Europe Holds On & Raleigh's 60th HR Ball

Nick (00:00)
One of the most exciting sport weekends of the year is over. And we're here to talk about it. It's Nick and Neil. It's the height differential. Neil, where'd you watch all the action today?

Neil (00:09)
What's up?

you know a little local spot well a local favorite the biernos five two we had the the wolfpack was out there ⁓ there's about six seven of us ⁓ at the biernos watching i mean when you have a day full of rider cup nfl football the major league baseball playoffs on the line coming down to the last day when the local team the cincinnati reds are fighting for their playoff lives i mean this is one of the wildest and greatest sports days and probably recent

Nick (00:41)
And there was some good news today. The Reds got off to a good start, home runs from LA, Del I Cruz, TJ Friedle went up 2-0. didn't last too long. And the Reds didn't get on the board again. But you can tell I'm rocking the Sensi hat. Things still worked out for them as the Mets lost to the Marlins 4-0. And the Reds are on their way out to LA.

Neil (00:51)
It did.

Yep.

I mean, when you celebrate a playoff berth, you kind of wish you would celebrate it with a win, feel a little bit better about it. But you'll take it any way you can get it. So glad that the Miami Marlins could take care of business of the Mets. What a collapse that they had in last three months of the season. ⁓ But thankfully, that goes in the Reds' favor. They take two out of three in Milwaukee. They did enough. They did what they needed to do, especially against a good Brewers team going on the road and winning two out of three. ⁓ So you take it any way you can get it, and we're off to LA. See what happens.

Nick (01:34)
Well, and we talked last week about not throwing Hunter Green. They didn't throw Hunter Green. Singer wasn't great today. But now you're lined up to where you've got Hunter Green going game one.

Neil (01:40)
Oof.

Yeah, yes, yes, and it worked. It all worked out. But you would, if the Mets had won today, you look back at it and you say, man, if the Reds had missed it, it's probably because the Hunter Green didn't pitch and Terry Francona made a pretty big, big error in not pitching them Tuesday and Sunday. But it all works out. Hunter Green's ready to go Tuesday night, nine o'clock in LA. Lodolo pitched to about an inning and a half, two innings today. So he should still be good to go.

for that series as well. you know, if the pitching holds up, maybe some good things will happen.

Nick (02:21)
But the pitching has been great all year. It's just, can they

score enough runs to help out that pitching? And we'll see, because they're going up against a pretty good lineup with LA.

Neil (02:31)
Yeah. Yeah.

Nick (02:32)
But we talked about the Mets, I mean, in June, they had the best record in baseball. I mean, what a collapse. Lost seven straight, I think twice, had an eight game losing streak, was 45 and 24 on June 2nd, and finished the season 38 and 55 with that 300 and plus, $330, $340 million payroll. I mean, what a collapse from the Mets. And you're right, we'd be talking totally different about this if the Mets just didn't.

keep finding ways to lose games.

Neil (03:02)
Yeah, I mean, can't imagine what New York sports radio is going to be like in the next couple of days. But yeah, when you have a $330 million payroll, like you talked about, like you're paying guys like superstars with Soto and Alonso and Lindor and you know, some of the top names in baseball and you can't even make a playoffs with that. That's, I mean, that's, that's unacceptable. I mean, that's unacceptable, but I mean, I don't know what they do. I saw Alonso is opting for free agency. He even mentioned that after the game today. So he's opting for a contract. So.

Nick (03:29)
Yeah, he's already said that.

Neil (03:33)
It just seems like the Mets are in a free-for-all and I don't know what they're gonna do in the offseason. I don't they make a managerial change, maybe a GM change. Something's gotta change, but it's unacceptable if you're New York Mets fan.

Nick (03:46)
Well, there'll definitely be changes and I think the manager is probably the first one of those changes. Like you've got that explosive lineup, you can't even score a run in a game that decides your season. I I'm not a Mets fan. think it's hilarious. you know, like what we looked at it, of the teams making the playoffs, they're the only one in the top seven payrolls not going to the postseason.

Neil (03:48)
Yeah.

Nick (04:13)
I mean, the Reds are ranked 19th, so they're not at the bottom, but it's just spending all that money and can't even get into October.

Neil (04:22)
It's wild, absolutely wild.

Nick (04:25)
And we'll get more into the playoffs on Wednesday. Obviously they're starting on Tuesday night, but we'll kind of get into a playoff preview when we get back to you on ⁓ Wednesday night. But the other highlight of this weekend was the Ryder Cup and a lot that we can talk about with this three day event. mean, such a great start by Europe the first two days looked like it was over and the run the Americans made today was pretty impressive.

That was too much to overcome.

Neil (04:56)
Yeah, we talked about it in previous pods. know, this is the talent that the Europeans had and how much we thought the Americans were going to be overmatched. And that sure was the case on Friday and Saturday. I mean, it was just a flat out butt-whooping both those days. you know, everybody thought it was over. I thought it was over. You thought it was over. And then all of a sudden today, the Americans just came to life and they started making putts, making shots. And then, I mean, it almost came down to the end.

It was exciting. It was absolutely exciting.

Nick (05:27)
No, it was fun. You just kept thinking it's impossible, it's impossible, it's impossible. And at the beginning of the day, mean, there were so many, you know, the word blue on the scoreboard and what Bryson's down five, it just looked like there was no chance. then just momentum kept turning and Bryson was making a move on, ⁓ Bryson was making his move on Fitzpatrick. And then

Neil (05:52)
Yeah.

Nick (05:54)
Cam Young makes that put on 18, JT makes that put on 18, and you still think it's a long shot, but it kept getting more more likely that this thing might potentially happen.

Neil (06:04)
And I mean, if it wasn't for Russell Henley on 18, leaving a birdie putt short, they clinched it when Shane Lowry made a putt about half that distance. But you don't leave that birdie putt short, if that goes in, I mean, it's coming down to those last one or two matches.

Nick (06:21)
Yeah, and I Henley, I criticized this play a lot the first two days, was good today. I think he had six birdies in his last 11 holes before getting to 18 to make that a chance to have a red point. But you're right, you make that great shot out of the sand when you go left off the tee to get within 10 to 15 feet. And then you cannot leave that putt short.

Neil (06:40)
Such a great show.

Yeah, no, it's ye.

I mean, lost, I mean, that's, it lost it. That's what lost it. So like you said, an incredible shot out of the bunker when you thought hope was lost. He comes back, fires that shot. If he could have just rolled that in, you know, but I mean, overall it's not surprising the Europeans won. mean, you hate to see that it's on, the U S soil, but Tommy Fleetwood was absolutely fantastic again. Rory was great. And from the American side, I mean, they all were great basically in the singles, but I don't know if the pairings were off, if they didn't mesh what happened, but I mean, there were some questionable pairings that we talked

about you know in text and your boy Griffin not getting as much play as you would have liked to have seen but even like Scottie Scheffler we said last week there's no way Scottie Scheffler is not gonna play well and for the first two days he did not I mean it was awful I mean everybody was awful but you know you dig yourself a hole that deep tough to climb out of

Nick (07:40)
Yeah, and there's just there's so much to unpack with with this whole thing this weekend. USA to this today they had eight and half points was the most ever from a team on Sunday. They needed what nine and a half to win so that they got close and it's just the big difference was that the Euros great players were great. Rahm Rory and Tommy were 10-1-1 going into today. Bryson and Scottie were 1-8 going into today.

Uh, going into today, Scottie trailed 54 of like 67 holes and you're right. We never see Scottie struggle and he won today when it was him by himself, but in the team competition, he didn't get a point.

Neil (08:22)
No,

he was 0-4. Not even a half. Not even a half a point. He 0-4.

Nick (08:27)
Yeah, so we said this last week, if Scottie doesn't play well, I don't see how USA has a chance just because just looking at the two rosters, to me, was the Europeans have a clearly have a better team and I couldn't believe they were the positive on the betting apps and the first two days prove that I was right, but man, it almost turned around today.

Neil (08:50)
Yeah, no, it would have been an unbelievable comeback. But how about your boy, Cain Young, and the way he played? He was the bright spot for Team USA as a rookie. He played absolutely fantastic. Got three points. He three and one on the weekend. I thought he was great. outside of him, mean, there was really nobody else. mean, Zander was three and one on the weekend as well. But outside of those two guys, that was about it.

Nick (08:55)
No, you play.

Yeah, Xander

and Cam, you're right, leading the way with three points. I didn't think Xander played that well all week and then he just absolutely put it on Jon Rahm, which Jon Rahm had been amazing the first few days. So, I mean, it's just, it's got to be mentally draining when you've got all those fans on you and you know, you're making shot after shot, you're playing 36 holes the first two days and you wonder if maybe that got to Rahm a little bit.

Neil (09:23)
Yes.

Yeah, probably.

Nick (09:39)
But Fleetwood was just a monster. I know he lost today to JT, but could be another like just mental fatigue, but had four points in the tournament, meaning he won all of his team matches. Rory and Hatton had three and a half each. it's just at the top, they were better than the USA, and that's why they're bringing home back to back Ryder Cubs.

Neil (10:00)
Yeah, no, that is the story. The top players for the Euros were definitely better than our top. And that's all you can say about it. I mean, there's nothing else to be said. You can't dig yourself a hole in team play and expect to dig out of it when you need a miraculous comeback. But two more years, we got to wait for some more excitement. Where are they going? Ireland maybe next? Yeah, so we'll have to wait another two years to try to get them back. And playing over in Europe's never easy.

Nick (10:22)
They're going to Harlem.

No, it's not gonna be easy and that's why you gotta take advantage of when you've got him on your home turf. And I said this to you guys earlier today, the run they made today where they were just so dominant in singles, it kinda puts the onus even more on Key and I think with some of those pairings that he put out, especially on Saturday.

Neil (10:50)
Yeah, no, there were some questionable pairings. Like I said, I'm with you on Griffin. I would have liked to see him play a few more team matches. But he only played two on the weekend or two all weekend.

Nick (11:02)
⁓

he played one on Friday and then he played today.

Neil (11:05)
than DSO 2 for the entire Ryder Cup,

two matches. So I think he was probably one of the better players that he probably needed to play more. But I don't know.

Nick (11:14)
I

just don't know how you run Harris Englishman calling back out there again on Saturday morning. I thought it just got completely waxed and you run it out there and it's the same exact result. And on Friday, JJ Spahn was one of our better players. You saw how good Cam Young was playing after he didn't open the session on Thursday and he plays well on Friday morning. He played well on Friday afternoon and then he's moved into the Saturday morning pairing. JJ Spahn, felt like should have gotten...

played on Saturday morning and that could have changed some things. I just, I don't know how you run Harris English and Colin back out there again. And I don't know how you run Scottie back there with Henley again after they had lost. I would try, I would have tried something else there too.

Neil (11:53)
Yeah, I would have tried something else.

I agree with you there. I would have tried something else as well.

Nick (11:57)
And I don't know, Sam Burns maybe playing with Scottie instead of Henley or I don't know. It's a hard job. I'm not sitting here saying it's not. But when I saw those pairings on Friday night going into Saturday morning, I was kind of besides myself with some of the decisions. And when you make a run like you did today, know, they were six, they were two and six in foursomes. And I think the decisions Keegan Bradley made played a big role in that.

Neil (12:27)
So is this your official bid? Are you trying to become Team USA captain for 2028 or 2027? Is this your spiel?

Nick (12:36)
Yeah, I guess.

I guess I think my chances are probably slim. ⁓ I've broke 80 a couple times, but I had to play really well to do that and make some putts. I don't think I'm going to be the new captain.

Neil (12:50)
Who would you like to see as captain in 2027? Is this where we try to finally get Tiger Woods to commit and become a team captain?

Nick (12:59)
I mean, his Ryder Cup numbers are not very good, surprisingly. But no, I mean, if you can get Tiger as the captain, you 100 % do. Look, dude, and I don't want to dog Keegan too much because I know how hard this is. And I think we were up against it anyways just because of the talent. didn't have a guys coming in. We had several guys that weren't coming in in great form. But, and look, dude, it's such a bad luck thing for Keegan too. Him being left off two years ago.

Neil (13:03)
That's

Nick (13:27)
And then this is the way that they kind of make up for it. And then he ends up playing so well where he probably should have been on the team. But because he's the captain, he's not on the team. He's had a lot of heartbreak with this Ryder Cup. And this also being in his backyard where he played at St. John's, he had a lot of pressure on him. So I know it's hard, but I think those Saturday morning pairings are a little different. Maybe the outcome could have been different.

Neil (13:33)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And luckily it did not come down to that bogus phantom half a point that the Euros got because Victor Hovland decided he wanted to quit. So hey, you know, quit, you get a half a point. And I swear if it would have come down to that, there would have been some riots.

Nick (14:09)
Well, I don't think Victor Hovland decided he wanted to quit. You know, that's, ⁓ it all get into that, but that's another thing that's different about this when it's the USA against, you know, other countries. Like we become so familiar with these guys because we watch them play every week. They're all, they all are Americans. Like now they're all American citizens. It's just, yeah, you want USA to win, but you don't have the hatred I feel like for these guys that you do for other world competitions.

Neil (14:12)
I think he decided.

Yes.

Yeah.

No, there's no hate, like you said, like, you know, like at the Masters I was cheering for Rory, you know, I wanted him to get his Grand Slam. So I like, you know, watching that, like I like Rory. I think he's a great player. He's stuck up for the PGA Tour against Liv and that whole thing. So, I mean, I like Rory, but you know, when it comes down to this, these three days, twice a year, you know, it's...

Nick (14:45)
Yeah.

Neil (14:59)
They talk their trash, the Americans, we talk our trash and it's get it on. then next week we're all back together playing again, probably somewhere in Hawaii or something. We're all friends again and it's all fun and games for three days. It's intense, there's a lot of emotions. saw Shane Lowry and how much it meant to him when he was in tears after his win today. So I mean, it means a lot to these guys. So the emotions are real, but after this week, we're all back to being friends again.

Nick (15:28)
But I went on a little rant there because it's just, is so different because you are so familiar with these guys. But you were talking about that envelope rule. And when Victor comes down with this neck injury, decides he can't go, like, I didn't know this was a rule. It's been a rule since 1979. It's been used twice, once by the Euros, once by the team USA. And that was, I think back in 1991, 1993. But basically both captains put a name and an envelope.

Neil (15:36)
be on the look.

Nick (15:55)
And if it just so happens that a player from the other team gets hurt or gets sick or can't play for any reason, you pull that name out of the envelope from the other team and you tie that match and they both get a half point. When you only need two and a half to win the damn thing, that gets you 20 % of the point closer.

Neil (16:15)
I understand, you know somebody if Victor withdraws somebody from the American team obviously have to withdraw because now you're at odd numbers But you can't give them a half a point for quitting You can't do like I don't understand how you reward somebody for quitting for forfeiting. He forfeited. Let's just be honest It was a forfeit. He might be hurt and he has a legitimate reason, but it's a forfeit never seen you get credit for a forfeit

Nick (16:41)
So what do you do?

Neil (16:42)
I think moving forward you need to have an alternate. You need to have an alternate. So you've got your 12 guys, you have a 13th just in case it's on site. If somebody can't go, you put them in there. Maybe you have two alternates. I don't know in case something else happens. Or, we talked about this today as well, the captain should fill in. Put Luke Donald in there.

Nick (16:44)
Commissioner, Commissioner Roar, what do you do?

for one

of his assistant captains.

Neil (17:03)
or

an assistant cap, I mean if Jose Maria Olethable wants to play and get his old butt in there, he can play. ⁓ But the captain should play or a vice captain, somebody should step up and take that spot. So I mean honestly moving forward they need to have an alternate, a 13th guy on site that can just fill in. But if you don't have that, somebody else needs to step up and play.

Nick (17:22)
Yeah, I think alternate is probably your best option. It would be cool if the captain had to go out there and play, but I don't know how feasible that actually is. So it would be kind of cool, but also kind of disappointing, I guess, to be that 13 guy where you don't think you're going to play. You're just there and ready just in case. But I mean, it eliminates this situation. after when Keegan was doing the press, he was asked about this.

He straight up said, you know, this, this rule has got to change and Luke Donnell comes on and I mean, they won, right? So he's not, he's basically saying, look, this has been the rule since 1979. It's worked in your all's favor. It's worked in our favor. But we signed a contract and we all knew that this is how it was going to go. So, but I just think the rule kind of sucks.

Neil (18:13)
It definitely

is.

Nick (18:14)
It just, it makes most sense. think your first option, having an alternate and just be it cool to be a part of the team, even though you're probably not going to play.

Neil (18:21)
Yeah, I mean you play for practice around these guys, you know, there's things that an alternate could do to help the team. I mean, you can help the captain. If you're not playing, know, help the captain do whatever he needs or help, you know, the guys get ready, be a practice partner with them, you know, something, you know, like watch them. And if you see something that, you know, that could help them out throughout their matches, you know, be that person, be a voice in that room, in that locker room.

Nick (18:44)
Yeah, just kind of another assistant captain. It's just that you might play. So I wouldn't be shocked if this rule is in effect two years when they're playing in Ireland.

Neil (18:47)
Yeah. Yeah.

I guarantee you if this half a point was the reason that the Euros won today, there would be an utter rule change. There would absolutely be a change. I know. I was hoping it

Nick (19:02)
I mean, it got really close to it.

look, when you only need 14 to retain it because you're the defending champion and you're up, you already have 11 and a half, that gets you to 12. I mean, you're getting closer to your goal without even doing anything. And I just, yeah.

Neil (19:19)
Yeah, it's just

trash.

Nick (19:21)
So the other thing that they were talking about after the Ryder Cup, other than all the decisions and the result were the fans and the heckles. And specifically this question was focused on Rory McElroy. If you're a Euro and you're playing in this environment, how do you feel about it?

Neil (19:40)
Yeah.

I mean, the Europeans are probably used to their, like when the Ryder Cubs in Europe, they're used to their fans and the way they do things. Like we talked about this going back to the tennis argument, you know, with the US Open and how, you know, it's not Wimbledon. It's not, you know, your high class, you know, we're all polite and all that out here. Like the American fans are gonna get a little rowdy. They're gonna help you. And there's probably some things that they said and did that 100 % would cross the line in the game of golf.

⁓ But it's nothing new. mean Rory's played in Ryder Cups in the US now for what's probably his third or fourth one has been played in the US. So he's used to it. He should know how it goes over here. I mean is it right? No, there's some probably like said, some things that cross the line and but you know it's not unexpected. It's what we do.

Nick (20:29)
Well, Rory was not very happy about it. you know, we saw him react to it yesterday where he told a fan to shut up after they had told them that the sand trap looks very inviting. And you could hear this all on the audio on the broadcast. But he was asked about that in the presser and like he talked about it kind of being over the top a little bit.

Neil (20:31)
Shocker he's never had.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nick (20:54)
I mean, there's probably some things said that probably shouldn't be said. There's no doubt that happens at a lot of sporting events. But they also threw a beer at his wife. Yeah, so he wasn't very happy about that. so he's got reason to be upset. I think that was mainly what he was upset about. But he clearly wasn't happy about them yelling at him the whole time either. And dude, like we just talked about.

Neil (21:00)
Mm-hmm.

⁓ no, I didn't see that part. Alright. You can't be doing that. Yeah, I can't be

Yeah.

Nick (21:23)
They're so used to being cheered over here. This is so different. Like normally all these fans that are booing him and telling him to hit it in the sand or hit it in the water are the same ones that are cheering for him to win the Masters.

Neil (21:33)
No, I mean, you can't be throwing beers at people's wives and all that. That's across the line. But I golf is one of those unique sports where you and the athlete are within feet of each other. You're not sitting in the stands. There's no barrier. I mean, there's a thin-lined rope, basically, that's between you and them. So they're going to hear everything you say. You're going to hear everything they say. It's one of the cool, one of the best parts about golf, being a spectator sport, like being on the grounds, is these guys that you see on TV and these superstars.

you're within feet of them. you know, with that comes some things that happen, like you said, like some things that happened, you know, this weekend, like it comes with the territory, right or wrong. ⁓ But it is one of the cool unique things about golf that I really do enjoy.

Nick (22:18)
But you know, and also people compare golf to other sports like football and baseball and basketball and talk about people are heckling them all the time and they're screaming and yelling. But the difference is that they're not right on top of them like they like they are in golf and they're not. It's just not a comparable thing. Like that's for the TGL and we'll watch that this this winter. But no, it and then he kind of brought it. Rory brought it on like when we're in Ireland in two years, we'll.

will be a lot more respectful and instead of. And then he goes for the typical, if you're a fan of the USA, why wouldn't you just cheer your guys instead of heckling the other guys? And we're not gonna do that when we're in Ireland, so. But dude, let's not throw beers at people.

Neil (22:48)
Yeah, of course. that's typical Rory. That's typical.

⁓ okay, I see.

He needs to shut up about that

That's crossing the line we all agree like that's a little too far But come on man like like what was the reporter? Yeah I think we're reporter asked him today about an interaction he had with the fan like a fan told him he sucked and he turned around and he goes no I'm really effing good or something like that and he goes you are good. He goes. I know I know I am really good. It's like if you let if you let stuff like that or hit it in the sand like if that's

If that's what's causing you to get all upset, like we need to grow up a little bit. We need to put on our big boy pants a little bit, tighten them up, like come on.

Nick (23:37)
Is he kind of embracing the villain role a little bit? Yeah.

Neil (23:40)
Yes, he does it every

single Ryder Cup. It was the same two years ago when he and was it Bones, the caddy that got into it at the last Ryder Cup in the parking garage or whatever. He absolutely embraces the villain role during these times. He loves it. Shane Lowry is the same way. Like they're all like they they they all do it every year or every two years. It's nothing new. He embraces it.

Nick (24:07)
Well, he was asked about, you really say that? And do you believe it in the press here? And he's like, yeah, I am really good. And you should be confident. Like you're the number two player in the world for a reason. And you've been that high for over 10 years now. Like you should, you should be that confident, but there's no doubt that he enjoys embracing that villain role and he'll do it again here in two years. But, and all the Americans will forget it real quick and cheer for him.

Neil (24:13)
Yeah, yeah.

Nick (24:36)
in the spring.

Neil (24:37)
course.

Nick (24:38)
So, no, it was just disappointing today going into it. You look forward to this event every two years and then you're down by eight going into the final. But they made a run at it and it was fun to watch all day today.

Neil (24:51)
Yeah, no, mean, you got that's going on, NFL football is going on, Major League Baseball is going on. You know, I'm trying to watch three different screens at one time. So it was a lot, but it was a lot of fun.

Nick (25:02)
It was, and we'll look forward to doing this again in two years and see if the USA can turn the table and win in European soil.

Neil (25:13)
We're have to get better, that's for sure.

Nick (25:15)
We talked about on Wednesday all the college football matches on Saturday and all the big ones, they kind of lived up to the hype.

Neil (25:26)
Absolutely great great games on Saturday or yesterday ⁓ Two that really stood out to me one Oregon going into Happy Valley in the whiteout Getting the win in overtime an absolutely fantastic game ended with that interception of Aller in the in overtime big win for Oregon Tough for James Franklin as he's trying to shake that can you win the big you know top ten matchup and No, he still can't ⁓ but

Nick (25:51)
We cannot.

Neil (25:55)
You know, that was huge. also the Alabama Crimson Tide, who everybody after week one, that loss against Florida State was ready to bury them and ready to get rid of the head coach. They come into Georgia. Georgia had a 33 game home winning streak and then they beat them. I mean, they just beat them. So Alabama off the map back into the national title conversation.

questions now about Georgia, like you know how good are they? So I mean there's this this national title race and this playoff race just seems absolutely wide wide open. mean LSU losing ⁓ to Lane Kiffin, know Lane Kiffin's daughter's boyfriend coming up on the short end of the stick of that matchup so it's just wide open the SEC just proved that it's once again juggling out of a conference everybody's good so I don't know but Oregon and Alabama to me are the two big winners of the weekend.

Nick (26:47)
I don't know if everybody's good. I don't know if you watched Kentucky play last night, but everybody's not good, but there's a lot of really good teams at the top of the SEC. yeah, mean, Caleb DeBoer at Alabama, his seed got a lot less hot after going in and to Georgia and getting that win. Alabama's 10 and 1 now in their last 11 games against Georgia. And Kirby Smart, he's 1 and 7 against Alabama. ⁓

This is kind of what we've seen with these two programs over the last 10 years. And obviously the majority of that's Nick Saban, but now Caleb DeBoer comes in and takes advantage of it. But ⁓ yeah, huge win for Alabama. Ty Simpson was really good. ⁓ And you're right, it puts Alabama back in the national championship conversation when we didn't think that was going to be a thing at the beginning of the year. you talked about

The the Oregon went over Penn State. I mean, what was that game 3-3 in the third quarter? There just wasn't a lot of scoring early on in that game and and then Oregon goes up 17 to 3 and you look like it's over because Drew Alar is just not playing very good and they haven't moved the ball, then they go down score twice and force OT and Oregon overcomes, you know everything and overtime. I mean Dante Moore is just better than Drew Alar. I mean that was a big part of the reason why.

that while Oregon won that game.

Neil (28:15)
Yep. Yep.

Nick (28:17)
And then you talked about the Ole Miss ⁓ over LSU. Yeah, I mean the big story, was Lane Kiffin's daughter and the LSU linebacker when they announced it. They were seeing each other the week of the game, but big win for Ole Miss, man. And I will say this, Trinidad Chambliss, who came in when their starting quarterback was hurt in the Kentucky game, now has played three games and has 300-plus passing yards and 50 rushing yards in all three starts.

I don't know who the Heisman Trophy candidates really are right now. They talked about Mendoza at Indiana, but you've done that in three straight games. Even though you didn't enter the season as a starter, you're probably on that list.

Neil (28:58)
Yeah, no, absolutely. you said, there's not, I don't think that true Heisman front runner, you know, like there was last year with Travis Hunter, ⁓ it's a wide open race.

Nick (29:07)
Yeah, and you look at that game and LSU's just, their offense just is why they're losing games. Nussmeyer just does not look great, but they're not running the ball either. They scored less than 20 points for the third time this season. I get their defense is really good, but when teams move the ball like Ole Miss did, they move the ball on LSU better than anybody has this year. LSU's just going to have a hard time winning those games.

Neil (29:14)
once again. Yeah, it happened again.

Yeah, no, absolutely. And then you also... Go ahead.

Nick (29:38)
And then, what?

You got it.

Neil (29:43)
Go ahead.

Nick (29:44)
Are you moving on to else?

Neil (29:46)
Well, I was going to go to the Florida State game next, if you're still talking SEC, we can talk SEC. I'll say, another big winner of weekend was the Virginia Cavaliers. How about them? Coming out of the gates, hot.

Nick (29:51)
Nah, go ahead.

Neil (30:01)
taking a 14-0 lead on Florida State, Florida State giving it right back to them on two straight turnovers. Florida State comes back and takes the lead. They go tooth and nail, and Virginia comes out with the win. And how about the field storm afterward, where people are saying it's probably the fastest field storm in college football history?

Nick (30:21)
Yeah, I don't know how the Virginia corner in the Florida State wide receiver didn't get hurt. They're both on the ground in the end zone. The ball had just fell and they're on top of them in five seconds. And I'm all for field storms, court storms, like fans should be able to celebrate big wins over, know, big wins like that. But we can't be letting people get hurt. And I don't know how they did it because there are several people had to just run over straight over top.

Neil (30:31)
it

I mean, yeah, there was no barrier. I it was the student section that's on that hill. I mean, there is no barrier. It was a few, you know, yellow shirt securities, security people, but there was no way they were stopping the thousands of students from getting on that field. And like you said, as soon as the ball hit the ground, these students were running over these players. I mean, as you said, I don't understand how nobody got hurt. Thankfully they didn't, but something's gotta change there. You can't be having that.

Nick (31:17)
Yeah, and I mean, I think Virginia is probably one of the surprise teams though, early on in the year. And now they go to an undefeated Louisville team on Saturday. It should be a good one.

Neil (31:27)
Virginia is now ranked in the AP Top 25. So it will be a ranked Virginia Cavaliers team coming into L.A. Stadium on Saturday at 3.30. Should be a good one.

Nick (31:37)
Yeah, I guess the other ACC team that we got to talk about is Georgia Tech who struggled most of the game against Wake, gets a field goal at the buzzer to force overtime. Haynes King scores on a sneak and then Wake goes for it, goes for two, but doesn't get it and Georgia Tech remains undefeated.

Neil (31:56)
Yeah, I mean that was kind of a surprise. You you'd expect the way that Georgia Tech's been playing that they would, you know, go into Winston-Salem and get a pretty easy win there. But, you know, just the way college football is, you know, like they came back from a 17-point deficit. Louisville came back from a 17-point deficit at Pitt. And there was one other team, I think, this weekend that came back from a 17-point deficit. you know, you got to come ready to play every week. ⁓ Otherwise, you know, you could get upset just like Florida State found out. So, Georgia Tech lucky that that didn't happen to them. ⁓

schedule is favorable the rest of the year in the ACC. you know, hopefully that's a wake up call for them, but they got to come ready to play.

Nick (32:33)
Yeah, I guess we can close with IU squeaking out a win at Iowa. always, they remind me of the Browns of college football. They always kind of muck things up, but Mendoza finds Sarat late to win that game 20 to 13. Ohio State offense continues to just do enough, but their defense is really good as they roll in Washington. So they went out West in 124 to six and, you know, it's just, and then Illinois recovered from that loss to.

to Indiana last week and one at the buzzer against USC. So Brent Bielam has got that Illinois is their fifth ranked win in the last two years, which is tied for the fourth most in FBS. I don't think a lot of people would know that.

Neil (33:16)
No, you always know Illinois is good, but you don't expect them to be that good. But he's got him playing good ball, he's got him rolling. So as you said, I don't think a of people know that, but they are a good football team.

Nick (33:30)
Yeah, and also when you go look at Indiana, it shows that they can win games multiple ways, right? Their offense just goes off last week and then this week they had 13 points most of the way and then just had that late touchdown to sneak it out after the miss miss field goal attempt from Iowa helped him out too.

Neil (33:34)
Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah, and that's just the way I will play as football. Like you said, you muck it up. Their offense has never been historically great. They win these low scoring, boring type of football games. But Indiana did just enough to get that victory. How about the last play of the game where it was a 40 yard safety, where Mendoza just took the ball and ran backwards. 30 seconds left.

Nick (34:05)
Grand O'clock out. How much time was left

at the beginning of that play? you remember? Three.

Neil (34:10)
Three seconds, three seconds.

And instead of just, you know, maybe going down at the 10 yard line, nope, he took it to the house. Negative 40 yard run for a safety and Indiana still wins it by five. That's a video game. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I mean, he could have just gone down at the one yard line, but I mean, I don't know if, you know, people at Live Line bet that game, if that has some implications on it, but I'm sure it did somewhere.

Nick (34:19)
That's like something you would do on a video game, but you don't see it in real life.

Yeah, and Arkansas just completely manhandled by Notre Dame after the game. Sam Pittman is fired. I bet you don't know who's the interim head coach in Arkansas.

Neil (34:47)
I have a feeling it's a familiar face that's back down there. Is that true?

Nick (34:51)
It is, it is. So he gets a second chance in Louisville after being an idiot. And now he gets a second chance at Arkansas after being an idiot.

Neil (35:00)
I don't know. Yeah.

I mean, I think the guy can coach football. mean, I'm a Bobby Petrino hater by any means. think he can coach football. It's a tough situation down there in Arkansas right now because they're just not very good. I mean, I think he probably finishes the season and they go looking for somebody else. maybe he can pull it together here in the last couple of games. His tenure, last time we saw him ⁓ as a power five head coach or power four head coach was when he was here at Louisville and it did not end well for him here, unfortunately. But he's getting up.

Once again, another second chance. Hopefully it makes the best of it.

Nick (35:38)
which is wild. It's just wild to me, ⁓ especially the way it went down in Arkansas. It makes it just even more wild. But here's what's gonna happen. They're gonna recover. They're gonna win. They're gonna go undefeated the rest of the year. And then the Falcons are gonna hire him.

Neil (35:53)
get a second chance at the Falcons too, and then when that doesn't work, is it going back to Western Kentucky in about six years?

Nick (35:58)
That's the only one he hasn't been back to ⁓ after he goes to the Falcons. So Bobby Petrino back in with Arkansas, which is not something I thought I was gonna see when I woke up this morning.

Neil (36:11)
No.

Nick (36:11)
Well, NFL schedule today. What game stuck out to you?

Neil (36:15)
mean, the NFL right now is just a crap shoot to me. The Buffalo Bills are about the only consistent team that I see right now that's just winning games. But then you have the LA Chargers who were playing really, really good football, one of the undefeated teams that were left. They go into.

you know, New York with Jackson darts first start and lose that game. Didn't see that coming. The Ravens absolutely getting manhandled by the Kansas City Chiefs today. Did not see that happening. You know, the Jaguars, the Jacksonville Jaguars going out West to San Francisco and getting a 26-21 victory there. And then, you know, like the Falcons, the lifeless Falcons last week who just got their doors blown off by the Carolina Panthers, you know, beat a pretty good Washington commander's team. I know they didn't have Jayden Daniels, but you know, like that.

Nick (37:01)
Mariotta's

been good, I mean.

Neil (37:02)
I mean,

the commanders are good and you have a Falcons team that got their doors blown off last week by a bad Panthers team come in and they win that game at home against the commander. So the NFL to me right now just doesn't make any sense whatsoever except for the Buffalo Bills. ⁓ But it's an absolute crap shoot to me right now. It's wild.

Nick (37:21)
Well,

and I think Philly is pretty good too. They won today 31 to 25. We're up a ton. And then Baker and the Bucs made a comeback and had a chance several times late in the game. Baker threw a pick late and just, I think the Eagles are really good. Did you see, there's been so much talk about the tush push. They ran a fake tush push today. And Saquon went 15 yards for the cutting.

Neil (37:25)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I did not see that. What was the fake part about that?

They handed it off instead? And then he bounced it to the outside instead of going up the middle.

Nick (37:51)
They did, yeah, and it worked to absolute perfection. Didn't even,

yeah, he bounced into the, wasn't even anybody, anybody even close. So yeah, they now have the fake tush push that you have to worry about. And the Colts today lost their first game. Daniel Jones was still pretty good. I just think Matthew Stafford was a little better and you had Adonay Mitchell who fumbles at the goal line after

Neil (38:01)
Smart, very smart of them.

Another

one.

Nick (38:21)
But a 70 yard completion, something close to that. I mean, we see this every year where somebody, I mean, and the play he made was incredible. The catch and then the spin off of the tackle to take it to the house. But how do guys keep doing this where they're letting the ball go before they cross the goal line?

Neil (38:24)
Yep. Don't get it.

I don't understand how it still happens. mean, you're Mitchell, like you've seen this happen before, and if you're a wide receiver in the NFL, you see this happen before, and you have to think to yourself, I'm not gonna be that guy. Like, that's not gonna happen to me. I know I'm not, then you do it. Just take the ball through the back of the end zone. Tuck it under the arm, run it past the goal line, drop it, spike it, whatever you wanna do, but make sure you do it when you're out of the back of the end zone. Because you cost your team seven points right there, and they lost by seven.

I mean, the Colts were up for a decent amount of that game. They were up in, think, early in the fourth quarter. And then, you know, they lost by seven and that's a huge reason why. I mean, that's seven points you don't have, you lose by seven. Like you're the reason my guy.

Nick (39:22)
He was the reason twice. mean, Taylor bumped that touchdown run into the end zone and it was called back on a, because of a hold and it was him on that too. So, yeah, I mean, they probably got a little lucky with their win over the Broncos at home a couple of weeks ago, but they cost themselves with some plays that really hurt them by one player for the most part. And then what I think Stafford found two-two Atwell for a big touchdown score to win that game.

Neil (39:30)
That was it, yep.

88 yards I believe that one was. Yeah, big one.

Nick (39:53)
Yeah.

So, but I mean, I think overall you're still really happy with the way Daniel Jones is playing. mean, people in the crowd in LA are dressed up like Indiana Jones now. I mean, how things have changed with Daniel Jones.

Neil (40:06)
Embrace it.

Yeah, embrace it.

Nick (40:10)
⁓ You talked about the Jags going on the road and beating the Niners. The Jaguars are 3-1 and their only loss is the Cincinnati. They lead the league with 13 takeaways. ⁓ It's their best start since they're 3-1 for the first time since 2018. mean, you got to be really happy with the job Liam Colton has done in his first month on the job.

Neil (40:36)
Yeah, I mean it's definitely surprising, but you you said they're three in one, you go out west, be, what?

I consider a pretty good San Francisco 49ers team, especially when you're going cross country and getting that dub. I you've already taken care of your in division rivals, the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans. So, you know, three big wins there. You know, they haven't played the Colts yet. So those are going to be two really tough games and two good games to watch coming down later in the season. Because I think those two teams are obviously the front runners in that division with the way they're playing. But the Jacksonville Jaguars under, like you said, rookie head coach Liam Cohen. So far, I think it's probably these

surprise of the NFL.

Nick (41:15)
Yeah, I mean I think the Colts are there too like there's several surprises, but they're definitely one of them ⁓ You know One game that we didn't talk about today is a team that got off the deck that hadn't won a game the Texans who just put it on the Tennessee Titans 26 to nothing I mean are the Titans so well first off cam ward after the game is quoted as saying if we keep it a buck we ass

We asked.

Neil (41:44)
even know what

that means but it sounds like it's an accurate statement.

Nick (41:48)
Yeah, they're not very good.

Neil (41:49)
Yeah, I think that's probably what he was getting to. I'm not up on that lingo, the cool lingo these days, but I think that's ultimately what his statement was. Yeah, yeah. I don't know if we keep it a buck. You know what that means? You have to go to Urban Dictionary. You to crack open the Urban Dictionary on the computer, try to look that one up.

Nick (41:58)
I know what the wee ass part means.

I don't, we need somebody much younger and hipper.

I mean, I gotta go to Harper & Bennett to figure out what 6'7'' means and they don't even know, they just like to say it.

Neil (42:18)
I don't think

anybody knows what that means.

But how about you want to talk about my guy, Michael Pinnix in the Atlanta Falcons today? What's your thoughts on that after, like I said, getting their doors blown off last week with Pinnix going for over 302 tutties today?

Nick (42:32)
Well, I was talking about how bad he was last week and you got to play Kirk Cousins and just showed you, I you talk about how crazy it is, right? Some of the results, we don't know who's good. It's a week to week league, man, like matchups and just the way you're playing that day, just, you just never know what you're going to get. And that's why the ratings for the NFL are as good as they are. Because I mean, it's the best reality TV that there is. And just because the games are so unpredictable.

Neil (42:59)
Mm-hmm.

Nick (43:02)
I mean, we talked about how bad the Titans are. Like if you would have told me who's the other worst team in football, would have told you the Saints. And they end up getting beat double digits in Buffalo. But I mean, they were in that game late and they had a touchdown call back where they eventually were only able to get three. But the Saints played that game close and that's two weeks in a row where the Bills have struggled against teams that we don't think are that good, but they figured out a way to win.

Neil (43:28)
Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, it's an unpredictable league. said, the Saints, I'm with you. I would have said that they're probably the second worst team as well. And they showed some heart today in Buffalo. Like you said, they were in that game late. Then another team, like the Minnesota Vikings last week, beat our Cincinnati Bengals by 40, absolutely destroy us. And they go to Ireland, and they were down that whole game. And they lose. They all come back and win it. Yeah. So you know, like.

Nick (43:51)
And then they almost come back and win.

You

know.

Neil (43:57)
One week you win

by 40, the next week you're down two touchdowns and you end up losing the game by a touchdown. But it's such an unpredictable week to week thing.

Nick (44:05)
Well, you had talked about this and I really hadn't rehashed it yet, but the Giants came today. Who would have ever expected them to go in and beat the 3-0 Chargers with Jackson Dart making his first start? Nobody would have predicted that. They went straight down the field and scored on their first drive. It was the first person since like 2000 or whatever year my home's rookie year was to go down and score on your first drive, a drive of 80 yards or more.

I talked about how much I thought Justin Herbert was just playing unbelievable the first three weeks and then he throws three picks today. you just, and he didn't look good the whole game. Like you just don't know what you're going to get. And maybe that's a good thing for the Bengals tomorrow night because as bad as you looked last Sunday, maybe you can flip the switch and look that good on Monday night.

Neil (44:58)
can only hope. If you're the Miami Dolphins, you're thinking the same thing. The Dolphins looked like absolute trash for the first three weeks. And they got a big Monday night game tomorrow night, so maybe they can flip the script. So if you're the Bengals and the Dolphins, you're looking around the league, you can beat anybody. Anybody can beat anybody, it seems like.

Nick (45:16)
That Jets-Dolphins game is looking good for a Monday nighter.

Neil (45:19)
Dolphins I think bringing out the black unis. Is that what I saw this week? I think it's like an all black uniform combination, yeah.

Nick (45:23)
Bye.

What the dolphins need to do is just go back to the old uniforms with the dolphin with the helmet on it and Change your your teal whatever that color is back to what it used to be because Well, I don't think they're gonna do that but you can bring back his uniform You bring back his uniform But I don't know ⁓ I'm excited to see what the Bengals do tomorrow night on the road. They've had some success

Neil (45:31)
The infinite helmet.

Bring back Dameron. He's not one. He could be ready. Yeah.

Nick (45:55)
on the road on Monday night, the last couple of years. ⁓ Jake Browning, his first ever win was against the Jaguars on Monday night. So he's had success on Monday night in the past. We've talked about this, it's a broken record. They've got to figure out a way to run the football. And it's gonna be hard to do it against a formidable Denver defense.

Neil (46:16)
Yeah, we talked about what we wanted to see this week from the Bengals and it's just the improvement of the offense. I the offense has to just be better as you said, running the football, but just getting the ball to your playmakers. You have to find a way to get Tee involved, Jamar involved, get them the ball any way, any how you can. And usually good things when those guys touch the ball, good things happen. So got to find a way.

Nick (46:38)
If

you can just figure out a way to you get to 3 in 1.

The Steelers are also three and one, but they haven't looked like world beaters at all. And Baltimore is now one and three with a banged up defense that is just not very good. Lamar lost the game with a hamstring injury. You know how tough those can be sometimes. Now he might have played if the game was closer. So it might not be as bad as, you know, normally when you come out of a game. But I mean, I do think people in Baltimore are freaking out a little bit and

This is a team four weeks ago in week one where I'm watching the game and I'm like, I don't know how anybody's gonna beat them. They end up losing that game and now they're one and three a month later.

Neil (47:23)
And haven't looked good the last two weeks either. I mean, they got absolutely manhandled today. Even against Detroit, they were down pretty big in that Detroit game before coming back, I think only losing by a score. the last two weeks, they've got to get some things figured out.

Nick (47:36)
They got to. I'm not real sure I want them to, but...

Neil (47:39)
No, they

can be garbage the rest of the year if they want. If they finish the season, what is it, one in 16, it won't hurt my feelings.

Nick (47:47)
I don't think it's gonna happen, but I mean, they came into this week with the most points in the league, and they were one and two. So they're still up top. They're still one of the better scoring teams in the league after putting up 20. But the score today was 37 to 20, and it wasn't that close.

Neil (48:05)
And they gave up what, over 40 or something close to 40 to the Lions last week. Their defense has got some issues.

Nick (48:12)
Well, it's two weeks in a row too that it's just been snooze fest for Jim Nance and Tony Romo. And we played a big role in that last week. The Bengals did, but another one, two weeks in a row with the A crew just not getting the ring.

Neil (48:24)
did they at least

let them finish their broadcast this week? that's good they didn't have to cut out early in the halftime and catch an early flight home

Nick (48:28)
that they did finish the broadcast.

They did not.

They did not.

And I guess to close we talked at the beginning of show that we talk about this on Wednesday, but I started thinking about it. There'd already be a bunch of games already played in the wild card round. So we kind of got to talk about this now. Let's make our postseason predictions. And I guess you want to start with the American League?

Neil (48:50)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay.

Yeah, we could do that.

Nick (48:58)
You got the Tigers

and the Guardians. The Tigers limp into the postseason, give up a 15 and a half game lead in the AL Central. The Guardians come in and take it, the largest, the most games ever made up to win a division. And now they're playing in the best of three, who you got?

Neil (49:17)
I mean, you gotta ride the hot wave and go with the Guardians in this one, don't you? I mean, the Tigers have just collapsed. Guardians have been playing good baseball. I think they sold a couple dudes at the trade deadline thinking they weren't even gonna be in it. And then now here you are as a division champion. So they will be hosting those three games, that best of three series in Cleveland. They just played the Tigers in Cleveland and won that series, what, last week. So I think you gotta ride the wave and go with the Guardians.

Nick (49:46)
No doubt and the Tigers collapses just as bad as the Mets. But they just were able to squeak in. But yeah, you got to go the Guardians there. And then the other wild card matchup, the ESPN just absolutely giddy as Boston goes to the Yankees.

Neil (50:05)
You know, I think you gotta go with the Yankees just being in New York. They went through a little rough stretch midway through the season. They've kind of come out of that. I mean, they took the division down to the wire today. They were tied with the Blue Jays. They both won. So think they both end up finished tied for the division, but the Blue Jays win it based on a tiebreaker. So Yankees playing better baseball than they were about a month two ago. Being in New York, I think you gotta go with the New York Yankees.

Nick (50:30)
Yeah, just these teams play each other so much and they're so familiar with each other. You just never know what's gonna happen. Being at home, I think is an advantage. The Reds are playing better ball at the end of the year. I don't know who's gonna win that series. But I guess you just go Yankees cuz they're at home. And then we'll save your best for last. The Padres go into the Cubbies.

Neil (50:46)
Yeah, I'd agree.

As much as I hate the Chicago Cubs and as much as the Reds just put it on them, that four game series last weekend, I think the Cubs coming off a huge, not a huge sweep, but they took care of the Cardinals and beat them pretty good over the weekend. Cubs are playing back, they've turned it around after their five game losing streak, swept the Cardinals, being in Wrigley, San Diego coming cross country. Let's go with the Cubs.

Nick (51:16)
Yeah, I'll go opposite with you on this one. I'm gonna go Padres. I don't know. just, think the Padres offense is probably a little better than Chicago's. And I mean, they're not gonna be intimidated to come out east to Chicago. So, and I don't want us all to be the same. So I'll go San Diego on that one. The red legs and the Dodgers.

Neil (51:35)
Okay.

The juggernaut?

Cincinnati Redlegs offense against Shohei Otani and Imanaga and you know that Dodgers line up, let's go with the Los Angeles Dodgers are just going to sweep the Reds. Let's all be honest here. It's not even going to be that close. The Reds offense is absolutely terrible. They do have 100 green pitching, so that gives me a little bit of a ray of hope, but I just don't see how the Reds offense is going to do anything out in LA. They've already been swept out there in a three game series earlier this year, but.

I just don't see how they're going to do anything.

Nick (52:12)
No, I mean, they're up against it, but I don't think anybody expected them to be in the postseason this year. I mean, you don't want a moral victory if you go in and you lose two-nothing and you're done in two games. I mean, they'd like to get a win in the postseason for the first time since 2013. Obviously, during the COVID year, they didn't win a game. ⁓ I don't know. just, the Dodgers, they're kind of showing a little bit of regression, but have they regressed enough to where a Reds offense is?

Neil (52:28)
Mm-hmm.

Nick (52:42)
that has struggled for the most part is gonna be able to win that series. I don't know. mean, Hunter Green would have to, you gotta win that first game to have a chance obviously. So if you can throw a shutout and they can get one timely home run and then you go and you gotta figure out a way to win one of the next two. I don't know, but I just, I think you gotta go Dodgers.

Neil (53:02)
It would not surprise me if the Reds don't even score a run. They get swept into two games, they don't score a run. Hunter Green can be lights out and pitch a complete game. If he gives up one run, can the Reds even score a run to get that win? So I don't know. I just don't have any faith in the Reds offense, but they'll get lucky.

Nick (53:23)
Did

they score a run in 2020 when they were in the playoffs?

Neil (53:26)
I don't think they did. After that 13, was it a 13 inning marathon with your Braves? 13 innings? No, we did not.

Nick (53:28)
I don't think they did.

Yeah, was one nothing and then they didn't score in game two. So

they haven't scored a postseason run since 2013. I think I think.

Neil (53:38)
Thanks, Nick. Hiya.

We played the Pirates in that wild card when Johnny Quedo dropped the ball. I think we scored a run in that.

Nick (53:48)
Okay. But that was the play-in. Was that the wild card or was it the play-in?

Neil (53:52)
That's back when the Wildcard had, like, they had two Wildcard teams in the one game series.

Nick (53:56)
The one game series? Yeah,

you play 162 to play one. And if you're up seven games over the next wild card, congratulations, they win this game, they move up eight games. The stupidity of the one game wild card.

Neil (54:06)
Yep, that's how it worked.

Yeah, it didn't last very long.

Nick (54:13)
So I don't think we need to go into the whole thing. We'll kind of go into that later, but at least wanted to go through the wild card. baseball postseason, mean, it's one of the better postseason.

Neil (54:26)
It gets wild. Yeah, I mean you have four games coming up on Tuesday. I love a good daytime baseball. know, crowds are always hyped, sellout crowds, waving towels, you know, so it looks like awesome atmospheres all over the country. I'm excited to get it going on Tuesday.

Nick (54:42)
You know what gets me really excited about afternoon postseason baseball? Because it just throws you back to when you were a kid and you get home and you get off the bus at what, around four o'clock and you know there's gonna be a game on. And that just gives you a different feel that whole day at school because as soon as I get home, I get to watch this game. And it just kind of reminds you of that a little bit.

Neil (55:04)
No, Nick, that just happened to you because you grew up as a kid in the early 90s when the Atlanta Braves were playing at 4 o'clock on a weekday.

Nick (55:13)
Well, I'm not talking about

my team specifically. I'm just talking about postseason games in general.

Neil (55:16)
I mean,

I enjoy postseason baseball, but when you had the luxury of being an Atlanta Braves fan your whole life and the Atlanta Braves being great during your prime youth years, it's probably a little more exciting for you than it was for me.

Nick (55:29)
Well, I'm not saying that that's not true, but I am just saying baseball as a whole. I enjoy the four o'clock games. It reminds me of being a kiddo. I just, there's not enough day baseball anymore. And they bring it back in the postseason and I like that aspect of it.

And you know, we've talked a lot about home run balls.

Neil (55:50)
We have, a lot of things

about the Home Run Balls have not been great.

Nick (55:54)
We're ten episodes in, think we've maybe half the episodes. We've talked about somebody's home run ball. We talked about Philly Karen, we talked about Mike Trout. We got a new one.

Neil (56:05)
Yeah. ⁓

another home run ball story. Let's hear this one. Yes.

Nick (56:08)
We got to know him. Cal Raleigh hits

his 60th home run.

Neil (56:14)
Yup.

Nick (56:14)
Dude catches it.

Neil (56:16)
Yep.

Nick (56:16)
No crazy lady comes and tries to take it from me.

Neil (56:18)
Thank

God, that's good news. We're off to a good start. What's he doing with the ball?

Nick (56:22)
But we

talked about what we would do if we got the ball. I mean, it's an opportunity to make some cash, right?

Neil (56:28)
I

mean, I'm thinking a 60 home run ball from Cal Raleigh who's already set multiple records, know, the switch hitting record and, you know, catching record and being the Mariners all time home run. I'm assuming that ball was probably worth a decent amount of money.

Nick (56:44)
I, yeah, you said it, the most ever by a switch hitter, the most ever by a catcher in a single season.

Neil (56:49)
ninth most all time of anybody.

Nick (56:51)
Aaron judges, I looked it up his 62nd homer three years ago went for 1.5 million

Neil (56:58)
That's when he set the AL record, right?

Nick (57:00)
So yeah, so

you're looking, I don't think you're not getting maybe at least a third of that maybe 500,000 between. So I guess we've kind of buried the lead here. The dude catches the ball and immediately sees a little buddy in front of him and gives it to a kid.

Neil (57:06)
Yeah, I would say a couple hundred thousand. Yeah.

That's, now see, that's the kind of stuff that I'm here for. That is what grown adults should be doing. Now, 60th home run ball, maybe I pocket that one. But, good on that dude, giving up $500,000 to make a kid happy. I hope little Johnny has a smile on his face when he went home that night.

Nick (57:38)
So they asked him about it, because obviously this is such an incredibly kind gesture, It's a 60th home run ball. And he said he was just kind of lost in the moment. Saw this kid and he just handed it to him. What are the chances that he had no idea that this was such an historic baseball?

Neil (57:44)
Yeah.

I'm gonna say he probably did not realize what he just did. Cause if I'm him and I'm sure he's feeling the same way as, damn, maybe I shouldn't have done that. But he's having a little second, a little bit of regret there. A little second guess.

Nick (58:15)
I

don't know if he is, if he is, hasn't let that be seen. Cal Raleigh did bring him and his family onto the field, gave him a signed bat, gave his kids a couple signed baseballs. But I just think there's a really good chance that this guy had no idea that this was Cal Raleigh's 60th home run ball. And I mean, once you give it to a kid, you can't be like, you're not getting it back.

Neil (58:41)
You may get it back.

Not

getting it back.

Nick (58:44)
And

you also can't be like, damn, I didn't even realize what that was. I wouldn't have gave it to him, like, because it's already happened. So.

Neil (58:53)
But also,

you get this home run ball, And as you said, he probably doesn't realize what this home run actually means. Gives it to a kid to make this kid happy, like as you should as a grown adult. What do think little Johnny's gonna do with that home run ball when he gets home? You put that thing on eBay, he keeping that thing. That's paying for college.

Nick (59:09)
Well, little Johnny's already David. Little Johnny.

Neil (59:14)
That's paying for his future

house. That's paying for his new car when he turned 16. Like that's paying for everything. Lil Johnny doesn't care about that ball. He sees dollar signs and you know his mom and dad are probably seeing dollar signs as well. So you think as the other guy, you're making this kid's day, putting a little smile on his face like, this is cute. Yeah, Lil Johnny's won that thing back on eBay for $500,000.

Nick (59:37)
If I'm a little Johnny, yeah, you're right. That's exactly what I'm doing. And we talked about this a couple of shows ago. I'm getting you in front of me, I'm getting somebody else behind me, and we're getting the heck out of Dodge. We're getting home, and we're getting home with that baseball. But this little Johnny did not do that. He gave it to Cal Raleigh. Mm-hm. Yeah. And I think he probably got a couple of signed bats as well. So a lot of signed bats for this baseball, but I don't think that gets close to the...

Neil (59:39)
That's all I wanted.

Yup.

Oh he did! I didn't know that part. Well that's good for Lil Jonny.

Nick (1:00:06)
$500,000 that this ball maybe could have gotten the open market.

Neil (1:00:10)
No, I think that was, the kid made a mistake on that one, I don't know. If you're do we know how old this kid was?

Nick (1:00:19)
I don't know if they said exactly, but he looked like he was probably like seven or eight.

Neil (1:00:23)
little

seven year old. For a seven or eight year old kid when really money doesn't really mean a thing to you at that age, know, meeting Kyle Riley, getting to do cool things, you know, behind the scenes is probably ⁓ something that's more important to you than money when it comes to that age.

Nick (1:00:40)
I love you being sentimental and I really want to believe what you said is true, but $500,000 can do a lot of things.

Neil (1:00:50)
You

think a seven, know, what do you think a seven year old thinks about $500,000? Do you think he...

Nick (1:00:55)
I don't

think a seven year old thinks anything about $500,000. But I know as he gets older, as he gets older, that $500,000 can do a lot of things.

Neil (1:00:57)
Mom and dad do. I know mom and dad do.

⁓

yeah. I'm, ⁓ yeah.

Nick (1:01:05)
And he's seven years old and he's gonna be like, man, I met Kyle Riley when I was seven years old. But he also could be paying for his college and his first house, down payment on his first house and could be doing a lot of things.

Neil (1:01:16)
Hopefully when Calla Raleigh signs its contract extension for $400 million here whenever that comes up, he thinks a little Johnny and maybe drops him a couple cash here on the side.

Nick (1:01:26)
No no hitters this year.

Neil (1:01:28)
Nope. Nope.

Nick (1:01:30)
But it was the season of the caught home run ball and what do people do with it? And we got to thank Philly Karen for.

Neil (1:01:38)
That is

what 2025 will be remembered for. The home run ball and what to do with it. And Philly Skunk Hair Caring. ⁓

Nick (1:01:48)
Philly's gonna be how many

we're getting close to Halloween. How many people are gonna dress as Philly skunk hair Karen?

Neil (1:01:59)
Oh, I guarantee you if you go to all the many spirit Halloween shops that are going be popping up in all the abandoned warehouses and buildings across the country here in the next month, you'll probably find a Philly's Karen costume probably already made in some of these places. There will definitely be a handful, probably mostly in Philadelphia, but she's definitely going to become a Halloween costume. And speaking of her, has there been an update on Philly Karen? Has she been found out? Who is she? What she does?

Spoke publicly at all about anything?

Nick (1:02:32)
What is this? Look, is this extra? Like what show? What are we doing here? Like, I don't know what's going on with Philly Karen. I haven't done any investigative.

Neil (1:02:36)
I just wanna have it.

I mean, it's like, you can't just forget about

it. Like, she's been made into this laughing stock of America. Like, has she come out and told any kind of her side of the story? Like, where's she been?

Nick (1:02:45)
Look.

Like I was going to follow up on the Halloween costume and had a good comment to make about that. And now we're wondering what Philly's Karen had for dinner last night. Like where did this come from?

Neil (1:03:02)
I

mean if I just need to know I need to know like if if you Nick Evans are made into the laughing joke of America Don't you want to defend yourself?

Nick (1:03:13)
How do you defend yourself? You just walked up to a dude, demanded the baseball, made a kid cry, and then walked away with it and showed zero remorse at all.

Neil (1:03:19)
⁓ I don't know.

You try to come up with something. I don't know.

Nick (1:03:25)
But yeah, I don't know. I don't know what Philly Karen's been up to. I don't know if she's been back to work. I guess do we need to put somebody on this case?

Neil (1:03:34)
We need to put somebody on this case. I need to know who she is and what she's doing.

Nick (1:03:39)
But you, so when you go to Spirit of Halloween to get your Philly Karen costume, you know it's not gonna say Phillies Karen because they ain't gonna pay for the copyrights. So like, know, all the costumes that they have in there that just reject names. So it'll say like crazy baseball fan or crazy skunk hair baseball fan. Yeah.

Neil (1:03:42)
Yep.

Mm-hmm.

No, of course not.

It's gonna say baseball Karen is what it's gonna say. It'll say baseball. Yeah, it'll say baseball

Karen or something like that. Should I check it out when I go to the Spirit Halloween? I dress up for you?

Nick (1:04:08)
Base beer.

Honestly, we need to research

this and see if it exists and if it doesn't, we need to get in production real quick. Because I think there's a market for it.

Neil (1:04:19)
I mean,

maybe I'll buy the Phillies Karen costume and wear it to the Bruce and Shirley Evans Halloween party. Yeah, we're bringing it home. I can't wait. The 10th Halloween party. The epic Halloween party.

Nick (1:04:29)
Yeah, we're bringing it back.

The Peeps Halloween party, making a return after

it may be 15 years. It may be 15 years. So we don't have a theme yet. We've had a lot of themes in the past. We did Toy Story, we did Batman, we did Adam's Family, we did wrestling. We've had a lot of good themes. So we gotta figure out what the theme's gonna be this year.

Neil (1:04:39)
I'm so glad.

I mean, if it's any kind of villains theme, Billy Caron will fit in with that.

Nick (1:05:01)
Always comes back full circle to Philly's carrot. We know who you're dressing up as this Halloween.

Neil (1:05:06)
Got it.

Nick (1:05:07)
I ain't got anything else. You got anything else?

Neil (1:05:10)
Nope, nope, looking forward to playoff baseball Tuesday. Bengals tomorrow.

Nick (1:05:15)
Yeah, let's just hope the Bengals can get a dub, get three and one, get tied for first in the AFC North. And I mean, you talk about it. Nobody knows what's gonna happen in this crazy NFL. So as down as we were on the Bengals last week, maybe there's a way that we can be that high this week.

Neil (1:05:35)
Also

before we wrap it up, no hat today. Gotta show off the haircut. Give a shout out to our girl Tammy Gregory for hooking us up, looking fresh. You're probably wearing a hat because you do need to go get your haircut. Go see her. You need it. But always hooks us up, always does a great job. Go see her at the Great Clips in Fern Creek.

Nick (1:05:41)
you almost forgot again.

I'm going tomorrow. I'm going tomorrow.

Is this a paid sponsorship?

Neil (1:06:02)
Yeah, should be.

Nick (1:06:05)
No, but definitely go see Tammy. mean, dude, how long has she been cutting her hair?

Neil (1:06:10)
I mean I've been going to her now for 14 years.

Nick (1:06:13)
Yeah, I'm not that long, but it's

close. But I mean, she's a big reason why we're doing this. She thought we were funny and we should do a pod, so. ⁓

Neil (1:06:23)
She probably is not very not correct in that but we took her advice anyway

Nick (1:06:28)
Yeah, we're definitely not funny. We don't know much about sports here. I don't know what the heck we're doing. We were just rambling.

Neil (1:06:35)
That is true.

Nick (1:06:36)
But I think some of our YouTube shorts are getting like thousand views. We're moving up a little bit.

Neil (1:06:41)
We're gonna be famous.

Nick (1:06:43)
Kind of scary a thousand people have watched the video of, yeah. All right, enough rambling at the end. We'll be back on Wednesday to kind of preview the weekend. For the Philly Karen Lover, Neil, I'm Nick. You've been listening to the Height Differential powered by Gritily