

852
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,880
Speaker 5: the things those two were still working through coming off

853
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:49,280
Speaker 5: of the ones they had in twenty four were certainly

854
00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:50,000
Speaker 5: a factor this year.

855
00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:53,240
Speaker 1: Dan Gaslin covers the Vikings course for The Star Tribune,

856
00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,120
Speaker 1: joins US Weekly, brought to you by Standard Heating and

857
00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:58,800
Speaker 1: Air Conditioning. We're going to keep him through the next segment.

858
00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:00,680
Speaker 1: In fact, he might even hang around, he says, for

859
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:04,880
Speaker 1: maybe some bonus predictions in the prediction segment with Carl

860
00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:08,719
Speaker 1: Gerbschmidt that has scheduled for four fifteen. Leavell is scheduled

861
00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:10,680
Speaker 1: as well for five thirty. Don't forget go for men's

862
00:45:10,719 --> 00:45:14,359
Speaker 1: basketball tonight on the flagship FM one hundred point three

863
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:17,720
Speaker 1: the fan. Do we have a Gophers channel on iHeart

864
00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:21,200
Speaker 1: the way we do Timberwolves and everybody else we do not?

865
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:23,719
Speaker 1: Okay no, but tonight you don't necessarily need that because

866
00:45:23,719 --> 00:45:25,839
Speaker 1: it's not our frequency. You got it one hundred point

867
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:27,680
Speaker 1: three and you can listen on the iHeart app on

868
00:45:27,719 --> 00:45:32,520
Speaker 1: the fan two against Eric Musselman and the Southern cal Trojans,

869
00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:36,080
Speaker 1: who have been struggling mightily. I think it was a

870
00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:38,720
Speaker 1: thirty point loss. Isn't it like two thirty point losses

871
00:45:38,719 --> 00:45:40,880
Speaker 1: on this road to the Michigan schools? Yeah, yeah, I

872
00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:42,080
Speaker 1: mean just got pummeled both.

873
00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:43,799
Speaker 4: Do you like how he's a new age coach in

874
00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:46,440
Speaker 4: that The first thing he mentions is how they're getting

875
00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:49,200
Speaker 4: screwed by the schedule. Yes, every coach brings it up. Yes,

876
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:52,520
Speaker 4: it's amazing because they're all getting screwed. It's an impossible schedule.

877
00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:55,480
Speaker 1: Now, there was there was historically, in my view, a

878
00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:59,520
Speaker 1: reason why there was something called the Pac ten and

879
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:02,359
Speaker 1: something all the Big ten and different parts because they

880
00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:06,120
Speaker 1: were centered on different parts of it seemed logical until

881
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:06,520
Speaker 1: money came.

882
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:11,240
Speaker 5: Professional teams all group their divisions regionally. Yes, it seems

883
00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:13,520
Speaker 5: like that maybe would work, but the money is not

884
00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:14,880
Speaker 5: as good as that's the problem.

885
00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:17,480
Speaker 1: All right, More with Ben, keep your questions coming into

886
00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:18,560
Speaker 1: the text line back in a minute.