Latest / The Tortured Fans Department / Ep. 45 - All Them Horses (NFL Draft Recap, Russini and Vrabel Updates, Nelly's Major Victory, The Fitzpatrick Bros, NBA & NHL Playoffs, Marathon News and Did You See This?)

Transcript

Ep. 45 - All Them Horses (NFL Draft Recap, Russini and Vrabel Updates, Nelly's Major Victory, The Fitzpatrick Bros, NBA & NHL Playoffs, Marathon News and Did You See This?) · The Tortured Fans Department

• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the Tortured Fans Department podcast.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Sean Boyle, and joining me today is a man who wears a lot of hats around this podcast.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: He's been our golf expert, he's been our NFL expert.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Today he's doing a bit of everything for us.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: It is Mr.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Michael Blum.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Blum, how are you?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, Sean.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: I am good.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Very happy to be back on the pod.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it will be tough to follow the U.S.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Cities draft, so that was a great episode, but I'll try my best.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the voting, by the time this episode comes out, the voting might be closed.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: You might have a couple minutes to squeeze one in.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: I would really appreciate it.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Me and Shane are tied right now at the time of recording.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be a close one right down to the wire.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: We've got more drafts on the way in the future.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Another one later this week, a little teaser, is going to be the TV comedies draft.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: That one has been recorded.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna come out on Thursday.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a lot to talk about today, Bloom.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's a potpourri of things to get into.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: The plan is to cover a bunch of topics and kind of stay in the shallow end of the pool.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna tread deeply on any of them, but we'll touch on a lot of things.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing we have to dive into is the NFL draft.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you, but I felt this was kind of a snoozer.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know we're fans of drafts here.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we do draft episodes, we talk draft all the time, so we have to touch on the NFL draft, but I think this one fell a bit short in terms of entertainment.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: What did you think about that and what were your takeaways?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I feel like I I do love a good draft, Sean, as we all do here at the Tortured Fans Department.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, NFL, NBA.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: But I feel like this draft did lack a little bit of depth, I feel like towards like the back half of the draft.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: I thought the first round was good.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um admittedly, I did not watch day two or three.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if people actually do that.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: But in my research, I feel like by the fifth or sixth round, we were like drafting tight ends with five career catches.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: We're drafting guys that have never looked at a football before.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like I think the Eagles drafted that Ugandan guy who's basically Miles Garrett without even touching a football.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: In like the sixth or seventh round.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:25
  unknown: Yeah.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: So that'll be interesting.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: But um, no, I feel like I'm always into the draft, like because I for fantasy purposes, seeing where like all the skill players land.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so that was fun on Thursday, but other than that, I feel like compared to previous years, uh, this wasn't as good of a class as um as we expect.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm right there with you.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I won't pretend to be an expert.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I knew a few players who went in the first round, and then that was basically the extent of my knowledge.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I will say one thing I noticed.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: You touched on the tight ends being drafted.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like out of the 250-some players drafted, that 102 of them were tight ends.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: It had to be a record.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Every time I picked my head up, a tight end was going.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, some of them had five catches, some of them haven't touched a football.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't understand it.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a reason that so many tight ends went?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the position of the future?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: It might be a McVeigh adjustment where he's just running like 13 personnel on every snap.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: He did that last year, so I'm not sure if teams are we're pushing 14, 15, 16, who knows?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I think we might have to blame Sean McVeigh for this.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: He is to blame for a lot of change in the NFL in both good and bad ways.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about some winners from the draft.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like we said, we're not going to dive into the scouting reports and project how guys are going to be.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to put our own spin on these sort of things.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Give me your first winner from the NFL draft.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the first thing I noticed right away, and I noticed this I want to say within the first hour of the broadcast, and that is how good Laura Rutledge is at her job.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Especially with this class, where I feel like we got some guys that I'm not sure have had much interview training, if at all, if they know how to speak.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: It seemed like they were just let out of the house for the first time.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: But there were just some characters that like Mikai Levin was getting interviewed, he just turns his back to the camera mid-interview.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Arvell Reeves, who I just found out had a.4 GPA in high school.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how you get a 0.4 GPA.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't have a great interview.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: But all through that, Laura just was all poised, poise, poise, poise.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: So shout out to her.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: I thought she did a great job on the telecast.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Laura is great, and you're right.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Her pocket presence there, just staying in the pocket, not getting riled up.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: It had to be incredibly frustrating for her because you're right.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't notice that at the time, but now that you mention it, there were so many people just ducking questions.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure she got a single question answered accurately the whole time.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: She would ask them what it took to get here, and they're talking about anything but that.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was a great performance by her.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely a stock up for Laura.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think for the lack of excitement um in the draft, I think Laura made up for that for her um her great work.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, my first winner, this is pertaining to night one, because as you mentioned, I I don't know who watches the second and third day.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: But a big night for the Samoans.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like besides tight ends, every time I picked my head up, a big Samoan was getting drafted with a lay around their neck, their monsters of men, all decked out in Hawaiian shirts.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: None of them were in attendance, it seemed like they're all at home celebrating with their big families.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Love to see it stock up for the Samoans.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like rugby should be very concerned because I feel like football is taking all their Samoans from them.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, like every lineman.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure if like it's a Jordan Mylata, like, oh, if he can do it, I can do it.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like these new Samoans coming up.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: But I agree, Sean.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think there were two I remember in the first round, a couple I recall reading through in the day two and three.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I think we should, as Americans, be scared because I think Samoans are coming for every position very soon.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean they are light on their feet for their size, traditionally big men, and you're right, maybe Jordan Mylotta set the precedent because it certainly pays a lot better to play football than rugby.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Although the more that I think of it, I think Jordan Mylotta is Australian, so hand up.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: That was a store-of-the-moment comment.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: But hey, if he is.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we fly by the seat of our pants here.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Who else did you have as a winner?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: So this was a funny clip that I didn't see until uh a couple days after the draft.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: But Oscar Delt.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: He is a tight end from Georgia, uh, played behind Brock Bowers there.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: He got drafted in the third round to the Northern Saints.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: He had cameras on his house, a packed living room, full of family all around him.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: He also had a dog that was relegated to floor duty.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Just laying on the floor, no couch space, no nothing, just a hardwood floor.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oscar Delp gets drafted, camera cuts to the room, everyone stands up, celebrates.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: All the dog cared about was just getting that spot on the couch.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: And it was very entertaining to watch.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: The second he stands up, the dog goes right for the couch, immediately lays down.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: It looked like he was eyeing that spot up for at least a couple days, because he, I think Oscar Delp got drafted on day three.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: So Thursday, Friday, that dog was on the couch.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I love that story.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: Oscar Delp's dog, I think a big winner because now he can rest comfortably.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what a move from the dog.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Just a high IQ play.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: He waited his turn patiently, and then as soon as the opportunity presented itself, he struck.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: So good on him.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is a very funny clip to come from the draft.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: My last winner is just the good people of Pittsburgh.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: It set a draft record in terms of attendance for the first two days of the draft.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: I believe over 500,000 people were there.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome to see.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: A really cool moment leading up to the Steelers' first pick was of course, Renegade was played, got the fans going.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: It was an electric moment.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: I thought the city did a good job hosting.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely a football town.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: So shout out to them for that.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: I will say it immediately turned to a losing moment.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll transition out of some losers from the draft.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because as the Steelers were making their pick, they actually called Makai Lemon saying, Hey, Makai, welcome to Pittsburgh.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're so happy to have you.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And Makai says, Hey, why am I getting a call from Philly?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And the Steelers are like, What?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Ignore that.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: But Makai answers, and it turns out that the Eagles traded ahead of the Steelers to draft Mikai Lemon, and he's actually heading to Philadelphia instead of Pittsburgh.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Makai is a loser in this.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: He has to deal with those unruly Philadelphian fans now.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: But but also the Steelers are losers.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: They got shoved in a locker by Howie Roseman, and that renegade moment turned real sour real quick.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: We all started just going, what's going on?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: What happened?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm sure you saw that go down.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: What were your thoughts on the lemon situation?
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, really tough look for uh Omar Khan in that front office, forgetting that trades can happen and they can happen in front of you.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Apparently, he thought that, or he knew for sure the Cowboys were going defense.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: So we're initially picking at 20.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: And they thought, all right, let's get on the call with uh Makai.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: He's ours.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, right when it happens, Taylor trades up.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw that Pittsburgh was pretty much put into panic in that front office as you would expect, where they think they have a guy they don't.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so yeah, tough look for Pittsburgh, especially in their in front of their home crowd, drafts in Pittsburgh.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: But um the guy they picked, listen, I don't know anything about him.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: He's very large.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure he'll be great there.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah, tough, tough look overall.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, unfortunately now I'm resorting to rooting for Makai to turn out to be a lemon.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: I hope he stinks.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that's through no fault of him.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't blame him, but you're right, Omar Khan's in aptitude, just gross mismanagement there.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: In the draft you're hosting too, you need to make a statement.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: A cool, shiny new toy on offense would have been awesome.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And instead, we take a tackle no one's ever heard of.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully he's great, and I'm sure he will be, but it was a tough look.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I will say, what are we doing with the Cowboys and Eagles trading with each other?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's gross too.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: The Steelers would never trade with the Ravens.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I think that rivalry is on the hot seat a little bit.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I saw Jerry just wanted this ticket to Mike McCarthy.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's gross too.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't even think of that anything.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's all true, but that could be a potential um reason as well.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: That well, there's there's the reason the Cowboys never win anything.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: They're worried about playing games with ex-lovers instead of trying to make your team better.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Ugh, gross.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Who'd you have at the loser's bucket?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we mentioned this guy before, but I would say probably the one true shock of the draft in the first round was the Rams taking Ty Simpson, uh quarterback of Alabama, 13th overall.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: He was projected to go like late first round.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's a lot of talk about what trading team's gonna try to trade into the late first to get him to get that extra year of control.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there was no controversy with that because the Rams just took him very early, much earlier.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: And the reports came out that this and this is Stafford's team until he retires, then we hand the keys to Ty.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: But in the uh post-draft press conference, Sean McVay did not seem thrilled at all when asked about Ty Simpson.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Very short answers, didn't smile at all.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: It was all less need, happiness, thrilled we got him.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, again, something to monitor.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: We're not saying not a McVeigh guy, but uh anytime the head coach is not seemingly doesn't look like he's on board with a first-round pick, it's like it's something to be honest.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, also when you have a coach as good as Sean McVeigh, you should probably do what you can to keep him appeased.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: He he seems like one you want to keep around.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: He's he's pretty, pretty good at what he does.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you're right, the body language in that press conference was boy, there is a lot to be desired if you're less needed.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: McVeigh seemed flat-out pissed.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Some footage has come out from the phone call to Ty Simpson too, and he didn't exactly sound glowing on the phone either.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was kind of like, hey, Ty, yeah, thanks.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: You're welcome to welcome to LA.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't the best look for the Rams.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I kind of agree if their fans are upset with the pick as well.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you're the GM, I get the sense of not betting at all on Matthew Stafford sticking around for a number of more years.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: But boy, oh boy, when you have a team that can win a championship, when you essentially take a player in the first round that doesn't help you win a championship, that's a tough pill to swallow, too.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like I understand the thought process because who knows when they're ever going to be picking this early in the next four to five years because they plan to be good.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: But like for Ty Simpson, he didn't start in college until he was 22 years old.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that's a pretty big red flag of someone that didn't watch a lot of Alabama football where it took you that long to become a full-time starter.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: So um, yeah, we'll we'll see how it plays out.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a similar situation, and the only guy that the Steelers took that I have to apologize for and do this whole spiel I'm about to do is Drew Aller.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: So hand up, Drew.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: I might have said some things in the past along the lines of you're a pretty boy loser, you stink, you're overrated, the word bitch might have come out.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: That was all the hate in my heart talking, Drew.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a notorious Penn State hater.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like any of their players.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: When you come onto the scene as this big recruit with that punchable face, those rosy cheeks, and you're wearing that headband all around, and then you kind of shrivel in big moments.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, some words were said.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now that the Steelers have taken you, again, hand up.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, that was the hate in my heart.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Pittsburgh, King.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think you're gonna have a great career.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh gun to your head, Sean, who starts week one.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers, which is kind of why I think this is along the lines of the Rams that we were just talking about.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Steelers are not as good as the Rams, obviously, but their defense is one of the oldest and most expensive in football.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: So those guys on that side of the ball are expecting you in the first three rounds to take players that are going to help you win this season.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: And when you take a project offensive lineman and a quarterback who is by all accounts not ready to contribute, I could see some of the veterans on the defensive side of the ball raising some eyebrows saying, Well, what are we doing?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Are we trying to win or not?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then the Steelers are probably going to sign Aaron Rodgers and start him throughout the year.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we won't even learn if these quarterbacks that they've been taking are any good.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like a mess in Pittsburgh.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to toss Omar Khan into the loser's bucket, but I think I have to based on the Lemon situation and then this whole Aller situation as well.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I did see Tomlin said, I think last or two nights ago that he thinks Aaron Rodgers will be the quarterback as well.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: So, like you said, I feel like they're just kind of in a tailspin, so hopefully they could uh they can get out of it.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: They they won't.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Who else do you have at the loser's bucket?
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: So um my last loser is whoever is in charge and keeps the books on the prospects, NFL draft prospects phone numbers because the Cardinals, Arizona Cardinals, have the third overall pick.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: They end up taking uh running back Jeremiah Love from Notre Dame, Paul in multiple times, no no response, no pickup, a lot of confusion.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Long story short, they had the wrong number.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how that happens.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: No, that can't happen.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: That is crazy.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Do you not talk to the guy, call him leading up to the process?
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like you should have that ironed out.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: You should have spoken to him several times on the phone, and you should definitely have an active number.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: Cardinal's gone to Cardinal, that's all I'll say.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: So that's one of the reasons they are one of the more incompetent organizations in the NFL.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so hopefully, first and foremost, they can get their numbers right before they improve their play on the field.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's like that little Sasquatch meme, the guy who answered the phone the first time where he's pointing, he's like, Me, I got drafted.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: If I was the recipient of the phone call, boy, I would have jumped at that opportunity.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: I would have said, Yeah, my name's Jeremiah, call me what you want.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: But that is only something that a poorly run organization could do.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And the Cardinals certainly fit that bill.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: I have one more loser, and this is just a little blow by shot, so I do apologize.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Is it Jordan Tyson, the receiver that was drafted in the first round?
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: His brother plays in the NBA, Jalen Tyson.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: And Jordan Tyson, I just have to say, uh a horrific suit choice from you.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be super extravagant to get me to say you look nice.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Just try your best.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: But he looked like a first-year sales associate at Burlington Coat Factory.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was the most vanilla suit you'll ever see.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: People wore nicer suits to their first semi-formal in high school.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: It was a really tough look when you're a top 10 pick to walk out there in something like that.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And he made one of those big productions too, and he was another one who was ducking questions from Laura.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I would I would unfortunately have to toss Jordan into that loser bucket.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: It was the the tie that was off center in between his collar, the shirt was untucked, the jacket was just not on him correctly.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Just looked unkept.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Snarl and keptness.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: I liked them as a player too, but I feel like after seeing that performance of how he carried himself, uh, maybe some character concerns might be on the way for Jordan.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: Just something to monitor moving forward.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: But we have to provide the listeners an update.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, one of the last times you were on, you provided some additional context to the Diana Roussini Mike Vrabel situation.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't you fill the listeners in not only on what you had previously reported on this program, but also just the update that happened this past week?
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um I'm an insider now.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm an expert on the Roussini-Vrabel story.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So last time I was the scoop.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: AKA a Titans fan.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, last time I was on, um, I mentioned that the it appeared like the Brabel-Roussini relationship went back to 2018 when Brabell became the head coach of the Titans.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Right away, Diana was reporting Titans news when she wasn't previously.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: This went on for his entire Titans tenure until 2023.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: Brabel gets fired, hired by the Patriots this past year, and now Diana starts reporting some Patriots news.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I made the point that hey, don't be surprised if this relationship dates further back than their little couple's retreat that was uncovered a month ago.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: So fast forward to I think it was in the news cycle last week, there was a photo taken of Diana Rossini and Mike Vrabel kissing in a New York bar from 2000 and 23 when Vrabel was the head coach of the Titan.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Sean, I'm a humble guy, but I feel like I need to take a victory lap on this because I did call it and I understand that, you know, you don't get them all right.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: You know, sometimes insiders swing and miss sometimes, but I am very happy that I can make my debut as an insider for this specific story because I feel like it's been taking the world by sword.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, some insider swing and miss, Blum, but not you.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: You are batting a thousand, you're one for one in terms of scoops.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: It is truly funny that you came on here and said it, and then a week later there is evidence to support your claim.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, tough look for those those two involved.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: I did think it would have been a funny, eh, funny for some, if the New England Patriots war room, when they cut into the war rooms during the draft, was just Rabel and Rocini going at it.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that would have been, I mean, box office stuff.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, for several reasons that can't be the case.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, credit to you.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Great job.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's why we have Yonbum.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Expert, not only analyst, but expert reporter as well.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, one for one, just be careful.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: The follow-up story is always the most important.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: You have people's attention.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now we just need to make sure we pick our spot for the next one.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I think this might be a George Costano situation where I just go out on top and now I just retire as an insider and I'm batting a thousand people.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Honest to God, that's pretty good.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's a pretty good idea.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm waiting for my first right one, and I'll do the same.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Just walk off.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: We can just walk off together.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's talk about the NBA.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned you wear a lot of hats on this program.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: I have not really let the dog off his leash yet to talk about the NBA.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: We're not a huge NBA program, but when there's not a ton of other sports going on, we're gonna have to talk about the playoffs in the NBA and the NHL.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: In particular, we'll start with our Philadelphia 76ers.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think for me, I I saw some hope when Joel came back into the picture in game four.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: I thought, okay, it's in it's in Philly.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Joel's back, we might be able to steal one.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Boy, was I wrong.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts on the series?
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I went into this series with the mindset of anything that happens player-wise, coaching-wise, I would not hold it against them just because of how outmatched they are at every sense of basketball that just the Celtics are just an absolute like jokernaught.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: And the team is very flawed.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think we knew that.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, Joel coming back uh gave us hope.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there was a chance they stood zero percent chance beating them without him, maybe give him a ten percent chance with him.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: And it just seemed like trying to incorporate him really hurt Tyrese and BJ.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think Tyrese took three shots in the first half.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh BJ still can't make a three.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think he's 0 for like 12 or 13 in the two games in Philly.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: And the Celtics are just like really good.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: They just I've never seen a team uh shoot threes at that volume where they're just like, okay, uh, we're gonna get up 60 threes, and more times than not, we're gonna make 40% of them, and you're just gonna have to try to be that.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: And they just played with their strengths really well.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's gonna be the finals team from the East.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have any concerns about that.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, tough, tough look overall.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think you touched on all the key points there.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: The Celtics are the best team in the East, especially now that Tatum seems to just be fully back from his Achilles injury.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's like he didn't miss a beat.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: They their culture in Boston, it starts with Brad Stevens at the top, and it trickles all the way down to the players that they draft and develop.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: Honest to God, it's their bench, they come in and make an immediate impact and just blow the Sixers out of the water.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not just the first five guys, it's the next five as well.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you have two leaders like Brown and Tatum that are winners as well, they make they play winning basketball.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: They don't really care who does it between the two.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're just tough to beat, and it it's it creates a very hateable team.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: Tough for the Sixers that we drew them, I think.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: There might have been a better idea if we wanted to make a little bit more of a run to lose that first play-in game and potentially face the Pistons because the Pistons look like they might stink.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the Sixers are due for an early exit.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it's good to give VJ some playoff experience.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's been brutal.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think you're right, he's 0 for 12 at home, and I think he was 0 for 3 in the first game in Boston because I saw he was at least 0 for 15 in the games other than the one we won, where he went off.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: So at least he's getting some experience, but boy, it's it's tough times in Philadelphia.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like we got the VJ game, which I think is going into the series all I wanted to see to see him do that in that hostile environment.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: But um I agree.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm not gonna hold it against him.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: He's a 20-year-old starting playing 40 minutes a night, it's tough to do that.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: But um, overall, it's it's a bright future in Philadelphia, and I think having that backboard is great.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: They just have to surround them with the right pieces, and it's a tall task when you're paying, you know, Joel and Paul George as much as they are over the next three years.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll see.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, we need to figure out a way to surround them with better pieces very quickly.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: What about some of the other series that are going on?
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned the pistons, I guess that's a good one to talk about.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: Can the magic pull off that upset, in your opinion?
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh they're up at the time of recording, two to one.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: And like you mentioned, Sean, that playing game against the Sixers.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I've never seen a worse performance from a playoff team.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like Paulo Bancaro looked like he had the full-on yips, saying fire, um, you know, Jamal Mosley, the head coach.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: And now they've just flipped a script, they've turned it on, they look great.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: The Pistons, they were they were the best team in the East in the regular season, but they were just concerns about like who is number two after Cade.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that's kind of been their the big big weakness um early on.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I would my prediction, I think I'm gonna go Pistons and seven.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't see them losing to the Magic, but for sure I think the Magic had definitely outperformed expectations um following that playing game.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, certainly interesting because Paolo, I really liked him coming out of college.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I don't watch much magic, but then I saw them play the Sixers and I was in agreement with you.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: Looked like he had the yips, didn't know what was going on, but he seems to be back to himself and one of the best players in that series.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: Another interesting one, the Knicks are in a bit of a battle with the Hawks.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not so sure I saw the CJ McCollum resurgence happening, but I'm glad to see it.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: And boy, do I hope the Knicks lose.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: If only so I can uh send the song out to my Knicks friends by Maggie Rogers, of course, where she says, and by the way, the Knicks lost.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: I always love doing that.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully the Hawks can get that one done.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think?
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think this will be a Knicks in seven situation, unfortunately.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Hawks are really good.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're just too small, they don't have the size to go up against Kat, Mitchell Robinson.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think they get killed on the boards.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, I mean, they're relying on 30, whatever, 33, 34 year old CJ McCollum, which credit to him because no one saw that coming.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: I thought he was dead in the water when the Trailblazers got rid of him.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, I think unfortunately we're gonna have to watch another Knicks Celtics series in the semifinals.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's gross, really gross.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's when we shut the NBA off for the season, when the East resorts to that.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: What about on the West?
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think you had it in the show notes here, but this LeBron James guy, boy, oh boy, he's still pretty good.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: He's still pretty good.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of thought he was a guy who might be done.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: Not to the level of CJ McCollum, but I didn't know that he'd be carrying teams in playoff series, but I guess here we are.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like I have no comments on the series itself, other than like he's just not human at 41 years old.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh obviously Luca is out, Austin Reeves is out.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: I know the Rockets have had their injury problems as well with KD missing games here and there, but being 41 years old, playing 40 minutes a night, he's averaging whatever it is, it's like 28, 10 and 8.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Still, like I if he wanted to, I think he could do this until he's 50 years old.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not exaggerating.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody check his piss.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Will will we?
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: What are we doing?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's no way.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's unbelievable.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not even a LeBron hater.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of LeBron neutral.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think he's obviously one of the best two players of all time.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the ancillary stuff I could do without from LeBron, but he seems to be aging well off the course as well.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: He's doing Bob does sports videos, getting into the game of golf.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: He seems a bit more lighthearted these days.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: I guess that comes with the nature of being so established in the league and knowing that if you retire at any point, you're one of the two best players ever.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: But boy, oh boy, what a late career from LeBron.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's arguable, it's not even arguable at this point that it's the longest, most high-level career ever in the sport.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't think anyone will top at what he's doing at this age, but at this level, it's very impressive.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, I wanted to touch on quickly the Nuggets T-Wolves series, some animosity in this one.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: I I love seeing it.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of game four, Jaden McDaniels had a little altercation with my guy Jokic.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: Who do you think comes out on top in this series?
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because to my knowledge, I know Dante DiVincenzo's done for the year with an Achilles injury, and Ant Edwards, I think, is out for the rest of the series.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: So the T-Wolves hold the 3-1 lead, but do you think the Nuggets are dead or do they have a chance?
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I saw today the Nuggets have, as we currently stand at this recording, they're down 3-1.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: They have the fifth best odds to win the championship.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: What?
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: Which is better than the Timberwolves.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: That's insane.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: They're down 3-1 in the first round.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: I I guess they don't know about Io.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: Io DeSumo.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's a stallion.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but um, no, Jada McDaniels, I think it was after game two.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, someone asked him, like, after they won, they tied the series 1-1.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: A reporter asked him, like, oh, what was like why'd they win?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, Oh, we just targeted their weak defenders.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: And the reporter goes, Who are their weak defenders?
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: And he just goes and names every single player on the Denver Nuggets doctor.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's funny.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's just so rare where we get those like brutally honest um moments from players where they just completely roast the other team, like mid-series.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then, like you mentioned, end of game four, I think he took like a layup when the game was out of hand already.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: You see a big Serbian charge him from across the court, grab him with uh with two hands his jersey.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, it's it's a real bummer that Dante and Edwards are out, but um we'll see if they can do it.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, it's still not easy, like you said.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: I would assume it had 42 or 43, I think, just out of nowhere off the bench.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll be I'm sure a focal point moving forward.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, I think this will probably be the most exciting series.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: That or the Knicks Hawks, I think both can go to seven potentially.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then quickly, just a little prediction.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: Who do you think will be the finals matchup?
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I think we're in agreement.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: It'll be the Celtics from the East.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then I have not watched, I don't know if I've watched a single Western Conference basketball game in the last five years.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Since the Warriors run ended, I'm not sure I've watched one, so you're way more qualified than me, even if you haven't watched a ton.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the the Western Conference finals, there's only one matchup, and it's Spurs and Thunder.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think those are by far the two best teams.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the Spurs dominated them in the regular season.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think they beat them three or four or four or five because they played in the the in-season tournament.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: But I think the Spurs win.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think Wemby is Wemby versus Chet is a rivalry.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: They played each other a few times.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like there's a disdain between them, just two Paul skinny guys trying to be the best.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: But um, I think Spurs and Celtics is the finals matchup, and I think that'll be a great series.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: That will be cool.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'd sign up to watch that.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully we get something along those lines.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do a quick NHL check-in.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: Neither of us are puckheads by any means.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I will say I when I lived in Minneapolis, I was forced to kind of rekindle my relationship with hockey.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: Previously, I was a big fan.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up a season ticket holder of the Wilksbury's Granton Penguins, was a diehard, would go to every game.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: I got to meet the spit and chicklets guys, Paul Bissinet and Ryan Whitney, because they both started their careers in Wilkesbury.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we'd see them out all the time.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: I was a big hockey guy.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, that love has gone away almost entirely until I moved to Minnesota a couple of years ago.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: And basically everybody there, all they talk about is hockey.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: That is what dominates the news.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Here we talk about basically every other sport more.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I got back into it.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm kind of rooting for the wild and the penguins because I grew up a penguins fan, but obviously I needed a crutch to fall back on after they went down 3-0 in the series pretty quick.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I hopped on the wild bandwagon as well.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: I always try to play both sides to you come out on top.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: The only issue is as a tortured fan, both will lose.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess my question for you is now that the Sixers are dead, can the Flyers get an ounce of your attention, or are we a steadfast no?
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: So believe it or not, I think I have watched every Flyers game, uh, even during the Sixers playoff run.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, look at this.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Quick, just to uh clarify, when I say I've watched, I've had it on the TV while I am maybe multitasking.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm not locked in, I'm not cheering, like I'm not a Flyers.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to start to cheer for that team now that they're in the playoffs after I couldn't name one player until April 1st.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: But it's cool they're there.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's you know, having that hockey energy and in Philadelphia for the first time in what six, seven years is is cool.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I will be watching the games, but I'm not like vehemently like cheering for them and rooting for them like I would with like the no Sixers or one of my other favorite teams.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's a fairer approach, I think.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's also a lot more honest of you to do that.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: Some of our close friends are hitching their wagons to the Flyers as if they've watched every game of the regular season, and and that to me is gross.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm glad you're taking a pretty normal perspective.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm in the same boat with the Wild and Penguins.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: The games are on.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: I will say when they go to overtime, that's when they get my full undivided attention.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: Overtime playoff hockey.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't imagine being a diehard fan because as a casual, I'm sitting here on the edge of my seat, and that stuff, the back and forth nature of that, where every single time they enter the zone, you think the game could be over, and in some cases the series.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's a drug in sports that I'm not sure there's too many sports that could recreate.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: So playoff hockey and overtime is special stuff.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like if I was a hockey fan, I feel like watching an overtime playoff hockey game when your team is on the brink of elimination, like one more game and you're out.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if there's a would be a worse feeling as a fan than sitting through those, you know, 20 or whatever minutes.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's honest to God, torture is the word.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's not enjoyable in the slightest.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: You think being a fan is fun?
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: I can relate, Blum.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm in the middle of uh relegation battle with my Tottenham Hotspur.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: I talked about it on the program the last time you were on.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: We won our first game in 2026 this past weekend.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: But as I'm watching that on my other TV, I had the West Ham game because we needed them to lose in order to get out of the relegation zone.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: And they scored a 95th minute winner to keep us right down in the bottom three.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: So as I'm experiencing my first win of the season, pure ecstasy, I have this pit in my stomach as I watch West Ham win that I can't even fully enjoy it.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: And just the nature of every single goal being so finite and decisive.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: Oh God, it's so stressful.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: I can't enjoy any of my favorite sports anymore because my teams either stink or they stink and have real repercussions on the line.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where I'm at with both the NHL playoffs and Tottenham.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, luckily we're approaching the summer months.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: The Phillies are bad, so we could take a break from sports until the fall.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I can't wait to be done with sports until until the fall, like you said.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: The summer is gonna be a much needed break on this podcast as well.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: We'll talk drafts, we'll talk albums, all good vibes.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: Let's transition to golf.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: We had the first major on the women's side.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: I put in our show notes earlier, uh, I think on Friday, that we were gonna talk about this.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the leader at that point and the eventual winner was Nellie Corda, an absolute queen.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're all Nellie riders here on this program.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: She is the face of American women's golf.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think her resume in majors has been a bit lacking in terms of matching her talent level so far in her career.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: She's only 27, but on the women's side, that is a bit older, actually.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas on the men's side, you see guys win their first major in their 30s.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: Typically on the women's side, it's a bit different.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: It tends to lean younger.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm very happy to see Nellie get the job done.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Did you see any of this?
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: What were your thoughts on Nelly winning?
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Are you happy she got the job done?
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I did watch a little bit of this.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: I was going back and forth with the Zurich, which we'll get into in a bit.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but no, she, like you said, I think it was a four or five shot lead all Sunday, calm, poised.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: And this was her third major win.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: Her last one came actually at the Chevron as well, uh, 2024.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, 27 years old.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think the majors will come with her.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like she's has the best swinging golf, in my opinion, both male and female.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: So uh very good to see her uh get back on top.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was dominant from her.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: We said she led by four or five the whole way.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's also been a dominant season from her.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: This is, I think it's like her eighth event of the year, and she's only lost to two golfers in the entire year of 2026.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: So she's won a few times.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's also the first time somebody led wire-to-wire in a major by multiple shots since 1990.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: So really just a tour to force from her.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm in agreement with you.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're gonna see her win another one this year as well.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: She's just playing too well not to.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: So let's hope that that major total starts to creep up and match the talent because, like you said, her swing is just absolutely perfect.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: I try to monomize swing after hers.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's it's a helpless cause, but I try my best.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned the Zurich on the men's side.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: I think this story was maybe the best of the week in all of sports.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: This was awesome stuff.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll just set the stage a little bit.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: Matt Fitzpatrick, as many of you may know, is an established PJ Tour player.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's 31 years old.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: He's a major champion.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: He is an Englishman, and his brother, Alex Fitzpatrick, has played primarily on the DP World Tour over in Europe.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: He has never had PGA Tour membership status, but the Zurich Classic is a partner team event.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: And Matt Fitzpatrick decided to play with Alex.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: If one of you are a PJ Tour member, you could basically invite whoever you want.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: If Matt Fitzpatrick wanted to lose by a million strokes, he could invite one of us too.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, Matt, now that you've won it already, maybe next year, keep that in mind.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: But he invites his brother Alex to play with him.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: And in order for Alex to get onto the PJ Tour, the only way would be for them to win.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: And they did just that.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: They won on Sunday in dramatic fashion.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: Did you see the ending to this?
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't catch it live, I only saw clips.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: So talk me through what you saw and how it was.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I was I was locked into most of the back nine.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they started the day with, I believe, a four-shot lead, and Sunday is alternative shot.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: So Matt hits the T-shot, Alex approach, so on and so forth.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: And by the time they got to 18, I think they missed five straight greens in regulation.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_01: They were just floundering.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_01: Matt was playing awful too.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: You can tell he was just very nervous because like his brother's career, like the Kickstarter's career, is on his shoulders.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: That was the added pressure.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they got to 18, they were tied, they just needed the birdie to win.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Matt had a good T shot.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Alex hit a approach in the bunker.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: Matt hits an incredible greenside bunker shot to 14 inches.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Alex has the tap in birdie, they win.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: So now Alex gets um, I think two and a half years fully exempt the rest of this year, two more years.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: He's into the players, the rest of the signature events this year.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely a uh career-changing week for Alex, and obviously very cool that his brother was responsible for that as well.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: You don't get that every day in golf.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's awesome.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: We've seen similar stories where an established PGA tour player helps get a guy who's been struggling a bit his card, but never in the same family.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: That was awesome.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the reactions afterward were really cool to see.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's also a credit to Alex Fitzpatrick, too, because he's become a really good golfer.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's won on the DP World Tour this year and probably would have eventually worked his way onto the PGA tour at some point, but just to be able to do it with your brother in that fashion and then get into all those events is awesome.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: So that was a really cool story.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't seen any of that, go check out the video of them winning.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: My question, Blum, for you.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: That bunker shot that Matt Fitzpatrick hit, boy, oh boy, was there some stones involved in that one.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: He flew it almost all the way to the hole and then quick pumped the brakes with some spin.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you were playing with your brother in a similar situation, which one of you would be taking the bunker shot?
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: Which one of you would be knocking in the two-footer?
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, my brother hitting the bunker shot for sure.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want any part of that?
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: No, he's much better than I am.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: He's probably as, you know, high 80s, he shoots, so it's not a gimme.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: I make the 14 uh inch putt here, but I like my chances more than the bunker shot.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_01: That was my next question.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: Is that is that putting guaranteed in the hole from you?
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: Or no?
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_01: I would have to line it up.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: I would need a couple reads and then I would feel good about it.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: I would back off that putt several times if I knew it was at stake.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh lastly, on the golf front, there's a little bit of other news.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: Team USA has named their Ryder Cup captain for the upcoming Ryder Cup out of Dare Manor.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Jim Furick is the choice.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: They're going back to old Uncle Jim.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: I love this.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: As a Team Europe guy, absolutely great news for me.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: We dominated Jim Furick in Paris when he was the captain, and we'll do it again in Ireland.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: What were your thoughts on this?
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: I will say their lack their prospect pool was pretty shallow after Tiger Woods kind of excused himself with some of his recent events.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know what other choices they had.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think Jim Furick was the best man for the job?
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_01: I like I thought of all the potential candidates, and it was just a bunch of like just boring old guys that bring no energy, no like no leaders, no competitors.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_01: I honestly think this could be a downgrade from Zach Johnson.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_01: And Zach Johnson was terrible.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he was Zach Johnson was historically bad, and Furick was pretty awful in uh Paris as well.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_00: So you might be right.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_00: This they could have somehow downgraded.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like my only thought, and I don't know, he probably wouldn't do this because he's like quote unquote in the prime of his career, just age-wise, but I feel like Justin Thomas was like would make a good captain.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_01: He would never accept it at this point because of just he would want to play because he's you know in his mid-early 30s.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_01: But maybe a few years down the line, who knows?
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe an injury pops up, he can't play the Ryder Cup.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think he would make a good captain.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, also, what what's a guy like Ricky Fowler up to?
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: He's certainly not winning golf tournaments.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody likes him.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe some young blood would help because you're right, the the names that were being floated around there were old misers who offer little to no inspiration.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I again just thrilled for Team Europe.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think that you could go ahead and put another win on the books already with that announcement.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I agreed.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move on to Did You See This?
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: We've we've got a few things for you.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: Not a ton going on in the world, but I think there's enough to talk about.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: So why don't you kick things off?
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's a few things I have uh brought to the table, Sean.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um so this is courtesy of the AP News, um, where two male runners were disqualified after it was discovered they competed in the women's category of the South Africa's prestigious two oceans marathon in case time.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, this is a women's marathon, two men ran it.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um they used bibs that were registered to female runners, and they finished in seventh and tenth respectfully, uh, temporarily pushing the legitimate female competitors out of the top ten.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there were social media photos that raised suspicions and investigations that confirmed that there was a bib swap between two men and women who now face some disciplinary inactions, uh, including potentially two-year bans from the event.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot going on in in South Africa right now.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, a two-year ban should be at least a punishment.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's gross behavior from those people.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: We we can't have that.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let the let the women have their moment.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_00: Compete in the men's marathon as you should and see how you stack up against some different competition.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: I will say this is something that.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Reminds me of the Derek Rose having someone take the SAT test for him.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: He also faced some disciplinary action.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: He was later deemed ineligible for Memphis.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: He couldn't get in otherwise.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: So he just had a random nerd show up to Chicago and take the SATs for him.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: They said, Yeah, my name's Derek Rose.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that the test administers were a little bit quizzical, saying, Are you sure this is like your ID doesn't really match?
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: He took the SATs and it got Derek Rose into Memphis where he eventually went on to lose the national championship game and have one of the best freshman seasons ever.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe it wasn't worth it when you look at what the South African men did.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: Finishing 7th and 10th, I think that pales in comparison to having somebody take the SATs for you.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_01: I don't, but I admire those that feel like they could just like fly by the cedar pants and just get away with whatever they want and hope there's no repercussions.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's bold and brazen behavior for sure.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I talked about it on the program, but I did a 5k a few weeks back on my birthday, and the thought did cross my mind.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_00: There's a tracker in the bib.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: The thought did cross my mind to hand it to one of the people chomping at the bit at the starting line that looked in way better shape than I am.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then just clip it to their backside and then, you know, finish right behind their time would have been great.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: But unfortunately, I didn't I didn't actually pull the trigger on that.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: But this reminded me of that, and I wish I did.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you're an American, Sean, you're not a South African.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: South Africans would have pulled that trick.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: Americans, we we run our marathons with dignity.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_00: We run our own race.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, speaking of marathons, did you see the world record being shattered at the London Marathon in under two-hour marathon time?
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely unbelievable stuff.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_00: I can't even fathom doing 26.2 in under two hours.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: Incredible stuff.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sebastian Sau, his name is.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: I hope I'm pronouncing that right.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: But this guy, too, by the book, he was he was asking the administration to piss test him in the months leading up to the event because he knew he was he was calling his own shot.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: He knew he was going to shatter this record.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: So he said, hey, test me all you want.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: As soon as I cross that finish line, I want to be vindicated.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: Credit to Sebastian.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: What a performance by the lot.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: As you were talking, Sean, I just did the math.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's a four and a half minute mile on average.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: My God.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: And also, can we shout out our friend Jack O'Donovan?
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: He did the marathon, the London Marathon, the very same race in about two and a half hours.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I think he was five something a mile.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: Jack O.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: What a performance out of you, too.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's unbelievable stuff.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_01: Jack, you deserve your flowers.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I personally prefer your performance over the sub two hour one.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like that the sub two's little two look at me.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like two and a half is a great spot to be.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_01: So some great work.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and check his piss too.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's full of Guinness.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing else.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing else in that piss.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, uh, shout out Jack.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: What else did you have and did you see this?
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so this is another fun one that I found.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um so a widow named Pan Cronrath brought her late husband, Bill, back in quotations, for his own funeral by using a life-sized hologram that appeared at his own funeral to speak directly to the mourners with pre-recorded material using AI.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_01: So just imagine you're at a funeral of, you know, maybe a loved one that unfortunately passed away, and all of a sudden they appear via hologram and a QA breaks out where you're asking the hologram of your deceased questions.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's what happened here.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: I can't even wrap my head around this one.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I I don't know what to say.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_00: The game is gone, would be what comes to mind.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_00: We we are well past the what we're using AI for.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: And this to me screams doing way too much.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: We we can't have this.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: May they rest in peace, is what the quote usually is when someone passes away.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: I highly doubt they want a hologram version of themselves on display.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_00: And Lord knows what this thing's saying, too.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure we have the technology to make it talk.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's really gross.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_00: Then you're putting words into somebody whose perished mouth.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's all a big no thank you from me.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: What what did you think when you saw this?
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's just um scary, really.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like scary.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_01: The the length that people are going to with AI and all of this is just it it scares me.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um apparently she wanted like a more personal memorial than a traditional service.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_01: That was her reasoning for it.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_01: And she was inspired after seeing um a certain hologram technology at a medical conference.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: There were two people or 200 people at the service, and as expected, many of them were just completely speechless, shocked, confused, and I do not blame them.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I could only imagine the scenes in the gallery there for that.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: That I I boy, uh, I I can only imagine what's going through their heads.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it might be this woman.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: She's she's lost it.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's tough.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have anything nearly as interesting, but I did want to touch on you the last couple of times you've done, did you see this?
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_00: You've come with some really good AI-driven stories.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about in our goals for 2026 podcast, this is the year of potentially AI, but then we changed it to the year of the answer, and how do we respond to AI?
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: We got to go back to the drawing board because we're not responding well.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_00: I would say some of these stories that are coming to light are not a good response from us humans.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_00: We are getting our ass kicked so far.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: We're down bad.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the years the years passing us by pretty quick.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: We're almost into May already, so we need to go back to the drawing board and figure something out.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_00: I had a couple for you in Did You See This?
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_00: It is almost travel season.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_00: Summer is near, it's not quite here yet, but we're close.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: The United Airlines CEO reached out to the American Airlines CEO about a potential merger, seemingly in good faith.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_00: It seemed like he had the best interest of the public in mind.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that's just his PR spinning it that way remains to be seen, but the American CEO, Mr.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: Robert Ism, just totally pulled his pants down.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_00: He issued a public response saying, no, never.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to be separate forever.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to do business with you.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: Take it somewhere else.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think the United Airlines CEO was trying to drive some prices down, maybe help out the consumer a bit.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: American had other ideas.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_00: Blum, this begs the question: which airline, if all things were equal, would get your business?
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: I can only hope after this news is on.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_01: So it is not American, Sean.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I can confirm that.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm actually a big United guy, believe it or not.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_01: I uh I flew them on my trip to Scottsdale.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: I had two connecting flights, both to and from, and they went off without a hitch.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um one time early.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_01: Two of the four flights were early, which you just don't hear about uh in today's day and age.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_01: But um, I am a United guy, uh through and through.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, I'm not by no means like a mileage plus member or anything like that for any airlines.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, United definitely got some some points with me with my recent experience.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm a Delta guy.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think I might have brought that up before on this show, but I would say United has emerged easily as my second choice.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_00: If I can't go Delta, I will go United.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: I flew United over to London the last time I went abroad, and they were absolutely awesome with their service.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: On the way back, I was upgraded three or four times.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: I was in a layback.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: They were there were so few people on the flight, they were handing out food.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: They said, Do you want any more?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want any more wine?
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Sure, I'll have another.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: Just really good service from United.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if this is uh a public warning against American in terms of where we're going to spend our business, but let's keep our mind open, Mr.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_00: Robertism, because a merger might help a lot of people.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't like your behavior to just publicly pull the United CEO's pants down.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that was a bit rude.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_01: And one other shout out, uh, JetBlue.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_01: I had a very, very good experience with them going to Florida.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we'll be flying them in the future as well.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think JetBlue is a one-for-one for me as well, kind of like your reporting career.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think I flew them once, good experience, and that was it.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: My last did you see this topic?
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is also on the note of travel.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you've seen the gas prices.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, we're not a political show, but something's got to give on that front.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, what are we doing?
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_00: But did you see the viral video of the girl conning her boyfriend into a cowboy's joke?
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have not, Sean, but I would I would love to hear about it.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_00: This was well played.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_00: She's got a good comedic sense.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I had her username written down so I could give her a shout-out.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_00: But basically, she was asking her boyfriend, I I really want gas prices to go back under a dollar.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Under a dollar?
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_00: They haven't been under a dollar in like 30 years.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like they're not going to go back under a dollar.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_00: And she's saying, Well, so it just because it happened in 30 years mean it's never gonna happen again?
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes, Yeah, like that's never gonna happen.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: That was a completely different time.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_00: And she says, Oh, so why do you like the cowboys?
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just a complete zinger.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_00: And he walked right into it like a bear trap.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_00: And he was so mad afterwards, and then the video cuts, but really good comedic timing from her.
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the the poor boy, I mean, boy oh boy, as a tortured fan.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_00: He walked right into it.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: That is great, great sense of humor.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure any Eagles fans uh listening will will love that.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was that was a little nod to the Eagles audience here.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move on.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_00: We got the Kentucky Derby coming up this weekend.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_00: It is the most exciting 60 seconds in sports.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's inarguable.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you're not a big horse racing person, it's a fun minute.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's a ton of cool parties that go on across the country now where the mint julips are in hand and people dress fancily in the big hats.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: I love the Derby.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_00: I've grown to love horse racing after living in Kentucky for almost five years.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: Keeneland, I will say, is a much nicer venue than Churchill Downs.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_00: That is Lexington's own track, but the Derby is the most exciting event, so a tip of the cap there.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot pick my nose when it comes to picking horses.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think statistically I might be the worst better in horse racing history.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_00: So the tracks love when they see me coming.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm on a horse this year by the name of Wonder Dean, who is 30 to 1 right now.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's a Japanese horse.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_00: We love a bit of foreign flair.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_00: It is, of course, the only reason I'm picking this horse is because of Olivia Dean.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: So shout out Olivia.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let's hope we get this one over the line.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's safe to say for the listeners, you could just cross this horse off.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: They will not win.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Sean, like you said, um, I I wear a lot of hats on this podcast, but horse racing is certainly not one of them.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um I love the Kentucky Derby.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_01: I love watching it.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's always the first horse race of the year.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um I again know nothing about these horses, um, but I'm not entirely sure how you bet against a horse named the Puma.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like Pumas are a very fast animal.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um he or she is 10 to 1.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, even though I know nothing, I just can't see that horse losing.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, with that being said, uh two losers are one P and the Puma.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_00: Cross them off your list.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_00: We don't do a lot of winning around here, so you don't come to us for any gambling advice.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I just wanted to give a quick shout-out.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_00: The Oaks day is the day before the Derby always at Churchill Downs.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_00: And Lovely Gray is Dave Portnoy's horse, and he's a huge horse racing fan, and this is the first time he's ever gotten into a big race like this, and I do love a gray horse.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_00: So lovely gray is my pick to win the Oaks.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see how that goes, but I'm pretty sure that's another cross-off.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's just a fun one as we as we move on.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have anything else, Blum.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_00: Did you have any recommendations or things you wanted to shout out as we wrap up?
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, the only thing I had, um, I feel like a couple months ago I was on this podcast, and I uh praised uh Sweet Nina's banana pudding.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_01: You did, yeah.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_01: So uh my girlfriend and I, we were at Trader Joe's over the weekend, and we came across a seasonal ice cream, banana pudding flavored ice cream.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_01: This might be on par with the pudding.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_01: Is it as good as sweet Nina's?
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's frozen bananas, there's some vanilla wafers in there, banana pudding flavored ice cream, it's incredible.
• 56:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's only like little pints, so it's like$379 a pint.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_01: We just stocked up, we grabbed whatever they had in stock, so we're we're good.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_01: So uh if you're at Trader Joe's, if you're a Trader Joe's fan, uh be on the lookout for that ice cream because that is hilarious.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you're in the Philadelphia area, if you might have to find Michael Blum, you might have to seek Michael Blum out himself.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_00: He might have a monopoly on these ice creams now.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if you need any pudding banana varietals, I think Blum is your guy.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_00: So reach out to him directly in case Trader Joe's is out.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_00: The only thing I wanted to shout out, obviously, a lot of our listeners will know that Noah Khan released an album, The Great Divide.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_00: It is it lives up to the hype.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I I am I'm obviously going to recommend that one to our listeners.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_00: We will break it down a little bit further in the newsletter this week, but also we're going to do an album review podcast on that one, so stay tuned for that.
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then a quick shout out: an artist named Beatrix, she put out an album on the same day.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's called We Swallowed the Sky.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you like Phoebe Bridgers or Lizzie McAlpine, this is right up your alley.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I would like to give her a shout-out as well.
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_00: Really good album.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I am a big uh fan of Noah Kanchan.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I would love to give my analysis on that album.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but like you said, a lot of fun stuff coming up in the newsletter and the upcoming album review.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but that is just a translation for I did not listen to the album yet.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's fine.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_00: I will reveal my top five in the newsletter this week.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_00: It had high bar set because it was such a long wait for this album, but so far I've been through it a few times and it has lived up to it.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that'll do it for this episode.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_00: Just want to remind everyone there's a lot more of you guys listening than following us on social media, so I can for sure do a better job of remembering to plug that stuff.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_00: But follow us on Instagram, follow us on YouTube.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're on TikTok, TikTok now.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're being awfully mean to Jeremy in the comments on TikTok already for some of his city takes.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we don't encourage bullying, but I do think there's some chirp that should be sent his way, so maybe some of that's deserved.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_00: But give us a follow.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_00: We appreciate it.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_00: Blum, thank you as always for coming on.
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_00: I had a good time.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, Sean, appreciate it.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, like you said, go follow TikTok, Instagram, like, subscribe, unsubscribe, resubscribe.
• 58:54
  SPEAKER_01: Go me that's right.
• 58:54
  SPEAKER_01: Go be me the Jeremy.
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_00: Do all that stuff.
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_00: Press press all the buttons.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_00: We appreciate you guys listening, and until next time, take care of the case.