Good evening, everybody, and welcome to another edition of Fire Up. I
have an extremely extraordinarily good panel tonight. It's me and the guys. It
doesn't get any better than that, does it? Never? No, I
feel like I'm back home on my show. So I'm gonna first welcome my
co host, mister Smoking Jeremy B. How's it going tonight, Jeremy fantastic?
Candy? How are you? I'm okay, I'm doing okay. And
that mister Will how are you tonight? Glad to be back? Thank you,
Thank you, Candy, thank you, Jeremy. Love talking sports.
You know it. I talked about it last show. Can't wait? Awesome?
And then we have special guests Dan, How are you tonight? Dan?
I'm doing pretty good. Candy? How are you this evening? I'm
doing well. Why don't you tell since this is the first time on our
network, Dan, why don't you tell us a little bit about you and
your shows and what you do well. I co host line Talk every morning
with JB. I am the owner of Bond Doing Creations. We do a
lot of mini homemades. Right now, we're getting into shirts, tumblers,
hats, woodworking, resin work, just anything kind of sports relady to what
we're going with that awesome awesome sounds cool. Well, guys, we have
some awesome topics tonight. We're going to be talking about NFL and tackling players
on knees or below out. We're going to talk about the New Pact twelve,
and then we're going to talk about a little Caitlin Clark and how we
think her influence on the game is going to be here and now that she's
declared for the WNBA. So with that, we're going to start off with
the NFL and talking about tackling players. So I'm going to turn it over
to mister Smoke and Jeremy b for this. The NFL is trying to get
a rule through the owners during the winter meetings and it has to do with
specifically the tackling near the knee or below area because of all the knee injuries
that have happened during those segments. Yes, four of those over the last
three year or two years has been due to Kirby Joseph. It wasn't intentional.
You're going to go back and watch, if you watch the whole video,
just still frame it. But at the same time, I kind of
agree with it. But yet, if we keep changing the way people have
to tackle, eventually, is it even going to be tackling football anymore.
I'll go back to like the Pro Bowl and do flag football, right,
Yeah, Dan, your thoughts about tackling knees, they're basically taking away any
way you can hit a wide receiver. We're running back anymore. And I
don't care what any of the league people want to say about safety. Violence
is still what sells football. You take all the violence out and Washington numbers
and the ratings drop. I agree, I agree, Hello ken Well your
thoughts about tackling knees. It's a two sided coin. But I agree with
Jeremy and I agree with and it's gonna be so hard to enforce because this
is the way you tackle receivers and running backs. Unfortunately, Kareem Hunt got
tackled last year and his knee twisted the wrong way in that didn't look good,
and that was probably the big red flag that said we got to get
something done. Sooner or later. These guys are gonna have devastating knee injuries
and be out for a while. So but it's also the way you tackle
the receivers and running backs. Like I said, so, I don't think
it gets past this offseason the rule change. But if there's a way you
can demonstrate it with former players and say we prefer this method over this method,
do a tutorial, then we'll see. So, guys, are we
starting to get soft here in the NFL or what? Like? Where do
you where do you stop it? So you can't tackle the knee, you
can't tackle with the ankles, you can't talk tackle obviously the head, and
I get the head, don't get me wrong, But where do you stop
it? Late said Jeremy, like it's gonna become flag football or something almost
because this is football is football, you know, going in that you you're
susceptible to these kind of and I will say, how often is it?
You're not. None of the players are intentionally trying to hurt the other players,
to take them out for any length of time. All they're trying to
do is make a play. Defense is supposed to make play. Offensive line
they're supposed to protect. Runners are supposed to run, you know, like
like Dan said, violence, I hate to say this sells. Let's face
it, in a hockey game, do you want to see them just pass
the puck or do you want to see fights for the longest time you honesty
fights? I mean, that's that's what the NHL was, and that's what
you enjoy. I think you're drawing a fine line here in the NFL if
they pass something like this, because I think it just changes things and I
think it takes too much away from the defensive players or the people that are
trying to, you know, tackle, because, like I said, otherwise
than might as well be flag football, and that's not what the NFL is
or has been. Any other comments from the panel about this topic, Yes,
of course. Now if they're going to take away the knee tackle,
what are you supposed to do when the running back of the receiver makes them
so real small so the only two places you could possibly hit them is then
easier the head? Is that an automatic foul coming in right there? Exactly
right? Was add the same thing number one when you're a smaller defensive back,
because most of the defensive back is the only way what to two twenty
at most, So when they're trying to tackle a two hundred and sixty pound
tight end, what are they taught to do? Go for the legs?
Is you take out their legs, they can't keep going, And it's a
fundamental way of tackling a guy bigger than you. If you take that away,
and you take that and give the advantage to a two hundred and sixty
pound tight end that all you gotta do is shrug you off of his hips,
there's gonna be a lot more broken tackles in the league. I agree,
I agree, I agree, and like I like, we said,
where do you stop? Like, where does it stop then? Because now
all of a sudden you can't tackle there? Can you tackle with the ankles?
Can you tackle with the feet? Can you tackle? Like? I
mean, let's face it, you can get injured a lot of different ways.
You can even get injured not contact in football, like it just it
can happen. And do we like to see the injuries that take players out,
No, of course not. But it still is that kind of a
game, and you kind of learn to expect some injuries, hamstrings, whatever
it could be. But I get the whole head in head and keep away
from tackling in the head and using the helmet. I get those. But
as far as players are on the knees, again, it's part of football
and as long as they're not really trying to take somebody out and take their
knees out and really injure them. You gotta be careful here because how are
you going to enforce it and everything too. So okay, well we have
the Pack two. Let's talk. Let's talk about them and what's going on
with them smoking Jeremy B. This was your topic. The Pack commissioner,
I can't call him the Pack twelve because there's only two teams. Is fighting
to keep his two teams in the Pack two or the two packs I like
to call it, because there's only two teams in it, and that's Washington
State and Oregon State. Correct, Correct. So the reason why he's trying
to keep it going is they're going to try to incorporate a lot of those
Mountain West teams and probably Hawaii just to keep it going because Hawaii's always been
a travel destination destination for the PAC twelve anyways, or they're out of conference.
If they add them to the conference, that makes it a little more
viable. I think he wants to get it to at least a six or
eighteen conference to keep it alive. Dan, your thoughts, there's a reason
there's only two teams left in that conference because there's the only two new two
that nobody wants it do it exactly realistically, If the conference isn't going to
give you a shot into the playoffs for winning it, there's no point for
teams to be there. I pulled the conference. Will your thoughts? Yeah,
Supposedly they're trying to keep the teams encouraged by media rights, but really,
like, and I get it, they're gonna try and bring in Mountain
West teams like Hawaii and maybe Boise State these other teams, but like,
these games are on late at night anyway on the East Coast, and they
don't get a lot of viewers. And for the conference to stay alive,
they're gonna need eight six more teams to stay relevant in a two year period.
And you know what, I hate to say this and be negative,
but I wouldn't be surprised. Somehow, some way, I know they were
left over because no one wanted them. But somehow, some way, I
feel like the PAC twelve or the PAC two is going to dissolve and not
be a conference anymore. Okay, So this conference has been in existence one
hundred and eight years as ten of its members are poised to join other Power
five conferences Beginning July one, The soon to be two team Struck Conference struck
a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West for the upcoming football season, and both
the Beavers and Cougars will be affiliate members of the West Coast Conference in twelve
sports, including men's and women's basketball. Now, they have said that the
league, the NC two A, has given them a grace period that allows
them to operate as a two team conference in twenty twenty four and five.
But how realistic is it to keep going for TV rights for anything else like
that? Makes makes it very different? And honestly, as many teams have
jumped from one conference to another conference, are we heading to there are only
being three or four conferences? I think so? Will it become more like
the NFL and you know AFC and NFC like are we are we headed towards
that? I have said for the past two years, with the way teams
have been jumping ship and going specifically mostly to the Big ten in the SEC,
You're gonna see if it continues this way. And NC double A keeps
changing everything so often and enforcing the rules and ways that are unlike they may
succeed from the NC Double A and form their own college football league. Yeah,
exactly, and personally I think that, No, it seems obvious.
No recruits are gonna say go to the PAC twelve and say, oh,
Oregon State, Washington State, Yeah, I want to play, unless it's
like a hometown kid who only gets off or some because I think they're gonna
lose so many recruits because of this. Yeah. I mean, if you
actually look at it, Washington State and Oregon State, do you know what
they get. It's kind of like the difference between the recruits that go to
Michigan State versus Michigan Yep, leftovers. I'll look at the recruiting classes different.
The four and five star recruits that are in the area, nine times
out of ten will go to Michigan, Ohio State or some other school in
another state that where the weather's nicer. The three the lower end four,
three and two star recruits go to Michigan State most of the time. The
leftovers. Yep, No, I agreed. I was just saying I agree
with Germany leftovers. That's horrible. Yeah, it's horrible talking about people like
that. Will Sorry, true. Third sometimes it does. It does,
Okay, So we're gonna talk a little bit of basketball now. Iowa star
Caitlin Clark will enter the twenty twenty four WNBA draft. She announced today.
She is the all time leading scorer in women's college football with three thousand,
six hundred and fifty points. She only needs eighteen points on Sunday against Ohio
State to pass Pete Maravich is n C two a record of three thousand,
six hundred and sixty seven points. How do we think she's in the WNBA?
And do you think she has increased the heightened awareness of women's college basketball
and WNBA? And do you think she's gonna influence young girls to follow in
her footsteps? This time we're gonna start with Dan. Well, she's definitely
heightened college basketball for women. But you know, in my personal opinion,
that is the height of the sport for women. College basketball is where they
get all their attention. The WNBA nobody really cares about it because it's a
newer thing. You don't have all the highlights stuff to catch people's eye.
It's more of a fundamental game that nobody cares about anymore. They want ball
range, threes and big dunks. And I think Katelyn Park's a hell of
a player. I think she's gotta be a star in WNBA. But I
don't see one individual person being able to change the entire landscape of the game
to make it where it's attractive to people to watch. Okay, that's fair,
that's fair. Will your thoughts as you guys know, I'm on a
w NBA, NBA and C doa a show with our friend Megan and so
we we talked about Caitlin and the other women in Caitlin's phenomenal and yes,
people say, oh, back then pistol peet didn't have a three point line.
Well, we can't help that now because times have changed, sports have
changed from the NBA, NFL, MLBU have you know when I'm talking about.
But she has brought attention not only her, but Paige Becker's Angel Reese.
They sell out arenas. There's been a lot of women the last few
years who have brought the women's basketball game going up and up and up,
and Caitlin's only making it better. Like Kobe, Kobe was a girl that
his daughter was gonna probably play at Yukon or one of the major basketball women's
schools, And yeah, it's getting eyeballs all around the country. Like I
said, it's selling out arenas. And it's gonna be very interesting because she's
projected to go number one, which I do think she will to the Indiana
Fever and she'll be playing with for Aliah Boston, Melissa Smith, Kelsey Mitchell,
and Erica Wheeler. And you know what, do I think show average
triple doubles like she does in college? No? But do I think shall
have a good stat one? Yeah, I'm expecting maybe like fifteen points per
game, maybe thirteen points per game, six assists and two rebounds. But
yeah, she's bringing eyes around the country. Men. Women NBA players sometimes
go to WNDA games like it's it's it's awesome what she's doing for smoking Jeremy
b your thoughts. See, the Iowa has gotten to the point where courtside
seats are ten thousand dollars a piece to watch Kitlyn Lark right now, the
nosebleeds are around fifteen hundred apiece. It's not how much it's costing you go
to that small basketball court. But at the same time, she kind of
dominates the news for Iowa basketball right now as a whole. The Iowa's men's
basketball team hasn't been doing that good, and it's all about Caitlyn Kark Clark.
I think she has the chance to help the WNBA become more relevant than
what it is. But you know what, I wanta see her drafted the
girl that looked her off last year after the national championship game. I want
her to go to the team that is their rival because that would make for
some heated stuff every game. Oh yeah, yep, that's true. Okay,
So now it's my favorite segment, the segment that I came up with,
which is where we all talk about my town and it's either a story
from the town you currently live in or the town you grew up in,
favorite team that you grew up watching, or whatever. So we are going
to start with mister will Cool Cool. So I lived at Charlotte, North
Carolina and the Shaw Hornets are planning to hire Brooklyn Nets executive Jeff Peterson as
the head of basketball operations to replace a long time basketball operations Mitch Cup who
is as we know, with the Lakers. And mister Peterson is thirty five
years old and he has connections with the Hornets co owner owner Sorry and team
governor Rick Chanall back to their landa days when they were both working for the
Hawks, and he was also instrumental of bringing Kyrie Irving to the Brooklyn Nets.
He also has a connection to current Hornets Seph Curry. When Seth Curry
was in Brooklyn, mister Peterson was working for the Nets. So it's cool
to see a young mind who's six years older than me go into a big
role like this in a state that loves, eats, breathes, and sleeps
basketball in North Carolina. And hopefully this brings a winning culture to the Hornets,
and they haven't made the playoffs in years, so hopefully it brings people
more people the games and and sells more tickets and as people buy more merchant,
get us more good players so we can build up and become a more
prominent basketball team. So that's going on in Charlotte. Okay, Dan,
what's happening? First of all, what is your town and what's happening there?
I live up in Valleyview, Pennsylvania, in the middle of nowhere,
in the middle of nowhere, and the closest thing any anything sport related to
me would be penn State and the one you think coming out of there is
Chop Robinson looking like Michael Parsons at the combine. That that is it is?
There is there a team that you follow more that you let you would
like to talk about. Though I'm a big Giants fain. I grew up
in Point Pledge in New Jersey, and I'm a big Giants fan right now,
I guess that entire team is a total mess. But our coach was
rated one of the most like coaches by players in the entire league. We
may be able to keep our start running back. I pray to God,
yes we don't want him go on to Baltimore. No, No, okay,
really not much, Okay, Jeremy, Well, here in Michigan,
we got a lot to talk about. It looks like the Red Wings,
even though they lost tonight, are still in pretty good control of making it
as the eighth seed in the playoffs. And we all know how that worked
out for Florida last year. So I'm not saying they'll win it all,
but the chance is there. So you're saying there's a chance, which means
that the Tigers do as good as they're projected to do. Michigan for the
first time that I can remember, can have three teams in the playoffs in
their respective seasons in one calendar year. Amazing. We all know the Pistons
aren't going to be in the playoffs for probably for the next ten years,
the way the great they're going. It's true, that is true. Okay,
So I struggled with what to come up with. I'll be honest with
you guys tonight, because I do live in South Florida. So there are
the Florida Panthers. They're doing well. FAU men's basketball is doing good.
USF men's basketball is doing good. In fact, we're going to the FAU
game on Saturday, so I'll be sitting down on the court taking pictures again.
And then I'm but my heart is in Wisconsin because that's where I grew
up. So I am, yes Packer fan. Uh so the dismay of
some of you. But I'm gonna talk a little bit about books. So
I read a re the other day that they were talking about Damian Lillard and
how he's lonely in Milwaukee. Well, of course he's lonely in Milwaukee.
His family doesn't live there. His family still is in Portland. His mom,
his kids, will even make this street. But I will also say
for all of the naysayers of Doc Rivers, and I have yet to yet
to hold my opinion, but the Bucks defense has moved from number twenty second
up to number six in the NBA since Doc Rivers, So he has improved
the team. Now whether he can take us all the way, because there
are a lot of people that think Doc Rivers cannot coach in the postseason,
that has yet to be seen. But he has didn't improve over a team
that got rid of the defensive player of the year and started out really bad
because they move the defensive player of the year. So they have improved that.
But good luck to all the teams. As March Madness is going to
start, they're going to start. Their teams are playing in the last five
two weeks, three weeks, I want to say, of the seasons,
and then their conference's coming up two weeks. Well, it is a good
time for college basketball, and it's a good time to be watching college basketball
because they are vuying for things, and like the NHL, they're going to
be vuying for playoffs. At the time of year, you see good games
and teams try and rise or you're going to find them fall flat on their
face and not go anywhere. So I would just say go out and joy,
And there's nothing like going to see some of these in person. Yes,
you can watch things on TV, but there's there's something to be said
about actually live. You know when we when we had COVID and everybody was
couldn't go. You had to watch things on TV. But go see some
of these. Go support some of the college games and see the excitement.
But my one thing is if you do go, do not stirm the courts.
Don't injure players. Please safety. You can be excited and you can
go down on the court, but you do not have to storm the court.
There is a difference Dan and he I kind of saw you, Yeah,
devil, don't injure players. I watched that clip of that guy like
probably fifteen times, and he body checked the fade. He put himself in
Horm's way. Yeah, the fan reacts. All the bunch or push to
the back happened, and then as he got hurt. It wasn't because it
was initiated by the fan, but at the same time they got to do
something to kind of regulate it, to get the opposing team off the court
a little better. Maybe get some of the backups already in the locker room
and then just leave it with the five guys that are on the floor there
with the coach. Do something to limit how many players are on the floor
before the fans storm on it, especially at a big rivalry game like that,
because that's when it's gonna happen. It doesn't happen at your normal games.
It happens at those big rivalry games, especially when one's way underrated compared
to the other team and they knock them down when they're a ranked team.
I don't care who you are, those kids are hitting the floor. They're
gonna be like a down with the sick. You know, many of fields.
No, I'm saying a storm many of fields. Mm hmm. I
was at the USF FAU game. And then for any of you that no
college basketball or no the state of Florida, USF is in Tampa on the
West coast and FAUS in Boca, and they are in the East coast.
FAU was ranked, USF was not. USF has a ten thousands plus seat
stadium. FAU has like a three thousand seat stadium. They played at USF
USF stuffed that stadium. It was full. It was the largest crowd they've
had. It was over ten thousand. And Yes, USF came away with
the win, and so yes, they stormed the court. And it was
interesting because I was literally taking pictures on the court. So they came and
they stormed around us, and it was interesting how they tried to still usher
the FAU team off the court because obviously they wanted to celebrate with their home
court and they had some security, but not enough that there was still getting
pushed around and stuff like that. So yes, I think something has to
be done. I'm not exactly sure if there's somehow they've got to be able
to hold people off until people go. Jeremy wants to say, so something
I can. I can see it. Oh two hours ago, broken by
JPA Football Report, which is a Jaspery Football that writes for the NFL network's
website, the Lions are expected to meet with i'm on ra Saint Brown's agent
at the NFL Scouting Combine to discuss a long term contract. That's something I
was saying that that I'm wanted. He's said repeatedly on his own podcast he
wants to be a lion for life. This is breaking news. That's the
only reason why I'm saying it long term is not three years, people,
that's that five to seven year range. I'm thinking it's gonna be like five
or six. I don't think it'd be seven, but bye, I'm happy
with that, even at the twenty five million. With the way they can
stretch that contract out, it's a good I love it. Okay, breaking
here, So guys, it's been a great show. Any any other comments
anybody wants to come up with point out? Nope, Well then we're gonna
go around the road. How they can get hold of you and how they
can see you see your shows, how they can Dwayne Keaton says eleven years,
twenty five to twenty eight million. Well, the rumored amount was twenty
five million, and am Hanrau already said that's perfect to him on his podcast,
So I think it's gonna stay right there. I think it was just
a matter of the years because the rumored contract was three years, twenty five
million a year, not including signing bonus or guaranteed money. So I think
we're going to be looking at that five to six years. That's where I'm
thinking it is okay, mister, let's just start with our guests, Dan,
how can people get a hold of you? How can they subscribe to
your channel and tell everybody? Uh? Well, you can subscribe to necat
Fighting Jeremy Smoking Jeremy B on YouTube, necat Fighting page there wand Doom Creations
on Facebook uh x, and my favorite is TikTok because that's that's where I
want to do everything from now on. It's so much more fun. Okay,
okay, will how can people find you or get a hold of you?
Wednesday nights you can find me on the NFL Roundtable hosted by Smoking Jeremy
B and Von Doom aka Dan Leonard fund me here on Thursdays or on the
zip Off hosted Buyden Meghan Price. Fridays. You can find me on the
Lion's Fan Cave chat hosted by Jeremy B again and Von du Ma Kay Dan
Letter again. Thank you everybody much love. I appreciate all of you.
Sounds good, Jeremy. Well, as you've already heard, you can find
me a knee cat fight at the Motor City Lions, which is my YouTube
page. As my other two guests here has already alluded to, You can
also find me and Motorcitycat Fighters on Lions Villain Squad, on NFL News and
rumors. I'm all over the place on Facebook. Then there's of course smoking
Jeremy b on X and on Instagram, and of course on all things South
Florida Tribune, especially when it's fire Up. I'm always on fire Up,
occasionally on Inside the Big Skin, occasionally on what is it? The Professor
and the Pupil. So I think that all the shows that I pretty much
i'm a part of in the South Florida Tribune network, which is on the
South Florida Tribune channel. And if you haven't done it, guys, go
ahead and go down there and hit that red subscribe button. And if you
haven't done that, hit the like button while you're at it. And if
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talk all around the NBA, WNBA, NCAA. We go all over the
board. Because that's what good news programs do. And let's give it to
my host Andy. But before I take off, I want to say the
same thing I do to all the fans try every day to be a better
person than you were the day before. It's the only way to make the
world a better place. It starts in here. Much love, awesome,
awesome love guys. Okay, So for me, you can find me fire
up on Thursday nights. You can also find me usually Tuesday nights on Three
Chicks in a Pot or Chicks and Salsak just chicks talking sports. You name
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can always see Last night they did it ever sort of reel in the rear
where they do one on one with the book authors and they talk about books.
So last night it was about a guy that he wrote a book about
boxing and how you can use that as your as your workout instead of you
know, doing your traditional weights or this talks about working out as a boxer
and how that's a great great exercise because it exercises every part mine than body
as well, So go check that out. But previously tonight with Pundon's Fundit,
you can sometimes see Fire Up Michigan, Fire Up Wisconsin, Fire Up
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never know, we might sprinkle in something else. We also have Motor sitting
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but our shows are always on YouTube. We do put them on our
website which is www dot South Florida trup dot com, where we have good
writers such as Jeremy. We have my husband Scott and George Iikhorn, who
is normally on this show. We have to wish him a happy birthday because
he birthday George on the twenty ninth, so he's probably like fifteen right now.
Yeah, you now that many birthdays, but so happy birthday, George.
We miss you, and Ralph we miss you too. You are on
vacation, on a much needed vacation, so let's see. You can always
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can find their writings. You can also find we have a couple of different
NFL teams that send us their transcripts. So we had the Jaggs sent us
transcripts this week as they talked from the combine. We also have Fau sends
us all kinds of things us have through sends us things once in a blue
moon. Let's see who else sends us you just name it. Go over
there and check us out, see what it is. And you can see
some of my pictures that I've taken. So thank you guys, You guys,
this has been a great show. I appreciate Dan, you coming on
as a guest. Thank you very much for coming on with us. Well,
of course, thank you, and of course is my co host.
Thank you, Jeremy. Where would I be without you? Good thing?
I don't find I do all right, bench you do good but for Jeremy,
Dan and well, thank you guys. Have a great week and catch
some good sports. Thanks