WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:07.919 Coming up this week on the Mark Cast. Well, here we are familiar 2 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.160 streets. Feel like I've been down this road before, to competing spring football 3 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:17.199 leagues in talks about merging. Feels just like CJ from Grand Theft Autosh. 4 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:22.039 Here we go again, So this time we will channel our inner Jeff Probes. 5 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:25.160 Everybody drop your buffs. It's time to merge. I thought, dare 6 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:29.320 play a Survivor clip on here. CBS gets a little trigger happy with demonetizing 7 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:32.560 YouTube channels. Big show this week. You know it's big when we bring 8 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:36.119 on the Professor Andrew Murray. You know him, you love him. All 9 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:40.600 the latest XFL USFL merger talk. What teams are going to survive win? 10 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.399 This kickoff going to be networks, the games are going to be on, 11 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:49.520 everything up to the minute last details. This is a stunning rollout of events. 12 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:55.000 I am genuinely shocked that we are here at this point. I could 13 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:58.719 not believe the announcement that was made on Tuesday, Well not the announcement, 14 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:03.599 but the reports were being made about a potential announcement for a merger. I 15 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.319 never, in my wildest dreams, thought that these two were actually going to 16 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:11.319 merge. I'm just gonna say that right now, because I thought, as 17 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:15.200 Evan had said before on your podcast yesterday, I just thought there was too 18 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.760 much egotism involved. And then, still talking CFL on the podcast headed into 19 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:23.239 week sixteen, we have Derek Taylor, the voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 20 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:26.120 coming on to share his knowledge. I wish I could give you a 21 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:30.680 real solution for it, because all week long we talked about last year's game 22 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.079 at this time of the year against Hamilton. It was, oh, hey, 23 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:34.799 you guys had just won a big game and then you went to Hamilton 24 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:38.560 and got whacked. What was the deal with that? And they said, 25 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:41.840 you know, wasn't that complacency. It wasn't that we took them easy. 26 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.000 It wasn't that we were looking ahead to the bye week so they were aware 27 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:49.079 of all these things. And then the exact same game happens, you know, 28 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:53.239 a year minus a day later, and they go into Hamilton with the 29 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:57.079 bye week looming, coming off a big win, and they get whacked. 30 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:00.560 And then if you're a fan of the XFL or the cf FELL you'll know 31 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:04.799 this. Gentleman Cam Phillips, of your twenty twenty two Great Cup Champion Toronto 32 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:07.479 argonauts stop him by the show, catching up with Cam even at the beginning, 33 00:02:07.520 --> 00:02:13.039 Like you can't win fifteen games at once. You can't go win a 34 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:15.000 championship the first week, you know. So it's a process. So I 35 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:20.919 think you know the coaching staff and even the players, you know, which 36 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:23.840 we've bought in. I mean, that's really the culture now. You know, 37 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:25.039 we come to work, you know, we are who we are. 38 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:28.680 But when it's time to work, it's time to work. She'd be a 39 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:46.719 good one. I can subscribe. Hey, guys, welcome to the marcass 40 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:52.960 read here. A busy week certainly wasn't expecting this right now mid September, 41 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:57.560 driving into work. I had a week on gig here filming at the convention. 42 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:00.400 Get a text from a friend of the show listening Seth. The XFL 43 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:06.840 and the USFL are merging. Not kidding here, we are exciting times. 44 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:08.520 We've been down this row before. If you're new to the podcast, we 45 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:13.400 went through all of this with the CFL and XFL talks back at two years 46 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:16.680 ago. So I've been down this road. Not any not the spring chicken 47 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.280 here if you want to call it that, but we'll get you covered here. 48 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:22.840 This is kind of the exciting time. Football's fun. You know, 49 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:24.960 it's fun talking to you know, the CFL Week sixteen and all of that. 50 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:28.199 Of course, I love getting the expertise of all the guests. But 51 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:30.479 you know, this is our bread and butther I built this dang podcast talking 52 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:35.759 that merger talk. So I will be darned if we won't continue here giving 53 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:38.680 you guys the best information most up to date we can. Coming off our 54 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:44.080 big, really well attended, really well viewed live stream with we had Evan 55 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.439 and Anthony and then of course our XFL insider Mike Mitchell on that went almost 56 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:51.879 two hours on Wednesday night, So if you guys haven't had a chance to 57 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:55.000 check that out, Mike dropping lots of details that Andy and I will react 58 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:00.280 to today in terms of the kind of the combination of the teams who he 59 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:04.199 is hearing from the XFL is going to survive the cuts who he hears from 60 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:06.879 the USFL. You know, the networks, the games are going to be 61 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:10.479 on, time of year, everything's going to be played, all of that 62 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:13.759 stuff. We're going to bring on Andy today to kind of react to all 63 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:16.079 of that talk through you know, the two hour I love the live stream 64 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:19.160 episode because we get to do kind of all the listener interaction and all of 65 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:21.959 that stuff. But then I think it's helpful to kind of bring Andy in. 66 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:26.399 Okay, let's contextualize all of this, let's boil it down, kind 67 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:28.920 of talk through everything a little bit more in depth. So I think that 68 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:30.079 will be good. I said, if you haven't seen the live stream, 69 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:33.079 make sure you check that out. But we will obviously recap all of the 70 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:38.079 big news in the podcast today. Really appreciate Derek Taylor coming on Voice of 71 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:41.040 the Win they pick Blue Bombers, was going to hop on last week when 72 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:45.079 Jeff and I had our scheduling kerfuffle, but getting Derek on on the bye 73 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:47.480 week, and then of course Cam Phillips really appreciate him and everyone at the 74 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.160 Argonauts for sending that that big weekend, for them hosting the Hamilton tie Cats 75 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:55.759 there having the tremendous season, Cam is and then of course the team, 76 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:59.240 so really appreciate them taking the time. That'll do it for me today big 77 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:00.839 show. Have no idea how long Andy and I will go, but I'm 78 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.360 sure that will be a fruitful conversation. Like I said, you know, 79 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:06.560 make sure please thumbs up. The video got a lot of good feedback on 80 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:10.639 our live stream, but thumbs up, tell us YouTube the algorithm that you 81 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:14.079 guys are like in the video, and then you know, subscribe Torn notifications 82 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:15.759 if you have. It going to be a busy time here, you know, 83 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:18.519 with all this news and when everything's going to break, and so we'll 84 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.639 be posting shorts and episodes and live streams and all of that stuff. So 85 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:25.120 make sure you are please subscribe so you don't miss any of that. I 86 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:31.920 will see you guys at the ends. Well, here we are back again. 87 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:36.040 We have the Professor Andrew Murray. I went and got a little happy 88 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:39.560 hour with the wife. She had back to school night and it's been a 89 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.720 really stressful week with all of this year before. So we'll see you have 90 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.560 recorded everything else, have all my Derek Taylor and Camp Phillips interviews. Here 91 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.040 we can be a little more casual with Andy. Andy Murray the professor back. 92 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:53.800 How are you doing, sir, I'm great read Thank you for having 93 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:58.199 me on. I was so tempted to jump on your live stream yesterday, 94 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:02.120 but I had other things going on, and honestly, I mean it would 95 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:05.600 have been like walking into a fighter ring because I felt like there was a 96 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:11.199 lot of just a lot of emotion going on at the same time from a 97 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.560 lot of different angles, and I really wish I could have jumped in on 98 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.040 it. But actually I'm more happy now because I have kind of ruminated, 99 00:06:17.079 --> 00:06:19.560 I've thought a lot about what's going on, and I can really have a 100 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:25.040 much more clear approach to what I'm going to say today. So I'm excited 101 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:28.920 to be on. But boy, I did not expect to be on this 102 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:30.519 week. Let me just put it that way. Yeah, let me put 103 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:32.959 it this way. When we bring on Andrew Murray is kind of like the 104 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:35.680 you know, break Glass. We need the professor, We need them on. 105 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:40.040 We have a lot of news subscribers. We've added like forty fifty news 106 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:42.759 subscribers here over the last couple of days. I think we hit like a 107 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.920 three thousand views over the last like twenty eight However YouTube tracks it's it's like 108 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:51.279 more than a day. But I appreciate everyone joining. Andy has been with 109 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:54.959 We've been doing this a long time, and I just welcome to the show. 110 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.879 I did my answer and everything, but we've been doing this, Andy 111 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:00.240 and I. We've gone all the way back through the trademark stuff and the 112 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:04.839 USFL and the XFL and coming back and the bag like we've gone through everything. 113 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:09.199 I appreciate everyone joining us. This is week one hundred and sixty three 114 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:13.120 of the podcast. Never missed a week. Maybe we're not the longest running, 115 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.560 but we've certainly been doing this as consistently. We'll get into all the 116 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:20.279 news. I think this is good because we did the live stream. If 117 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:24.399 you guys haven't seen the live stream, check that out. Two hours Mike 118 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:28.920 and you know, Anthony Miller and Evan on there. That's great. Hopefully 119 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:32.160 a little more concise today and just more focused because that was obviously craziness. 120 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:36.040 Before we get into everything, I just I have my National Spring Football League 121 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.720 had on and I wore this specifically today. I just tweeted about this and 122 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:43.519 this is my only little grand stand here. We'll get into all this stuff. 123 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:46.959 I've had messages sent to me all day, comments on the YouTube, 124 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.680 you know, because Mike and I think it came up last night in the 125 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:54.600 in the YouTube video like oh, you know they're getting rid because the rumor 126 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:57.360 is they're going to get rid of the XFL or the USFL, Brandy and 127 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.240 you know, combine whenever this mega super league comes to other and Mike and 128 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.560 I had joked, oh, it's a National Spring Football League because you know 129 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:09.120 of the Mike and I know it's a joke because when the USFL was originally 130 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.920 acquiring this is how long we've been doing this. When they were originally acquiring 131 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.639 all of the trademarks for all the new teams that they were going to roll 132 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:22.720 out, they had an NSFL, a National Spring Football League LLC that kind 133 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.160 of acted as a catalyst too. They were kind of able to acquire all 134 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:28.800 the trademarks transferred it because like Brian Woods owned some of them. He was 135 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:31.840 with the Spring like he was just really mess and so they used this holding 136 00:08:31.840 --> 00:08:35.879 company and that's where the name came from, the National Spring Football League. 137 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.320 When they you know, obviously transferred everything to the USFL, that went away. 138 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:45.559 I registered the trademark for the clothing brand because I thought it would be 139 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.039 so funny because people were freaking out like, oh my god, it's not 140 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:50.360 going to be the USFL, what's it going to be. I went registered 141 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.759 it. Since then they emailed me and they're like, you know, trademark 142 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:58.639 office, what are your intentions with all of this? Like when are you 143 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:01.440 setting up the Spring Football League, all this stuff. Realized that there was 144 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:05.320 this maybe further of a joke than I wanted to go, so I let 145 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:07.519 it go abandon. I've gotten a lot of things sent to me today. 146 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:11.200 Hey, Fox Sports owns the National String Football League trademark. No, they 147 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:15.720 haven't, never have. I mean they might, they can, I mean 148 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.639 they certainly can. Now I have an abandoned You go search the trademark office 149 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:24.159 n SFL or National String Football League. The only thing that will come up 150 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:28.000 is my abandoned, dread dead trademark for the clothing or whatever. So I 151 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.879 just want to get that out there because, like I just emailed at like 152 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:33.759 an FOS writer, he had an article out today. Oh Fox Sports, 153 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:37.240 We've been doing this a long time. Welcome to you know, welcome to 154 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:41.799 whatever. I know, there's been a lot of like blurring stories right now, 155 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:43.879 so I don't know. Hopefully that wasn't too long of a ramble, 156 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:48.200 if that makes sense. Andy. I mean, you were ahead of the 157 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:52.639 game far before anyone else, before we even realized you were. You're a 158 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:58.720 trailblazer in that way. But I just have to say, this is a 159 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:05.120 donning roll out of events. I am genuinely shocked that we are here at 160 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:09.600 this point. I could not believe the announcement that was made on Tuesday, 161 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.399 well not the announcement, but the reports that were being made about a potential 162 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:20.240 announcement for a merger. I never, in my wildest dreams thought that these 163 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.519 two were actually going to merge. I'm just going to say that right now, 164 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:26.840 because I thought, as Evan had said before on your podcast yesterday, 165 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:31.480 I just thought there was too much egotism involved. I really thought that philosophically, 166 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:35.080 these two entities would never be able to come to the table and be 167 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:39.840 able to agree on anything. And look, we still haven't really even gotten 168 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:45.399 maybe even pasted other preliminary discussions. I mean, there's so many logistical things 169 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.879 that have to be ironed out. But as far as we can hear from 170 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:52.440 and see, it seems like this is going to happen. And I did 171 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:56.480 not have it on my bingo card. In fact, I'm not kidding you. 172 00:10:56.519 --> 00:10:58.240 I was in the midst of writing an article about why it specifically was 173 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:03.960 not going to happen, and that either a league was going to be content 174 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:09.639 with or content with basically one of both of them falling away like one of 175 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:13.440 them was going to die and whoever was the last one standing was going to 176 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:18.039 survive and be the king of all spring leagues and grandstand and say look, 177 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:22.360 we made it, we did it. We are the champions. We've solved 178 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.399 spring league football forever. And now here we are with both of them basically 179 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:31.320 coming to the table and realizing potentially that they have to merge if they're going 180 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.519 to survive. And I did not think that was an ultimatum that was possible. 181 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:39.759 I really did not. So I'm I'm just as shocked as anyone. 182 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:41.879 Yeah, so just to set the record, you know, or to set 183 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:45.320 kind of the set the table here. And like I said, Mike was 184 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:46.799 on last night, A lot of credit to him and the work that he's 185 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:52.480 done. I know there's been a lot of like I guess Mike Mitchell, 186 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:54.200 Hey, I don't know. It was it was just really weird. Like 187 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:56.759 Mike came on last night. I thought it was a really good stream. 188 00:11:56.840 --> 00:12:01.840 We had like I think record viewership we've ever had cocurrent. It's done great 189 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:03.000 views. Today felt really good, and there's been a lot of like, 190 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:05.879 well, Mike doesn't know what he's talking about, or this is wrong, 191 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.759 and I posted this in the group chat last night. I stand by everything 192 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:15.919 that we report on this show. I stand by everything that Mike reports. 193 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:18.240 I know Mike says things to us in private that may or may not, 194 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:22.279 you know, and then if Mike puts it out there, it's something that 195 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:24.960 he feels good enough to source, and I just I welcome that if any 196 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.480 if there was anything that has been fictitious we've ever reported. You know, 197 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:31.000 I worked in new this for a long time before getting into this, Like, 198 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:33.519 I don't want to get into this, like he said, she said, 199 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:37.879 whatever, But I genuinely stand by the work that Mike does, the 200 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:39.960 connections that he has. We rely on him a lot. I know Mark 201 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:45.279 relies on Mike a lot. We all do, so I just to me, 202 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:48.360 there's just been a lot of like credibility questioning of that. So I 203 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:52.320 don't know where that comes from. But Mike kind of the table, we 204 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:56.799 have what we're looking at, combining of the teams, looking at potentially some 205 00:12:56.919 --> 00:13:01.720 from the XFL, some from the USFL getting rid of the Roughnecks, getting 206 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:05.120 rid of the Vipers Houston, you know, taking over there in April kickoff, 207 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:09.840 and then the mixture of games between that ABC, ESPN and Fox anything 208 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.879 else. I guess jarring that stands at to you from that and we can 209 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:18.039 kind of go through those piece by piece. I mean, the teams that 210 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:20.679 Mike announced yesterday really surprised me. I can't believe that the Roughnecks would be 211 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:26.559 on the chopping block before the Gamblers. Roughnecks have played in the market twice 212 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.039 in two different iterations of the league and have an established fanbase. And look, 213 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.559 you can tell me all you want about the Gamblers fanchise. I'm sure 214 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:37.360 they have fans. I'm not talking about the fans dating back to the nineteen 215 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:41.320 eighty five. I'm talking about fans now. And look, if people want 216 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:43.759 to come out of the woodwork and support them, great, But this is 217 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:46.360 not the entity that I thought was going to be chosen. This is not 218 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.080 the ip I thought was going to survive in this negotiation. If that indeed 219 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:54.200 ends up being the case, that would be absolutely wild to me, because 220 00:13:54.840 --> 00:14:00.279 you know, listen, logistically, which coaching staff is gonna end up thing? 221 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:01.919 If you're going to talk about chopping off one of the Houston teams, 222 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.679 it's Curtis Johnson versus Wade Phillips and his staff and I don't know which one 223 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:11.399 is going to survive there. As far as the other teams, I'm surprised 224 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:15.480 to hear Birmingham. I mean, that's your champion, that's the two time 225 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:18.360 defending USFL champion. That you put a hub in for all of the teams 226 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:22.519 in year one and you put in year two with them in the New Orleans 227 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:26.720 Breakers. I don't understand that one. Well, you got to keep it. 228 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:28.679 I mean you can't get rid of that. I mean, if you're 229 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:31.799 if you're merging right, you can't get rid of the Stallions. You would 230 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:33.559 think after how much capital and how much well I've ben it needs. So 231 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:37.039 they're in, I mean they're in, right, So it's it's Stallions, 232 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:41.960 the Ohio I got the tweet up beer from the USFL Stallions. The Memphis 233 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:46.759 teams are presumably the breakers in Ohio based team because that's a mess there because 234 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.639 you have the modelers and you have the what the generals there? You have 235 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:54.039 nothing there in Ohio and then the gamblers taking over on that. So that's 236 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:56.960 one, two, three, four, and then I guess we would be 237 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.960 waiting on the other in ten teams total, so then it would be the 238 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:01.600 six from the XFL. So if I'm doing my mouth there right, yeah, 239 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:05.120 I had to drink I just for me. I mean, the teams 240 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:09.120 that I thought would potentially be on the chopping lock were from the USFL sides 241 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.840 obviously, the teams that were not on home stadiums. That would be Houston, 242 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:16.720 I'd be New Orleans, I'd be Philadelphia. That would be the New 243 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:20.360 Jersey Generals, and quite frankly, that also include the Cannon team, because 244 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:22.840 there is no Cannon team. You know, the Maulers are included in that. 245 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:26.679 But if they want to convert one of those teams into an Ohio property, 246 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:30.320 then fine, then you convert that into one of those teams, and 247 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:33.039 then basically that leaves four out. And then on the XFL side, I 248 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:37.320 thought the only one that was really in danger, obviously is the Vegas Pipers. 249 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:43.039 They were obviously in their own tumultuous relationship with their venue and basically whether 250 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:46.600 or not they were even going to exist next month. Meanwhile, their team 251 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:50.600 account just keeps tweeting away like nothing's going on, and I didn't think they 252 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:52.960 were going to survive either way. But I thought they were going to be 253 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.000 relocated. I know, people thrown out the Orlando Guardians because of the attendance 254 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:02.279 issue. I'm glad that you mentioned Corey last night, the guy who does 255 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:03.960 all of the great social media for them, I'm glad that you mentioned him. 256 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:07.759 He was very thankful about that on Twitter as well. And look, 257 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:11.559 they put in their effort. And also that's Danny's I thought that was Danny's 258 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.159 team too. I mean, I know, maybe Danny is willing to make 259 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:18.879 that Danny Garcia is willing to make that concession, but to chop it down 260 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:25.440 to ten teams, that's just such a loss of not only fans, but 261 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:30.120 just capital in terms of what you have to go from sixteen down to ten 262 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:36.120 in a basically merger league. I mean, that just feels like a huge 263 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:37.799 net loss. I don't really even know if it feels like a merger anymore. 264 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:41.039 It just feels like one league bought two teams and then kicked everyone else 265 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:45.000 out like that. That's what And that's we've gotten a lot of negative feedback. 266 00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:48.919 I mean, that's the thing is, you know, there's always casualty 267 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:52.720 when it comes to you know, any sort of merger and acquisition. You 268 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.559 know, you're between talent, between staff. I mean, it's it's hard, 269 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:57.639 and I understand people's frustrations. Sorry to catch up, No, but 270 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:02.159 that's the thing. People can be frustrated. I understand it. To me, 271 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.519 it's baffling too, I don't understand it. But I'm not directing any 272 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.920 of that towards Mike or anyone on the stream, because basically, Mike was 273 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:11.039 just doing his job and he was reporting what he was hearing. If anybody 274 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:15.759 wants to get upset with Mike, you come at him, you come out 275 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.359 of the entire group. Like I'm just gonna say that right now, I 276 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:22.440 will defend Mike Mitchell to the end, like he is an incredible man and 277 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:26.119 he has done a great, just fantastic work, more than anyone will ever 278 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:29.079 do in this space or ever has done in this space. I will defend 279 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:30.920 him to the end. I don't care. And I don't know if that 280 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:36.640 comes from some echo chamber somewhere and some concock finest part of the Internet. 281 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:41.000 I don't care. Mike has done his job, and so any frustration that's 282 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:45.359 me needs to be directed here. It needs to be directed at whoever's making 283 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:49.480 the decisions. Okay, look, this is this needs to be thought out 284 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:55.200 logistically correctly. I know the big wigs of the top ends of both leagues 285 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:57.640 are discussing this, and apparently a lot of other people are in the dark. 286 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:00.920 They've I don't know what they're doing, because you do not want to 287 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:06.000 alienate people and you do not want to pull out the wrong pin because if 288 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:08.440 you do, this could go really badly. I'm just gonna say that right 289 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:11.440 now. You have to be careful with what steps you make. If you're 290 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:18.160 going to completely rebrand both leagues and has have one entity, you better be 291 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.279 damn sure it's going to work, which again is almost again wild to me 292 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:26.200 that that could even be a possibility because both of these brands by themselves were 293 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:32.319 so strong and we're still renowned in the public space. You're basically starting from 294 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:33.319 ground zero. Again. You might as well just start in a whole new 295 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:37.480 league period. Like why I even combine the teams, That's the thing. 296 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:41.160 I don't get why there was. It just feels like so fly by night 297 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:48.440 methodology, because nobody really seems to be going about this way of maybe planning 298 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:51.799 out I don't know, five or ten years in the future, and I 299 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:56.079 know the USFL and the XBL talked about having their plans, but they've basically 300 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:59.759 abandoned them after year one and two and just are throwing them casting them. 301 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.880 The su for this measure, which I'm just gonna say it right now, 302 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:08.039 just feels like desperation because it feels like it's desperate based on how it's how 303 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:12.160 it's coming together, how the logistics are working out. I mean, again, 304 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:15.559 all these brands, all these ips, what do you do with all 305 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.039 the you know, the merchandise, so you're gonna sell it off all of 306 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:19.519 a sudden, what are you going to do in terms of like, you 307 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:25.759 know, all the TV deals interlocking the TV deals, the Disney deal that 308 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:27.960 might brought up, but you know they're interlocked with Disney until twenty twenty seven. 309 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:32.200 What's Disney's you know, thoughts about this in their relationship with ESPN. 310 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.519 I mean, and then of course, the thing that gets me and this 311 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:38.160 whole thing, and not to go on too long, but the thing that 312 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:41.279 really on my craw about this is the players and the coaches and the people 313 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:45.000 that whose jobs are at stakes suddenly because of this. And look, this 314 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:49.599 is a capitalistic venture. This country is built on capitalistic ventures, and part 315 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:55.440 of that includes takeovers and mergers that happens with companies. I've been part of 316 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:57.440 a company that had a takeover. Things changed, I didn't like it. 317 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:03.559 I left, people followed me after towards I've been reading about different kinds of 318 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:06.200 mergers that have happened in the past. Obviously, the most in famous one 319 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:07.359 I can think of is like Sears and Kmart. I know it's not a 320 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:11.720 football league, but like that obviously blew up in both of their faces when 321 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:14.160 that happened. I mean, you have to be really careful with when you 322 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:15.839 when you decide to pull the trigger on this kind of decision you're going to 323 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:18.400 put You're going to upset a lot of people, and you have to be 324 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.160 careful with where you go forward. But you need to have a plan, 325 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:30.359 and I just I hope that they have a clear plan of what they're going 326 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:32.799 to do and how they're going to accomplish it, and not just say let's 327 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.799 throw everything together and see if it works, because that's not going to work. 328 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:38.279 It's not gonna it's not gonna last, and we're going to be back 329 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:42.000 to square one again. It's interesting, and so it's just kind of to 330 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:48.920 I guess add further context. And Mike's been reporting this and the word is 331 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:56.319 football opts on both the USFL and XFL side. And if you know the 332 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.640 history and the crossover, I'm not going to like throw people under the bus 333 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:02.160 here. But if you know the history and the crossover of the USFL and 334 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:04.720 the x L and who's been in both, like to me, I can 335 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:08.319 connect the dots very much of like who from the XFL was talking to who 336 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:14.359 of the x of the USFL, And I actually message no soul that this 337 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:15.920 person no soul that I you know, I didn't want to. I didn't 338 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:18.039 want to dig too deep, you know, like throw any one under the 339 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:22.359 bus. But apparently, you know, year one concludes football ops on both 340 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:26.279 sides. They talk and they go, okay, let's let's ship this upstairs 341 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:29.920 and see and and Mike has said in our chat, you know, the 342 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:33.839 the room in which kind of the sphere of who in the XVl and the 343 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:37.279 USL who actually know what's going on is very very slim, you know, 344 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:41.400 I mean we're talking Russ Brandon, Danny, Dwayne Moose. You know, 345 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:44.200 they're like who else would be on that? You know, who else would 346 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:48.359 be on that? Because like Ed Hartman's whoever is on Like Eric Shanks or 347 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:52.039 whatever on the US and L side, and so you know, because that's 348 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:56.039 my question to you is and I'm trying to figure out timeline here because I 349 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.200 was. I had a conversation today with someone who was talking within the executive 350 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:03.240 at Fox, and they're saying, yes, the axial report said the merger 351 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:07.799 is going to be complete here ahead of the twenty twenty four seasons. But 352 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:12.640 that doesn't necessarily mean that the twenty twenty four season is going to be a 353 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:19.319 combined like US XFL, Spring League whatever amalgamation, like they potentially could merge, 354 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:23.240 continue to act as two separate entities very much like you know, the 355 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:27.200 AFL whatever back in the day run co currently, maybe you have a little 356 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:30.680 bit of crossover play and then move towards that down the line, which I 357 00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:34.079 would like because as you know that, you know, like Vipers and ballot 358 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:37.079 Hawks, like we're all kind of tweeting on And what I don't know, 359 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:41.079 truthfully, is is this like blissful ignorance, like, Hey, we're just 360 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:45.160 going to bout our business. This is what we're doing. Do they not 361 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:48.480 know? Is this a directive? You know? Does it not matter? 362 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:51.559 Because yeah, we are still doing the showcase next month. We are still 363 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:55.680 doing the draft. XFL is going to operate on its own. USBL has 364 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:59.119 its timeline, and then we're gonna, you know, we can be merged. 365 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:02.440 But it's kind of a slow zipper effect versus I think a lot of 366 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.079 people right now, and especially on the stream last night, it's like, 367 00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:08.680 no, this is all happening before April, which in my sense is not 368 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:14.759 maybe necessarily the case. As I knocked my microphone number, I mean it's 369 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:18.279 a panic button if that's the case. But yeah, to me, I 370 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:21.519 think it's a little more thought out. Hopefully to that, I'll say, 371 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:23.440 I mean, we only know what we know. We don't know everything. 372 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:29.680 And I've learned just from my reading and going through a lot of people and 373 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:33.440 comments. No, a lot of people don't know anything about the situation, 374 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.759 and a lot of people are pretending to know that they know a lot of 375 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:40.240 things. Look, a lot of us are in the dark here. Okay, 376 00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:45.359 this is a transitioning This is a transitioning phase right now for a lot 377 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.720 of us. And look, these leagues, I don't know logistically again how 378 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:52.720 they would be able to accomplish this. I mean, we're getting to the 379 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.680 end of September. Here, we're coming up. Twenty twenty four is not 380 00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:59.720 that far away. And I don't know how in the world you would be 381 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:03.119 able to conduct this merger and be able to get everyone on the same page 382 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:07.519 that quickly and then drop if it means dropping teams. I would not advise 383 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:10.920 that. If it's going to be down the road, if it's going to 384 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:15.079 be a year after twenty twenty four, and they somehow logistically are able to 385 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:21.119 keep as many teams as possible and are able to sort of brief people on 386 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:23.559 what could potentially happen down the road, that's a little bit more amicable, 387 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:26.640 and that I understand a little bit more. Again, I don't want teams 388 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:30.759 to drop, but obviously it seems to be a fantasy land proposition that all 389 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:33.319 the teams would stay. And I think that's what maybe is such a disconnect 390 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:37.640 here. Is basically, any time that the idea of a merger was brought 391 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:41.240 up amongst anyone in our group or people in the know, the fan bases, 392 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:45.599 or anybody peripheral, you know, people on the outside, maybe casuals, 393 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:48.119 everybody talked about it like, oh yeah, well you just get all 394 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:52.079 sixteen teams in there. And how do you do what you play same rules 395 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:56.039 and that's it. And clearly there seems to be a disconnect between what people 396 00:24:56.119 --> 00:25:00.480 wants and what the league's wants, or at least they think they can use 397 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:04.519 in order to be viable and be able to survive. So to me, 398 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:08.839 I mean, it just would seem so hasty if they just kind of dropped 399 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:12.000 teams and they were just rushing into this next year, if indeed that was 400 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:17.279 the case, because I mean, look, the end of the XFL was 401 00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:21.160 talking to the CFL for four months between March and July twenty twenty one, 402 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:23.200 and in between that time, they realized, we're not gonna be ready for 403 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:27.000 twenty twenty two. Let's you know, cut our losses and move back and 404 00:25:27.079 --> 00:25:30.680 get ready for that season, which in hindsight was a good move, and 405 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:34.960 some would argue they still weren't ready for in some ways they still work. 406 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:38.759 But I think that was again, I think that was an ego more than 407 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:44.359 it was preparation. Like they I know, Cashman Field was a disaster, 408 00:25:44.440 --> 00:25:47.319 but that's because they really thought it was going to work and it didn't. 409 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:49.920 You know, I think they tried their damnest. They gave themselves enough time, 410 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:55.079 and whatever they tried, it didn't work, so that didn't come to 411 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:59.440 fruition. As far as this goes, though, I mean, this would 412 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:02.599 be even hate year. I mean, this is even closer to that timeline. 413 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:06.000 If even if it's like I know, it's pushing back, I would 414 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:07.519 be pushing back to April, so it would still be two plus months. 415 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:11.759 But even then, it still just feels very rapid. And again, it's 416 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:15.759 so much bigger in terms of not only just starting an eighteen league, but 417 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:19.640 to just get everyone on the same page. I I just I question whether 418 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:23.400 or not they seem to know what the timeline is here, and this is 419 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:26.160 just so fluid, and I think that's the thing about it. It's very 420 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:30.279 fluid. And I don't know when we're going to get that official announcement. 421 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:33.000 I mean we know, I mean I get it for months, you know, 422 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:37.759 that's the thing. We're getting all this reporting, but clearly it may 423 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:41.680 not even transpire in this month or next month or the month after or who 424 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:45.319 knows when I think, like I said, the more I found about this 425 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.240 and ruminated, because you know, obviously, and I believe Mike when he 426 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:52.519 says like this is very close to finalization you know, whatever this is. 427 00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:56.440 And you know, the Axios report is obviously saying the head of the twenty 428 00:26:56.519 --> 00:27:00.960 twenty four. It leads me very much more like we're gonna we're gonna shift 429 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:07.160 XFL back, we're both kicking off in April. We're we're gonna try to 430 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:11.920 maybe align our programming schedules so it's more complimentary. Because what I think has 431 00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:17.799 happened going into this stuff is they you know, we talked about this last 432 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:21.759 night. This is a very niche market we're in, you know, even 433 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:25.440 niche, more niche than I maybe imagine kind of getting into all of this 434 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:27.119 world and who who, you know, who cares to listen to about it. 435 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:33.039 But you know, when you're trying to segment that viewership, especially you 436 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:37.799 know, dealing with football fatigue, dealing with you know, the overlapping we 437 00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:40.319 got March matters, like all these things, I think they realize like, 438 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:44.839 okay, this whole like real football, Hollywood whatever versus the XFL, and 439 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.160 like we know we're competing with USFL where we're not going to talk like you 440 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:51.680 know, they're kind of waging the Cold War in different ways back and forth. 441 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:55.279 Like to me, this feels way more amicable of like, at a 442 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:59.519 minimum, how can we not hurt each other, and then how can we 443 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:02.640 then forward with working together in the future. I think it's kind of a 444 00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:04.680 multi step process here, for like, hey, number one, let's not 445 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:08.440 be firing bullets at each other. And then step number two, like let's 446 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:15.599 figure out because if you are basing a large identity of your league around supporting 447 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:18.440 players, getting players to the NFL, like it be you know, Dwayne 448 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:21.839 and Danny all the time, you know, and I believe that, you 449 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:23.400 know, I've talked with players and hey, you know, Danny was there. 450 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:26.599 We feel this connection with ownership and we feel like they want to be 451 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:30.319 a part of that. You can't do that and then also operate the business 452 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:33.400 in the way that like knowingly is self sabotaging. And so to me, 453 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:37.400 that's where I'm kind of reading into it of like let's you know, let's 454 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:41.039 not turn the guns at each other. Let's turn you know, let's let's 455 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:44.680 be firing together here and kind of try to build a platform that these players 456 00:28:44.680 --> 00:28:48.400 can thrive off of. And that's fine, but again, just be careful 457 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:52.960 about which platforms you use and if you're going to take things away again, 458 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:56.720 I think that's the other thing. It's hard to take away when people would 459 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.759 you give something to people, especially in this country, will did not expect 460 00:29:00.759 --> 00:29:03.279 to give it back. You know, that's like no, this it's not 461 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:07.960 just you know, it doesn't just become your property. Becomes everyone's property, 462 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:11.519 and basically if you allow that to happen, then it becomes a problem for 463 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:18.039 many people, and so for me I and you know, look the timeline 464 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:22.160 for the calendar. I've never been a fan of the April of the July 465 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.720 timeline, just personally it's getting towards summer. I just think about the players 466 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:30.759 and having to play on turf in the Midwest and the South and when it's 467 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:36.079 hot and it's humid, I just do not prefer that for them. And 468 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:40.640 quite frankly, it's not a very enviable destination for me as a West Coast 469 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:42.200 person to go into that kind of territory. Now, if you're gonna have 470 00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:45.039 West Coast teams, great, then I can just stick stick around with those. 471 00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:48.359 But as far as that's why for me, for the us L it 472 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:52.799 was just harder to convince myself to go travel to a game, among other 473 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:55.480 things, but that was really a big thing for me, and I think 474 00:29:55.480 --> 00:29:57.880 it's a big thing for the players. And as far as the calendar thing 475 00:29:57.880 --> 00:30:02.960 goes, though, it's interesting to me because there was one of the biggest 476 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:04.960 reasons the XFL thought their calendar was better lined up is that it would allow 477 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:07.480 players to get into mini camps and be able to train and get ready for 478 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:11.880 the NFL and be able to have better opportunities ahead of all the USFL players. 479 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:15.079 Well, as we have seen, while a lot of players did get 480 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:18.319 signed, not a lot of players made the fifty three man roster to the 481 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:22.119 one man I mean and exactly, you know, people want to call me 482 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:26.000 home or whatever. I mean, USFL got more players on the rosters at 483 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:29.160 least right now, and everything's shifting whatever. Like they did not play. 484 00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:30.440 You're saying it didn't play as big a part as we thought it would. 485 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:33.640 It didn't ultimately. I mean, now, I know it's their first year, 486 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:37.079 but like that was the whole idea was Okay, well, they have 487 00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:40.480 more preparation, they have more time, and it was just a wash really, 488 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:41.640 I mean, both of them had pretty much equal amount of players. 489 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:45.119 I think it does stay to me at least that both of them have talented 490 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:49.000 players, and they both have players that are sticking around. But as far 491 00:30:49.079 --> 00:30:53.240 as the calendar goes, I mean, it clearly didn't seem to make much 492 00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:56.519 of a difference, which maybe that's a concession that the XFL brass is willing 493 00:30:56.519 --> 00:31:00.960 to make now just saying okay, well this didn't prove that point, I 494 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:04.960 guess then we're okay with moving along with the April to July calendar. So 495 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:11.240 maybe it ultimately didn't didn't matter in that regard. So I just again, 496 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:15.119 if you're gonna be playing at the same time next year, fine, Just 497 00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:21.039 I hope that if both leads are allowed to exist and coexist with one another, 498 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:22.680 that they're able to have all of the teams at least for next year, 499 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:26.319 and I would hope in some way, shape or form going forward. 500 00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:30.920 But again that's not my call, that's logistically, but I just I hesitate 501 00:31:32.039 --> 00:31:34.960 and I worry, and I get nervous about that losing not only just losing 502 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:38.920 ips, but just losing fans and losing people who are saying, really, 503 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:41.240 you just gave this to us, and now you're taking you away again. 504 00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:45.920 And I think it's it's hard to just dangle the promise of well, well, 505 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:48.279 you know the team will come back eventually. That's I think that's a 506 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:52.000 hard stance to take. I'm just gonna say that right now. I think 507 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:56.039 that's a really hard thing to promise. If nothing else, I do, 508 00:31:56.319 --> 00:32:00.759 you know, I the April is hard, you know, to me, 509 00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:04.000 I would I would kick it off, you know. And maybe I'm not 510 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:06.440 the biggest college fan, you know with the basketball, I no, I 511 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:07.960 went to Gonsega. That's terrible to say, but like, uh, you 512 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.799 know, the second March madness is that I would kick this league off right 513 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:15.039 because I would want to get out as close to summer. I think going 514 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:17.200 into July is too late. I think end of June and kids are gone 515 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:21.279 and you're going on vacation and all that stuff. But I will say, 516 00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:23.759 and this is does not matter in the long term, but at least next 517 00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:28.519 year, I think the Rock is very much rumored to be headline in WrestleMania 518 00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:31.039 forty against Roman Rains, which would be early April. And that really would 519 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:37.160 be if you wanted to whatever you call this, if it's the Double League 520 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:39.519 or have a new name by this point or whatever, like that's that's a 521 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:44.079 great runway of like, hey, let's he's gonna be on TV every week. 522 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:46.039 It's gonna be you know, WrestleMania forty. It's hugely. That does 523 00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:50.480 play into at least that part of it. But you know, otherwise, 524 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.519 I don't. I've never liked the April. You know, Originally I said 525 00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:55.200 like, oh, I think this is the best, and that once we 526 00:32:55.279 --> 00:32:59.519 kind of lived through it with the US of Valley very much firmly, Uh, 527 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:01.279 February very might be too early to come back right after the super Bowl, 528 00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:05.839 and I think April's too late to start. I'm glad you brought up 529 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:07.319 the Rock because that's the other thing. And this factorating in this whole thing 530 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:13.759 is the whole build up with the XFL is that the casual person no disrespected 531 00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:15.759 Danny Garcia. I understand what she does, and I know what her job 532 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:19.519 is, and I understand what she does and what she represents. People know 533 00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:22.319 who The Rock is, you know, like they know his brand, his 534 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:24.880 identity and everything. If you're talking to the person on the street, you're 535 00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:27.720 like and you tell him like, oh, the Rock has a football league, 536 00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:30.759 They're like, the Rock has a football league. That's that's that has 537 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:35.440 cachet. If you're going to merge these two entities. Are you going to 538 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:42.599 have the rock just saying you know, basically it's his league of the nwslor 539 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:47.279 whatever it's going to be called, and the or the I guess the the 540 00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:52.440 National Spring Football League sorry, and as f w L. It's like, 541 00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:57.400 if you're gonna have that, then are they gonna be okay with the fact 542 00:33:57.400 --> 00:34:00.359 that people are just going to probably automatically assume, Oh, it's his league. 543 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:01.759 You know, he owns all these teams and he has all these things 544 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:05.319 with them, Like are you okay with that branding and that messaging? You 545 00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:08.239 have to be careful about that because I don't know how does he readjust this, 546 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:13.840 how does he juxtaposed this now? Because and I know he's talked about 547 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:16.360 Danny and he's shared all the things with him and all that, But can 548 00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:21.840 Fox share that Are they okay with that? I know they obviously have a 549 00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:24.559 big stake in ww that's fine, but are they able to are they willing 550 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:28.880 to kind of play along with that gimmick because that's part of it, right, 551 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:30.760 that's part of that's part of the notoriety, that's part of the show. 552 00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:35.960 And I just wonder how again, that's why philosophically, I thought these 553 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:37.480 two would never be able to get on the same page because I thought they 554 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:40.679 were just so disparate and how they ran their not only ran their leagues, 555 00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:45.440 but just in terms of like the fan bases, everybody just felt so different 556 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:50.559 in terms of how they approached football and they approached the products, and they 557 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:54.800 approached the idea. I don't know, it's gonna be really interesting to see 558 00:34:54.840 --> 00:35:00.559 these two ideas potentially melving the other thing. INSI about kind of playing nice 559 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:04.320 together. You're talking about that as well. And curious about this because I 560 00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:09.719 was having a conversation today just even just the very idea that ESPN, you 561 00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:14.679 know, ESPN, ABC, Fox and then whatever NBC is involved in this 562 00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:16.599 where they're at least in through the next year. I think NBC has got 563 00:35:16.599 --> 00:35:21.800 a three year deal they're paying to air right USFL owned by Fox, NBC 564 00:35:21.920 --> 00:35:25.679 paying for part of that to air. It's just weird to think that they 565 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:29.639 would play nice on that. I mean, a very weird, surreal kind 566 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:34.519 of moment of that, you know, even to to add on to why 567 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:37.960 we never thought that this was going to happen, right, egos and business 568 00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:40.119 plans and the way they operate and Danny always wanted to own the thing, 569 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:44.440 and Fox, okay, how can we get cheap programming? And especially now 570 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:47.559 like uh, we're losing WW next year, We're going to need even more 571 00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:52.880 stuff just even this ESPN and Fox kind of playing. Well, you don't 572 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:58.000 see that often, right and it maybe Fox makes the concession because they own 573 00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.159 it and and you know, you can pay out to license whatever the extra 574 00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:04.880 Belt can pay for some of that at you know, airtime or whatever. 575 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:07.760 Like, I don't know how you negotiate that, because in this day and 576 00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:09.840 age, that to me feels very odd. They have two competing networks kind 577 00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:15.960 of sharing similar properties like that. It does again the synergy of it is 578 00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:19.760 very strange, and I don't know if that is going to come together cohesively. 579 00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:25.320 I am surprised that Disney or ESPN or whoever is involved in this decision 580 00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:30.960 making as well, was presumably okay with the melding of those things. And 581 00:36:30.360 --> 00:36:36.440 again, you've had bullets flying from both sides as far as who does one, 582 00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:39.199 what does better and all that. Here's one thing I think that does 583 00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:44.199 need to change as far as if they're going to be able to run this 584 00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:49.760 thing, if we're going to have this merged property. As far as as 585 00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:52.199 far as visuals go, you need to be able to get out of the 586 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:59.039 hub concept. Look, you can't have both of these sides doing two different 587 00:36:59.119 --> 00:37:01.440 things if they're going to merge together in ideals, you can't have like one 588 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:05.800 not playing hubs and the other one doing that. Now I guess they're gonna 589 00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:07.840 do it still next season, the USFL is still going to have the four 590 00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:12.719 hubs because I haven't heard anything about venues being selected for any of the teams 591 00:37:12.719 --> 00:37:15.400 that don't have it. Are they going to be able to continue that. 592 00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:19.559 I don't know. We'll see again as far as like I think it. 593 00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:22.760 You know, at this time last year, I mean, we didn't even 594 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:25.559 hear about the Memphis show Boats coming along. If I'm not mistaken, there 595 00:37:25.639 --> 00:37:29.079 was like no no word on it yet. I have I have to double 596 00:37:29.159 --> 00:37:32.199 check the date. But it seemed to me like they were still in the 597 00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:37.039 process of just moving the IP from the bandits, you know, and so 598 00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:39.480 could they do that again, Like could the USFL just decide like, oh, 599 00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:42.760 you know, we're actually we're gonna drop this team and we're gonna go 600 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:45.280 pick another one, you know, because they have all those those brands and 601 00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:46.559 they're just gonna throw them in one of the hubs. Again. It's so 602 00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:51.119 it's it's much different than the XFL, who put all the teams in the 603 00:37:51.119 --> 00:37:55.320 markets and had to make a very tough conscious decision of that. We've that 604 00:37:55.360 --> 00:38:00.719 has been reported about them potentially taking Vegas out. You know, that's that 605 00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:05.480 requires a lot of movement. So again, if you're going to have these 606 00:38:05.480 --> 00:38:10.239 two teams operating it in tandem, I don't think you can have them showing 607 00:38:10.280 --> 00:38:14.679 those philosophical differences. I mean, the fans might want that, but I 608 00:38:14.679 --> 00:38:16.960 don't think they really can afford to do that because one of the things that 609 00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:22.119 I think we talked about last season is, you know, does the average 610 00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:25.400 person know what what the difference is between and I don't think they do. 611 00:38:25.559 --> 00:38:28.960 Like they're they're they're not. They're sitting there and being like, oh, 612 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:30.760 you know they do this point conversion of this league and they run this and 613 00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:34.559 now all the kickoff is like that, No no one knows that you have 614 00:38:34.800 --> 00:38:37.920 I'm sorry. People are talking like sorry, Like people were talking like, 615 00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:42.119 oh, like what rule book are they going to use? Like save for 616 00:38:42.199 --> 00:38:45.559 the kickoff? I don't think anybody could tell you the difference between the USFL 617 00:38:45.639 --> 00:38:50.400 and the XFL. Yeah, Like I remember, was it last week with 618 00:38:50.440 --> 00:38:55.000 the with the with the Vikings game where what's his video? What's his face? 619 00:38:55.079 --> 00:39:00.320 The Justin Jefferson like when he fumbled the ball into the ends own and 620 00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:02.199 I tweeted out like hey, and the USFL, this isn't an issue, 621 00:39:02.239 --> 00:39:05.840 and whoever texts me be like you know, the XFL does has the same 622 00:39:05.920 --> 00:39:12.400 rule like see like I saved for the kickoff. I don't think the rules 623 00:39:12.519 --> 00:39:16.199 is a place to handle that. I mean, like, the rules are 624 00:39:16.199 --> 00:39:19.639 the rules, and they're gonna have to be consistent in some way, shape 625 00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:22.679 or form. But again, are you gonna have these entities just become like 626 00:39:22.880 --> 00:39:27.760 conferences? And can you can you convince people that they can be conferences? 627 00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:30.599 I mean, look, the AFL and the NFL was a very different time 628 00:39:30.639 --> 00:39:34.280 obviously in terms of merging. First of all, they didn't really lose teams, 629 00:39:34.280 --> 00:39:37.840 you just you ended up gaining teams of anything else out of it. 630 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:42.679 But also, you know the only thing that really changed namingwise was the AFL 631 00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:47.000 became the AFC, and then you had the NFL brand being the overall arguing 632 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:51.280 piece of it, and then you had the AFC and the NFC conferences, 633 00:39:51.360 --> 00:39:54.679 but it wasn't that much of a change. So here it's like, if 634 00:39:54.679 --> 00:39:58.400 you're gonna have a new name, are you going to change one of them 635 00:39:58.400 --> 00:40:02.239 to like the x F or like the USFC or something like that, like 636 00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:07.920 the United States Football Conference and the Extreme Football Conference, whatever that X stands 637 00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:10.119 for. I'm still I'm still trying to figure out what the X stands for. 638 00:40:10.199 --> 00:40:14.159 Sorry Danny and sorry Dwayne Johnson. I'm still trying to stand for the 639 00:40:14.239 --> 00:40:16.400 other section of the dreams and opportunities. Yeah, by the way, when 640 00:40:16.440 --> 00:40:20.199 they said that, did they say that in terms of two leagues coming together? 641 00:40:20.280 --> 00:40:23.159 Is that what that was? That was together? It's like, yeah, 642 00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:25.599 here's this side, here's this side. Is that? And maybe maybe 643 00:40:25.760 --> 00:40:30.159 maybe it was foreshadowing, Maybe we were really just being done the entire time. 644 00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:34.119 It was just massive foreshadowing to the two sides coming together at the intersection 645 00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:37.119 of the X. You know. I mean, it's just Matt. Look, 646 00:40:37.280 --> 00:40:40.400 that's the thing. It's all just madness right now. And I'm trying 647 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:45.800 to every every hour I'm thinking about what about this? What about this thing? 648 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:51.159 And what about what happens to this. My head's still spinning. It's 649 00:40:51.159 --> 00:40:53.599 been two days and it's and it's still been spinning and it hasn't stopped spinning. 650 00:40:57.000 --> 00:40:58.800 So I want to make sure we tell you know, I don't want 651 00:40:58.840 --> 00:41:00.559 to go for everyone that, so I want to make sure we talked through 652 00:41:00.559 --> 00:41:04.480 everything. You know, teams shifting, you know, I don't think Vipers 653 00:41:04.599 --> 00:41:07.280 is the biggest no offense to the six thousand cashman field, you know, 654 00:41:07.320 --> 00:41:09.719 fan, I don't know if that's the biggest loss, like I said, 655 00:41:10.079 --> 00:41:15.320 but I do want respect to be given to respect to be given to that 656 00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:20.000 fan base, though, because it is really easy to write that, you 657 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:22.199 know, to write that off I okay, this is you know, we're 658 00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:24.639 moving like you know, these are people that spend a lot, spent money 659 00:41:24.719 --> 00:41:30.199 about merch kind of the bought the XFL the eighty dollars jerseys or where they 660 00:41:30.519 --> 00:41:35.280 were having shifts and all that stuff. To not write that up Roughnecks is 661 00:41:35.320 --> 00:41:37.800 a big I know, Mike Mitchell incredulous about an Evan and ever I mean 662 00:41:37.840 --> 00:41:40.559 not just Mike, We're all kind of incredulous about the gamblers on that. 663 00:41:40.599 --> 00:41:45.079 Any other notes on that about the gamblers taking over the Roughnecks on that because 664 00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:50.000 I do think that that to me, Roughnecks are safe for you know, 665 00:41:50.079 --> 00:41:52.800 Saint Louis. You talk defenders like Roughnecks and the PJ. Walker and the 666 00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:58.000 undefeated of it all, like of any legacy, and this is like so 667 00:41:58.039 --> 00:42:00.760 long ago we're talking now XFL twenty. But to me, that has one 668 00:42:00.760 --> 00:42:04.400 of the stronger ones that you would kind of want to keep in the regard. 669 00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:07.880 Again, it's a strong brand, it's a strong I P. And 670 00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:13.639 again you have Wade Phillips as the head coach, a Houston legend basically you 671 00:42:13.679 --> 00:42:17.199 know, parking his services for that team, and they've been able to have 672 00:42:17.239 --> 00:42:21.199 an established identity and they've won a lot. I mean that's a big part 673 00:42:21.199 --> 00:42:22.400 of it too. You know, they're a winner. I mean in the 674 00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:29.320 regular season, you're talking about a combined record between both seasons of twelve and 675 00:42:30.119 --> 00:42:32.440 three. And now I know they've bowed out in the playoffs early, but 676 00:42:34.360 --> 00:42:37.199 I mean they've had success, and they've had players who have moved on and 677 00:42:37.440 --> 00:42:40.480 done things in the NFL. I just think it's hard for me to be 678 00:42:40.519 --> 00:42:44.519 convinced that they are the ones they're going to go by the wayside. And 679 00:42:44.800 --> 00:42:47.440 I wonder is it just because of the venue change if there's no change in 680 00:42:47.480 --> 00:42:53.119 the venue for moving out of the yeah, moving the right stadium, If 681 00:42:53.119 --> 00:42:58.199 that doesn't happen, does this become part of the conversation. I wonder, 682 00:42:58.320 --> 00:43:01.480 because like at that point, maybe it's just the venue insecurity that is part 683 00:43:01.519 --> 00:43:05.960 of this whole transition for them, and saying well, they're not established a 684 00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:09.320 right, so the gamblers could be. I just wonder because if they weren't 685 00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:13.679 moving out of that stadium already, if they weren't moving out of the University 686 00:43:13.719 --> 00:43:16.199 of Houston, maybe this wasn't a conversation. I have to wonder if like 687 00:43:16.400 --> 00:43:22.800 that part of it maybe caused concern from both sides and saying, well, 688 00:43:22.840 --> 00:43:25.559 maybe there's not really much of a difference here, but again, which team 689 00:43:25.599 --> 00:43:30.360 has been there much Tream has already been there, Which dream Alray has a 690 00:43:30.360 --> 00:43:34.119 fan base? And again I'm gonna I'm gonna say something that's going to be 691 00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:42.880 super homary here, And that's fine if you're looking at this right besides Birmingham, 692 00:43:42.920 --> 00:43:49.239 besides Detroit, right besides Memphis. If you're the XFL, you're like, 693 00:43:51.079 --> 00:43:53.760 what what are we selling the breakers at? Right? What are we 694 00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:59.280 selling the you know, the gambler. Maybe he just made that concession and 695 00:43:59.360 --> 00:44:01.000 you go, yeah, you can take that. It's all you know, 696 00:44:01.039 --> 00:44:06.039 it's negoti it's negotiating, right, You're like okay, like you know, 697 00:44:06.159 --> 00:44:07.199 we're training back. You know, it's like monopoly, like, hey, 698 00:44:07.239 --> 00:44:09.440 i'll give you I'll give you a two parts, you know, park place 699 00:44:09.519 --> 00:44:14.280 in Saint James, Like, okay, take it, take like take Houston. 700 00:44:14.440 --> 00:44:16.360 Like I just think maybe maybe it's that simple, right, maybe it's 701 00:44:16.360 --> 00:44:20.480 that simple, like, well, we can have seven teams and you know, 702 00:44:20.679 --> 00:44:22.440 three three us L teams, like we got to have it be a 703 00:44:22.440 --> 00:44:24.320 little bit more. I mean, I think that that could be it. 704 00:44:24.360 --> 00:44:27.719 And I don't want to be the homer, but like you look at some 705 00:44:27.760 --> 00:44:30.239 of the established fan bases, Houston is more established than a lot of the 706 00:44:30.320 --> 00:44:34.800 US mel ones. But that's the thing. You can't treat it like monopoly 707 00:44:34.840 --> 00:44:38.880 pieces. Not when I know, I know, but I'm just gonna say 708 00:44:38.880 --> 00:44:42.599 this, and it's probably gonna make a lot of people upset. I think 709 00:44:42.639 --> 00:44:45.880 the USFL has treated a lot of their ips like monopoly pieces. They've just 710 00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:46.760 said, well, we'll trade this ip for this one. You know, 711 00:44:46.800 --> 00:44:50.320 we'll move around and we'll just go to this stilitate city and know what, 712 00:44:50.440 --> 00:44:53.039 you know, wherever we can play. Look, and that's their strategy. 713 00:44:53.559 --> 00:44:57.719 Okay, that's what they've said. The XFL is not doing things that way. 714 00:44:57.760 --> 00:45:00.960 And I think that's why I would be alienating to just go ahead and 715 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:02.480 put the gamblers in place of the roughnecks. I mean, it's like, 716 00:45:02.599 --> 00:45:07.599 just you know, this isn't. This isn't the girl I went to the 717 00:45:07.599 --> 00:45:09.079 ball with, Like, who is this? You know? You just walk 718 00:45:09.159 --> 00:45:13.559 my date Like that's that's how it feels, trying to get somebody else in 719 00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:17.719 there. I don't think this is this is They have to be really careful 720 00:45:17.760 --> 00:45:21.840 about how they go about this. Again, now, I know there's like 721 00:45:21.880 --> 00:45:24.119 the untouchable brands right like the Battle Hawks. Do not touch them at all, 722 00:45:24.239 --> 00:45:28.599 DC, do not touch them. You can't. They're they're you know, 723 00:45:29.119 --> 00:45:30.719 God's gift the Earth and Spring Football Leagues. You know, like you 724 00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:37.360 can't do that. But all these other ips. You got to stop treating 725 00:45:37.360 --> 00:45:40.199 them like their puzzle pieces. I mean, it's it's it's alienating again. 726 00:45:40.239 --> 00:45:44.360 It's not only alienating, it's disrespectful to people who put their time, money, 727 00:45:44.440 --> 00:45:47.039 and effort into these teams and been able to put their energy into it. 728 00:45:47.360 --> 00:45:52.159 And I'm just saying from my perspective with the USFL teams, they haven't 729 00:45:52.199 --> 00:45:54.159 been in a home market. And you can, I understand there's fans, 730 00:45:54.159 --> 00:45:59.840 there's people online, but like reasonably speaking, how much has really been put 731 00:45:59.840 --> 00:46:04.559 in to them as teams, you know, like in terms of capital gains. 732 00:46:04.840 --> 00:46:07.800 And that's what I'm talking about here. It's capital gains as far as 733 00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:13.519 what has actually made any sort of momentum forward and getting people involved in the 734 00:46:13.519 --> 00:46:16.639 markets. So I just that and that's part of the game. If this 735 00:46:16.679 --> 00:46:20.719 is a capitalistic venture, what did you go with somebody that's already familiar, 736 00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:22.880 You go with a brand that's familiar, You go with a team that people 737 00:46:22.920 --> 00:46:29.559 already recognized. Again, that's why it just doesn't make sense to me anything 738 00:46:29.599 --> 00:46:31.639 else. You wanted to make sure we hit on the team thing that we 739 00:46:31.679 --> 00:46:36.880 talked to broadcast, we talked the timeline conferences. I don't know. I 740 00:46:36.920 --> 00:46:39.519 just to me, I was surprised today because you know, we didn't know 741 00:46:39.639 --> 00:46:43.719 what Mike was going to say last night coming on and you know, obviously 742 00:46:43.719 --> 00:46:45.039 and he was recorded with Mark as well, and I'm glad that we could 743 00:46:45.119 --> 00:46:50.639 kind of get a like up on that, But like I didn't, you 744 00:46:50.679 --> 00:46:53.800 know, expecting the team slim down, expecting you know, losing staff and 745 00:46:53.880 --> 00:46:57.119 kind of things like that. I just I wasn't expecting. I don't think. 746 00:46:57.119 --> 00:47:00.400 I don't think a lot of people were, Like it's been in a 747 00:47:00.440 --> 00:47:02.440 little bit of a negative reaction today, and even some of the kids that 748 00:47:02.559 --> 00:47:07.800 I know that like, you know, when I post on Facebook and like, 749 00:47:07.880 --> 00:47:09.760 Okay, they're liking everything, and they're liking everything, like there's a 750 00:47:09.800 --> 00:47:14.320 lot of like angry em like they're you know, angry, and I know 751 00:47:14.360 --> 00:47:15.920 it's not to me, Like I know, it's kind of the news because 752 00:47:15.960 --> 00:47:20.119 I just you know, I know these people are very passionate about that. 753 00:47:20.159 --> 00:47:22.400 And I was talking with listeners Seth today on the phone about like just how 754 00:47:22.440 --> 00:47:27.599 passionate kind of the spring football fan bases. Were you surprised, like just 755 00:47:27.920 --> 00:47:31.119 I mean, this was not wildly accepted, well I think by anybody USFL 756 00:47:31.199 --> 00:47:37.840 or XFL fans. I mean, it's something that I again did not see 757 00:47:37.920 --> 00:47:42.199 coming at all. It's a curveball. But again maybe it's just speculation. 758 00:47:42.559 --> 00:47:45.159 But if that's stuff that Mike is hearing. Clearly, it's being part of 759 00:47:45.199 --> 00:47:50.400 the discussion, you know. And look, here's the thing that people need 760 00:47:50.480 --> 00:47:52.559 to understand is when Mike is hearing things, it means it's part of a 761 00:47:52.639 --> 00:47:58.079 legitimate part of the discussion. The XFL thought about being in hubs last year, 762 00:47:58.119 --> 00:48:01.039 Okay, they thought about being in the Arlington hub and doing the same 763 00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:06.199 thing as USFL. Clearly there was backlash to that idea. They backed away 764 00:48:06.199 --> 00:48:07.880 from it, and you know why. Big part of it was because of 765 00:48:07.960 --> 00:48:13.000 Mike's reporting, because he said that and everyone said, you can't do that. 766 00:48:13.000 --> 00:48:14.800 That's the same thing that the USFL is doing. I thought we were 767 00:48:14.840 --> 00:48:16.280 supposed to play in our own markets. That's the whole point of having all 768 00:48:16.320 --> 00:48:20.519 of these brands. You can't take away the BattleHawks fan base, you can't 769 00:48:20.559 --> 00:48:22.280 take away the DC fan base, you can't take away the Houston fan base. 770 00:48:22.320 --> 00:48:27.159 What are you doing? Don't do this? And you know that's part 771 00:48:27.159 --> 00:48:30.519 of it, you know. So now you have this, I guess you 772 00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:32.840 call it backlash. I'm not sure. I think it's just general mask confusion 773 00:48:32.880 --> 00:48:37.840 about what's going on. But at some point it's gonna it's going to come 774 00:48:37.880 --> 00:48:42.000 to a head, and maybe some of the execs or some of the people 775 00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:45.159 in the higher ups of these organizations are going to realize, oh, maybe 776 00:48:45.239 --> 00:48:49.159 we shouldn't. You know, this is the wrong Jenga piece to pull out, 777 00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:51.960 you know, otherwise the tower might fall, like we can't do this. 778 00:48:52.440 --> 00:48:54.320 And that's part of reporting, that's part of getting information out there. 779 00:48:54.320 --> 00:48:59.000 That's part of getting people informed and getting them in the know about what is 780 00:48:59.039 --> 00:49:02.400 happening. So, no, Mike Mitchell did nothing wrong, and he did 781 00:49:02.519 --> 00:49:07.079 he's doing his job. And again, maybe that doesn't come to fruition. 782 00:49:07.480 --> 00:49:09.840 Maybe they changed course and they say, never mind, we're only gonna drop 783 00:49:09.840 --> 00:49:14.119 two teams, or we're just going to figure this out along the way and 784 00:49:14.239 --> 00:49:15.960 we'll get back to this later. We'll come back to the table. So 785 00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:22.199 but it again, yes, the initial reaction it should be negative because it's 786 00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:28.360 it's it's just taking away. It just feels like more subtraction than it does 787 00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:30.280 addition, even though it's supposed to be a merger, which is kind of 788 00:49:30.320 --> 00:49:34.639 the wrong feeling to have, you know, it's not supposed to it's not 789 00:49:34.679 --> 00:49:38.000 supposed to be. It's maybe it is supposed to be additioned by subtraction, 790 00:49:38.039 --> 00:49:42.559 but it certainly doesn't feel that way. It's like that old show was it 791 00:49:42.679 --> 00:49:45.599 Sister Wives with the Mormon guy and the wives. It's like love should be 792 00:49:45.679 --> 00:49:51.599 multiplied, not divided. But I will say this and just to make it 793 00:49:51.719 --> 00:49:55.119 like as a serious just thing here because you know, we've talked about this 794 00:49:55.159 --> 00:49:58.760 a lot, and like, you know, I have nothing but love to 795 00:49:58.840 --> 00:50:00.679 the people of the XFL and the people that run and do and you know, 796 00:50:00.719 --> 00:50:04.440 I was so glad that like Corey shared that today because I do mean 797 00:50:04.480 --> 00:50:06.000 that, like, you know, how do you get ready? You know, 798 00:50:06.079 --> 00:50:07.599 you have these people that are working every day and then it's like whoop, 799 00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:12.320 like we're not doing that, Like all respect for everybody. Everyone knows 800 00:50:12.400 --> 00:50:15.239 I only do this. I certainly not do this for the fame of the 801 00:50:15.239 --> 00:50:16.840 money, and certainly doing this for the love of all this. But like 802 00:50:17.239 --> 00:50:21.480 when you have you know, Danny and the Rock, like having just gone 803 00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:25.039 through like the DC and the Black Adam and like knowing how like for a 804 00:50:25.079 --> 00:50:29.199 lack about the world, like toxic kind of the fan base can be if 805 00:50:29.239 --> 00:50:31.679 like you're messing with things that they are like well that's not the cannon or 806 00:50:31.719 --> 00:50:36.400 that like he didn't have that in that comic book and then you know his 807 00:50:36.559 --> 00:50:38.159 socks were yellow and why are like all you know, all that kind of 808 00:50:38.159 --> 00:50:44.960 stuff. Like I always go back to the initial XFL logo and like we're 809 00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:47.480 doing the rebrand and the website's going down, and like we've been tinkering here 810 00:50:47.519 --> 00:50:51.039 in the lab and like this is the first thing we're going to show you 811 00:50:51.039 --> 00:50:54.000 guys, because we took over we did like that Black Friday hap Like this 812 00:50:54.079 --> 00:50:59.679 is the first thing we're gonna do. And they come out with it and 813 00:51:00.239 --> 00:51:05.880 nobody liked it. Nobody liked it at all, and you're like like this 814 00:51:06.000 --> 00:51:08.679 is you are in spring football, man, Like this is community. And 815 00:51:08.760 --> 00:51:13.639 I say the same thing with the CFL. It kills me a league that 816 00:51:13.880 --> 00:51:19.119 is like so community driven. I've never had an interaction with a single account 817 00:51:19.199 --> 00:51:22.719 on Twitter ever in three years of like hey really appreciate like I don't know 818 00:51:22.719 --> 00:51:27.679 what liking it, Like, hey, watching the CFL get like XFL does 819 00:51:27.719 --> 00:51:31.800 that they enter be a part of this community. And it's the same kind 820 00:51:31.800 --> 00:51:35.400 of with this as well, Like well, we went up to our Ivory 821 00:51:35.480 --> 00:51:38.280 tower, you know, you know at Fox Sports or if you did it, 822 00:51:38.280 --> 00:51:40.800 Rebro, like we kind of went up and we concocted this plan and 823 00:51:40.960 --> 00:51:45.000 like here you go. We came up and you're like, I get that 824 00:51:45.079 --> 00:51:47.199 you can't run the business by committee, but I just I've always felt like 825 00:51:47.199 --> 00:51:52.639 spring football is is it different? It's just wait, does that make sense? 826 00:51:52.679 --> 00:51:54.480 Like you can't run it by committee, but I just feel like you 827 00:51:54.519 --> 00:51:59.719 have such this that hard fan base that has gone through so many different twists 828 00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:01.679 and turns and had the rug pulled out from them eighteen hundred times, Like 829 00:52:01.719 --> 00:52:05.280 it's really hard to like buy in and like here we you know, I 830 00:52:05.320 --> 00:52:08.599 get these people like here we go again. Like in the in the beginning 831 00:52:08.599 --> 00:52:14.480 of this podcast, I have CJ from San Antonio era GTA San Andrea's like, 832 00:52:14.880 --> 00:52:17.119 ah, here we go again, like if you've ever played that video 833 00:52:17.159 --> 00:52:21.079 game, but he just feels like, all right, strap back into the 834 00:52:21.159 --> 00:52:25.360 roller coaster. And I think that disconnect is part of it that seems to 835 00:52:25.480 --> 00:52:28.519 upset a lot of people. And I get it, because yeah, it 836 00:52:28.639 --> 00:52:31.840 is like a community. It is. It's a very niche thing. I've 837 00:52:31.880 --> 00:52:37.239 never thought that it's bigger than it actually is. I wish it was bigger. 838 00:52:37.760 --> 00:52:40.119 I think all of our efforts are and trying to get it out there 839 00:52:40.159 --> 00:52:45.960 because we wanted to succeed. We wanted to be a great thing for players, 840 00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:47.880 coaches, people involved in the league because it is. It's fun. 841 00:52:47.960 --> 00:52:51.599 It's something that's supposed to be fun, and it's supposed to be engaging, 842 00:52:51.639 --> 00:52:54.880 and it's supposed to be able to continue the lives and dreams of people who 843 00:52:55.880 --> 00:53:00.920 otherwise don't think they have any left in the space and for them, for 844 00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:05.679 the people who are making the decisions, Sometimes it just feels like it's completely 845 00:53:05.719 --> 00:53:09.559 disconnected from that idea. And I know CFL people would say something similar to 846 00:53:09.639 --> 00:53:13.480 their league in some ways, like it feels like there's a lot of disconnect 847 00:53:13.559 --> 00:53:16.119 from what's going on the league office versus what's actually going on amongst the fans 848 00:53:16.119 --> 00:53:20.880 and the teams. And so I think that's why this is also frustrating. 849 00:53:20.920 --> 00:53:23.280 We don't want this to go wrong, you know, because it can go 850 00:53:23.480 --> 00:53:29.159 very wrong if things are not handled properly, egos get involved, or if 851 00:53:30.199 --> 00:53:34.920 the wrong again, if the wrong pin is pulled and it blows up in 852 00:53:34.960 --> 00:53:37.159 their face. If we lose all of this, if all of these teams 853 00:53:37.199 --> 00:53:43.159 go away, like that's devastating. It's huge, and I'd hate to be 854 00:53:43.199 --> 00:53:45.039 doing clue but I don't mean to be like that, you know, I 855 00:53:45.039 --> 00:53:47.599 don't want to be so morbid on this show. Like it's just you know, 856 00:53:49.440 --> 00:53:52.760 we haven't even gotten the official announcement yet, but I just worry about 857 00:53:52.280 --> 00:53:58.000 what's the plan going here and is it going to be executed properly going forward? 858 00:53:58.559 --> 00:54:01.079 And you know, I have to have my doubts so far, just 859 00:54:01.119 --> 00:54:06.119 because it's it's new and well, part of it is exciting. I'm also 860 00:54:06.239 --> 00:54:08.639 very anxious to see if what's going to happen and what's going to transpire from 861 00:54:08.679 --> 00:54:13.320 it. Yeah, we'll wind this down here. I think this will be 862 00:54:13.360 --> 00:54:15.559 good. I will say, like if all you know, if all this 863 00:54:15.639 --> 00:54:19.239 goes away, I'll feel really bad for the players and the staff. I 864 00:54:19.280 --> 00:54:22.760 think my mental sanity would probably be better off. But certainly, you know, 865 00:54:23.119 --> 00:54:25.360 a lot of these stands and the people to listen to the shows. 866 00:54:25.400 --> 00:54:30.400 And I appreciate everyone we've added, even just subscribers on the channel here since 867 00:54:30.400 --> 00:54:32.239 we've been recording here, which is just you know, really incredible, and 868 00:54:32.280 --> 00:54:37.000 I really appreciate all that support. But uh, you know, the staff 869 00:54:37.039 --> 00:54:38.360 and the players, that's who I care about, and I know that is 870 00:54:38.360 --> 00:54:42.960 who you and you know Evan and Anthony and Mike and everyone like that's who 871 00:54:43.000 --> 00:54:45.239 we you know, that's why you do this, and it's to give these 872 00:54:45.280 --> 00:54:50.159 players opportunities and whether they're going to go into the you know, go to 873 00:54:50.199 --> 00:54:52.639 the NFL. I had my interview that will be on here later on this 874 00:54:52.679 --> 00:54:57.480 episode with Cam Phillips and talking with him about you know, he was someone 875 00:54:58.000 --> 00:55:01.480 cut bounced around, went the XFL, and now he's a Great Cup champion 876 00:55:01.559 --> 00:55:05.400 and he's on the Toronto Argonauts for you know, it will be his third 877 00:55:05.440 --> 00:55:07.760 season now, like they're probably gonna win the Great Cup again, you know, 878 00:55:07.880 --> 00:55:10.880 or at least make you know, having a historic rually this like here's 879 00:55:10.920 --> 00:55:15.039 someone that that you know, it wasn't just because of the XFL. I 880 00:55:15.039 --> 00:55:17.679 mean that Cam Phillips works its ass off and you know, played like that 881 00:55:17.800 --> 00:55:22.280 was part of his journey. And so even if it's not the NFL for 882 00:55:22.280 --> 00:55:24.199 everybody, which it certainly can't be. I mean, it's just you can 883 00:55:24.280 --> 00:55:29.000 never be a but like to have to see that as a stepping stone for 884 00:55:29.000 --> 00:55:30.519 a lot of these guys. I think it's cool and obviously that's why we 885 00:55:30.599 --> 00:55:34.679 do that. So anything else from you, Andy, I appreciate it late 886 00:55:34.760 --> 00:55:37.679 here, at least for West Coast. It's not like sometimes I feel bad. 887 00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:39.159 I like Mike gone till like eleven o'clock and I'm like, oh god, 888 00:55:39.159 --> 00:55:43.880 but anything else for me, I appreciate you working late tonight. Yeah, 889 00:55:43.880 --> 00:55:45.840 absolutely, no, thank you for having me on. I was chomping 890 00:55:45.920 --> 00:55:49.760 up the bit to say something. I was really really excited about this. 891 00:55:50.199 --> 00:55:53.480 But again, I appreciate you in putting out this platform and giving everybody a 892 00:55:53.480 --> 00:55:55.880 platform to talk. I mean, you've been doing double duty. I mean 893 00:55:55.880 --> 00:56:00.639 you did a CFL and XFL back to back. That's a that's almost as 894 00:56:00.639 --> 00:56:05.920 good as your draft marathon that you had nothing nothing will talk the eight hour 895 00:56:07.199 --> 00:56:09.760 because a true marathon. So I appreciate you in all the hard work you 896 00:56:09.800 --> 00:56:13.480 put in. Thanks everyone, Like I said, checked that. You know, 897 00:56:13.519 --> 00:56:15.639 we've got CFL coming up Derek Taylor if you're interested in the CFL staff, 898 00:56:15.639 --> 00:56:19.440 and then even if you're not, it's CFL Camp Phillips and his journey 899 00:56:19.480 --> 00:56:21.960 is part of the XFL as well. Really excited to see him. So 900 00:56:22.480 --> 00:56:29.920 yeah, well it's checked back in after the break here. Well, this 901 00:56:29.960 --> 00:56:32.360 guest was going to bail me out last week when Jeff Hamilton. We hadn't 902 00:56:32.679 --> 00:56:36.159 we talked about that on the podcast, had a delay, got him on 903 00:56:36.360 --> 00:56:38.920 here, but we have Derek Taylor very excited. Weird weekend with the Blue 904 00:56:38.920 --> 00:56:42.199 Bombers. I want to get your thoughts on that and everything else. But 905 00:56:42.440 --> 00:56:44.760 Voice of the Blue Bombers, how are you doing, sir? I'm good, 906 00:56:44.840 --> 00:56:47.000 I'm good. I didn't re end any other drivers. Is that what 907 00:56:47.039 --> 00:56:50.639 the Hammers problem was? I don't know. I have with That's such a 908 00:56:50.679 --> 00:56:52.199 good dude. I hope everything's okay. I hope I see him back in 909 00:56:52.239 --> 00:56:55.239 practice next week. Yeah, no, this is good. So you know, 910 00:56:55.679 --> 00:56:59.199 first off, we'll talk Bombers and it's bye week and I want to 911 00:56:59.239 --> 00:57:02.079 kind of get your thoughts where we stand here Week sixteen. But really weird 912 00:57:02.119 --> 00:57:07.559 game last week. I was filming, actually an old folks like event to 913 00:57:07.639 --> 00:57:09.480 out filming. I do a lot of event filming, and I'm like tracking 914 00:57:09.480 --> 00:57:12.920 the score during the first quarter. I'm like, you know, what the 915 00:57:13.000 --> 00:57:15.480 heck's going on here? So I ended up pulling the game out, putting 916 00:57:15.480 --> 00:57:17.800 it on my camera so I could walk around and watch it kind of a 917 00:57:19.000 --> 00:57:21.679 I mean, I didn't expect the Mombers to lose that game. If that 918 00:57:21.719 --> 00:57:24.000 makes sense, Like, what do you attribute that too? I wish I 919 00:57:24.039 --> 00:57:28.719 could give you a real solution for it, because all week long we talked 920 00:57:28.760 --> 00:57:31.079 about last year's game at this time of the year against Hamilton. It was, 921 00:57:31.119 --> 00:57:34.320 oh, hey, you guys had just won a big game and then 922 00:57:34.320 --> 00:57:37.000 you went to Hamilton and got whacked. What was the deal with that? 923 00:57:37.159 --> 00:57:39.639 And they said, you know, wasn't that complacency. It wasn't that we 924 00:57:39.679 --> 00:57:43.039 took them easy. It wasn't that we were looking ahead to the bye week, 925 00:57:43.559 --> 00:57:46.480 so they were aware of all these things. And then the exact same 926 00:57:46.519 --> 00:57:51.400 game happens, you know, a year minus a day later, and they 927 00:57:51.519 --> 00:57:54.000 go into Hamilton with the bye week looming, coming off a big win, 928 00:57:54.440 --> 00:58:00.559 and they get whacked and three turnovers on offense and the defense looked vulnerable in 929 00:58:00.599 --> 00:58:02.320 ways we haven't seen in a little bit. And you know, how did 930 00:58:02.320 --> 00:58:06.519 the same thing happen again? How is it that you've lost going into the 931 00:58:06.519 --> 00:58:09.719 bye week four of the last five times you've had the bye when over that 932 00:58:09.800 --> 00:58:17.039 span and you've only lost seven games. I honestly, I've just come to 933 00:58:17.320 --> 00:58:22.360 start thinking, are they as human as kind of you know, we are, 934 00:58:22.000 --> 00:58:24.480 those of us with Monday to Friday jobs where you go, it's a 935 00:58:24.480 --> 00:58:28.559 long weekend coming up. Maybe I don't take Friday as seriously as I do 936 00:58:28.800 --> 00:58:30.519 on a regular Friday. I honestly, I don't know, but I'm starting 937 00:58:30.559 --> 00:58:35.199 to think that maybe football players are human beings after all, which is kind 938 00:58:35.239 --> 00:58:38.039 of a dumb, slightly sarcastic revelation to come to. But maybe they have 939 00:58:38.119 --> 00:58:44.320 some of the things that folks like us in office jobs have two I there's 940 00:58:44.360 --> 00:58:47.119 there's gotta be at this point, I'm like, there's probably something in there 941 00:58:49.159 --> 00:58:51.880 because it doesn't seem and we'll talk, you know, in terms of like 942 00:58:51.920 --> 00:58:53.920 the Lions and stuff and other teams like to me, I feel like the 943 00:58:53.920 --> 00:58:58.159 Lions are a little undisciplined and it feels like they're I don't know if that's 944 00:58:58.159 --> 00:59:00.679 a locker room thing or whatever, Like yeah, Winnipeg, you know O'Shea's 945 00:59:00.719 --> 00:59:04.760 got them and we're marching forth. But you're right, that was like the 946 00:59:04.760 --> 00:59:07.199 game last year where Dane Evans went off right and had wasn't that like the 947 00:59:07.239 --> 00:59:09.719 game of the year last year for him? And that it was that Winnipeg 948 00:59:09.760 --> 00:59:14.519 game against Hamilton, Right, Yeah, that's probably the best game Dane Hamons 949 00:59:14.519 --> 00:59:15.320 will play in his life, right, It's the best game a lot of 950 00:59:15.400 --> 00:59:21.079 quarterbacks whatever play in their like five touchdowns and no picks and just raining fire 951 00:59:21.199 --> 00:59:22.800 on a team that's on its way to a fifteen and three record. That 952 00:59:22.960 --> 00:59:28.039 is that is a game that I feel like Dane at the very least Dade's 953 00:59:28.039 --> 00:59:30.239 family will remember forever, remember how unbelievable our kid was that night. Like 954 00:59:30.280 --> 00:59:37.480 it was it was remarkable. So in terms of I don't know, is 955 00:59:37.519 --> 00:59:38.719 this cause for concern? I mean, obviously, you know, you're, 956 00:59:38.719 --> 00:59:42.519 you know, with the team and everything, but like they at the time 957 00:59:42.559 --> 00:59:45.760 that we've lived in the CFL, here it feels like they're a little bit, 958 00:59:45.800 --> 00:59:46.960 like you said, more human right now, Like is this cause for 959 00:59:47.000 --> 00:59:52.960 concern? It might be. Here's here's the thing. The Bombers have this 960 00:59:52.000 --> 00:59:55.840 going for them that no other team does. They are incredibly healthy, like 961 00:59:55.960 --> 01:00:01.760 incredibly healthy before this Hamilton game, the the Banjo Bowl against the Skatchewan if 962 01:00:01.800 --> 01:00:05.880 you looked at the twenty four guys they started, those are probably the twenty 963 01:00:05.880 --> 01:00:07.519 four guys they want would have wanted started coming out of training camp. Right 964 01:00:07.599 --> 01:00:13.519 Nobody among their starters on the injured list, which who does that happen to 965 01:00:13.760 --> 01:00:16.280 other teams are getting decimated by injury. The other teams are on their fourth 966 01:00:16.360 --> 01:00:21.320 quarterback. Hamilton was on its third quarterback, didn't have Dylan Wynn, didn't 967 01:00:21.320 --> 01:00:23.400 have its all star, you know, defensive back, tun day A Delecate. 968 01:00:23.480 --> 01:00:28.039 There are a ton of guys Hamilton did not have access to. But 969 01:00:28.119 --> 01:00:31.199 the Bombers do you go, oh, okay, well that's that's really good. 970 01:00:31.280 --> 01:00:35.800 So however, for this Hamilton game, they lose. They lost Jackson. 971 01:00:35.840 --> 01:00:38.239 Jeff Coote, right, a guy Kojo Sha kind of says was born 972 01:00:38.320 --> 01:00:43.519 to pass rush, and you really saw the impacts of it. I do 973 01:00:43.639 --> 01:00:45.840 the games with Doug Brown, who's a Hall of Fame defensive tackle. So 974 01:00:45.840 --> 01:00:51.679 whenever he starts talking about defensive line, anything defense and anything football obviously, 975 01:00:51.719 --> 01:00:54.079 but when he gets down to defensive line, my ear, my ears really 976 01:00:54.119 --> 01:00:58.320 perk up, and he goes, oh, they're really taking advantage of Celestin 977 01:00:58.400 --> 01:01:00.400 Habba, the rookie who was in for Jeff Coat on this one, and 978 01:01:00.440 --> 01:01:04.079 they would, you know, crash. You have to make sure that Powell 979 01:01:04.079 --> 01:01:06.800 could get to the edge, and it seemed like Powell could get to that 980 01:01:06.920 --> 01:01:08.960 edge on the roll out whenever he wanted. I went, oh, okay, 981 01:01:09.000 --> 01:01:13.800 well that's something that Jeff Cote would would change, right, And we've 982 01:01:13.840 --> 01:01:16.119 seen it in Bomber games this season. If Jeff Coat's not there, the 983 01:01:16.159 --> 01:01:20.519 back end is under more stress and the back end has some cracks in it. 984 01:01:21.440 --> 01:01:23.960 Man, I hope that the reason they left Jeff Code out, they 985 01:01:23.960 --> 01:01:28.480 said it was just kind of give him an extra week's rest and not that 986 01:01:28.519 --> 01:01:31.360 he's going to be injured long term. You hope that's absolutely the case, 987 01:01:31.440 --> 01:01:36.480 because I mean they've lost four games already this year. They lost three all 988 01:01:36.519 --> 01:01:38.840 of last year, and you thought they might lose a couple more because of 989 01:01:38.840 --> 01:01:45.800 wacky bounces and stuff. But Jackson, Jeffcoat is incredibly important going down the 990 01:01:45.840 --> 01:01:50.079 stretch in this one for this team because not that it doesn't work without him, 991 01:01:50.079 --> 01:01:52.440 but man, it certainly does work with him. In terms of the 992 01:01:52.719 --> 01:01:55.760 Hamilton's side of it, you know they're you know, quietly here and I 993 01:01:55.800 --> 01:01:59.519 know it's the East, but you know, alive lets a kind of it 994 01:01:59.519 --> 01:02:01.800 feels like plumbing in a little bit, you know Hamilton a little bit on 995 01:02:01.920 --> 01:02:06.000 upswinging. Did they do a lot well or is it more just kind of 996 01:02:06.000 --> 01:02:08.199 Winnipeg gave it away. Oh I really think they did. Yeah, they 997 01:02:08.239 --> 01:02:10.760 did. They did a lot well, I mean offensively. We talked about 998 01:02:10.800 --> 01:02:15.320 getting Pale out of the pocket and it was the first time i'd i'd seen 999 01:02:15.400 --> 01:02:17.159 him, you know, in person and extended action. I'm like, whoa, 1000 01:02:17.719 --> 01:02:21.639 Okay, this guy's very calm. Oh it's breaking down. Okay, 1001 01:02:21.639 --> 01:02:23.719 well now he's sliding up into the pocket or he's on a roll. This 1002 01:02:23.840 --> 01:02:28.360 this. I was super impressed with Pal. His interception. Yeah, I 1003 01:02:28.360 --> 01:02:30.320 get why you threw that. It's in the end zone. It takes away 1004 01:02:30.320 --> 01:02:32.679 a score. But okay, I get that one the fumble you get smashed 1005 01:02:32.679 --> 01:02:36.639 by a large human. Okay, that that stuff's going to happen. I 1006 01:02:36.760 --> 01:02:38.280 was. I came away super impressed with Pal. They didn't have much in 1007 01:02:38.320 --> 01:02:42.719 the run game with Butler in that one, yet they were still able to 1008 01:02:43.159 --> 01:02:46.239 just put up twenty nine points. Uh. Their their defense. I mean, 1009 01:02:47.000 --> 01:02:50.920 I still I still can't go to get over this. And it's it's 1010 01:02:50.920 --> 01:02:53.960 a play that I don't see every defensive end do, but when I saw 1011 01:02:53.960 --> 01:02:55.960 it in this game, I went this, this I don't know if it's 1012 01:02:55.960 --> 01:03:00.920 a special play, but it's it's on the road towards special where Malik Carney's 1013 01:03:00.960 --> 01:03:05.280 lined up at left defensive end. He does a zone drop to replace the 1014 01:03:05.320 --> 01:03:07.360 linebacker who's gonna pass rush, and then he runs all the way over to 1015 01:03:07.440 --> 01:03:12.159 the right side of the field to step in the lane where Zach Calars is 1016 01:03:12.199 --> 01:03:15.159 throwing the football. I forget if he's throwing a stick rout or what it 1017 01:03:15.199 --> 01:03:20.199 was like, how does Malik Carney kid? I was just taking a back 1018 01:03:20.280 --> 01:03:22.559 during the broadcast, and I'm not getting any less. It's not any less 1019 01:03:22.559 --> 01:03:25.519 incredible to me as you and I are talking here and wow, that's a 1020 01:03:25.599 --> 01:03:30.440 real play. And then there's a couple of Zach Calars had one where you 1021 01:03:30.840 --> 01:03:35.079 can should you throw that ball? And we've had we had a few plays 1022 01:03:35.119 --> 01:03:38.000 this season where he went, should Zach have thrown that ball to Kenny Lawler 1023 01:03:38.079 --> 01:03:42.400 and double coverage in previous examples, and you go, yeah, well, 1024 01:03:42.440 --> 01:03:45.599 he has a ton of confidence in the best receiving corps in the league, 1025 01:03:45.639 --> 01:03:49.480 so yeah, maybe maybe he should. Maybe he's taking some some shots and 1026 01:03:50.079 --> 01:03:52.239 hoping they come right, and sometimes if they don't come right, they're they're 1027 01:03:52.239 --> 01:03:55.719 going to go bad. So that was kind of my read. And then 1028 01:03:55.800 --> 01:04:00.800 I mean, basically, the kicking game, which has been rock solid with 1029 01:04:00.840 --> 01:04:04.159 Sergio Castillo this season, gives up six points, missed a field goal, 1030 01:04:04.440 --> 01:04:09.719 missed a convert which went back for a two point defensive con writ and hego, 1031 01:04:09.920 --> 01:04:14.039 well, there's the six points between twenty nine and twenty three that you 1032 01:04:14.079 --> 01:04:16.719 know score wise made a difference. But we're a part of the story of 1033 01:04:16.719 --> 01:04:19.679 that game. Yeah, and it really surprising. I mean, I you 1034 01:04:19.679 --> 01:04:23.440 know, Sergio has been on I think back when he was with Edmonton and 1035 01:04:23.480 --> 01:04:26.239 obviously going around, but yeah, it's not. Hodge had a bunch of 1036 01:04:26.239 --> 01:04:28.719 tweets out, you know, the Mark Leggio of it all kind of looms 1037 01:04:28.840 --> 01:04:32.559 large. Well. Someone voting the Coaches Show on Monday and said that Mark 1038 01:04:32.639 --> 01:04:38.480 Leggio is better than Sergio Castillo, and coach wasn't in studio, but we 1039 01:04:38.559 --> 01:04:42.440 both kind of went it's not. I mean, for the game, sure, 1040 01:04:42.480 --> 01:04:45.800 but it's not overall the case. Castillo, I think in my adjusted 1041 01:04:45.880 --> 01:04:49.039 rankings, was fourth in the league and Leggio was tenth. By it with 1042 01:04:49.079 --> 01:04:53.800 a bullet like, it's Legio hit all his kicks. Castillo didn't. But 1043 01:04:54.519 --> 01:04:57.440 if you're if you're doing it over a season, I think Bomber fans and 1044 01:04:57.639 --> 01:05:01.639 Bomber coaches are more secure in Sergio Castillo despite the one head to head matchup 1045 01:05:01.639 --> 01:05:06.000 that goes a ride. Wanting to focus a lot here on weeks sixteen, 1046 01:05:06.039 --> 01:05:11.199 but looking forward with Winnipeg coming off to buy, Toronto's kind of in this 1047 01:05:11.239 --> 01:05:15.159 weird spot where they don't necessarily right have a lot to play for moving down 1048 01:05:15.199 --> 01:05:17.440 the line, kind of clinching and they're clinched number one with the bullet ride 1049 01:05:17.480 --> 01:05:21.400 in the East six weeks to go, with six weeks to go, they 1050 01:05:21.400 --> 01:05:26.400 have the home playoff game and they know it. So I'm really I'm interested 1051 01:05:26.440 --> 01:05:29.760 to see We've had teams clinched with a couple of weeks to go and see 1052 01:05:29.760 --> 01:05:32.239 how they handled their roster. But six weeks to go, you know, 1053 01:05:32.320 --> 01:05:34.719 well, where you have the West, we have the East final at home. 1054 01:05:34.880 --> 01:05:38.800 We want to be one hundred percent healthy, We've had guys injured. 1055 01:05:39.039 --> 01:05:42.800 I'm really, I'm really interested to see how Ryan Dinwood and company approach it. 1056 01:05:43.239 --> 01:05:44.920 Yeah, because like on paper, I'm looking them like, oh, 1057 01:05:45.000 --> 01:05:46.880 this is you know Toronto at Winnipeg, like this is a huge matchup, 1058 01:05:46.920 --> 01:05:50.440 but then you don't necessarily know what that roster is going to look like Yeah, 1059 01:05:50.480 --> 01:05:54.480 and I mean Toronto has the advantage of what do you want to show 1060 01:05:54.519 --> 01:05:57.519 when the next time you two would play would be in the Gray Cup. 1061 01:05:58.920 --> 01:06:00.039 Hey, we can show them every thing, or we can just kind of 1062 01:06:00.039 --> 01:06:03.000 go, yeah, we're gonna keep some We're gonna keep the powder dry for 1063 01:06:03.039 --> 01:06:08.159 the playoffs in case we happen to meet you guys in the playoffs. Winnipeg's 1064 01:06:08.159 --> 01:06:12.039 no guarantee to be there, right because BC is for real. But yeah, 1065 01:06:12.800 --> 01:06:15.400 that's one of the one of the angles of what do we give them, 1066 01:06:15.400 --> 01:06:17.920 what do we what do we not give them? Who do we show? 1067 01:06:17.960 --> 01:06:23.599 Who do we not show? As I will not be able to diagnose 1068 01:06:23.679 --> 01:06:28.199 the smarter football man. We'll have to diagnose. Oh Toronto didn't did this, 1069 01:06:28.280 --> 01:06:30.679 but hadn't done this before? Interesting, if they bust out anything new, 1070 01:06:30.679 --> 01:06:34.119 I'd be shocked, because why not just keep that quiet until you know 1071 01:06:34.199 --> 01:06:38.760 November. Yeah, there was a weird in XFL last year. It was 1072 01:06:38.800 --> 01:06:43.280 like the week you know ten game or whatever was also the first playoff game, 1073 01:06:43.360 --> 01:06:45.639 and so like the Week ten game was atrocious because neither team did anything 1074 01:06:45.679 --> 01:06:50.000 and then yeah, then then the playoff game obviously ended up having huge ramifications. 1075 01:06:50.400 --> 01:06:54.719 I want to get your thoughts here. BC going into Edmonton and we 1076 01:06:54.760 --> 01:06:58.559 talked about this obviously, you know BC getting there, like why they would 1077 01:06:58.599 --> 01:07:02.199 have to have a comeback from behind win against Ottawa? But my trust Like 1078 01:07:02.239 --> 01:07:05.320 if my trust level in Winnipeg was at ten, I'm like a negative point 1079 01:07:05.360 --> 01:07:09.280 five with BC, Like I wouldn't want them to watch my children, or 1080 01:07:09.360 --> 01:07:12.599 watch my house or take care of Like I just don't why. I mean, 1081 01:07:12.920 --> 01:07:15.320 I can see why is that? Why? Why? Why? BC? 1082 01:07:15.519 --> 01:07:17.440 Why do you doubt them so much? Because I just think that they're 1083 01:07:17.480 --> 01:07:20.559 like built on the hype this year. I think they've really bought into everything. 1084 01:07:20.679 --> 01:07:24.199 I think that they had a couple of big wins early in the season, 1085 01:07:24.320 --> 01:07:27.360 and I don't think they show up ready to go. I mean it 1086 01:07:27.440 --> 01:07:30.119 just feels like that, you know, that was the away thing. Okay, 1087 01:07:30.159 --> 01:07:32.440 we always went at home and then what was it Hamilton came in and 1088 01:07:32.480 --> 01:07:35.800 beat him at home? Was it that Ottawa? Like I'm sitting there watching 1089 01:07:35.840 --> 01:07:39.679 the game last week and I'm like, how are you losing the dust and 1090 01:07:39.719 --> 01:07:43.920 crumb here? Like you're supposedly this elite defense and I'm frustrated, but I 1091 01:07:43.960 --> 01:07:46.960 see them going into Edmonton. I mean I wouldn't. I would put money 1092 01:07:46.960 --> 01:07:49.079 on the Edmonton here. I mean I see that them playing with a lot 1093 01:07:49.119 --> 01:07:51.840 of kind of momentum right now with tree forward. What do you make of 1094 01:07:51.920 --> 01:07:58.360 that? BC needing a missed field goal return for a touchdown to get back 1095 01:07:58.400 --> 01:08:01.800 in that game is remarkable, right, because I fifty yard field goals on 1096 01:08:01.880 --> 01:08:06.000 missus a return for a touchdown literally two percent of the time, Like that 1097 01:08:06.199 --> 01:08:10.920 is as thin a margin as it could possibly be. And to need that 1098 01:08:11.000 --> 01:08:14.039 against the team with the worst record in the league. Yeah, and Vernon 1099 01:08:14.079 --> 01:08:16.479 through three picks in that game, right, both both the quarterbacks and the 1100 01:08:16.479 --> 01:08:24.399 top teams in the West through three picks on Week fifteen. Everton's man Edmonton 1101 01:08:24.800 --> 01:08:30.199 is just entirely different, right. The Bombers saw them in the first start 1102 01:08:30.239 --> 01:08:33.079 for trey Ford, so nothing was kind of you know, it wasn't gamed 1103 01:08:33.079 --> 01:08:36.560 out right, it hasn't progressed as far as it has now. Everton's just 1104 01:08:36.600 --> 01:08:41.359 a different deal. And if Everton, if they could find a way to 1105 01:08:41.439 --> 01:08:44.520 catch Saskatchewan, that's a long you know, two wins is a lot to 1106 01:08:44.560 --> 01:08:48.920 make up. They'd be really intriguing in the playoffs. Pretend it's Stephen Dunbar 1107 01:08:49.079 --> 01:08:54.399 is back off the six game injured list alongside Gino Lewis, who's now healthy. 1108 01:08:54.479 --> 01:08:58.720 Manny Arsenal underneath Gavin cogg can do some stuff down the field speedwise. 1109 01:08:58.920 --> 01:09:01.800 Kevin Brown is back to Kevin Brown of twenty twenty two, right, And 1110 01:09:02.000 --> 01:09:06.640 the defense with Chris Jones. You know they're settling in on personnel, be 1111 01:09:06.760 --> 01:09:10.880 that because of injuries, this is who they've got, or these are the 1112 01:09:10.880 --> 01:09:15.159 guys that they want. Chris Jones on defense can can make some stuff happen. 1113 01:09:15.439 --> 01:09:16.680 Oh, I don't know that. I want to really want. I 1114 01:09:16.680 --> 01:09:19.600 don't want to. I don't want to have to get through Edmonton to get 1115 01:09:19.640 --> 01:09:27.279 to a West Final on the road. So yeah, I really think I'm 1116 01:09:27.760 --> 01:09:30.399 part of me is still stuck on BC in week number three when they came 1117 01:09:30.399 --> 01:09:34.039 to Winnipeg and thrashed the Bombers. Part of that is still stuck in my 1118 01:09:34.079 --> 01:09:40.159 mind, even so that I forget that the Bombers then rethrashed the Dane Evans 1119 01:09:40.239 --> 01:09:45.279 at the time led BC Lions by putting up fifty So BC that offense has 1120 01:09:45.760 --> 01:09:48.880 man that offense can be real good. This week. Still no dominic rhymes. 1121 01:09:49.640 --> 01:09:51.720 But at some point, you know, they ever figured out how to 1122 01:09:51.760 --> 01:09:55.800 run the ball in addition to all the other stuff they do, they could 1123 01:09:55.800 --> 01:10:00.239 really have some things going. But yeah, it's they just go on a 1124 01:10:00.279 --> 01:10:01.279 way. I didn't get to see I didn't get to see the game against 1125 01:10:01.319 --> 01:10:04.680 Ottawa, but watching it my phone, going, really, this is to 1126 01:10:04.840 --> 01:10:10.199 Ottawa a couple of weeks, like you said after Hamilton. Really really, 1127 01:10:10.479 --> 01:10:13.439 so it's they are a puzzler and so I'm I'm with you. At the 1128 01:10:13.520 --> 01:10:16.720 right price, I'd be on Edmonton for sure. And I mean we talked 1129 01:10:16.720 --> 01:10:20.079 about this in our recap and I know that they were you know, when 1130 01:10:20.119 --> 01:10:23.479 you're behind and you're okay, we got the pouts fall whatever. I mean, 1131 01:10:23.560 --> 01:10:29.039 Mizella had thirteen yards rushing, like I just it's insane to me, 1132 01:10:29.680 --> 01:10:31.800 you know. And that was the problem is that you know before okay, 1133 01:10:32.000 --> 01:10:34.560 because like two three years ago, and then we get Butler and we build 1134 01:10:34.600 --> 01:10:38.560 him up and then obviously you kind of let him go. But it just 1135 01:10:38.800 --> 01:10:42.560 I don't know, it feels like I don't know, it feels like the 1136 01:10:43.000 --> 01:10:45.199 defense just lets too many big plays go in my opinion, and then you 1137 01:10:45.199 --> 01:10:47.880 get burned in freak now there if it's Dame when he was down, Okay, 1138 01:10:47.920 --> 01:10:50.600 I gotta throw for five thousand yards here. And it just doesn't feel 1139 01:10:50.600 --> 01:10:56.000 like Winnipeg, like you were saying when Edmonton goes in and you know it 1140 01:10:56.039 --> 01:10:59.920 was twenty two zero whatever, twenty two three a half, like Winnipeg came 1141 01:11:00.000 --> 01:11:02.720 and can build back and not panic and do that. It just doesn't feel 1142 01:11:02.720 --> 01:11:06.680 like BC's built the same way to play patient football. I could buy that 1143 01:11:06.760 --> 01:11:12.279 like Winnipeg. There's there's zero panic in Winnipeg, like none whatsoever. They 1144 01:11:12.319 --> 01:11:15.039 need a touchdown to get back. Within six of Hamilton, they went beat 1145 01:11:15.079 --> 01:11:18.039 poop poo. Oh, you're denying everything up top beat poopoopooo, boo boop, 1146 01:11:18.039 --> 01:11:21.960 and they went super fast, you know, getting snaps off at eighteen 1147 01:11:23.000 --> 01:11:25.640 with the clock live to go. Okay, yeah, this team is Yeah, 1148 01:11:25.640 --> 01:11:29.039 this team is conditioned. They couldn't make the one that they needed, 1149 01:11:29.119 --> 01:11:32.359 But yeah, I don't I don't feel I wouldn't feel the same confidence in 1150 01:11:32.399 --> 01:11:34.760 BC. And yeah, I just I just had to pull up my Zell's 1151 01:11:34.840 --> 01:11:41.520 rushing game log for the season and it's not I'm not the biggest proponent of 1152 01:11:41.560 --> 01:11:44.960 the run game, but we've We've seen it with the Bombers this season that 1153 01:11:45.000 --> 01:11:47.600 if the past game isn't going, they can rely on Brady olive Ara to 1154 01:11:47.680 --> 01:11:53.039 absolutely crushed dude souls. Right, So, and that's incredibly valuable to have 1155 01:11:53.439 --> 01:11:56.439 both those ways to attack it. You win throwing the ball in the CFL, 1156 01:11:56.800 --> 01:11:58.880 but if you have to win, if you have to win running the 1157 01:11:58.880 --> 01:12:03.520 ball, I it's Winnipeg Toronto and then kind of everybody else. Yeah. 1158 01:12:03.560 --> 01:12:06.760 My thing is is if you have someone Mike Vernon and he's having an offer, 1159 01:12:08.000 --> 01:12:10.399 you throws the pick and then he you know, you just see it. 1160 01:12:10.439 --> 01:12:13.159 He just gets in his head there and like, you know, it's 1161 01:12:13.159 --> 01:12:15.960 just would feel nice to have another arm here where we can move the ball 1162 01:12:15.960 --> 01:12:18.479 down the field, another another means to do that. Yeah, And I 1163 01:12:18.520 --> 01:12:23.520 mean if I don't know where Dominic Rhymes is at, but that guy's the 1164 01:12:23.600 --> 01:12:26.520 leader of that receiving corps, right And if you had Rhymes Hatcher Hollins, 1165 01:12:27.960 --> 01:12:32.000 if mckinnis is your Canadian, you threw a fourth one American boy. Okay, 1166 01:12:32.000 --> 01:12:36.000 well, well this is back to being BC one of the top three 1167 01:12:36.039 --> 01:12:40.960 receiving cards in the entire CFL, which would give Vernon more options. You 1168 01:12:41.000 --> 01:12:45.319 can't. You can't underestimate how big a deal dominic rhymes injury is because that 1169 01:12:45.399 --> 01:12:49.279 guy is I mean not only the contested catches, but the thing will notice, 1170 01:12:49.479 --> 01:12:53.680 man, that guy makes contested catches like few others do in this league. 1171 01:12:55.079 --> 01:12:57.359 Saskatchewan here, I mean, I know, we talked to Ottawa and 1172 01:12:57.359 --> 01:13:00.520 they're kind of a dumpster fire. But you know, it's just catch one 1173 01:13:00.800 --> 01:13:02.800 is you know, they're they're alive in the west here. What do you 1174 01:13:02.840 --> 01:13:08.199 make of them? And I don't know, it feels like it's people. 1175 01:13:08.239 --> 01:13:10.600 One week we're high in d al Gal. The next week. It feels 1176 01:13:10.680 --> 01:13:12.760 kind of like a roller coaster. I don't really know how to feel about 1177 01:13:12.800 --> 01:13:15.119 it. He had a real good in the Labor Day game, as we 1178 01:13:15.199 --> 01:13:17.560 call it the Banjo Bowl warm up game. He had a real good, 1179 01:13:17.840 --> 01:13:23.680 real good performance in that one. In certain areas right, he seemed very 1180 01:13:23.720 --> 01:13:29.319 composed in the pocket. His deep ball was off by enormous margins ten yards 1181 01:13:29.399 --> 01:13:32.600 here, five yards there, but he was composed. He hammered those out 1182 01:13:32.720 --> 01:13:38.159 routes, intermediate and deep outs went oh okay, here's something oh under pressure, 1183 01:13:38.279 --> 01:13:41.720 Okay, this is this is good too. And then he had nothing 1184 01:13:41.880 --> 01:13:46.159 in the Banjo Bowl in the big game, so that was that that gives 1185 01:13:46.159 --> 01:13:48.960 me pause. I mean, you look at a completion percentage for the season 1186 01:13:49.000 --> 01:13:54.359 of under sixty one in a league that's I'm just gonna check to make sure, 1187 01:13:54.399 --> 01:13:56.680 oh, sixty six percent this year, so it's down a bit. 1188 01:13:57.600 --> 01:14:00.800 You have to complete more passes than that, you have to be more accurate 1189 01:14:00.800 --> 01:14:05.479 than that. So that would be my primary concern that to me, Saskatchewan 1190 01:14:05.600 --> 01:14:11.479 season will end up being does Trevor Harris come back from injury? Because I 1191 01:14:11.520 --> 01:14:15.720 don't I didn't believe Mason five. I don't particularly believe Dola Gallant though he 1192 01:14:15.800 --> 01:14:19.319 was really good in the Banjo Bowl warm up game. I just I don't 1193 01:14:19.319 --> 01:14:21.079 know, and I don't know what you do with that. And then again 1194 01:14:21.399 --> 01:14:26.479 injuries, like we talked about how Winnipeg has none sas this week, doesn't 1195 01:14:26.479 --> 01:14:30.399 have Jamal Morrow, doesn't have Anthony Lanier. Like, just start naming guys 1196 01:14:30.439 --> 01:14:34.079 and they're probably on the injured list because you know, fortune smiles on some 1197 01:14:34.239 --> 01:14:38.840 teams and it's not currently on the Saskatchewan rough Riders. It's pretty it's a 1198 01:14:38.840 --> 01:14:44.760 pretty rough spell right now. What was that like being at id Field having 1199 01:14:44.800 --> 01:14:47.039 win the pay go at fifty one six in Saskatchewan because that you know, 1200 01:14:47.239 --> 01:14:50.520 because I listened, I was I was filming another event. I listened to 1201 01:14:50.600 --> 01:14:55.119 the entire Labor Day game and you know, go into overtime and the headbut 1202 01:14:55.239 --> 01:14:57.920 kind of all that stuff. Crazy. What was it like bouncing back there 1203 01:14:57.960 --> 01:15:01.039 that next week? So in in what was it Week seven, when the 1204 01:15:01.039 --> 01:15:05.199 Bombers just absolutely mauled the BC Lions, I kept saying, the score is 1205 01:15:05.359 --> 01:15:10.560 fifty, right, I just put a little episode and fifty and for the 1206 01:15:10.600 --> 01:15:13.880 whole game. You know, when it got to forty two by halftime, 1207 01:15:14.279 --> 01:15:16.479 Doug Brown, my partner, was like, what are you gonna do at 1208 01:15:16.479 --> 01:15:19.920 sixty now? Because you know they're getting towards sixty. How are you going 1209 01:15:19.960 --> 01:15:24.439 to say sixty? And that's the kind of things you got to think about 1210 01:15:24.479 --> 01:15:28.239 in thirty minutes of football that really didn't mean anything, right, you had 1211 01:15:28.239 --> 01:15:31.800 time to contemplate a lot of stuff. It was. It was unbelievable, 1212 01:15:31.880 --> 01:15:36.880 Like six drives in the first halfs all, six ended touchdowns, huge plays 1213 01:15:36.920 --> 01:15:41.359 all and everybody's getting getting a piece of this. The big bomb to Kenny 1214 01:15:41.439 --> 01:15:45.319 Lawler at halftime when they're already up thirty five to six. I think it 1215 01:15:45.399 --> 01:15:47.560 was at that time, Oh man, this is this is as good as 1216 01:15:47.560 --> 01:15:53.439 it gets, and everybody's just the second half it was just almost anticlimactic, 1217 01:15:53.560 --> 01:15:56.800 right, because the Bombers just wanted to let's keep the clock going. Boop 1218 01:15:56.880 --> 01:16:00.039 field goal, boop field goal. Fourth quarter, boop field goal. It 1219 01:16:00.079 --> 01:16:04.840 was almost it was almost thirty minute, thirty minutes of clock time to celebrate. 1220 01:16:04.920 --> 01:16:08.640 Man, what an incredible first half. And look at this offense. 1221 01:16:09.439 --> 01:16:13.479 This is what we all kind of knew this offense would be. So it 1222 01:16:13.520 --> 01:16:17.960 was loud and then, uh, it's just it's just better for Bomber fans 1223 01:16:18.359 --> 01:16:23.039 when they do it to the Saskatchewan Rough Fighters, it makes everything better. 1224 01:16:23.279 --> 01:16:28.000 And this year there was no The entire team was throwing up and taking ivs 1225 01:16:28.199 --> 01:16:31.279 right. Last year. Last year was an awful experience for the Riders, 1226 01:16:31.319 --> 01:16:34.720 what with what it was, was it norovirus or food poison that was going 1227 01:16:34.760 --> 01:16:39.680 through there. They were not who they could have been. Uh, this 1228 01:16:39.720 --> 01:16:42.359 time they were there it could have been and there were no excuses for Bomber 1229 01:16:42.359 --> 01:16:46.039 fans like nope, we're fifty fifty points better in this one. Like it 1230 01:16:46.119 --> 01:16:51.119 was just it was I highly recommend it to every broadcaster to call a bloat 1231 01:16:51.159 --> 01:16:55.720 in favor of his own team. Yeah, I don't. My fan base 1232 01:16:55.880 --> 01:16:59.720 is like Seahawks, Commanders, Mariners. I don't get a lot of like, 1233 01:17:00.319 --> 01:17:01.920 you know, blowout. I think Mariners this year had like I think 1234 01:17:01.920 --> 01:17:04.479 they won like fourteen to two at one point. That was exactly. I've 1235 01:17:04.479 --> 01:17:09.279 never lived through that being up fifty points on another franchise. What was the 1236 01:17:09.439 --> 01:17:12.239 Yeah, what was the Super Bowl against Peyton? Was it like forty one 1237 01:17:12.279 --> 01:17:15.239 to something? Yeah, oh yeah we did have Yeah, yeah, that 1238 01:17:15.319 --> 01:17:16.840 was a good one. Yeah that was a while ago, right, but 1239 01:17:16.920 --> 01:17:20.000 yeah, it's uh yeah, to do it to your biggest rival would be 1240 01:17:20.199 --> 01:17:26.640 is Yeah. The text line was was pretty happy with how that was going. 1241 01:17:27.039 --> 01:17:29.239 Yeah, that was probably the last I was. Yeah. I was 1242 01:17:29.279 --> 01:17:32.960 working at the Fox station here and we were filming it at casino and they 1243 01:17:32.960 --> 01:17:35.319 were showing the game on the big screen because they didn't want to send me. 1244 01:17:35.880 --> 01:17:39.279 I didn't get to get sent to the Super Bowl like everyone else didn't. 1245 01:17:39.279 --> 01:17:43.079 So yeah, I was filming the auditorium of people watching that game. 1246 01:17:43.079 --> 01:17:45.560 They were having a lot of fun. Yeah, it's uh, those are 1247 01:17:45.560 --> 01:17:48.840 the days, and I mean that's that's the Bombers at their peak, right, 1248 01:17:48.880 --> 01:17:54.960 Like the defense allowed absolutely nothing, uh six points and a third field 1249 01:17:54.960 --> 01:17:59.199 goal attempt, and you know, six touchdowns on six drives and scored on 1250 01:17:59.239 --> 01:18:01.840 the first nine drives of the game. Yeah, this is the Lawler shown 1251 01:18:02.079 --> 01:18:09.560 Demski, Walatarski, Bailey, OLIVERA Calaris and company offense. This is what 1252 01:18:09.600 --> 01:18:13.079 it could be. And we kind of said out of that game. If 1253 01:18:13.079 --> 01:18:15.399 the Bombers play their one hundred percent game with their one hundred percent roster, 1254 01:18:15.439 --> 01:18:19.039 they're gonna beat anybody in the league. It'll be a matter of how close 1255 01:18:19.079 --> 01:18:23.880 to one hundred percent are they in the playoffs and how how close are they 1256 01:18:23.920 --> 01:18:26.880 to one hundred percent and their opponents are to one hundred percent in the Great 1257 01:18:26.920 --> 01:18:30.600 Cup Game? Because man, there's there is no shortage of talent here. 1258 01:18:30.359 --> 01:18:32.479 Before you get out of here, I'll let you go soon. I promise 1259 01:18:33.279 --> 01:18:42.159 welfare check Calgary, How are we feeling here? Ye? Injuries were I 1260 01:18:42.159 --> 01:18:45.199 mean, injuries are or everybody's deal? Right? They were the one team 1261 01:18:45.359 --> 01:18:48.399 they haven't lost Mayor for any games to injury, but they've lost so many 1262 01:18:48.439 --> 01:18:54.199 other spots around him that you go, wow, James Voters was a force 1263 01:18:54.359 --> 01:18:58.159 early on, and then he I believe he did his achilles and he's definitely 1264 01:18:58.159 --> 01:19:00.560 out for the year, and you go, okay, well, that that 1265 01:19:00.640 --> 01:19:03.920 guy was a dominant pass rusher and gone for the year, and just it 1266 01:19:04.000 --> 01:19:09.960 keeps adding up injury here there that they I kind of looked at to him 1267 01:19:10.000 --> 01:19:13.239 as a team and went, they lost talent in the off season for reasons 1268 01:19:13.279 --> 01:19:16.439 they don't normally lose talent in the offseason. I don't have any concerns if 1269 01:19:16.439 --> 01:19:20.039 I'm an opposing team with this receiving corps, Sure they might be able to 1270 01:19:20.119 --> 01:19:24.680 run the ball. Well. Kadiam Carey had a fantastic year with that offensive 1271 01:19:24.720 --> 01:19:29.840 line last year, but they're not overwhelmed with talent. Was kind of my 1272 01:19:29.880 --> 01:19:31.000 thought of them this year, and I didn't know that I'd think. I 1273 01:19:32.800 --> 01:19:36.520 kind of wondered, you kind of keep quiet if you think Calgary isn't going 1274 01:19:36.560 --> 01:19:41.600 to win ten games, because they'd won ten games in every eighteen game season 1275 01:19:41.680 --> 01:19:44.359 from two thousand and eight to last year, So you kind of keep that 1276 01:19:44.439 --> 01:19:46.439 hushed up so you don't look dumb upon reflection. But I kind of wondered, 1277 01:19:46.680 --> 01:19:49.800 are they the fourth best team in the league in the West this year, 1278 01:19:50.640 --> 01:19:55.119 and it's it's unfortunately for them played out that way. Injuries did not 1279 01:19:55.239 --> 01:19:59.800 break in their favor as they have for some other teams. And yeah, 1280 01:20:00.039 --> 01:20:04.279 I is Jake Mayer redeeming himself to keep his job for next year. I 1281 01:20:04.319 --> 01:20:08.039 guess we'll see. But he had a real rough stretch. I think it 1282 01:20:08.079 --> 01:20:11.720 was four straight games of you know, like one fifty or under or one 1283 01:20:11.880 --> 01:20:16.039 seventy five or under. It's been it's been real rough for Calgary this year. 1284 01:20:16.119 --> 01:20:18.960 And yeah, some of it is on them and some of it is 1285 01:20:19.000 --> 01:20:23.039 just on the injury gods biting them in the butt. Yeah, I just 1286 01:20:23.039 --> 01:20:25.760 don't know, like, you know, whatever happens this year, do we 1287 01:20:25.840 --> 01:20:28.000 roll up mayor again next year? Like here we go? I mean, 1288 01:20:28.159 --> 01:20:30.199 we just you know, he looked so promising then, you know, there 1289 01:20:30.279 --> 01:20:33.319 was a lot of build up and they kind of been paying passing on the 1290 01:20:33.319 --> 01:20:35.560 baton. I just don't know if you roll that out next year, if 1291 01:20:35.600 --> 01:20:41.439 Calgary fans are excited about it. Guaranteed money though, right, That's that's 1292 01:20:41.479 --> 01:20:45.479 gonna be the thing. The NFL and the NFL show. You watch you 1293 01:20:45.520 --> 01:20:47.920 hear conversations, they'll evolve dead cat money. Oh they traded Matt Ryan and 1294 01:20:47.960 --> 01:20:51.800 it's a forty two million dollar dead cap hit. We're approaching that in the 1295 01:20:51.840 --> 01:20:56.520 CFL, right, Taylor Cornelius and Jake Mayer. Like Taylor, Corney is 1296 01:20:56.640 --> 01:21:00.479 now the third string quarterback in Edmonton. He's guaranteed money for twenty twenty four, 1297 01:21:00.800 --> 01:21:05.640 according to reports, Mayor's guaranteed money. I think we've may be seen 1298 01:21:05.680 --> 01:21:11.279 some from Mayor. But there's again, this is this is something that you 1299 01:21:11.279 --> 01:21:15.680 know, people inside Calgary would know way better. But there's this something with 1300 01:21:15.800 --> 01:21:20.640 the offense they let Mayor run or and how it's not servicing him to his 1301 01:21:20.720 --> 01:21:26.479 full potential. Or Mayor's talent doesn't allow them to have the offense that it's 1302 01:21:26.520 --> 01:21:30.560 full potential because it's just underneath stuff and I'm not it's it can be real 1303 01:21:30.640 --> 01:21:33.880 hard to watch, and it doesn't move the ball consistently and effectively. And 1304 01:21:34.199 --> 01:21:36.520 sure I'll put up four fifty in a game, but you go, okay, 1305 01:21:36.560 --> 01:21:41.800 but do this every week. So there's Calgary kind of needs, kind 1306 01:21:41.800 --> 01:21:44.600 of needed this one too, and then just kind of flush this. We'll 1307 01:21:44.640 --> 01:21:46.840 have our bad luck season, we'll have our bad injury season, and hopefully 1308 01:21:46.880 --> 01:21:51.079 we're back next year. But if you if you continually let talent walk out 1309 01:21:51.119 --> 01:21:55.920 the door, you're you're gonna reap the You're gonna reap what you sew. 1310 01:21:55.960 --> 01:22:00.159 In that case, well, Derek, I appreciate it. By week no 1311 01:22:00.319 --> 01:22:01.960 doing some work here that means a lot. And they're good to catch up 1312 01:22:01.960 --> 01:22:04.520 with you. And you know, I'm sure at one way or another at 1313 01:22:04.520 --> 01:22:08.880 Winnipeg in Hambleton and we'll be around, so I hope to see you there. 1314 01:22:09.119 --> 01:22:11.920 Man, these next two weeks are the best two weeks of my I've 1315 01:22:11.920 --> 01:22:14.920 been waiting for these two weeks for six weeks now. I've been talking about 1316 01:22:14.920 --> 01:22:16.840 it. Can you imagine what it's gonna be like when they play Toronto and 1317 01:22:16.920 --> 01:22:20.760 BC back to back like this is going to be. It's gonna tell us, 1318 01:22:20.760 --> 01:22:23.640 okay, well, best of the East, best of the West, 1319 01:22:24.039 --> 01:22:27.479 and then the battle for first place in the West like a playoff spots on 1320 01:22:27.520 --> 01:22:32.119 the line one two, three weeks from now in Vancouver, the first place 1321 01:22:32.840 --> 01:22:36.119 you want to finish first because more than sixty percent of the teams that finish 1322 01:22:36.199 --> 01:22:40.640 first go to the Great Cup. I'm so excited for the two weeks that 1323 01:22:40.680 --> 01:22:44.079 are ahead. Oh man, I'm thinking I'm looking here I'm like, what 1324 01:22:44.399 --> 01:22:45.800 am I doing on Friday the sixth? I might have to talk to the 1325 01:22:45.880 --> 01:22:48.920 wife about that. Maybe we'll come up the corridor there. I love it. 1326 01:22:49.000 --> 01:22:53.399 Yeah, absolutely, yeah, let me know, let me know we 1327 01:22:53.439 --> 01:22:57.319 need guests in the two hour pregame show live on six eighty cg Ob just 1328 01:22:57.560 --> 01:23:00.560 me screaming about the donut blace, Derek. I really appreciate it. Like 1329 01:23:00.560 --> 01:23:02.600 I said, coming on the bunch, it means a lot to thank you. 1330 01:23:02.880 --> 01:23:11.640 Yeah, thanks for having me. Well, here we are talking with 1331 01:23:11.800 --> 01:23:15.319 a great Cup champion here with the Tronto Argonauts back again this year. Kim 1332 01:23:15.319 --> 01:23:17.439 Phillips. How are you doing, sir? I'm all right man, Thank 1333 01:23:17.479 --> 01:23:20.920 you for having me. Man. I know people are excited. Like I 1334 01:23:20.960 --> 01:23:25.079 said, we cover you know, XFL's CFL, all this kind of stuff. 1335 01:23:25.119 --> 01:23:29.439 How's your year going, Argos kind of killing it right now. Yeah, 1336 01:23:29.479 --> 01:23:31.159 man, we're rolling. Man. We got a good thing going right 1337 01:23:31.199 --> 01:23:38.000 now. We were able to you know, get it done last year and 1338 01:23:38.079 --> 01:23:43.359 really retain you know, a big part of that team. So I think 1339 01:23:43.399 --> 01:23:47.239 we just got the right guys and we're professional. We're making all the right 1340 01:23:47.319 --> 01:23:51.840 plays standing together. So yeah, like I said, it's just good to 1341 01:23:51.840 --> 01:23:57.800 be a part of what's the vibe right now? Obviously the team's rolling. 1342 01:23:57.920 --> 01:24:00.560 What do you guys, what's kind of the locker room vibe though you're sitting 1343 01:24:00.600 --> 01:24:02.560 there right now kind of after practicing that, meetings and everything. Yeah, 1344 01:24:03.680 --> 01:24:08.399 yeah, I mean, believe it or not, I'm not the only one 1345 01:24:08.439 --> 01:24:11.079 in the locker room, which is the way you should want it. You 1346 01:24:11.079 --> 01:24:16.000 know, we finished practice what around one something, and guys are still here. 1347 01:24:16.760 --> 01:24:20.880 We have meetings, getting treatment, uh, you know, just working 1348 01:24:21.720 --> 01:24:27.239 together, just continue to build, you know, that camaraderie, you know, 1349 01:24:27.319 --> 01:24:30.119 because it is a team and we need everyone to do their part. 1350 01:24:30.319 --> 01:24:33.359 And you know, it is a real family atmosphere that we have here. 1351 01:24:33.399 --> 01:24:36.680 And I think that is the biggest thing, when you can kind of play 1352 01:24:36.760 --> 01:24:41.439 for one another because you're you know, sort of don't want to let down 1353 01:24:41.439 --> 01:24:44.520 your teammate or your brother in this sense, you know. So I think 1354 01:24:44.520 --> 01:24:48.159 we have a lot of that going on. So guys just being themselves and 1355 01:24:48.479 --> 01:24:50.960 you know, just able to be free and whenever you can be free, 1356 01:24:51.000 --> 01:24:54.479 you know, you're not really worried about anything. And I think we're really 1357 01:24:54.520 --> 01:24:59.720 just playing free right now. I was talking with Mike Mitchell Covers to argos 1358 01:24:59.720 --> 01:25:01.479 telling you were coming on. I think you were out last week? Are 1359 01:25:01.560 --> 01:25:06.079 you How are you feeling now getting back up to speed? Yeah? Man, 1360 01:25:06.279 --> 01:25:12.359 just dealing with some soft tissue stuff. But it's it's nothing crazy to 1361 01:25:12.359 --> 01:25:16.760 worry about, you know, just seasonal stuff, you know, just the 1362 01:25:16.840 --> 01:25:21.119 grind of a long season, especially you know, being in the CFL, 1363 01:25:21.479 --> 01:25:26.920 the amount of running that the receivers do, you know, So it's nothing 1364 01:25:26.960 --> 01:25:32.600 crazy. I'll be all right. It's more like a precautionary thing the last 1365 01:25:32.640 --> 01:25:38.560 game. But uh yeah, I'm okay in terms of yeah, you know, 1366 01:25:38.680 --> 01:25:41.920 rest and where the teams that you guys are in the weird position kind 1367 01:25:41.960 --> 01:25:45.520 of locked up everything here, you know, six weeks to go in the 1368 01:25:45.520 --> 01:25:47.399 season. How does that feel? How how does the team approach that? 1369 01:25:47.439 --> 01:25:54.439 Where are they thinking? Really the same way that we've been approaching every week, 1370 01:25:54.560 --> 01:25:57.840 man, And that's just going want to know this week, you know, 1371 01:25:58.000 --> 01:26:00.760 just the most important game is on the next one. You know, 1372 01:26:00.840 --> 01:26:06.079 it doesn't matter, you know, because you can't even at the beginning, 1373 01:26:06.119 --> 01:26:12.319 like you can't win fifteen games at once. You can't go win a championship 1374 01:26:12.399 --> 01:26:14.840 the first week, you know. So it's a process. So I think 1375 01:26:15.159 --> 01:26:18.720 you know, the coaching staff and even the players you know, which we've 1376 01:26:18.760 --> 01:26:21.520 bought in. I mean that's really the culture now. You know, we 1377 01:26:21.600 --> 01:26:25.119 come to work. You know, we are who we are. But when 1378 01:26:25.119 --> 01:26:28.239 it's time to work, it's time to work. And you know, I 1379 01:26:28.279 --> 01:26:32.359 think we make the workplace environment fun too, Like it's fun to come to 1380 01:26:32.399 --> 01:26:36.520 work. You know, winning of course helps nobody, you know, SA 1381 01:26:36.680 --> 01:26:42.119 lose, but you know that that's really it. Man. We just come 1382 01:26:42.159 --> 01:26:45.079 in and we know our job is to win a football game. Just win 1383 01:26:45.159 --> 01:26:49.640 one game and then you know, you try to stack bricks that way and 1384 01:26:49.680 --> 01:26:53.840 then you end up with the house, you know, something, something nice 1385 01:26:53.880 --> 01:26:57.520 and and stable. But like I said, man, I think we got 1386 01:26:57.520 --> 01:27:01.960 a really good thing going and just this a good problem to have to have 1387 01:27:02.079 --> 01:27:09.680 all this risk. You know, it would be different if you know, 1388 01:27:09.760 --> 01:27:13.159 you need guys and it's like we kind of need you to rush back or 1389 01:27:13.199 --> 01:27:15.880 whatever because we need to win these games. But it's like, no, 1390 01:27:15.039 --> 01:27:18.159 we're in a you know, a great situation and we just, like I 1391 01:27:18.199 --> 01:27:20.960 said, just come to work and then everything else will take care of itself. 1392 01:27:23.159 --> 01:27:26.399 I've had on people from the Argos, especially like Mike Hogan was on 1393 01:27:26.479 --> 01:27:29.239 a couple of weeks ago, you know, voiced the team there and you 1394 01:27:29.279 --> 01:27:31.560 know, historically speaking, and a lot of this stuff is before you or 1395 01:27:31.600 --> 01:27:34.479 I were even a thought in anyone's world. But you know, the Argos 1396 01:27:34.520 --> 01:27:41.560 are doing things right now historic you guys cared, you know. I mean, 1397 01:27:41.600 --> 01:27:43.479 I know it's one win at the time, you know, one week 1398 01:27:43.520 --> 01:27:47.239 at the time and one way at the time, but it is Yeah, 1399 01:27:46.039 --> 01:27:51.560 I get what you're saying, though. I mean, everybody is, you 1400 01:27:51.600 --> 01:27:57.439 know, telling you how great you are when you know, just last year 1401 01:27:57.479 --> 01:28:00.359 it was a different story, and even this year could have been a different 1402 01:28:00.399 --> 01:28:04.920 story. But that's just you know, that comes with the pro game. 1403 01:28:05.039 --> 01:28:09.239 Man. Whenever you hire or you're doing good, they want to tell you 1404 01:28:09.239 --> 01:28:11.680 how great you are and you're not and they want to tear you down. 1405 01:28:11.800 --> 01:28:17.159 So it's been cool though, because I had no idea. I think somebody 1406 01:28:17.199 --> 01:28:19.960 told me, like, we have the best start I got any r GOO 1407 01:28:20.159 --> 01:28:24.520 team in history. I had no idea. But it's like when you hear 1408 01:28:24.560 --> 01:28:28.000 stuff like that, it's cool, man, It's like you want to hear 1409 01:28:28.000 --> 01:28:30.000 it, but you got to just take it with a grain of salt. 1410 01:28:30.079 --> 01:28:33.680 It's like that didn't just happen. You know, like a lot of work 1411 01:28:33.720 --> 01:28:39.119 went into that. So I just think, like I said, everybody is 1412 01:28:39.840 --> 01:28:46.399 on board with what we're doing and we just got a great atmosphere here man, 1413 01:28:46.560 --> 01:28:51.119 and I think we'll keep it going. Curious kind of your thoughts on 1414 01:28:51.199 --> 01:28:55.960 where you're at. Either here you're someone and we followed you back with the 1415 01:28:56.079 --> 01:28:59.640 XFL and going up to the CFL and kind of working your way onto the 1416 01:28:59.720 --> 01:29:02.680 rock year. Here we were in Regina last year when Toronto won the Great 1417 01:29:02.680 --> 01:29:08.239 Cup that we were there covering it and to feel like the journey you've been 1418 01:29:08.279 --> 01:29:11.359 on, Like where does it feel like now sitting you know where you're at, 1419 01:29:11.439 --> 01:29:15.840 and just how do you feel? Yeah, man, I'm just really 1420 01:29:18.039 --> 01:29:21.880 appreciative of, you know, the career that I've had. I've seen different 1421 01:29:21.880 --> 01:29:28.119 types of football, met a lot of great people in different places, learned 1422 01:29:28.159 --> 01:29:30.640 a lot over the game, and learned a lot about myself as well. 1423 01:29:31.119 --> 01:29:36.760 You know, I think last year, you know, with the XFL being 1424 01:29:36.760 --> 01:29:43.399 cut short, last season was my first season playing like a full football season 1425 01:29:43.520 --> 01:29:46.960 since that. So for me, like getting through that and going through that, 1426 01:29:48.079 --> 01:29:50.680 you know, I was really excited, man. I just I was 1427 01:29:50.720 --> 01:29:54.640 on a hide even after the Great Cup, I was on a hide for 1428 01:29:54.880 --> 01:29:58.520 maybe being a couple of months. It was just a great feeling, man 1429 01:29:58.640 --> 01:30:01.760 to be a backup part of something. And actually, you know, contributing 1430 01:30:04.520 --> 01:30:09.720 football is a team sport. You know, one person can't win at all. 1431 01:30:10.680 --> 01:30:13.760 So for me, I just try to be the best that I can 1432 01:30:13.760 --> 01:30:16.319 be, you know, make the different types of plays that present themselves for 1433 01:30:16.439 --> 01:30:24.279 me, whether it be a block for somebody else, a first down catch, 1434 01:30:24.439 --> 01:30:29.000 or even a route that's to get somebody else open. I understand I 1435 01:30:29.119 --> 01:30:31.840 at this point in my career and being one of the leaders, you know, 1436 01:30:31.920 --> 01:30:36.640 on the team of the receiver group, Like how important everyone's job is, 1437 01:30:36.880 --> 01:30:42.560 you know, So I guess it is more team success. Like I 1438 01:30:42.600 --> 01:30:45.359 just I really just want to win. Like winning is fun. When you 1439 01:30:45.399 --> 01:30:47.479 win, coming to work is feign. You know, when you lose, 1440 01:30:47.640 --> 01:30:54.520 it's stressful. So you know, I just try to be the best example 1441 01:30:54.560 --> 01:30:58.079 that I can make, you know, I think that's where I am right 1442 01:30:58.079 --> 01:31:00.920 now. Of course, there are things that I still love to do. 1443 01:31:00.119 --> 01:31:04.880 I still think, you know, physical physical shape. I'm fine, I'm 1444 01:31:04.920 --> 01:31:11.000 great, you know, And it's just controlling what I can control, really, 1445 01:31:11.560 --> 01:31:14.239 you know, I think it's a it's a great situation here and I 1446 01:31:14.279 --> 01:31:21.880 feel really wanted because this was really the first team for Hamilton, but I 1447 01:31:21.880 --> 01:31:29.760 didn't work. Yeah, but you are gons hate the Tide camps anyway. 1448 01:31:30.720 --> 01:31:34.600 It's so crazy, man, I don't know what it is. It's just 1449 01:31:36.399 --> 01:31:42.800 it's just something, man, It's it's just something. But I feel like, 1450 01:31:43.319 --> 01:31:45.600 you know, I'm in the right place for me, and I feel 1451 01:31:45.640 --> 01:31:53.560 like just where I am, like in my career, you know, I'm 1452 01:31:53.600 --> 01:31:56.680 in a really good position, you know, Like I just try to take 1453 01:31:56.720 --> 01:31:59.960 your day to day and control what I can control. Like I can't throw 1454 01:32:00.039 --> 01:32:02.560 a ball to myself, I can't call the play, so it's like, 1455 01:32:04.399 --> 01:32:08.520 just control what you can control, man. And that's really what I try 1456 01:32:08.520 --> 01:32:12.760 to let everybody else know around me, like, you know, because it 1457 01:32:12.800 --> 01:32:15.640 can get frustrated, you know, going through a long season, maybe things 1458 01:32:15.680 --> 01:32:19.439 not going how you wanted to go. But I think if you can have 1459 01:32:19.680 --> 01:32:25.680 that mindset because it applies to more than just football, it's like a life, 1460 01:32:27.159 --> 01:32:33.640 it's life, you know, and just taking that that I hate to 1461 01:32:33.640 --> 01:32:38.359 say day to day, but that's really like we harp on that, like 1462 01:32:38.479 --> 01:32:42.079 that language is being spoken every day here. Man, just wanting. Oh 1463 01:32:42.199 --> 01:32:45.920 man, it's a new day, it's a new play, Like you make 1464 01:32:45.000 --> 01:32:47.960 this play work as good as it can, then the next play it's a 1465 01:32:48.000 --> 01:32:53.600 new play, you know. So that's that's that's really how I take it. 1466 01:32:55.159 --> 01:32:59.000 How much do you attribute where you're at now to, you know, 1467 01:32:59.079 --> 01:33:01.920 your time in the ex fell and just kind of alternative leagues in general, 1468 01:33:02.039 --> 01:33:08.239 kind of having that opportunity for guys. Yeah, I think it's great for 1469 01:33:08.359 --> 01:33:12.880 guys, you know that may not have gotten a shot or the chance that 1470 01:33:12.880 --> 01:33:15.439 they wanted or thought they were gonna get. It's a great way to just 1471 01:33:17.640 --> 01:33:21.920 I wish more guys understood that it is professional though, you know, like 1472 01:33:23.520 --> 01:33:27.560 you're a pro, so you should handle yourself professionally, you know, work 1473 01:33:27.600 --> 01:33:30.920 on your craft still the same as if you were getting ready to get drafted. 1474 01:33:31.239 --> 01:33:41.720 But I've I've been able to I think, let's say the mental fortitude 1475 01:33:41.760 --> 01:33:44.640 of it all, you know, just going back and forth and kind of 1476 01:33:44.960 --> 01:33:47.840 that COVID thing. Man, it was so much uncertainty, but it was 1477 01:33:47.880 --> 01:33:55.039 just like, I'm just grateful that when I got the chance to play again, 1478 01:33:55.720 --> 01:33:59.800 you know, I really appreciated it. So I think that helped me 1479 01:34:00.359 --> 01:34:02.880 a different experience. And it's funny because I'm only twenty seven, bro, 1480 01:34:03.079 --> 01:34:08.920 But then the locker room and in football terms, I'm like an old guy, 1481 01:34:09.239 --> 01:34:13.600 so it's it's weird. Yeah, man, it's I'm one of the 1482 01:34:13.600 --> 01:34:17.079 old oldest receivers we have. And then the experience that I have, and 1483 01:34:17.119 --> 01:34:19.640 I guess mate, you know my level of play, I'm you know, 1484 01:34:19.760 --> 01:34:26.319 I can be counted on. I'm being considered as, you know, an 1485 01:34:26.359 --> 01:34:30.800 older, more veteran guy, and this is my second year playing CFL football. 1486 01:34:30.800 --> 01:34:34.520 It's like you're a veteran though, so you know, I appreciate all 1487 01:34:34.520 --> 01:34:42.039 that it comes with. Last question for me, what would be as someone 1488 01:34:42.079 --> 01:34:45.840 that has just had to, you know, fight your whole way upright and 1489 01:34:45.960 --> 01:34:47.560 even get into the CFL, you know, get into the argos working you 1490 01:34:47.720 --> 01:34:50.159 have, what would be your advice to guys because we have a lot of 1491 01:34:50.159 --> 01:34:54.760 players and all these leagues and you know here, you're someone that never gave 1492 01:34:54.840 --> 01:34:57.920 up work through you know, hoisting the Gray Cup last year, Like, 1493 01:34:57.920 --> 01:35:02.760 what would be your advice to those other players? Yeah? Man, I 1494 01:35:02.800 --> 01:35:11.319 think when you go through you know, every high school college player thinks they're 1495 01:35:11.319 --> 01:35:15.279 gonna go to the NFL and things that they're gonna play ten fifteen years, 1496 01:35:15.279 --> 01:35:18.760 signed two or three contracts, man, but it's like you don't. And 1497 01:35:18.800 --> 01:35:24.119 even though the numbers suggest that when you get there you realize the turnaround. 1498 01:35:24.199 --> 01:35:30.159 It's like every year it's it's new people on new teams, just new obstacles 1499 01:35:30.199 --> 01:35:34.560 you got to overcome. But just when when it doesn't go as playing, 1500 01:35:35.239 --> 01:35:40.359 like you can question yourself. You know, even though you could, in 1501 01:35:40.439 --> 01:35:45.239 my case, have the most yards and catches in Virginia Tech College history. 1502 01:35:45.319 --> 01:35:49.000 So it's like you can play ball, man, you you're like, you 1503 01:35:49.079 --> 01:35:53.000 know how to ball, but it's like when things don't happen that way, 1504 01:35:53.039 --> 01:35:57.479 you can just start to doubt and start to look externally when you should be 1505 01:35:57.520 --> 01:36:00.479 looking internally more. Just control what you can can troll, man, that's 1506 01:36:00.479 --> 01:36:04.239 how you show up. That's the efforts you put forth and really that's it. 1507 01:36:04.319 --> 01:36:10.000 And once you're okay with that, and it's like everything else can just 1508 01:36:10.039 --> 01:36:13.880 happen because I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to do to make it happen. 1509 01:36:14.720 --> 01:36:17.439 You know, people say you got to be at the right place at 1510 01:36:17.439 --> 01:36:20.079 the right time, or it's who you know, not what you know. 1511 01:36:20.279 --> 01:36:26.000 It's like you can't control none of that, bro, So the more you 1512 01:36:26.039 --> 01:36:29.439 think about the things you can't control, the more upset you're going to be. 1513 01:36:29.560 --> 01:36:31.600 It's like I'm better than him, or I should be put on this 1514 01:36:31.640 --> 01:36:34.520 team playing it. It's like none of that matters because at the end of 1515 01:36:34.520 --> 01:36:39.960 the day, that's not the situation. So the real situation is what you're 1516 01:36:40.000 --> 01:36:42.920 in, how you wake up, how you attack work. I need to 1517 01:36:42.960 --> 01:36:45.079 go to the gym today. I don't feel like and I'm still no go 1518 01:36:45.159 --> 01:36:48.359 to the gym and of your business, you know, And that's that's really 1519 01:36:48.399 --> 01:36:55.760 all I can That's that's the biggest thing I would let guys know. Well, 1520 01:36:55.840 --> 01:36:58.880 Kim, I appreciate that. It's been awesome kind of watching your journey. 1521 01:36:58.880 --> 01:37:00.439 I'm guy, we can finally get on here. I appreciate Chris setting 1522 01:37:00.439 --> 01:37:03.479 it up. We I have a feeling we'll be seeing you in Hamilton. 1523 01:37:03.560 --> 01:37:05.760 We have our flight's books, so I have a feeling we'll be seeing you 1524 01:37:05.840 --> 01:37:10.479 there. But good luck with everything. We'll be watching and keep killing it. 1525 01:37:10.520 --> 01:37:15.000 I appreciate it. Thank you so much man for the time and interest. 1526 01:37:15.079 --> 01:37:17.479 Man, thank you so much, and I hope the podcast and everything 1527 01:37:17.520 --> 01:37:27.039 conteuse to go for you man, awesome, Thank you really appreciate all of 1528 01:37:27.039 --> 01:37:31.000 our guests today. Andrew Murray making time after work. I'm watching I presume 1529 01:37:31.039 --> 01:37:34.600 a Thursday night football here with a side I doing everything to bring you guys 1530 01:37:34.600 --> 01:37:39.640 the latest XAVL and USFL mergering news. I never thought I would say that, 1531 01:37:39.880 --> 01:37:42.479 Still kind of getting used to that. And then of course Derek Taylor 1532 01:37:42.600 --> 01:37:45.079 making time on the bye week in cam Phillips after practice in the locker room 1533 01:37:45.319 --> 01:37:48.560 always means a lot in the argonauts for facilitating all of that. So thank 1534 01:37:48.560 --> 01:37:51.439 you guys so much, really appreciate that. That should do it for me 1535 01:37:51.520 --> 01:37:56.600 today. You know, we're gonna keep tracking this as news comes out. 1536 01:37:57.159 --> 01:38:00.159 I have a big CFL guest and one of the TSA members coming on next 1537 01:38:00.159 --> 01:38:03.920 week and talking CFL work on some more CFL player interviews, and then of 1538 01:38:03.960 --> 01:38:09.880 course we'll be covering all of the XFL and USL news merger talks here latest 1539 01:38:09.920 --> 01:38:12.640 news. Like I said, I can subscribe, doing the shorts, doing 1540 01:38:12.680 --> 01:38:15.239 the live streams, doing the episodes like this every Friday, So we'll see 1541 01:38:15.279 --> 01:38:18.239 you guys next time. Have a safe weekend and enjoy the CFL slate of 1542 01:38:18.279 --> 01:38:19.119 games. And take care