Speaker 1: From the King of Sports Books comes the Key Sports
Speaker 1: podcast Unleashed, presented by the MGM. Here's your host, Joanna's
Speaker 1: Papas and Olivia Harland Decker. Welcome in everyone. This is
Speaker 1: Unleashed by bet MGM, the King of Sports Books, and
Speaker 1: boy do we have a big show for you. We
Speaker 1: have a great guest, Meryl Hodge. He's going to be fantastic,
Speaker 1: former NFL running back, an advocate for brain health, brain
Speaker 1: injury in the NFL. So a lot of good updates
Speaker 1: on where we are there in the NFL. And then
Speaker 1: we have some exciting surprising news that's at the very
Speaker 1: end of the show, and that's gonna be a lot
Speaker 1: of fun. But first, we are coming off another big
Speaker 1: weekend in sports, from Mike White to Cooper Rush, Genos Myth,
Speaker 1: P J. Walker, Trevor Simeon, backup quarterbacks galore coming up
Speaker 1: with big wins and honest, I know you love this.
Speaker 1: The Steelers one without a kicker. How do you feel
Speaker 1: about it? I tell you it was a more exciting
Speaker 1: game to watch. I mean, the NFL called me up.
Speaker 1: I got ideas. I just you're so all in on
Speaker 1: this kicker thing. Please don't ask Meryll Hodge about it.
Speaker 1: I'm the only thing I'm gonna ask Meryll Hodge about
Speaker 1: is whether he became a tough football player because he
Speaker 1: has a named Meryl. That's a woman's name, and I
Speaker 1: really hope you don't ask him that either. Okay, the
Speaker 1: Rams are going all in. They traded for former Super
Speaker 1: Bowl m v P Von Miller. That is just scary
Speaker 1: dangerous for the Rams. They are so good. I kind
Speaker 1: of like the Rams to win it all. Might as
Speaker 1: well put that in here. Also had some unfortunate news
Speaker 1: for the Titans. Derrick Henry likely out for the year,
Speaker 1: and I'm really upset because he was definitely going to
Speaker 1: set the NFL rushing record with this new seventeen game schedule.
Speaker 1: It was just a matter of times that it's a
Speaker 1: major loss. But they bring in Adrian Peterson back in
Speaker 1: the NFL. We'll get to all that later. I think
Speaker 1: Joannest thinks that's a good move. I'm not so sure.
Speaker 1: So for once, Johannese and I are coming to you
Speaker 1: from the same city. Now we've done this once before
Speaker 1: in Las Vegas, but now we are on Janice's turf.
Speaker 1: We are in New York. Stday a Big Satday. Can
Speaker 1: you imagine me? Can you imagine little old me from
Speaker 1: Kansas making it to the big Stay. If you can
Speaker 1: make it hair, and you can make it anywhere, You're
Speaker 1: gonna be a big shaw Shure. I'll make you a show.
Speaker 1: Your name will be up in lights. Oh, hd oh,
Speaker 1: I'd like my name up in lights. If you can
Speaker 1: make it hair, you can make it anywhere. And I've
Speaker 1: made it here. I jumped on the train and I'm
Speaker 1: never going back. Mall, you're doing great, You're doing good.
Speaker 1: Je I'll make you a star. You've got what it takes. Kid.
Speaker 1: Johannes is probably sick of me because we've been running
Speaker 1: around New York City together and I've kind of created
Speaker 1: that a persona and I really am a girl from Kansas,
Speaker 1: And to be honest, every time I come to New York,
Speaker 1: I get a little overwhelmed. So I think I just
Speaker 1: have tried to keep up with the energy. Everyone loves
Speaker 1: New York's energy, right, yeah. I mean you're you're worried
Speaker 1: about walking one block. You were like, can I walk
Speaker 1: with a person? Will I get robbed and killed and murdered?
Speaker 1: And everyone told me New York has changed. Everyone told me.
Speaker 1: You can't walk alone. So I had you. I had
Speaker 1: John Franklin. You guys are a couple of goons. Your
Speaker 1: a couple of locals, and I felt very safe walking
Speaker 1: to the next game with you. We also went to
Speaker 1: Jersey City and we preview the Monday night for Giants.
Speaker 1: Chiefs are two teams. I mean we took you everywhere.
Speaker 1: This is New York. We took you to Jersey We
Speaker 1: took you down to Times Square. I got you a slice,
Speaker 1: I got you a bagel. I mean, you don't I kid, Well,
Speaker 1: that was very fun. I I really I'm going to Washington,
Speaker 1: d C. After this, and I feel like I can
Speaker 1: breathe a little bit the further down south I go.
Speaker 1: But I don't know. Hey, we also got to see
Speaker 1: Peter Andrews building, but we didn't get to see Peter
Speaker 1: andrew in person. Yeah, Peter Andrews living in Style. What
Speaker 1: a beautiful building. Peter. Tell them to get us more tickets. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you were on that one. I could only get us
Speaker 1: three tickets. We watched the Raptors at next game, Raptors one. Really,
Speaker 1: it was a bad week for me to be in
Speaker 1: New York as I was cheering against the Giants and
Speaker 1: against the Knicks, and both teams that I was rooting
Speaker 1: for one So sorry, sports fans, I'll stay home. Yeah
Speaker 1: we are. We can't wait for you to get on
Speaker 1: that train fast enough. Get out of town you brought us.
Speaker 1: I really am taking a train out of here with
Speaker 1: train out of the mid saday. Yeah, just get out
Speaker 1: of here. O h D. You've given us horrible. Look.
Speaker 1: You know someone who did not have as great of
Speaker 1: a weekend as us is Joey Watson brad be All
Speaker 1: the week he put his money in Florida State. They
Speaker 1: didn't cover plus nine because of a meaningless last second
Speaker 1: bumble recovering the end zone. Now that's what we call
Speaker 1: a bad beat. You actually lost twice because of it.
Speaker 1: So Joey Watson, my man, I'm so sorry, but we're
Speaker 1: gonna try to make it up for you. We're going
Speaker 1: to give you a hundred dollars a bet MGM credit
Speaker 1: so you can try your luck again this week. Man.
Speaker 1: Florida State, and I know this was just a cover,
Speaker 1: but they've had a tough season. Yeah. The Notre Dame
Speaker 1: was at the beginning of the year. You I feel
Speaker 1: for you. Joey Watson to make sure you submit your
Speaker 1: bad beat every week to at bet MGM on Twitter,
Speaker 1: and we're going to announce the winner on the podcast.
Speaker 1: You've got to listen to the podcast and you'll get
Speaker 1: your hando in bet MGM credit. Okay, honest, are you
Speaker 1: ready to unleash? Let's on. It's time. Now we're gonna
Speaker 1: do this a little bit different. So Jannie and I
Speaker 1: we mentioned went to the next game and we had
Speaker 1: a lot of fun. And here's what I want to
Speaker 1: unleash about is sports fans at a game. So we
Speaker 1: sit down in our seats, right, honest, and there's a
Speaker 1: couple that gets up and they say, excuse me, we're
Speaker 1: right over there, and we're saying, okay, yeah, and we
Speaker 1: do the kind of polite the almost stand up but
Speaker 1: not full stand up thing, and they get past us.
Speaker 1: But then they just stand there and we're all kind
Speaker 1: of looking around. I can't just sit down right, just
Speaker 1: sit in your seat, and we're looking around. They're not
Speaker 1: sitting okay there in the wrong row. Okay, well we
Speaker 1: can understand that, right, So we do the other kind
Speaker 1: of yep, sure, here you go, buddy. They moved past us.
Speaker 1: They come back, they're still confused, and we're like, oh,
Speaker 1: so was this the right row? Right? They leave again,
Speaker 1: so these people are all confused. Then they end up
Speaker 1: in the row in front of us, so our whole
Speaker 1: row is kind of chuckling, right, and then they end
Speaker 1: up coming back with food. They're they're a mess. They
Speaker 1: keep coming back and forth, and at some point, and
Speaker 1: I kind of have a mouth on me and I
Speaker 1: was in a great mood. I didn't say anything. I think, ye, honest,
Speaker 1: you might have said something to him, did you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I know. I tripped them and then I threw water
Speaker 1: on their head like Jackson Mahomes. That's called pulling to
Speaker 1: Jackson mole. Yeah. I mean they needed to sit down.
Speaker 1: I felt like I was at the State of Union address.
Speaker 1: They kept standing up, sitting down. I wanted to say,
Speaker 1: sit the funk down, trying to watch her she's trying
Speaker 1: to watch her husband celebrate. Yeah. It was just annoyting
Speaker 1: and just got me thinking there are bad fans out there,
Speaker 1: and it's just it's whether they're going to the bathroom
Speaker 1: a lot, or they're going to get a bunch of drinks,
Speaker 1: and if it's a really good game. I think this
Speaker 1: applies more in the NFL because there are fewer games.
Speaker 1: If it's a really good game and you're really hanging
Speaker 1: on every play, and there are these people who just
Speaker 1: aren't paying attention and they're talking and they're drinking and
Speaker 1: they're messing around taking pictures. Don't you just hate those fans?
Speaker 1: You're just like, get out of here, go stand around
Speaker 1: in the concourse if you're going to do this. I
Speaker 1: hate them. I hate them. Oh h D, I'm with you.
Speaker 1: I mean, people got to learn how to be fans. Uh,
Speaker 1: nobody better to teach them. You can make some side
Speaker 1: money teaching people how to lambo and teaching people how
Speaker 1: to be classy fans who have some decorum about them. Yeah,
Speaker 1: just a little decorns all I'm asking for. And just
Speaker 1: don't make me stand up a lot. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm watching my game. Just don't
Speaker 1: make me stand up a lot. Okay, honest, that's your unleash. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, I got a lot of things on leash,
Speaker 1: and I want to unleash on those fans too, because
Speaker 1: you know, I had my guest, my co host, my
Speaker 1: good friend O h. D in town and you guys
Speaker 1: were new Yorkers. You made a bad impression, So I'm
Speaker 1: mad at you. I'm mad about a lot of things.
Speaker 1: One of the things I'm mad about is Nick fans
Speaker 1: right now annoying me with their hyperbole. Okay, the Knicks
Speaker 1: just started the season, they won a few games, and
Speaker 1: now Nick's fans are going crazy talking about how they're
Speaker 1: gonna win the East and there's only one team better
Speaker 1: than the Bucks. They just lost last night to Sam
Speaker 1: Decker and the Toronto Raptors. There's only been six. Hey,
Speaker 1: that was condescending. That was condescending. No, I'm just saying
Speaker 1: because he's on the team. Can you guys just calm down.
Speaker 1: It's the beginning, all right. You're you're you're setting yourself
Speaker 1: up for major disappointment by going too hard and thinking
Speaker 1: this is the best thing since Patrick Ewing. Just calmed down.
Speaker 1: That's my one unleash. My second unleash is can people
Speaker 1: stop pretending like T shirts are is like free money?
Speaker 1: I mean those T shirt guns come out and women
Speaker 1: start taking their tips out and they start offering their
Speaker 1: firstborn babies. People will do anything for a T shirt.
Speaker 1: It's a five dollar T shirt made in China. Who
Speaker 1: we're supposed to be boycatting right now because we're in
Speaker 1: a trade war with them. Don't support China. Don't buy
Speaker 1: the fucking T shirt. They should be throwing something better,
Speaker 1: Throw me money. I will tackle a pregnant woman for money,
Speaker 1: but for a T shirt. I am not getting out
Speaker 1: of my seat for a T shirt. Now. That's just
Speaker 1: simply not true, because when those T shirt cannons came out.
Speaker 1: Ye honest, I've never seen you move so fast. You
Speaker 1: were out of your seat, you were shaking it, you
Speaker 1: were dancing. I think your shirt did come up as well,
Speaker 1: since you brought it up, and I think you were
Speaker 1: running those T shirts, So I don't know you busted, Okay, busted,
Speaker 1: damn you. You dropped dime on me. Yeah. I will
Speaker 1: do anything for a T shirt. I will even suck
Speaker 1: your for a T shirt. Whoa, whoa, whoa, Now, I
Speaker 1: will do anything. As we're walking around New York City,
Speaker 1: this isn't an unleash, but more of an observation. You
Speaker 1: were famous, I am I am not famous. Yes, yes
Speaker 1: you are famous. People are coming up to him in
Speaker 1: the street. Johannese, it's you, Joannest. I love you. I'm
Speaker 1: telling you multiple people. I was like, look who I'm with.
Speaker 1: I suspect they did that because they were too shy
Speaker 1: to say, oh my god, it's O H D. And
Speaker 1: so I think that was just a decoy, and because
Speaker 1: I could tell the whole time they were just looking
Speaker 1: at you, okay, and did you pay these people? They
Speaker 1: did look a lot like you are these cousins. I
Speaker 1: don't know, or maybe they thought that we were with
Speaker 1: Yanni the singer, because you know, the guy we were
Speaker 1: with looks he works for bed MGM, and he looks
Speaker 1: it was John Taylor Franklin, John Franklin. Sorry, I you know,
Speaker 1: I had a long weekend of drinks last night. John
Speaker 1: Franklin looks exactly like the singer Yanni, and it's hilarious.
Speaker 1: So it looked like we were and you look like
Speaker 1: you could be you could be Taylor Swift girl. I
Speaker 1: mean you got presents, a gravitas, thank you. I'll take
Speaker 1: the gravitas anyway if it meets it's mine name in
Speaker 1: the lights. Um. It was a really fun night. Another
Speaker 1: big hot take. If you go to a NIXT game,
Speaker 1: if you go to MSG, get Mike's Hot Chicken. This
Speaker 1: is not an ad. It was just delicious. We both
Speaker 1: wolfed them down. It was chicken tenders with this hot,
Speaker 1: spicy chili infused honey. Oh my god. Yeah, Well, you
Speaker 1: know what I was gonna unleash on you for not
Speaker 1: sharing any of those with me, So you gotta go
Speaker 1: get your right. But now I know why, and that
Speaker 1: is coming up at the end of the show. So
Speaker 1: just a lot of fun to get to again. Merril
Speaker 1: Hodge is coming up, and then Peter Andrew as we
Speaker 1: look ahead at this weekend slate of NFL games, and
Speaker 1: then a big surprise at the end of the show.
Speaker 1: We're gonna have a lot of fun. But honest, thank
Speaker 1: you again for showing me around New York. Let's get
Speaker 1: to Meryl Hodge. He's coming up. Merril Hodge is a
Speaker 1: former NFL running back. You played eight years for both
Speaker 1: the Steelers and the Bears. You've also seen him on
Speaker 1: ESPN as an analyst. He actually used to work with
Speaker 1: friends of the podcast Ron Jaworski. I'm sure you two
Speaker 1: had no fun at all, Merrill. How's working with Ron?
Speaker 1: Let me just tell you this, and I hope this
Speaker 1: doesn't go anywhere. That guy was the best guy to
Speaker 1: work with. I haven't worked with. Honestly, he was He's
Speaker 1: the greatest guy on the planet. If you already worked
Speaker 1: with him. You know, I left my first studio show
Speaker 1: and there was one thing that I confirmed when I
Speaker 1: left the first show ever did with the our first
Speaker 1: NFL matchup show. I'm like, I will never ever ever
Speaker 1: step on set and not be prepared with that dude
Speaker 1: because he was always prepared, so he was standard. I
Speaker 1: learned so much from him, and we had a great chemistry.
Speaker 1: We just had a great chemistry and I loved every
Speaker 1: menu to work with. That's awesome. You know, we think
Speaker 1: of you primarily as a stealer obviously, but you're still
Speaker 1: very active with the team. So what are your impressions
Speaker 1: after this big win over the Browns. That's such a
Speaker 1: fun rivalry. Yeah, well you know that. I mean I
Speaker 1: experienced that rivalry eighty seven. It was our second game.
Speaker 1: It was seven. Those people who remember nineteen said we
Speaker 1: went on strike that year and one thing that we
Speaker 1: were gonna do as players, I mean, this is gene
Speaker 1: upstaws brilliant idea. Obviously, he didn't consult with all the teams,
Speaker 1: which he didn't. He's like, we're gonna show where unified,
Speaker 1: which we weren't, and we're gonna shake hands before the game.
Speaker 1: Well there was only one game and two teams that
Speaker 1: did not shake hands before the game, and that was
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh and Cleveland. When we were in Cleveland, it was
Speaker 1: I mean, that rivalry goes way back. Even after it
Speaker 1: went away, it's come back. And now that Cleveland is
Speaker 1: getting better, which listen, every step a fan wants Cleveland
Speaker 1: to be good. I mean that just makes the robbery
Speaker 1: even better. I mean, games like you know we just
Speaker 1: saw on Sunday are so much better than you blow
Speaker 1: out somebody. You know by twenty one points. People could
Speaker 1: sit there and go, oh they like that bowl. You
Speaker 1: like it when it's it's tied, it's competitive. You know.
Speaker 1: That's what makes the rivalry great is when two teams
Speaker 1: are really good and and for the Steelers to win
Speaker 1: that one actually speaks volumes too, how far they've come
Speaker 1: versus where they were on their especially their offensive side,
Speaker 1: and I think it was lost in that game. Is
Speaker 1: why Ben will be a Hall of Famer. You know,
Speaker 1: the touchdown Plass to friar me with everybody that I mean,
Speaker 1: that was on Sports Center, right. This is why I
Speaker 1: say TV lies, highlights truly lie. You can only tell
Speaker 1: the truth about a tape, about a game and a player,
Speaker 1: and um is by watching tape, I mean, and to
Speaker 1: show evidence of that. Why do you think coaches and
Speaker 1: players watching? I mean, if if you watch, if TV
Speaker 1: told you the truth and highlights, why didn't Why wouldn't
Speaker 1: players just watch TV and highlights they tell you nothing.
Speaker 1: So in that play, it was interesting Bend moves n
Speaker 1: Jay Harris over to the left side, and the reason
Speaker 1: he moves him to the left side was to help
Speaker 1: block because Myles Garrett's over there and it was a
Speaker 1: short end, a short corner and he needed time. You know,
Speaker 1: notice if you watch that play, Ben actually pumped. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna tell this, Nobody pumps on the two yard line.
Speaker 1: You don't have time to pump unless you're protected. And
Speaker 1: there's just little things like that that you get this see.
Speaker 1: You know, when you watched Faith, after you watch the game,
Speaker 1: you go back and look at it. I mean, he
Speaker 1: played a master game from that perspective of given himself
Speaker 1: time or getting rid of the football before those d
Speaker 1: drushers could get there, and for their officers line to
Speaker 1: play the way they've played trying to play together as
Speaker 1: a team, the way they've played based on you know,
Speaker 1: the way they lost their you know, three in a row.
Speaker 1: It's it just it just speaks the volumes. When I
Speaker 1: say teams win championships, you can't. No quarterbacks done it,
Speaker 1: no defense has done And people that argue that, I'll
Speaker 1: show me the game or only the defense played, You
Speaker 1: show me that, then I'll shut up. It showed me
Speaker 1: to show me to play. The quarterback just played. They're
Speaker 1: happy teams win championships, so there's a big win for them.
Speaker 1: I mean, but there's still a lot of football to go,
Speaker 1: and the good thing for them is they have a
Speaker 1: lot of growth still go. And as far as getting better,
Speaker 1: I agree with you about that that highlights aren't the
Speaker 1: full story. I feel the same way about movie trailers.
Speaker 1: You know, you got to see the movie trailer and
Speaker 1: then you see the movie and it's a piece of crap.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's you're right, the truth exactly right. I've
Speaker 1: seen trailers too, and I'm like, all the funny stuff
Speaker 1: was in the trailer before. You mentioned the chemistry that
Speaker 1: you and Ron had, and you're mentioning what makes a
Speaker 1: championship team, how important is chemistry? How important is chemistry
Speaker 1: with that many guys in a game like football? Do
Speaker 1: guys need to like each other? Does there need to
Speaker 1: be chemistry for a team to win or can it
Speaker 1: just be talented guys who work together and then hate
Speaker 1: each other when they leave. Well, listen to environments, the
Speaker 1: most successful environments I've ever been in. Now, I wouldn't say,
Speaker 1: you know, when you say you know you like one another,
Speaker 1: you know, that doesn't mean that you go do stuff
Speaker 1: together when you leave the locker room, you know, but
Speaker 1: when you enter the locker room, you have a respect
Speaker 1: and and a love for one another because at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, okay, we're all Steelers or all Bears,
Speaker 1: you know, whoever our team is, I mean, and and
Speaker 1: we want to play for one another. We want each
Speaker 1: other to be successful, do whatever we can to help
Speaker 1: the team. And it really comes down to being selfless
Speaker 1: at times. And if you have a bunch of those
Speaker 1: players and understand your role, you embrace your role. And
Speaker 1: that role might change during you know, during the course
Speaker 1: of your career, like you know in my case, and
Speaker 1: it did. And I've I've always felt that a team
Speaker 1: that you that liked each other in the locker room
Speaker 1: just had better chance to be successful during the ad
Speaker 1: birst times versus dissension, you know, because I've had that too.
Speaker 1: You know, I've had the locker room wasn't at peace.
Speaker 1: You know, we had a lot of turmoil, and when
Speaker 1: things went bad, it got even worse because we didn't
Speaker 1: rally for each other. So I do believe that there's
Speaker 1: there is a true benefit to that when you have
Speaker 1: that as a team. You know, I've been to Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: I've been to Steelers games, and the fans there are
Speaker 1: die hard. It's black and gold, three sixty five days
Speaker 1: a year. There's the terrible towels, the whole thing. What
Speaker 1: were some of your favorite things about playing for such
Speaker 1: an iconic organization, truly one of the most iconic the world. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe I'll tell you something. It was probably
Speaker 1: the first time ever walked in that in the in
Speaker 1: the three Rivers stadiums. I throwed three Rivers out there living.
Speaker 1: I'm probably like he tried to remember three River stadium
Speaker 1: It's like some people might not understanding three River stadiums.
Speaker 1: That was the original stadium, you know, So when I
Speaker 1: first walked in was my first coach. I played for you,
Speaker 1: and I played for Bill Tower for a long time.
Speaker 1: My roommate was Mike Webster. My locker that I locked
Speaker 1: in lockered in was actually Donnie I mean Ronnie Franco Harris's.
Speaker 1: I locked her next to Donnie Shell. When I stepped
Speaker 1: into the huddle for the very first time, I looked over.
Speaker 1: John Stalwart was in the huddle, and Mike Webster so,
Speaker 1: and Joe Green was our defensive line coach. And then
Speaker 1: it wasn't two weeks during the season when Mel Blunt
Speaker 1: comes walking in or Lynn Swan comes walking in. So
Speaker 1: now as a kid watching these guys when Super Bowls,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm in junior high, Um can't wait get
Speaker 1: back to math class because of Michelle who likes the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: and I can't wait to rupt their face about this
Speaker 1: dealers with me, okay, So to just experience that I
Speaker 1: could stop there and they say that was, you know,
Speaker 1: tending to see the standard that was set, you know,
Speaker 1: in the expectations and how they all are not just
Speaker 1: as football players, but his people really resonated with me.
Speaker 1: You know. But when I think of the fans and
Speaker 1: the reason I truly love the fans, and they listen.
Speaker 1: Evean rod Orski has admit this too. Here's a lot
Speaker 1: of people who admit this later on they're like, man, see,
Speaker 1: the fans are the best. I mean they really all
Speaker 1: the best because they are. Here's what they He'll never
Speaker 1: admit admitted to me. He admit it to me. He
Speaker 1: will never say he's making up stuff. I can hear
Speaker 1: him doing it. That mean said, because we talked about, like,
Speaker 1: you know, like this, if I still I can still
Speaker 1: walk downtown Pittsburgh and you'll just be walking. And he was, hey, Meryl,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't think there's anything cooler than that
Speaker 1: the fan. Here's what the fan appreciates is they appreciate
Speaker 1: you give everything you got. You know, do they want
Speaker 1: to win super Bowls? Of course have been. They've been
Speaker 1: spoiled rotten for that aspect, But then they don't. They're
Speaker 1: not losing. They don't lose sight of your your commitment
Speaker 1: to playing and how hard you play and how you
Speaker 1: represent yourself, and that is ultimately what they want. You
Speaker 1: represent yourself even in a loss. They respect that. And
Speaker 1: I've always loved that about the fans there. They have
Speaker 1: a real genuine balance and it's still this the only
Speaker 1: stadium I've ever been to where I mean it's about
Speaker 1: jerseys and I've ever seen that. I mean, it's like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh when I first were pulled in and
Speaker 1: it's no different today. They have fun place in my heart.
Speaker 1: And then playing in Chicago, you know, you got to
Speaker 1: see another you know, the NFC and Walter Payton was
Speaker 1: my favorite player. So the experiences that I have there
Speaker 1: to see their fan base and their fan base, it
Speaker 1: is very interesting the ownerships, the history, and how the
Speaker 1: fan bases are very similar. Speaking of Stealers fans, what
Speaker 1: do you think they think of Mike Tomlin's fake field
Speaker 1: goal near the end of the first half that ended
Speaker 1: up causing Chris Boswell to miss the rest of the
Speaker 1: game and have the Steelers without kickers this last week. Well,
Speaker 1: well here's something because they wanted this is not could
Speaker 1: you imagine they lost unless they lost by let's just
Speaker 1: say they lost by one point? Yeah, okay, so I
Speaker 1: even got to tell you what would be happening if
Speaker 1: that were to happen. So they want Now, Now that
Speaker 1: being said, here's the first thing that the first thing
Speaker 1: that came to my mind was just what you said,
Speaker 1: how people talk about the coaches and there will be
Speaker 1: no responsibility to Chris Boswell. I'm gonna tell you this,
Speaker 1: there's no play that you ever do like this where
Speaker 1: you don't walk through every scenario known demand kind. And
Speaker 1: now it's the player's responsibility. I will promise you this
Speaker 1: that they told him, if there's nobody open, if there's
Speaker 1: nowhere to go at the ball, stow it away, stow
Speaker 1: it away, and then nobody he said, hey, hold it
Speaker 1: to the very last second so they can pop you.
Speaker 1: Nobody said that. Nobody coached that way. Not they did.
Speaker 1: You have to fire that coach. But I can tell
Speaker 1: you this from doing trick Gadget plays like that, you
Speaker 1: walk through every scenario you could possibly. That's why I
Speaker 1: always used the coach has all the power but no control.
Speaker 1: Once you walk inside the white lines of that football field,
Speaker 1: it's all on you. And for Boswell to hold the
Speaker 1: ball that long, you know, it's really on him. He
Speaker 1: should have got rid of that ball a long time ago,
Speaker 1: you know. So that's a lost side in this. A
Speaker 1: player's responsibility in executing a play or not putting himself
Speaker 1: in harm's way. So you know, I don't know that
Speaker 1: I don't know what his status is for this week,
Speaker 1: but I would assume that he would be able to play.
Speaker 1: But if they don't, they'll have somebody off off waivers
Speaker 1: to kick. At least have somebody to kick, you know.
Speaker 1: And actually, I didn't realize usually a punter is a
Speaker 1: fairly good kicker. I didn't realize that they probably even
Speaker 1: got themselves, like, who, yeah, we don't really have anybody
Speaker 1: that can kick in, you know, but it's a boss
Speaker 1: can hurt his hamstring. You know. There's a lot of
Speaker 1: things that could happen to the kicker, you know, not
Speaker 1: just getting be cleaned off of a fake field goal,
Speaker 1: but that probably makes him think a little more. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so there's something I'm sure I gotta think a little
Speaker 1: deeper about finding a kicker, you know, that we might
Speaker 1: need it if something like that happens again in Boswell. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they could also get injured by getting beat up by
Speaker 1: the players from missing a field goal. Yeah there, let
Speaker 1: me tell you this. Let me give Gary. Remember Gary Anderson,
Speaker 1: I don't remember Gary Anderson of the greatest kickers really
Speaker 1: and in football history. I mean, he was there my
Speaker 1: entire career and I used to stretch I used to
Speaker 1: go out early, so what I can harass Gary. I
Speaker 1: would go out there and talk to Gary. Maybe a
Speaker 1: beautiful day. I go, can you feel the wind, Gary?
Speaker 1: I feel the wind, Gary, Gary start shanking stuff like that? Gary,
Speaker 1: you better hope I never play against you because I
Speaker 1: get in your head so fast. I go, I just
Speaker 1: talked to you, and you start missing stuff. And he
Speaker 1: was one of the greatest kickers ever. But I love kickers.
Speaker 1: I love I listen. I just spies kickers. I hate
Speaker 1: kickers until they tell, until until they got until we're
Speaker 1: down by two and we need them. That I love.
Speaker 1: And then if they missed it, I'd go right back
Speaker 1: to Haya. Well, Yanna brings it up almost every week.
Speaker 1: So you just played right into his game. Merrell, you
Speaker 1: just gave him what he wanted. Now your story regarding
Speaker 1: concussion and brain injury, you spent time in the ICU,
Speaker 1: ultimately forcing you to retire. Can you walk our listeners
Speaker 1: through the concussions and the protocol at that time. Overall,
Speaker 1: the approach to the subject, it's so different now than
Speaker 1: back in. Yeah. Well, I think the thing is always
Speaker 1: Minna understood about my career. My career ended because of
Speaker 1: improper care correct careered in him because of head trauma.
Speaker 1: But that would have been the case the Monday night
Speaker 1: game when I had my first concussion, I never would
Speaker 1: have played again, but I did, and that was the
Speaker 1: whole problem. I returned to play too quickly, and this
Speaker 1: is how I got returned to play. The doctor who
Speaker 1: evaluated me, now, let me back up with the head
Speaker 1: trauma had in the Kansas City game. The two sid
Speaker 1: ends of severity for head trauma is it's cognitive recall
Speaker 1: and balance. Okay, stability and cognitive recall. It is not
Speaker 1: losing consciousness. And if anybody wants to argue that, okay,
Speaker 1: here's why. Losing consciousness is not a sign of severity.
Speaker 1: Once you regain consciousness, that is over. Now if you
Speaker 1: never regained consciousness, that's the only thing that matters. We've
Speaker 1: got to get that person back to conscious and that's severe.
Speaker 1: So the other two things don't come into play until
Speaker 1: you were getting conscious. Once you are, you're you're getting conscious.
Speaker 1: You now it's about cognitive recall and stability. That's why
Speaker 1: they do these series of tests to evaluate you before
Speaker 1: you return to play. That being said, there was really
Speaker 1: nobody doing it at that time. But the Steelers, they
Speaker 1: started doing cognitive testing in the first team in sports
Speaker 1: history to ever be proactive. So this was being done
Speaker 1: already in a smaller environment, not the entire NFL. But
Speaker 1: the Steelers had already been proactive towards this particular injury. Okay,
Speaker 1: Joe Maroon, Dr Lovell the first two guys to create
Speaker 1: a cognitive test for the team, the players. It was voluntary,
Speaker 1: but almost every player did it. I did it in Chicago.
Speaker 1: They just weren't doing that. The guy who evaluated me.
Speaker 1: Keep mind, I couldn't remember what they told me what
Speaker 1: I was supposed to remember for some twelve hours. That severe.
Speaker 1: I mean that a severe. If you cannot remember twelve
Speaker 1: are that severe? My balance still wasn't that good. I
Speaker 1: had to get a ride home because we flew back
Speaker 1: from Kansas City. I got cleared to play five days
Speaker 1: later over the phone. Over the phone, I was only
Speaker 1: asked one question, how do you feel? And I felt like, listen,
Speaker 1: I feel like I feel like dog. I mean I was.
Speaker 1: I had a headache, but those things weren't torn to
Speaker 1: a player at that time. I didn't know those Keep
Speaker 1: mind that we always have to be where were you
Speaker 1: in time, because we use what we know now to
Speaker 1: apply to something in because those things just want to
Speaker 1: relevant as they are today, which quite honestly, if it's applied,
Speaker 1: protocols are applied, meaning you identify head trauma and your removal,
Speaker 1: that's the most important thing. We could do it any
Speaker 1: sport at any level. And before I'm gonna just throw
Speaker 1: you one other thing, just so we understand the level
Speaker 1: of head trauma and where is Well, what's the leading
Speaker 1: cause of head trauma in the entire country? You guys know,
Speaker 1: I don't know. Listen to a politicians speak, Well, that's
Speaker 1: probably number two, but number one. Number one is tripping
Speaker 1: and falling the most the most dangerous environment is the
Speaker 1: home that exceeds all of sports together times too, So
Speaker 1: everyone who's also caught up a parent that's might be listening, go,
Speaker 1: I don't want my kids play because I don't want
Speaker 1: him to get a concussion. You should be more concerned.
Speaker 1: First of all, that's a very close minded person and
Speaker 1: uneducated person. You need to open your mind and understand
Speaker 1: where head trauma could happen. Is probably gonna happen. Somebody
Speaker 1: slipping in your shower, fall down the stairs, you in
Speaker 1: your backyard way before it's going to have in the
Speaker 1: sporting environment, and most sporting environments should have a protocol
Speaker 1: in place, meaning any type of head trauma that we
Speaker 1: see or since we remove, you don't go back to play,
Speaker 1: and you evaluated before you do, like okay, that protocol
Speaker 1: right there, if it's executed and put in place, makes
Speaker 1: every sport in every environment that you will play in
Speaker 1: a safer one if you executed in that manner. I
Speaker 1: didn't have that. That's why when I went back to play,
Speaker 1: I took another hit. I went and actually lost I
Speaker 1: didn't lose conscious on either one of these, but when
Speaker 1: they took me to the locker room, I went into
Speaker 1: cardiac arrests and that's when they rested me to the hospital.
Speaker 1: I stayed there for a couple of days in intensive
Speaker 1: care and then I had the artist return to recovery
Speaker 1: and it took me months. I mean, I went through depression.
Speaker 1: I was I was an absolute train wreck. So I
Speaker 1: understand people who have depression. I understand how head trauma
Speaker 1: and severe it can be. But I'm so should be
Speaker 1: um an example of how you can and you can
Speaker 1: recover in the treatments and protocols and care that's available
Speaker 1: today there wasn't available back then. But a lot of
Speaker 1: my rehab self induced, quite honestly, is being my to
Speaker 1: save my life because it forced me to do cognitive
Speaker 1: recalls that they actually have treatments and therapies for now,
Speaker 1: along with physical and nutritional that help you repair quickly
Speaker 1: so that you can return back safer or they put
Speaker 1: you in a position where, um, you're not go back
Speaker 1: into that environment, you know, and save you from you know,
Speaker 1: further risk. So what exists today is so much better
Speaker 1: now than it ever was back in the day. I
Speaker 1: read that you actually needed to be resuscitated? Did you flatline?
Speaker 1: And if if you did, is there a God? Should
Speaker 1: I be worried about my sins? Well, I didn't see
Speaker 1: the light, but I was. I wanted to cardiac arrest. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't I know of this. I remember
Speaker 1: because nobody remembers when I go into rest. But I
Speaker 1: do remember just before one of our linebackers had been
Speaker 1: brought in earlier because of his ankle injury, and I
Speaker 1: remember he was sitting on the other training training table
Speaker 1: looking at me, and he's like you all right? And
Speaker 1: I remember at that moment, I just I didn't feel right.
Speaker 1: My eyes started to flutter, and that's the last thing
Speaker 1: I remember, and I guess it was in the process
Speaker 1: of them resuscitating me. I started breathing and I actually
Speaker 1: stood up and walked to the ambulance. I don't remember
Speaker 1: anything again until it was the next day, which I
Speaker 1: knocked myself out again because I broke my hand the
Speaker 1: week before, and so because they knew I wasn't gonna
Speaker 1: go back to play. They knew my hand and I
Speaker 1: had been broken, but I would to let him put
Speaker 1: a cast on it. So I put a cast on it.
Speaker 1: So when I start, you know, really kind of coming
Speaker 1: around and realized, I remember I going to scratch my
Speaker 1: head with the cast. I have about knocked myself out again, Like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, you're the You're the only person I've
Speaker 1: ever heard literally walked off death, you know, unless I
Speaker 1: feel from I remember the doctor came in and he'd
Speaker 1: been there. I can't remember his name now, but here's
Speaker 1: the authopedic doctor, been there for like twenty five years.
Speaker 1: He said, I'd never thought in a million years I'd
Speaker 1: ever lose a player until I saw what happened to you.
Speaker 1: You left, I was gonna lose a player and happen.
Speaker 1: You know what, Actually, when you go through that, when
Speaker 1: you don't because of where you are and what's the
Speaker 1: state you're in, you just don't really remember those things.
Speaker 1: You don't realize how how grave that situation was because
Speaker 1: you just don't recall it. And obviously it's probably a
Speaker 1: good thing, but I don't remember it, you know, I
Speaker 1: just remember the process coming out of it was a long,
Speaker 1: argious one. Well, that is really good context for where
Speaker 1: concussion protocol was back then and now. As a sideline
Speaker 1: reporter myself, we take that so seriously before we report
Speaker 1: on anything, and the severity that you talk about. I
Speaker 1: always think if I'm reporting on a kid who's going
Speaker 1: through concussion protocol on the sideline, I think about their
Speaker 1: mom watching on TV and what report am I going
Speaker 1: to give to this kid's mom. So it's it should
Speaker 1: be taken with a lot of seriousness, and I appreciate
Speaker 1: you giving that context. That was great. That's smart of
Speaker 1: you to have that, all of the all the perspectives
Speaker 1: that one should add. That's why they're checking, you know,
Speaker 1: their eyes, their balanced, their recall. You know, they're really
Speaker 1: looking at a lot of things, and those things have
Speaker 1: to clear you or for you to return, you know,
Speaker 1: somebody back to play. So that's why they do it.
Speaker 1: And if they don't let you return to play, there's
Speaker 1: a reason for that, you know, and it's it's better
Speaker 1: for the player long term and short term. Okay, now,
Speaker 1: we have a little game that we wanted to play
Speaker 1: with you, mayor al so I hope you are down
Speaker 1: to play our game. It's a pretty cute we're calling
Speaker 1: it Hodge your bets. You know, we are a betting show,
Speaker 1: and you know so much about the NFL and about
Speaker 1: who's good, who's not good, what teams are getting it
Speaker 1: together at the right time. So we'd love to play
Speaker 1: this with you. Are you ready? Okay, I'm gonna read
Speaker 1: the first one. It's for NFL m v P. Josh
Speaker 1: Allen is the favorite at plus two hundred, followed by
Speaker 1: Tom Brady, Dak Prescott when he gets healthy, Kyler Murray
Speaker 1: at plus six hundred when he gets healthy, and then
Speaker 1: he's got Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford in them. What
Speaker 1: do you think? How's your bet? Who is the m
Speaker 1: v P? Oh boy, you know, I don't even have
Speaker 1: Tom Brady mentioned and there how ridiculous that is. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's so ridiculous, And honestly, you know, I watched tape
Speaker 1: all the time, still to this day, because I wanted
Speaker 1: to stay on top of the league with stuff that
Speaker 1: I I helped create, the way to play with that
Speaker 1: we launch with the NFL, and the stuff I do
Speaker 1: for the Steelers, and he is, I mean, he's playing
Speaker 1: some ridiculous football that the two intersections that he threw,
Speaker 1: you know, everybody's harper on those things. First of all,
Speaker 1: the first one was one of the most incredible individual play.
Speaker 1: Guys playing man coverage on somebody else and he just
Speaker 1: read his eyes, which you know if somebody's playing man
Speaker 1: quarterback not sensing that. And I think that their splits
Speaker 1: were too close, which is also became a factor. And
Speaker 1: then they received the second one. I just think Godwin
Speaker 1: was supposed to run a flatter. He threw the ball
Speaker 1: like you should run a flatter because everybody talks about
Speaker 1: that safety is death. The reason the safety wasn't deep
Speaker 1: because the receiver to hit that side ran a crossing round.
Speaker 1: There's no reason to get Death's not to cover, so anyway,
Speaker 1: you know it wasn't as as egregious. And you know,
Speaker 1: oh they all full of Tom Brady is you know
Speaker 1: everybody's made it out to be. And oh, you know,
Speaker 1: I see the flaws of Tom Brady now, I mean
Speaker 1: he's still incredible. You know. I guess when you come down,
Speaker 1: you know, I steal as humans voting for this thing.
Speaker 1: You know, people will go, oh, because you can't give
Speaker 1: it to Tom Brady has had it for you know,
Speaker 1: umpteen years. And you know, Josh Allen is a is
Speaker 1: a unique kid. You know, he's coming from one. I've
Speaker 1: known him for a long time, and I think the
Speaker 1: way he plays his game, he puts himself in a
Speaker 1: position to keep playing at that level, you know. And
Speaker 1: I know they stumbled at Tennessee, but that one was
Speaker 1: you know, a fist pide at the fifty and you know,
Speaker 1: you you line up like that again. I put money
Speaker 1: on Josh Allen gets that first down on that fourth down.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna lean towards Josh and think he has
Speaker 1: been you know, I said that, I think consistency. Brady
Speaker 1: has been consistent, but Josh Allen has been consistent. He'll
Speaker 1: stay dynamic, and I think those kind of things. You know,
Speaker 1: voters looked at. That's how kind of that MBP thing.
Speaker 1: So I'll keep it on. Josh Allen, Yeah, all right,
Speaker 1: Speaking of the Bills. Next up, they're obviously the favorite
Speaker 1: at plus two thirty. Behind them, you've got the Ravens,
Speaker 1: Chiefs and Titans or could you go with a long shot?
Speaker 1: What do you think who's taking it all a f C. Well, well,
Speaker 1: I think the Bills. Well, I can go back to
Speaker 1: the mest this earlier teams win championships. Okay, teams, So
Speaker 1: when you look at all the phases, and that's how
Speaker 1: I look at a chance for a team to win.
Speaker 1: If you look at the Ravens at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, Lamar Jackson has some real liabilities with his
Speaker 1: ability to throw the ball in pure passing situations, which
Speaker 1: requires anticipation. Actually it wasn't going to Louisville like that.
Speaker 1: He struggled in our level with that at a high degree,
Speaker 1: and eventually that has to be made and you have
Speaker 1: to make those throws. I'm defensively, they're not quite the same.
Speaker 1: The running games not the same. Candida seated the train
Speaker 1: direct that they're really dealing with their officite lines, not
Speaker 1: the same. You know, that's why they are such a
Speaker 1: wreck right now. And had Barry Henry not gone down,
Speaker 1: you know, Tennessee is in this thing. You know, I'm saying, boy,
Speaker 1: I would think about moving Tennessee up a little bit.
Speaker 1: But without him, it's just a different I can't even
Speaker 1: tell you what defensive coordinators are doing. They're like, hey,
Speaker 1: I just celebrate, this is awesome. This is only we
Speaker 1: gotta deal with this week. That gets everybody's side. You know,
Speaker 1: I'll thought, I'll though a little, um, well, I didn't.
Speaker 1: You didn't mention the Colt. I tell the Colts to
Speaker 1: me are our dangerous team. I still think the boule
Speaker 1: Bills are the best of all those things teams have mentioned.
Speaker 1: But you know, the Colts could come. I know they
Speaker 1: took a lot. I mean, their loss last wee was devastating,
Speaker 1: but there's still a lot of football left enough for
Speaker 1: them to recover. And I just like all the phases
Speaker 1: they have as a team too. All right, let's move
Speaker 1: to the NFC. It's a lot tighter here with the
Speaker 1: Bucks at plus three ten, the Rams are plus three thirty,
Speaker 1: followed by my Packers, the Cowboys and the Cardinals. So
Speaker 1: it's time. How'd your bet who's winning the NFC, because
Speaker 1: I tell you this the way the Dallas Cowboys. You know,
Speaker 1: it's hard to ignore the Bucks just because of all
Speaker 1: of their phases and what I'm about to say. The
Speaker 1: Bucks can and we'll do this when it's needed. But
Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys, They're running game is a wicked, wicked
Speaker 1: tool right now. And when you do that, the most
Speaker 1: important thing to win consistently in our league. I'm gonna taste.
Speaker 1: I've had conversations from Chuck Noll to build parcels about
Speaker 1: this is some of the greatest minds and it is
Speaker 1: consistent from the day this game was started to today.
Speaker 1: You have to control the temple in our league to
Speaker 1: win consistently. Well, that's why everybody there gotta stop the run.
Speaker 1: I gotta run. They guys kind of throw it out
Speaker 1: because every week it said so the fan kind of
Speaker 1: ignores it. But the the importance of it. Cowboys are
Speaker 1: illustrating it right now. It's permeate not just with their
Speaker 1: offense but with their defense. You know, it's control every
Speaker 1: game they go in and go in the Minnesota. You
Speaker 1: don't have that, and they really lean on that and
Speaker 1: because they lean that they have a little more room
Speaker 1: for air. It's when you don't have that phage and
Speaker 1: now your quarterback better be spot on. And that's what
Speaker 1: I killed them last year. They couldn't run the football,
Speaker 1: so your quarterback was asked to do more and he
Speaker 1: wasn't really a guy that could do it. So, um,
Speaker 1: I put the Cowboys up there against against the Bucks.
Speaker 1: To be honest with you, I mean, I love what
Speaker 1: the Bucks are doing, and they're gonna be a hard
Speaker 1: heart out. But if the teams, I really like the Cowboys. Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, Okay, I'm a little disappointed. I thought you
Speaker 1: were gonna say you like the Packers. You know, I'll
Speaker 1: tell you this, I worry a little bit. You say,
Speaker 1: what if eight got going, if they could get twenty
Speaker 1: eight away from his fumbles, because that's been that power
Speaker 1: that they need. He could bring to them, you know,
Speaker 1: And really they ran the good on the Cardinals the
Speaker 1: other side. They're gonna be there at the end of
Speaker 1: the day. But I just those powerful running attacks that
Speaker 1: can come in and control environment. I just trust I
Speaker 1: trust them in at home and away. Yeah, you're right, honestly,
Speaker 1: you've got the big one. You've got the last one here.
Speaker 1: It is Hodge your bet? Who is winning it all?
Speaker 1: Who is our super Bowl winner? I can't believe I'm
Speaker 1: gonna say this, but you know what, I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1: I was gonna stay on the cowboy training there for
Speaker 1: a second, but you know I would tell you this
Speaker 1: that I need. The Buffalo Bills woke up, you know
Speaker 1: after the Steelers beat him too, because the bubble Bills
Speaker 1: had to go back to the tape and go. We
Speaker 1: didn't run the ball but one time, and we drove
Speaker 1: it right down the ball, dark down the field. What
Speaker 1: are we doing? You know that element and phase has
Speaker 1: become a bigger part of their offense. There's a history
Speaker 1: there as we all know, or they've been there, and
Speaker 1: they get to win it. So I say, the Bills
Speaker 1: get that huge, massive monkey off their back and they
Speaker 1: win it. That I like it. I can get behind that. Yeah, well, Meryl,
Speaker 1: you were great. Thank you so much. You can follow
Speaker 1: Merril Hodge on Twitter at Merrill Hodge and for more
Speaker 1: information on his book, Brainwashed, go to Meryl Hodge dot com.
Speaker 1: Meryl THNK so much for joining us. You are a
Speaker 1: wealth of knowledge. Now I hope you get to golfing
Speaker 1: and hit him straight the straight part. I appreciate. Thank
Speaker 1: you guys, have a great week. Thank you very thank
Speaker 1: you guys. Time to get to this weekend action. Let's
Speaker 1: bring in bet MGM betting expert Peter Andrew Peter before
Speaker 1: we get to this weekend because I know we're gonna
Speaker 1: have some punishment pick games for us to decipher. Last
Speaker 1: weekend was crazy, big week for the sports book. Huh yeah,
Speaker 1: record week for US and lots of sports books. Two
Speaker 1: games that really stood out one Buck Saints. Lots of
Speaker 1: people whether it was obviously Bucks spread Bucks money line,
Speaker 1: but lots of people had them in their parlays, so
Speaker 1: automatical labor party goes by by there. And then the
Speaker 1: big surprise one was Mr Mike White former Western Kentucky
Speaker 1: Hilltop or Beaten the really promising angles. So again it's
Speaker 1: it's not just about the you know, the straight bets,
Speaker 1: the money lines, it's about all those parlays that it
Speaker 1: basically breaks up. So between those two games, record setting week,
Speaker 1: it was nice to get one back after the customers
Speaker 1: had us the last the last couple, so really exciting.
Speaker 1: And then obviously on top of that, you had you know,
Speaker 1: the unfortunate news that Derrick Henry going down probably for
Speaker 1: the year, at least for the regular season. Um so
Speaker 1: that has big implications for you know, for the tight
Speaker 1: Super Bowl hopes. But we did have bet MGM customers covered.
Speaker 1: So if you had offensive player of the Year, rushing leader,
Speaker 1: touchdown leader, any of those markets, Henry to an m
Speaker 1: VP as well, we give everybody back that placed that
Speaker 1: bet a free bet with that steak. So trying to
Speaker 1: take care of customers. We know the deal, we know
Speaker 1: sometimes it stinks, so I want to take care of
Speaker 1: our customers. There, Hey, who loves you more than MGM baby?
Speaker 1: I look at that Vick Henry goes down and look
Speaker 1: at what we do for you. But isn't that the
Speaker 1: point of betting is that you risk that it is.
Speaker 1: But sometimes there's those you know, we call him those
Speaker 1: bad beats. So when the unfortunate news comes like that.
Speaker 1: Another example was John rom when he got COVID over
Speaker 1: the summer and by far going to win the tournament.
Speaker 1: You know, there's those unfortunate that's that we want to
Speaker 1: make sure we know, you know, customers are taken care of.
Speaker 1: I was laughing. My dad had the Jets Bengals game,
Speaker 1: and I said, oh man, Dad, he got the Jets,
Speaker 1: and he goes, no, I have the Bengals, like okay,
Speaker 1: and ended up being this great game. But that was insane,
Speaker 1: amazing game. And I mean credit to a guy who's
Speaker 1: just coming in coming behind a second overall picked I
Speaker 1: stepping up. I mean he was the the passing yards leader.
Speaker 1: He had four or five passing yards last week, which
Speaker 1: incredible in itself, and now he gets the prometime game
Speaker 1: to place. There's in my football. Let me ask you
Speaker 1: this question, who is backing up Derrick Henry Because if
Speaker 1: last week is any indication, backups are killing it right now.
Speaker 1: So funny you should say that because they made a
Speaker 1: big move yesterday and they signed Adrian Peterson. So yeah,
Speaker 1: so coming he's he's had the last eight nine weeks off.
Speaker 1: He's been looking for that shot and he gets a
Speaker 1: shot here, and it looks like they're already gonna elevate
Speaker 1: him up to the to the main squad. So between
Speaker 1: him and m Nichols, I think they'll be sharing some carries,
Speaker 1: but all indications say that it's it's a p that's
Speaker 1: going to lead the charge. And who knows you could
Speaker 1: have a good, good stint there. He's fresh, ready to go,
Speaker 1: and and that online is good, so he's gonna get
Speaker 1: some touches. Okay, Now this weekend, there's some good ones.
Speaker 1: And in my family, when the NFL season comes out,
Speaker 1: it's kind of like Christmas because we all get out
Speaker 1: our planners and figure out where we're all going to
Speaker 1: be and when. And this was a big one. Packers
Speaker 1: at Chiefs. You know, those are my two teams. I
Speaker 1: grew up in Kansas City, a little bit in Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: I've worked for the Packers. I am much more loyal
Speaker 1: to the Packers. Let me just say that for the record.
Speaker 1: But I have family members who are going to be
Speaker 1: going to this game at Arrowhead. We are in red,
Speaker 1: I hate to say so. This game is crazy. The
Speaker 1: line already came out and Chiefs are a one point underdog,
Speaker 1: which really surprised me because Packers look incredible after beating
Speaker 1: the Cardinals on Thursday night and the Chiefs have looked horrible.
Speaker 1: Why is that only at one? It's a funky one.
Speaker 1: I think that's just the Mahomes effect. Like he has
Speaker 1: had some really bad weeks and in my eyes, he
Speaker 1: might be due for a strong week. But to your point,
Speaker 1: you look at the Packers without any wide receivers last week.
Speaker 1: We're able to get it done. Yeah, Randall cob to
Speaker 1: two or three catches, two touchdowns, But they are going
Speaker 1: to get Davante Adams back and they might get some
Speaker 1: other folks back. This is an intriguing one because everything
Speaker 1: in my head says take the Packers and don't even
Speaker 1: think twice about it. But also going to Arrowhead Mahomes
Speaker 1: to rekill everything there. You never know, So this is
Speaker 1: an interesting one. So Olivia, maybe start with you on
Speaker 1: this because I think this is like you said, there's
Speaker 1: a little bit of a skis and the family had
Speaker 1: this one pornishment. Yeah, Packers ride the hot hand. Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers said he's never had more fun playing football with
Speaker 1: the team. He's gonna have some fun in Kansas City
Speaker 1: this weekend. Yeah, I gotta agree with Olivia. I'm going
Speaker 1: my boy John Wick on this. Um. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you follow him on Instagram, but he was John Wick.
Speaker 1: I even had the dog so he went full on
Speaker 1: for the Graham. Listen, I'm a Giants fan. And the
Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs just barely eat by a beaten up,
Speaker 1: big blue machine baby. So there's no way I'm going
Speaker 1: against my boy Johnny Wick. So me and Olivia are
Speaker 1: gonna agree on this one. She's my new friend, more
Speaker 1: John Wick than actual John Wick based off that costume.
Speaker 1: So it was incredible. Yes, second game cards minus two
Speaker 1: and a half at the Niners. This is an intriguing
Speaker 1: one because you have Kyler Murray that's a bit shaken up.
Speaker 1: I think he's a game time decision. I think he
Speaker 1: will play, but this is an intriguing one. Niners coming
Speaker 1: off an ice win, brandied against the Bears. What do
Speaker 1: you guys like here? I still thought this would be
Speaker 1: bigger than two and a half for Arizona on the road.
Speaker 1: I guess it all depends on Kyler Murray. And that's
Speaker 1: the vulnerable part about a team that looks so good,
Speaker 1: last undefeated team in the NFL. But it was like,
Speaker 1: what's going to happen if Kyler Murray gets hurt? That
Speaker 1: is your gun slinger, that is your guy. He makes
Speaker 1: up like two thirds of their offense whenever he does
Speaker 1: anything with the football. So I don't know, maybe if
Speaker 1: if I'm really putting money on these, I'm staying away
Speaker 1: from this one to be honest, but for the sake
Speaker 1: of our punishment picks game, I'm gonna go with Arizona. Still,
Speaker 1: I feel like I still like them without Kyler Murray
Speaker 1: more than San Francisco. Okay, well, here's the deal. I
Speaker 1: hate to agree again, but that was a very detailed analysis.
Speaker 1: I loved every moment of it. I'm a little bit
Speaker 1: more petty, pete. Let me just tell you, I'm a
Speaker 1: petty I'm petty. I'm jealous. I don't like I don't
Speaker 1: like his face. Okay, Jimmy G's face is too beautiful.
Speaker 1: I don't like it. I can't bet on it, I
Speaker 1: can't support it. I'm going with my blue collar Chicago bars.
Speaker 1: It's not the Chicago Bay Who are they playing? Oh
Speaker 1: the Cardinals. Sorry, I apologize, guys, I apologize. I had
Speaker 1: my team's mixed up. But whoever Jimmy G is playing against,
Speaker 1: I'm going with them, and in this one, obviously it's easy.
Speaker 1: I'm going with the Cardinals. So okay. See, and this
Speaker 1: makes me so mad as if your honest ultimately wins
Speaker 1: it and he doesn't even know what teams are talking about.
Speaker 1: That man they called they call me the Lawrence Taylor
Speaker 1: of betting. I don't know what team we're playing, but
Speaker 1: I always win. Lawrence Taylor used to shove up to
Speaker 1: the games and he used to ask Phil Simms, where
Speaker 1: are we and who are we playing? And then he
Speaker 1: just crushed it. Alright, Pete, what's the third game? I
Speaker 1: can relate to Anger because anybody with a perfect jawline,
Speaker 1: I'm I kind of hate him too, even though that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and he listened to Olivia. We went out to the
Speaker 1: next game last night. I had a couple of beers.
Speaker 1: I'm a little hungover. I also had a lot of
Speaker 1: candy on Halloween. Cut me some slack weekend for you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is a This is an intriguing one. If you
Speaker 1: feel really confident that Kyler is playing, I think you
Speaker 1: take the Cardinals right now before the spread goes up.
Speaker 1: If you if you feel like there's a good chance
Speaker 1: he doesn't and you're taking the Niners. You wait, obviously,
Speaker 1: see that's what changed. So there's a lot of things
Speaker 1: to look at here. Last game again, going back to
Speaker 1: the Derrick Henry News, Titans plus seven and a half
Speaker 1: Sunday Night football against the Rams. My opinion, Rams look
Speaker 1: like the best team in football? What do you guys
Speaker 1: think here? I totally agree it's Rams all day. For me,
Speaker 1: this is easier for me. I'm an underdog. I want
Speaker 1: to make some money. I don't go with the favorites.
Speaker 1: I like how the backup has been playing. I love
Speaker 1: Adrian Peterson. Let's go. I disagree. I'm going the other way.
Speaker 1: I'm going to see a piece twenty twenty plus twenty.
Speaker 1: He's fresh though he's had nine weeks off. You know,
Speaker 1: he's freshets off in professional sports is not a good thing.
Speaker 1: This is a This game I think comes down to
Speaker 1: I think that their offense speaks for themselves. Where Titans
Speaker 1: offense can be good. They have obviously a j Brown,
Speaker 1: Julio Jones VP, maybe he slots in his nice But
Speaker 1: I think it comes down to their defense because the
Speaker 1: Rams just score at will every game. Cooper Cup seems
Speaker 1: like he has two touch on every single game, So
Speaker 1: I think that's the natural you gotta look out for.
Speaker 1: There are those corners. First Cup woulds be its ter
Speaker 1: mark my words, Julio Jones gonna have a big game.
Speaker 1: You're gonna see their passing game really elevate without Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry because they don't need it. Mark my words. This
Speaker 1: is a big loss for Olivia, and I will win
Speaker 1: next week. Mark my words. Well someone's a little bit
Speaker 1: better because I won this past weekend and I'm feeling
Speaker 1: pretty good about it. So thanks so much, Peter. Don't
Speaker 1: forget to go to bed MGM on Twitter on Monday's
Speaker 1: to submit your bad beat of the week. Will announce
Speaker 1: the winning bad beat next week. And don't forget to
Speaker 1: follow us on Apple, podcast, Spotify, Stitcher or anywhere you
Speaker 1: find your favorite podcast. And you're honest, go ahead, you lost,
Speaker 1: my friend. You have to read the outro that I
Speaker 1: wrote for you, and you haven't seen until right now.
Speaker 1: You know, it just keeps getting worse and worse. We
Speaker 1: filmed yesterday in Jersey City. I saw Peter the building,
Speaker 1: Peter lives and the guys getting paid big bucks and
Speaker 1: now I gotta read this outro. I can't win. Bet MGM,
Speaker 1: get us some more tickets. Okay, here we go. Okay, guys, Well,
Speaker 1: Olivia won this week's Punishment Picks and she really is
Speaker 1: just winning life, isn't she. She carries this entire show,
Speaker 1: as you know, she's a traveling NBA wife Ruby and
Speaker 1: soon to be Mom of the Year. She just broke
Speaker 1: the news on my podcast Long Days that she's in
Speaker 1: her second trimester. She's doing may listen, guys, I'm talking
Speaker 1: to my unleashed family. Olivia is pregnant, and Sam is
Speaker 1: enough to say him, I'm kidding. Sam. Congratulations, there's a
Speaker 1: new athlete that's being born. Who knows where they'll be
Speaker 1: Maybe in Turkey, maybe in Toronto, maybe in San Francisco,
Speaker 1: wherever he goes, maybe in this apartment. But guys, Maddie Pete,
Speaker 1: Olivia is pregnant. She fed drinking all those drinks in
Speaker 1: Las Vegas. She's also a liar. Good job reading the
Speaker 1: OUTO yes and we can't wait. And if you want
Speaker 1: to hear more details, make sure to listen to Joanna's
Speaker 1: podcast Long Days. We really get into it because that's
Speaker 1: when I surprised my friend Janice with the news. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to everyone, We'll see you next week. Congratulations Olivia,