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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike

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Speaker 1: Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight

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Speaker 1: ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm

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Speaker 1: Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for

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Speaker 1: The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio

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Speaker 1: dot com, or stream us live every night on the

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Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.

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Speaker 2: You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

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Speaker 3: One of the most unexpected storylines in college football this

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Speaker 3: year has been not about the playoff, but about Notre

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Speaker 3: Dame not making the playoff, and more importantly, what's happened

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Speaker 3: since then. You've seen Notre Dame be loud in their

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Speaker 3: criticism of the process. You've seen Notre Dame turn down

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Speaker 3: a bowl bit, You've seen Notre Dame try and take

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Speaker 3: action wherever they can. But now you've also seen USC

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Speaker 3: take action one of their biggest rivals in saying, hey, fine,

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Speaker 3: if you're going to be part of this and not

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Speaker 3: part of this in the way that we think is right,

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Speaker 3: we're just not going to play you anymore.

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Speaker 4: And through all of this we've gotten the revelation.

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Speaker 3: I should say that Notre Dame is now guarantee the

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Speaker 3: spot in the College Football Playoff, the only school in

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Speaker 3: America guarantee the spot in the college football Playoff if

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Speaker 3: they finished the top twelve. And all of this has

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Speaker 3: everybody screaming, but there are actual solutions to be had.

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Speaker 3: He's Buck Rising, I'm Jason fitz bucking fits taking over.

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Speaker 4: I'm Fox Sports Radio. Buck.

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Speaker 3: Look, I mean, first and foremost a boat producer of Stordinaire.

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Speaker 3: Here is he's a USC guy, right, so obviously going

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Speaker 3: to get his thoughts. You are a Notre Dame fan. Weirdly,

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Speaker 3: even though you went to Indiana, how are you feeling about?

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Speaker 3: Which feels weird to me? It feels like you're heads

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Speaker 3: in your bet. But how are you feeling? I mean,

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Speaker 3: I'm just saying, how are you feeling about Notre Dame

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Speaker 3: taking their ball, leaving the sandbox saying we don't want

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Speaker 3: to play anybody? And now we don't want to play

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Speaker 3: with you guys anymore, and now USC turning around saying, fine,

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Speaker 3: we just won't play you anymore.

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Speaker 5: Moving forward, Well, one, it's not weird.

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Speaker 6: It's the only reason it's weird now is because Indiana

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Speaker 6: football is good. Indiana football has never been good. There's

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Speaker 6: never been a reason to route for a football team

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Speaker 6: not named Notre Dame in the state of Indiana. I mean,

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Speaker 6: I guess Produce had a couple of years, but whatever

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Speaker 6: then from there, I hate the way that Notre Dame

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Speaker 6: has behaved throughout this entire process. I understand why there

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Speaker 6: is an upset contingent of Notre Dame fans because the

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Speaker 6: College Football Playoff Committee yanked the rug out from under

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Speaker 6: them in the way that Miami fans thought was going

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Speaker 6: to happen to them when Notre Dame was placed ahead

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Speaker 6: of them in every other poll until the final one

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Speaker 6: where the college Football Playoff bracket was produced. I understand

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Speaker 6: why not why USC would look around and be like,

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Speaker 6: this doesn't make any sense other than the idea that

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Speaker 6: and I think I read this earlier in the week.

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Speaker 6: Except for the pandemic and three years during World War Two,

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Speaker 6: USC and Notre Dame have played each other every season

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Speaker 6: since nineteen twenty six. That is an incredible run, with

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Speaker 6: so much history and a real true rivalry that is

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Speaker 6: just simply not going to be able to be replicated.

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Speaker 6: It's a shame that this situation would create a circumstance

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Speaker 6: in which that is going to at least go on ice,

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Speaker 6: if not eventually go away. Now, it doesn't mean that

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Speaker 6: just because they're not able to reach an agreement to

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Speaker 6: play each other during the twenty twenty sixth season, that

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Speaker 6: this can't inevitably come back, or maybe not inevitably come back,

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Speaker 6: but it can't come back. At some point in time,

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Speaker 6: Indiana and Kentucky basketball went through a similar circumstance where

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Speaker 6: Indiana and Kentucky simply weren't playing each other because they

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Speaker 6: couldn't agree on neutral sites. They didn't want to go

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Speaker 6: to rough or to Assembly Hall to play these games

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Speaker 6: on either side, whether it was Tom Crane or John

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Speaker 6: Caliperi or whatever. Like, all these things got hashed out

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Speaker 6: Indiana Kentucky. That series just returned for the first time

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Speaker 6: this year. It's been off for I want to say,

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Speaker 6: more than five years at this point in time. I

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Speaker 6: hate it that it's going to cause any kind of interruption.

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Speaker 6: I completely get USC's perspective. Notre Dame has been pet

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Speaker 6: petulant in this. From the athletic director's standpoint, I really

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Speaker 6: was disappointed by the idea that they opted out of

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Speaker 6: Bowl participation entirely. I thought it looked weak. I thought

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Speaker 6: it played weak. I really didn't expect that of a

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Speaker 6: Marcus Freeman coach team. Marcus Freeman, by the way, has

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Speaker 6: not said a word about any of this, any of

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Speaker 6: the Notre Dame college football playoff stuff. I would love

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Speaker 6: to hear him in an honest moment to see how

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Speaker 6: he feels about the way that the institution has behaved.

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Speaker 6: But it's it's just kind of the nature of what

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Speaker 6: this is going to be subjected to, and the fact

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Speaker 6: that Notre Dame still has this leverage despite the lack

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Speaker 6: of championship anything that they've had and I don't want

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Speaker 6: to say the monitor in a football but still like

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Speaker 6: it's been a long time since Notre Dame has mattered

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Speaker 6: on a nat truly on a national championship level, other

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Speaker 6: than the appearance with Mantiiteo and just getting their doors

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Speaker 6: blown off by Alabama in that game. I am frankly

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Speaker 6: impressed that Notre Dame still carries this big of a

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Speaker 6: stick because they have no business doing it other than

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Speaker 6: they made college football relevant on a national scale at

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Speaker 6: the very onset of college football becoming such a phenomenon

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Speaker 6: in this country.

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Speaker 3: I mean, they make money right like that at the

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Speaker 3: end of the day. They make everybody money. So bo,

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Speaker 3: USC is near and dear to your heart. So how

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Speaker 3: are you feeling right now about all this?

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Speaker 7: Yeah, it's a bummer, Like like you said, Buck, Like

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Speaker 7: they've been playing this game forever, Like even before I

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Speaker 7: was a USC fan or went to the school like

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Speaker 7: I was, I would watch USC Notre Dame. But like

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Speaker 7: Notre Dame gets to have their cake, have their cake

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Speaker 7: and eat it too right now, like they get to

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Speaker 7: avoid any blame in this rivalry ending. Everything I've seen

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Speaker 7: online and in sports talk is how could USC let

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Speaker 7: this end? Like a dear friend of the show's you

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Speaker 7: know here at FSR Petros Papadakas is you know, skewering

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Speaker 7: Lincoln Riley, And I think it's kind of deserved. It

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Speaker 7: comes off as being scared. But there is zero benefit

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Speaker 7: to USC playing Notre Dame late in the season, just none,

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Speaker 7: zero benefit for us to do that. Every game goes

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Speaker 7: for a Notre Dame when they do that. So I

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Speaker 7: totally understand why USC doesn't want to play those games.

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Speaker 7: I just get it. But it is sad to see

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Speaker 7: it end. And it is another nail in the coffin

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Speaker 7: of college football.

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Speaker 6: If you ask me, no, I mean, that's that's exactly

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Speaker 6: how I feel about it, though, Like it's one of

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Speaker 6: those circumstances where USC is going it seems optically they

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Speaker 6: are being more harshly judged because people just expect Notre

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Speaker 6: Dame to be able to play by a different set

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Speaker 6: of rules, and for some reason, Fitzy, we've allowed for

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Speaker 6: that environment to continue to exist despite I mean, because

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Speaker 6: I mean Notre Dame.

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Speaker 5: Yes, the brand still makes money, but.

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Speaker 6: It is the television draw of Notre Dame such that

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Speaker 6: it's greater than some of these ranked SEC games. I mean,

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Speaker 6: we could probably go through the numbers at some point.

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Speaker 6: I don't know if that's a television rating. Radio is

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Speaker 6: a good discussion, but like how big of a draw

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Speaker 6: is Notre Dame still really like, I think they're as

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Speaker 6: national as national gets as far as a college football

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Speaker 6: fan base.

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Speaker 5: I still don't think that.

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Speaker 6: It outdraws at its height, USC Notre Dame more than

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Speaker 6: I mean, LSU Alabama this year was not a good example,

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Speaker 6: but even like Vanderbilt Alabama, Vandy did huge numbers.

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Speaker 5: On television nationally.

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Speaker 6: Die O Pavi was a nationally televised star on multiple occasions.

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Speaker 6: I would venture a guest to say that those games

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Speaker 6: did better than a Notre Dame the USC game did

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Speaker 6: this year.

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Speaker 4: I'll have to look it up.

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Speaker 3: I will say this, it's easy right now for all

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Speaker 3: of us to pile on Notre Dame because they look

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Speaker 3: bad for all of us.

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Speaker 4: What's been lost.

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Speaker 3: In this, though, to me, is that every single conference

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Speaker 3: commissioner signed off, literally signed off on Notre Dame getting

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Speaker 3: an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.

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Speaker 4: You every single one of them.

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Speaker 3: So if you are USC and you're sitting back and saying, oh,

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Speaker 3: you didn't know, If you truly didn't know, then you

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Speaker 3: have a legal issue with your conference commissioner number one.

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Speaker 4: If you truly.

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Speaker 3: Didn't know, then I'd love to know where the paperwork is,

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Speaker 3: you know, because obviously things like that are discussed amongst

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Speaker 3: all of the leaders at every school. If you truly

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Speaker 3: didn't know, how is that humanly possible? Or was it

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Speaker 3: just buried in the minutia And like so many laws

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Speaker 3: that are passed, you just didn't feel like reading eight

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Speaker 3: thousand pages of something that seems unimportant, And now you

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Speaker 3: found out it's very important. Every single college commissioner, a

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Speaker 3: conference commissioner signed off on it.

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Speaker 4: So I have a hard time.

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Speaker 3: With everybody else complaining about Notre Dame getting this right

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Speaker 3: when frankly, the time to complain about that was when

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Speaker 3: they asked for it in the first place. So that's

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Speaker 3: my first issue. But the other part of this book

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Speaker 3: is that I think what USC is doing could actually

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Speaker 3: impact change if everybody else in college football had that,

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Speaker 3: you know what's to back it up. So the problem

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Speaker 3: here is they got rid of the USC Notre Dame game,

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Speaker 3: and within what a day, Notre Dame announces that BYU

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Speaker 3: is taking that spot. There's always going to be somebody

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Speaker 3: that wants the money from playing Notre Dame because they

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Speaker 3: do great draws in their stadiums. In fact, and the

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Speaker 3: ACC has talked about that that if you look at

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Speaker 3: the sellout rate of non Notre Dame games in the

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Speaker 3: ACC versus Notre Dame games in the ACC, it is

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Speaker 3: staggering the difference.

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Speaker 4: So the ACC is not going to really force their.

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Speaker 3: Hand on it because they need the ticket sales that

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Speaker 3: come every time Notre Dame comes to town.

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Speaker 4: But the real answer to this, if the entire.

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Speaker 3: College football world turns around and says we are tired

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Speaker 3: of Notre Dame, then all they would have to do

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Speaker 3: is collude against them.

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Speaker 4: Literally, if every school.

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Speaker 3: Said, you know what we're gonna pull usc usc is right,

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Speaker 3: We're tired of this. We will not schedule Notre Dame

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Speaker 3: until they join a conference.

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Speaker 4: If they literally, if.

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Speaker 3: Every single major conference, if the Big Ten went to

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Speaker 3: all of their members and said, you are not allowed

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Speaker 3: to schedule Notre Dame, the ACC went to all of

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Speaker 3: their members, the SEC went to all of their members.

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Speaker 3: If you get all the way down to the Mountain West,

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Speaker 3: and then, honestly, honestly, at that point, if every single

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Speaker 3: major school turned around to the group of five schools

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Speaker 3: and said, if you schedule Notre Dame, we will not

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Speaker 3: play you for the next ten years. You will not

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Speaker 3: get a game against Alabama for the next decade. If

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Speaker 3: the college football world really needed Notre Dame to join

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Speaker 3: a conference, I believe they could force it. The problem is,

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Speaker 3: like I was saying earlier about relocation, it only takes one.

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Speaker 3: There's always going to be a school that turns around

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Speaker 3: and says, well, not my problem, we need we need

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Speaker 3: the money that comes with playing Notre Dame.

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Speaker 6: It and it's asking, it's asking as a sport that

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Speaker 6: is as much or really just a part of the

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Speaker 6: sports world. The college athletics to present some kind of

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Speaker 6: unified front on.

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Speaker 5: Anything, it's it's damn near impossible.

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Speaker 6: Right, and so it's Notre Dame's it's Notre Dame gets

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Speaker 6: to get it, basically gets to treat this like it's

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Speaker 6: its birthright. Maybe kind of is for the historical significance

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Speaker 6: that Notre Dame has in the landscape of college football.

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Speaker 6: If you really wanted to be an unlikable Notre Dame fan,

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Speaker 6: you could argue just that I'm not going to, but

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Speaker 6: you could. I think that that's just a problem that's

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Speaker 6: always going to exist fitcy because they're always going to

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Speaker 6: be worth X amount of money, and that's still the

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Speaker 6: thing that moves the needle the most in I mean

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Speaker 6: any kind of sport, a college athletics be a professional

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Speaker 6: sports the end of at the end of the day,

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Speaker 6: that dollar value, that quantifiable element of Notre Dame's impact

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Speaker 6: on these institutions that get to host Notre Dame or

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Speaker 6: get a game against Notre Dame, or get the ticket

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Speaker 6: sales the revenue streams that Notre Dame is able to impact.

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Speaker 6: I just don't think that they feel confident enough, because

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Speaker 6: I'm sure there are people throughout every conference that feel

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Speaker 6: that kind of way, but they don't think they can

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Speaker 6: get everybody else to get on the same page with

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Speaker 6: them and to just straight up turn down the money

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Speaker 6: that comes with Notre Dame, even if the instant gratification

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Speaker 6: of the money is not ultimately worth what it would

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Speaker 6: be to kind of force Notre Dame's hand here.

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Speaker 3: But this is where, man, this is, And maybe this

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Speaker 3: is a flaw on how I see the world right now.

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Speaker 4: Maybe this is a me flawed. I'm willing to admit that.

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Speaker 3: Don't ask me to go running around the halls like

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Speaker 3: I'm Kermit the Frog with my air my arms flailing

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Speaker 3: the airs, and oh my god, there's a problem if

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Speaker 3: you have a solution to a problem and don't have

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Speaker 3: the self control to figure out a way to do it.

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Speaker 3: I just like, if the answer to all of this,

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Speaker 3: if we're going to sit here and say, oh my god,

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Speaker 3: it's a gross injustice that Notre Dame isn't in a

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Speaker 3: college football conference.

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Speaker 4: And I can lay out a real solution to that.

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Speaker 3: I can lay that out, but we all know it's

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Speaker 3: not real because college football won't have the self control

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Speaker 3: to execute that solution. Then I aim my problem like

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Speaker 3: at that point college football is inability to hold on

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Speaker 3: to what the lack of discipline it would take to

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Speaker 3: see it through. It would take one year, one year

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Speaker 3: of everybody shutting Notre Dame out. One year of that

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Speaker 3: would absolutely change the way Notre Dame has to do everything.

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Speaker 3: And that's why instead of sitting here saying, well, why

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Speaker 3: doesn't Notre Dame do this?

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Speaker 4: Why doesn't Notre Dame do that?

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Speaker 3: Like you're right, asking all of the schools in college

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Speaker 3: football to agree on anything is wildly difficult and difficult.

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Speaker 3: I understand that, I truly do. But man, if you

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Speaker 3: really want the power in this situation, then go take

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Speaker 3: the power. If you can't solve it yourself, then don't

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Speaker 3: see here. Like Notre Dame doesn't need to do a

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Speaker 3: damn thing. Notre Dame's going to always be able to

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Speaker 3: schedule enough, they're always going to get in the playoffs,

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Speaker 3: They'll never have to plan a conference, They're gonna be

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Speaker 3: just fine.

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Speaker 6: No, but who has the grid peer, because I mean

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Speaker 6: Jim Phillips was very diplomatic the Commission of the ACC

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Speaker 6: in the way that he's handled all this Notre Dame stuff,

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Speaker 6: even though again names that you would know other than

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Speaker 6: this college football playoff cycle. Pete Bavaqua, which is a

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Speaker 6: great last night just generally it's fun. He's the athletic

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Speaker 6: director at Notre Dame. Jim Phillips was very diplomatic about

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Speaker 6: how incendiary the comments of Pete Bavakua have been at

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Speaker 6: in the absence of that. Brett your Mark, the commissioner

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Speaker 6: of the Big Twelve. I can't remember the exact phrasing

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Speaker 6: that he used to describe the Notre Dame athletic director's behavior,

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Speaker 6: but he felt basically that it was inappropriate the way

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Speaker 6: that he was going about it.

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Speaker 5: And yet still the Big Twelve signed off on.

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Speaker 6: The idea that Notre Dame would be have an automatic

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Speaker 6: bid to the college football playoff here, so something, something

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Speaker 6: is different. There's a difference between what I feel like

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Speaker 6: the vast majority of fans want to see, which is

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Speaker 6: Notre Dame's hand being forced to be in a conference,

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Speaker 6: versus the people that aren't elected officials. Right, you don't

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Speaker 6: elect your conference commissioner to represent your best interests. They

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Speaker 6: just get put it in these jobs and say all right,

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Speaker 6: everything SEC Greg sank He's going to campaign and stump

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Speaker 6: for them at every turn. Different kind of politicking, but

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Speaker 6: it's an effective version of it. But you don't necessarily

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Speaker 6: need the approval of your constituency in those particular situations,

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Speaker 6: I feel like the people who are representing the interest

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Speaker 6: of college football do not accurately represent the interest of

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Speaker 6: the fans.

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Speaker 3: The eighth most watched college football game of the season

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Speaker 3: was Notre Dame versus Miami. That is the highest of

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Speaker 3: any of the Notre Dame games, and according to On

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Speaker 3: three Sports, the ten most watched college football teams aggregate

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Speaker 3: by average by viewers through the entire season Alabama, Texas, Georgia,

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Speaker 3: Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan, Texas, A and

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Speaker 3: m Notre Dame not even in the top ten. So

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Speaker 3: there's a real there's a real question about that, all right.

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Speaker 3: Speaking to questions, we'll get back to the NFL. It's

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Speaker 3: a huge weekend in the NFL. I'm still trying to

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Speaker 3: figure out who we can actually trust for what now

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Speaker 3: looks like a wide open AFC.

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Speaker 4: Is Jacksonville about to go to the Super Bowl.

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Speaker 3: We'll answer that question next block fits hanging out on

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Speaker 3: Fox Sports Radio.

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Speaker 2: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

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Speaker 2: the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio

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Speaker 2: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to

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Speaker 2: listen live. Polly Fools Go here with Tony Foodsco.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 8: As everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning

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Speaker 8: Polly and Tony Foodsco Show.

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Speaker 6: Yeah.

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Speaker 8: But instead of us telling you how great we are,

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Speaker 8: here's how Dan Fatrick described us when he came on

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Speaker 8: our show.

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Speaker 9: Quick, knowledgeable and funny, opinionated.

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Speaker 4: What are you doing interrupting our promo? Yeah, you wasn't

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Speaker 4: talking about you.

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Speaker 2: You took those clips totally of context.

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Speaker 8: Oh yeah, well after this promo, I'm gonna take you

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Speaker 8: out and beat you.

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Speaker 4: Let me put this into context. Shut up.

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Speaker 8: Yeah, anyway, Just listen to the Polly and Tony Fusco

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Speaker 8: Show on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 3: Yea, he's bug rising up. Jason fitz Bucket Fitz hanging

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Speaker 3: out with you on Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to

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00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,800
Speaker 3: subscribe to the Fox Sports Radio YouTube channel. Just search

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00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,280
Speaker 3: Fox Sports Radio on YouTube. You'll see our best videos

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00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,920
Speaker 3: from all our shows. Don't stop there. Hit that thumbs

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00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,480
Speaker 3: up icon. Comment away. Let us know whose takes you

351
00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:08,440
Speaker 3: like and even whose takes you don't like. Just search

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Speaker 3: Fox Sports Radio on YouTube and subscribe.

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Speaker 6: Buck.

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Speaker 3: I thought last weekend we'd get the answer to a

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Speaker 3: lot of questions in one particular game in the NFL,

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Speaker 3: the Jags, the warm weather Jags.

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Speaker 4: Going to the Broncos.

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Speaker 3: I spent all week hearing about Trevor Lawrence being hot

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Speaker 3: of late, and.

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Speaker 4: Then he looked at the opponents.

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Speaker 3: You're like, yeah, he's playing all trash teams, so he's

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Speaker 3: gonna go to Denver.

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Speaker 4: This all those thing's gonna melt down.

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Speaker 3: We're gonna realize that he's the weakness and nothing's really fixed.

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Speaker 3: I was convinced of this on Sunday morning as I awoke,

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Speaker 3: only to be slapped in the face by the realization

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Speaker 3: that if I thought the Broncos were a realistic Super

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Speaker 3: Bowl contender when last Sunday started, I now have to

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Speaker 3: put the Jags in that conversation, like there is still

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Speaker 3: a path for the Jags to get the number one seed.

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Speaker 3: I don't think anybody's talking about Jacksonville, but is Jacksonville

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Speaker 3: actually a Super Bowl caliber football team.

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Speaker 4: Do you?

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Speaker 6: Yes?

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Speaker 5: Absolutely?

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Speaker 6: Are there five better teams in football than Jacksonville?

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Speaker 4: Man, I know that just feels.

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Speaker 5: I did not think that.

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Speaker 6: Was gonna be the question that I flummixed you with

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Speaker 6: that night.

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Speaker 4: You did? You got me on that.

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Speaker 3: Like, Look, I think if we're if we're taking the AFC,

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Speaker 3: I'll separate the NFC because I think Seattle and the

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Speaker 3: Rams are maybe in a different.

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Speaker 4: Conversation, but in the AFC, I don't know.

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Speaker 3: Would I be surprised if this if the JAG's going

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Speaker 3: to run, Probably not. Would I be surprised if any

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Speaker 3: of these teams lost in the first round?

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Speaker 4: Probably not.

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Speaker 3: Like I honestly don't know who's good in the AFC,

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Speaker 3: Like they're all good.

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Speaker 4: I don't know who's great in the AFC.

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Speaker 5: Well, that's the thing.

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Speaker 6: I don't know that there's any definitive team that is

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Speaker 6: so much in that side of the bracket anyway, that

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Speaker 6: is so much better above and beyond the rest of

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Speaker 6: the competition. Because who are we talking about that would

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Speaker 6: have a similar, like just even a similar outlook than

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Speaker 6: the than the Jags. Right now, the Bills and the

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Speaker 6: Chargers have the same record, The Patriots and the Broncos

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Speaker 6: are two twelve win teams, But like, which of those

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Speaker 6: teams do you feel definitively great about relative to the

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Speaker 6: rest of them? Are you just saying it? Would you

404
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Speaker 6: just say Buffalo because Josh Allen is the last super

405
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Speaker 6: star quarterback of the three or four superstar quarterbacks on

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Speaker 6: that side of the thing that we usually end up

407
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Speaker 6: talking about Lamar Jackson is I mean, they're not out.

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Speaker 5: But they're they're teetering. The Baltimore Ravens.

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Speaker 6: Don't you don't You don't have to worry about Patrick

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Speaker 6: Mahomes at this point in time. Unfortunate. Obviously the injury

411
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Speaker 6: deeply unfortunate, but Patrick Mahomes is not going to be

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Speaker 6: participating in the postseason, and we don't know what he's

413
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Speaker 6: going to look like when he gets back from his

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Speaker 6: knee surgery. If you're talking about Denver, are you are

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Speaker 6: you so convicted in that defense that no matter what

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00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:05,480
Speaker 6: happens with bow Nicks, that that defense will be able

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Speaker 6: to bail them out. I don't know that you can

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Speaker 6: definitively say so. And I mean, I guess the Patriots

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00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,760
Speaker 6: are the best of the bunch, but even then, I

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Speaker 6: don't know, like were the Patriots and the Jags to

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Speaker 6: play on a neutral field, I would think that the

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Speaker 6: Jaguars would be favored.

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Speaker 4: I would think so. I would think, so, yeah.

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Speaker 6: They're better, They're a better defense, They're getting better quarterback

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Speaker 6: play theoretically at least, right. I mean, I know drag

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Speaker 6: mas an MVP. Canny was awesome in the second half

427
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Speaker 6: of that game. But like Trevor Lawrence has been pretty sick.

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Speaker 6: It's been I mean, I know they you know, he

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00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:46,399
Speaker 6: had five against the Jets. Of the what is he

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Speaker 6: have twelve touchdown passes and no interceptions in this six

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Speaker 6: game win streak that they're on.

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Speaker 5: I believe is the statistic thirteen.

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Speaker 4: I don't want to shorten one. I think it's thirteen.

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Speaker 6: But yeah, I mean either way, double digit touchdowns, no

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00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:01,639
Speaker 6: interceptions and six and zero in these last six weeks,

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00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,720
Speaker 6: and five of those are against the Jets. So whatever,

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00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:05,800
Speaker 6: But okay, go to Denver and do it, and they

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00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:09,480
Speaker 6: did it pretty decisively. They've got an awesome rushing attack

439
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,360
Speaker 6: to compliment that quarterback. We've talked about Jacoby Myers changing

440
00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:15,920
Speaker 6: the way that their offense works and how much smoother

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Speaker 6: it functions. Their defense is number one against the run.

442
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:21,199
Speaker 6: They're not great at getting the passer, but they create

443
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,520
Speaker 6: turnovers in bunches, and that's good enough to get you

444
00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:26,440
Speaker 6: additional opportunities to set.

445
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 5: That offense up for success.

446
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,080
Speaker 6: I don't know who's been playing better complimentary football right now, which,

447
00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:33,479
Speaker 6: at the end of the day, is really the thing

448
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,120
Speaker 6: that matters. For as much as we try to overcomplicate football,

449
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,080
Speaker 6: if you're just playing decent football in all three phases,

450
00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:40,640
Speaker 6: you're gonna end up winning the game.

451
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:41,360
Speaker 5: If you turn the.

452
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,840
Speaker 6: Ball over, or if you turn the ball over at

453
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,560
Speaker 6: a less frequent rate than your opponent, if you outrush

454
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,040
Speaker 6: your opponent, Like, it's really not that complicated some of

455
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,399
Speaker 6: these things that we talked about talk about. Jacksonville's doing

456
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:55,840
Speaker 6: it right now as we get ready for the postseason.

457
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:57,800
Speaker 6: We're not there yet, but right now they're doing it

458
00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,400
Speaker 6: better than anybody.

459
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,080
Speaker 3: I mean, I think the Patriots are hard part of

460
00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,840
Speaker 3: this example because the stat that's out there everywhere if

461
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,360
Speaker 3: you haven't seen it, is that the Patriots have as

462
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,879
Speaker 3: many wins this year over teams with a five hundred

463
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,639
Speaker 3: a better record too, as the Giants have two. Right, Like,

464
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,880
Speaker 3: that's what this schedule and look, you can only play

465
00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:18,120
Speaker 3: the teams that are on your schedule.

466
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,280
Speaker 4: But the fact is the Patriots just.

467
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,280
Speaker 3: Lost to the Bills a couple weeks ago in a crazy,

468
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:24,959
Speaker 3: crazy game, no doubt, and then they beat the Ravens

469
00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:26,879
Speaker 3: in a game that you know the Ravens were playing

470
00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:28,880
Speaker 3: without Lamar for how much of it And it came

471
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:30,720
Speaker 3: down to the very end of that thing, right. So,

472
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:32,600
Speaker 3: I don't know what to make of a team that

473
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 3: has wins over the Giants, the Bengals, the Jets, the Falcons,

474
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,840
Speaker 3: the Browns, the Titans, the Saints, Like those teams all suck,

475
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,720
Speaker 3: Just just they have a bunch of wins over a

476
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,000
Speaker 3: lot of teams that suck. Now, I could say the

477
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,720
Speaker 3: same thing about the Bills. Look, the Bills are so

478
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,080
Speaker 3: maddeningly inconsistent. I don't know, Like one week, it looks

479
00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,280
Speaker 3: like one half it looks like the Bills are out

480
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:54,680
Speaker 3: of the game, and then all of a sudden, it's

481
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,720
Speaker 3: like Josh Allen comes up like he's hault Cogan in

482
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,119
Speaker 3: the eighties. The hand doesn't hit the mat on the

483
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,560
Speaker 3: third one and they as so he's up at Halkeman.

484
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 3: He is running wild all over you, like it's just

485
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,760
Speaker 3: it's a weird dynamic this year in the AFC because

486
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:11,280
Speaker 3: there are so many fatal flaws to every single team,

487
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:13,560
Speaker 3: but at the same time they're winning a boatload of games.

488
00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,800
Speaker 3: Like the AFC feels to mean like as a bunch

489
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,919
Speaker 3: of like really good teams and a bunch of terrible teams,

490
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:21,959
Speaker 3: And so when you're beating up on the terrible all

491
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,600
Speaker 3: the time, it makes it difficult to figure out. I

492
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:26,920
Speaker 3: want to get your thoughts on the Steelers and where

493
00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:28,080
Speaker 3: they fall in this equation.

494
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:29,840
Speaker 4: But first, Steve to Sega.

495
00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:31,440
Speaker 3: Get us caught up on the scoreboard right now, what's

496
00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:33,480
Speaker 3: going on around the globe.

497
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:36,159
Speaker 5: James going in the NBA.

498
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,120
Speaker 10: Still, we do have a final, Orlando winning at Portland

499
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,679
Speaker 10: one ten, one oh six, So just a couple games

500
00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,960
Speaker 10: still go on. Two minutes left, Pistons might be winning again.

501
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,119
Speaker 10: That would put the record at twenty four and six.

502
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:51,960
Speaker 10: They're leading at Sacramento one twenty nine to one twenty. Also,

503
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,359
Speaker 10: the late game in LA has the Clippers still ahead

504
00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:56,760
Speaker 10: of Houston under ten minutes to go. It's one oh

505
00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,680
Speaker 10: one eighty eight for a Clippers team that is seven

506
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,480
Speaker 10: and twenty one this year. Indiana lost at sixth straight

507
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,440
Speaker 10: record of six and twenty four, lost at home to Milwaukee,

508
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,439
Speaker 10: won eleven to ninety four. New Orleans is eight and

509
00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:11,439
Speaker 10: twenty three. They had won five in a row but

510
00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,440
Speaker 10: lost at Cleveland Tonight won forty one to one eighteen.

511
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:19,200
Speaker 10: Donovan Mitchell twenty seven points. Victories for Charlotte, Toronto and Brooklyn,

512
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:21,520
Speaker 10: which was eight and nineteen but got to win at

513
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,959
Speaker 10: Philadelphia won fourteen one oh six despite twenty seven points

514
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 10: from Joel Embiid. Chicago edged Atlanta won twenty six one

515
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 10: twenty three, although the Hawks Trey Young had fifteen assists

516
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,720
Speaker 10: and just one turnover. Minnesota at home beat New York

517
00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:38,400
Speaker 10: won fifteen one oh four despite forty points from Karl

518
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,240
Speaker 10: Anthony Towns. Jalen Brunson did not play. Dallas edged Denver

519
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,200
Speaker 10: won thirty one one thirty thirty three points for Cooper

520
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,560
Speaker 10: Flag and thirty one for Anthony Davis. San Antonio won

521
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,320
Speaker 10: its seventh straight game a strong fourth quarter and they

522
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:55,200
Speaker 10: whipped Oklahoma City won thirty to one ten. Shay Gillich

523
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,399
Speaker 10: kildus Alexander thirty three points. You know Okase He's lost

524
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,520
Speaker 10: three of five now in including twice to the Spurs.

525
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,520
Speaker 10: Victories for Phoenix and Memphis College basketball wins for Saint

526
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,240
Speaker 10: John's and Villanova, which won at seed in all sixty

527
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,480
Speaker 10: four fifty six NHL overtime victories for Nashville at Minnesota,

528
00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,680
Speaker 10: and for Detroit at home against Dallas. Bryce Harper says

529
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,359
Speaker 10: he will play for Team USA and the World Baseball

530
00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,640
Speaker 10: Classic in March. The two game suspension of Steelers wide

531
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:25,560
Speaker 10: receiver DK Metcalf was upheld. He had appealed. He loses

532
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,439
Speaker 10: two game checks and reportedly forty five million dollars in

533
00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:33,119
Speaker 10: future guarantees in his contract. The two game suspension of

534
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,680
Speaker 10: Chargers linebacker Denzel Parriman was also upheld. The Cardinals signed

535
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 10: former Rams kicker Joshua Carty. Buffalo tried out three kickers

536
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:43,200
Speaker 10: but did not sign any of them.

537
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:43,560
Speaker 6: Today.

538
00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:47,120
Speaker 10: Starter Matt Prater still has a quad injury. Bill's quarterback

539
00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:49,879
Speaker 10: Josh Allen says he will play this weekend despite the

540
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:53,399
Speaker 10: foot injury. The Ravens lists quarterback Lamar Jackson with his

541
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 10: bruised back, as a non participant on today's practice report.

542
00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,840
Speaker 10: The Colts will start QB Philip Rivers again, with Riley

543
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:04,040
Speaker 10: Leonard as the backup quarterback for Washington Marcus Mariota missed

544
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,919
Speaker 10: another walk through due to hand and quad injuries. The

545
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:11,200
Speaker 10: Commander's host Dallas on Christmas, and Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy

546
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 10: will miss the Christmas game against the Lions. He has

547
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,000
Speaker 10: a hairline fracture in his right hand. Green Bay QB

548
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,000
Speaker 10: Jordan Love was limited at practice. He's still in concussion

549
00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 10: protocol and the backup quarterback there, Malik Willis, was limited

550
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,120
Speaker 10: with a sore shoulder. College Football Bowl victories for Ohio,

551
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 10: U Western Kentucky and Louisville. Hawaii hosts the Hawaii Bowl

552
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:33,600
Speaker 10: on Christmas Eve against Cal Back to you.

553
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,520
Speaker 3: He's buck rising on Jason Fitz hanging out with you,

554
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:42,920
Speaker 3: bucking Fitz Fox Sports Radio. All right, so if we agree,

555
00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,520
Speaker 3: I can't you know, as we've gone through this, I

556
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,399
Speaker 3: can't trust Bonnix, right, So we'll say that that's at

557
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:50,640
Speaker 3: least a factor. Although bo was playing much better of late,

558
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,080
Speaker 3: I think the Jags just looked like a much more

559
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:54,680
Speaker 3: complete team.

560
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:56,359
Speaker 4: We've talked about, you know.

561
00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:59,560
Speaker 3: Trust issues with the Patriots, trust issues with the Bills.

562
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,320
Speaker 4: You just go up and down the list.

563
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:04,320
Speaker 3: As Steve Desinger just pointed out, no DK for the

564
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,840
Speaker 3: next couple of weeks. But the Steelers, a team they

565
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:08,440
Speaker 3: were supposed to be left for dead when they got

566
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,760
Speaker 3: to the meat of their schedule, and a team that, man,

567
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:12,119
Speaker 3: I'm not really still I'm.

568
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:13,520
Speaker 4: Not sure how good the Steelers are.

569
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:15,919
Speaker 3: But my god, they just went in and they beat

570
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,680
Speaker 3: Detroit in a game that they absolutely had to have

571
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:22,320
Speaker 3: and a game that their defense just looked lights out.

572
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,399
Speaker 3: They went into Detroit and won. Like, at what point

573
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,199
Speaker 3: do we not look at the Steelers and say, in

574
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:31,760
Speaker 3: a wide open AFC, why not Pittsburgh?

575
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:36,640
Speaker 6: Hm, why not Pittsburgh.

576
00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:38,760
Speaker 5: Rogers is playing really well.

577
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,480
Speaker 6: And I think that's you know, I don't know if

578
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,240
Speaker 6: that's a surprise. I just I guess this is all

579
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:49,120
Speaker 6: going a lot better than I expected. And this game

580
00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,040
Speaker 6: at the end of the season with the Ravens, it's losing.

581
00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:55,280
Speaker 6: It's it's luster that Week eighteen matchup that we thought

582
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,640
Speaker 6: could be for the division. But the Ravens just, I mean,

583
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,120
Speaker 6: I don't they didn't fall apart against the Patriots, Lamar

584
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,600
Speaker 6: leaving the game and dealing with a back injury and

585
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,119
Speaker 6: then being in it till the end until Todd Munkin

586
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,560
Speaker 6: just decides he doesn't need Derrick Henry for basically the

587
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,440
Speaker 6: entire final quarter of the game is very very confusing

588
00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,040
Speaker 6: for me, especially and apparently confusing for John Harbaugh, who

589
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:17,879
Speaker 6: got up there and said he didn't necessarily agree with

590
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,120
Speaker 6: that position as the head coach, which, again, do your job.

591
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 6: But Aaron Rodgers is playing pretty high level football. How

592
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,800
Speaker 6: many quarterbacks in the AFC do you trust more than

593
00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,719
Speaker 6: Aaron Rodgers? Do you trust Aaron Rodgers right now? Do

594
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,399
Speaker 6: we think we're seeing? I mean, Philip Rivers is what

595
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:37,560
Speaker 6: three years older than him? And I know that the

596
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,240
Speaker 6: Niners got dusted on Monday night forty eight to twenty seven, But.

597
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 5: Philip Rivers playing pretty good football.

598
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:49,680
Speaker 6: I don't know how much credit needs to be given

599
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:53,000
Speaker 6: to a savvy veteran quarterback whose body is holding up

600
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,000
Speaker 6: better than average, being able to navigate a team that's

601
00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,400
Speaker 6: good enough in giving them again, good enough compl metory

602
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,360
Speaker 6: play on defense and special teams to navigate through an

603
00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 6: AFC that's pretty uncertain. Would you how many teams with

604
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,880
Speaker 6: the Steelers? How many teams who have double digit wins

605
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,080
Speaker 6: right now in the AFC? Would the Steelers be favored

606
00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 6: on a neutral field against the Chargers, the Patriots, not

607
00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:25,760
Speaker 6: the Broncos, in the AFC. I'm not really sure how

608
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:31,320
Speaker 6: many teams would Vegas would view as definitively better than Pittsburgh.

609
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,240
Speaker 3: And that's where see it gets interesting because the Chargers,

610
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:37,080
Speaker 3: by the way, there's a very real scenario we are

611
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:39,280
Speaker 3: likely going to end up with a Week eighteen matchup

612
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,520
Speaker 3: between the Chargers and the Broncos that is going to

613
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,040
Speaker 3: be for the AFC West. The Chargers are eleven and four,

614
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,920
Speaker 3: the Broncos are twelve and three. The Chargers will have

615
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,640
Speaker 3: the tiebreaker if they beat the Broncos again in Week eighteen,

616
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,720
Speaker 3: So you're talking about a massive Week eighteen matchup for

617
00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:56,680
Speaker 3: the Chargers, who are banged up all over the place,

618
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,040
Speaker 3: shouldn't be as good as they are. Their offensive line

619
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,920
Speaker 3: has just been testimated by injuries. They seem to be a.

620
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:02,720
Speaker 4: Shell of themselves.

621
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,280
Speaker 3: Yet they are eleven and four, and if the playoffs

622
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:07,800
Speaker 3: were going to start today, If the playoffs started today,

623
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,680
Speaker 3: the LA Chargers would have to go to Pittsburgh. That

624
00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:13,400
Speaker 3: is not a great SITCHU West Coast team going east coast.

625
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:15,600
Speaker 3: Weather's always going to be a factor in that going

626
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:16,880
Speaker 3: to be an ugly football game.

627
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 4: The Steelers defense should be able to.

628
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,560
Speaker 3: Apply pressure on a beat up Chargers offensive line, physical

629
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,800
Speaker 3: football game, Like I could see Pittsburgh winning that game,

630
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:27,400
Speaker 3: and then all of a sudden, you have this weird

631
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,720
Speaker 3: spot where I don't think the Steelers are a great

632
00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,800
Speaker 3: football team. But if they rented this year to try

633
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:34,040
Speaker 3: and just figure out a way to get.

634
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 4: A playoff win, they got the playoff win.

635
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:38,280
Speaker 3: They still don't have a long term manser at the

636
00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:40,680
Speaker 3: quarterback position. They still need a lot of help all

637
00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:42,680
Speaker 3: over their roster. I don't know that they solved any

638
00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,640
Speaker 3: of the issues that had fans wanting Tomlin fired a

639
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:48,720
Speaker 3: month ago, right, but there's still a real shot that

640
00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:50,960
Speaker 3: these Steelers, I mean, at the very least, here's what

641
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 3: we know.

642
00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,120
Speaker 4: The Steelers are going to have a winning record.

643
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:55,400
Speaker 3: Yet again, I think that's a bit of a tired stat,

644
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,760
Speaker 3: but it's still out there. They get the Browns and

645
00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 3: the Ravens, they have a very very real shot at

646
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 3: ending eleven and six eleven for a team that we

647
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 3: had Tomlin left for.

648
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:06,040
Speaker 4: Dead a month ago.

649
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:09,920
Speaker 3: Eleven and six home playoff game against a could be

650
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,240
Speaker 3: a West Coast team right there, Like that feels like

651
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:13,720
Speaker 3: your great matchup for the Steelers.

652
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,320
Speaker 6: So if they I mean it does feel like a

653
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:23,640
Speaker 6: great matchup if they were to win eleven games, let's say,

654
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:25,680
Speaker 6: but lose in the first round of the postseason. When's

655
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:27,400
Speaker 6: the last time they won a postseason game. It's been

656
00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:29,280
Speaker 6: a couple of years, right, I mean, oh, it's been

657
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,400
Speaker 6: a long time, right, It's like they have It's not

658
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,160
Speaker 6: quite a decade, but it's something pretty close. I want

659
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,800
Speaker 6: to say, I don't have the stat in front of me,

660
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:39,640
Speaker 6: and I don't think it's a tired stat that the

661
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:42,720
Speaker 6: Steelers haven't had a losing record under Mike Tomlin. I

662
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 6: think it's a tribute to him and the job that

663
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,240
Speaker 6: he does in the organizational stability that they have that

664
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,440
Speaker 6: you should not turn your nose up at that. And

665
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,680
Speaker 6: I'm not here to wag a finger at Steelers fans

666
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,840
Speaker 6: because they have higher standards than a lot of NFL

667
00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:57,760
Speaker 6: fan bases, and I respect that, but still, it's it's

668
00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,360
Speaker 6: a tremendous accomplishment to be able to win at that

669
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:04,400
Speaker 6: rate and continue to maintain those standards as teams all

670
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,440
Speaker 6: over the place bottom out with regularity and think that

671
00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,120
Speaker 6: just draft picks are going to be able to get

672
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:10,120
Speaker 6: them back to competency.

673
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:16,120
Speaker 3: Twenty seventeen was their last playoff win, twenty seventeen Divisional round.

674
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:16,880
Speaker 6: One hundred years ago.

675
00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:18,760
Speaker 4: They went to AFC.

676
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,920
Speaker 3: Wildcard win and a divisional playoff win, both in January

677
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:22,920
Speaker 3: of twenty seventeen.

678
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,320
Speaker 6: So they win eleven games this year, but they lose

679
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 6: in the first round to whomever you pick your matchup X.

680
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,480
Speaker 6: Does Mike Tomlin coach the Pittsburgh Steelers next year?

681
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:37,880
Speaker 3: I don't think there's anything even if they lose their

682
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:39,520
Speaker 3: last two games and get beat by forty in the

683
00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:42,240
Speaker 3: first round of the playoffs. The Steelers don't do they

684
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:46,160
Speaker 3: don't do things rash to me, there's zero chance Tomlin

685
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,280
Speaker 3: doesn't come like I think one of the under talked

686
00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 3: about storylines of the NFL is that.

687
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,360
Speaker 4: A lot of these coaches are coming back. But yes,

688
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:53,160
Speaker 4: Tomlin's coming back.

689
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:57,360
Speaker 5: To you agree, I would be inclined to agree.

690
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:02,160
Speaker 6: I just again, I'm just put some level of blind

691
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:04,040
Speaker 6: faith that the Steelers are going to continue to be

692
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:06,080
Speaker 6: stable that way, and as long as Tomlin wants to

693
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:08,200
Speaker 6: be there, that they wouldn't rock the boat unless he can,

694
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:12,200
Speaker 6: you know, unless he starts to lose some of that

695
00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:14,600
Speaker 6: luster that makes him so good at that job. And

696
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:18,480
Speaker 6: again I get that Steelers fans would complain and say, well,

697
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:20,320
Speaker 6: he's not actually that good at that job. He's just

698
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:22,520
Speaker 6: kind of treading water and it's keeping us from doing

699
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:26,080
Speaker 6: any meaning or winning of consequence. But I don't know, man,

700
00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:28,680
Speaker 6: I just don't think you're in a situation. There's so

701
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:33,760
Speaker 6: little good, actual good NFL coaching, like genuinely good NFL coaching,

702
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 6: that I just don't think you can turn your nose

703
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:37,000
Speaker 6: up with the one that you have.

704
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,800
Speaker 3: That's why when we come back, I think a lot

705
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:42,760
Speaker 3: of you guys that are already looking forward to the

706
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,040
Speaker 3: draft and you're saying the offseason is going to fix everything.

707
00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:47,280
Speaker 3: My team's about to turn it around. You're gonna be

708
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,040
Speaker 3: pretty stunned when some of these terrible teams keep their

709
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:50,520
Speaker 3: head coach.

710
00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:51,320
Speaker 4: I'll explain why.

711
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,520
Speaker 3: Coming up next to his buck Rising Up, Jason Fitzbucking

712
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,200
Speaker 3: Fits hanging out with you on Fox Sports Radio.

713
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:57,880
Speaker 2: Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith

714
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:01,920
Speaker 2: Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten eastern seven pm Pacific.

715
00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,360
Speaker 3: It's Fucking Fits taking over Fox Sports Radio. On The

716
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:07,320
Speaker 3: Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmn He's Buck Rising on

717
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:12,520
Speaker 3: Jason Fitz. Throw the guys for a loop here, we

718
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:14,560
Speaker 3: got to tell you about the tyrack play of the day.

719
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,160
Speaker 3: For over forty years, Tyraq has been helping customers find

720
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,640
Speaker 3: the right tires for how, what and where they drive.

721
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,720
Speaker 3: Chapman shipped fast and free, backed by free road hazard

722
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,480
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723
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:29,680
Speaker 3: options like mobile tire installation.

724
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:30,840
Speaker 4: You cannot stop that.

725
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:35,160
Speaker 3: Tire rack dot Com the way tire buying should be. Guys,

726
00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:36,680
Speaker 3: Let's hear the Tyrack play of the day.

727
00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:39,000
Speaker 9: Davis, he's feeling it with six to shoot. Here comes

728
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,560
Speaker 9: to double from Jokics out to flag, three to shoot,

729
00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:47,520
Speaker 9: top of York three two, huge three pointer, a season

730
00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:51,640
Speaker 9: high four three point shot, his third game of thirty

731
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:52,560
Speaker 9: or more this year.

732
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,840
Speaker 6: That is courtesy of ninety seven point one the Eagle

733
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:01,000
Speaker 6: Mavericks Radio network. The day.

734
00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:03,960
Speaker 3: Look at that look look at the teamwork to make

735
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:08,120
Speaker 3: the dreamwork high five from many states away. I think

736
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:12,280
Speaker 3: some fans are gonna be disappointed when their favorite teams

737
00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:15,279
Speaker 3: don't fire their head coaches. And this is so I

738
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:18,719
Speaker 3: see this permeate into everything, and right now I've spent

739
00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 3: more time ever since Yahoo Sports Daily launched, which By

740
00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,200
Speaker 3: the way, you can check out on Yahoo every morning

741
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,400
Speaker 3: through the week. Ever since that launched, I've spent a

742
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:31,120
Speaker 3: lot more time just scouring the thoughts of fan bases.

743
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,040
Speaker 3: So I spend more time on Reddit and social media

744
00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:34,960
Speaker 3: and just trying to get a sense of where everybody

745
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,400
Speaker 3: are for our conversations that we're going to have and

746
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:40,040
Speaker 3: what's alarming to me. And you know, even within our

747
00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:41,919
Speaker 3: show staff. We've got a Ravens fan on the show

748
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,600
Speaker 3: that works on the show and he can't wait for

749
00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:47,799
Speaker 3: Harbaugh to be fired. We've got a Browns fan on

750
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,520
Speaker 3: the show that cannot wait for Stefansgate to get fired.

751
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:53,120
Speaker 3: We've got a Bills fan on the show that thinks

752
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:54,719
Speaker 3: McDermot should be done if they don't go to the

753
00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 3: Super Bowl this year.

754
00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,839
Speaker 4: The list goes on and on, and what really hit

755
00:35:58,920 --> 00:35:59,520
Speaker 4: me So I went.

756
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,560
Speaker 5: Through this car agree with that last one, by the way.

757
00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:05,200
Speaker 4: I mean, that's the difficult part on this.

758
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,040
Speaker 3: There's this process for everybody, and you don't want to

759
00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:09,200
Speaker 3: settle for mediocrity.

760
00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:10,919
Speaker 4: But also, this isn't last year.

761
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:13,560
Speaker 3: There isn't a Ben Johnson out there that everybody covets

762
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:14,880
Speaker 3: and universally.

763
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:15,799
Speaker 4: Understands is the guy.

764
00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,439
Speaker 3: So I'm looking across and I've spent so much time

765
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,520
Speaker 3: on Sundays, I just like to go in and type

766
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:22,200
Speaker 3: in the name of the team and just read as

767
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:25,240
Speaker 3: much as I can. From the concept of fans, everybody

768
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,400
Speaker 3: wants their favorite team to fire their head coach, and

769
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,120
Speaker 3: so I thought about that as I was reading ESPN's

770
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:34,360
Speaker 3: article about ranking the top eight jobs that could be

771
00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:37,440
Speaker 3: open this offseason. And I think it's funny because in

772
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,319
Speaker 3: my opinion, when you look across the board, based on

773
00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:42,480
Speaker 3: what I've been able to read from people that do

774
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:44,919
Speaker 3: a good job covering these teams, what I've been able

775
00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 3: to get from insiders that I think to a good

776
00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,120
Speaker 3: job covering it. If you look at the top eight jobs,

777
00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:53,920
Speaker 3: Cincinnati Bengals, I do not think it's coming open. Arizona Cardinals,

778
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:55,839
Speaker 3: it might all right, But then go through the rest

779
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,879
Speaker 3: of Bill's list. Browns, I don't think they're firing Stefanski.

780
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:02,279
Speaker 3: Titans are already open, Giants are already open. Falcons, I

781
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,000
Speaker 3: don't think they're making a fire. Miami Dolphins, I don't

782
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,160
Speaker 3: think they're making a fire. The Raiders, I think they are.

783
00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:09,480
Speaker 3: When you go up and down, we're used to a

784
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,040
Speaker 3: ton of openings. But Buck, I think a lot of

785
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:14,959
Speaker 3: these fan bases are going to be shell shocked about

786
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,399
Speaker 3: January tenth when they realize that their bad team isn't

787
00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:21,200
Speaker 3: changing their coach, because teams are just trying to let

788
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:22,279
Speaker 3: this process play out.

789
00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:23,520
Speaker 4: A little bit, and they're trying to figure out a

790
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:27,200
Speaker 4: way to rebuild.

791
00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:30,560
Speaker 6: Man Which would be the which would be the toughest

792
00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:36,560
Speaker 6: pill to swallow of those non firings the Bengals.

793
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,319
Speaker 3: Everybody wants Zach what seck Taylor going to do about

794
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:41,120
Speaker 3: that defense?

795
00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:45,640
Speaker 6: It's not the their offense scores forty ath will like,

796
00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:47,759
Speaker 6: I don't know how that's a Zach Taylor. I mean,

797
00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:50,239
Speaker 6: I guess he's picking these defensive coordinators.

798
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,960
Speaker 5: But also, is that not a play? Is that not

799
00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:52,480
Speaker 5: a person?

800
00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:56,120
Speaker 6: Lsu lou Anarumo looks fine in Indianapolis, and he's got

801
00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,040
Speaker 6: better players than he did in Cincinnati, Like Cincinnati's defensive

802
00:37:59,120 --> 00:37:59,920
Speaker 6: roster has fallen.

803
00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:03,879
Speaker 5: I don't know how that's Zach Taylor's problem one percent.

804
00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:06,319
Speaker 3: That's why I don't think they're making a change. In fact,

805
00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,239
Speaker 3: if you read the athletic I like to read the

806
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:11,279
Speaker 3: athletic writers because I think they're a little bit more

807
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,200
Speaker 3: dialed in than most. And the athletic writer that covers

808
00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:16,200
Speaker 3: the Bengals, forgive me for not remembering the name off

809
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:18,080
Speaker 3: the top of my head, put an article out last

810
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,719
Speaker 3: week saying, hey, none of them are going anywhere. The

811
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:24,200
Speaker 3: defensive coordinator Zach Taylor, the GM, none of them are

812
00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:26,879
Speaker 3: going anywhere. Now, I could all day long you tell

813
00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:29,759
Speaker 3: me the GM's going so like I need different people picking.

814
00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:35,520
Speaker 3: I'm all in on making a change, a coordinator change

815
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:38,440
Speaker 3: or a GM change. I'm sorry, but you're right to

816
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:41,360
Speaker 3: that point. They've made coordinator change after coordinator change with

817
00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:44,760
Speaker 3: respected coordinators and it hasn't made a difference to Browns.

818
00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:46,160
Speaker 4: Another one that you know.

819
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,320
Speaker 3: I talked to Charles Robinson, are great insider at y'ahoo

820
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,400
Speaker 3: at length a couple of months ago, asking him, hey,

821
00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:54,320
Speaker 3: is to fancy on the hot seat, and he pointed

822
00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,360
Speaker 3: something out look from the outset this year, the Browns

823
00:38:57,360 --> 00:38:59,400
Speaker 3: did not believe they were going to be competitive. What

824
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:02,239
Speaker 3: they believe during this course of this season was they

825
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:05,080
Speaker 3: needed to identify and develop young talent. If you look

826
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,640
Speaker 3: at what has gone right for Cleveland, it's the way

827
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:09,799
Speaker 3: their rookie class is developed throughout the course of the year.

828
00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:12,200
Speaker 3: Not it takes your door out of this conversation, but

829
00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,399
Speaker 3: everybody else from that rookie class, it looks really damn

830
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:19,200
Speaker 3: good and they're all growing. So Cleveland understood this was

831
00:39:19,239 --> 00:39:22,880
Speaker 3: a multi year process. I don't think Stefanski is going

832
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:24,960
Speaker 3: to be is going to be gone. I think Cleveland

833
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,360
Speaker 3: Browns fans are gonna have to accept that this The Browns.

834
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,480
Speaker 4: Knew that this was the beginning of a multi year build.

835
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,600
Speaker 6: I think I think I would have a harder time

836
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,960
Speaker 6: accepting that Kevin Stefanski was not going to be fired

837
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:39,640
Speaker 6: if I was a Browns fan. That if I was

838
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:42,280
Speaker 6: a Bengals fan and you told me Zach Taylor was staying,

839
00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:43,840
Speaker 6: I think that's.

840
00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:44,959
Speaker 5: Really I mean fire.

841
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:46,200
Speaker 4: Would you fire Stefanski?

842
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:49,120
Speaker 5: I think so.

843
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,080
Speaker 6: I just I'm very confused, and it maybe it's just

844
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:55,960
Speaker 6: because I watched one of the worst coach games that

845
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:58,719
Speaker 6: he had this year in person, Like I was in

846
00:39:58,719 --> 00:40:01,759
Speaker 6: Cleveland for that Titan game that the Titans went into

847
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:03,839
Speaker 6: Cleveland and won, and again they're not those aren't good

848
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:05,960
Speaker 6: football teams, but some of the decision making on the

849
00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:09,480
Speaker 6: two point conversions that they had where Shador had, you know,

850
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:11,279
Speaker 6: as good a game as any rookie has had all

851
00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:12,879
Speaker 6: year long, and they take him out of the game

852
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,200
Speaker 6: on the two point tries. It's just very, very weird

853
00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:19,600
Speaker 6: stuff that apparently, if you ask again, Browns fans will

854
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:21,600
Speaker 6: tell you he's been that person all year long.

855
00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:23,719
Speaker 5: But that was just a very visceral example of it.

856
00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:27,239
Speaker 6: It's like, I don't get it. I don't understand what

857
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:29,640
Speaker 6: he's trying to accomplish here, even as I know he

858
00:40:29,719 --> 00:40:32,040
Speaker 6: is a good coach and has been a good coach previously.

859
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:35,160
Speaker 3: I think what he's telling you is he doesn't trust Shador.

860
00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:37,040
Speaker 3: And by the way, I had no problem with that

861
00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:39,839
Speaker 3: play called Shador on a previous two point conversion had

862
00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:42,399
Speaker 3: flubbed the snap. I don't think he's gotten enough reps

863
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:44,920
Speaker 3: on two point conversion plays to have a whole library

864
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,080
Speaker 3: of them to be ready. And their offensive coordinator two

865
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 3: weeks before that spoke to their local media about how

866
00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:53,120
Speaker 3: much they prefer running wildcat in short yarded situations. So

867
00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,000
Speaker 3: it all speaks to why this is a process. We'll

868
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,280
Speaker 3: keep breaking down the process and maybe a surprise firing

869
00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:00,600
Speaker 3: coming next Bucket right and Fitz

870
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:02,000
Speaker 4: I should say, Fox Sports Radio