Latest / WGBB Sports Talk New York / Jamie Loeb Talks Tennis and Her Next Chapter; Conner Clark Breaks Down Jets/Giants Rookies

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Jamie Loeb Talks Tennis and Her Next Chapter; Conner Clark Breaks Down Jets/Giants Rookies · WGBB Sports Talk New York

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  The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.
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  Live from the WGPB studios in Merrick, New York, this is Sports Talk New York.
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  Good evening and welcome to Long Island WGBB Sports Talk New York, 95.9 FM, 12:40am on your dial.
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  I'm your host, Mike Quinone, normally joined by Chris Caputo, the man we call Cappy.
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  But he's out at a wedding tonight doing the chicken dance, the macarena and all that fun stuff.
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  He might call in if he is able to get off the dance floor.
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  But we're going to take it from here.
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  Very excited.
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  The Number again is 516-623-1240.
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  And that's 516-623-1240.
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  Going to talk a little football in the second half.
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  But if you've listened to the program before, you know, I'm a big, big tennis guy.
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  I've been coaching high school tennis on and off for the better part of 30 years.
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  Started when I was in college.
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  And it's really a passion of mine.
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  And we're very glad and happy to have our official tennis correspondent, tennis expert, tennis professional Jamie Loeb, with us tonight.
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  Jamie's been on the program before.
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  She's got a great story, and we're going to kind of go through her career and where she's at right now and just kind of pick her brain on the world of professional tennis, professional sports.
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  And as I mentioned, Jamie Loeb joins the program.
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  Jamie, Mike Coydone here in Long Island.
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  How are you doing tonight?
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  Good.
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  Good.
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  Thanks for having me.
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  Always enjoy coming back and talking tennis with you.
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  Well, it's certainly our pleasure.
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  And as we get into October, November, December, the professional calendar is kind of winding down, but but the high school calendar has heated up.
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  That's one of the reasons I wanted to have you on tonight because as a high school tennis coach, I know you had a very successful high school career, won the New York State high school title, I believe, as
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  a sophomore out of Ossining High School.
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  And I guess as you went on to become a professional, what was it about high school tennis that you took with you?
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  What were some of the lessons and things that drove you to play high school tennis?
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  I know if I remember correctly, your older sister was a pretty successful player as well.
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  Was high school tennis always something that you knew you were going to do and wanted to do?
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  Yeah, my older sister Jenna, she's nine years older than me.
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  She won the New York State singles title three years in a row.
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  So.
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  Yeah.
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  And I started playing high school tennis in seventh grade.
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  I don't really know if there's any seventh graders allowed, but I think.
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  There's not.
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  Many.
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  Yeah.
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  And I made to the quarterfinals of sectional, so I didn't qualify for states.
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  And then my eighth grade, I won sectionals, and I think I got third at states.
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  Wow.
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  And then ninth grade won sectionals, finals of states.
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  And then my sophomore year won sectionals and won the state title.
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  And actually recently this weekend, I found out, or last weekend that I was the first eighth grader in Section 1 tennis history to win sectionals.
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  And I hit with an 8th grader who became the second really near section one 8th grader to win sectionals.
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  And she's playing states tomorrow, so that's pretty cool.
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  And a full circle moment for me.
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  But, you know, it was a goal of mine.
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  I think the only reason I did play high school tennis for myself was to win that state title.
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  You know, it was important to me and I think to seeing my sister go through that pathway, and I definitely admire her growing up, so I wanted to achieve that as well.
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  Anything from the team aspect, you know, just playing with kids your age.
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  I mean, obviously you played and hit, you know, outside of high school tennis, you know, you devoted so many hours.
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  Was it.
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  Was it a lot of fun, you know, being on the team with kids your age, or was it mostly like you kind of did your thing and then, you know, I know sometimes players will come back and play
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  matches, but their practice time is kind of limited with their team.
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  Yeah, I think.
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  I think for me, it was a little different.
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  Austining we didn't have the best team.
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  There was one girl that I could hit with a little bit, but otherwise is, you know, wasn't the most competitive team to say the least.
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  But, you know, my teammates are very supportive, and it was nice, you know, being a part of something bigger than yourself.
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  And that was my first taste of representing, you know, my school and another organization that's just not me out there.
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  So that was.
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  That was really cool.
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  And I really, you know, I love my high school tennis coach.
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  She was awesome.
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  She was just always so positive with me, and I just, you know, I think she knew her role in it as well because I had my coach and I would train outside of the practices and, you know, do
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  my own schedule, but, you know, she was awesome.
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  And yeah, I think, you know, that was kind of my first taste of being a part of a team.
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  Just, it wasn't necessarily, I would say the traditional team experiences, to say the least.
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  I guess my level was a little bit higher, and I needed a little bit more of a challenge outside of the team.
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  No, I completely understand because a number of years back, I had one player who wound up finishing third in the state and went on to play Division 1 College Senate.
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  So we had a pretty strong team, but trying to find somebody that could hit with her.
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  I mean, I did the best I could, but she was, you know, she was far above, so it was difficult to bring her in for practices and kind of keep her interested.
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  So absolutely know 100% what you're talking about.
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  Yeah, yeah.
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  But, you know, I had one goal and one goal in mind, and, you know, I was happy I was able to do it, because then after my sophomore year, I switched to online school to be able to travel
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  more and play international tournaments.
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  And actually, a couple weeks ago, I did revisit Asinine High school girls varsity team and helped them out on court and, you know, just sharing my journey and, you know, being inspiration to them.
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  And I definitely had some flashbacks on those courts.
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  Fantastic.
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  So you wind up moving on and you're number one in the under 14s, under 16s, under 18s, and you eventually move on to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
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  So was there ever any thought in your mind of turning pro before you went to college, or was it, you know, obviously you had major success.
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  You won the NCAA singles title, 2015.
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  So certainly I would assume you're happy with that decision.
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  But was there any thoughts of going pro right away?
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  Yeah, definitely.
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  I would say my last year of high school, I was really contemplating that with my family and coaches.
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  It was definitely a thought and was getting approached and ultimately made the decision to go to college, which was one of the best decisions I ever made.
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  You know, I love UNC and have such a strong bond and connection with the school and the people in Chapel Hill.
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  So, yeah, it was definitely a decision.
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  I think when I was probably 14, I would say 14, 15, I could picture myself playing on the pro circuit.
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  Yeah, that's something at that age to kind of have that in mind and have the skills to be able to do it.
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  But, you know, as you mentioned, you were very happy and very pleased with going to Chapel Hill and your experiences there.
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  Before you got there, though, I wanted to ask you, you spent a lot of time, if I'm correct, at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, and I'm just curious what it was like there.
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  I mean, that's I would assume, you know, just with the name itself, you know, it speaks for itself and the players that it's developing and it's branched out all over.
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  If I remember correctly, you played at Randalls island, is that right?
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  Yes, at Randalls island,.
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  Which is an amazing facility, and so on.
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  But so there, I would think it was nothing but all tennis all the time.
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  Yeah, I was very focused.
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  I played probably four hours a day, hour and a half of fitness.
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  My mom would drive me back and forth.
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  She dropped me off in the morning, drive back to offending, and then get me later on.
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  So, you know, she did a lot of driving for me, and it was a lot of tennis.
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  But that's what I wanted to do.
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  I wanted to start competing at the international stage.
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  And, you know, I knew I had to devote more time.
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  And at the time, that was a great fit for me and had players to really push me, and, you know, that was a good environment.
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  Right.
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  So when you turn pro, I'm assuming you did it after your major success on the collegiate level, there really wasn't probably anything left for you to accomplish, and you turned pro and you kind of hit the ground running.
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  What was.
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  What was one.
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  Well, let's take it this way.
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  What was one super positive thing that you took early on in your pro career and what was something that maybe surprised you and you found, you know, we're talking again, early in your career that was a little bit
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  more difficult than you had anticipated?
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  Yeah, I think a positive thing for me.
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  I came into the tour with a lot of matches under my belt and had a lot of momentum from the beginning.
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  I played a lot of matches in college, which really prepped me, and I was really high on confidence.
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  So I kind of had a nice, you know, pathway going into the pro tour, but at the same time, just learning how physically demanding and grueling it is, and, you know, just week in and week out, and my
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  body definitely took a little beating then as it.
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  As it has over the years.
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  So just understanding how to manage my load and volume, and then just the overall expense of the tour, because when you're in college, you have everything paid for.
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  I mean, now, you know, with nil kids are getting paid to go to college.
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  And I think if that was the case when I was in school, I probably would have stayed all four years.
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  There wouldn't even be a rush.
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  So definitely a lot different.
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  But just learning the harsh realities of what it's like to be a professional tennis player was.
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  Yeah, it was definitely tough.
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  Well, you certainly share a lot in your blog about your career and the ups and downs and ins and outs of pro tennis.
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  One thing that I was really taken with in your career and your quest was just trying to find people who would help kind of support you financially.
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  Because when you are traveling all over the world and country and you're in and out, there's certain things that are.
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  Are paid for, I know, you know, by tournaments, by sponsors.
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  But I think everyone has this kind of golden idea that it's like you're on private jets and you're flying around and, you know, it's not like that.
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  I mean, you have to pay for your coaches.
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  You have.
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  You certainly have some things with your sponsors, but I would assume there's a huge, huge gap there that you have to fill in in terms of finances.
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  Yeah.
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  And I definitely felt that probably middle to later part of my career where I wasn't having the same success as I did earlier on and as you get older, becomes a little bit tougher, even though, you know, I'm
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  31 right now and that isn't that old.
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  But in Tennessee years, it can be perceived to be on the old, you know, older side.
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  But yeah, I had to find that.
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  I think in the beginning, you know, after winning ncaa, that really set me up.
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  And I got approached by people and companies as well.
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  Nothing like groundbreaking, but it really set me up and took a lot of pressure off where I could just play.
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  And I really do believe that there's no surprise or coincidence with me having success earlier on where I was just playing tennis and enjoying it and didn't have the financial stress, as I.
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  I would say later on.
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  And yeah, I've always been proactive with finding sponsors, whether it's people or talking to companies or just even finding ways to save money.
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  I think that's been a big skill of mine to be resourceful.
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  But unfortunately, it never felt like it was enough to feel super secure.
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  Yeah.
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  Which is a shame.
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  But that's, you know, the grind of a professional athlete, especially in the sport of tennis, that, that, as I mentioned before, a lot of people just don't understand and don't see.
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  And while the tennis itself and the grind it takes on your body is one thing, being able to support your career and yourself, it's not like you're a professional basketball player who's traveling with the team and going to
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  different arenas.
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  I mean, it's a grind.
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  And I give you a lot of credit for what you've done.
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  You went to a career high of 132.
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  And you played many years, and I know you dealt with.
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  With a series of injuries throughout your career, and now you have kind of a second act and as a marketing coordinator for the USTA Eastern and tell us a little bit about that and kind of, you know, besides
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  the injuries, obviously, what kind of led to your decision to kind of transition into that at the moment?
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  Yeah, I also like the way you put that.
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  So February was my.
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  Was the last tournament I played.
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  You know, I took some time off last year, and kind of as I was coming back, like, say last December, you know, I started feeling things in my body, but I just felt like, okay, it's just something.
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  Just normal soreness.
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  And then fast forward to early, you know, January, February, where things started to feel not so normal.
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  And I was spending hours and hours in the treatment room, and I just.
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  My body, like, was in a lot of pain.
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  You know, I ended up having a big hip injury.
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  And, you know, with tennis, I feel like if you don't have your lower body, it's really tough.
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  And I wasn't enjoying in the last few matches I played just, you know, fighting with myself and not being able to play the way I want to because I couldn't move.
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  I just.
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  I felt, like, helpless at times out there.
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  And, you know, I've seen a bunch of doctors and everything.
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  So I took, you know, I was like, okay, like, I have to kind of figure out what I want to do and what do I value.
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  And I, you know, quality of life is something you sometimes overlook.
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  And until you're faced with a big decision.
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  And I was faced with that decision, and, you know, I took a lot of time off.
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  Like, I wasn't really walking much.
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  I was.
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  I kind of went like cold turkey, which was really hard for me, but in that time, had to find something to do because I had bills today.
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  And so I did some static coaching.
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  So I was just kind of feeding balls and not moving and just trying to find things I can do online, like whether it's consulting with some players, but, you know, nothing.
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  Once again, that's like breaking the bank, but just kind of keeping me afloat.
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  Sure.
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  Which I feel a lot of players, they kind of have a grace period in between in that transition where I'm, like, trying to find that next thing.
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  And fast forward to June, you know, I actually got a text from who's now my.
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  My boss, just reaching out because I do post on social media, and there's a video that kind of went viral of me showing, you know, it's what it's like going from basically playing at the US Open to them
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  coaching.
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  Yes.
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  You know, just kind of nostalgic feels the.
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  And she saw that reached out there was this job, a new position Open at USK Eastern.
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  I'm from Westchester, Bostoning, the office is in Westchester.
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  So, you know, and it seemed interesting and I see myself, you know, I do enjoy marketing, I do enjoy social media and kind of fell in my lap and did some interviews and started July 8th.
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  And I'm.
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  Yeah, they're the event and content coordinator for USTA Eastern.
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  And you know, I'm learning a lot, but it's definitely been a transition.
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  Yeah, I'm sure going from, you know, athlete to part time coach to nine to five and then some position.
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  And with taking that job in July, you really kind of thrown into the US Open pretty quickly in terms of that position as well.
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  Correct.
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  Yeah.
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  So USDA Eastern works kind of alongside, you know, the U.S.
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  open, facilitating some activations and you know, I was there on site with helping out with kids on court and you know, so how to jump into, you know, the chaos of tennis in the summer.
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  And tennis especially in New York is booming in the summer, so it's going to different events and then having to like be.
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  Play a different role.
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  I would say when I, I'm still not fully there with like accepting that I'm not playing.
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  I haven't, you know, I don't say I'm retired.
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  I think that's too final and finite.
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  I'm just not there yet.
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  So.
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  And then, yeah, then having to go to U.S.
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  open instead of being a player, you know, they're supporting the organization and you know, helping out in a different way.
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  And as you know, with US Open you run into so many people and yeah, there's days that it was a little overwhelming and I just was hoping to not run into anybody that.
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  Yeah, there's been a lot of, I guess, mental shifts that I had to go through.
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  Yeah, I'm sure it had to be very kind of bittersweet in a way to be at the tournament where you played, you know, a number of times and you know, obviously as an American and you know that's our
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  home tournament and kind of being in a state of flux with your career and kind of dipping your toes into this area.
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  We had kind of texted off air about a month ago and we, you know, I was saying to you that I really wanted to have you on because I feel for you in terms of where you're at right
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  now.
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  You're not retired, but you are in the corporate world and you do have to, like you said, pay the bills.
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  So it seems like the fire is still there, but it's just a matter of kind of putting all these things in place to maybe see if you're ready to give it one more go.
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  Yeah.
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  And I think that's something that I think about.
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  And I'm also just trying not to put pressure or timeline on myself.
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  Like I have a protected ranking, but I am enjoying this job and I think it's really good for me to just see what else I like outside of playing tennis.
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  And there's parts of the job where actually I've been able to use what I've learned on tour and even the connections I have from playing tennis and the people I've met along the way.
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  And you know, and also I grew up in the system.
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  I played tennis for the eastern section as a little girl and here I am now working for, you know, the eastern section.
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  So it is also very meaningful and a full circle moment for me.
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  Yeah, and it's, it's, it definitely has, like, it's challenges in terms of, like, I'm not used to this much stability.
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  It's great, but it's, it's different and just am using a different part of my brain.
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  But I'm also enjoying learning a new skill set and getting better at something else and also being seen for my other skills instead of just winning and losing that, you know, the smallest things that makes a difference.
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  And you know, that in that sense it is really nice.
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  Well, and it's really nice for you too, because you're finding out and seeing the skills that you have.
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  I mean, you mentioned that, you know, people are recognizing it, but for your own, you know, self esteem, that you're more than just a tennis player and you have a lot to give and there's, you know, there's something
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  there for you when, when you make that decision to finally hang it up.
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  You mentioned that you have a protective ranking.
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  How, how much longer does that kind of last?
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  So mine lasts till June of 2028.
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  Oh, wow.
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  Okay.
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  So you have, so you have time.
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  Yeah, yeah.
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  That's why, you know, I'm not putting any pressure on myself and I kind of refer to myself as being inactive than retired.
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  Right.
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  I just,.
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  I.
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  Don't know.
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  I think just saying retired is hard and a lot of my friends that have gone through that transition are very sure of it.
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  And for me, I'm not, but I may not ever be.
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  So, you know, I think that's just something I'm going to kind of continue to explore and see.
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  I have been going on court a little bit and testing out the body.
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  The body's feeling so much better.
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  And, you know, trying to micro dose practicing like once a week or once every two weeks, like for myself.
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  I did that today and I loved it.
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  I mean, I, I just actually miss that and I just really enjoyed it.
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  I've done a little bit of coaching, but to actually play for yourself and to work on things and I love getting better and I think that's why too, I really enjoy this role at Eastern because I'm like a
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  sponge and I want to keep learning and getting better and growing.
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  And I think that's also something tennis has taught me.
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  That's great.
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  So looking just kind of at the tennis landscape, especially on the women's side, you know, from the, from our country, from the US you have Coco Golf, you have Jess Pegula.
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  When you look at American tennis, the state of, you know, our game, our players going forward into 20, 27, anything, is there anybody kind of under the radar that, you know or you've hit with or that is kind
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  of ready to make a breakthrough and kind of come from, I don't want to say come out of nowhere, but be kind of a surprise player and maybe someone to watch as we get going here to the new
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  season that will be upon us before we know it?
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  Yeah, I don't think she's as under the radar as some people might think because I think she's now 11 in the world.
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  But Eva Jovic, I called that like two years ago and I played her back to back tournaments in Florida and I think she was 16, 15 or 16 at the time.
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  And I was like, this girl's going to be good.
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  And I practiced with her a bit and she's really mature for age.
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  She has a really good understanding of the game.
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  And you know, if you just even look at her footwork, she's always in position and very balanced.
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  So I mean, look, she's, I want to say she's like 18 now.
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  I would hope she's at least 18 now.
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  She better be.
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  She's probably 19.
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  Yeah, you know, I'm 31.
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  I know what you're saying.
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  I understand.
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  A certain age.
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  Yes.
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  But, you know, I, I could see her making a run out of slam.
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  She's been doing well from the WTA's, I mean, obviously to get to 11 in the world, but I think, you know, I think she can take it to that.
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  Next level.
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  So I wanted to ask your advice on something.
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  I.
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  I coach, you know, high school tennis in Nassau county, and we have a nice team.
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  One player in particular, though, she's a sophomore in high school.
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  She's our number one singles player, really talented player, but was kind of frustrated at the end of this year that she didn't feel she was making the strides that she had made when she was a little bit younger
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  and wound up losing to the eventual Nassau county champion who's going to be in the state tournament this year.
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  What would you say to a young, young lady, young girl, who has a lot of the tools, a lot of the skills, but feels like they're just kind of hit the wall in terms of where they're at?
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  Is there anything that you would say to them in terms of maybe focusing on fitness, maybe taking a week off?
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  I know it's hard to throw it out because you don't know this young lady, but is there anything that from your own experience you could suggest?
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  I mean, I think, you know, always playing matches, not all the time, but really being match tough and doing it over and over and over again.
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  And then also after those matches, being able to go back to the drawing board with your coach and working on specifics.
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  I mean, I think, you know, you learn so much from matches and you can always get better in that sense.
• 25:47
  And then with that understanding mentally, where, like, where are you.
• 25:53
  Are you hitting that wall mentally?
• 25:54
  Are you hitting that wall physically?
• 25:56
  And if it's a mental thing, like that's something just practicing routines and, you know, being able to implement that when the pressure is on and it's easier said than done, but the more you put yourself out there, the,
• 26:11
  you know, the better you'll get at it.
• 26:14
  And it's just doing that over and over again and really trusting yourself in the process because, you know, it doesn't happen overnight and everyone's always improving.
• 26:25
  Right.
• 26:26
  So you got to just keep putting yourself out there.
• 26:30
  And as a young player, you know, in your, in your mid teens, when you deal with a little bit of injury or soreness or whatever else, I'm sure it can be a little scary because you're a young kid,
• 26:40
  but going out, I mean, she's had a little knee issue and nothing major, but when you play as much as you do at that age, you have to listen to your body a little bit, I would assume.
• 26:50
  Yes.
• 26:52
  Yeah, of course, you, as an individual, know your body better than anybody else.
• 26:58
  And I think it's a little bit harder at that age.
• 27:01
  I think as I got older, when, for me, I think when I was like 20, 21, 2021 is when I like really started understanding my body more.
• 27:11
  So it is a little bit harder I think as a teenager and things are always changing.
• 27:16
  But you know, you know yourself fast and it, you know, you have to give yourself breaks.
• 27:23
  You can't go, go, go.
• 27:25
  You have to have some rest days and recover within, you know, within the week.
• 27:30
  That's, that's a non negotiable.
• 27:33
  So yeah, just knowing yourself and also knowing that there's a time and place to push and you got to be careful with that fine line of pushing it too hard.
• 27:47
  And the support system's got to be there because you have coaches, you have parents, you have siblings in your teens, you're juggling emotions and also all the expectations that you have for yourself and you don't want to let
• 27:59
  people down.
• 28:00
  So it's got to be a tough go, especially you know, if your support system is a little shaky.
• 28:06
  But I know you had a very strong support system with your family, with your sister.
• 28:11
  And I know, you know, the last time we spoke, you know, again, condolences on the loss of your dad.
• 28:16
  I know he was a big influence for you.
• 28:19
  So the experience that you bring is really, is something I think I look forward to hearing you share as you transition out, whenever that's going to be.
• 28:30
  I think you'll make a fine coach and even just a better spokesman for the game and for young ladies.
• 28:37
  I have a 22 year old daughter and it's a tough world out there and I really thank you for what you put out and to be honest and raw and be able to tell everybody what's going on.
• 28:50
  I appreciate it and that's something that I'm passionate about doing, you know, helping especially younger girls and being vulnerable and you know, whether it's with professional tennis or not.
• 29:02
  But just I think there's a piece of everything I kind of share that people can relate to if you haven't played a professional sport, but just doing something you love for such a long time and then having to
• 29:16
  pivot and dealing with adversity and you know, it's kind of how you respond to that.
• 29:21
  And look, it hasn't, hasn't been a linear pathway by any means, but you know, I think for me I just enjoy sharing my journey and hope that it can impact somebody else and inspire someone else.
• 29:36
  So I will continue to keep doing that.
• 29:39
  And thank you for also following me and sharing your comments as well.
• 29:45
  No doubt.
• 29:46
  I love seeing them.
• 29:47
  Yeah, definitely.
• 29:47
  No doubt that you have already made an impact and you know, the players on my team follow you and will continue to do so.
• 29:55
  All the best in your new venture here as a marketing coordinator again for USTA Eastern.
• 30:03
  Whatever you decide, tennis wise, we'll be pulling for you.
• 30:06
  Hope it's, you know, a decision that you're able to make on your own terms and just keep pushing and do what you do best and enjoy and we'll be here for you.
• 30:18
  Thanks, Mike.
• 30:18
  Don't worry, you'll still be seeing tennis videos on my social media.
• 30:22
  We appreciate that.
• 30:23
  Jamie Loeb, thanks again and hope to talk to you soon.
• 30:28
  Thanks for having me.
• 30:29
  Always.
• 30:30
  You got it.
• 30:30
  We're going to take a quick break and on the other side, we're going to talk a little football on Sports Talk New York.
• 30:56
  You're listening to Sports Talk New York.
• 30:58
  Tune in every Sunday night at 8pm on Long Island's WGPP, broadcasting on 95.9 FM and 12:40am or listen live online at wgbbradio.com stay connected to sports Talk New York on WGBB by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
• 31:17
  at WGBB Sports Talk, you're listening to Sports Talk New York on Long Island's wgpb.
• 31:27
  And now back to the show.
• 31:32
  Welcome back to the second half hour of Sports Talk New York here on WGBB, 95.9 FM, 1240am if you'd like to join in, the number is 516623, 1240.
• 31:43
  Again, that's 516623, 1240.
• 31:47
  And now we're going to go to the football side of things.
• 31:50
  You know, it's, it's fall.
• 31:51
  We're starting to get into the chilly temperatures.
• 31:54
  We have a lot of pro stuff to get to before the night is over.
• 31:58
  But right now we're going to welcome in our College football insider, Mr.
• 32:03
  Connor Clark, who normally joins us from New Jersey, but he is currently out in West Virginia.
• 32:07
  Connor, welcome to the program, my man.
• 32:11
  Hey, Mike, how are you doing?
• 32:12
  I'm doing great.
• 32:13
  How's things out in West Virginia?
• 32:16
  Can't complain too much.
• 32:18
  You know, West Virginia University got a nice win yesterday against tcu.
• 32:24
  And you know, Marshall University is also looking good as well.
• 32:28
  So everything's on the up here.
• 32:30
  Outstanding.
• 32:31
  Good.
• 32:31
  Well, you know, as always, great to have you on.
• 32:35
  A lot of things in flux in college football.
• 32:38
  The only thing that's not in flux at the moment is the University of Miami, who's sitting pretty at 70 number one ranked in the country.
• 32:45
  But your Ohio State Buckeyes are hot on their tail at 6:1.
• 32:51
  Still a lot of time left in football, but before we know it, we're going to be into, you know, Thanksgiving and the holidays and we'll be talking about the College Football Playoff.
• 33:02
  Any surprises that you see so far in terms of a team, let's take it this way.
• 33:07
  A team in the college football landscape that has overachieved and maybe one that's underachieved.
• 33:14
  Yeah.
• 33:14
  So we can keep it pretty much in the Big Ten for both of these.
• 33:18
  Probably as a whole, the Big Ten has underachieved, but you know, a team that's definitely overachieved is the UCLA Bruins.
• 33:26
  They are seven.
• 33:27
  And oh, and what's even more interesting about them is they lost their quarterback, Nico Imai Leyeva about three weeks ago and they have been going on since about midway through the Oregon game with their backup and his name
• 33:48
  is, it's Ty Beesenbach.
• 33:53
  And he, you know, they are playing a much more ground and pound low scoring kind of game right now because of that, but they're still managing to win.
• 34:04
  And what you'll notice about ucla, it does parallel similar to that first year Indiana with Kurt Signetti.
• 34:13
  Their head coach at ucla, Bob Chesney was who took over for Kurt Signetti at JMU and who brought a lot of JMU guys with him.
• 34:22
  And you know, it's starting to look very similar and it should be a good sort of end to the season for the Bruins.
• 34:30
  Now a team that has really underachieved is definitely Penn State.
• 34:36
  You know, Penn State start off the year ranked.
• 34:39
  They are obviously unranked at this point.
• 34:42
  They have a losing record.
• 34:44
  Matt Campbell came in with a lot of his players from Iowa State, including, including starting quarterback Rocco Becht.
• 34:51
  It has just not looked good for them up until this point.
• 34:54
  You know, most recently losing to Michigan in the Big House for their fourth consecutive loss.
• 35:01
  And you know, they cannot seem to string any momentum together.
• 35:05
  If you watch them, they got blown out against Northwestern.
• 35:09
  They gave up a lead, a 17 point lead to Wisconsin at home.
• 35:13
  This is a team that, that's just sort of kind of, you know, they were thought to maybe be a playoff dark horse, but at this point it's more of are they going to make a bowl?
• 35:23
  Yeah, I mean, and that's, that's got to be something for the people at Penn State.
• 35:27
  They just did a major renovation on their stadium.
• 35:30
  I mean, it is, it is Penn State.
• 35:32
  They're not used to being unranked.
• 35:34
  You know, they've had their share of issues in the program throughout the years.
• 35:38
  We don't need to get into those.
• 35:40
  But this is definitely a team that you don't expect to see, you know, somewhere else.
• 35:45
  They.
• 35:45
  James Franklin was let go.
• 35:47
  You know, it was, hey, you know, all the, all the Ducks are in order here now and it's just not working out, at least this year.
• 35:55
  Yeah, you know, and to bring up the James Franklin point, you know, Virginia Tech is now sitting at just two losses and just having a massive win against Clemson on the road last night.
• 36:06
  So, you know, obviously it was probably time for him to move on from Penn State, but I'm sure there are a lot of Nittany lion fans right now saying to themselves, man, we might have screwed up by firing
• 36:20
  him.
• 36:21
  Now, I know you're a big Ohio State fan.
• 36:24
  You went out to see them live this year, correct?
• 36:28
  Yes, I did.
• 36:29
  Their opener against Ball State.
• 36:32
  So they are six one right now, but a solid number two in the country.
• 36:38
  Anything about them that would give you pause to say, I don't know if it's a normal state year or are they going to be really in the thick of things when it's all said and done?
• 36:49
  Well, yeah, it's a big, I don't know right now because, you know, ending the final, at those final moments against Indiana, I believe there's nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
• 37:03
  They lost starting quarterback Julene saying likely for the year, even if they were to make the playoff.
• 37:08
  And so now they brought in, you know, three star true freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, freshman from California.
• 37:16
  But they also have another quarterback on the roster who's from Ohio, Belle Fountain, Ohio.
• 37:23
  His name is Tavian Sinclair.
• 37:25
  He was a five star.
• 37:26
  I believe he was the third ranked quarterback in his class.
• 37:30
  You know, we're talking 6, 4, 6 5, about 235ish, can run.
• 37:36
  Really reminds you a lot of sort of that Justin Fields mold.
• 37:41
  But it seemed to not click for him yet.
• 37:43
  So they've taken the bye week to determine who that starting quarterback is going to be and they're going to, you know, be tested on the road next week against ufc.
• 37:53
  And that's going to tell us a lot about sort of what the rest of the season is going to look like for Ohio State, namely the offense.
• 38:01
  Seeing if Ryan Day trusts these guys to throw the ball downfield or if he decides, hey, we're just going to lean on the run, keep it short passing only.
• 38:10
  So there's a lot at stake and we will be finding out in about six days at 7:30.
• 38:17
  Yeah, it's a major loss.
• 38:19
  Anytime you lose your starting quarterback, even though they, they have some depth, it's a great point.
• 38:24
  Coming off the buy though, it is going to be interesting to see how they come out of it before we kind of switch gears and go pro football.
• 38:34
  This question kind of leads into it.
• 38:37
  So when you look at the upcoming draft, I mean it's going to be months and months away, but I wanted to bring up the name of Arch Manning.
• 38:46
  So when you watch Arch Manning, Clay, is he a guy who is still, even though with his ups and downs just going to have in your opinion, still that top draft spot?
• 39:01
  I know the name only carries you so far, but he certainly does have some skills that warrant that.
• 39:08
  Besides his name, is he still going to be kind of towards the top of that board or do you think if you're Arch Manning, maybe you transfer, take a year, get a little bit of a different locale and
• 39:20
  see if you come back if you're a gm, what are you doing with Arch Manning?
• 39:25
  You know, I have watched probably close to every game of Arch's career.
• 39:32
  I was not a huge fan when he was coming out of high school and you know, I haven't been a huge fan yet.
• 39:39
  I know that a lot of people are sort of enamored by the physical tools.
• 39:44
  He is a pretty unique runner, especially for a Manning.
• 39:49
  Granted his dad is the receiver of the Manning trio, but you know, I think he really struggles with field vision.
• 39:58
  You know, a lot of quarterbacking at this point is the processing piece and you see it all the time when you go and rewatch games and you look at the all 22, there are wide open receivers that he
• 40:11
  is just missing and he's either hanging on to his first read for too long or he gets like to that third or fourth read way too late or he doesn't have the capability of coming back to the other
• 40:22
  side of the field, back to the first or second read.
• 40:25
  And so, you know, you can see Sark's frustration.
• 40:28
  I think that relationship is leaning towards the direction of him transferring.
• 40:34
  But you know, for a lot of people he was considered to be that sort of top 10 pick.
• 40:38
  And it's definitely, you know, trending more towards him coming back and potentially transferring for his fifth year.
• 40:46
  It's amazing to see a player like him that had so much bravado and is making, I mean now in college making the money that he's making.
• 40:56
  But I think almost at Times, and he kind of admitted it.
• 41:00
  I saw recently that he needed a little bit of a reset, even with his family where he was like, hey, you know, he was feeling really emotional.
• 41:08
  He went home, sat and kind of got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.
• 41:12
  You know, look, to say, you know, you're rooting for somebody who has that kind of pedigree and has the Manning name behind him, it seems to me like he's a good kid.
• 41:23
  And I really, I hope he, whether he's a number one pick or, you know, 10th rounder, I hope he comes through because you can see he does.
• 41:30
  As you say, he struggles with some of his vision, but I think even mentally, it's a little tough for him at the moment.
• 41:36
  Yeah.
• 41:36
  And, you know, I think the other part is we as sort of NFL and college football fans just have to get more comfortable with sort of seeing that fifth year of starting quarterbacks.
• 41:49
  You know, like, you think about how Bo Nix really improved his draft stock going into his fifth year.
• 41:55
  Joe Burrow at LSU spent another year and he kind of exploded.
• 42:00
  But then, you know, even a guy like Cam Ward, where it's like, could he have come out?
• 42:04
  Yes.
• 42:05
  But you know, that extra year while he was at Miami was just so crucial.
• 42:09
  Granted, it hadn't looked great in the NFL, but, you know, he just sort of took his games the next level.
• 42:16
  So I think that we just have to get more used to these guys staying in school for longer, like you said, making a ton of money.
• 42:24
  And if that's the difference between them being a third or fourth round draft pick versus, you know, potentially the number one overall draft pick, okay.
• 42:31
  I think they're willing to, you know, get paid like 5 to 10 million for one more year before getting that big payday, you know, so not.
• 42:39
  Bad side change, that's for sure.
• 42:42
  Yeah, exactly.
• 42:44
  So once again, Connor Clark, our college football insider, joining us on the program.
• 42:50
  And let's go now.
• 42:52
  So with us being a New York based program, we're going to talk real quickly if it's okay, about the jets and Giants and their draft capital from last year and the impact that they're making at the moment.
• 43:03
  So, you know, take away the jets loss today, which is not an easy thing to do if you're here in this area, but, you know, had a couple of first round picks last year, really three, you know, David
• 43:17
  Bailey, Kenny Siddiq, and then Omar Cooper Jr.
• 43:21
  Out of Indiana.
• 43:23
  And then, you know, we can go a little deeper.
• 43:25
  D' Angelo Ponce, Indiana.
• 43:27
  But are the Jets Happy with who they picked at the moment.
• 43:33
  Where do you think they stand with their draft?
• 43:36
  So, you know, I want to kind of talk about, you know, one of the great players in the NFL of all time, but also one of the greatest GMs, Ozzy Newsom.
• 43:47
  And what he did with Baltimore was he wasn't necessarily the best in the later rounds, but he made sure the day one and day two picks were going to play and they were going to be good.
• 44:00
  They might not be superstars, but they're going to be, you know, quality plus players for the team.
• 44:07
  And when I look at, you know, this jets draft, you have three first round picks.
• 44:14
  David Bailey, Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr.
• 44:17
  And I have to say, from what I've seen from all three, they have absolutely knocked it out of the park.
• 44:23
  You know, forget the whole doubles and triples.
• 44:25
  They hit three home runs.
• 44:27
  I mean, David Bailey, five and a half sacks already on the season.
• 44:31
  I mean, he's looking unbelievable with 21 total tackles as well.
• 44:35
  He had half sacked today against Miami.
• 44:37
  Then we go to Kenyan Sadiq who had a monster game against the Lions.
• 44:41
  But you know, Ari has 164 yards and a touchdown.
• 44:45
  And we're just talking about a guy who you brought in as the receiving threat.
• 44:48
  And the craziest part is he's actually somewhat improved as a blocker between College to the NFL.
• 44:56
  That blocking grade per PFF, being around the 60 overall marker, which you know, is pretty, pretty solid, especially for his size.
• 45:03
  And then we talk about Omar Cooper, who he's played three games and he's, he has 250 yards and two touchdowns.
• 45:11
  I mean, it's unbelievable what he's done.
• 45:13
  He had again a massively long reception today.
• 45:16
  So, you know, I think the jets from the three first round picks are looking good.
• 45:21
  But the other guy too that is, you know, really surprising is Daryl Jackson Jr.
• 45:27
  He was a monster out of Florida State.
• 45:30
  I believe he had something like 11 inch hands and 35 inch arms.
• 45:34
  He's just a big dude.
• 45:36
  And you know, they are getting quality play from him as a rotational defensive tackle, which I think is really important, especially because they got rid of Quinn Williams and you know, he is developing as a fourth round pick
• 45:49
  into a guy that, you know, could potentially be just sort of your main say for, you know, four or five, six years.
• 45:57
  Yeah, and it's a shame, it seems like Aaron Glenn's really not going to be around to reap the benefits, you know, down the road of such a strong draft class.
• 46:07
  Although a lot of Jet fans here are saying, you know, he shouldn't even have made it out of the building with his job.
• 46:16
  But, you know, I'm never one to pick on coaches because it's, you know, not that I'm on that level ever.
• 46:23
  But as a college coach in basketball, the pressure was crazy.
• 46:26
  And I can only imagine what it's like for these guys, but seems like they're going to be, you know, coached by somebody different later on, but players who are not going to be coached by someone different.
• 46:36
  Let's go to the Giants and talk about their first round pick at number five, Arvell Reese.
• 46:43
  Yeah, you know, I watched all of Arville Reese's career at Ohio State and you know, there was this debate when he was going into the draft.
• 46:52
  Is he a, is he an on the ball linebacker?
• 46:55
  Is he an off the ball backer?
• 46:56
  And I always thought he was an on the ball linebacker.
• 46:58
  You know, he had seven and a half sacks at Ohio State, kind of, you know, coming off the edge for the most part.
• 47:05
  I just thought because the prior year he had played mainly off ball, sort of middle linebacker, weak side linebacker, Mike and Will, if you, if you will.
• 47:16
  But he, he always looked like he was, you know, a tick slow on reading things and he wasn't able to let his athleticism fully shine.
• 47:25
  I could not have been more wrong.
• 47:26
  He's been playing that sort of weak side linebacker position and he is playing it, I mean, just about as good as you've ever seen from a rookie.
• 47:34
  And, you know, he's already having 49 combined tackles with 34 solo.
• 47:41
  He had the monster game against Tennessee where he was logging in 13 combined tackles.
• 47:48
  I mean, this guy is just playing with his hair on fire day in and day out.
• 47:52
  And I think, you know, if you're the Giants, you've kind of got your Fred Warner, you know, for the next decade or so, because, you know, he's not going anywhere.
• 48:02
  And he's playing at like 245, 250 pounds, like he's a freak of nature.
• 48:07
  So knocked it out of the park.
• 48:10
  Yeah.
• 48:10
  And like you said, someone you can plug in here for hopefully the next 10 years.
• 48:16
  You know, as a Giant fan, I'm real excited.
• 48:18
  It's just a whole different feel for the team right now.
• 48:23
  They unfortunately lose.
• 48:25
  Jackson dart.
• 48:26
  The Jameis Winston experience goes up and down as it always does.
• 48:30
  And then JJ McCarthy comes in and just today, while he doesn't throw a touchdown or a pick, he just, I think he did a masterful job of directing the team and when you're winning, no matter who you beat,
• 48:45
  and Houston, you know, great defense, and when you win a game on the road in the NFL in overtime, they seem to be.
• 48:53
  Overtime is an interesting thing for the Giants this year, but nothing but looking up for them as well.
• 49:01
  Last thing I wanted to mention to you, and it's not the greatest thing because I know you're an Eagles fan as well, but you know what's going on with them.
• 49:08
  And Jalen hurts.
• 49:09
  Have you ever heard anything so incredible as the story with him and, you know, flying back and forth and playing after not sleeping for 36 hours?
• 49:21
  Yeah, you know, I think it's a very interesting situation and it's one that I think.
• 49:27
  And listen, I don't have all the details or anything like that, but I think it's one thing that the NFL does have to look at when it comes to some of these sort of health care parameters.
• 49:38
  When you are outside of the country, teen doctors and things like that have to defer to, you know, the doctors in the country of origin.
• 49:47
  That's just how medical practice works.
• 49:49
  And so if we're discussing a misdiagnosis and things like that, then, you know, it could be that someone over there, like, was the one to make the call.
• 50:00
  I am shocked that they had him sitting for as long as they did and not having him sleep, given the, you know, severity that a blood clot can be and how bad it can get when you're resting like
• 50:16
  that.
• 50:16
  But, I mean, to play off 36 hours of continuous, you know, being awake, no sleep, and, you know, to not have any of your starting receivers and to keep it close against Jacksonville, I mean, it's pretty impressive.
• 50:32
  But, yes, this is.
• 50:34
  These are the dark days, you know, for Eagles fans.
• 50:38
  And unfortunately, it's probably going to be a little bit darker after tomorrow night.
• 50:42
  Yeah, and it's a shame because the team, you know, has.
• 50:45
  Has found a Super bowl win, you know, not all that long ago.
• 50:49
  You know, finally kind of perennial at the top of the division team.
• 50:55
  And this is one of those years, unfortunately.
• 50:57
  It just seems like nothing is going their way.
• 51:01
  Yeah.
• 51:01
  And, you know, it feels like an eternity ago that their hall of Fame right tackle Wayne Johnson retired during the season.
• 51:10
  And that's not even, you know, number, you know, 10 on the list of.
• 51:15
  On the list of issues.
• 51:16
  They had an injury report going into last game with the 24 players on the injury report.
• 51:21
  So, you know, they are just.
• 51:24
  They are currently, you know, trying to just make it through the season.
• 51:29
  And, you know, they'll probably come up For Air Week 17, 18, see what they have.
• 51:33
  And, you know, Howie Roseman will be working the phones pretty hard in the off season, so if not before the trade deadline coming up.
• 51:42
  So,.
• 51:42
  I mean, football is a game that inherently has issues with injuries and always will, but the Los Angeles Rams, I mean, the injuries they've had, although they won pretty impressively today, do you think there's a real correlation between
• 51:57
  what they're doing in preseason and the lack of hitting and lack of game preparation?
• 52:02
  I mean, I would think there's got to be something there, right, Connor?
• 52:08
  Yeah, I mean, you know, for the most part, our best understanding of the sort of situation with the decrease in practicing in preseason play and stuff like that would actually be more closer related to the COVID season in
• 52:24
  college, because in college nothing was really regulated.
• 52:29
  So a good example is BYU and Navy, two teams that BYU chose, I believe, to tackle during the preseason and kind of treat the preseason and that like, you know, fall camp as a regular camp, whereas a team
• 52:46
  like Navy chose not to tackle and to kind of, you know, be a little bit, you know, more relaxed with the physicality and maybe really struggled out of the gate.
• 52:58
  And so I think that that's part of it.
• 53:01
  And I think, too, it's a fine line, right.
• 53:03
  You're dealing with, like, for instance, you treat a Matthew Stafford a little bit different than you would treat, you know, a rookie.
• 53:10
  Right.
• 53:10
  Or a guy like Cam Ward who's.
• 53:12
  Who's, you know, a young buck and doesn't have massive back issues or anything like that.
• 53:18
  But I think.
• 53:20
  I think really one of the main issues right now is the NFL should probably take a harder look at the.
• 53:28
  You know, I hate to bring it up again, but the interview national fields that they're playing on, the one for the.
• 53:34
  For the Ravens Cowboys game was really, really bad.
• 53:38
  I know it passed the test that they were supposed to pass, but I remember the Eagles playing Green Bay to open the season and in an international game on a Friday night and, you know, they're slipping and sliding
• 53:51
  everywhere.
• 53:52
  It just does not seem sturdy enough.
• 53:54
  So I really worry about guys doing that.
• 53:58
  And also, too, just a matter of players are getting bigger and faster and stronger and unfortunately, that probably means more injuries.
• 54:06
  Right?
• 54:08
  Yeah.
• 54:08
  And you bring up a great point.
• 54:10
  For the, for the amount of money that the guys are being paid and for the size and the speed for these international games, for the.
• 54:16
  For the fields not to be top notch and they have to really kind of revisit that because While it's great to go grow the game and have it outside the United States, I mean, it's really, you know, other
• 54:28
  than the games that they've been playing in England for so long, they really have to get it together because it just doesn't make any sense.
• 54:34
  Yeah.
• 54:35
  And you know, I mean, that's really probably the only issue with the international games.
• 54:40
  I think that they bring some of the best atmospheres you'll see for professional games.
• 54:44
  So I'm definitely for them.
• 54:46
  It's just a matter of time getting those fields, getting those fields right so that the players can, you know, you know, play for longer in the season.
• 54:54
  Well, Connor, thanks so much, you know, again for your insight.
• 54:57
  Awesome stuff on college football.
• 54:59
  Draft choices, NFL fields, you know them all.
• 55:03
  You know, all the guys.
• 55:05
  It's something that I'm always blown away by and we appreciate you having you on.
• 55:10
  We'll certainly revisit all this stuff as we get closer to the college football playoffs.
• 55:15
  All the best out in West Virginia and hope to see you and talk to you soon.
• 55:20
  Absolutely.
• 55:21
  Hope to see you soon.
• 55:22
  And yeah, I'm ready to come on whenever.
• 55:24
  All right, sounds great.
• 55:25
  Thanks again.
• 55:27
  All right, that.
• 55:28
  Might be.
• 55:28
  Well.
• 55:29
  So that was Connor Clark, once again our expert in all things college football and NFL.
• 55:37
  He has an encyclopedic knowledge of players and I really, I lean on that because while I know a pretty good dose of pro football, college football has never really been my strong suit.
• 55:48
  And it's always great to have someone on who is passionate about it and knows their stuff.
• 55:52
  And in the remaining time we have tonight, guys, I just want to take a minute or so just to talk about real quickly, the WNBA and as a women's basketball coach in college, as I was for a long
• 56:04
  time, and as a girls varsity basketball coach, which now approaching almost 20 years on the high school level, it's really wonderful to see how this league has grown and expanded.
• 56:16
  You're talking about now in the finals, the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries playing to 17,000 seat sold out arenas.
• 56:26
  And I went to a game earlier this year, opened Mohegan sun, sat courtside.
• 56:30
  The level of the game is tremendous.
• 56:33
  My greatest hope though, is that this league just gets out of its own way.
• 56:37
  They're going to have a new commissioner coming in.
• 56:41
  The level of play, as I mentioned, is real high.
• 56:43
  But the chippiness and the getting in people's faces and knocking each other over while that's part of the game, I think almost at times they're being told to do this kind of stuff because it makes for good theater.
• 56:56
  They don't need good theater.
• 56:58
  They just need good basketball.
• 57:00
  And they're making a grave mistake.
• 57:02
  I think these teams, especially before the games even start, they're running off the court before the national anthem.
• 57:09
  Not a good look.
• 57:11
  Nothing says you have to stand there and have your hand over your heart, be in prayer, but you do need to stand there.
• 57:18
  Just be there.
• 57:19
  Stand there for the people that paid, set the right example, and then play the game.
• 57:24
  So, wnba, thank you for what you're doing, but let's get someone in there who can help you out, get the optics and just get out of your own way.
• 57:32
  Again, thank you to Jamie Loeb, who was our tennis expert.
• 57:36
  Thanks to Connor Clark.
• 57:37
  Thanks to Brian Graves behind the glass.
• 57:39
  It was a blast here tonight.
• 57:40
  We missed Cappy.
• 57:41
  Chris Caputo.
• 57:41
  He'll be back with us in two weeks.
• 57:43
  Keep winning.
• 57:44
  Giants, jets, let's pull yourselves out of this and we'll talk a little World Series next time from our Spirit Studios in New York.
• 57:50
  Thanks again.
• 57:52
  The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgb.