Latest / Pittsburgh Sports Memories / BONUS EPISODE: Pgh Sports Current Events - January 1, 2026

Transcript

BONUS EPISODE: Pgh Sports Current Events - January 1, 2026 · Pittsburgh Sports Memories

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to another exciting edition of Pittsburgh Sports Memories Current Events.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yay! We made it we made it this far, Tim.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a co-host Steve Burton.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm joined by I'm Tim Annan.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: So um first off, we're gonna start with uh some pirates news.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Bucksapalooza.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Can you believe it?
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk pirates.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: We need some drop music for that one.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, the pirates made three moves.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Count them.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: One, two, three.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: First, they traded pitcher Mike Burroughs for second baseman Brandon Lowe.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it was a three-team deal with the Astros.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Lowe hit 31 home runs and was an all-star for the Rays.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that was just last year.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they signed first baseman Ryan O'Hearn.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he's the first multi-year free agent signing since 2016.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: What's that pitcher?
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Was it all Octavio Dotel?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Was it the last?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a O'Hearn was an all-star for the Orioles in 2025.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: So that's another guy that just had recent success.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: So they also signed left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he was an all-star with Detroit several years ago, but he's been bad the last couple.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And there is this rumor, and this is I guess is the big crown jewel rumor, is uh they're that they're looking to get a 29-year-old third baseman named.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um I gotta butcher this name, but um, I apologize to Mrs.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: or Mrs.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: whatever Kazumu Akamoto, a six a six-time all-star in Japan.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: So um whether that translates to American baseball, that's like Chung Ho Gong worked out pretty well for a couple seasons until that guy slid into his knee.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I don't I don't know, Tim.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it seems like they did something.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, is O'Hearn gonna be okay?
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: He hit like what 17 or 20 home runs.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: He did hit a lot of home runs.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: The guy from um the uh Brandon Lowe hit some home runs.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: So they got hitting, and that's what they needed.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And if these guys can hit even decently, if they can hit just mediocre as a team, they'll probably be at least in the playoff hunt, wouldn't you think, Tim, if the pitching holds.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's I mean that's what they needed.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: They needed bats, and these guys are quality bats.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and and there's all those rumors that you know they they had gone hard after Schwarber, and of course they didn't get it.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody believed it.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: No nobody believed it, but you know, you know the way to make people believe that?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, if you're gonna pay him all that money, then use that money elsewhere.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: And and so far they are.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: It might not work out.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like it isn't like guaranteed that all these guys work out.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, no, but all you ask is that they try.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And well that's that's a pretty low bar to step over.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: It it is, but you know, going going back to um yeah, I I went on a rant a couple weeks ago about how you know nobody's objective as a sports fan anymore, right?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's either but one extra you know what fan is short for, right?
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: This fanatic, I know.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: But you don't have to be objective.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's the job of sports reporters.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, used to be.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I I think you know, we've gotten to the skip baylist, who's the other guy, Stephen A.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Smith, you know, not to be confused with Stephen A.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Word.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the better Stephen A, I think, but I that like everybody's like a hot take, like, oh, the pirates are just window dressing, or oh, the pirates are going to the World Series.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that seems, I guess, that gets more attention than just having a reasoned objective opinion, Tim.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, and and I'm I'm saying that to hold myself accountable because I I still don't trust this ownership.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: I've bashed this ownership repeatedly on this show, and I and never, Tim.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: But what I said, what I said was you have a window here, you have a you have a finally have a window, you have the best player of of this generation, you have Sidney Crosby now on your team.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: So at least try to do something to put some things around him.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: And objectively, they're doing that.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: They are doing that.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: So again, I have to give credit where it's due.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: They seem to be trying.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it'll work or not.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it's enough or not.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they they made their first multi-year deal, and of course, it's a two-year deal.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like, oh, we did a two-year deal.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now, in a vacuum, that's actually pretty smart because it's because you don't want to get tied in.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, then the work stoppage is.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: If and if you're gonna have a salary cap, you don't want to commit to something you can't sustain.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but uh so in a vacuum, that's kind of smart, but in a in a history of the pirates, you know, never making any kind of long-term deals, it's not.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: But whatever.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta take what you can get.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'll I'll take it.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: And in the Soto that they signed him to be a mental reliever.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: I think they probably overpaid for somebody like that.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: But again, the there it's something.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be able to do that.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Have you seen what the Rodgers are paying for pitching?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, the market is definitely skewed right now.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um moving on to a sport that's playing its regular season right now, and that would be Football Palooza, Tim.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Woohoo! Which this might be the final week for Football Palooza here, right?
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: It might be.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Or one of the last, like this or the next episode.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll do a post script.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, oh yeah, for sure.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it might the postscript might be coming sooner than we thought it was last week.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's how I'm saying.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so let's start up with the team that has finished their season, for better or worse.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um Pitt in the military bowl.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually the military let's go bowling bowl.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Did you did you know that, Tim?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was the let's go bowling, like bowling, as in the sport bowling.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you notice they had commercials with veterans bowling in a veterans league, it was a unique tie-in, I guess.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it was kind of punny.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: That makes me care about it even less.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So Eastern Carolina just it was so important to Eastern Carolina that their starting running back and quarterback decided that I'm gonna go somewhere else.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a couple other, like their tight end and wide reason, they they had like it was basically their backups.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so Pitt had basically all their starters playing Eastern Carolina's backups.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I think Pitt was a 10 or 12 point uh what favorite.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so, of course, what is what does Pitt do?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: They they lose an embarrassing failure.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're a huge embarrassing failure.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And Pitt was, yes, they they were.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um Mason Heichel was uh 20 of 40 for 256 passing yards, a touchdown and interception.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Jacarian Turner had 16 carries for 93 yards.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: He had a couple of fumbles too.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: ECU um played some guy named Chastendita, who this is his first game ever, and he went uh whopping.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is a whopping Tim.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: These are are you ready for these stats to knock you off your feet?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Eight for 17.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: He he's like Kenny Pickett in that one bowl game when he completed eight passes and two touchdowns.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, whatever.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um they're uh star running back in 18 carries for 50 yards.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: They did nothing on offense.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Eastern Carolina did nothing on offense.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: He had scored 24 points and won the game, kind of going away, quite honestly.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the story of the game really was Pitt had five turnovers.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think they they didn't make a couple fourth down plays, too, so those count as turnovers.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: I it was just uh it was one of the more horrific like I thought as bad as the first half went, Pitt goes into the half, leading seven to three, and I figured, well, they get the ball first coming out of the second half, and I thought, you know, maybe they you know they'll finally take over this game.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I I didn't think it was gonna take 24 points to win this game.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: I thought if they scored like 17, I I didn't see their offense doing much, but Pitt just kept turning the ball over.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: And Mason Heichel on the final play of the game, they had like a fourth down at like the 40-yard line, and it's like hail marry time, and he runs around, and instead of just throwing the ball for grabs, he gets sacked.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's like what was one more interception, dude?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it it was just terrible.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Heichel for the year finished for um 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's not great.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's I I will say this, he was a better in the red zone than Eli Holstein was.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And just for the record, Eli Holstein finished his season with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions, so it's almost the exact same statistics, Tim.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I I don't know what to say.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Pitt has collapsed in the last two seasons in kind of similar fashion, although I will say the win against Georgia Tech kind of softened the blow a little between the the the bookends of Miami and Notre Dame there getting blown out.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then they end up losing to Toledo and ECU.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Toledo, I I it wasn't great, but they were like playing, they didn't have a quarterback that game, so it was like, eh, whatever.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: But um it was such a positive season, marred by late season losing streaks.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I I I don't know what else to say about this team.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean I just I I feel like it's it's a trend now that that they don't finish up the year strong and they go in losing streaks at the end of the year.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, yeah, you and I have completely different outlooks on the season.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, well, look at look, he had the exact same almost stats as Eli.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I will say this, Eli was terrible in the red zone, and Heichel was better.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: That that is a big difference.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great example where stats don't even remotely tell the story.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, number one, the the bowl game, uh it's a farce.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's a complete farce.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: They don't play they don't play a down of football between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then these kids on their Christmas break are supposed to come out and be sharp.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: They're not.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Those games meant nothing before the college football playoffs.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Now they mean uh they're just exhibitions.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: They're like the Pro Bowl.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's what really like what they are.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think the the players start to care less and less about them every year, and that's why they get sloppier and sloppier.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I really could care less if they lost East Carolina.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't it's pretty embarrassing.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: I I I think that's pretty embarrassing.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it matters one bit.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, in the grand scheme of thing, I I guess as long as nobody got hurt, it doesn't matter.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: So uh second thing, I don't know where you're getting losing streaks, late season losing streaks from.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Last season, they lost their last five games of the season.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: This season they lost two out of their last three and by large margins.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: They they lost two out of the last eight.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, two out of their last three to literally two of the best teams in the country.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Miami and Notre Dame were were literally top ten teams in the country.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Did they play well?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: No, because they're not as good as Miami or Notre Dame, but they beat everybody else.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: And Heinchel, stats, I don't care about his stats.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: He he came in, he beat every single team in the ACC except the the one team that was the in the playoff.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: He beat everybody else that he played.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: He saved the season.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: They were two and two and they were life.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: I will say this, they this remind this game against ECU kind of reminded me of the Syracuse game, only they didn't turn it over as much as they did in the Syracuse game, and that's why they won the Syracuse game and lost this game.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because ECU had about the same amount of offense that Syracuse was gonna have, and Syracuse quarterbacks were just god-awful.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I I mean I I don't know what to tell you.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I just but I I just I see a trend.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: If tailing off means that they can't beat Miami and Notre Dame, I I don't sorry, that's that's not like a losing the ECU Tim in their backups.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Oh no in a game that's not even competitive.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, come on.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Remember that time that the AFC lost their Pro Bowl?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: I was so disappointed.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't believe it.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a little bit more meaningful than the Pro Bowl.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it is.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's it's not an all-star game.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: It I mean, these are regular teams with their regular roster.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: They haven't played a game of football in a month.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, neither has who's played in the playoff.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: They played they play immediately, they started playoff one week after the but the teams that had to buy, like Indiana hasn't played in a while.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: Fair weeks, but it's not two weeks or it's not a month, and it doesn't matter.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's been at least two or three weeks.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it and it means something.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's true.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: It does mean more than this.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: I I think bowls are gonna go away, and I don't have a problem with that.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if people want to play them, that's fine.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it's just it's just disappointing.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was very frustrating because it I think if ECU would have had all their starters, and I I would have been a little bit, well, you know, it's not a great loss, but you know, you lost to a team that it wanted to show up that day.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's just that that this was a bad loss.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Pick could have lost that game 84-2, and I would have still felt the exact same way about the season.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: The season was a good season.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: That Heinzel beat everybody except two really good teams, and he didn't get ECU.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: He beat he didn't beat Miami, Notre Dame, and ECU.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: One of these things.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So you're telling me ECU is as good as Miami and Notre Dame.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you that the ECU game meant nothing.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's a farce, it's an exhibition.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever they lost.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, don't compare it to the the don't don't compare it to the Pro Bowl, then compare it to a Steelers preseason game.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you're gonna find each other, that's that's all it is.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's a it's an exhibition.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: But they but they played the starters the whole game, Tim.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but it still doesn't matter.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: They haven't played football for a month.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: They they weren't they weren't sharp.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: They were just they looked like a team that hadn't played football in a month, that was on their Christmas break, that went there to to you know to just to go.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know where that leaves Pitt.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe if this game was worth something and meant something, like you said, and it was more sandwiched in the middle of the season, Pitt runs away with this and beats them like they did everybody else.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't know.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Against the the top-tier competition that they were lacking, I will say this in a big game against Georgia Tech, Heichel did come through.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that maybe that maybe that shows something.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: And every other game he played came through.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean a Georgia Tech was a big game.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And not that the Georgia Tech defense was playing well, but it's still a big game, and he still played well, you know, and he's he was a big reason they won.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: So and and he's 18, he's an 18-year-old freshman.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, so so I think you're saying like my next question was which way do you think Pitt football is trending for next season?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: I I think it's trending up.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I thought that last year.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: I thought Holstein had a decent trend.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: I thought so too.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: I I thought if he wasn't hurt, they'd be okay.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: I I I I'm kind of like on the fence, like I I would love to think they're trending up, but maybe I've just been a Pitt fan for too long, and it just seems like we're gonna get the rug pulled out from us.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I get it.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Pitt Pitt has hurt us, has done nothing, mostly nothing but hurt us.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I I I get it and I share that.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: But but Heinschel, you know, this kid that just won the Heisman Mendoza, you know what he was doing when he was 18?
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: He was redshirting.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then in his first year at Cal, you know what he did?
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: He went three and five with 10 interceptions.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this is a lot better than that.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so so again, he's 18.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: He's a freshman.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: He got thrust in the middle of the season to ask to save the season.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: I will say this.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Pitts wide receivers aren't that good either.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Weren't that good this year.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they were mediocre on a good day.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: I I like I like the offense that we run.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's a it's a really good offense.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: He seems to have command of it.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: I I just don't know about the offense that it hasn't performed against top competition.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: I just and that might just be a Josh's and Joe's, not an X's and O's thing.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean uh Miami and Notre Dame.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they just weren't as good as Miami and Notre Dame.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I even on the uh I mean just yeah.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: The offense averaged 35 points a game this year.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'll take that any season.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: I will take it an offense.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Except for against CU Notre Dame.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: 35 points in the games that counted.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: It still counts against the record, Tim.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: It it means nothing.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's a farce.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: The the military bowl means absolutely nothing.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Add a lot to them anyway.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you so you're saying you don't like the military, Tim?
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Don't respect the military?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh no.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, I I I I get what you're saying, and I I hope I hope they do.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I hope this is just a bump in the road.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: I hope it's just a bump in the road, not a trend in the wrong direction.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: So so you're going bump in the road.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: What what, the bowl game?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't even consider the bowl game a bump in the road.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: I would consider that, like I said, I don't even that's like something that's off to the side of the road that I don't even notice as I'm driving by.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's like it's if you're talking about the Miami and Notre Dame games, yeah, it's it's proof that we're not anywhere in the same class as Miami or Notre Dame, but it's something to build off of.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's something to say, hey, Heinzchel's going to be a sophomore with a whole with you know most most of a season under his belt, assuming he comes back.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this whole NIL stuff you never know.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: But assuming he comes back, then they can build off of that.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And again, maybe they don't.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I thought Holstein would build off of last year and he fell apart.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: So you never know.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: But I I like him.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's shown that he can start.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's just they got to get those interceptions out of his system.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: If he can like be smart with the football, he can be a quality quarterback.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: And when he scrambles, the way he scrambles and can throw on the run, like there isn't a lot of guys that can do that.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: And Heichel has that funky Phillip Rivers.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what that is.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: He throws like Phillip Rivers.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you know, Phillip Rivers is having a Hall of Fame career and had a pretty good season this year in Indianapolis.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, something that everybody's interested in, and that would be your Pittsburgh Steelers, Tim.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, the Steelers all they had to do was beat a 3-10 Browns team in Cleveland, but that's all they had to do.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um, of course, the Steelers lose.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Aaron Rodgers was 21 of 39, 168 yards, and no touchdowns, but no interceptions.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: And hey, he didn't get sacked, I don't think, or at least not by uh Miles Garrett.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: So there's something.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Jalen Warren had 12 carries for 64 yards.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um the real story of the day was the Steelers going 3 for 15 on third down.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: And 0 for 3 on fourth down.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: That was probably more of like what was their undoing.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um Sanders uh for the Browns, 17 for 23, 168 yards, one TD, but those two interceptions really probably could have cost them the game if the Steelers would have had any kind of offense.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um the defense probably played good enough to win.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: They held Cleveland to 78 yards rushing.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um here, Tim.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so why does Aaron Rodgers keep throwing to this Valdez gambling guy?
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Do they have some sort of past history?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I thought this guy was from the Chiefs or something.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I didn't get that at the end of the game.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because like it seemed like at the end of the game, him and Friarmuth were kind of having a lot of connections, and why don't you like just put Friarmuth out there or something?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or I don't know, it just seemed like Friarmouth had kind of a more hot hand than Valdez Scanling, who him and Rogers just weren't in sync with the whole game.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, of course, not having DK Metcalf definitely hurt the team.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there was no call at the end of the game.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: There it could have been a pass interference, maybe, maybe not.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, you just can't count on the refs three weeks in a row to bail you out.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: I agree.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, so now the Steelers they play Baltimore in a playoff game.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's winner go home.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: The winner goes to the playoffs, the loser goes home.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um my conspiracy theory is um, hey, guess what time the uh Steelers uh Ravens game is on Sunday, Tim?
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's the night game.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Eight o'clock on NBC.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, what time do you think that game would have been if the Steelers would have won and clinched the division?
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: One o'clock.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Iron Eagle announcing the Iron Eagle JJ Watt game.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: But now, boy, it's a Chris Collinsworth Mike Tarico game that has lots of rage.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would say that, but I don't know.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's more of the Steelers just are coached by Mike Tomlin and he likes to lose these games.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Or they it was just like I think I said this a couple weeks ago that they would probably lose to Cleveland for no apparent reason.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was infuriating.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I've I've just started to come off the cliff from it.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was like they had everything.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Perfectly lined up.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, either Baltimore loses or we win.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: And Baltimore goes and beats the tar out of Green Bay.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then it's like, okay, well, if we can just beat Cleveland.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I know Rodgers didn't have anybody to throw to because DK suspended and Calvin Austin's hurt and Darnell broke his arm in the middle of the game.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: He was forced forcing balls into MVS.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: MVS used to play for Green Bay, by the way, you're asking if they had a prior team.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I thought that somebody said that I remember him more for Kansas City.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but he he played for Green Bay way before that.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: But but so you didn't have anybody to throw to, but you have to what when you when your defense stops the other team from scoring in the middle of the first quarter and they never score again, you have to be able to win that game.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I just kept waiting the whole game.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay, this is the drive where we finally march down the field and take the lead and never look back.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: And it just never happened until the very last second.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: And it and it didn't even happen then.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, because he kept throwing to that.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't understand.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: By that point, it was just law.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: It was a lost cause.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like uh if you're gonna rely on the last play of the game from you know with five seconds left, then that's gonna be a low probability of success.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: They should they had plenty of other drives, plenty of other, like you said, third downs, fourth downs.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: Boswell missed another kick.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that was a that was a 50 yarder, I think, wasn't it?
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but still it's like, my God.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: So so the the defense gets you two turnovers, they hold the other team from scoring for three and a half quarters.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be able to win that.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: It was so infuriating.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: You literally only had to score 14 points in that game.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: You score 14 points, you walk away a winner.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this week is meaningless, and we're playing at one o'clock in front of the room.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: And we're resting all these guys that are hurt, and DK being suspended doesn't matter.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: So we we blew it.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: We blew it big time, and and now there's that that 90% chance of winning the AFC North, huh, Tim?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, now it's all now it's gonna be a 50-50 game, like we said a couple weeks ago, because what it's all gonna depend on what team shows up.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: What Steel team shows up, what Ravens team shows up.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the Ravens aren't that good either.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the the they're like us, they're totally bipolar.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they one week, one week they're garbage, and then the next week they go to Lambeau Field and they Derrick Henry runs for 200 yards and they crush a playoff bound Packers team that we couldn't beat.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, so you never you never know which team is going to show up on either side.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: I will say this, it's an intriguing matchup, Steve, because uh Mike Tomlin and John Harbor are kind of at that same point with their fan base, with their respective fan bases.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, I will say this.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: The Steelers, for their sake, had better, had better get a lead early in this game or fire Tomlin.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be the whole game.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: The first three and out.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Get ready, fire up those chants because get ready, Mike.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you've been untouchable your whole career.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of interesting to see how Mike Tomlin responds to this.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Is he gonna walk away at the first?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is the first real criticism he's ever gotten in his whole coaching career.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, am I making a bad?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've everybody from the top down, even Colin Coward, it's so bad, like so obvious.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, oh, he's a made man, no one can criticize him.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's funny.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's just yeah.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: I I wouldn't say it's the first.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: I would say it's the most um, it's the first Tim.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: I've never heard I've never heard people wanting to.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: The national media has never criticized it.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: I see what you're saying.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: I thought you were talking about the fan base.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like the fan base.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the fan base for years.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the fan base is the first one.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: But they hate every coach, they hated Cower, they hated Knoll.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's he's he has pressure, Harbaugh has pressure, and and it's kind of unfortunate because whoever loses Sunday night, that's gonna be a potentially long offseason or a lot of initial calls for okay, Ravens or Steelers who who hit the coaches for decades at a time, what are you gonna do here?
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: And the and the funny thing is, whoever wins is probably only going to delay that conversation for a week and and probably be faced with the same conversation after that.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know what, what if by some miracle of I don't know, football they they end up winning the Super Bowl, the Steelers.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: You think Tom Lund would retire?
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't even want to have that conversation right now.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm too I'm I think he would.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think he would.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think he would ride off into the sunset.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: I I they're they're no the the way they played last week, they're further away from the Super Bowl than the Tennessee Titans are.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like well, Tennessee scored 30 points on Cleveland, so right, exactly.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: So so yeah, I I I you know at this point, let's see what happens this week.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't even want to write a postscript on the season yet because you know, let's do that next week if they lose.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: And if they win, then hopefully we're talking about previewing a playoff game.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: Which which, you know, that's the other funny thing is I was so angry that I just wanted this week.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm going to that game on Sunday night, Steve.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be free and cold.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be nighttime.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, everybody's gonna get so angry so fast.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: But but but what I was really looking forward to was to just not, you know, to just being able to start Will Howard in this game and and getting to, you know, getting to rest everybody.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: But but then I but then I realized, honestly, Steve, even if that would have happened, the pressure still would have been on for whoever we play in the playoffs.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, the pressure would have been even greater because it's like, okay, now you have a home playoff game, you had a week to rest everybody, you have to win this one.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: So either way, it whether they win or lose Sunday night, they still have to get over that humble winning a playoff game.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: So they really it's really the next two weeks that that matter.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: And then if they would lose after that, I think people would be a little more forgiving.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: The people still wouldn't be happy.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: And Baltimore's in the same boat.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: Their fan base Fire or Harbaugh.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if are they chanting fire Harbaugh?
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: The reason we hate the yeah, oh yeah, there's a lot of pressure on Harbaugh right now.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of people who want him out.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's why we hate the Ravens so much, is because they're really a mirror image of us.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: And their fans are very similar.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: Their fans aren't satisfied with going to the playoffs and losing.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: They're not.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: They they think that you know they want more, they want Super Bowl appearances and Super Bowl wins, and neither of those guys have provided that for quite a while.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: It is funny, would you call the fan base is spoiled?
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I shared a video with of a gentleman that does YouTube videos, much you know, gets much more views than that.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's like Casey, he does a behind-the-line YouTube podcast, and he's a Saints fan.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's kind of similar to how I feel as a Pitt fan.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you're just happy when they go mediocre and make a bowl game, and he's like, you know, they the Saints have obviously had a long history of losing and not a lot of seasons.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: They've won a Super Bowl, but my goodness, what did it take to do it?
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: And they fired a legendary coach, and they haven't been good since.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now that coach like probably had to go because of all the scandals he was involved with, lying to the NFL and such.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: But um I I I you wonder, you know, and people I say you shouldn't like think that way.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you fire Tomlin, is this you know, are the Steelers never gonna be able to recover?
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Is it gonna be like you know, 20 to 30 years?
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Are we will we never see another winning season again if Tomlin goes?
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, that's that's really hard.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I will say, I think two things can be true at the same time.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we are spoiled.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: We are we are definitely spoiled because like you said, there's plenty of other fan bases that would be thrilled to be in the position we're in.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, Steve, if you would have told me in the summer that the last game of the that last game of the season against Baltimore uh will be for the division.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: And if we win, we win the division.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: I think I would have been really happy.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: I would have been like, wow, that's actually a pretty good season given you know the prospects that we had and the 42-yard quarterback that we had.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think I would have been very happy with that.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: But the path to get here, the fact that we had it potentially wrapped up, that's what made everybody angry and the inconsistencies and pain along the way.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: So we are spoiled, and at the same time, I think it's fair to demand more.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you talked about like the the college comparison.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: Look at Penn State, what they did this year.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, high firing Franklin.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that was the right thing to do.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: Time will definitely tell on that.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but they they weren't satisfied with you know only getting so far and then not getting any.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: If Pitt had the record that Penn State does, people would be, you know, Pit Pitt fan, I I mean you would be terribly hard-pressed to, you know, be angry about it, you know.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: But and that's the tough thing.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: If you if you are getting rid of Tomlin or Harbaugh, whoever comes into those roles is going to have to live under those same set of expectations.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: And not everybody can do that, honestly.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to do more comparison, Steve, look at the rest of our division.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, Stefansky's a two-time coach of the year, and they stink, even though they were pretty good against us.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, he's probably I I'd be surprised if he survives this season.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and Zach Taylor might not survive either.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's that's another one they almost have.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't see how he survives.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like he just refuses to to work on his defense.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, now that might be more of a GM problem, but why can't you at least build a if they just have a mediocre defense in the last two years, Cincinnati wins the division twice, running away with it.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: And if Cleveland even had a mediocre quarterback instead of paying all that money to Watson, they would have been a big deal.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if they would have kept Flacco, like they had like that's the most frustrating thing is the Bengals should have two more wins.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: They had the Jets and the Bears beat.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: And they just literally had to make a tackle both times, and they just refused to do it.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I I think it is a good exercise, like you're saying, too, to put things in perspective a little bit.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Again, if you look at big picture this season, we we did not have a team built to win a Super Bowl.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: We just didn't.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's why we're winning the Super Bowl.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't care.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Anybody, anybody that objectively looked at our roster in in August and said this is a contending team was fooling themselves.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: It was a team that had a chance to go to the playoffs, maybe win a playoff game, and that's the position we're actually in.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: So so if you look at a big picture, uh it's about where we all, you know, they I think they're close to their ceiling.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's just frustrating that that's their ceiling at this point.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: And Baltimore fans feel the same way.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Lamar Jackson is supposed to be, he's just league MVP, he's a generational player.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: They've never gotten to a Super Bowl with him, and he might not even play Sunday night.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, I kind of hope he does because I think Tyler Huntley's playing better than him right now, and he never plays great against us.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: I kind of hope he does play, and that says a lot about where he is at this point.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I it it like I said, whoever loses, that's gonna be a lot of questions to ask.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then whoever if the other team loses next week, it's gonna be the same questions.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we'll all find out next episode on uh same bat time, same bat channel.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: We want to thank everybody for tuning in, and uh, we'll keep this going for however long this season drags on.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh thank you for tuning in.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, keep uh liking us on Facebook and all the podcast services that you see us on.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um we love it.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Give us all comments, tell us how you think like Mike Bauman's the greatest coach ever get fired, or you should fire him immediately.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh thank you so much, and I will catch you next time.