Super Bowl LX Preview & Why Punxsutawney Phil is a Fraud

Nick (00:00)
You ready to do this?

Neil (00:02)
Yup.

Nick (00:03)
Let's do it. This is the height differential. That's the six foot six kneel on the four 10 Nick. We are here. I guess it's kind of a Superbowl edition as we'll go in, break down the Superbowl. We'll go into what we think are some of the best Superbowls in history. Talk some commercials, talk our first memories of the Superbowl. We'll go all in on the Superbowl and then we'll talk some college hoops.

And then we'll get into some Groundhog's Day. We got some takes on Groundhog's Day.

Neil (00:36)
So

we're just gonna skip over the Pro Bowl, being on a Tuesday.

Nick (00:41)
I mean, half the Bengals are now, half the Bengals offense is now in it. You got both Bengals quarterbacks, both Bengals star wide receivers. That's why we're doing the show on Monday night so we can watch the Pro Bowl, right?

Neil (00:55)
We gotta be front and center for whether they tug of war, flag football, or whatever other games they play.

Nick (01:01)
Well,

I'm with y'all on Saturday night and I'm telling y'all the game's on Tuesday. It's not even on Sunday. Y'all don't even believe me. I got making stuff up.

Neil (01:08)
I didn't believe it.

you sounded drunk.

Nick (01:13)
Well, maybe a little bit, but I was accurate in the fact that the game is on Tuesday. The Pro Bowl, just, it's been a sham for a long time, but Joe Flacco and Joe Burrow get to sit behind Shador, and I guess when he's done playing, they'll see the field.

Neil (01:20)
It's a shame.

It has.

Don't they have like quarterback competitions like accuracy competitions and stuff? Don't they do other things?

Nick (01:35)
Yeah, there's a bunch of stuff like you know how they got the

rotating targets in the background like they'll do that with quarterbacks.

Neil (01:42)
Joe Burrow better not lose to Shador Sanders in that.

Nick (01:44)
They'll do like the quick hand stuff. ⁓ It is what it is. ⁓ It's a farce when Chideur is playing. It's an absolute farce. ⁓

Neil (01:46)
Yeah.

When Joe Flacco's

playing it so far. But congratulations on Joe Flacco for making his first Pro Bowl. It's kinda wild, yeah.

Nick (01:59)
Which is wild, right? Which

is wild. ⁓ But I guess before we jump in, quick reminder, if you're watching live or catching this later, make sure you subscribe to The Height Differential wherever you listen to podcasts. Rate it, leave a review. It helps people find it. And you can also follow us on social to find clips, quick takes, and updates. We appreciate everybody who watches and listens. And for the first time, this is season one, episode 30.

And we are live on YouTube. How does that make you feel?

Neil (02:33)
Technology is awesome.

Nick (02:36)
We are live. So see if that helps us move our subscriber account up a little bit.

Neil (02:43)
Why does it feel like we've done more than 30? It just feels that way. I know we haven't, but it just feels that way.

Nick (02:47)
Well, we've been doing it since August. We were doing two a week there for a little bit. Now we're kind of on one a week. It does seem like we've done a lot. But look, you look it up, most podcasts last three to five episodes. We've gone 30. You're way beyond that. And there's no quitting now. We got too much to write on this thing.

Neil (02:50)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

I guess so.

Nick (03:12)
But so I guess we'll start off the show this Sunday. It is Super Bowl Sunday and the matchup that we were all expecting at the beginning of the season. The Seahawks and the Patriots, everybody's on, I think reasonably so everybody thinks that the Seahawks are likely to win. If the Patriots were to win this game, do you think has to happen?

Neil (03:42)
For the Patriots to win, mean, it's going to be because of their defense. mean, can they, you know, we've seen, we talked about Sam Darnold kind of, you know, choking a little bit in some big games and he proved us wrong in the NFC championship. But if the defense of the Patriots and how good they've been all season, they can force some turnovers and have Sam Darnold throw some interceptions like he's been prone to do in the past, kind of make him revert back to the old Sam Darnold. Then I think they have a great chance to win.

But it's gonna be the defense for the Patriots, I think, that gets it done for them if they do win.

Nick (04:19)
I think 100 % Sam Darnold has to have a couple mistakes, make a couple turnovers for the Patriots to have a chance. And they gotta get pressure because when he has a clean pocket, he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. When he's pressured, he is not. And the numbers are there to show it. He's third in EPA per pass play when he has a clean pocket. When he doesn't have a clean pocket, that drops all the way down to 28th.

which is around Tua and Mike Jones. It's the biggest discrepancy in the NFL. ⁓ And the Patriots have produced pressure this year, but the Seahawks are pretty good at not allowing it. ⁓ But like I said, if the Patriots can get pressure on Darnold, force him in to make some mistakes, I think that really is where the Patriots are gonna have a chance. And the Patriots have to move the ball better.

than they have in the playoffs. Their offense has been pretty much nothing ⁓ throughout the playoffs and a lot of that is because of Drake May. In the regular season, was 1-2 in the MVP rate, was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and was worthy to be in that discussion. ⁓ But his play in their first three postseason games,

has been about as bad as anybody over the last 10 years. And so he's gonna have to figure it out. He's gonna have to make some plays. I think Drake May is gonna have to make some plays with his feet too, because the Seahawks aren't gonna allow, it's gonna be hard for the Patriots, I think, to run between tackles, just because they're that good defensively against the run game. That's kind of what their MO is. So even if Drake May is pressured,

Neil (06:01)
Yeah.

Nick (06:16)
he's gonna have to find ways to make some plays with his legs, which I think that's an underrated aspect of his game.

Neil (06:22)
I No, I agree. ⁓ You know, you're talking about Drake May just not being great and just going back to that Houston game when, I mean, that combined the two teams had a bazillion turnovers, but you know, he had his share in that game. And I don't know if you discount his play because of the snow in Denver and, you know, the second half in Denver and how difficult that situation was, but.

Yeah, he's gotta be better. And if he's not better against that Seattle defense, it's gonna be a long day, but.

I mean, Seattle's been the best team all year ⁓ to me in the NFL. ⁓ That's why they're favored. And I think that's probably why they probably will come out on top. as I mentioned, it's going to be the Patriots defense. If the Patriots defense can turn Sam Darnold back into old Sam Darnold, then they have a chance, but a slim chance.

Nick (07:15)
Well, and another thing too, like everybody talks about this Seahawks defense, but we've seen a blueprint from the Rams to kind of show you that you can move the ball against them. It is not impossible.

Neil (07:30)
The Patriots don't have the weapons that the Rams have. They don't have the Pukka Nakua's or the veteran Matt Stafford leading the charge on the other side. They've got a second year quarterback and Stefan Diggs, I guess, is their best receiver. But I think the Rams offense is just more high powered, more weapons, and you've got Sean McVay calling the plays on that side.

Nick (07:51)
disagree with that. The Rams had, they moved the ball methodically at times, but they also had some explosive plays. I don't think the Patriots have a chance to methodically move the ball down the field against the Seahawks. They're not going to be able to go on seven, eight, nine, 10 minute drives and have 15 plays. They're going to have to rely on explosives. They've had a lot of success with explosives.

Neil (07:59)
Yeah.

Right.

Nick (08:20)
throughout the regular season, they ranked first in explosive pass play rate. And they were great with run explosives as well throughout the regular season. they're gonna have to get some big gains to really, I mean, that's gonna be the only way that I think they score offensively. They're able to bust off like a 40, 50 yard gain, get the scoring range and punch it in for a touchdown because I just don't see them moving it methodically like the Rams did.

Neil (08:46)
I would agree with that.

Nick (08:50)
But a stat that I looked up before this game that I was unaware of, we knew that the Patriots opened the season with a 20 to 13 loss to the Raiders. And the Seahawks also lost on opening week. They lost 17 to 13 to the Seahawks, both at home. This is the first.

Neil (09:03)
Yes.

Yeah.

No, the Seahawks lost. Didn't

the Seahawks lose to the Niners? Was it the Niners? You said the Seahawks lost to the Seahawks. I was concerned. I was concerned there. Was not an inter-squad scrimmage.

Nick (09:16)
Yeah, what did I say? Well, you can't lose it to yourself. Yeah, they lost it in Niners.

They lost it in Niners. Well, they might have done that too, but they lost it in Niners in week one. This is the first time ever in Super Bowl history that the two teams both lost in the opening week of the season.

Neil (09:37)
in Super Bowl history, wow. That's interesting, very interesting.

Nick (09:39)
Yep.

Patriots 17 and 3, all three of their losses are by less than 7 points. But the Patriots did benefit from the easiest streak to schedule since the 1999 Rams. And the Seahawks 16 and 3, and their three losses are by a combined 9 points. Lost by 4, like we said, in the opening week. The rest of the way. The rest of the way they are 16 and 2.

Neil (09:52)
Mmm.

Nick (10:08)
those two losses were by a combined five points.

Neil (10:12)
Yeah, and they probably played in the best division in football. You're going up against the Rams twice and then the third time in the playoffs. And then you're going up against the Niners multiple times every season. So they're tested. mean, they've played the good teams. They've come out on top. like you said, they're 16-3 or whatever they were. So I mean, they're tested. They've played the good competition. And they beat them.

Nick (10:37)
And we talked about they need to get pressure on Darnold. And that's a big part of the Patriots game plan to have a chance. Conversely, the Patriots have really struggled with protecting Drake May in the postseason. And that could play a big role. Drake May has been sacked ten times, which is the second most of any quarterback in postseason history this century.

Neil (10:42)
Yeah.

Nick (11:06)
I guess postseason this century. you know the all time leader in sacks in a single postseason is?

Neil (11:13)
I mean, it's gotta be the Super Bowl Cincinnati Bengals team, is it not? Yeah, I feel like 19 times happened in the Titans game alone. It felt like more, it felt like more.

Nick (11:19)
Joe Burrow, 19 times in 2021.

It was nine in that game. But

I think it kind of just shows you how difficult it is to win a Super Bowl when you do struggle to protect your quarterback as much as New England is doing so right now. Look how close the Bengals got despite all that. But then what was the very last play with the chase running free down the sideline?

Neil (11:47)
Yeah.

Yeah, man, a fitting way to end that season and end that game.

Nick (11:54)
and

They're he's getting sacked on like 16 % of his drop backs right now, which is a big reason why their offense has struggled as much as it has in these three games. It's really remarkable that they're in the Superbowl with the lack of production that their offense has put together.

Neil (12:18)
I mean, yeah, just in the postseason, they're averaging what, 278 yards and only 18 points a game in their three games.

Nick (12:24)
And

look, look, I get it, I get it. The game, the AFC Championship game was a little different because of the elements. But like I told you last week, yeah, it was a lot of the elements, but there was also two and a half quarters.

Neil (12:31)
Yeah.

Yeah, mean, yeah, they could have done the damage early and they didn't.

Nick (12:43)
where they had opportunity to move the football. ⁓

Neil (12:48)
I mean, they did

play, so you talk about the elements and the defenses that they faced along the way are probably the top two in the league when you think about the Houston Texans and the Denver Broncos. I mean, those are no easy feats to go up against those two. So I feel like the quality of defense probably has a little bit something to do with why they've struggled, but you're facing another really quality defense in the Seattle Seahawks, so it's not gonna get any easier. So they do need to figure something out, but.

Nick (13:19)
Nah, it's not like you're, yeah, you're not dropping off. The defense is not dropping off here. ⁓

Neil (13:19)
no.

Yeah. Yeah. You're not playing

the Jets. Or the Bengals.

Nick (13:28)
But

it's also, it's the Patriots and it just seems like they have this magic when they get in the postseason. And you've got an opportunity to win a Super Bowl, you just have to play 48 minutes. If they can turn Sam Darnold into what he was last year in the NFC, in the first round when they were one seed and make him turn the ball over, it could flip really quick. I just, if both-

Neil (13:34)
That's true.

Yeah.

Yeah, mean, Sam Donald,

he has a game this year, this season where he's thrown four picks in a game. It can happen.

Nick (13:57)
Look, and I don't think they'd beat the Rams if he doesn't play as well as he did. We can talk about their defense all the time, and it's a great defense, but they don't beat the Rams, if not for Sam Darn.

Neil (14:02)
No,

No, I think that was probably the best game of his career. Three touchdowns, no picks. And on that stage, against a team where he struggled this year, ⁓ both times. So no, I think that was probably the best he's played. So he's got to have a lot of confidence coming into the Super Bowl, just based on his last outing. So you get a confident Sam Darnold, maybe. I don't know. Maybe he's a little too confident and starts maybe trying to throw some balls he shouldn't be throwing.

Nick (14:40)
I think he knows better what his role is with that defense. just, it's gotta be the fact that he'll make mistakes if they do get pressure on him and he starts to get rattled a little bit. If he's got a clean pocket, he's gonna do what he did against the Rams. He's gonna pick them apart and I think this will be, look, we talked about it. Neither one of these teams have gotten blown out all year. So how does that vote for this game? Even though I think the Seahawks are a better team than the Patriots, neither one of these teams have.

Neil (15:02)
Yeah.

Nick (15:10)
They've been in every game they've played.

Neil (15:11)
Which, was the opening line? Was it four and a half?

Nick (15:14)
Four

and a half in the the overrunners 45 and a half.

Neil (15:17)
I don't

see either team winning really by a lot more than that. I mean, think it's going to be a one score game.

Nick (15:27)
But then don't you just think the Seahawks are better though?

Neil (15:30)
I mean they are better, yes they are better. But you can't discount the defense that the Patriots play. The Patriots have a really quality defense. It's, I don't know. just don't see it. Like you said, neither team has been blown out all year. You keep counting out the Patriots like, you know, like how they keep doing this and is the magic gonna run out? But it's just what they do.

Nick (15:43)
You

Neil (15:59)
Mike Vrabel is on that sideline, he's a veteran coach. He's been in some big games. I don't know, don't think it'll be a four and a half, I think is probably about right. I don't think it'll be really any more than that, considering this being a field goal game. ⁓ I don't know.

Nick (16:14)
So

what you got, what's your score?

Neil (16:18)
Score prediction, we're gonna go 20, 24, I can see it like a 2420.

Nick (16:28)
Okay, like I was gonna go 24 as the winning score, but I'm going lower on the other end. I think 24 or 10.

Neil (16:38)
to touchdown game. Okay.

Nick (16:39)
Yeah,

I would take this. I would maybe go 24 14, but I do think the Seahawks are going to cover. I just think.

Neil (16:46)
And

there could be a special teams touchdown in there. You don't know, maybe a.

Nick (16:50)
Yeah, I mean, and stuff like that, just that's the thing with football. If they can get a play from their special teams, if their defense can get a pick six or fumble, that changes everything. if both teams plays the way that they've been playing, I think the Seahawks win by ten points.

Neil (16:52)
Something crazy could happen. Yeah.

Nick (17:11)
Are you excited for it? Cuz we talked about last week we ranked our worst quarterback matchups of all time. had, there was Gannon and Brad Johnson at one, Kerry Collins and Trent Dilfer as number two. We said maybe this one is third. Are you getting more excited for this game or are you still kind of the same about it?

Neil (17:14)
Yes.

Yeah.

It's kind of feeling the same about it. You know, it's probably one of the least exciting matchups. You just don't have, you know, that star power at quarterback yet. mean, Drake May could get there at some point. ⁓ mean, Jackson Smith and Jigbuzz, he's a star in this league. So, I mean, he'll be interesting to watch. when this is, to me, it's going to be a defensive game, defense versus defense. We talked about this last week. I'm more on the offensive side of things. I like to see more points. You like the defensive slugfest.

the one-nothing baseball type games.

Nick (18:06)
I said I enjoy both. I enjoy both. These are two defensive teams.

Neil (18:08)
So you like the boring?

You like the boring football. I like the exciting football. So this is probably you're more excited probably than I am for this one. But I don't know. We've seen and we've seen the Seahawks and Patriots in the Super Bowl multiple times less than you.

Nick (18:17)
Well, I've said it.

Here's my thing,

Neil. We've done our top 10s all year. And we've had the Seahawks one or two the entire year. How many times was the Patriots even in our top 10? It took until towards the end of the season. And to me, that's why I've got them covered. I think they've benefited from a weaker schedule.

Neil (18:31)
Yeah. Yeah.

A while. Yeah.

Nick (18:51)
They haven't moved the ball, they figured out ways to win in the postseason. They've made it to the Super Bowl, give them credit. Like I said, they made a lot of moves in the offseason to improve that defense. I give them credit for that. I wasn't a believer in the Broncos or the Patriots the whole way. And I'm not changing my mind now when it's a team that we've both had one or two the whole way. So I got Seahawks to cover and the under.

Neil (19:11)
Yeah. It's fair enough.

What is the, what was the over under?

Nick (19:19)
45 and a half.

Neil (19:20)
Yeah, I think the under probably plays in that one as well. Yeah, I would agree.

Nick (19:24)
Yeah, and then you can bet on all the Gatorade colors and how long the anthem's gonna start and all that goofy stuff.

So we had talked before we got on the first Super Bowl that you remember.

Neil (19:44)
Yeah.

Nick (19:45)
You were born what? 86? 87. What is the first Super Bowl you remember?

Neil (19:47)
Yes.

Yeah, I remember the Dallas Cowboys in the 90s, know, with Troy Aikman, Emmett Smith, Michael Irvin in that group when they dominated the Buffalo Bills. That was kind of my first memory of it. I just remember Leon Lett of 52 to 17, you know, running back a fumble and Don Beebe chasing him down at the two yard line and knocking it through the end zone for a touchback. But I just remember the dominance of the Cowboys in that Bills game.

The first Bills game and then they dominated again a second time, you know So I remember the dominance of the Cowboys and I 100 % remember that San Francisco San Diego game in 95 when the Niners just absolutely pummeled the Chargers So those those right around there that that Dallas team and that San Francisco team. Those were my earliest memories of the Super Bowl

Nick (20:41)
Did you ever watch the documentary on the Cowboys that I told you to watch? Okay, you need to watch it because it's good. ⁓ But yeah, like early 90s, I was already a Bengals fan, but they were terrible. And the Cowboys were fun to watch. I remember cheering on the Cowboys in those Super Bowls when the Bengals weren't in it. my first Super Bowl, was born before you. was born Christmas Eve of 1980. The Bengals.

Neil (20:45)
Watch like half of it. I still need to finish it. Yeah, I do I have watched

Yeah.

Nick (21:11)
in the 1989 Super Bowl against the 49ers. I remember I was what? I had just turned eight years old, having signs and saying Jerry Rice's rice pudding. I thought I was cool, creative, coming up with that stuff. Watched it at grandma and grandpa's house. My grandpa was a big reason why I was a Bengals fan and that was his last Super Bowl. He passed away then next year. So, ⁓ but no, that's the first one I remember. I remember exactly we were watching it. I remember

Like I don't remember all the details of the game. I do remember Joe Montana driving down to win the game and throwing the touchdown pass to John Taylor ⁓ and ripping out this eight year old's heart and the rest of who day nation. ⁓

Neil (21:53)
So is this

why you've got the 1988 AFC Champions t-shirt on?

Nick (21:56)
Yes, we're repping.

We're repping, ⁓ But yes. ⁓ No, like how big of a nerd are you as an eight-year-old writing signs for just you and your parents and your grandparents just hanging out in the living room watching the Super Bowl?

Neil (22:13)
Yeah, it's a pretty big nerd.

Nick (22:15)
But you're eight years old, you've got a team that's in the Super Bowl, you're like, this is awesome, this is how it's gonna be.

Neil (22:22)
Then you never go back until you're 40.

Nick (22:25)
Yeah, don't win a playoff game pretty much. They want to one more playoff game after that. They beat the Raiders a couple of years after that. yeah, J rice is rice pudding. Will that so I put together a list of the top 10 Super Bowls of all time. I'm just going to give it to you and I'm going to get your feedback. Do you think that the Bengals 49ers won't crack that top list?

Neil (22:44)
Okay.

Absolutely, mean our team was on the losing end of it, but that game, both games against the 49ers were close, came down to the end. ⁓ So I I would think even though it's heartbreak city for you in watching that as an eight year old, but I think you got to put it on there as far as quality of game.

Nick (23:17)
It will make the list. It will make the list. The 82 and I do not have it on here. And maybe that's because I really was one years old for that game. number 10, I'm going with the Philly special. Nick Foles beats Tom Brady. A backup QB, no punts the entire game.

Neil (23:18)
Yeah, that's it.

Nick (23:45)
Tom Brady against Nick Foles, nobody thinks the Eagles have a chance.

Just the fact that they were able to win that game with the backup QB, I think makes it make this list.

Neil (23:51)
Yeah.

Yeah, no, I can see that being in the top 10. Yeah? Okay.

Nick (24:01)
Number nine, I'm going the Vittorio's walk off against the Rams.

Neil (24:07)
Okay.

Nick (24:10)
It's the birth of the Brady-Bilicek dynasty. Put everything in motion. If he doesn't make that kick, who knows? mean, then the Rams have won two Super Bowls and maybe they're on their way to a dynasty. Patriots went 20 to seven. I've got 20 to 17. I've got that as number nine. Number eight, I had a hard time putting this one on here. Steelers over the Cardinals, 27 to 23.

Neil (24:14)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yes. Okay.

Okay.

Nick (24:39)
James Harrison had the fumble pick six at the end of the first half where he rumbled and the whole way. If he gets caught, they don't score.

Neil (24:42)
Yes, you retired. Yeah, first half, right before halftime. then, wasn't it Plaxico

Burrs that, was it that guy? Was it him? When did he get the feet down?

Nick (24:57)
We gettin' there, we gettin' there.

Neil (24:59)
thought that was when he was a steeler or a giant? ⁓ who was it?

Nick (25:02)
Yes, but it wasn't Plaxico.

The Cardinals trailed 20 to 7, scored 16 straight, got a safety, took the lead. And then with two and a half minutes to go, Ben Ralsensberger drove him down the field and hit Santonio Holmes. With the toe tap with 35 seconds left to give the Steelers the Super Bowl win, I've got that ranked at number eight and it sucked because I did not want to put the Steelers on the list.

Neil (25:16)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. No, yeah,

it's tough, but yeah.

Nick (25:30)
And then

watch this, number seven, Steelers again. And this is the old one, Super Bowl 13. We're not gonna remember the game, but it was Terry Bradshaw throwing for 318 yards, four Tuddies. The game featured a combined 26 Hall of Famers. 15 for the Steelers, 11 for the Cowboys.

Neil (25:46)
Mmm.

Wow.

Nick (25:59)
And the Steelers won 35 to 31. Doing my research, there was no way I could leave that one off.

Neil (26:04)
No, yeah, I would agree with that.

Nick (26:06)
Number

six.

Joe Montana finds John Taylor.

Neil (26:12)
Yeah, there you go.

Nick (26:13)
He goes to the, in his huddle and he tells the Niners, hey look, John Candy's in the crowd.

Neil (26:21)
Yeah

Nick (26:23)
And then proceeds to go 92 yards. As far as quarterback moments in the Superbowl with him hitting him and then he jumps and does this and spins as much as it breaks my heart. It probably is one of the most iconic moments in Superbowl history.

Neil (26:42)
Okay.

Nick (26:44)
Number five, Scott Norwood wide right. As the Giants beat the Bills 20 to 19. When you think about Super Bowls, you think about kicks. This is what you think about. And the poor Bills, that was the second of their four straight losses in the Super Bowl.

Neil (26:47)
Right?

Yeah,

rough stretch for the bills.

Nick (27:07)
Next, the Giants beat the Patriots 17 to 14. David Tyree's helmet catch, the ultimate David versus Goliath as the Giants knock off the undefeated Patriots. Well, that's what you're supposed to argue. Number three.

Neil (27:11)
oooh

Yeah, see I'd have that higher on the list. I think I would put that higher on the list.

I mean

Nick (27:33)
Patriots Seahawks.

Neil (27:36)
Yeah.

Nick (27:37)
Malcolm Butler's interception at the goal line. They don't give it to Marshawn Lynch

Neil (27:44)
Yeah.

Nick (27:44)
got that as number three. Number two, Kevin Dyson comes up one yard short from tying the game or potentially going for two. As the Rams get their Super Bowl, Kurt Warner throws for 414 yards and two tutties. And then number one, Patriots over the Falcons, the first Super Bowl overtime, they trail 28 to three.

Neil (28:09)
Yeah.

Nick (28:14)
Tom Brady's defining legacy game as once you got to overtime, you knew that the Falcons had no chance.

Neil (28:25)
Yeah, I like your rankings for the most part. think I would switch out, I would probably flip-flop the Giants over the Patriots at number three. Yeah, I think I would flip-flop that with the Falcons game. F4, what was your third?

Nick (28:40)
I had it four.

Patriots Seahawks.

Neil (28:46)
Oh, okay. would, so then I would probably, I'd put the Patriots Seahawks one probably at four, the Falcons game at three, the Dyson game, I like that, at two. But I think the Giants, 21-17 back in 2012, over that New England Patriots, undefeated.

They were looking to become the first team since the Dolphins to go undefeated. mean, they were a juggernaut that year with Randy Moss and Tom Brady leading the charge and nobody gave the Giants a chance. And for the Giants to pull it off with the catch that David Tyree had, I mean, unbelievable. I think that to me, I put that at number one overall.

Nick (29:27)
I'm

surprised by that. Anyone know why? Mr. Offense over here. Mr. Offense. I hate defensive battles. I hate it. They're the worst. Give me this juggernaut of a Patriots defense. And give me 14 points. Give me 14 points for the Patriots juggernaut offense. And let me put that at number one.

Neil (29:29)
Was it?

Yeah.

Fine, mean, if you want my, we can go the 49ers 55 to 10 victory over the Broncos in 1990. We can go the Dallas Cowboys putting up 52. So we can put 52 up on the bills in 1993. We can put that on the list. The Niners put up 49 on the Chargers. We can go that route, but.

Nick (29:57)
But you're just, I'm just saying, you're all Mr. Office and then you get my list.

But you get my list and that's the one you change? The defense and struggle between the Giants and the Patriots when the Patriots had one of the best offenses in the history of football.

Neil (30:12)
Yeah, because- only because of-

It was more, it was more than that.

It was more than that though. It was just the fact that the, that the Patriots were unbeatable and that the Giants somehow, I mean, what were the Giants, what was the seed, what were the Giants in the playoffs that year? What was their seed?

Nick (30:32)
I don't even remember, I don't think anyone in their division.

Neil (30:33)
That scene,

no, that scene wasn't great. They were a mediocre, giant steam that got into the playoffs and got hot and beat probably, I mean, if the Patriots win that Super Bowl, they're probably the greatest team of all time. Probably the greatest team of all time. So.

Nick (30:49)
Yeah, mean,

the Dolphins got to pop champagne at the end of the Super Bowl.

Neil (30:56)
They did. But just the whole, catch, like everything around that game of what it all meant.

Nick (31:02)
But you're gonna pick

that over Brady coming back from 28 to three and winning it over time?

Neil (31:07)
Yeah. Yeah.

Nick (31:09)
You're going to pick that over Kevin Dyson stretching out at the one yard line and getting tackled?

Neil (31:13)
Yeah. Bra.

Nick (31:17)
I could see that over the Malcolm Butler game, guess. I don't think I could move it higher in three.

Neil (31:22)
I'm putting it at one. That's to me is one.

Nick (31:27)
Obviously you love defensive showdowns.

Neil (31:28)
Like for Tav and Tyre, he bubblegum stuck the ball

to his helmet. He just stuck the ball to his helmet.

Nick (31:33)
It's a good thing because if he didn't do that, they would score even less points. And then you would have loved it even more. It would been your all-time favorite, Mr. Defense.

Neil (31:37)
I was a nice

I don't know, it was just amazing.

Nick (31:48)
Mr. Defense.

Do you want to talk a little Super Bowl commercials? You want to do it at the end or?

Neil (31:55)
We can stay on the Super Bowl, we can run through some commercials.

Nick (31:59)
Well, first off, I just want to say, can we bring back the Bud Bowl?

Neil (32:06)
You love the beer? The beer bottles playing some football?

Nick (32:10)
Why did it ever go away? Why did it ever go away? For eight straight years from 1989 to 1997, we hyped up the Bud Bowl. All leading up and then they actually had the bottles play the games during the Super Bowl. As a kid, I'm watching beer bottles play football against each other and I thought this was the coolest thing ever.

Neil (32:12)
I don't know.

Guess they got replaced by puppies.

Nick (32:38)
It was legit, like they even had like beer bottles wearing headsets, like calling the game. Beer bottles in the crowd, like celebrating with touchdowns.

Neil (32:47)
Yeah, I remember that. I actually do remember that, yeah.

Nick (32:51)
So how did you look at the record of blood versus blood light in those eight years?

Neil (32:56)
⁓

You sent it to me. Budweiser I saw came out on top with the most victories.

Nick (33:01)
Yeah, they pretty much dominated the series and maybe that's why it's over. Bud Light just couldn't handle it. But Budweiser won the all-time series 6-2. In 89, they won 27-24. 90, they won 36-34. And then Bud Light got off the snide, won 23-21. And then Budweiser won the next two. Bud Light won one and then Budweiser won the final two. They were all close games. The biggest margin of victory was three points.

Neil (33:11)
Oof.

You wanna go through your rankings of the Bud Bowls and which Bud Bowls are the top five?

Nick (33:31)
But Bud Light just couldn't come in and clutch everything in.

I'd have to rewatch. I'd have to rewatch.

Maybe that's something we can do next year. But let's bring it back.

Neil (33:46)
I'd be fine with it. I'd watch that over the Puppy Bowl probably.

Nick (33:50)
But the puppy bowl is not during the game. You can watch that leading up. You watch the puppy bowl all day leading up to it. And you watch, you know, beans grab the stuff rabbit and just run all the way down the side, touchdown beans. Let's go. The little Beagle. I love the puppy ball. I ain't gonna lie. I mean, I can't sit there and watch it for the whole time, but turn it on for 10 minutes. This is good stuff. What other, what other Super Bowl?

Neil (33:53)
Yeah.

⁓ man. Yeah. Okay.

I I watched it one year maybe.

Nick (34:20)
commercials do you remember being great?

Neil (34:22)
I mean, dude,

Bloodwiser always has the classics.

Nick (34:25)
We

could just do Budweiser commercials and that would be a sec.

Neil (34:29)
I the genius behind the Budw- like the frogs, everybody remembers the frogs.

Nick (34:35)
Bud, class, per.

Neil (34:37)
Awesome.

But I mean, the one that stands out in my mind, and I'm pretty sure it will probably make a lot of people's list, is the wazaaa! Wazaaa!

Nick (34:48)
Was that?

I mean, people did that for years after it.

Neil (34:53)
It's unbelievable. Hold on. Hold on. Jimmy's calling. Wazaaa!

Nick (34:55)
Like how many-

How many people did that? Like in their everyday life for the next two or three years. And especially like two or three weeks after that. You get a call from your buddy.

Neil (35:04)
yeah. yeah. I mean, everybody... Yes.

It's so good. It's so good. mean to me that's an all-time classic. Probably in the top one or two or three of all time. And then you have the Frogs, you got the Was Up, and then you just have the classic, Clydesdales. You get the Clydesdales out there playing some football. know, the Budweiser Clydesdales, always a classic. Always a Super Bowl favorite. So Budweiser, probably the king of beers, they're probably the king of Super Bowl commercials.

Nick (35:26)
Yeah, just.

There's one other Budweiser commercial that I remember. Where he was getting ready to give dude fist bump, and then he's like, nope. And then they were doing slaps. Do remember that one?

Neil (35:45)
Yeah.

I don't... It's not coming to mind.

Nick (35:54)
So

like we're not doing fist bumps, we just slap each other. So then they just walk around just slapping everybody. And at the end of it, like the boss tells the guy that he did a great job and he just slaps the hell out of him. That was a good one. The Betty White Snickers commercial, where she just gets trucked. ⁓ That was a great one.

Neil (35:57)
What happens?

Okay, that's a good one. I give up.

Yeah. Yeah. Correct. Yeah.

I feel like I know what your top one would be. It's got one of your favorite athletes of all time in it. The Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, McDonald's commercial where they're playing a horse across basically the world. Off of buildings, off of whatever they're throwing it off of and nothing but net. Yes.

Nick (36:34)
Did that premiere during the Super Bowl?

Okay. Yeah. That's one of the greatest commercials ever made.

Neil (36:39)
1993.

It's a 1993 Super Bowl commercial.

Nick (36:43)
of the greatest commercials ever made. ⁓ Do you remember Terry Tate, the office linebacker?

Neil (36:45)
Good Donalds.

What year was that?

Nick (36:52)
I don't know the year, but he was just in the office just yelling at everybody and tackled them. It was it's a good commercial That was for Reebok So it had to be it had to be early 90s late 80s

Neil (37:01)
Okay.

mean Doritos has always had a couple good ones in there. And then Wendy's, 1984, Wendy's had the where's the beef with the old people. Looking at the burgers and being like, where's the beef?

Nick (37:17)
I don't remember that one.

I don't remember that one. I don't remember that one. Where's the beef?

Neil (37:23)
You don't remember where's the beef?

I mean, I wasn't even

born yet, but I remember like that being played, you know, almost every Super Bowl because of how good the commercial was. Where's the beef? Go back and watch that one. You will crack up. It's old people.

Nick (37:35)
I don't remember where's the beef.

I'm

yeah, so we'll see what the what the best commercials are this this this year. ⁓ I don't think they're bringing back the Bud bulb because there hasn't been any commercials promoting it.

Neil (37:55)
deal.

Nick (37:55)
But ⁓ I'm trying to get more excited for the Super Bowl.

Neil (37:59)
I mean, it's the Super Bowl. I'm gonna watch it, I'm gonna tune in. I hope it's a good game. A little bit of controversy going on with the halftime show, to me, I don't care. I just don't really know any Bad Bunny songs. So I don't... I mean, I don't... What? I mean, people are talking about it, isn't it? Does he sing in English? It's what people are saying. They can't watch it because they don't understand it.

Nick (38:15)
What's the controversy? There's a controversy?

Neil (38:29)
Hey they don't know, he's not... People don't know him well enough and then apparently I guess he sings a lot of his songs in Spanish.

Nick (38:36)
Yeah, I think he's worldwide the second most popular artist in the world next to Taylor Swift. I do not. do not. I do not. And probably.

Neil (38:43)
Do you know a bad bunny? Can you name me a bad bunny? Okay. I think that's where

the controversy comes in is, he is probably, I don't know, like, in the world? Sure.

Nick (38:54)
I think most, I

think these songs are probably early in Spanish. ⁓

Neil (38:57)
but I just don't,

I don't think that I would be able to enjoy it because I don't know the songs and I don't know Spanish.

Nick (39:03)
Yeah, I'm

definitely enjoyed last year's

Neil (39:08)
Yeah,

and we talked about this before we got on and I think both of our favorites with Super Bowl halftimes was when our Bengals played and it was 50 and Dre and Eminem and I mean that was a fantastic show. It was so good that our own kicker didn't even leave the sideline.

Nick (39:17)
Sign up post.

Not even close.

Yeah, yeah. Yes, but no, to me that one will never be topped. I I kind of remembered Michael Jackson in 93. I was little, Michael Jackson performing at halftime is iconic. You said what Prince, what year was that?

Neil (39:28)
stayed out and watched the halftime show and then John Charles

Prince was

07. He had a great, great halftime show. I do remember that one. We had the controversy with the Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Yeah, the Timberlake one. I everybody talks about that. That will never be forgotten for said reason. Yeah, I don't know. Lady Gaga recently. I remember her. She had a good performance and that was back in 2017.

Nick (39:55)
Yes. Justin Timberlake.

I don't know. To me, I really don't care that much about the halftime shows unless it's Eminem and Dr. Kendrick, I did enjoy that one. But for the most part, I don't know.

Neil (40:24)
I thought Kendrick put on a good one last year.

I don't know. It's a time to get up and reload on food and beverages. Yeah. Yeah.

Nick (40:34)
Snacks. Yeah, get you a beer. Get

you a beer. But yeah, I did like last year's.

⁓ you wanna talk a little hoops?

Neil (40:45)
Yeah, we saw some hoops. We're in the thick of things here in college basketball.

Nick (40:49)
The biggest upset of the weekend was Texas Tech going down to UCF. ⁓ UCF is surprisingly having a pretty good year. Johnny Dawkins was kind of on the hot seat entering the season. But they've beat ⁓ Texas Tech the last couple times. They also beat Kansas earlier this year.

Neil (41:12)
I mean yeah,

they're sitting there at 17 and four overall, six and three in the conference. I mean yeah, they're putting together quite a good season.

Nick (41:19)
They had to, they got to rush the court twice.

They rushed the court, the referees put point two back on the clock, even though they're up like eight points. And then they rushed the floor again. ⁓

Neil (41:30)
Eight? ⁓ eight. Put... ⁓ god. ⁓ twice.

Double the fun, I guess. Double the pleasure, double the fun.

Nick (41:41)
But, a themis folks had 21 and seven assists and John Ball had a career high 14 in the win and UCF, like I said, Johnny Dawkins was kind of on the hot seat, but looks like they're in really good shape, especially with that win on Saturday to make the big dance.

Neil (41:59)
Yeah, no, they're on track.

Nick (42:01)
They do get, ⁓ they get number 10 Houston on Wednesday. So they really be anything to figure out a way to, to win that one at Houston. The game that I was excited about was number 14, Kansas hosting number 13 BYU. This is a game which featured the, what is expected to be the number one overall draft pick in Darren Peterson and the number two pick in AJ DeBansa.

Neil (42:10)
Yeah.

Nick (42:31)
Peterson had a fantastic first half as the Jayhawks went out, went up by 20 points. Peterson had 18 points in the first half. But then he finished with 18 because he did not play in the second half. Battling what they said was cramps. They.

Neil (42:43)
Then he finished with 18.

I mean, it's kind

of been his thing all year. Like he plays and then he gets taken out or he takes himself out or whatever happens and he just doesn't play a lot down the stretch. It's kind of weird. I don't know.

Nick (43:05)
Yeah, it's

here's we watch that game and you're trying to figure out what's going on. Like what's this injury? Normally when a guy's got a cramp, which is what he said was going on, you see a trainer with them trying to stretch it out. You see them, you see them eating the banana. You see them chugging water. I didn't see any of that on Saturday. I saw.

Neil (43:20)
Dresh it out, eat a banana, get some potassium in ya, get some Gatorade.

Gatorade? Yeah. Yeah.

Nick (43:33)
I saw a guy who looked like he was not even dressed.

Neil (43:37)
Hmm. Well, there's something else going on. don't know. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.

Nick (43:39)
and

It's just, it's been odd all year. And you watch that first half and if the first pick is between Peterson and DeBansa, after watching that first half, it's a no brainer. He completely outplayed AJ DeBansa. But at what point do these injuries play a role in the fact that I don't want to draft this dude at number one. He showed out, put up 18, watched his team go up 20.

Neil (43:45)
It has been odd, I would agree with that.

Nick (44:12)
And then he's sitting on the bench watching the league get down to four. And he's just sitting there. Look, I don't play D1. I would love to been able to play any level of basketball. But if I'm hurt and I think there's anything I can do to help the team, I'm gonna try to do whatever I can to do that. And I don't know if you're getting that from him right now. And that matters to me as far as the draft pick.

Neil (44:15)
or. Yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah, unless there's some part of the story that we don't know and the injury is more serious than just a cramp. I don't know. It's been odd. It's been odd, that's for sure.

Nick (44:48)
He's

played in less than half of their games this year. And his numbers, comparably minutes-wise and points-wise in the second half, are like a roller coaster has gone straight down.

Neil (45:03)
you

Nick (45:06)
I don't know.

Neil (45:09)
Yeah, it's a mystery to me.

Nick (45:11)
But Bryson Tiller, Penn Griffey Jr., a freshman, ⁓ had a really kind of a breakout game for the Jayhawks. Richie Saunders for BYU.

Neil (45:22)
33 points for Saunders. Lights out. Lights out.

Nick (45:24)
was basically shot the Cougars

back into the game. He also had 10 rebounds. And like I said, they got this down to four and.

Neil (45:36)
It's

two games in a row where they've just been getting their tails kicked and they finally wake up and bring it all the way back. mean, they just did it Monday night against Arizona at home when they were down big and came back and ended up tying that game in the second half. ⁓

Nick (45:49)
That one was a little more

fluky because it was all within like the last minute and a half. This one was a little more gradual, no, BYU's got to figure out a way to win these games. I think they're a really good team and I think they will compete to get to a Sweet 16 Elite 8. I don't know if they're a Final Four team, but they really don't have that signature win yet. And they had two opportunities to get it last week and were not able to do it.

Neil (45:54)
Yeah.

Nick (46:18)
The Bonset did not have his best game, ⁓ but Richie Saunders, he put himself, I think he already was in the conversation, but there could be a chance that BYU gets two All-Americans because that dude can ball. Kentucky after getting completely waxed at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night.

Neil (46:34)
Yes.

Yeah.

Nick (46:45)
They go to Arkansas and win by eight. Explain the Wildcats.

Neil (46:51)
You can't, I was just gonna say this is a team that you just can't figure out. One game they look bad and then the next game they come back and nobody's giving them a chance and they win. like, you know, when.

They lose to Missouri at home and then all of a sudden they they real off five straight wins and including the win at at Tennessee against ranked Tennessee team. And then you like you said you go on the road and you get absolutely destroyed by by Vanderbilt. Then you gotta go on the road again a couple days later to Arkansas. Real tough place to play against the really good Arkansas team and you lead almost start to finish. I mean it took what four technicals for Arkansas to get back in the game. And then you still were able to hold him off.

Nick (47:34)
Well,

for once they actually built a lead to start the game. They didn't start the game down 15, 20 points, which that helped their calls. But Calipari talked after the game and I think there's a lot of truth in this. We saw this game last year, it was kind of the opposite. Arkansas was a desperate team going into rub. Kentucky was playing pretty well at that moment and Arkansas just kind of put it on him. And this was the opposite.

Neil (47:37)
Yeah. 15, right. Yeah.

It was the opposite.

Nick (48:02)
I'll you, had a season-high 24 to lead the Cats. But the big thing was they didn't get in the deficit. They got a lead early, and then when they go on a little drought, they're able to sustain it and figure out a way to win. But a big win for the Cats, I the fact that they had that performance against Vanderbilt and that performance against Arkansas just, what, four days apart.

Neil (48:32)
Mm-hmm.

Nick (48:33)
I don't even know how it makes sense.

Neil (48:35)
It doesn't. doesn't. mean, they played well. I mean, it was a very well-balanced game ⁓ by the Cats. You said Owe had 24, but like four of the five starters were in double figures. Trent Noah off the bench had nine.

And was it Jelavich or something? don't know. Yeah, he had seven. I mean, he the only starter. He wasn't in double figures, but he only played 13 minutes and had seven points. So everybody that played scored. So it was a well-balanced game from the Cats. Owe, who was the preseason SEC player of the year, struggled in the beginning of the season. He's now come on to look like the guy that they expected him to look like the whole season. So.

Nick (48:51)
Jelavitch, Jelavitch.

Neil (49:14)
I don't know, it's hard to figure out when you look so bad one game and you just bounce back and get that kind of effort and get the win on the road at Ark. It's kind of figuring out, I can't figure them out. It's hard to

Nick (49:24)
I'll be honest if I'm coaching that team. If I'm coaching

that scene, yeah, I'm going to be glad that we came to play in Arkansas, but it's going to piss me off even more about like what? was Tuesday? What was Tuesday?

Neil (49:32)
Because you know the potential. Because you know.

Yeah, because you know the potential of your team that they're capable of having these kind of games, putting up 85 points and winning against quality competition. So it's like you come to expect that game in and game out. So I mean, who do they have next? Let's see, they've got Oklahoma at home on Wednesday. Yeah, so it's like Oklahoma's 11 and 11. This is a team that in Rupp Arena handle your business.

Nick (49:50)
which they've lost like eight in a row.

Neil (49:59)
So let's see if they come out and handle their business like they're supposed to.

Nick (50:03)
And the cards after getting beat by 30 at Duke, kind of struggled in the first half, but pulled away there in the second half against against Smu. Michael Brown came off the bench for the first time, led the way with 20 points.

Neil (50:14)
Yeah.

Yeah, they go off to a slow start, a lot of turnovers early. They did not shoot the ball well. I mean, they ended up 10 of 35 from three, but at one point they were five of 25. mean, they, did not shoot the ball well. Down the stretch, second half they kind of did. McNeely got hot. He ended up popping in four threes for the game. you know, once they got it together, they stopped turning the ball over in the first half and they put together a really, really, really nice second half. And if they play like they did in the second half,

They're going be tough to beat. But if you did it in the first half, you're going have some problems. ⁓

Nick (50:54)
Well, yeah, I think if they shoot 29 % from three, if they're playing a really good team, they're gonna have a hard time winning. They're gonna have to shoot a little better than that.

Neil (51:02)
Yeah,

can I roots coming back from the first time in several weeks ⁓ off of off of his illness with the double double? mean he was he was the key to getting us back in it. You know he was the energy guy with the first half. He had that put back dunk when we were we were down and trying to mount a little bit of a comeback and he gets that put back. Don't get the gets the energy flowing gets the crowd on their feet. He had several key key plays got a bunch of big rebounds couple couple good baskets. So. ⁓

You know, having roots back and having the team at full strength now with Brown playing and you know, we'll see what they can do now that everybody's here and everybody's healthy.

Nick (51:40)
No, I think Kenai is a big, he's gonna be a big reason why this team has success. And you just saw how much you missed him over the last several weeks and it's good for him to be back in the lineup. Boopy Miller, dude, I was impressed with him. can play. He ended up, yeah, yeah.

Neil (51:59)
I mean, he showed what he could do last year. I mean, he had a great season last year

for SMU and coming into this year, you know, he was one of the best guards in the conference. yeah, I mean, that dude, he can flat out score. He's just a flat out scorer. And I mean, they've got a good team. SMU's a tournament team ⁓ right now. If the season ended, I think they would be in. They've got the seven foot two, you could Turkalu or whatever. I don't know how you pronounce that last name, but.

I mean, that dude is a skilled seven foot two big man. I he shot seven of eight, but there was no stop at him. I mean, he was a force. He's a big, big monster in there. They can put the ball in the basket. I mean, they're good team. I mean, I expect them to keep rolling and they're 15 and six on the year, but I think they'll be right in the mix at the end of it.

Nick (52:47)
And we know how much smooth is invested in their athletic programs too. So Nebraska came into the week undefeated, loses by two without their second and third leading scorer. ⁓ Both Frager and Mast were out in that game. They returned against Illinois on Sunday, really the only really good men's game. The Sunday slate was full of really good women's games. But this was really the only standout.

men's game but yeah you're right you're right ⁓ but ⁓ illinois dude keaton woggler 28 points five rebounds five assists we talked about him before like coming in the season is like the 250 something to recruit this dude's looking like a lottery pick now and and they've got they've got a bunch of foreign guys around him that can play too

Neil (53:17)
We had a Florida Alabama game yesterday, the two runs.

good. Yeah, well, how about that guy?

I mean, he is bawling out.

Nick (53:46)
This Illinois team is now tied with Michigan for the top of the Big Ten with a 10-1 record. And they're impressive. Because I thought Nebraska once again played pretty well. thought they played, even though they were down a couple guys, I thought they played better against Michigan. But it still wasn't like they played a terrible game on Sunday and just weren't able to beat the Illini.

Neil (54:10)
No, Illinois, mean, Illinois, what do they have one conference loss and I think it was to Nebraska at home. So a little bit of a revenge game for them getting that victory in Lincoln. So, no, Illinois is playing great ball. Like you said, Wagler's absolutely playing on another level right now. Just another freshman that just takes over games. so, ⁓ but yeah, no, they look good. They look like they could be a final 14.

Both these teams could be Final Four teams.

Nick (54:41)
Yeah, Arizona remains undefeated. They beat Arizona State and I think this is the countdown to the end of Bobby Hurley's tenure there. Michigan beats Michigan State on Friday. Yeah. So.

Neil (54:53)
That was a good game. We watched that over at Big Dog's house.

Nick (55:00)
Miami, Ohio, we got to mention them because they remain the other undefeated team with a – we talked about their close win over UMass earlier in the week, but they really – after – it was close early, but they ended up pulling away 1 by 24 against Northern Illinois. And right now, we got Kansas at Texas Tech, which is the big, big Monday game, so we'll have to

Neil (55:27)
Yeah, three point game,

almost a halftime three point game. Kansas looks like they're on top.

Nick (55:32)
But we have entered February, which means we are one month away from March Madness. And we can't quit talking basketball without giving Jeff Walls and his Louisville Cardinals a shout out. ⁓ Went out west, got wins over Stanford and Cal, which I know they're both middle of the pack ACC teams, but anytime you go out west and you're there from Tuesday,

to Sunday and you get two dubs. And I thought they played really well on Thursday from talking to Nick Curran, the voice of the cards. don't think coach really thought they played as well as maybe I did with my eye. ⁓ But yeah, yes, right, right.

Neil (56:02)
yeah, yes. Yes, it's not easy to do.

I'm with you. I thought they played in my eye. They played better than I think that he that he led on. I thought they

struggled for them a little bit. The first half yesterday against Cal. I watched that game. They did struggle. They didn't play their best yesterday, but when you don't play your best and you still are up 17 late in the fourth and end up winning by whether it went by 12, 12 or 14. I mean, you don't play your best and you're still winning by 14, 12, 14 points. I mean, you'll take that any day and then they were they ready to come home like you know, you've been out there.

Nick (56:27)
Yes.

And let me just tell you, when

you've been there since Tuesday, like.

Neil (56:47)
You've been out there

for a while, like it's like, get me, let's get home.

Nick (56:51)
The Sunday game is the one that worries you. It's kind of a trap game. Everybody's ready to come home. You've been there all week. You're playing a team that's middle of the pack in the ACC that's got some kids that can get hot. In the beginning of second half, it kind of looked like they might be getting some kids that were getting hot. It kind of looks like one, but then what Taj hit that one three, they hit three threes in a row, really kind of pulled away. And did that pass from Elif to Ziegler from the baseline? Like, who ever thought that we would see that last year?

Neil (56:59)
Thank you.

Yeah, it's honest. I've had a great

Yeah.

It's awesome. The growth, just the growth of these girls from the ones that were here last year to what they've grown into this year. And we're talking Elif and we're talking Amari Berry and Matt McKinley Randolph and Taj is doing what Taj does. She was great last year, she's great again this year. So just the growth of some of these girls from just what they were last year to where they are now, it's just been absolutely unbelievable.

Nick (57:20)
Like what? What in the world?

Yes.

but they host undefeated Duke on Thursday. This is the first time in program history that they've won 11, they started ACC play 11 and 0, which look at some of the teams they've had over the last couple of years. This is first time they've got to 11 and 0 in ACC play. They've won 10 games every year in the ACC over the last, since they've been in the league. ⁓ Just tremendous consistency on the cards part and $7 tickets on Thursday.

Neil (57:51)
Yeah.

⁓

$7 tickets on Thursday. It's one of the biggest women's basketball home games that in a while just for the meaning of it all. mean, you know, like, we played South Carolina earlier this year and we play Kentucky every two years. Those are big games, but you you're 11 and 0 in conference. You're 21 and three overall. You know, you're top. What are you now? You're up to six in the polls, which is probably going to put you at a two seed right now in the tournament. So, you know, you keep this thing rolling. You win on Thursday. You're in the driver's seat.

to win the conference, you're in the driver's seat to get that number one seed in the conference tournament. And if you go on and win all that, you're looking at a guaranteed two seed, potentially a one seed. And you're hosting at the Yom Center, and you're in the driver's seat to hopefully do some big things in March. So this game Thursday is huge, absolutely huge. Hope we get a good crowd out there, need a good crowd. These girls deserve it. I mean, they've been playing their tails off. ⁓ It's good quality basketball. ⁓

Anybody that's listening that's in the Louisville area or the surrounding areas, get your ass down to the home center.

Nick (59:17)
Let's get 10,000 out there.

Neil (59:19)
They deserve it.

Nick (59:22)
No, it's been so fun to watch them just continue to get better throughout the year and their depth is, they're averaging like 36 points a game off the bench, which is second in the country. Yeah, but yeah, get out there on Thursday. Cheer on the cards, Boo Carol Lawson, let's go.

Neil (59:29)
The edition. Yeah. Yeah, the depth is unbelievable. Yes.

I don't need to do all that. We are respectable fans here in Louisville, Kentucky.

Nick (59:47)
⁓ We talked about it's February, which means March is coming up, but it's actually February 2, which means it's everybody's favorite day, Groundhog's Day.

Neil (59:51)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Groundhog Day.

Nick (1:00:05)
So was looking at it up. I was like, where did this even start? Why did we want to have a groundhog come out of the ground, see if he's going to see a shadow or not, and that determined how much longer winter is going to be. So February marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The pagans used to celebrate this time with the Festival of Light. If the goddess Kaleech

Neil (1:00:09)
Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

Yes.

Nick (1:00:34)
Wanted a long winter, the day would be bright, if not, it would be dreary. So that kind of plays into it. ⁓ The next adaptation was called Candlemus, a Christian tradition where the clergy would take their candles to the church to be blessed, and it continued to evolve over the years. Germans adapted it further, selecting a hedgehog as the predictor instead. Finally, the pastime made its way to America in 1886.

Neil (1:00:38)
Okay. Yeah.

He

Nick (1:01:03)
thanks to the German settlers who found their way to guess where, Puxatani, Pennsylvania. But there was a problem. There was no hedgehogs in Puxatani. So they decided to use a groundhog. And here we are.

Neil (1:01:07)
It's a tiny pencil vein.

Yep.

I saw that

the first prediction 1886 was the first groundhog's day but 1887 was the first groundhog prediction is what I saw. overall since 1887 this little rodent that is quickly becoming on everybody's shit list 109 winter predictions 109 to 20 early springs.

Nick (1:01:30)
Okay.

you

Well,

Neil (1:01:49)
Only 20 early spring.

Nick (1:01:49)
109 to 20.

Neil (1:01:50)
Yes, 109 six more weeks of winter predictions from this guy and 20 early springs. So nobody likes this guy. but no, I mean, it's probably now we're on what? Phil number 70. I don't know what version of Phil we're on.

Nick (1:02:06)
In

the actual record book, it's like 130 years old.

Neil (1:02:10)
Okay, so nobody likes this more than me. He's predicted five of the last six, he's predicted more winter. Like I said, 109 to 20. But the good news, the good news, his accuracy is between 35 to 39%. So he's usually wrong. So he is usually wrong. Hopefully he's wrong again this year, because I'm tired. I'm tired of this cold weather and the snow. So.

Nick (1:02:12)
So he's never died. It's the same guy.

Well, I was gonna get...

He's an idiot. He's always wrong.

He's

always wrong.

Neil (1:02:40)
Nobody likes him. He... Just get... Just...

Nick (1:02:43)
Like, he sees

a shadow every year. He never doesn't see 20 times in the history.

Neil (1:02:50)
20 times.

Since 18... What? Would we say 1887?

Nick (1:02:53)
So

Yeah. Do you know that there's competition and other groundhogs that do this too?

Neil (1:03:04)
Nobody pays attention to them.

Nick (1:03:06)
Do you know that this is true?

Neil (1:03:08)
No, I just know of Punxsutawney.

Nick (1:03:11)
So

the movie Groundhog Day was filmed in Woodstock, Ohio. So they were like, we need a groundhog. So they went out and got Woodstock Willie.

Neil (1:03:16)
Okay.

Woodstock Willie, okay?

Nick (1:03:25)
And he's been, when was that movie? That was in the 80s maybe? So he's been doing this since the 80s. We also have like Staten Island Chuck.

Neil (1:03:31)
Yeah, Bill Murray with the, yeah.

Nick (1:03:44)
WE HAVE GURTY THE GROUNDHOG?!

Neil (1:03:49)
Why are the, why haven't I heard of any of these?

Nick (1:03:50)
So,

Gertie the Groundhog is Peoria, Illinois. And then there's like Wisconsin has Jimmy the Groundhog. West Virginia has French Creek Freddy. Ohio has a Buckeye Chuck. And Chattanoil and also has a Chuck. But I had no idea there were these other stupid groundhogs that were doing the same damn thing.

Neil (1:04:07)
Buck on Chuck. Buck on Chuck? Okay.

It's all stupid. It's stupid. mean, Punxsutawney, he's the one. He's the one everybody sees, the one everybody listens to. Nobody likes him, as I said. know, like, we should just, just, somebody just pull him out of his hole, cook him up, let's have a feast, and then let's just move on and be in over with this.

Nick (1:04:29)
Nobody likes it.

I don't want Pete on our ass. That's not what we want to do. Dude, in the last 20 years, Puxatonic Phil.

Neil (1:04:38)
Throw him in the crockpot.

Nick (1:04:46)
You had him at what percent?

Neil (1:04:48)
Like accuracy is between 35 to 39%.

Nick (1:04:52)
Yeah, 35 % accuracy over the last 20 years. Staten Island Chuck.

Neil (1:04:58)
Uh-huh.

Nick (1:05:01)
who resides out of Staten Island Zoo, 85 % accuracy since 2006. So can we just tell Phil to retire? And Gertie the groundhog has a 65 % accuracy. And Woodstock Willie has a 60 % accuracy.

Neil (1:05:03)
Yeah.

85 % for Staten Island Shrub.

To retire? He needs to retire.

So what is, so hold on. on. So Staten

Island, Staten Island, Woody, what's his name? Staten Island who?

Nick (1:05:27)
Well, stat now and Chuck.

Neil (1:05:29)
Staten Island Chuck, 80 something percent? Why are we not listening to Staten Island Chuck?

Nick (1:05:32)
Stand down Chuck.

I don't know, I didn't even know existed until today. I've got all four of them for you.

Neil (1:05:36)
Well, what did he predict today?

I just want the 80 % accuracy. Okay.

Nick (1:05:41)
Well, I'm going to give you them all because I've got it here.

As we said, Puck Starniefield, six more weeks of winter. Get the hell out of here. Never do this again. You are the worst groundhog in the history and somehow you are the most famous one. How come is there anything comparable to this? Like somebody who's terrible and is famous.

Neil (1:05:54)
He's an idiot is what he did. Why are we listening

to this little rodent that's 35 % accurate? Like go away.

Nick (1:06:04)
Also, you're not 130 years old. It's like, do you remember King of Queens where Kevin James' parents kept telling him that his dog is still alive for like 40 years and they kept replacing him? It's like the same thing.

It's the same damn thing. Woodstock Willie 60 % Woodstock Willie early spring.

Neil (1:06:19)
It is the same thing.

Okay? Okay.

Nick (1:06:28)
And then, Gerty the Groundhog, 65 % accuracy. Gerty, she said six more weeks. And then the real predictor, Groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, the official Groundhog predictor of the Heighten differential podcast.

Neil (1:06:42)
Stand on one shot.

Yeah.

Okay.

Nick (1:06:50)
six more weeks.

Neil (1:06:51)
no! ⁓ no! ⁓

Nick (1:06:54)
I got some bad news

Neil (1:06:56)
I don't like ground...

Stupid groundhogs.

Nick (1:07:00)
Staten Island Chuck man. Do you know how pumped I would have been if I found out he had an 80 % accuracy and he's coming in with early spring? I might put out

Neil (1:07:08)
Yeah, I'd be getting

the golf clubs ready to go. I'd be throwing them in the trunk.

Nick (1:07:12)
Yeah, I'll be putting a poster

up of Staten Island Chuck in my bedroom!

Neil (1:07:15)
If he said early spring, yeah, I'd be dusting the golf clubs off, getting ready, shining the shoes, getting some practice swings in, and we'd be out there playing here in about two to three weeks.

Nick (1:07:27)
I'd be hanging out with the round mound of acorn. Staten Island chucking the round mound of acorn in the fat squirrel competition.

Neil (1:07:36)
It's never gonna get warm. We're in an ice age right now. Like are we in the midst of an ice age?

Nick (1:07:39)
Bro,

bro, it snowed and iced like 10 days ago. And this, it won't go away.

Neil (1:07:47)
Did you see the

hockey game last night down in Florida?

Nick (1:07:54)
No, it was like 30 degrees though.

Neil (1:07:55)
Yeah, they had to heat the ice. They weren't expecting it to be that cold. They had to heat up the ice in Florida. Yeah, in Florida. We're in the midst of a nice age. Like, woolly mammoths are gonna start roaming the earth again and aren't we supposed to be cloning those beasts?

Nick (1:07:59)
Florida. In Florida. In Florida.

we've reverted. We've re... The climate change has reverted. We're going, we're now going cold. This, just like this.

Neil (1:08:18)
Yeah.

we had we do too much we did too much we got to go back alright everybody start polluting again

Nick (1:08:23)
So we've done such a good job. We've done such a good job with the recycling and these electric cars that we've gone backwards. ⁓ god. Yes.

Get your bad mufflers and just run them.

Neil (1:08:39)
Just

start taking off the catalytic converters and let's just start polluting the air so we can get some ozone back through here. can heat this thing up.

Nick (1:08:44)
I mean.

The good news is if you're in the south end of Louisville, you can just walk over to the boat because you can just walk across the ice. You might be able to drive your car across it.

Neil (1:08:56)
I would not recommend that, but if you want to try it, whatever.

Nick (1:09:03)
But Kim, will this stuff melt? I'm sick of it.

Neil (1:09:06)
No, was supposed to snow again tomorrow night, I heard. This is just ridiculous.

Nick (1:09:09)
And

dude, the snow was what? Saturday, Sunday last week. I worked from home all week last week. Friday, I'm like, dude, I'm stir crazy. I'm going to try to go to lunch. Driveway just full of snow. I'm like, I've never had trouble with this. I got this. Get halfway down my driveway. There's no way. There's no way. Huh?

Neil (1:09:29)
Bro, you have a flat, you have a flat driveway. You

have a flat driveway and an SUV. What are you doing?

Nick (1:09:37)
Bro,

it's a fake two-wheel drive SUV. The GMC Terrain is not for all terrains. But dude, that thing would not move at all. Yeah, I got stuck. And I'm just glad I didn't go so far down the driveway where my back of my car was sticking out of the street, because the situation I was in, I tried to move it for like five minutes. And then I'm just like, all right, this is where a car lives until somebody comes to help. And I just went in house.

Neil (1:09:40)
It's a fact.

It's just for...

Maybe the next time those South End kids ring your doorbell, you'll answer.

Nick (1:10:10)
Yeah, I need to. Some of the driveways look really clean. Now, Hartford, my brother-in-law, came over and they had the gas engine snowblower. And that thing is shooting snow up 40 feet in the air. It's still when you get to the bottom, because there's so much ice.

Neil (1:10:26)
That's what you need. It's good to have a brother-in-law. It's good to have a brother-in-law.

Nick (1:10:33)
But also I'm done with the ice. done with the code.

Neil (1:10:36)
Yeah. And especially if you got kids. I mean, what? It stopped snowing last Saturday, right? Saturday was the snow. Maybe early Sunday. that's, what are we, day eight since then? And they're still on two hour delays at school. Eight days. Eight days.

Nick (1:10:43)
Saturday, it snowed all day Sunday. It snowed Sunday. Yeah.

Yeah, that's what I was saying.

Well have you seen the- have you seen somethings back

road?

Have you seen some these backgrounds?

Neil (1:10:57)
⁓ Back

in our day, we didn't have eight days of snow days. For five inches, not for five inches of snow. Get your bus, kids, go to school. Your parents need a break, go to school.

Nick (1:11:02)
I don't know.

And dude, I was around my nieces and nephews last night. You can tell. You can tell when they ain't been in school for a week, because they're different. They're different. They're different.

Neil (1:11:18)
Crazy.

I'm sure your

sisters would agree. Get your butts in school, kids.

Nick (1:11:24)
Yes.

Yes. But at least they win today. And tomorrow we're on regular schedule.

Neil (1:11:29)
Yeah,

until we get another one inch of snow and will be shut down for another week.

Nick (1:11:35)
Also, can we make the day after the Super Bowl a holiday or what?

Neil (1:11:40)
Can we play the Super Bowl on a Saturday?

Nick (1:11:41)
Or do that.

Neil (1:11:43)
Yes.

Nick (1:11:45)
Or do that. But football belongs on Sundays, does it not?

It kind of does.

Neil (1:11:51)
I'd rather the Super Bowl be a Saturday. I'd rather the college football championship be on a Saturday too.

Nick (1:11:56)
That would be tight,

but for some reason the NCAA loves doing their championships on Monday night.

Neil (1:12:03)
Over.

Which Super Bowl plans?

Nick (1:12:10)
I don't know yet. Eliana, my niece, was like, are you having people over for the Super Bowl? And I was like, I don't know, do want me to? She's like, yeah. I was like, well, we can talk about it. We can talk about it. We can talk about it. But yeah, I don't know. I'm not crazy excited about it.

I am excited that the Chiefs are in it.

Neil (1:12:33)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the Chiefs just got replaced by the Patriots who we just had a whole decade, a whole decade of them being pushed down our throat. just give me somebody, just let the Bengals go back.

Nick (1:12:38)
Who I also hate,

They got it. They got it. I keep getting, this is why I keep giving the Patriots all the props for making all the moves on defense and free agency. There's a blueprint. There's a blueprint. Follow it. Follow it.

Neil (1:13:01)
I saw

the NFL cap is going up, so the Bengals now have more cap space. Bengals even have more cap space than we thought. Just gotta spend it, just gotta spend it.

Nick (1:13:04)
Yeah, I got plenty of room. Plenty of room.

Yeah,

tag, tray and trade him. Get a third round pick. It's easy. It's all that they won't do it. They won't do it. They will not do it.

⁓ it's, it's, I hope they do it. I need a new shirt,

Neil (1:13:29)
Well, you could have got one in 2021. I'm sure you got a couple of them over there.

Nick (1:13:33)
I told you, did you get your IU stuff yet? Because I told you, you get your stuff, you buy what you want right away so you make sure you don't get it. Cause once it's gone, they don't put it back. And then like couple months later, when it's on sale, then you grab the rest of it. Did you get something? You're an idiot. You're one of the stupidest people alive.

Neil (1:13:48)
I still have not.

Alright, that's my goal tomorrow. I'm getting on there tomorrow. It ain't gonna be gone. There's plenty of cool stuff. It ain't be gone.

Nick (1:13:54)
It's all gonna be gone. Like the cool stuff is gonna be gone and you're gonna cry. You're gonna cry. Like

when the Braves won the World Series, dude, I got the sweetest toboggan ever. And if I wouldn't have bought it the night they won, I wouldn't have got it. Because that thing was never to be found again. I wear that thing half the time during the winter because it's just, it's comfortable. It keeps your ears warm. It says World Series champs. Don't, don't, don't let that opportunity slide.

Neil (1:14:19)
I

think Adidas will keep their stuff in stock.

Nick (1:14:25)
Well, good luck on that. I'm glad you believe that because...

Neil (1:14:29)
I'll let you know tomorrow what I get. I'm ordering stuff tomorrow.

Nick (1:14:32)
But I want Staten Island Chuck to be the official Groundhog by 2027.

Neil (1:14:39)
I would agree with that. I don't know, but he's already the official groundhog of the Height Differential Podcast. Yeah. Yeah.

Nick (1:14:40)
So what do we have to do?

100%. But that's just the start.

I want to be the official groundhog of the United States of America.

Neil (1:14:52)
Well,

we got to go on a campaign trail. got to put a campaign. We got to get.

Nick (1:14:54)
mean,

Kill O'Neal had a better free throw percentage than this damn hedgehog does, groundhog does, at picking the winners late. Like, what the hell? 35. Retire, bro. All right, so I don't know if we got to make signs or whatever we got to do, but Staten Island Chuck, that's our guy. That's our guy.

Neil (1:15:08)
Get rid of them. Get rid of them.

I'm behind them. Well,

gotta hit the campaign trail here in a couple months. Get them elected.

Nick (1:15:22)
We will.

But for everybody who tuned in for our first live, we appreciate you. A quick reminder, subscribe to the height differential wherever you listen to podcast. And if you like what you heard or you didn't like it or whatever, make sure you give us a rating. It helps people find it and follow us on social media because we chop this thing up and we put it in the shorts so you can watch it at your leisure. Anything else?

Neil (1:15:52)
Nope, looking forward to Superbowl.

Nick (1:15:56)
And your official prediction is 24 to 20?

Neil (1:16:00)
2420 Seahawks.

Nick (1:16:03)
And I'm gonna go 24, 2014 be my official prediction. But take the Seahawks, take the under.

Neil (1:16:11)
I think the Seahawks get up by two scores. Patriots score in the fourth. Seahawks hold on.

Nick (1:16:20)
And look, if the Patriots get some turnovers, then this could be a totally different game. they don't get two turnovers, I don't think the Patriots have a chance. 4-6-6, Neil. I am the 4-10, Nick. We do this every single week. You have been listening to the height differential, and we will talk to you next week.

Neil (1:16:27)
I would agree.