Transcript of Is LSU the University That is Most Committed to Winning Outside the Lines? | Hour 1

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So let's start with some college football here, and the first thing I want to point out though, Lane Kiffin met with the media yesterday. All right, and I brought this up, I brought this up on yesterday's show because, you know, you have what's his name, Dayquan Wright. Dayquan Wright played for the Cleveland Browns this preseason, played in an actual preseason game, and he asked to be waived by the Browns so that he could enter the transfer portal. All right, he's in the transfer portal, and once he clears waivers which he will, he's going to play for LSU. That's right, a player who played in an— played in— played in an NFL preseason game is going to play for LSU maybe as soon as next weekend. Uh, I'll be there for that against Clemson in Death Valley. And Todd Monken, the coach of the Cleveland Browns, mentioned over the weekend that he had a voice message, he had a missed call from Lane Kiffin. I've, you know, never got around to calling him. I guess I should have. So I said yesterday, I said this to Tony, I said, I think he's just effing around. Like, you think Lane Kiffin actually called him?

I think it was just like an anecdote. Oh, you know, Lane Kiffin, he's always, he's always up to wacky things. You know, he called me and Tony's like, no, why would he make that up? Well, here's Lane Kiffin yesterday telling you he doesn't know who the hell Todd Monken is.

There's some inaccuracies in that story, but I don't know, maybe someone else called him and said they were me, you know. So I actually don't know Todd. So I guess somebody left him a text or called. That was me because I don't know where I have his number.

He may as well just got it to the mic. So I don't know that fool.

What a tan.

He looks great, right? He looks really good.

You called it out.

Maybe too much.

Yeah, I think he looks good.

Well, sunscreen, maybe sunblock.

But Todd Monken just out there telling whoppers, claiming that Lane Kiffin is calling coaches.

They don't know each other. They both have been coaching for a very long time.

Says he doesn't know him.

Horrible week for Todd Monk in my opinion. My opinion of Todd Monk—

why? What else happened here?

To the damn, uh, basement, whatever you call it.

Never thinking about Todd. Now I hate having to form opinions and they're not favorable.

Not at all.

You are 99.9% of people.

So this is kind of a thing, right, where you have these players— there, there was a, a court, there was an injunction, right? and in Louisiana where they've said that these players, you know, some of them are, are eligible for a 5th year when previously they didn't think that they were eligible for a 5th year. And one of these players is Daquan Wright, who's like, all right, you know, I'm gonna get out of Cleveland, I'm gonna go back to LSU, I'm gonna play there and maybe make a little bit of money at the same time. I'm gonna go back to school for another year. And think, think about how far the pendulum has swung from one side to the other where You used to not be able to transfer schools. In order to transfer, your coach had to sign off on it. He had to let you transfer. And then when you did transfer, you had to sit out a year. Oh, that was the rules forever. And now you could appear in an NFL game and then play college football a couple weeks later. That's, that's unbelievable. And so the SEC released a statement yesterday, and I will read it to you.

The SEC released a statement after a Monday evening video conference of the presidents and chancellors of the Southeastern Conference. The conference is issuing the following statement, quote: College athletes, not former professional athletes, have been at the heart of the Southeastern Conference. Individuals who choose to leave college athletics, sign professional player contracts, and compete professionally should not then be permitted to return to college competition. Allowing that to occur will blur the line between college and professional sports, create significant competitive equity concerns, and reduce opportunities for high and current college athletes. College sports are for college athletes. The current confusion around national eligibility standards emphasizes the need to advance the Protect College Sports Act. So, Mike Ryan, the SEC releases that statement yesterday, and your thoughts are what?

So it's just an opinion. They didn't come out and make an edict. The Big Ten just put out a statement where they made a ruling where they said anybody that declared for the NFL, signed a contract, appeared in a game, they are not eligible to return to college.

Yeah, Pete Thamel just put out this tweet here that says the Big Ten is set to pass a rule today that doesn't allow players to return from the NFL and play for a Big Ten school. Anyone who was declared for the NFL Draft and did not withdraw, appeared on an NFL roster, or signed a contract with the pro league cannot be on a Big Ten roster.

So let's read into that from the Big Ten. They only single out the NFL. We don't know what this means for—

well, no, it said here, or a pro league.

Okay, but they're really I guess because football season's right around the corner, they're really hammering football. But I still think that there's some room to work with for basketball. The SEC said, you know, college is for college athletes, but they didn't make a ruling the way that the Big Ten did.

Well, and mind you, the SEC makes that statement, yet the school we're talking about here is an SEC-membered university, right?

And I know we're talking about what's happening with the football team. Go ahead and look at what Will Wade's trying to do with the basketball team. That statement probably has more ramifications for LSU basketball, but they didn't make a ruling the way that the Big Ten did. They just came out with a statement and they just took the opportunity where behind closed doors, Lane Kiffin signing half the Browns practice squad, but front-facing, hey, let's use this to push the Save College Sports Act, which benefits the SEC and the Big Ten primarily.

Can I ask you something? It's, it's pretty— would you say that it's rare that a player who— unless we're talking quarterback, probably— but a player who is going to use their 5th year of eligibility, that's not a big-time player, right? Because if it were a big-time player, he's probably joining the NFL after year 3 or year 4.

So one of the things that I asked about, what does this mean for the Indiana Hoosiers, the reigning national champion? They have 2 guys.

Mendoza gonna go back.

Not Mendoza, but they had a D-lineman. Remember the guy that got hurt celebrating the Big Ten title? He was part of the group of 22 eligible players, which let's, let's parse this a little bit. Those guys got left in a bad spot. They were treated unfairly. They're the lone class that didn't get an extra year because of COVID And then the NCAA came out and said 5 years, whatever. So we all knew that this was going to happen with this class. They had 2 guys return to their roster. But what sets them apart And what helps make the Big Ten statement more convenient was they never went to the next level. They were waiting to see what was going to happen with this, and they're still pending. They're practicing with the team, but they haven't been ruled eligible yet, but they're not ruled out by this Big Ten statement. So that's interesting. There isn't an example right now, like LSU, of them inviting any of these guys onto their roster. So it's easy, especially with the season days away, to make this ruling right now. Honestly, some of the players should have come out and challenged this a little bit more sooner because given the, the record that the NCAA has, even though they got— they technically did finally get a win on this.

However, you can still challenge individually. You can sue individually and get a temporary restraining order and find your way back. All of this is confusing. All of this is a mess. And it leads me to believe as little credit as I want to give the NCAA, the optics of this being a mess only helps their bottom line, which is we need the Save College Sports Act. We need that because look how messy this is. So they're purposely making it a shit show because it helps them.

So the reason why I'm asking this though, like, like, so, so there's a bigger question that I have, or point that I guess I'm trying to drive home when I ask Is it very common that a player who is going to remain in school and play a 5th year, aside from quarterback, because you, you probably see— I mean, Carson Beck was a 5th year, right?

I wanna— I, I would push back. Had this rule been in place, Markel Bell would be back at Miami. He would 100% be back in Miami. So there are plenty of good players that would have found their way back at school trying to improve their draft stock.

Like, okay, so players who have NFL potential.

Yeah, you heard Lane Johnson speak on what he thinks of Markell Bell. He, he is making an impact at the next level, but he would have absolutely preferred to come back to Miami.

Because the point that I'm, I guess, trying to make here is, you know, I know it's these coaches' jobs to win, obviously, but can't we just have a little bit of integrity as well? And what I mean by that is, is it that Like, it's that much of a difference maker for Lane Kiffin to bring in— I know he had him at Ole Miss— for Lane Kiffin to bring in this Dayquan Wright. It's that much of a difference maker that a coach at a public university is willing to say, I don't care, I'm going to bring in a player who was a professional athlete on my team and one of the kids who has been working his ass off and is getting ready to play next weekend against Clemson I'm gonna tell him goodbye.

Yeah, I don't know how that works.

Why can't we just have some integrity?

All right, so I, I hear you, but Lane doesn't give a shit, not a single solitary shit about ramifications. He's just looking to win more games. But I hear you, you have to worry about what you're templating here for the greater—

can we just be about something?

But I also think that— I also think that the bit of context about what's happening with LSU's basketball team helps. Like, it would be really weird for Lane Kiffin of all people to take a stand while LSU basketball is trying to sign all former professional players. So like, you have to have some synergy within your athletic department and cohesion.

I—

dude, again, this was all very predictable and I'm not falling for it. I think that this is what they want and to count on the players to, to not make the jump.

Like, I don't think anyone is like—

I wouldn't blame them and I wouldn't blame Lane Kiffin, although Lane Kiffin and he's not— this guy is not the only pro that he's in after. The streets are talking. Makes me think maybe he doesn't feel so great about his roster.

Oh, is LSU the most egregious overall in terms of how committed they are to playing outside the lines to win? Because this is all happening at the same time that Kim Mulkey brought a Russian national player to play for LSU. And Kate Koval, one of her players, is from the Ukraine. And she was like, yeah, maybe they'll solve the Ukraine-Russian war. And like, and now Kate Koval last night said, yeah, I'm leaving the team for personal reasons. I'm up out of here.

It's like when Infantino proposed, hey, Israel and Palestine, they can play each other at Disneyland.

Lane Kiffin and Will Wade and Kim Mulkey. It's like a triumvirate, right?

If I were an LSU Tiger fan, I'd be thrilled.

They called it the lion, the bitch, and the wardrobe.

Go Tigers. I like her.

Wo gibt's eigentlich die weißen Rosen aus Athen? Und wo regnet's für mich nochmal rote Rosen?

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www.rosarium.de So this is— I mean, this is— this is an ongoing story right now. I do think the noise on this quiets down significantly next weekend.

Yeah, I think so.

Yes.

I think the Pyburn one is really going to test people because this guy is nothing. He didn't do anything. We don't even remember him from college. There was another dude that went to LSU, actually. Number 51 that fell down on the ground while Carson Beck did it with his legs. He's back at LSU. Another former—

love when Carson Beck did with his legs.

With his legs. Love that. And I love number 51 that decided, now I'll take a rest. That guy's my dog.

Just, you know, about Carson Beck doing with his legs.

Oh, I know, I know.

I love when he does it with his legs. So good.

Yeah. Pyburn, I think, is going to be the one that everyone's looking at, and a lot of big-time programs are interested. The understanding that I have is that Pyburn is waiting to see whether or not he actually makes the 53-man roster.

So Deshaun Watson yesterday was named the starting quarterback for the Browns. We learned that in the middle of the show yesterday. Then Deshaun Watson got in front of a microphone yesterday to talk to the media for the first time since being named the starting quarterback. And I guess predictably, right? I guess predictably He— well, here's what happened. I'll let you behind the scenes. This is what goes down. The PR guy pulls Deshaun Watson aside. It's like, listen, you're just named starting quarterback. You can't keep beefing with fans, all right? You need to get out there and you need to change your tune a little bit.

All right, I don't even think it had anything to do with him being named starter. It was just what you said yesterday went over terribly. Yeah, fix it. Like, I think he would have been giving this apology today. I mean, yesterday, like, if he— regardless of the start, I think the starting thing was just—

oh, you think even if Shedeur was named starter, he would have done this mea culpa?

I just think—

I'm not sure about that.

That's all anyone was talking about a couple days ago is how poor of a look that was. Yeah, I think there would have been some statement regardless of the starting job.

Well, so give this a listen. This was Deshaun Watson, his entire opening statement yesterday, uh, Saturday after the game.

Um, you know, I think just, you know, human nature just myself being very emotional. Putting a lot of time these last 2 years to, you know, get back and, you know, spend time in this facility, in the city, meeting a lot of different people in the community. You know, I thought I was gonna get, you know, a little different response, but, you know, I think, you know, my emotions got the best of me, and, you know, I wasn't— my comments wasn't intending to go at any of the fans around in the city because there's been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me. And I know the frustration this organization have put, you know, a lot of investment in coming, you know, to get me back in, uh, in '22. And, uh, and things haven't been going the right direction that we thought it was, you know, a lot of injuries, a lot of time off, and not putting the best football and my foot forward. So Again, just, you know, I understand the frustration. I understand everything that kind of goes into that, you know, and moving forward, I just want to focus on football, making sure that, you know, I'm putting the best product out there, having the best ability, you know, because I thrive off the energy.

I thrive off the energy of the fans. I thrive off the energy of the community. I thrive off all that stuff, you know. I think looking back in my history at Clemson and, you know, previous at the Houston organization. You know, I was a big community guy, big city guy, big fan guy, you know, during the game. So, um, you know, again, my emotions got the best of me. I'm human. Um, I take full responsibility of that. And, uh, you know, just moving forward, I want to make sure that I put the best product for the team, for the organization, and for this city so we can put a lot of wins and make sure that I celebrate and, uh, put Cleveland on the map.

Thought he would get a different response.

It was a pretty good apology.

Yeah.

Yeah. For all that stuff that he said on Saturday, I thought it was a pretty good apology.

I mean, I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth.

I think he's a garbage human and I don't like him. And I also don't believe a word that he says. But that was a pretty good apology.

I think even putting it into context, if like someone took him aside and were like, listen, we just like recap what's happened. Like, we traded for you knowing you were going to be suspended and we paid you $230 million of fully guaranteed money that you were still getting. We could have waved you many, many times and spread that across. But we've continued to stick with you despite the fact that you've either been not on the field or just buns. So maybe you should shut the fuck up. Maybe like, yo, fair.

Yeah, you should have done that in Jimmy Haslam's accent because that would have been great. Because, yeah, one of the things and also like Jimmy Haslam's feelings on the matter, but we were all like, well, the fans are pissed and yes, they are properly pissed. There were reports that people were driving by training camp yelling from their cars. By the way, weird that this energy is there now. It should have been there several years ago. And I'm not saying it was absent.

I think it was.

There was plenty of that energy. But for the— I kind of— not that I want to be a hipster about Cleveland Browns fandom, but it's awfully convenient to be now like, yo, screw this guy. It's now we're taking the principled stand after he sucks. But that's neither here nor there.

Can you remind me, has there been a time in his previous seasons in Cleveland where he's been healthy and was not the starter?

Uh, no, I don't think so.

He—

Flacco got the opportunity because he was hurt. And like, Watson stopped showing up on the sideline too.

Um, so whenever he has been available, he has been the starting quarterback?

Yes, uh, I, I believe so. But Lawson, like, the fan reaction was like— he just makes a really good point. Like the Browns organization probably sees that press conference. Are you fucking kidding me right now? Are you kidding me? No one took a bigger risk here in the NFL than us.

So then why do they still name him the starting quarterback?

Because of what they're paying him. Like, why is it always what they're paying him?

Why is it always screw us? Why can't it be screw you? Right?

I—

but like, it's super disrespectful to the Browns organization for him to do that to their customer base after everything the Browns Organization has risk. They have lost fans internally. Happen to know plenty of employees were like, I'm also done. Like, that went over like a lead balloon inside that building. It was— I bet you in retrospect he wouldn't, obviously because of the performance, if you apply that. But even before he took a snap, Jimmy Haslam probably had some buyer's remorse because that, that was like a bomb that went off.

Well, hasn't the owner come out, you know, over the last year and said this was a mistake, it hasn't worked out, all of that? I, I feel like Jimmy Haslam has said that. And the reason that I'm bringing that up is because why— I've seen a lot of this commentary online. Why are we so sure that this was not a Todd Monken decision, that this was a decision that came from above? Because, hey, they gave him the contract, and as long as they're paying the money, they're going to play him. Like, why are we so sure about that if the owner has admitted this was a disaster?

I think for the same reasons that we may or may not believe Deshaun Watson's genuineness I think that Jimmy has them. I don't believe what that brother said 2 years ago. Somebody got in his ear too. Hey, bro, clean it up.

From everything that I was reading and from people that were plugged into that organization, Deshaun was the better quarterback. He wasn't a good quarterback.

He had to have been.

But Shador, like, Shador didn't do what he needed to do to give Todd Monken any kind of leeway in not going in that direction.

Mike.

And then when you apply the contract and all that stuff, It's too many—

for me, it's too many strikes against Shedeur at this point. Like, he came into the league, every team in the league several times, including the Browns, passed up on him in the draft. Last year you had a coach who's— who, who had been a multiple Coach of the Year winner who did not want to give Shedeur Sanders the spot. And now this year you have another coach Who does not want to give Sha'Dur Sanders the spot?

Stefanski did not even want to give Sha'Dur QB2.

And the reality of it is, when we're talking about playing at a high level, the only coach who's given Sha'Dur Sanders the spot is his father. So at some point, maybe he's not that good. Maybe he's not that good, because the easy decision— again, I would have given the job to Sha'Dur because F Deshaun Watson. All right, but like, that would have been the easy thing to do.

Yeah, there's also a notion that, all right, eff it, he maybe he's a gamer and you just throw him out there. There have been examples of that.

Sure.

Yeah, but Shador is not one of those examples. Like, he has not performed well. Now, Cleveland last year, bad football team, not a good football team, not a great opportunity for the young man either, but he's got to do a little more too. Like, he, he didn't make this difficult on Munkin one bit.

I do, I do think you're right yesterday where you say how you, you can, you can go from Watson to Sanders. You probably— you can't go from Sanders to Watson. You know, if you start Watson, you're giving yourself 2 outs. Maybe Watson's good.

We talked that one out. Yeah, I think they could.

This should—

door stinks. I like— I don't, I don't think anyone's like, can you believe they're putting in Deshaun Watson? If anything, that's a better spot for Deshaun.

But no one's going to be calling for him, you know, like any Cleveland Browns.

Yeah, they're calling for Shedeur. They're calling— wants Shedeur.

The fans, yeah, because of everything that Shedeur represents. Even though he was drafted below Dylan Gabriel, he's far more exciting of a prospect because in college he was more electric, although Dylan Gabriel was damn good.

Can we just stop for a second and acknowledge that the Browns selected a quarterback last last year in the draft in the third round, which is not nothing, all right? They selected a quarterback in the third round in Dylan Gabriel, and we're sitting here watching a lousy quarterback competition that apparently the third round pick is not even an afterthought. How is that even possible?

For the same reason you say, how should— or you say he must not be that good. Well, that's the same thing I'm saying about the third round pick. Dylan Gabriel must not be that good because Coach after coach passing up on his ass too. And I think that when you grow up in this type of spotlight like Shedeur, it's pressure every single step you take of the day. If he had one second to even be regular, I think we can judge him a little bit more harshly. I don't think he's lived any type of regular NFL experience nor college experience. So I think that it's your opinion, you have the right to it. I think that we can be a little bit more patient with Shedeur because the Browns organization is a shit show. Of course you can't grow a flower in a shit show. I don't think.

I don't think so.

Fertilizer.

Okay.

No, I think it'd be tough.

What?

No, I think because they keep moving the shit around.

I'm like, in the shit show, where's the flower? No flowers here because it's a shit show.

Also, part of the reasoning reported that was leaked out from someone in the organization is that the Browns start on the road.

I think 3 out of 5 are on the road to start.

And so you wanted to lean on Deshaun Watson's experience On the road.

Yeah, but 17 road games.

He said it. Deshaun Watson's gonna get a way nastier reception on the road than Shador is, but I guess he wanted Deshaun Watson's experience. Has Shador played more football over the last few years than Deshaun Watson?

Wo gibt's eigentlich die weißen Rosen aus Athen? Und wo regnet's für mich noch mal rote Rosen?

Natürlich im Europa-Rosarium Sangerhausen mit der größten größten Rosensammlung der Welt. Viele tausend Rosenarten warten auf Sie mit prachtvollen Blüten und herrlichem Duft. www.rosarium.de.

John, can you rate my Al Pacino from that billiard scene in Carlito's Way if I do it for you? I think it's pretty good.

Yeah.

Jonathan Sasslow, you think you're big time? You're gonna die big time!

That is on my infamous scale of 1 to 10, that's a, that's a 7.6.

Solid.

Good job, good job.

That's a Sui nominee right there.

This is the Dan Levatar Show. I think the important thing for us to figure out after hearing Deshaun Watson walk back what he said about the fans on Saturday, does that count as regret? Because he said on Saturday he has no regrets in his life. He doesn't regret anything.

This is the first regret.

Is this the first time he's ever regretted something in his life? Did that sound like regret? He obviously walked back. He apologized. Is that regret or does he not regret it? Because this, you know, this allows me to be a better man. I apologize. Apologize is a big thing to do.

Every mistake leads you to the next learning, right?

So maybe— so it's not regret then?

Not regret.

It might not be.

It might not be. But to add on to my point about Shador, be patient with my boy. I heard every ESPN analyst Every Fox analyst say that Sam Darnold won shit for about 5, 6 years. My boy just won the Super Bowl MVP, man. Well, he didn't win the Super Bowl MVP, but he just won a Super Bowl. Ginger cuz, man. So you can redeem yourself.

And Geno Smith as well. Geno Smith was in the dumps. Everyone thought he was trash. And then he had his moment.

Mike, were you sad when Nick Chubb retired over the weekend?

I was. Nick Chubb is one of my favorite football players ever.

Over 7,300 yards for his career. I think 50-some-odd touchdowns for his career. 8-year career, all of them except last year.

I get choked up thinking about him too, Zazz. He was, he was a brilliant player in college and in the pros. In the pros, very rare when you see that combination of power and speed, the, the breakaway speed. He was special, man. And because of the injuries, he doesn't have an opportunity to— I don't even think he's Ring of Honor material, um, although he was beloved by Cleveland.

That's a 4-year stretch. He was real.

I hope he gets in the Ring of Honor in Cleveland.

I could see him getting into that.

He's wildly popular, a guy that just didn't talk and became his character, just like, just a gargoyle looking over Gotham City. But this dude was unbelievable resilience that he displayed, a lot like Frank Gore in that so many questions and undeniable talent, but the guy just went through too much in college. There's no way this guy is a good pro. And then he puts up all-pro seasons, like a prototype for a zone.

Where do you go to school? Georgia.

Georgia.

Georgia.

Which also got me thinking, that backfield at Georgia when he was there, he was backing up Gurley and Sony Michel was there.

It's one of the best backfields in college football history, all of whom were out of the league at a really young age.

Yes.

Gurley, Michel.

Yeah.

And Kirby ran them into the ground. Yeah.

Well, top, top end. No one had seasons quite like Gurley in terms of the all-purpose stuff. Right. So high-end ceiling. Gurley probably had the best individual season. But the best of that group in the pros was Nick Chubb.

Yeah, for sure.

And not enough was made for a guy that had to know.

But at their height, Gurley was the best.

Yes, that's what I was saying. Yeah, like the ceiling, the one best season, it's Gurley. But the guy that had the best NFL career, I think, is Nick Chubb. Not enough made that his career, which overcame so many injuries, it essentially ended at Pittsburgh with a really dirty tackle.

It was with the second game, Monday Night Football, right?

Really dirty tackle that it should have been all over the headlines.

Was it both knees at the same time?

Dude, like, watch it back. Like, it is like— it is what they have outlawed. Yeah, the hip tackle, drag him down.

Who was the player?

Minka, was it? Was it Minka Fitzpatrick?

It may have been.

Yeah, he was catching a lot of heat online.

It may have been. Yeah.

And he ended his career. And yeah, Nick gave it a go as a Texan. Very clearly not the same kind of player. But it was posited to me by a Georgia Bulldog fan. That's the best college backfield of all time.

But it's not.

And you know exactly where I went.

Yeah, but it's not.

We had Willis McGahee playing fullback, dude. We had Portis, Gore.

McGahee and Gore and Portis. Yeah. Come on. What are we talking about here?

That was very clearly—

Come on. Come on, Trista. Come on.

When Nick Chubb went down and that ended his career, that's simultaneously when my Dynasty football team just ended.

Dynasty football team.

I haven't had— I haven't had a running back really of any note since. It's been brutal. It's been absolutely brutal for me.

Chris is in the middle of one of those fantasy football drafts right now where you like, you email your pick to the league. You don't do it in person.

I mean, you sound old saying email, but what is it?

It's an app, right?

It's an app and you make it on the app, but it's a slow draft.

And you have like 24 hours to respond with your pick, right?

8 hours.

8 hours.

And then the draft is paused between midnight and 8 AM.

What do you think about Derrick Henry, Kenyan Drake, and Damien Harris?

It's good. It's not Miami.

It's not. No one is. We've established that no one is.

So where are you on your draft?

I'm on the clock currently. I'm thinking of taking—

In what round?

It's the second round. It's 18 teams. One of these guillotine leagues that you get chopped low.

So when did this draft start?

Yesterday around this time.

Oh, so it's moving.

Yeah, yeah, we're almost done with the second round.

I'll tell you, we'll be doing a draft in person if some— Someone takes the full 90 seconds. Come on, let's go.

Well, that's how this draft is. It's a thing where it's designed for you to be able to take your time. And yet everyone in the group chat is like, come on, we're waiting on you. You're on the clock. So it's—

what's the longest someone's taken so far?

I've been on the clock most of the morning, but if it was—

if it's 8 a.m., the artist formerly known as Fuentes, he took—

yeah, Fuentes yesterday took a long time.

You're in this league too, Mike?

Yeah, I'm in this one.

Where'd my invitation go?

This is— it's Somebody not with the show that started the league.

Okay. I don't like people I don't know anyway, so it's fine.

But I'm on the clock. I'm debating between Gente because he had the ankle injury. Like, Gente would have already been gone where I'm selecting right here. So it's like, how long is he going to be out? It's a guillotine league. So low score in the league eliminated. So you can't have any injuries.

Oh, so that— so it's 18 teams.

18 teams. Low score, not head-to-head. Low score every week, chopped from the league.

Interesting.

Don't risk it, bro.

Yeah.

Fuck that biscuit.

Yeah. Well, yeah, if that's what it is, if it's a guillotine, like, you got to go for sure things. Yeah.

Wide receivers, they're flying this year.

Yeah, I'm still out on how I feel about these slow drafts. I kind of like just one night, get us all in a room together. Let's criticize each other.

So hard though at our age for everybody to get together.

It is true. It's much easier to do it this way.

It's very hard.

I also use the full— I don't care if it's 2 minutes, 30 seconds, 1 minute and a half. If I've made my decision, I'm still taking my 2 minutes because I think about it.

You want your logo to stay on the screen as long as possible.

I want the other owners to hate me.

Legarett Blount, LaMichael James, and Kenyon Barnard.

It's pretty good.

But what about if you're at the turn, Juju? You either have the first pick of the round or the last pick, so you get the back-to-back picks. Do you then— you make your first selection and then you use up all the time again on the next one?

Absolutely.

Wendell White, that's a good one. Amon Green, Lawrence Phillips.

Oh yeah, but I'm The first 30 of the first pick, whole minute and a half. Second pick, whole minute and a half.

I got a really good one. Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis.

Oh wow. Zazz wants no part of it.

No, no, because it's—

you know about that wild hog?

I don't want to be a part of this because I don't know everybody in the draft. I don't want to be around people I don't know.

You like that wild hog?

He's dreaming about the wild hog.

I don't care about wild hog.

Take that wild hog direct up the middle.

I don't care about wild hogs, dog.

Salute to Martin Lawrence.

Not my thing.

Everyone knows he's not a cuck.

That's a no for me, dog. Yep, that's right. So last night, the WNBA played a game. There were no dildos thrown. That was not the big story. The big story though was Angel Reese, who is— is Angel Reese what we say most polarizing player in the league?

Caitlin Clark.

Caitlin Clark. But right behind. Okay. Right behind is Angel and then Sophie Cunningham.

Well, Angel Reese had 26 rebounds last night. That's a WNBA record, Mike. Now, how many me-bounds did she have?

Doesn't matter.

Doesn't matter. Okay. She had 26 rebounds.

Let's answer the question, though.

Pay no attention to the me-bound behind the glass.

Let's answer the question.

I mean, she's all over the glass. Yes, she's all over the—

You know exactly where I stand on Angel Reese.

Where do you stand? For those who don't remember.

Oh, I don't like Angel Reese.

You don't like her?

No, no. Now, I also don't watch Angel Reese at all, and I'm courageous enough to admit that, but I think Angel Reese is an important moment in inequality. I will like to irrationally hate Angel Reese, and I know I feel bad. A little bit of me feels bad because from what I hear, she gets a lot of this. You know about that guff? She gets it. But equality means I can irrationally hate you for no good reason, right? And that's where I'm at.

There are male players you irrationally hate, so why can't you irrationally hate female players?

100%.

I get that.

A lot of people with Kirk Cousins. I don't like his face. That's not fair to Kurt Angle.

I like it.

There you go. I— there are just people that you don't like. And to not afford women that same opportunity makes you a sexist.

Absolutely.

So you hate Angel Reese's face?

Oh, don't like it. Don't like the meat bounce. Don't like the game. Don't like to watch at all. Also totally uneducated on the matter.

I love Angel Reese's face. I think that she is one of the most generational talents to ever come through, of course, Atlanta. But maybe the game of basketball, because as much as we highlight the scorers, as much as we highlight the defenders, sis is a scorer slash defender slash everything, like my boy Slash from the, uh, the Pittsburgh Steelers back in the day.

Oh, they're gonna say Guns N' Roses.

She can do it all. I think that the only thing about my sis now, when she blow, blow past you, she still looks for that contact. And it enables her defender to get the block like Cam Brink last night.

I saw Cam Brink take her lunch money on that one play.

It might have been a foul across the face, may not have been a foul across the face. I'm not a referee, but I think she can improve on her offensive game.

I had someone— this is, this is my thing with Angel Reese— I had someone ask me yesterday, and I never know how to answer this question. They said, I don't follow the WNBA, but obviously I see a lot of the headlines, I see a lot of the commentary. Is Angel Reese a good player? And I never really know how to answer that because I don't think I know if she is a good player.

Yes, you do know. Blasphemy. You know she is.

Well, here's what I know. Here's what I know. Uh, I don't, I don't necessarily care for the me-bounds conversation because everyone could be getting their own rebounds off of misses. She's the one doing it, all right? She's the one who's leading the league in rebounds, and she's the one who had 26 of them last night. So if it was such an easy thing to do, somebody else should be doing it too. No one else is doing it. But when I look at her, you know, when she has the ball, her as an offensive player, at times she looks kind of lousy, all right, as an offensive player. But then again, something else I do know, she's on an Atlanta team right now that's winning a lot of games.

Yeah, she is. And on top of that, she's one of the reasons that the Atlanta Dream lead in terms of points in the paint, like Yes, she shot 4 for 14 last night. Yes, she needs to abandon a hook shot completely. I think any time you just recklessly throw the ball up over your head, no matter who you are, that's a miss. 31, though, against Phoenix. 31 and 14 with 4 steals. Like Angel Reese, very, very clearly a good basketball player.

It's pretty good.

Exactly. And I would like to point out one of the most amazing stats. No music involved today. Do you know the top 3 The only 3 steal leaders in the WNBA are Ron Howard, Jordan Canada, and Angel Reese. 3 Atlanta Dream players.

Ron Howard?

Ron Howard.

Ryan Howard.

Ryan Howard.

Oh, the first baseman.

No, not that Ryan Howard. The Ryan Howard.

From the office.

I don't know who you think the Ryan Howard is.

From Kevin Zolfer and the office.

Not that Ryan Howard. I'm talking about the rhinestone Ryan Howard.

The one that joined us with that pitchman that No, not Ryan.

R-H-Y-N-E. Like a watermelon.

Ryan Howard. Or like Ryan Sandberg.

Not like him, but like a cowboy with rhinestones.

Oh, R-H-I-N-E. Ryan.

But with a Y like Trista.

That's where it is, right? So you know how incredible to have a team with 3 of the league-leading steal leaders? That's crazy. Salute to Angel Reese.

But not Ron Howard.

Not Ronny.

Definitely not Ron Howard.

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