Speaker 1: You lost because of two bills, and you are. It's
Speaker 1: so poetic, Brian, speaking of writing, because you are the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills of fantasy football. You make it there a
Speaker 1: bunch of times in a row, and you just can't,
Speaker 1: you can't raise the trophy. Yeah, oh I am. And
Speaker 1: you know what, I'm like your hometown Chicago Cubs. There's
Speaker 1: always next year, right, isn't that what they what they say,
Speaker 1: There's always next year. You're nineteen Steve Bartman situation that
Speaker 1: I'll mos where that guy is. God knows what kind
Speaker 1: of you know, nose and mustache, eyeglass situation. He's rock
Speaker 1: and running around and then but then eventually, Brian, it's
Speaker 1: a story of hope. Eventually it will happen. It's a
Speaker 1: story of hope. I like that. I think that's going
Speaker 1: to be my team name next year. It's a story
Speaker 1: of hope. Hey, everybody, it's Kay Adams from up and
Speaker 1: Adams and I have never won a parlay in my life.
Speaker 1: I'm Steven Socks. Among other things, I'm the commissioner of
Speaker 1: the Official dunder Mifflin Fantasy Football League. Hi everybody, and
Speaker 1: welcome to a very special episode of Off the Beat.
Speaker 1: That's right. Super Bowl. Addition, it's that time of year again,
Speaker 1: the most wonderful time of the year. As always, I'm
Speaker 1: your host, Brian baumb Gartner, and today I'm bringing on
Speaker 1: not one, not too well, two very special guests. First up,
Speaker 1: sportscaster extraordinaire and well, my good friend Kay Adams is
Speaker 1: coming on the program, joining me to share her Super
Speaker 1: Bowl predictions, some advice about betting the Big Game, though
Speaker 1: the advice mostly comes from me, and uh, look, she
Speaker 1: has an insider perspective few have. She has more coaches
Speaker 1: and players in her phone than well than just about anybody,
Speaker 1: so she has great insider information. You may know Kay
Speaker 1: from her six years hosting Good Morning Football, or hopefully
Speaker 1: you're catching her new show, It's Fantastic Up and Adams,
Speaker 1: where she covers the top stories in the NFL today.
Speaker 1: But Kay is not my only guest. No, I'm also
Speaker 1: bringing on Steven Socks, the esteemed commissioner of the Office
Speaker 1: Fantasy Football League. That season is over, he'll give us
Speaker 1: an update as to what transpired in this very exciting
Speaker 1: year eighteen of the Office Fantasy Football League. Yes, somehow
Speaker 1: we have miraculously kept it together all these years. We
Speaker 1: have Steven to thank for that. If you haven't heard
Speaker 1: the last episode where Steven came on introduced the league,
Speaker 1: well you should definitely go and check that out. Look,
Speaker 1: this is a special day for me. I get to
Speaker 1: talk to k I get to talk to Stephen about
Speaker 1: football on this podcast. What could be better? Nothing as
Speaker 1: far as I'm concerned. So without further a year, let's
Speaker 1: get into it, shall we. First up is the incredible
Speaker 1: k Adams Bubble and Squeak. I love it. Bubble and
Speaker 1: Squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cookie every month left over
Speaker 1: from the nut before. Hey, Kay, what's happening are you?
Speaker 1: Where are you? I'm at home. I'm in my my
Speaker 1: very very high tech, sophisticated podcast studio. I have a
Speaker 1: soundboard behind. Oh my gosh. Aren't you supposed to live
Speaker 1: in these Hollywood hills? Aren't supposed to be seeing you
Speaker 1: on one of those star tours? How? How could I
Speaker 1: not have running to you yet? And my month's here? Well,
Speaker 1: I don't live right in the heart of things. Okay,
Speaker 1: you know this, let's not let's let's move on. But
Speaker 1: you do. Actually, what's your where where do you live?
Speaker 1: What's your address? I'm not giving you my dresser. I'll
Speaker 1: show you. Look how look how gross? Look how gross?
Speaker 1: L a I am, Oh my gosh, fabulous. It's really fabulous.
Speaker 1: She has a palatial pad. Everyone. This is what This
Speaker 1: is what happens when you work for the NFL. Well,
Speaker 1: this is what happens when you work for a sports book. Yeah,
Speaker 1: fan dual potato tatto listen. It is are very special,
Speaker 1: highly highly rated, and hasn't come out yet super Bowl episode.
Speaker 1: I want to talk to you about the big Game,
Speaker 1: but I do want to do just just a small
Speaker 1: touch on how the hell you got to where you
Speaker 1: are now. You went to Missouri? You you miss? Is
Speaker 1: that we call it missoo? Missoo? Damn it miszoo. That
Speaker 1: sounds like something entirely different. Zero, Yeah you miss, you miss?
Speaker 1: Sounds a little funny. Yes, I went. I went there.
Speaker 1: College is like the least part of any sort of
Speaker 1: path of six sixth Yeah, yeah, I don't know why
Speaker 1: didn't really, I didn't really pay attention in those like
Speaker 1: how to put a camera together and like go and
Speaker 1: shoot a package classes. I didn't really didn't. No, I
Speaker 1: worked at a sports bar at least pubbin Pool during college,
Speaker 1: and I would work these awful slow happy hours and
Speaker 1: guys would come in and sit at the bar and
Speaker 1: gals and the games would be on or something would
Speaker 1: be on it, and I would just talk talk shit
Speaker 1: about sports with people so much so that a guy
Speaker 1: that worked for serious sex and it was just getting
Speaker 1: a job and launching the fantasy sports channel was like,
Speaker 1: you should be on the radio, you should do this.
Speaker 1: I always sort of saw myself covering red carpets for
Speaker 1: the Office Season premiere, like I always wanted to be
Speaker 1: Juliana Ransick in the tight dress interviewing people because it
Speaker 1: looked so fun and easy, And then sports sort of
Speaker 1: dragged me in, which is cool. That is, I didn't
Speaker 1: know that it was literally about you talking shit at
Speaker 1: a bar and someone being like you talk kind of
Speaker 1: good ship. Yeah. I liked fantasy football because I had
Speaker 1: an older brother and I'm just naturally competitive, so that
Speaker 1: was easy for me. But I grew up Football wasn't
Speaker 1: my family, Like I Polish immigrant parents who don't speak English,
Speaker 1: like they don't know they're like Brady stud I think
Speaker 1: that like Brady, things they hear about are hilarious because
Speaker 1: the things that trickle into you know, the Giselle divorce
Speaker 1: played huge in my family. Just yeah, not like anything
Speaker 1: about anything else because it was the Bears in Chicago,
Speaker 1: and I never really like, we didn't really latch onto
Speaker 1: that soccer was really big. We were very Polish, community based,
Speaker 1: and my brother, you know, in order to assimilate and
Speaker 1: be cool, like, what are the kids talking about at
Speaker 1: school with our power ranger lunch boxes? Like football, Matt Forte,
Speaker 1: Devin Hester, like Grex Grossman. We have to talk about
Speaker 1: this stuff. So I followed his league and I always
Speaker 1: liked football, but it was never anything I was never like, man,
Speaker 1: I really want to be like Joe Buck and I
Speaker 1: want to be the first woman in a booth like
Speaker 1: I never really had that. It was very casual how
Speaker 1: it happened. But I knew I wanted to be in
Speaker 1: front of a camera, like I knew you wanted to
Speaker 1: be in front of a camera. Yeah, I knew I
Speaker 1: want to do some sort of news reporting or something.
Speaker 1: Football's football found me. Brian, Well, I'm glad that you're
Speaker 1: not Julietta Rancy. I'm just gonna say that, although she's
Speaker 1: lovely and asks exactly the questions you would expect her
Speaker 1: to ask, but I yes, I'm glad you you found
Speaker 1: this um obviously exploding as the host on Good Morning
Speaker 1: Football six years seven years? My math gets weird. Six
Speaker 1: to seven years? It was five years and then the
Speaker 1: Emmy winning year, So let's just call it that. That's
Speaker 1: the one that mattered, right, My last year I won
Speaker 1: the Emmy out the door, Brian, how many of those
Speaker 1: statues you got, Lyne around one? Really? Yeah? I got
Speaker 1: some SAG Awards too, though the heavier I didn't even
Speaker 1: So we win the Emmy six years work, they don't
Speaker 1: even give me an Emmy, And I was like, can
Speaker 1: I pay for one? Like? How does that work? Because
Speaker 1: I know how we're talking about. I'm not kidding the
Speaker 1: as far as I know, unless they completely lied to me.
Speaker 1: The host don't get Emmy's for the show for whatever reason.
Speaker 1: It goes to like the producers who who created the show,
Speaker 1: who deserve it. Everyone deserves them. But I don't think
Speaker 1: that Peter, Kyle, Nate or I got the statue. I
Speaker 1: asked for it at some point. Yeah, isn't that kind
Speaker 1: of weird? Well here's the thing. You can come over
Speaker 1: and hold mine, Okay, you want that? You can pretend
Speaker 1: that it's yours. All right, I gotta ask you really quickly.
Speaker 1: In a little bit, we're gonna be talking to the commissioner.
Speaker 1: You brought up fantasy football of the office Fantasy Football League.
Speaker 1: Eighteen years. Eighteen years we've been doing this office fantasy league.
Speaker 1: I gotta just bring it up. Okay, I make the championship.
Speaker 1: I've never won. Eighteen years, I've never won. I think
Speaker 1: I'm top three. The most we've discussed this before, I've
Speaker 1: never won. It all came down two. I wrote down
Speaker 1: the stats estimated before the last game of the weekend,
Speaker 1: one twelve point three for me, this was estimated, and
Speaker 1: the other person had one twelve point three. Oh as
Speaker 1: much of a coin flip as you could imagine. I
Speaker 1: had Knox and Josh Allen going and the final game,
Speaker 1: the seven was against the Cincinnati Bengals. That stops now,
Speaker 1: Thank goodness. Everything is okay with Tamar Hamlin. And that
Speaker 1: goes without saying you and I were texting at that time.
Speaker 1: The question is, how do you think that we should
Speaker 1: have resolved? It didn't. They didn't play, so it didn't happen, right,
Speaker 1: it didn't happen. So what I'm so curious to hear
Speaker 1: what your league did do. I took the year off
Speaker 1: of playing fantasy football because I just did not need
Speaker 1: the extra heart attack, and I've been learning sports betting,
Speaker 1: and I didn't need both. I don't know how I
Speaker 1: would resolve that you could do her game points, you
Speaker 1: could do I don't even know you could do to
Speaker 1: go into I don't even know what did you do?
Speaker 1: I lost? I mean, and it was I had decided it. Basically,
Speaker 1: it was as though they were injured and they were
Speaker 1: on my roster and they didn't play, and the game
Speaker 1: was Some people went to the next week. Some people
Speaker 1: took like an aggregate score thing. I was gonna say,
Speaker 1: you kind of like averaged your points per who who
Speaker 1: have I don't know how to how I would even
Speaker 1: weasel that. I would probably roll it to week eighteen.
Speaker 1: Those those were all meaningful games. They turned out to be.
Speaker 1: They turned out to be because of the situation. You
Speaker 1: just took an l You just benched your what do
Speaker 1: you do? What do you do? What you didn't? I
Speaker 1: didn't bench. It was Monday night, right, it's the last game,
Speaker 1: there's nothing, everybody's else is played, so what so who
Speaker 1: did you lose to a writer. I know they have
Speaker 1: the charm life you who you lost because of two
Speaker 1: bills and you are it's so poetic, Brian, speaking of writing,
Speaker 1: because you are of Buffalo Bills, of fantasy football. You
Speaker 1: make it there a bunch of times in a row,
Speaker 1: and you just can't you can't raise the trophy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: oh I am. And you know what, I'm like your
Speaker 1: hometown Chicago Cubs. There's always next year, right, isn't that
Speaker 1: what they what they say, There's always next year. You're
Speaker 1: nineteen Steve Bartman situation that I'll that knows where that
Speaker 1: guy is, God knows what kind of you know knows
Speaker 1: and mustache eyeglass situation he's rocking running around and then
Speaker 1: but then eventually, Brian, it's a story of hope. Eventually
Speaker 1: it will happen. It's a story of hope. I like that.
Speaker 1: I think that's going to be my team name next year.
Speaker 1: It's a story of hope. Um, the Big Game, the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. I can say super Bowl, so many people
Speaker 1: can't say. All these people say you have to say
Speaker 1: the Big Game, and I think that's like a sponsorship thing.
Speaker 1: I don't care about that. On this show, the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: The most I've ever heard is what do you think? So? Well?
Speaker 1: First off, did San Francisco have a chance if they
Speaker 1: don't lose both their quarterbacks? Yeah? I mean I was
Speaker 1: talking to Darius Butler, who had a great Just it's
Speaker 1: absurd we're talking about it today. How did you not
Speaker 1: have three quarterbacks dressed for that game? I don't know
Speaker 1: how could you not? But it's a cautionary tale. And really, Brian,
Speaker 1: it's a story of hope. It's a story of hope
Speaker 1: for future, tale as old as time. In these I know,
Speaker 1: but in these title games, like you have to dress three?
Speaker 1: I was. I was sitting there, like, are we going
Speaker 1: to get Christian McCaffrey throwing balls around the field? That
Speaker 1: would be amazing? You do you saw him? He was
Speaker 1: putting on the quarterback helmet. He was their emergency QB.
Speaker 1: It's crazy when John, when Josh went down, he was
Speaker 1: putting on the quarterback helmet and then Perty came out.
Speaker 1: I just don't understand. I don't under I can't understand it.
Speaker 1: I can't understand. Why not give it to Debo or
Speaker 1: McCaffrey to just throw the ball. I mean, you're down.
Speaker 1: Whatever it was at the time seven or whatever, it's like,
Speaker 1: you have to throw the ball. They're gonna load nine, ten,
Speaker 1: twelve in the box. It's gonna feel like And you know,
Speaker 1: if there's one coach that has like the mind to
Speaker 1: have that, it should be Shanahan. Like he's got the hardware,
Speaker 1: he's got the plays drawn up, like we've seen it
Speaker 1: in playoff games, planned plays where you've got Edelman throwing
Speaker 1: to a Mendola from Brady like it happens. They beat
Speaker 1: the Ravens, they sink like it couldn't. You couldn't lob
Speaker 1: something up. You don't have something in the holster Shanahan.
Speaker 1: Shanahan gets so conservative in big moments. I think not
Speaker 1: to be a psychologist here, as I'm not, but there's
Speaker 1: some major Shanahan scar tissue from twenty eight to three,
Speaker 1: from the Super Bowl from there's major like well when
Speaker 1: it gets to these situations, but the top I think so,
Speaker 1: I think he I think he gets conservd You saw
Speaker 1: it in the game previous when they won with Brock Pretty.
Speaker 1: He just didn't trust pretty as much and there really
Speaker 1: wasn't a reason to prettas in balling, and he just
Speaker 1: he gets a little a lot less aggressive in these
Speaker 1: big moments. Yeah, I think they could. I mean, they
Speaker 1: the number one defense. I don't know how Nick Bosa
Speaker 1: didn't show up in that game. I don't know how
Speaker 1: the defense let them down. Like offense kind of made sense.
Speaker 1: But I gotta say, like the Eagles, just seeing they both,
Speaker 1: I would say, like the Niners had the best team,
Speaker 1: Like that's what I would say, best team on paper
Speaker 1: on like they looked beautiful. But there's something about Nick
Speaker 1: Sirianni and it's the vibe of this Eagle squad. And
Speaker 1: he comes in there and he says, I'm going to
Speaker 1: start with the trenches and I'm gonna make the D
Speaker 1: line and the online sing. And now they're just running
Speaker 1: over everybody. Miles Sanders, you got job, Boston Scott, like
Speaker 1: they're doing that um and they did it at will
Speaker 1: against the Niners. And and Jalen Like the more I
Speaker 1: see and the more and the more I hear about him,
Speaker 1: Like the more I ask people like Lane Johnson and
Speaker 1: Brandon Graham, and I was talking to Miles, not Miles Standers,
Speaker 1: Boston Scott about this, like he just wants to be
Speaker 1: that guy, like when Carson wentz the building Jalen Hurts
Speaker 1: was the last one in the building like people think
Speaker 1: the Carson Wentz stuff happened and as quickly as it
Speaker 1: did and got bad because people were seeing Jalen Hurts
Speaker 1: is that guy, and so I'd be surprised if they
Speaker 1: don't give the chiefs hell. I agree with you. Look,
Speaker 1: you said something on paper, it seemed like the forty Niners.
Speaker 1: The run that they were on was very beautiful and magical,
Speaker 1: and they've got Debot and McCaffrey, and they've got those
Speaker 1: skill players. The Eagles. To me, you talked about knowing fantasy.
Speaker 1: I asked you about the fantasy thing. I know a
Speaker 1: little a little something about betting. The line made no
Speaker 1: sense to me that what that line at two and
Speaker 1: a half says is there are two equally matched teams.
Speaker 1: It's just that Philly is at home. And when you
Speaker 1: look at the offensive line and the defensive line, even
Speaker 1: the skill players on defense, you look at Jalen Hurts
Speaker 1: versus brock Purty. To me, the Eagles are are are
Speaker 1: better positionally as well, and they put it in even
Speaker 1: that made no sense to me. Yeah, I'm I'm just
Speaker 1: learning sports betting. I think I would love for you
Speaker 1: to come on my show, and I'm glad we're talking
Speaker 1: about this is I'm learning. I'm so I'm a tragedy.
Speaker 1: I'm so bad at it, it's very fun. I don't
Speaker 1: even understand. I just not do them ever, Like what
Speaker 1: do I do? Justin? I don't know what your deal
Speaker 1: is with Fan Duel. I don't know what you were
Speaker 1: required to do. The money line stuff is boring to me.
Speaker 1: No offense, Like is that riveting to you? That any
Speaker 1: of that's like calling just even just picks seems so
Speaker 1: beyondfest to me. The part is I can get like
Speaker 1: that's that's exciting, Like and if you if you hit,
Speaker 1: that's just just a bigger risk, bigger reward, right, So
Speaker 1: that's why I'm interested in that. But I think I've
Speaker 1: done with them, you know, FanDuel doesn't. I don't have
Speaker 1: to deal with them to have like whenever I feel
Speaker 1: like it, if I want to do it, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: we discussed. You know, they'll be like this looks interesting?
Speaker 1: What do you think? And I'm like, no, like they
Speaker 1: you know, there's there's listen, I'm telling you, I don't
Speaker 1: know what who these guys are that are like these
Speaker 1: wizards back there, what they're like algorithms and their advocacies
Speaker 1: and all this stuff, and like it's insane and what
Speaker 1: I've what I'm trying to learn and what goes on
Speaker 1: back there. Um, But they've been super cool about letting
Speaker 1: me dabble, you know, a hundred fifty passing yards plus
Speaker 1: for Jalen Hurts doesn't like who They don't want to
Speaker 1: give me that, They don't want to put that in
Speaker 1: my like boosted parley. But I was like that, so
Speaker 1: what I want to do. It's really cool about that,
Speaker 1: But I also don't know what the hell I'm doing,
Speaker 1: so I haven't won one one that one. It's interesting
Speaker 1: to me because you you talked about starting in fantasy.
Speaker 1: See when I see your parlays, and what she does
Speaker 1: is she'll do like what she said she'll do somebody
Speaker 1: you know, getting so many touchdowns or this many yards. See,
Speaker 1: it's individual, So you're sticking in the in the individual
Speaker 1: kind of from those fantasy routes, whereas I don't I
Speaker 1: don't touch those. I don't touch those. I mean in general,
Speaker 1: because I feel like I really don't know. I mean, like,
Speaker 1: unless I don't know, you probably have every head coach's
Speaker 1: phone number. But unless I know what the game plan is,
Speaker 1: I don't know is Roger's going to score, you know,
Speaker 1: throw two touchdowns or three? You know, are they going
Speaker 1: to hand it off fifty times or not? Or like
Speaker 1: after you're going to score touchdown like likely he's door. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but then you're but then you're paying really bad odds. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's my thing. Ever, that's what everybody gets on me for.
Speaker 1: They're like, why are you even doing this? It's like
Speaker 1: the other the expected value or whatever. I just want
Speaker 1: to I just need to win. And so I don't
Speaker 1: even know what I'll do for Super Bowl. I can't
Speaker 1: even imagine. I literally will talk. I'll give I'll give
Speaker 1: you something good. I don't want to get, like I
Speaker 1: see like the prop that's interests me, Like, no, I know,
Speaker 1: you know songs is really singing? Who is she bringing out?
Speaker 1: That's the stuff I need answers to Brian heads are tails? Heads?
Speaker 1: All right? Maybe we'll have a wager on that. I've
Speaker 1: never listened when you work for the NFL, although that
Speaker 1: that's all changing in front of our eyes, Like it's
Speaker 1: just it doesn't exist to you, like for me, do
Speaker 1: you understand, like really really right. I'm so you have
Speaker 1: no I would tell? Why would I not tell? I'm
Speaker 1: telling you no, definitely not in that world. But even
Speaker 1: before the for any job with the NFL, the fact
Speaker 1: that like like my people I know would go and
Speaker 1: like you know, they would have somebody to call before games,
Speaker 1: like talking about like like having a little fun and
Speaker 1: like what everybody just does this and nobody talks about
Speaker 1: it like that. It's insane. Well, what makes me like
Speaker 1: it's definitely changed since they've you know, draft Kings or fans,
Speaker 1: whoever is in business with the NFL. It always makes
Speaker 1: I know your fandal. It always makes me laugh when
Speaker 1: it and it's usually I know Al Michael's does it
Speaker 1: a little bit where there's it's it's late in the
Speaker 1: game and we'll say something like, well this touchdown was
Speaker 1: meaningful for some people, right like it makes the overhappen
Speaker 1: or you know, it cuts the lead from nine to
Speaker 1: three or whatever. I don't know. That always makes I
Speaker 1: hear him saying it. But I but I also like
Speaker 1: it's one of those do you have Do you have
Speaker 1: any subject Brian where it's explained to you at nauseum
Speaker 1: over and over again, like you're a five year old
Speaker 1: and you're still like, huh, that's sort of what this
Speaker 1: is like for me, And it shows interesting, Well, I
Speaker 1: have a horrible skill set of musicians, songs, albums, that
Speaker 1: stuff like. I can basically answer you know, what music
Speaker 1: are you listening to? And then beyond that, and they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: what album do you like? No Clube? No, No, I
Speaker 1: can remember Thriller Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. That was an album, right,
Speaker 1: I can I can do that, but I can't beyond that. No,
Speaker 1: I can't do Excited about Rihanna? Oh yeah, last year
Speaker 1: was good. Last year was great. If nobody's talking about Rihanna,
Speaker 1: I'm very intrigued by that. Last year there wasn't like
Speaker 1: crazy commercial they spent like a big billion dollars on Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was the same cost as one of your cameos costs.
Speaker 1: We weren't saying little, let's move on Cincinnati and who
Speaker 1: want to get the Chiefs? You distracted me the Chiefs?
Speaker 1: Were you surprised? Who did you? Who did you? Who
Speaker 1: did you think was gonna win? No? I love the Bengals.
Speaker 1: I know we both love the Bengals. Talk about this.
Speaker 1: I was disappointed You're a Cincinnati guy. I fell in
Speaker 1: love with the city. As you know, you're from there,
Speaker 1: my dad is from there. But when you were younger, right, yes,
Speaker 1: when I was young, Yes, that's home mid western vibe.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're not Carols down there, but three in
Speaker 1: the Chili they're han't. And uh I I really like
Speaker 1: the team, and I really I did not like I
Speaker 1: have a lot of text means it just like I
Speaker 1: don't like this energy. This we're going to go in
Speaker 1: there and like we own we own the homes thing.
Speaker 1: But I thought to myself, well, Joe Burrow, it doesn't
Speaker 1: care like he's not this team does not think that
Speaker 1: they're going to go dominate, that they're prepared, they're fine,
Speaker 1: they're cool. But the chiefs clearly just listened to all
Speaker 1: that stuff like onably so and so I'm just annoyed
Speaker 1: that anybody who says that there's no such thing as
Speaker 1: bulletin board material and there's no such thing as like motive,
Speaker 1: it all exists. It's all, it all exists, it's all real,
Speaker 1: and it wins people games. That's what I think. It's
Speaker 1: why Belichick, who is such a genius, will not let
Speaker 1: these players say anything. Everyone they won't say because he
Speaker 1: doesn't want to give any little little advantage in the meantime,
Speaker 1: And I know this for a fact, he'll print out
Speaker 1: every tweet, every awful thing said about any of these
Speaker 1: players are how they can't do it, and he will
Speaker 1: slip it to them in meetings all week long leading
Speaker 1: up to a matchup. So it matters, and it's played
Speaker 1: a broll. And I mean Travis Kelsey's to Ronie, I'm peeking,
Speaker 1: and I'm I'm I'm bengling, I'm peeking in my pants laughing.
Speaker 1: I think it's so funny. Am I watching w W
Speaker 1: E what's happening? The fact that I was just about
Speaker 1: to say is if you need any proof that what
Speaker 1: you're saying is true, that that stuff matters, It's the
Speaker 1: first thing he says after the game is over. He
Speaker 1: references the mayor of Cincinnati. It is literally the first
Speaker 1: thing he says. He doesn't even Yeah, that's all the
Speaker 1: evidence you need. It's so funny. I don't know the
Speaker 1: name of the mayor of Cincinnati, and this is like
Speaker 1: the biggest story in sports, and nobody knows, and everyone's
Speaker 1: so mad at him that nobody cares to ask. But
Speaker 1: do you have any I have no idea his name is.
Speaker 1: It's just that Cincinnati mayor. That's Cincinnati mayor. I know
Speaker 1: that missed the story. Cincinnati. That's the other funny part.
Speaker 1: Was Cincinnati boy he is he went to Cinacy first?
Speaker 1: Where did he go to school? The Kelsey's, both of them,
Speaker 1: let's look, thank you, University of Cincinnati. I didn't say wrong.
Speaker 1: To be clear, I did not. I did not indicate
Speaker 1: that you were wrong. I didn't say you were wrong.
Speaker 1: Where did Jason go? Oh my god, I don't know. Alabama?
Speaker 1: Oh no, I don't know Cincinnati. They both went to Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: Both went to Cincinnati while breaking news here on off
Speaker 1: the beat. Both the Kelsey's went to Cincinnati. All right,
Speaker 1: super Bowl Week, the parties, you go to all the parties. No,
Speaker 1: I haven't done that in a long time. When I
Speaker 1: saw Good Morning Football if the last year the game
Speaker 1: was in l A and we were up I think
Speaker 1: you remember we were up at like one am. I
Speaker 1: joined you guys, not you, I joined someone. I did
Speaker 1: the weekend edition. You know, I needed to do it
Speaker 1: closer to the game. They needed my site closer to
Speaker 1: the game. Makes sense. Yeah, I don't know if the Packers,
Speaker 1: ever go back and ever again? Will you go to
Speaker 1: the fartiest? I look, I find it. It's interesting to me.
Speaker 1: This is it's entertainment. It's it's all entertainment. Right. You
Speaker 1: think of sports being different from television shows. Yet on
Speaker 1: the list of the most watched television shows every year,
Speaker 1: the super Bowl is at the top. It's entertainment. So
Speaker 1: to me, the whole thing is fun. It's entertaining. I
Speaker 1: enjoy it. Are you working this year? I am. I'm
Speaker 1: going to Arizona. I mean I'm here right, this is
Speaker 1: this is a super Bowl episode of Off the Beat.
Speaker 1: So I'm in Arizona. I'm loving it. I haven't been
Speaker 1: to any parties. I don't. I don't love even if
Speaker 1: you know somebody that knows. I remember hitting you up
Speaker 1: Superbowl week in l A last year and being like,
Speaker 1: what are we doing, big guy, Let's go with the town,
Speaker 1: And then I was investing you didn't. Yeah you went
Speaker 1: to bed at No. Yeah no, I was working. I work.
Speaker 1: That's all I do is work. I know you're the
Speaker 1: smart You're You're Bryant. Is it the right way? I
Speaker 1: don't know about that. Who's gonna win? I don't know,
Speaker 1: why don't you face time or dgers right now and
Speaker 1: asking that's not playing spoiler alert. I don't know. I
Speaker 1: don't know, but here's what I think. I think both
Speaker 1: of the qbs are hurt. I don't know why I
Speaker 1: said QB, I don't ever say worry what worries you
Speaker 1: more Brian A shoulder on a quarterback or an ankle
Speaker 1: on a guy who can likes to go deep and
Speaker 1: likes to be mobile. I I feel like no one's
Speaker 1: talking about hurts is as much, which I don't know
Speaker 1: whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I
Speaker 1: hear breaking news here from me. Philadelphia is gonna rush
Speaker 1: way more guys then Cincinnati did last week. I don't
Speaker 1: know what was going on there. They could not get
Speaker 1: to the homes. I'm like, if you just get to him,
Speaker 1: if you just he's on one leg, get to him
Speaker 1: and it'll you're you win the game. And they couldn't
Speaker 1: do it. It was really weird. They will do that,
Speaker 1: and they'll they do it in waves. That's how they
Speaker 1: got to Brady that Remember, they kept adding new guys,
Speaker 1: I mean, Brandon Graham, the same guys around the team.
Speaker 1: They got veterans, they got young cats um Hassan Reddick
Speaker 1: is a total game changer. He's incredible. He's incredible, he's
Speaker 1: so scary, and he he wasn't nominated for Defensive Player
Speaker 1: of the Year, which I thought was crazy. I don't know,
Speaker 1: because there's so many ways to look at this. You've
Speaker 1: got Chris Jones who's playing out of his mind, but
Speaker 1: is he gonna do anything against that Eagles offensive line?
Speaker 1: Is the best offensive line? Like? Is that? I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go with you. I think it's oh man, I want
Speaker 1: the Eagles to him, but I'm scared the cheps when
Speaker 1: I think the Chiefs are going to pull it out
Speaker 1: because Mahomes just looked so good last week. He looked
Speaker 1: so good. And I think Jalen Hurts is hurt, and
Speaker 1: I think it showed in the game. It showed him
Speaker 1: that game. I agree with you, which is a crazy
Speaker 1: thing to say because what they won by thirty. I think, yeah,
Speaker 1: But I'm saying it's crazy to say that we're concerned
Speaker 1: about his health with with how much they dominated that game.
Speaker 1: But I'm with you. I think they're I think they're
Speaker 1: both hurt. It's can the Eagles run? They have that
Speaker 1: offensive line can they run all over the Chiefs like
Speaker 1: they did against the Niners. I would have to say yes,
Speaker 1: because they did it against the Niners, But I don't know.
Speaker 1: There's also the experience factor, Like I give the Eagles
Speaker 1: all the credit in the world because you know, the
Speaker 1: Chiefs they're trying to make a dynasty thing happen. They've
Speaker 1: had pretty much the same guys. They got rid of
Speaker 1: Tyreek Kill a couple offensive line than all of that.
Speaker 1: But the Eagles, like, who do you have there? You
Speaker 1: have your owners the same, and your GM Holley Roseman
Speaker 1: is the same. You have a different quarterback, you have
Speaker 1: different pretty much all different weapons you've got, you know,
Speaker 1: a whole different regime out there, a new head coach
Speaker 1: calling the shots, and you're back in it. That's more
Speaker 1: impressive to me. That's pretty cool. It's very cool. I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna be a great game. But your pick
Speaker 1: is the Chiefs. Begrudgingly, I don't. I don't love it,
Speaker 1: but uh, I don't know. I just want I want
Speaker 1: Siriani to be I just think Sirian need to make
Speaker 1: a like a just be crazy and have fun and
Speaker 1: make it happen. And I want to for a j
Speaker 1: Brown and Jalen Hurts. But the shoulder. I mean, if
Speaker 1: I'm judging it based off what I saw from Jalen
Speaker 1: last week, I gotta pick the better quarterback and that's
Speaker 1: the one that somehow on one leg did what he did.
Speaker 1: You heard it here first, You heard it here first.
Speaker 1: The Chiefs are gonna win. I'm going to take the Eagles. Okay,
Speaker 1: you can be contrarian. Are you making your way to Arizona? Uh,
Speaker 1: we'll see you know. I'm like a butterfly sting like
Speaker 1: a bee. I don't know what that means, but I
Speaker 1: might be there. Uh hey, kay, Adams, listen up in
Speaker 1: Atoms your new venture. Are you having fun? Yes, it's
Speaker 1: you know, it's a startup, so it's every day is
Speaker 1: like a you know, I let my hair on fire
Speaker 1: and then do it again the next day. But it's
Speaker 1: very I like building things. I like uh, I like
Speaker 1: startups and and sort of doing seeing seeing what the
Speaker 1: world is and content and the whole world is going
Speaker 1: towards the fan duels of the world and the freedom
Speaker 1: that they allow. You see with a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of sports personalities. I don't know if that that
Speaker 1: network life is for me Brian, So I'm doing I'm
Speaker 1: doing my own thing for now, but it's really fun. Well, congratulations,
Speaker 1: and you know, you know I would always come on
Speaker 1: and talk to you. But when I was researching this,
Speaker 1: I saw that, you know, on your poster it says
Speaker 1: that you have current and former NFL stars that come on. Brian,
Speaker 1: I've asked you to come on the ship. No, that's
Speaker 1: what it says. That was the pitch. That was the pitch. No,
Speaker 1: I open atoms with former and current NFL stars. Where
Speaker 1: does it say that? That's awful? So you'll have to
Speaker 1: go white my hair on fire and fix that that.
Speaker 1: We've had all sorts of people on. You'll see in
Speaker 1: super Bowl me too. If you're a Super Bowl and
Speaker 1: I don't hear from you and I see that you're
Speaker 1: spotted somewhere, Brian, I'm this is not going to be good.
Speaker 1: Feature me at a moment, very very soon. Now, Thank
Speaker 1: you so much for coming on, have a great week.
Speaker 1: Thank you for always being so supportive. You are a
Speaker 1: sick pup when it comes to sports, and I can't
Speaker 1: love it more. I love it. Thank you, thank you. Okay,
Speaker 1: thank you for stopping by. Look, I will come on
Speaker 1: up in Adams anytime you want, and yes, maybe I
Speaker 1: will see you at the end of the week in Arizona.
Speaker 1: And now, friends, please welcome the esteemed Fantasy football Commissioner
Speaker 1: of the Office Fantasy Football League, Steven Sulks. What's up, Stephen,
Speaker 1: Brian So good to see you. It's good to see you.
Speaker 1: How are you? Yeah? You too, you too? You're doing well.
Speaker 1: I'm doing well. Has the weather down south today? I
Speaker 1: have no complaints. I mean, it's rainy, it's rainy and cold,
Speaker 1: but it feels like football weather. I guess it's not
Speaker 1: quite Arrowhead at night, but uh it, it is a
Speaker 1: little chilly here in California. We have to talk about Stephen.
Speaker 1: As some of you may know, we just concluded our
Speaker 1: eighteenth year of the Office Fantasy Football League, one of
Speaker 1: the most dramatic or not endings in the history of
Speaker 1: the league. Ending another another very very messy ending. So
Speaker 1: give viewers a little bit of insight here um the
Speaker 1: Office Fantasy Football League. We began in two thousand five.
Speaker 1: I looked it up. Tell people a little bit about
Speaker 1: about the league. That league was started in two thousands five.
Speaker 1: I was not part of the league at that point.
Speaker 1: I came a year later, but um, it was all
Speaker 1: off this cast and crew, and um when when I
Speaker 1: got in it was the next year. And we've talked
Speaker 1: about this before, but how our draft went with the
Speaker 1: yellow legal pad and and just how old school it was.
Speaker 1: But um, we pretty much had a base of of
Speaker 1: managers for the whole time. I mean we I feel
Speaker 1: like we've had a good core. At least half the
Speaker 1: guys have been around since nearly the beginning, So it's
Speaker 1: become not only a long historic fantasy league. So there's
Speaker 1: a lot involved, a lot of connections and friendships in there,
Speaker 1: but it's a really for me, it's what a way
Speaker 1: to stay in touch with you and with so many
Speaker 1: from a part of my life that I just want
Speaker 1: to keep in touch with. Uh. There's cast, Yeah, cast,
Speaker 1: Why is you rain? John Andy Buckley? That's right, that's
Speaker 1: it right now? And you we had thank you? Yeah.
Speaker 1: And we have a sound guy, We've got a camera assistant,
Speaker 1: we have a p a writer writer, we have an
Speaker 1: old director who's also a husband of a cast member. Yes,
Speaker 1: J Fischer's husband. That's right. That was the that was
Speaker 1: the door that opened. He couldn't join until he had
Speaker 1: actually worked on the show. I think that was that
Speaker 1: was the original rule. I think that's why he actually
Speaker 1: pushed to direct an episode direct to get in to
Speaker 1: the office Fantasy Football League. Um, now, you have said
Speaker 1: in the past that being the commissioners, Steven has been
Speaker 1: the commissioner for a long time now, that it's like
Speaker 1: wrangling cats. This year any better? This year it wasn't
Speaker 1: much better. It wasn't much better. We still had. I mean,
Speaker 1: in fact, just listen, it's not much of an anti
Speaker 1: into this thing. We do have money on the line,
Speaker 1: but it's not much. That's wrangling is really with just
Speaker 1: getting a pool of money together. But I think it's
Speaker 1: so little that it gets past people's you know mind.
Speaker 1: So I still like to collect the money. But going
Speaker 1: into championship week, of the four teams that were there,
Speaker 1: three had not paid so so and I didn't even
Speaker 1: ask because I was going, well, if you win, then
Speaker 1: you're gonna have money coming to you. Might as well
Speaker 1: like limit the transactions here, then no transactions? All right, Look,
Speaker 1: we got to talk about the end. I posted it
Speaker 1: on my Instagram account. I made the Super Bowl, I
Speaker 1: made the Finals, and I've made the finals as much
Speaker 1: or more more than just about anyone. I've never won
Speaker 1: the damn thing eighteen years now, and we go into
Speaker 1: the finals and I looked it up, I wrote it down,
Speaker 1: I posted on Instagram the day of the game. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: I was projected to get a hundred and twelve point
Speaker 1: thirty five points. My competitor was locked was done at
Speaker 1: a hundred and twelve point thirty points. I had Josh
Speaker 1: Allen and and the tight end Knox, who by the way,
Speaker 1: caught a touchdown in the last four games that he played.
Speaker 1: This week of the finals was the Cincinnati Buffalo game,
Speaker 1: which was eventually canceled. Now you know it brings up
Speaker 1: we Stephen and I talked, I talked with Rain Wilson
Speaker 1: various other members about what we do, and ultimately there
Speaker 1: was nothing to be done. The game wasn't played, the
Speaker 1: points couldn't be scored, and all the various sights were saying,
Speaker 1: it's it's you know, it's it's just like if if
Speaker 1: one of the players got hurt and wasn't able to go.
Speaker 1: But nonetheless it's a loss, a loss for me. Your
Speaker 1: feelings about how we resolved, Yeah, let's start by saying, uh,
Speaker 1: thank god, DeMar Hamlin is is okay, right, thank god?
Speaker 1: Because of course I was watching the game and I
Speaker 1: have never seen anything like it ever, never seen anything
Speaker 1: like it, and never been more sort of scared nervous
Speaker 1: watching a football game in my life. It made me
Speaker 1: look on Amazon and see how much of de fibulary
Speaker 1: would be to have a home three thou dollars by
Speaker 1: the way, so I will not be doing doing that.
Speaker 1: But I was like, wow, if it's like bucks, I
Speaker 1: should just have one, right, I mean, but thank god
Speaker 1: he's fine and or he has survived, you know, and
Speaker 1: he looks fine. But when it comes down to just
Speaker 1: pure fancy numbers, a real bummer. I mean, like we said,
Speaker 1: it's messy, but it would have been okay to me. Two,
Speaker 1: I would have felt about the decision I made, along
Speaker 1: with taking into account what you had said. Rain. Rain
Speaker 1: had input too because he was in the game for
Speaker 1: third place and we all agreed and what to do.
Speaker 1: But I would have felt better if I hadn't added
Speaker 1: the points up for Alan and Knox in week eighteen
Speaker 1: and then added that to your score, because that was
Speaker 1: the only other option was do we just go to
Speaker 1: week eighteen and see what Alan and Knox have and
Speaker 1: add that to your score like manually and you you
Speaker 1: would have won by like a point and a half.
Speaker 1: I didn't know that. Yeah, I thought I'd wait till
Speaker 1: now to tell you was that was that? Other? What
Speaker 1: did other leagues do that? I had you because I
Speaker 1: looked under you know, I looked at a lot of articles.
Speaker 1: I also talked to some friends and stuff. Had one
Speaker 1: friend that that did do that. I thought it was odd,
Speaker 1: to be honest, I thought it was odd to me
Speaker 1: when Damar went down and they decided to cancel a game,
Speaker 1: which is so rare it has to be to me.
Speaker 1: It has to be like your player is injured, he
Speaker 1: just isn't playing, right, Um, the Damar injury became an
Speaker 1: injury for the entire field of players to me. Right,
Speaker 1: But yes, you would have the way I figured you
Speaker 1: would have won one third team point nine to have
Speaker 1: one twelve point three and I and to be clear,
Speaker 1: to be clear, you had mentioned that you've been in
Speaker 1: you had never won, but you've been in the finals.
Speaker 1: You've been in the finals three times, so you have
Speaker 1: three second place win three second places in this and
Speaker 1: you've been three You've been third four times, so you're you're,
Speaker 1: you're in there. You've got as many trophies as anybody,
Speaker 1: So it that that made me feel bad. I still
Speaker 1: the one that I well, look, I talked to somebody
Speaker 1: about this, and let's be very very clear. As Steven
Speaker 1: mentioned before, there is uh there is a buy in,
Speaker 1: a a friendly wager, if you will, but it is
Speaker 1: not a significant amount of money. I think that there.
Speaker 1: I have heard of some other leagues chopping the money
Speaker 1: for those in that. In this situation, it wasn't about
Speaker 1: the money. It was about winning because I haven't won
Speaker 1: and it didn't happen, and nothing was going to make
Speaker 1: that happen, unfortunately. I um, I looked back, I went,
Speaker 1: I went, I went into the archives. My team name
Speaker 1: was the Kevin's I then in two thousand six became
Speaker 1: Kevin's Accountants, and then I have stuck with the Bombers
Speaker 1: ever since. But you're actually B B Bombers. What wait?
Speaker 1: What's the b B Brian Gardener Bombers? Is that what?
Speaker 1: Because b B B B Bombers, Yeah, well I think
Speaker 1: that's name and team name. I don't know something like that.
Speaker 1: What are what are weird names? We always have one
Speaker 1: of our guys Chris Workman talk about Gore. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: he's still Gore in right now. And I think he
Speaker 1: used to be something like gorgeous Gore or something, you
Speaker 1: know like that. He loves stories. The Big Niners two
Speaker 1: Big Niners fans on the in the league. Of our
Speaker 1: other Niners fan is Mike Berlina, the prop guy. He
Speaker 1: he was a prop guy on the office. Is no
Speaker 1: longer property person. But his name is this year's name
Speaker 1: is the Crystal Ships. And that's been true for maybe
Speaker 1: like five or I remember. Raine used to have like
Speaker 1: a funny I usually have some funny names. But he's
Speaker 1: been Satan's Ballerinas for a long time. He's been Satings balerinas.
Speaker 1: He is, he is certainly into it. I will tell
Speaker 1: Rain offers the worst trades, and I will first off,
Speaker 1: let me say this, most points scored in the league
Speaker 1: this year. Me. That's a that's a fact. That's not
Speaker 1: a brag, that's not a humble brag. That's just a fact.
Speaker 1: Most points scored in the league. And I made a
Speaker 1: mistake on draft day, though it turned out to be
Speaker 1: a beautiful, a beautiful mistake. I I drafted Wattle and
Speaker 1: Tyreek Hill both as our two uh wide receivers, both
Speaker 1: from the Dolphins. I didn't really mean to do that.
Speaker 1: I think I was just looking at best available in
Speaker 1: the moment. Rain was on me immediately trying to get
Speaker 1: and offering me just garbage, heap material to try to
Speaker 1: get one. He's like, you can't have two guys from
Speaker 1: one team. Now. Of course they ended up both being
Speaker 1: way up there and fan see as wide receivers. But
Speaker 1: uh yeah, he's he's the worst. You've had him on
Speaker 1: the podcast to talk about that too, about what he
Speaker 1: how he feels about his offers. Yeah, I mean he's
Speaker 1: pretty straightforward that the way he negotiates is just completely
Speaker 1: low balls it at first was it didn't he say
Speaker 1: something like going to a bazaar or something like going
Speaker 1: going to like a flea market or that's what he
Speaker 1: tries to do. But then he bullies. That's his problem.
Speaker 1: He's a bully. He's a bullier. Um I look, it's
Speaker 1: so fun. It's so fun to do this every year
Speaker 1: because we do get back in touch and you know,
Speaker 1: whether we are directly trash talking or not on a
Speaker 1: week to week basis, it's so fun because it's by
Speaker 1: and large it is a very active and competitive league
Speaker 1: that people pay very close attention to. And so that's
Speaker 1: fun to know that we're still we're still going at
Speaker 1: each other well. And we've had a couple of times
Speaker 1: where we've gotten I don't want to say gotten rid
Speaker 1: of someone, but we've you know, they've left. We've had
Speaker 1: a couple of managers league because we so much about
Speaker 1: not paying up at Yeah, I mean, no names, right,
Speaker 1: but I mean you gotta be act. You can't. You
Speaker 1: can't have players on the on your on your roster
Speaker 1: that are on bye weeks. That doesn't you know that
Speaker 1: can't happen. I mean that. I just think that's what's
Speaker 1: meant for any No one should put up with that.
Speaker 1: No league, no no league, no league, especially this league,
Speaker 1: most important league. As you mentioned before, you're a big
Speaker 1: Saints fan. Any specific memories for the Super Bowl from
Speaker 1: you of Saints finally winning after so much time in
Speaker 1: the garbage heat so many times. I mean you grew
Speaker 1: up a Falcons fan. Now you could up a Falcons fan.
Speaker 1: I mean, we we know how rough it was for
Speaker 1: a long time, you know. So I remember just just
Speaker 1: seeing at halftime the Saints were they were behind, but
Speaker 1: they had scored a touchdown and think it was like
Speaker 1: ten seven or something at halftime of that Colts Saints
Speaker 1: game and just been like, we're just at least we're
Speaker 1: in it, like we're doing it. And to me that
Speaker 1: the memory of that game was just about Sean Payton
Speaker 1: and and his he just had huge balls that day
Speaker 1: and he's just really I mean with the on side kick,
Speaker 1: I mean opening of the halftime on side kick that
Speaker 1: changed everything. And I'll always remember at as a Saints.
Speaker 1: I think all Saints fans could can just go to
Speaker 1: their grave knowing, well, at least we we we won one.
Speaker 1: And that's you know, that's a good point. And when
Speaker 1: we talk about bad calls and stuff, there's still the
Speaker 1: Saint that Saints team is known to be a dirty team.
Speaker 1: And it goes down as like, you know, you've got
Speaker 1: what was it where they paid player what they called
Speaker 1: it bounty gate, right, and they were like, there's some
Speaker 1: rumors they were paying players to knock out different players
Speaker 1: or hurt players or something that there was some really
Speaker 1: like pretty borderline shots on Brett Farven that in NFC
Speaker 1: Championship game, right, I think people tend to forget about that.
Speaker 1: You know. I mean, I think you can come back,
Speaker 1: but there's nothing that you just kind of say it,
Speaker 1: and then you're just kind of maybe the sore loser.
Speaker 1: So I feel like, no matter what happens in this
Speaker 1: Super Bowl coming up, everyone's gonna forget about these championship
Speaker 1: games and and the and the you know, the bad revs.
Speaker 1: The calls where people remember the strangest things think of,
Speaker 1: like against the Saints that think of the Seahawks, and
Speaker 1: Rain still says it too, he is a big Seahawks fan.
Speaker 1: Marshawn Lynch is um run against US in the first
Speaker 1: round the playoffs the year after the Saints won. The
Speaker 1: Marshawn Lynch run that like he knocked over the entire
Speaker 1: Saints team and and carried them in the end zone.
Speaker 1: That's like one of the biggest plays for a Seattle
Speaker 1: Seahawks fan. It's like one of their biggest plays ever.
Speaker 1: They'll talk about. And they lost the next week and
Speaker 1: they they were done. I mean, think about Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 1: They had the miracle in Minnesota against the Saints too,
Speaker 1: no time basically no time left, the score touchdown like
Speaker 1: a Hail Mary type of thing, and score touchdown to
Speaker 1: win they still talk about that's like the Minneapolis miracle.
Speaker 1: It's like and they lost the next week. You know,
Speaker 1: it's it's not like it propelled them to the super Bowl.
Speaker 1: They lost. But that's what It's just odd what people remember.
Speaker 1: But I don't think we'll be talking about the bad
Speaker 1: calls from yesterday. I don't think we've talked about it
Speaker 1: too long. I think we're gonna say, hey, we're gonna
Speaker 1: be talking about, hey, Mahomes gets two weeks to rest
Speaker 1: up and he's going to be healthy. And and then
Speaker 1: you know, those fans will get the payoff of winning
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. They can never take it away from you, right,
Speaker 1: It's really great. I mean, as a fan has nothing
Speaker 1: to do with the game, nothing to do no influence
Speaker 1: at all. As much as we think that we're in
Speaker 1: a jersey or yelling at the TV is going to
Speaker 1: do something, it means something. And that's what's so great
Speaker 1: about sports. And so it's something I remember holding my
Speaker 1: daughter and my son was two weeks from being born
Speaker 1: when that when the Saints won Super Bowl, and and
Speaker 1: remember forever it was fantastic. You know. One of the
Speaker 1: things that fascinates me that I've been thinking about the
Speaker 1: last couple of days is sports and entertainment, or specifically
Speaker 1: the super Bowl and entertainment, And we what is on
Speaker 1: every list every year. The most watched television show every
Speaker 1: year is the super Bowl. So it's like we think
Speaker 1: of those things as being so separate. Sports their sports,
Speaker 1: and then their scripted television or there's reality television or whatever.
Speaker 1: But in terms of entertainment, which is ultimately what's what's
Speaker 1: on TV, the super Bowl is always listed. And because
Speaker 1: it is, more people are watching the super Bowl than
Speaker 1: than than anything else. How do you view it? Do
Speaker 1: you view it as entertainment or is it sports? Is
Speaker 1: it's something different? I think the super Bowl for the
Speaker 1: most part, except for that Saints game, is entertainment to
Speaker 1: me because you kind of go in with with the halftime.
Speaker 1: Entertainment's going to be even the national anthem, that's going
Speaker 1: to be right, there's two weeks up to it of
Speaker 1: this whole thing. You're following you know who, and you're
Speaker 1: watching press conferences. So to me, it's entertainment. I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously it is for so many people to watch that
Speaker 1: I have to think a big percentage of a fair
Speaker 1: percentage of those people are not die hard NFL fans,
Speaker 1: you know, they're just watching this. It's like, how we
Speaker 1: we'll watch the World Cup, Right, We're not watching soccer
Speaker 1: all year probably, I mean I'm not, but there are
Speaker 1: people around the world that are. But I'm saying we
Speaker 1: as a collective United States, we're not really that involved
Speaker 1: out of the Olympics. We're not watching gymnasts and volleyball
Speaker 1: players and the luge. We're not watching that all year round.
Speaker 1: But man, I'm really into the luge when it comes
Speaker 1: to the Winter Olympics because it's it's uh, it's it
Speaker 1: means something like on a bigger, a different scale, right, So,
Speaker 1: and that becomes entertaining. That's entertainment. I mean you look
Speaker 1: at thirty thirty and all these sports related shows that
Speaker 1: are so captivating, and I mean I can get my
Speaker 1: wife to sit down and watch a thirty for thirty
Speaker 1: and she's crying at the end. I mean, it brings
Speaker 1: what makes sports so great. It brings the feeling and
Speaker 1: the heart. And um, I I see that every year
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. Unless I've got a bet on it,
Speaker 1: I'm not really more than just entertainment. Really, well, that
Speaker 1: was going to lead me to my next question you
Speaker 1: are you? You a gamble and guy not like for
Speaker 1: entertainment purposes, for entertainment purposes, completely responsible, responsible betting. I
Speaker 1: don't think those two things go together. But I look,
Speaker 1: have you looked at the line? Is it pretty even now?
Speaker 1: Or what is it? It is as as we speak today,
Speaker 1: it is even. I don't think that's ever happened before
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. I can't remember it either. And
Speaker 1: I saw something interesting ESPN. I'm not doing an ad
Speaker 1: for ESPN, but ESPN has their f p I, which
Speaker 1: they call the Football Power Index. I'm not going to
Speaker 1: debate whether or not it's good or right or whatever,
Speaker 1: but I saw today the f p I has the
Speaker 1: Eagles favored at fifty point one percent over the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: which I guess would put them at forty nine point nine.
Speaker 1: That's how my math works so tight, I can't believe
Speaker 1: that it's that. It's very interesting. You've got two quarterbacks
Speaker 1: that are are both hurting a little bit. Clearly, I
Speaker 1: think Hurts does have a shoulder issue. Obviously Mahomes has
Speaker 1: his leg issue. That to me says the game is
Speaker 1: going to be one in the trenches, which clearly for
Speaker 1: me favors the Eagles. Are you do you have a
Speaker 1: lean who's gonna win the game? It's it is really tight.
Speaker 1: I mean this could go down. It's one of the
Speaker 1: closest like betting odds in first Super Bowl ever. I mean,
Speaker 1: it could go to just a pick them right. So
Speaker 1: you can go back and forth on this. But Mahomes
Speaker 1: really showed me something yesterday. I mean he was not
Speaker 1: healthy first of all, when he had the higher ankle sprain.
Speaker 1: That's like a week you're out weeks on for that.
Speaker 1: You know. I don't know how he he did it,
Speaker 1: but he looked good. You can tell he was hurt
Speaker 1: though in his line. Man, no he even touched him, nobody.
Speaker 1: He was so protected. They do such a great job.
Speaker 1: But those Eagles that that defense is just ready to
Speaker 1: make a play. That defense is ready to change it.
Speaker 1: And I really feel like a defense wins you the championship.
Speaker 1: Although this could be a really high scoring game. So
Speaker 1: let's go back and forth. Mahomes five years hosting five
Speaker 1: a f C championship games at home never happened before.
Speaker 1: Is this uh? Is this a dynasty that we're witnessing?
Speaker 1: I mean, he he definitely and he's still young. What
Speaker 1: I think of him and okay, you think of the goat, right,
Speaker 1: you think of Brady and you think of like where
Speaker 1: he was at this point in his career, Brady. You know,
Speaker 1: I think Brady won his first three Super Bowls at
Speaker 1: least so so you know, if Patrick wins this one,
Speaker 1: he'd be two out of three. Um, but Brady didn't
Speaker 1: have of the was an m v P like Mahomes
Speaker 1: has been. I think he's m v P twice. Mahomes
Speaker 1: has got a chance to like he wins. If if
Speaker 1: Kansas City wins this game, it changes a lot. This
Speaker 1: is really of will form his his career in a
Speaker 1: really amazing way. Like he's he's fantastic. But when you
Speaker 1: look at like a dynasty, if if if Kansas City wins,
Speaker 1: man it's it can happen. It's alive. Kevin Alane a
Speaker 1: big fan of the Eagles, he would be uh, he
Speaker 1: would be very happy. And you know, here's the crazy thing.
Speaker 1: With an entirely new roster and entirely new set of coaches,
Speaker 1: Philly has a chance to win two pretty close together themselves.
Speaker 1: It's very impressive to see how they have changed and
Speaker 1: adjusted this year. They're playing great football. It's it's really
Speaker 1: fun to watch. It's really fun to watch. Yeah, they're
Speaker 1: totally different organization and team. Really. I mean, there's nothing
Speaker 1: that reminds me of that championship team from five years ago,
Speaker 1: really the uniforms, but how fun. I have a I
Speaker 1: have a feeling that that this is a this is
Speaker 1: a very likable team. I have a feeling that the
Speaker 1: city of Philadelphia has really behind this team, like really
Speaker 1: enjoys this team. Maybe because they're young, but it feels
Speaker 1: like a team that has gotten the city swept up
Speaker 1: with them, if that makes sense. It does. It's crazy
Speaker 1: because you know, we were fans of teams and had
Speaker 1: a little bit of down years our teams this year,
Speaker 1: and you know, then you've got other teams that you
Speaker 1: kind of like or players that you root for, and
Speaker 1: then it comes down to it and you think, Okay,
Speaker 1: I don't even care anymore. I don't even care. And
Speaker 1: then these two weeks happened, and you hear the storylines
Speaker 1: and you follow the players and their stories, and you've
Speaker 1: got Andy Reid and you've got the whole deal, and
Speaker 1: I'm in. I'm hooked. I can't I can't help. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess it's I guess it's like what people who
Speaker 1: watch The Bachelor, if you want to call it reality TV?
Speaker 1: To me, sports That's how I would define it to me.
Speaker 1: Sports is is the best of of reality TV. We
Speaker 1: as a species are all into follow stories like this.
Speaker 1: I mean, humans do this. I never thought I would
Speaker 1: get so involved. I mean someone put on a show
Speaker 1: on TV like last year. I remember watching. I was like,
Speaker 1: I'll watch it with you guys, I guess, and then
Speaker 1: I'm like binge watching is this cake? You know, like
Speaker 1: or something ridiculous show that I'm like, oh, or yeah,
Speaker 1: The Bachelor or something. I'm like, what what? This has
Speaker 1: no meaning in my life? But it does right now,
Speaker 1: you know. So yeah, these two weeks of hype, man,
Speaker 1: you can get sucked in and it's gonna be fun.
Speaker 1: By the way, this is Cake was pretty bad. Yeah,
Speaker 1: spoiler alert. By the way, Uh, I want to ask
Speaker 1: you again about your podcasts. You host with Lorie who
Speaker 1: also worked on the Office Lest We Forget If We
Speaker 1: Knew then, a down syndrome advocacy podcast. You've had some
Speaker 1: amazing guests on how's it How's it going? And do
Speaker 1: you feel like you're you're making headway in in diverse
Speaker 1: casting and inclusion in Hollywood, as they call it. I
Speaker 1: feel like there's change being made. I mean there's constant
Speaker 1: change being made. You know. When we started the podcast,
Speaker 1: my son Liam, who is turning thirteen next month, it
Speaker 1: was born with downsta I know that's crazy. He was
Speaker 1: born and we were still, you know, working on the show,
Speaker 1: but he was born with Down syndrom and I mean
Speaker 1: it it blew us away when we got that diagnosis,
Speaker 1: It really did it. I felt like our whole world
Speaker 1: was crumbling. But that's natural because we only know all
Speaker 1: this negative stuff from what down syndrome is. If it's
Speaker 1: not only perception of what your child is going to be,
Speaker 1: but also maybe some health concerns and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: But as I've gone through this journey, we've seen a
Speaker 1: lot of great change. Inclusion is a hot word right now.
Speaker 1: Diversity is a hot word, and I think the down
Speaker 1: syroom community is willing to ride those coattails, you know,
Speaker 1: and try to be included in that. I didn't go
Speaker 1: to school with anybody with Down syndrome. I doubt you
Speaker 1: did either. They were usually put in another classroom, probably
Speaker 1: on the other side of campus. You didn't have recess
Speaker 1: in lunch with these these students, and so you didn't
Speaker 1: know him, and you may be made fun of him,
Speaker 1: and you they were an easy scapegoat. But having anyone
Speaker 1: in our classroom, including someone with down stit room and
Speaker 1: including them, changes lives. It's not just that having diversity
Speaker 1: in the classroom is something we should do just to
Speaker 1: do it. We should do it because it's good for us.
Speaker 1: I mean, I didn't go to school with anyone but
Speaker 1: people that look like me, you know, white Catholics. I
Speaker 1: went to a private school in elementary school and it
Speaker 1: wasn't until I was in high school that I went
Speaker 1: to school with anybody that was a different race than
Speaker 1: in me. And I mean I I missed out. So
Speaker 1: I do hear the call for oh, it's good for
Speaker 1: Lehm to be in the classroom and seventh grade and
Speaker 1: you know, so he can model off his off his peers,
Speaker 1: And I go, yeah, there's plenty of reason not to
Speaker 1: model off of the typical seventh you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So um, but you know, Liam brings stuff to the
Speaker 1: classroom too. He's an asset in the classroom as well,
Speaker 1: and I think that's what we're finding I think that's
Speaker 1: what people are starting to understand. But yeah, we've had
Speaker 1: some great guests on the show and and the last
Speaker 1: time I was on was in one I think And
Speaker 1: after that Liam I did a movie with Lina Dunham. Um.
Speaker 1: What what happened was we do a we participate in
Speaker 1: in the Easter Siels Disability Film Challenge every year, which
Speaker 1: is a weekend to make a film about diversity, have
Speaker 1: someone in it or or behind the scenes that has
Speaker 1: a disability. And Lena Dunham, I guess came across Liam
Speaker 1: and one of these films and and auditioned him and
Speaker 1: and he was in a movie called Sharp Stick with
Speaker 1: with her. She plays his mom and John Burnthal plays
Speaker 1: his dad. It was fantastic and she was able to
Speaker 1: come onto the show and and we talked about diversity
Speaker 1: in all different ways, not just disability. And then we
Speaker 1: we also had oh, we had Paul Tsori and his
Speaker 1: wife Michelle. He's a PGA torquaddy for Webb Simpson and
Speaker 1: his son Isaiah has a down syndermen. We talked to them,
Speaker 1: they're they've got a great foundation to story family's foundation.
Speaker 1: We also had Ted Green, who is a documentarian. He
Speaker 1: visited us to talk about his most recent film, The
Speaker 1: Best We've Got. It's the Carl Erskine Story. Carl Erskin
Speaker 1: was a Dodgers to picture, a long time Brooklyn Dodger
Speaker 1: picture and the later Ellie Dodger picture. He was a teammate,
Speaker 1: close friend of Jackie Robinson and then later on a
Speaker 1: father of a person with Down syndrome. And we just
Speaker 1: kind of talked about how he played kind of pioneering
Speaker 1: roles in in both those human rights movements, you know,
Speaker 1: which closely mirror each other, we come to find out.
Speaker 1: But it's been really fantastic. I think there's you know,
Speaker 1: we always want change to happen really fast, and that's
Speaker 1: just not how it happens, you know, so, but we're
Speaker 1: moving the right direction. That's awesome. Well, congratulations on that.
Speaker 1: It's always fun to talk to you. It was a
Speaker 1: heartbreaking but very strange. I mean, that was the thing.
Speaker 1: And when you and I talked, you know, me not
Speaker 1: winning once again, but as you said, with what was
Speaker 1: happening with Tamar Hamlet, it was like, well, we can't
Speaker 1: really complain about this. This is a dumb little game.
Speaker 1: This is a dumb little game. And I always know
Speaker 1: that fantasy is a dumb little game even compared to
Speaker 1: the actual games that are happening and people's livelihood and
Speaker 1: and and so forth. But in this situation, yeah, there
Speaker 1: was just sort of there was no complaining to be had. Uh.
Speaker 1: Enjoy the s pretty interesting, uh text with you, and
Speaker 1: your text to me really stood out as something that
Speaker 1: transcended the situation. You had said that, to be flat out,
Speaker 1: you thought Monday Night was going to be a shootout,
Speaker 1: and you felt very confident going into the game that
Speaker 1: you were going to win. And I get it, but
Speaker 1: I remember you saying, but you can't make a determination
Speaker 1: based on what ifs, and it is what it is.
Speaker 1: And I thought that that says a lot about you, Brian.
Speaker 1: And that's a great way to great at Youde obviously
Speaker 1: not just for fantasy football, but just yeah, well, Stephen,
Speaker 1: thank you so much. Thank you, Brian. It was great, Stephen,
Speaker 1: You're the best. Thank you for stopping by. And yes,
Speaker 1: this year, year nineteen, this is the year that I
Speaker 1: finally win the league. I know it. Listeners, thank you
Speaker 1: as always for tuning in. Have a great time watching
Speaker 1: the game, the Big Game, the Super Bowl on Sunday
Speaker 1: and then come back next week for another guest our
Speaker 1: Valentine's Day episode, So come and hang with me and
Speaker 1: someone who really really knows the weather. Until then, have
Speaker 1: a great week. Off the Beat is hosted an executive
Speaker 1: produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley.
Speaker 1: Our senior producer is Diego Tapia. Our producers are Liz Hayes,
Speaker 1: Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our talent producer is Ryan
Speaker 1: Papa Zachary, and our intern is Sammy Cats. Our theme
Speaker 1: song Bubble and Squeak, performed by the one and only
Speaker 1: Creed Bratton,