The Pivot Summer travel: 2024 Paris Olympics and NFL Training Camp tour, Team USA Flag bearer Lebron James, Simone Biles best ever, Airport delays & tech outage, Biden drops out, Kamala in, Obama's take

Your favorite trio is back! With Summer about to be taken over by the massive sports moves heating up and the world experiencing a whirlwind of headlines in politics, society and athletics, no better moment than now for Ryan, Channing, and Fred to sit and talk about everything, only the way they know how to do. During this three-man special of The Pivot Podcast, in partnership with Fanatics, we unpack the biggest news of the week and look ahead to what's next. From the unprecedented events surrounding the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump to the surprising announcement from President Joe Biden about stepping down from the presidential race and his ailing health, we share our perspectives as black Americans navigating these monumental moments while not losing sight of what's important in the midst of the political chaos. Turning our attention to the world of sports, with the positive vibes brewing as the 2024 Olympics open up this week. Highlighted by the honor of LeBron James being chosen as one of two athletes to carry the U. S. flag at the opening ceremony and first ever men's basketball player to do so is something we all agree on is well-deserved as a strong representation of our country. Looking forward to the Games and all the golden moments, we also talk about the immense pressure faced by Olympic athletes, highlighting Simone Biles' resilience and mental strength, particularly in light of her past choices regarding competition. With the same energy talking bad-ass women in sports, we dive into the WNBA All-Star game this past weekend. We touch on who showcased incredible talent and dedication on the court, proving once again why WNBA players are trailblazers in the world of ALL professional sports today. Cutting through the chaos of travel delays, computer glitches and life disruptions caused by software issues and we lean into dependency on technology and how it truly is at the mercy of others. Hoping our travel plans aren't interrupted as we get ready to lock in on our NFL training camp tour as we hit the road this week, connecting with players, coaches and visiting over 25 teams in preparation for the upcoming season. Stay tapped in as we bring you sideline views, exclusive conversations and stories from NFL cities, gearing up for what promises to be an unforgettable summer and football season. Don't miss out on this episode filled with insightful discussions, passionate opinions, and a whole lot of excitement—tune in now to the Pivot Podcast in partnership with Fanatics! To get this new customer offer for Mint Mobile and your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to https://mintmobile.com/pivot $45 upfront payment required (equivalent to $15/mo.). New customers on the first 3 month plan only. Speeds slower above 40GB on Unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees, & restrictions apply. See MINT MOBILE for details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:09Speaker 01

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• 0:17Speaker 00

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Hey, man. Come on, we gotta hurry up, man, so I catch my Spirit Flight.

• 0:33Channing Crowder?

  Don't get that Spirit Flight.

• 0:34Ryan Clark?

  Hey, man, nothing wrong with that? Shoot.

• 0:36Channing Crowder?

  You gonna be in the fold out here.

• 1:14Ryan Clark?

  Well, guys, welcome to the Pivot. It's been a while since we did a three man show. It's the Pivot, a part of Fanatics. Speaking of, August 16th through the 18th, Fanatics Fan Fest in New York City. It's gonna be crazy, collectibles, memorabilia. We have different panels. We'll be there all three days at the Javits Center. I'm talking about from Tom Brady to Derek Jeter, Allen Iverson, Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, Stephen A. hosting panel, Freddie T., Channing Crowder. You guys tap in, go online, get the tickets. It's gonna be a crazy event. Released a video on our YouTube clips yesterday, releasing a social video tomorrow with Michael Rubin. Y'all check that out. I mean, there's no way to really transition, guys.

• 1:59Ryan Clark?

  As a country, we're seeing something that's unprecedented. Joe Biden backs out of the 2024 presidential race. I mean.

• 2:10Ryan Clark?

  What is your thought on that?

• 2:11Fred Taylor?

  I think for me, the the one clear thing it it says is Republicans don't give a about anybody except the Republicans. I mean, he's an eighty one year old man. Obviously, we knew his health was in full decline, right? And he fought as long as he could. He tried to fight a good fight. I think he was the more common sense candidate, you know, going going around and and fought for all people. But, you know, I I think him stepping out and backing out, or however it came to fruition, is the it was the right move for the country, for the party, etc. I don't want to go heavy politics, but I'll just talk about from a health standpoint, doing what's right for himself, his family.

• 2:53Fred Taylor?

  Now they they can go on and may relieve themselves of some of these pressures that he was feeling having to serve and lead this country. So the right move for sure. I don't necessarily agree with the attacks, you know, from the other side, from from Trump himself. I mean, he's a he's a old man. Obviously, we we knew that, but you don't have to pound away at him. He was generous enough and considerate and grateful enough to to call Trump after the failed assassination attempt and and and display, you know, look, I thankful that this didn't happen. Uh, and and hopefully we can just get on down the road and do our thing and run against each other. But then Trump comes back and say, well, he doubles down. He's old, he's decrepit, he's this, he's that.

• 3:37Fred Taylor?

  I don't think that's cool, right? But in terms of what's best for the country, I believe it was the the best decision they could make.

• 3:45Channing Crowder?

  With the assassination attempt, don't kill no damn body. No matter what size you want and this and that, you know, and is it real, is it not, whatever it was, don't shoot at no damn body. So we'll say that off back. But Biden stepping down was very unselfish of him knowing that he's he was in. You could tell, and even after the debate, we all watched that first debate, that man is not ready to go on and take on the both sides and and carry millions of people on his back. We saw that and we knew that. Myself and Asia were sitting there watching it. We're talking about it ourselves. We're saying, man, there's no chance he gonna make another four years. How he getting caught up and how he can't really keep his thoughts in line. So why, why wasn't there a Plan B, Plan C, Plan D? You know what I'm saying?

• 4:29Channing Crowder?

  Of now, you just throwing Kamala in there. Now you saying, we're hearing, you know, who's gonna be that, that person that replaces him? Well, I think it should have been, it should have been more organized on the, the, the democratic side of what's gonna happen because if I'm sitting there, smoking a joint, watching the TV, and I'm saying, man, this man's not gonna sit around and argue for the next three, four months with him. Why wasn't there a contingency plan on that? I love Kamala. There's a lot of, there's a lot of, you know, the Democrat, I know we can talk about Democratic guys that can be there, but I just think it, it's more of a panic that I don't like on the Democratic side.

• 5:08Ryan Clark?

  I don't necessarily think it's a panic from the Democratic side. I think it's a late reaction. First off, to Joe Biden and his family, we understand that his health is in heavy decline. First of all, your thoughts and your prayers go out to him. Someone who was a lifelong politician, has been a part of the American fabric for decades and for more of his career than he hasn't. If you are a Democrat or Republican, I'm not heavy into partisanship, but if you were a Democrat, where was your contingency plan? Where was your backup quarterback?

• 5:48Ryan Clark?

  You had built a insurmountable lead, leading into 2020 because of who President Trump was as an actual president. And so your job was to make this candidacy about laws and legislation and the way that this country was going to run. Joe Biden, as his health declined, was not able to do that. So this turned into a popularity contest. This turned into a reality show. You can't beat that dude in a popularity contest. You can't beat him in a reality show. And you have to think of all the people he empowered during his presidency that look like him

• 6:30Ryan Clark?

  and feel like him and want to say the things that he says, but they can't without getting slapped because they don't have security. They want to do the things that he does and not be arrested or not go to jail, not become a felon, but they can't because they don't have the money, because they don't have the backing. And so it's all of those people who already idolized him, who've now made him a hero because of the failed assassination attempt, no matter what you think about it. They've now made him a hero. And on the other side of that, we have ignorant black rappers and ignorant former girlfriends

• 7:10Ryan Clark?

  of rappers who want to go to the Republican National Convention or who get on their Instagram and praise who President Trump is to them. Uh, my brother Gary Chambers shared some information who President Trump is, is during his presidency, he elected nine minority judges. Joe Biden elected fifty-nine minority judges. In his cabinet, he had one black person, Ben Carson. Joe Biden had six, including the Vice President. And so as we continue to go down this road, we have to understand what we are facing. The Democratic Party also has to understand what they are facing.

• 7:55Ryan Clark?

  Right now, President Trump, or former President Trump, has a lead that is going to be very difficult to find a way to close the gap on. And I think Freddie T mentioned something on our group chat about the person he think Or who would have to be used or have to run in order to win?

• 8:16Fred Taylor?

  It's been a lot of speculation, you know, ever since, especially since former president Barack Obama made his statement to Joe Biden stepping down. You know, I think the key in that statement was as of now. You know, we want to thank Joe and Jill, you know, for their time in office, et cetera, et cetera. And as of now, just that phrase alone left many wondering if that meant, well, he didn't endorse Kamala immediately. So as of now, does that mean as of now, we're keeping things open? You know, as another candidate emerges in the Democratic Party, could it be Michelle Obama?

• 8:57Fred Taylor?

  You know, was he waiting to endorse Kamala, you know, at a later date? Or could it be a Harris Obama, you know, campaign? I mean, I don't know, but- People have mentioned Gavin Leisham too. Right, Gavin Newsom as well. So they really have to dig deep and figure out an attack. If they have a game plan, I don't know, but Trump is, I believe he's well ahead. You know, his job is to continue to sell the American dream and freedom. But I came across a quote, "The secret to freedom is educating the people. Whereas the secret to tyranny is keeping them ignorant."

• 9:41Fred Taylor?

  You have to decide which side of that you believe Trump is pushing in his campaign. And again, I didn't vote last time. I was so like, I don't know, I was all over the place. But I believe now it's important not just to vote for a president, but also understand that it's the Senate, it's the House, that's gonna help the president like push these agendas through. So you have to be strong in your voting there. So I think that's what's important.

• 10:11Channing Crowder?

  One thing RC said that I don't think a lot of people know is how the judges that are appointed, the Supreme Court that's appointed- The people that ain't, and you don't hear about these people's names like you do the presidents, but they make a lot of day-to-day real decisions.

• 10:27Ryan Clark?

  This is who runs the country.

• 10:28Channing Crowder?

  And we watch the TV and we watch the RNC, the DNC and all that stuff. And that's what we take in. That's the day-to-day of sending people to jail, the day-to-day of making rules, laws, regulations, amendments. And those are the headlines that don't get, you know, big news, but that's who's really running the country. So that's what people need to be into. But I would say now, this is the, this is the time. And even, even myself, Asia's, she, she's always on the CNN, the CSNBC. She's always on all that. The Fox, he watches everything. And I'm like, I'll walk in and be like, man, turn on Game of Thrones, man, like. And I'm, this is the time that you, and I'm joking, but seriously, like, really look at this.

• 11:11Channing Crowder?

  Because I even seen people today about, um, when Kamala came up. I saw something on Twitter, the dude said, "You can't trust a black woman married to a white man." Man, what the does it matter? Why is that your first thought when you see the opportunity for this, for this woman in the Democratic Party to put it? It's ignorance. I like, Freddie, I appreciate it. The ignorance of politics amongst our people, I say it, really look into it. Don't just get happy and be, be cool that you can write a funny tweet, because you don't know who's watching, who's listening. Really look into what's going on, really look into the change you want to make. And whatever side you're on, both sides, to be honest, look into it. Because why would you make such strong stances on shit when you really don't know what the hell is going on?

• 11:55Channing Crowder?

  And I think a lot of people are just, "Oh, I'm, I'm this because my mama is, I'm that because my mama is." "Oh, no, I can't, I can't vote for a black woman married, married to a white." What the fuck does it matter? Really look into their policies, look into, what, smart on crime with Kamala? Like, that makes a lot of sense to me, smart on crime. Really look at what these people did and see if they should be in jail for 30 years. And where they were in their past and all that stuff. Like, look into the policies and don't just look at, "Oh, my mama voted for that man, I'm gonna vote for him." Or, "Oh, she's a black woman, I mess with her." Or, "I'm a white man, he's a real arrogant white man, I'm an arrogant white man, I need to vote for him." Those people aren't making the decisions. The, the side is making the decisions and it can change your life tremendously,

• 12:39Channing Crowder?

  but you're just getting excited about silly shit like who the hell a person married to, man. So really do your research and I'm starting now. Age has been getting on me for years about it. I'm starting now to even be like, you know what? Let me really learn about these policies.

• 12:52Ryan Clark?

  Another difficult part is, right now, we don't know who will be running for the Democratic Party. You know, Joe Biden did endorse Kamala Harris, but you know, we've also heard that Michelle Obama is polling extremely high for the Democrats. And I think that makes sense. I think the first piece of it that makes sense is she's actually very well-liked. She's extremely popular. She's always carried herself with such grace, with such respect, such presence as the first lady. And so I think those things matter because it has become a public popularity contest. She could win there. She understands leadership for all people.

• 13:33Ryan Clark?

  She watched her husband for eight years that even though President Obama was the first African-American president, he didn't get to be our president. So many of us thought that he would be our president and the black people would rise, but he understood that in taking that office, it was his job to be the president of the American people from 2016 to 2020, at least from those who seemed empowered, at least from the division amongst our country. It didn't seem like former President Trump understood that or moved in that way. And also, someone like Michelle Obama would have an opportunity to turn this legislation, or this candidacy, I'm sorry, into politics,

• 14:17Ryan Clark?

  into what are your rules and regulations, into who will you appoint? In appointing those people, how will that affect the whole of the American people? Which is what we ask whomever our president is elected to be to do. And I think that's where we need to get as a country. That's where we need to focus. I voted every opportunity I've had to vote. Every chance I had and I was of age, I cast my vote for the president. I don't know how much it mattered to me until 2016, because I felt, because of what I felt internally. And I'm not here to preach to anybody or make them vote a certain way,

• 15:00Ryan Clark?

  but I do think everyone should exercise that right. Because for people like us, people died for that right. And I think it's extremely important that we honor them. But to get to something like less heavy. Fred's boy. Fred's favorite player, athlete, father.

• 15:20Channing Crowder?

  The worm.

• 15:21Ryan Clark?

  Freaking, what else, what else is LeBron Fred's favorite of? Fashion designer, podcaster, probably. He'll, he'll watch the shop before he watch the pivot. I'm sure if LeBron on there.

• 15:32Channing Crowder?

  He like the shop more than.

• 15:34Ryan Clark?

  He like the shop more than that. He be like, man, I wish I had LeBron and Maverick. They get all like this. But LeBron James, which is, I think, a huge honor will become the first basketball player on the U.S. Men's National Team to represent the entire country as the flag bearer at opening ceremonies. And I think this is an event that we all watch. One, because you're just in awe of the spectacle. And I think, number two, like to realize, it's like that upper echelon. Like, we are all 1% of the 1%, and then they're the Hall of Famers. And then there's a group of people who we even put in a different hall in the Hall of Fame that we see differently.

• 16:16Ryan Clark?

  That's almost what getting an opportunity to be the flag bearer is. Looking at that, Chan, what does it say about how far basketball has come in our country as it pertains to Olympic sports? But LeBron James in particular.

• 16:34Channing Crowder?

  Man, it's so much, and then he hated, because I done, I done hated LeBron before. And anybody saying the same thing, I used to argue about. LeBron really ain't from the hood. He was a golden child at 16 years old. He ain't struggling. You look at him, honestly, it's how Freddie feels. This man is an amazing person, an amazing husband, an amazing father. And the second, and we can argue all day, we not get to that, the second best person I've ever seen touch a basketball in my life. And you know one's MJ in my mind, and that's, I think it's a, it's an age gap thing that we do that, right? For what he's done, not just for basketball, or in addition to basketball.

• 17:14Channing Crowder?

  So what he looks like as a role model, as a person, as an American, because you're talking about the Olympics. What he does is exactly what everybody should be, no matter what damn color you are. Like, I'm the best at my sport. I work extremely hard at what I do. I've become amazing, great, elite, whatever words you want to put on what I do. And also, as a human being, I'm that dude too. Hell of a father, entrepreneur, all this stuff he does. His boys he brought up, we had Rich Paul on, like, all his boys that were back with him in the hood, they went to school and came up with him in the business. Like, just think about if everybody approached the world like LeBron. So for any hater out there, and I could be the hater of all haters sometimes. Oh, you hate, hate, hate. You like, uh, Alasia.

• 18:01Channing Crowder?

  Bro, I literally could find, shit, look at him, man, nigga tie his shoes funny. But like, I could find something to be upset about. Bro, LeBron deserves everything he has. I know we talked about how, and I feel as if Bronny's getting special treatment because of his daddy.

• 18:18Channing Crowder?

  Yes, he deserves that too. You talked about it. He deserves to have nepotism or whatever it is, or, you know, preference over people because he's LeBron James, man. And what LeBron did, I think, has encouraged so many people that even haven't been seen yet, so many young men, young black men, old black men like ourselves, and just really switch, flip the switch on what the ceiling is on people's lives. And LeBron is an amazing person, man, and I think he should carry it. If Bronny want to carry it, if his old lady want to carry it. Bryce. Bryce, who's that? Who's that? That big bastard with the glasses? Bryce can carry it, everybody can carry it. Plus LeBron James has set a standard for athletes on and off the field

• 19:00Channing Crowder?

  that I think nobody, including Michael Jordan and whoever else you want to put. Nobody set a standard like LeBron has set right now.

• 19:06Fred Taylor?

  I think the key, what you said, he set a standard. The last 20 years, he's been the greatest athlete, the greatest player in his respective sport, alongside Tom Brady as well. But in basketball, I think he's been the greatest. And we can all agree, and I'm sure LeBron would too, that this might be the highest honor. You know, his entire sports career, his entire life, maybe. I want to say, "Representation matters." Channing, what you said was, LeBron has been a guy who has always been seen in a positive light. You know, he represented his league well. Uh, no bad story, no negative press, none of that stuff has followed LeBron.

• 19:44Fred Taylor?

  And going back to "Representation matters," this is an opportunity to put someone as iconic as LeBron in front of the world to represent the American people. We can't always say that in the conversation we just wrapped up when it comes to politics and, you know, in the leaders of the free world. We can't say that in terms of representation, but I think he's gonna do an, I mean, it's an easy job, but just to have him there, you know, carrying that torch to begin the games is huge. Uh, no matter how much you guys say, "That's my favorite player."

• 20:21Ryan Clark?

  It is.

• 20:22Fred Taylor?

  You know, I'm a fan of his, of his career and what he's done. I think it's, it's great for him, for his fans, et cetera, et cetera, and I wrap that up.

• 20:32Channing Crowder?

  Is, is hair die-flammable?

• 20:35Ryan Clark?

  They wear berets and stuff, though, so he might have a hat on.

• 20:38Channing Crowder?

  Oh, he gonna parade it up, yeah, because I just don't, you know, I don't want that torch to get too close to that.

• 20:42Fred Taylor?

  He's probably gonna do something crazy.

• 20:44Ryan Clark?

  LeBron gonna have a beret on and probably a dooley underneath it. You know, my dog keep, he trying to keep the hair laid down. What is he laying down? I don't know, I asked David, I asked David Miller again. I got a David card, he had a do rag. I said, "Bro, what is this for?" But apparently, it's something.

• 20:59Channing Crowder?

  David asked for the tennis ball when he going to Marvin's shop.

• 21:01Ryan Clark?

  He said, "Give me the tennis ball." It's something these guys do. Um, I agree with both of you guys on LeBron. Um, there was just a list released of the top 100 athletes of the 2000s, so of this millennium. And number one was Michael Phelps, number two was Serena Williams, number three was Leo Messi, then LeBron James. I think. When you look at individual athletes who don't play team sports, there is an edge they get from a perception standpoint because everything is on them, right? They have to be individually great in that moment in order to win. There is no Chris Bosch rebound, pass to D Wade, D Wade hits the shot.

• 21:44Ryan Clark?

  There is no Kyrie scores 41, hits the winning shot over Steph Curry. So I think some of that goes into that decision. But when you think of iconic figures within the 2000, LeBron James is one of the first names that come to mind. Whether it was who he became in high school, and Akron being the number one overall pick, dealing with the adversities he's dealt with, the way he's conducted himself away from the court. But also, as much as it's been sort of this fairy tale story of having been the chosen one, because of that scrutiny, there were points, at least basketball wise, where he had to deal with criticism.

• 22:27Ryan Clark?

  He had to deal with people saying he wasn't enough. And he found a way through that, whether you agree with the way he did it or not. I think it's such an accomplishment for a team player to have this honor, to represent the entire country. And I do believe that when you're the Olympic committee and you're picking a person to represent your country, you're picking a person to represent your country. You're not picking an athlete to represent your country. You are picking them based off of what they have shown the world publicly that they are. The way that they've conducted themselves, the way that they've presented themselves, the way that they have handled each and every experience in their life.

• 23:11Ryan Clark?

  And you can say, this should be the American way, right? When people see LeBron James with that flag, he's a representation of us all. Everything that he does, every level of greatness and excellence is going to be on display. And we're going to compare it to everybody else's flag bearer. Life is a competition, right? And we're going to look at somebody else's country flag bearer and ask, how many championships they got? That ain't wrong. How many businesses they built? That ain't wrong. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? And so I think, I think as much as I Go into the debate of who's the greatest of all time.

• 23:51Ryan Clark?

  I'm actually proud that he's the flag bearer for the United States of America at opening ceremonies. He deserves it. If he has to represent us as our athlete in the opening ceremonies, I am 100% on board with it.

• 24:09Channing Crowder?

  And I say too, what Bron does, Bron makes a decision, unapologetically sticks with it and succeeds. Just bigger picture of thinking about it, going to Miami, people criticize him. And I think the decision with Jim Gray and him, I think that was a bad decision on his part. Went down there and got him too. Now I'm going back to Cleveland to get one for, get one for the land, get from hometown. Damn, why he gonna go back there and play for them when it got him one? Now I want to slide to LA, criticism, slither LA and got him one. Like just the thought of that, I'm gonna make my own decisions. I'm gonna manage and figure out my own career, my own life. But at every step, I'm about to find a way to succeed. No matter who I gotta put around me, no matter what I have to do, no matter how hard to work.

• 24:50Channing Crowder?

  He went from place to place to place succeeding with everybody else doubting those decisions. And I say Bron, love you for it, brother. And I think he, he affected a lot of young men with those decisions he made and with the success that came on the backside. For sure.

• 25:05Ryan Clark?

  When we look at that, on the other side though, there's the women's game, right? You just had WNBA All-Star and the Olympic team played the WNBA All-Stars that had Arikee Unguwole, I want to say her name correctly, I probably still butchered it. Katelyn Clark, Angel Reese, and the USA team ends up losing. I think they lost in 2021 as well. But the, the big thing that come out of that was Katelyn Clark's two assists away from breaking the record. Obviously, Arikee goes crazy in the second half.

• 25:45Ryan Clark?

  I have never seen so many tweets and so much publicity though around the women's games. The people being excited about Katelyn passing the ball to Angel. I mean Freddie T, they gotta be excited about the way this game, the game is moving.

• 26:03Fred Taylor?

  Oh, without a doubt. You can look at what the networks, you know, they just committed, what was it? $2.2 billion dollar deal. Or was that a licensing deal or a network deal, right? For the women's game. We talked about it some months ago when we talked about the growth of the game. You know, Katelyn being good for that, Angel being good for that. Bringing that attention to their sport. One thing I know for sure, that they're better at than the men's game. Because the men are so naturally gifted and all of them are a cheat code. The women's game is so fundamentally sound. And they rely heavily on technique and running those plays.

• 26:43Fred Taylor?

  And you have every now and then where they can isolate and go and do their things and show how gifted or talented they are. But when you go back to fundamentals and you break the game down, they are amazing. They play, I think they play harder than the men. They were in the All-Star game, but they were battling. The men's game, you see the men kind of freestyling and playing kind of like at the park. And maybe they do that because they got 82 games plus playoffs, so this is their rest moment. But those women, like they were, Kelsey Plum, she, you know, she taking elbows and D-ing up and, you know, just to see these women, see how their game is evolving and what we can see versus what we had seen a year ago.

• 27:26Fred Taylor?

  Man, I think it's amazing. I'm happy they got that deal secure. I hope that means better paychecks, better help for them on the back end, etc., etc. So I'm excited in the direction that it's headed.

• 27:37Channing Crowder?

  Man, there's personalities. That's what fuels the game. You'll see, I got Iverson on, one of my favorite players ever. But his personality fuels the game pretty.

• 27:45Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 27:45Channing Crowder?

  You, that fundamental thing kiss my ass. That's not fun.

• 27:49Fred Taylor?

  No.

• 27:50Channing Crowder?

  It's not fun. You know what I do like, and I've watched it?

• 27:52Fred Taylor?

  If you love the sport, like I can watch football. I love watching.

• 27:56Channing Crowder?

  A good, strong power play where they get six yards.

• 27:59Fred Taylor?

  The personality, I love watching, like I can watch the Steelers. I know, I can look at them and say, alright, they getting into it. But I'm heavy into the game that way. And some people are heavy into basketball that way, and boxing that way. They look at the subtle things, and that's what they love. Now, maybe that doesn't sell tickets.

• 28:17Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 28:17Fred Taylor?

  And it might not even create views, but there's something about that that a lot of people love over more so than personality. But you're right, personality sell tickets.

• 28:27Channing Crowder?

  Because I tell you, now the WNBA, and I love, and I put that more on the networks that weren't broadcasting it, because I didn't even know. They just, I'm not calling out anybody, but I just started hearing that, oh, well, and Angel Reese about to play Asia Wilson, oh, I want to watch that matchup. I want to watch them girls get down low and get nasty. And I think the networks or the league, whatever that disconnect was, and I'm not blaming it on the league, I'm blaming it on the coverage of the league. Because right now, Angel Reese and Kaitlyn Clark played, and we saw the buildup, and that was one of the, that was the most watched WNBA game to date. And I'm not going to lie, I just use the example. When I saw Angel about to play Asia, I want to see that.

• 29:10Channing Crowder?

  That's Jordan versus Bird. That's what I want to see. Oh, Steph about to play Bron? Oh, I want to see. I'm not saying Warriors versus Lakers, I'm saying Steph versus Bron. And the WNBA is now getting to a point where we're having these names every day in our house.

• 29:26Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 29:26Channing Crowder?

  And I want to see Asia play Angel, and I watched it, and Asia tore her ass up.

• 29:31Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 29:32Channing Crowder?

  And Angel's young. So the next time they play, I want to see if Angel has figured it out and got, and matured and got better. And now she can go back, and that's what I like to see. So your point, I'm not, I'm, I was, you know, I was bullshitting like about the fundamentals. Like, I don't care if there's a good pick and roll on the top side and they have a double screen. I don't want to see that shit. I want to see Angel Reese and Asia Wilson in the paint, guarding each other every single play. And I'm going to enjoy watching that matchup, because I think that's where sports is really getting now. Is getting the people, personalities, and fandom of a human. And I think WNBA now has so many humans that people love. I think now. Women's basketball is getting where men's sports are. Where we used to say, oh, this team is good, that team is good. No, no. Hell with that team. I want to see her ball out.

• 30:17Channing Crowder?

  I never, I never said that about Taurasi. I never said that about Candace Parker. I didn't feel that way about it. I don't know if it's because, I don't know why I did not feel that way when they played each other. But now I'm starting to say, oh, Katelyn Clark about to go see, you know, about to go see whoever. Oh, yeah, yeah, I want to see that. Who, who, who, who going to drop? Katelyn going to drop? Katelyn going to get a double-double? I want to see her get a double-double. I never felt that way about the amazing female basketball players of our past. I'm starting to get there now, and it might be because, like, I'll go back to my first point. The, the, the media side of it, the broadcasting of it, the excitement build up on, on networks and things like that. I'm getting caught up in that, and I want to see those matchups. And I think that's where women's basketball has took leaps and bounds over the last six months.

• 31:01Ryan Clark?

  It's part of everything, right? I think it's part of the skill, it's part of the fundamentals of the way that an individual plays the game of basketball. And it's also the personality. And if you mix those together in the right way, you get stars.

• 31:16Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 31:17Ryan Clark?

  It's about stardom. It's about, can you draw me in to the person? It's about the fact that every game now, every team's Twitter or Instagram, every ESPN W, every WNBA, what do they do? They do the, the, when they walk into the stadium. All of the pictures, right? And you got some of them that's like dripped out this way. You have some of them dripped out another way. But they're drawing you into the people. If you like a certain thing about a certain player, they're giving it to you. Right? And then they're showing what they're doing off the court. They're bringing you into the locker rooms, all of those different things. Because they're giving you access to the human. Because we get attached to the human.

• 31:59Channing Crowder?

  Yes.

• 32:00Ryan Clark?

  Right? Steph Curry playing at Davidson, it wasn't about Davidson, it was about this little light-skinned cat who was skinny, who was hitting threes everywhere. And so we bought into him in NCAA, then we watched him go to the league. It was the same way with Bron when he was playing in high school, right? We bought into him then, and we watched him go. To the league, they've now allowed us to get attached to these humans. And now that you're attached to these humans, Asia Wilson been the best woman's player in the world.

• 32:27Fred Taylor?

  Yes.

• 32:27Ryan Clark?

  But now because you want to see her play Angel, because Angel is a star, now you watch Asia Wilson. You're like, man, she is so dang good. And now you're learning about her personality. And it's such, and Fred mentioned how hard they played. What they do in Olympic years is so smart. Because if I'm not on the Olympic team, I want to show everybody why I'm supposed to be on the Olympic team, which is the way Arike played, right? Which is why Katelyn was dropping dimes, why Angel was playing hard. And then if I'm on the Olympic team, I'm like, shoot, we gotta go represent the country.

• 33:03Fred Taylor?

  For sure.

• 33:03Ryan Clark?

  I need to try to find a way to win this game. It's not going to be 190 to 200 because nobody cares until the fourth quarter, because they want to try to win and Bron's trying to keep his All-Star streak alive. And so I was excited that it was an entire weekend that we cared about. And yeah, they're not going to have the dunk contest, which stunk anyway for the men this year anyway. And they're not going to have certain things. But I think for what they are building with the women's game and putting the women in the forefront, they now have a chance to build off of this. And they can't let this dissipate during the Olympics. Because when they come back, they'll be up against football, which we all know is America's sport.

• 33:47Fred Taylor?

  Top dog. I went to the Tournament of Champions. I'll be really quick. I went to the Tournament of Champions. The women's game is going to be OK. They have this team, the Iowa Tech, a team full of Katelyn Clarks. They just shoot from the parking lot. Philly rise Plex's daughter, she's like Ongu Bwale. You know, and some other girls out there that was just dogs out there. So these young women, it's trickled over into youth sports. And I think as they continue to develop and the media gets behind them, that game will be in a great place in the next 20 years.

• 34:17Channing Crowder?

  But to your point too, I say that too about me watching Angel Reese, who's on the show. I love Adrienne, I love personality, I love her. Like you're saying, I'm a fan of her. But now her big next to her, what, Cardoza? That big girl be balling out.

• 34:31Ryan Clark?

  Chidi Carter is the best player on the team.

• 34:33Channing Crowder?

  The little rev guard, bro, she be going crazy and she got an edge to her. So like. I'm, I go to watch Angel. But now I see Channing, now I see Cardo. Now I'm seeing these girls, I'm like, you know what I'm saying? If they get traded, I'm gonna go watch Channing play if she's with somebody else. Because now I became a fan, so.

• 34:49Fred Taylor?

  That's sport.

• 34:50Channing Crowder?

  And that's what happens with sport. That's why we talk about Toni Kukoc. That's why we talk about BJ Armstrong. Because we weren't watching for Toni Kukoc. We were watching Jordan. And we like, damn, Toni Kukoc can shoot his ass off.

• 35:03Fred Taylor?

  Like, people would say, I became a Steeler fan because I was a fan of Ryan.

• 35:07Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 35:07Fred Taylor?

  Or, I became a Jaguars fan because I love the way you play, Freddie T. I don't think anybody ever said, I'm a Dolphin fan because of Channing Crowder.

• 35:16Ryan Clark?

  That's crazy.

• 35:16Fred Taylor?

  But I do like Tootsie's.

• 35:20Fred Taylor?

  I mean, I'm just saying.

• 35:22Channing Crowder?

  I got me a signed Tootsie's on the back, right there by the wall.

• 35:25Fred Taylor?

  Crowder, Crowder powder.

• 35:27Channing Crowder?

  But, but that, that fandom, though, of that, is what it is. It's why, it's why the Peasies and the Foot and Potsie and them boys. It's why I still love the Steelers. Because of the fact that I appreciated what they did. And I met other people by appreciating those folks. You appreciate Katelyn Clark, then you know all her teammates, the little fever. You appreciate Angel, you gonna know all her little, all her little Chicago Scott teammates. That's what's gonna happen, and that's how the game grows. Y'all call me what y'all want to, frugal, tight on money.

• 35:55Ryan Clark?

  I think cheap is.

• 35:56Channing Crowder?

  You like cheap? But I like to save money. But, fellas, I ain't gonna, I ain't gonna walk through no damn hot coals. I ain't doing too much to save the money. I just love to save money. But with Mint Mobile, for three-month plan, it's $15 a month. It's no hoops to jump through, no BS. And listen here, it's easy to get. $15 a month. And the hardest part of, you know what it was? Was to break up with the old wireless plan. Because they gonna give me the flam gallery, Mint Mobile guy.

• 36:23Fred Taylor?

  I mean, for me, it's easy. Right now, my old wireless people, they just got hacked. All my information all over the internet. This is perfect timing. And you get the same thing. Unlimited talk, text, 5G, and it's cheap? Man, sign me up.

• 36:36Ryan Clark?

  Damn, I mean, they got all your selfies too, huh, Freddie T?

• 36:38Fred Taylor?

  All my selfies.

• 36:40Channing Crowder?

  Well, if you want to get started, you just go to mintmobile.com/pivot. And it says it right there for you. Three-month plan.

• 36:47Ryan Clark?

  $15 a month. It's the perfect time for us, too. We about to get on our training camp tour. We gotta be able to connect with the fam while we're gone. This is a perfect time for us. Yep. To get started, go to mintmobile.com/pivot. It's a three-month plan, $15 a month, and it's an unlimited plan. So no matter where we are during our training camp tour, we can reach out, text, call, whatever we need, and we can get through to the fam.

• 37:12Channing Crowder?

  See how easy it is to switch to Mint Mobile and get three months premium wireless for $15 a month?

• 37:19Ryan Clark?

  To get this new customer offer and your new three-month premium wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com/pivot. That's mintmobile.com/pivot. Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month at mintmobile.com/pivot. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 a month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Speeds slower above 40GB on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees, and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for more details. Women's sports are growing, but it's how do they take what's happening in the WNBA and continue to build off of that? And I think that's what streaming, social media, and those things.

• 38:03Ryan Clark?

  I mean, because Simone Biles. She's back. I think they were talking about, I can't remember what country it is, but their gymnastics team is sending the most decorated team of men, right? Gymnastics of any country or of their country's history, something like that. And combined, all of those men have as many medals as Simone Biles has. Like, that's just how great she's been. But on her new documentary, Rising, it chronicles her dealing with the mental block in the last Olympics and having to withdraw. And it just says that no matter who you are,

• 38:47Ryan Clark?

  you have to be right here in order for this to function. It's also our boy J.O. is in it. And it's so, it's so good to take you back through, like, the comeback. Seeing somebody like Simone struggle in the Olympics, what does that tell you about the pressure of those events?

• 39:07Channing Crowder?

  It's everything on your shoulders and them individual sports too. You even said it recently in an interview, having an interview like if I'm at linebacker, Mr. Tackle, you make the tackle two yards later, I don't look that bad.

• 39:18Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 39:18Channing Crowder?

  If I'm on that damn beam and I fall off and bust my head, who else, who gonna make that tackle? So I think the pressure and the mental side, we talk about a lot of mental health. Uh, Michael Beasley episode, he was speaking about, you know, saying, and off the court and or off the field of what you do physically and inside your mind. Like that's where everything's won. People talk about the Mamba mentality. People talk about how Michael Jordan in the documentary where he literally was throwing a quarter against the wall, but he'd be pissed if he lost.

• 39:47Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 39:48Channing Crowder?

  Like the mentality of being a Jordan, a Kobe, of these great players, it's, it has a lot to do with this. We all know that guy. Paul, y'all have heard we talk about him. That was faster than you, stronger than you, more athletic than you, better athlete than you, whatever it was, and you saw it all in him. So why did he not make it to the league?

• 40:06Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 40:07Channing Crowder?

  There's something more to it. And so even Simone, who is like to your point, the baddest thing, I don't even know ever to step on a mat. I don't know how to speak about gymnastics, but she's the baddest thing I've ever seen that flips and jumps and twirls and twists, all that stuff. And we know it because our medals. She's just as strong mentally as she is on that floor, on that beam, on that horse, on that whatever them damn things are they be on. Her mental side has to be stronger than everybody else out there that she's whooping ass around the world, year after year, decade after decade.

• 40:38Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, it's a, it's a huge psychological impact of being the person or the guy or the, you know, the woman or the main attraction. You know what I mean?

• 40:48Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 40:48Fred Taylor?

  Uh, what she went through in 2020 and backing out. You know, I'm, I'm sure at, at some venture, it still weighs heavily on her. You have to question her support system at that particular point in time. You know, she's done a great job in the mental health community of advocating for mental health, anxiety, depression, et cetera. Uh, now it's her time to return to the sport that she loved. I think one of the big differences is, and this is where we were attacked, well, J O was attacked after coming on our show, you know, the catch and this and that. Her support system, I believe, is much stronger now than it was then. And the way he's gonna back her, and the way he loves her, and how they love up on each other.

• 41:33Fred Taylor?

  And she's not gonna feel that, that extra pressure that she felt in 2020. I believe just the simple gesture of their love is gonna determine, you know, whether or not she feels that added pressure. Um, I believe she's gonna go to Paris and, and go lights out and go crazy and, and win gold in every event. Or at least that's what I hope. But I don't think she'll succumb to the pressure and what she did back in 2020, which led to her withdrawing. So I'm, I'm really looking forward to watching her. And again, having that person that draws you to a sport. I don't think I would ever really watch the gymnastics. You know, but Simone is there. Uh, she was on our show, J O was on our show.

• 42:18Fred Taylor?

  Certainly wanted to support them, certainly wanted to see how well she does. And I'm rooting that she goes out and, and represents herself, her family, and this country, you know, on the, on the highest level. So that's why I am.

• 42:30Ryan Clark?

  Period, point blank. To me, Simone Biles is the greatest Olympian the United States of America has ever had. You know, there are gonna be the conversations between her and

• 42:40Fred Taylor?

  Phelps.

• 42:41Ryan Clark?

  Michael Phelps, obviously. And to know that Simone Biles, who is so good, they're starting to name certain moves after her, could also have a mental block where she felt like she couldn't be herself. Not only couldn't be herself, wasn't good enough. When all you've shown your entire career is that you're better than everyone else. And Freddie T mentioned Jonathan. Think about what the Chicago Bears are doing in an unprecedented move. They're giving him days off of training camp. When football is king and it's all we care about, it's all we live for.

• 43:22Ryan Clark?

  It's the way that not only he will feed his family, but other people in that building will feed his, feed their families. They're giving him days off to go watch her compete, to be able to support her. If you remember on our show, he said when she was dealing with it, he had to be on the phone with it. That goes to support system. That goes to the people you have around you and the way they help you get through difficult times. But I also think what Rising, the Netflix documentary, shows is that like trauma presents in so many different ways.

• 43:59Ryan Clark?

  What Simone Biles went through as a young woman, as a young girl, isn't often documented. Isn't documented that you were separated from siblings, that you grew up with grandparents, that your mother had to deal with certain things that now put you in situations where you had to learn to become an adult by yourself. And now you add to that all of the stuff that was going on within the gymnastics community of the United States and the way that those young girls and young women were treated.

• 44:35Ryan Clark?

  You think about all of that on top of the pressure of being the greatest Olympian, at least in my opinion, the greatest female Olympian for sure that's ever lived. And when you start to doubt, now it has to bring into question, well, maybe that's why that happened, because I wasn't good enough. Or maybe this is why this was allowed to happen, because I wasn't good enough. And now to have to do that when individually you are solely responsible for your outcome, I couldn't imagine that level of pressure. So to watch her fight through that and in 2023 have an opportunity to come back and again do something we've never seen or only seen one other time and they just name it after her again and not even know how to score it.

• 45:20Ryan Clark?

  It just says what she's built of, what she's learned through adversity and her experiences. And I'm extremely excited to see what she does at the Olympics and how historic that could possibly be for her, for her family, and for us as a country. Because I think she is one of the greatest representations that we have as well.

• 45:42Fred Taylor?

  All the athletes gonna be able to get there if we have another crazy outage. That was, that was insane, right? What was you doing when it happened? You were in the airport?

• 45:53Channing Crowder?

  No, I was at the, at the, at the hotel and I said, well, look at there. I just thought it was a little rainstorm or something. And I look on my phone and see the whole damn world went out. I enjoyed it though, I don't like technology. I wanna go right back to caveman times.

• 46:06Ryan Clark?

  But what you did with X and XX though, during that time?

• 46:10Channing Crowder?

  I already finished, I used to do that in the morning.

• 46:12Ryan Clark?

  So by the time the outage hit, you had already attacked your little man?

• 46:15Channing Crowder?

  Oh, I was ready, I was ready, yeah, I was ready, yeah.

• 46:16Ryan Clark?

  You was free?

• 46:17Channing Crowder?

  He was beat up, he was shaking already.

• 46:18Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he was shaking out, yeah.

• 46:19Channing Crowder?

  I see, but listen.

• 46:21Ryan Clark?

  Did you shower, do you shower after? Or no, like?

• 46:24Channing Crowder?

  I don't shower, it's me on me. I'm showering.

• 46:29Fred Taylor?

  He said me on me.

• 46:30Channing Crowder?

  It's me and me, one on one, one V one.

• 46:32Ryan Clark?

  Okay, well, who wash your drawers? Cause I know you dripped the rest of the day, so, or at least you're...

• 46:39Fred Taylor?

  Nah, but we, uh...

• 46:39Channing Crowder?

  Quick white bullet.

• 46:40Fred Taylor?

  We, we definitely, uh...

• 46:42Ryan Clark?

  That's crazy though, that the whole world could go out.

• 46:45Fred Taylor?

  We're one glitch away from complete chaos. Like, we're so tied in and, and, and stuck on, on, on technology. And it's, it's, it's a gift and a curse. But, uh, how, I, I don't know if, uh, like, we can go back to, you know, analog and all that. Like, it, it would just be tough. I can probably do it for a week or two, but after that, man, I'm, anxiety gonna kick in, I'm gonna go crazy.

• 47:10Ryan Clark?

  Honestly though, I, I couldn't for sure, but honestly, it was the first time I went, I see why people built bunkers for Y2K. Because you gotta think, we weren't even as dependent on technology in 1999 as we are now. But everyone was anticipating that the entire world would go haywire. And we'd, and technology would, would fail us and all of these different things. And for a morning, we didn't have it and people were stuck in airports. I was stuck in airports the entire day. One of Jordan's friends, Benjamin Morris, Morrison, who's gonna be a number one, uh, be the first round draft pick, he had to get to his sister's wedding from New York.

• 47:52Ryan Clark?

  He had to get a driver to drive him from New York to DC to hop in the car with his brother-in-law, so they could drive from DC to Raleigh, North Carolina for a wedding that was that day.

• 48:04Channing Crowder?

  Man.

• 48:04Ryan Clark?

  Right, it was back to caveman time. I, I wondered if they would have to MapQuest that hoe in order to get there. But we did get up. No graphics, no prompter, no video, right? Like it was, it was basically everything was a podcast.

• 48:20Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, they pay you to pivot.

• 48:21Ryan Clark?

  And, and that's, and it was, and like that part of it was kinda cool because it, it lets you know, it brought us back to like, oh, these are certain, certain things I can do in life that I thought I needed technology for, that I actually don't. Obviously, we can't fly without it though. So we need that, but that was kinda like cool for a second, but I'm glad it's gonna be up. We got training camp tour starting. This is, this is the third one? It's the third training camp tour. Third training camp tour. We'll start at Mitchell and Ness though. We'll start it out at Mitchell and Ness, uh, this week. Get us some throwbacks, right? Get ourselves ready for the tour. Then we'll hit different spots.

• 49:04Ryan Clark?

  What is something, or what is a theme, or a team, or a player that you're interested in throughout the training camp tour?

• 49:13Channing Crowder?

  Oh, man, that's good. Um, I'm interested in what Philly's gonna do. I'm interested in Hertz and to see, cause they fell off into last year. I don't know what that was about, but I'm interested in how they bounce back, what they do there. I'm interested in these damn Cowboys and Dak. And can he prove me wrong? Can Dak prove me? He know where they're sent. And to be honest, now we're talking about people that I've just criticized, that I don't know if they'll punch me in the face if they ever see me. I'm interested in the Steelers. I'm interested in Russ.

• 49:40Ryan Clark?

  He would not punch you in the face. I actually saw him boxing as a workout.

• 49:45Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 49:46Ryan Clark?

  He ain't gonna, he ain't gonna punch you, coach.

• 49:47Channing Crowder?

  I just.

• 49:48Ryan Clark?

  Nah, he ain't gonna punch you, coach.

• 49:49Channing Crowder?

  But with the quarterback situation there, I'm interested in that. Knowing Mike T. like we do. You, uh, you, you blessing, uh, Freddie T. and myself and getting in that, that, that Steeler family that we know now and just seeing how from the, it's funny from the outside looking in, but being like, damn, I can go inside if I want to.

• 50:05Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 50:06Channing Crowder?

  I'm really interested to see how Pittsburgh plays out, knowing that Mike T. is not gonna lose nine games, but who's gonna be that quarterback for the entire 17? I'm very interested in the Steelers' outcome at quarterback.

• 50:16Fred Taylor?

  Obviously, y'all know I'm a homer, so Jacksonville is always, you know, a team that I'm interested in, plus we'll have an opportunity, hopefully, uh, no go there, check them out. The Texans. Another team in that division, bringing in Steph on the offensive side. Daniel Hunter on the defensive side. I think he's just gonna make, you know, that defense that much better over there. So they might have the most complete roster in the entire NFL. They're strong everywhere. I mean, just backing it out, looking at their entire roster, they're strong everywhere. Now they just gotta go play injury free and get it done. CJ, I'm excited for CJ and what he's gonna do in year two.

• 50:56Fred Taylor?

  The Ravens, also another team, especially after Jim Harbaugh's comments regarding Lamar. Saying he's gonna go down in history as being the greatest quarterback. What that means is he's gonna have to get over that hump and win some championships. Because those quarterbacks are, their greatness stems on a hill, comes on the hills of how many championships can you win? And until that happens, that is yet to be determined. But I love the comment though. You know, Harbaugh is just getting with his quarterbacks, saying, "I back my guy, I love my guy." And now as a player, hearing your coach speak that way of you, you're gonna give everything you have. You know, you're gonna do everything right, you're gonna let it all online, just to try to prove him right.

• 51:37Fred Taylor?

  Because he's showing that sort of confidence in you, and he's making it known to the entire world. So I'm interested to see what they're gonna do, along with the addition of Derrick Henry. So that should be pretty exciting as well. So those are my three teams on the AFC side that I wanna check out.

• 51:55Speaker 05

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• 52:04Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I'm just excited for the training camp tour in general, man. I know we'll go to Atlanta, you know, we're gonna go to Cleveland. We'll obviously be in Pittsburgh. We'll head out to the West Coast, we'll see the Rams, we'll see the Raiders. And I think it's always a time for us where you get to have the feeling of being around the boys again.

• 52:24Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 52:24Ryan Clark?

  And those sit downs, when we do them at training camps, they're different. Because it's the atmosphere of football around, as relaxed as you can get, people, they ain't relaxed like that. You can see that their engines are revving up, and like the heat of training camp as well. You catch a cat two weeks in the training camp, he threw hairs by now. You know what I'm saying, like at some point.

• 52:48Channing Crowder?

  He's just an Aaron Donald.

• 52:49Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 52:50Channing Crowder?

  He was 10 times nicer at his house than he was when we saw him two years ago in LA.

• 52:54Ryan Clark?

  Great human.

• 52:55Channing Crowder?

  But I was scared.

• 52:56Ryan Clark?

  He barely spoke to us in LA.

• 52:57Fred Taylor?

  What up, bro?

• 52:58Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, bro. I am here for you. How you doing?

• 53:02Ryan Clark?

  Give me one of your favorite training camp stories.

• 53:08Channing Crowder?

  Ooh, my first training camp.

• 53:12Channing Crowder?

  Coming in, supposed to be a first-rounder, you know, knowing I could play ball, All-American out of college. And my man, close friend of mine to this day, Big Vernon Carey from UM, he's starting right tackle. And I run around and try a little college swim move on a NFL tackle.

• 53:30Channing Crowder?

  Third play, a full pass, and he threw me into the chain link fence on the side of the field. And it was like that wake-up, you know, the welcome to the NFL moment. It was that, like, I remember to this day, I can go to the spot on the Dolphin Field up in David, that old facility, where it happened, because that, when I'm running back to the huddle, I looked and I was like, these are not kids anymore. This man got a mortgage. This, you know what I'm saying, this is, but at that point, it's funny because his son in the NBA, little Vernon Jr., this man had children, and I'm over here doing a little bink-bink, and he caught me under the elbow and bink-bink my ass and threw me all the way into the chain link fence on the side of the field. And it just clicked to me that, man, let me get, let me, let me tighten up, because now this ain't, you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

• 54:13Channing Crowder?

  These jokers out here to play ball. So that was my, like, third play of full pass in training camp.

• 54:18Fred Taylor?

  I think for me, aside from the, the Sweet and Tangy wings at Silver Fox after practice.

• 54:24Ryan Clark?

  Wow. Is Silver Fox a strip club?

• 54:27Fred Taylor?

  Yeah. We used to go there. Like, we just used to go for the wings.

• 54:30Channing Crowder?

  Silver Fox is bad.

• 54:31Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, just, just in and out.

• 54:32Channing Crowder?

  All right, little Will.

• 54:33Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, just in and out. Get the wings, the Sweet and Tangies, head back to the hotel, go in the lounge, play Madden, get some ice cream after that, you know, you had to have snacks, go shut it down.

• 54:42Channing Crowder?

  I had some ice cream, man.

• 54:43Fred Taylor?

  But the, the, the training camp pranks. Those were always the best, just seeing players prank each other. I had linebacker Darryl Smith, he took a lot of eggs from the player eating lounge, the training table. He smashed them up, put them in a Gatorade bottle and stuck holes in it. And he hid it under somebody's shoulder pads, deep under the bottom part of your locker. And after about five days, those eggs started stinking. Buddy would come around his locker every day like, "What's that smell?" And we'd just be in the corner cracking up, bro. So that was one of my favorites. And then the one that Josh Scobie and the Kickers did to Dave Garrard, they took his keys out of his pants, took his car, they wet it up.

• 55:26Fred Taylor?

  They hosed it down, brought all the powder, baby powder.

• 55:30Ryan Clark?

  They hosed the inside down?

• 55:31Fred Taylor?

  They hosed the entire outside down and brought baby powder from the training room, parked it at the 50-yard line on the practice field. And when we got out there, the whole car was just covered in white baby powder. Because Dave was messing with the Kickers. So just the training camp pranks, so many of them, that brings back so many memories, right? But that helps you get through camp. Know those jokes, the playing around, it either piss you off or it's gonna help you fly through camp. So, man, I miss being in that locker room. That's my favorite memory.

• 56:00Ryan Clark?

  The most vivid camp memory I have, I have a ton, but the one I think of as soon as I think of camp was the day Antonio Brown got his money. In a moment I'm not proud of now, he was walking. And it was the day before and I was like, "He's gonna be difficult to deal with when he get his money." And I said it out loud. I shouldn't have said it out loud. I will say that. He gets his money, we're doing one-on-ones. Keenan's playing defense on him. And man, he routing Keenan up. I'm talking about killing him. So Keenan holding him now. It's all kind of stuff going on. He's like, "Tell him not to hold me, I'm the franchise." Woo, woo, woo, he talking big, right? So Coach LeBeau, who never really says anything, he's like, "Man, get to the huddle."

• 56:45Ryan Clark?

  So he cussed Coach LeBeau out. And then you know, "Ike, Dicky? He gonna cuss Dicky?" So now Ike fired up, you know what I mean? And so, man, like, he steady going, he steady going. So like, there's a picture of it, me and him face to face, Todd Haley in between us, Scotty Montgomery in between us. And I was telling him, I was like, "Man, this is gonna be it." Like you, I was like, you are never gonna spend any of that money. Cause I'mma finish it today. And man, I remember like, we fired up. And Troy looked at me, and Troy never snapped his helmet. And he always had his hair in a bun. And he looked at me, and he would never wear gloves. He looked at me and he went. I said, oh, it's a different type of day now. Now, we blitzing, we, I'm flipping backers, I mean, running backs that's trying to get to me.

• 57:30Ryan Clark?

  Troy slinging, Ben around, we fighting every snap. We had to do it on our team, they kill switch, kill switch hitting people across the middle on slants. Like, we lost total control of it. Then at the end, Ike and AB had got into it. Ike's helmet came off, so AB's face mask, like, cut Ike right there. Literally, bro, as slow as it could possibly be. Ike stood up. We break it down now. You know Ike, pigeon-toed as hell. Ike stood up, he ain't say a word. Break it down, he's taking his gloves off.

• 58:04Ryan Clark?

  Walk over to him, fa-fa. Bro, these boys start fighting on the field, dog. They're fighting on the field. And Ben, Ben being the peacemaker, Ben gonna tell me, get him, RC. I say, the hell I wish I would. He need to get beat up. And it, but it was, and obviously, we needed him. He was one of the best players on the entire team. But like, it was that type of atmosphere that day. Like, we knew how good he was, we knew how hard he worked. But like, we were also the reason. The only reason, we felt like, the reason we were there was because of the man you cussed out. Was because of the players you was beefing with.

• 58:45Ryan Clark?

  And man, when he started beefing with Keenan Lewis, bruh, started cussing Keenan, then he cussed Dicky. That's a, that's a day of football I will never forget, man. In all of my years, it's the most physical day of practice I've ever seen.

• 59:00Fred Taylor?

  Ain't that something? I mean, do you guys believe that the practice, whether it's good or bad, is determined on the energy that the defense brings? No, I think both sides of the ball can set the tone. Even being a defensive guy, both sides of the ball can set the tone. But if the defense ain't defencing, and they not flying around and talking that shit, then the practice ain't the same. For me, I love my defensive guys. I hung out with the defensive guys. Yeah. Because those are the guys that got everything lit. And if we did, if we had a good thing, it was the defense. Defensive guys are the real ball players. I wouldn't say that. Offensive guys run lines and do exactly what y'all are told. We freestyle a little bit. Yeah, y'all do that. Y'all are a lot of assholes on that side. Y'all are hard-headed, but I love y'all. That's why I love doing a show with y'all. Y'all are two defensive guys.

• 59:44Fred Taylor?

  I still break y'all down, though.

• 59:46Ryan Clark?

  I think, I think the thing I always respected was the offensive player who was ready to fight. The offensive player who was about that action. And it wasn't that we had to actually fight. It's that I had to know that you would. Because I felt like, from the, the family standpoint, if you'll get at me, like, because I know who I am. I know what I'll do. That I believe you'll get at somebody with me.

• 1:00:11Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:11Ryan Clark?

  Right, that, that's what I wanted. I wanted to know on Sunday when we walked out there, you know, even though Heinz Ward ain't have no ACLs, he was, he was 97% body fat. He was gonna put that face mask on somebody and they was gonna feel it. You know, like that.

• 1:00:27Fred Taylor?

  How much percent body fat?

• 1:00:28Ryan Clark?

  97.

• 1:00:30Fred Taylor?

  This ain't Heinz mama, ate all the rice.

• 1:00:34Fred Taylor?

  Oh! That was clear. That is a show! Heinz, no. Heinz, no.

• 1:01:15Speaker 06

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