Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, Channing Crowder weigh in on Troy Aikman & Joe Buck, ESPN leaks amid controversy, Pat McAfee vs Utah students, NFL Trades, Caleb Williams, WNBA review, College Football rankings, Keith Lee & 2Chainz

"I believe failure can be a good thing." Ryan Clark Nothing is off limits on this episode of The Pivot Podcast as Ryan, Channing and Fred are breaking down the biggest stories, headlines, and conversations taking over the world of sports and beyond. From Troy Aikman and Joe Buck making headlines around Monday Night Football rumors to ESPN's poor handling of a private matter to reactions around Pat McAfee's recent response to University of Utah students- the guys get into the personalities, opinions, and moments driving the conversation. Hitting the NFL's top storylines, the guys dive into trades, big moves, Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, what the future holds, who's the team to beat in the league and Super Bowl hopefuls as well as talking the incredible strides the WNBA has made after the success of the Finals, names who have risen to the top and the growing impact of the WNBA as a whole. Plus, with the latest college football rankings officially released, Ryan, Chan and Fred debate who the best teams in the country really are, who's getting the respect they deserve, and which teams still have something to prove while a flawed College ranking system continues to raise a lot of questions. And it's not all sports! The guys weigh in on Keith Lee's comments surrounding 2 Chainz's restaurant, sparking a conversation about culture responsibility, brotherhood, business, and the power of social media. But the biggest moment of the episode might be the most personal. In a special edition of the Biggest Pivot Moment, Ryan, Channing and Fred reveal something about themselves that the other two didn't know, proving that even after all the conversations, there's always something new to discover. Big headlines. Honest opinions. Unexpected conversations. And a few surprises along the way. Take a listen now or catch us on Netflix with full video episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web. Like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration blog, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up require compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 0:26Speaker 01

  It's been a while since we had a good three-man weave, and we know we've got to do a little better about that. But man, life's been life-ing. New shows, plenty of travel, working to get guests each and every week. It's just kept us moving in 100 different directions. But finally, we got to sit down, catch up, and chop it up a little bit. And to be honest with y'all, we learned some things. One of us was a klepto. Another one of us used to bury animals in his backyard. And apparently, the third is just pretty boring, because all he have is a little fear of failure. We got into some hot topics, like Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson, and the upstart Chicago Bears, the Troy Aikman and Joe Buck saga. And we had a conversation about the polarizing Pat McAfee.

• 1:11Speaker 01

  All of those things had a common thread. Then we switched things up a little bit. Went to the WNBA, college football, the CFP rankings, and the big games for this weekend. And then it was time to dive a little deeper. Conversations about 2 Chainz and Keith Lee and their interaction on "Dinner of Kings." Shannon Sharp revealing why he and Nightcap didn't go to visit a certain HBCU. And it led to conversations about our responsibilities to our communities. And of course, we finished with a different version of "The Biggest Pivot." And that was really where a lot of the fun and information came in. Sometimes you just need to get us in the room, turn the mics on, and let us be us.

• 1:56Speaker 01

  And so I'm glad we got to tap in. I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as we enjoyed having it. It's a three-man weave Friday, and we're glad to bring it to you. Thank you for pivoting with us.

• 2:29Speaker 01

  I see y'all all the time, and we do Pivot Sports, bruh. I'm so excited we get to just sit down and chop it up. Like, I don't even, we won't eat three-man weave no more, dawg. We ain't pass it like that no more, man. You know what I'm saying? Baby? Man, Pivot family, welcome to a three-man weave Friday. It's about time. Freddie T., Channing Crowder, I'm RC, man. Thank y'all for pivoting with us. Bro, speaking of pivots now, them damn Chicago Bears. They went got Jeffrey Simmons. I did a whole thing about how Seattle was ahead of us on defense. Not no more. We in there. Bro, what about Caleb?

• 3:08Speaker 02

  Special, man. Like, you can't argue it. They were talking about it. They were like, this is one of those games you remember when a player comes into his own. You knew he's talented, though.

• 3:18Speaker 01

  I didn't see it. I lost a damn bet with Brian Burns, because I was like, bruh, Ben Johnson, offense, Caleb, they about to see some shit this week. Bro, they came out. Then with that kind of quarterback, what Caleb can do, it's gonna be special. They'd jumped him out. They'd have jumped up the top three Super Bowl contenders right now. If not one, because I love the Bills and the Niners, but they up there with them boys. But yeah, Ben Johnson, Caleb, keep them together. Quarterback-coach duos, think about it. That's what they got.

• 3:45Speaker 03

  Yeah, I think it's that trickle-down effect, right? We see the energy and the fire and passion that the head coach has each and every week. And he's been consistent. You know, he puts himself on the line for his team. He'll talk that shit. That's the type of coach you want, right, as a player? But also, as a player, you want to be able to match that energy. And he know he has a dog in Caleb. You know, when they went out to draft him, they said, we know what we're getting. You know, a lot of you might not think he's the pick for us, but he's the pick for us. And he's proven that, man. What we're witnessing, I think, is the maturation of Caleb Williams. And he don't flinch. People talk about his nails, and they talk about all the outside distractive shit. Caleb don't care about that. That man care about winning.

• 4:30Speaker 03

  He was that way before he left Oklahoma, when he got USC, went in the Heisman in Chicago. That's what he's about. So I love it, obviously. We root for him, having him on the show. When he was leaving college, too. Go be selected high overall. But yeah, he's the heartbeat of that team, man. And they have a good defense, too. Talk about Jeffrey Simmons. So yeah, man, Caleb's doing his thing.

• 4:51Speaker 01

  Bruh, Caleb Williams is a superstar. Ben Johnson is a superstar. We knew Caleb Williams' talent was through the roof. But man, his leadership, his competitive toughness and will is out of this world. You saw it on display. And I knew Ben Johnson was great with X's and O's. I didn't know he'd be this sort of like leader of men and galvanizer of people. And then you go out and get Jeffrey Simmons, bro, and you elevate that team. But it all starts with Caleb. And what I love about it is, people tried to doubt who he was as a man. They talked about his character and his behavior and his likes and his dislikes, instead of just focusing on who dude was on the football field.

• 5:36Speaker 01

  And to see him play the way he is now, he is in the conversation for best quarterback in the NFC. Right now, it's him or Brock Purdy. And that's it, right? Which puts him in top five in the NFL, along with the Mahomes's and the Josh Allens and the Lamars when he's healthy, and the Joe Burrows. Like, that's who Caleb Williams is. That's who he's always been. Five-star. Take Spencer Rattler's spot. Wins the Heisman, number-one overall pick. Now that talent showing on the field, man. And I'm excited for dude to continue being who he is.

• 6:09Speaker 02

  Man, I gotta give a shout-out to Ben Johnson, bro. Because you get talented quarterbacks. Like I say with Buffalo, Joe Brady don't really be in his bag like that, because he knows Josh Allen can bail him out. I think KC leans way too much now on the pass, because they got, we got one of the best quarterbacks I've ever seen in my life, and I agree with it. Even though Caleb can make every throw do everything those dudes can do, that damn Ben Johnson stays in his bag with the motion, with the recess, with the personnel group, with the three tight ends, coming back and still running the ball. Guys get hurt, he still runs the ball. He's not gonna just put everything on Caleb's shoulders. But when Caleb gotta do it, he's good enough to do it. I think that's a winning combination.

• 6:46Speaker 03

  Yeah, nah, I was gonna send a shout-out to the supporting cast. You know, Roma Dunze, Swift, and Lil' Luther. Lil' Luther.

• 6:55Speaker 01

  Lil' Luther. You know, that was a Monday night game. There's been a lot of noise about Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. Joe Buck signs $108 million contract, so he's going to be there. The rumors, there's rumors that Troy Aikman won't even call the Super Bowl, which is wild to me. Freddie T., we know what it's like to be connected. When people see me in the airport, they think y'all supposed to be with me, like I ain't got no family. Right?

• 7:24Speaker 02

  Well, Freddie, I don't know.

• 7:25Speaker 01

  I don't know. I don't know, ma'am. I don't. You know? But I felt that way about Joe and Troy. Freddie T., it's almost like we're watching this epic relationship breakup happen. How odd do you find some of the rumors and news you're hearing coming out of that booth?

• 7:45Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's very odd. I mean, we've seen these guys working together for a very long time. And you would think that friendship established over decades would mean loyalty, it would mean transparency. And I think above all of that, it would mean respect. You know, just having a common, decent respect for each other, just to have a conversation. A lot of times, business and friendships, certain partnerships don't always align. But you can get to a common ground through conversation, right? So you can, we can understand where we meet each other at. And I don't know if they've had that conversation, obviously, on the surface, on the outside looking in.

• 8:28Speaker 03

  The media's making it, they're creating a narrative and however they want to move it. So I don't want to speak too much on it, but I do know from a foundational standpoint and being with you guys. But we don't always agree with each other on certain things. But we do have respect for one another to have a conversation. Whether you like it or not, you gotta have that conversation. And then you have to make the tough decisions. I would hope that Troy and Joe are there with that, based on their friendship. But again, I'm on the outside looking in. I only know a small piece of it. But hopefully, they can figure that out, man, because they work well together. And they shouldn't let money determine, you know, their friendship going forward.

• 9:12Speaker 02

  Man, listen, they need to work on their camp, because too much stuff is coming out, and they are not saying it's wrong. And a hit dog will holler, and they are responding to it. So first off, there's some information coming out. It shouldn't be coming out, watch your camp. Secondly, I'm gonna break something to y'all if y'all haven't seen it. Troy Aikman is an asshole. Do you see him with Swag? Swag be trying to joke with him on TV, and he won't even laugh with Swag. And they fly a plane together. I know the story, because I've watched him on it. He's an asshole. They had to know he's an asshole. If Buck wants to now act funny about knowing who your friends are, knowing the way they act, then you gotta do it. I'll be honest, you got some asshole in you.

• 9:51Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 9:52Speaker 02

  And you like it. Freddie, you be out in space sometimes. I know that about both of y'all. And I love it, and I embrace it. I'm never gonna change that way. Y'all know how I'm gonna be every day, all day, is what they have to accept. I just think that through time, maybe, or social media and all the stuff, and it getting out there, and now they have to respond to it. But nothing has changed. I would say, my final answer, nothing has changed between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman that's not happened before. How long they been together?

• 10:21Speaker 01

  25 years.

• 10:21Speaker 02

  25. It's not changing in two weeks ago. It's just starting to get out there now, and now they have to respond to it.

• 10:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think, when I look at Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, I believe they're the best booth in football. And for 25 years, they've proved that. The reason ESPN gets better games now, and the reason they have a Super Bowl is because of those two individuals. I was there. Part of their draw, outside of their skill, was that it felt like brothers. It felt like family. Somebody is trying to make Troy Aikman look like the bastard son. You mentioned the leaks. I've been around there. I know how it starts to happen when they're trying to build a narrative about you. I've been around there. I know what it is when they'll have your back and support you through anything, even when you on that bull. Right? Even when you wrong, when they'll come out and make a statement, we're fully behind this guy.

• 11:12Speaker 01

  They haven't done that for Troy. So I do feel like there is a push to make him be the bad guy, whether he is or not, right? I know that they... Have ways of maneuvering to protect humans. And I know that they have ways of putting people in position where a narrative is built around them. So when they make their exit, they could seem like the good guys. Cause I was a part of that. This is what this feels like to me. Contract negotiations happen. People want to move on at times. When you've been what Troy Aikman was on the field, when you've been what Troy Aikman is in the booth, I believe there's a certain level of respect that you earn.

• 11:57Speaker 01

  This is not about, in my opinion, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. This is about the business and it's about business being done dirty. I want to see them continue. It seems like that's an impossibility, but we can't forget what these two men have meant to football for 25 years together. And my hopes is, cause I love them both. I enjoy being around Joe. I enjoy being around Troy, as mean and surly as he could be sometimes. I hope that they get to walk away with the respect of what they contributed to football together, because I believe that's important.

• 12:31Speaker 02

  How do you fire somebody when it's that, that well-known and that, that well-publicized, I guess? A normal job, I'm saying. You fire a person, you fire them, nobody knows. Even though how great they are, or how long they've been there, you fire them. When somebody is seen every day for 25 years, or every week for 25 years on the same platform, you gotta fire them. Do you have to justify it to the world? Cause it seems like, you're saying, they, it seems like they almost tried to put you in a bad place to now tell them that's why it happened.

• 13:00Speaker 01

  I think everything's about spin. You have to spin, you can spin anything. You can plant any story, right? I've seen things written about my situation that are unequivocally false.

• 13:17Speaker 01

  And I've seen them written by the same person every time. Because people are going to you, right? And you don't always have to answer those things, but I've also seen things that may be false or maybe an opinion that's not shared by the company, where the company makes a statement in support of someone, in denial of a certain thing, because it's important to them.

• 13:43Speaker 01

  It's not about whether or not what we're hearing about Troy is true. It's about whether or not we should be hearing it at all. And to me, I think that's the part that's more disheartening because of what he's meant to the game.

• 14:00Speaker 02

  And we gonna act like Ray and Claude. What the fuck you mean I be in space, nigga?

• 14:05Speaker 02

  You be in space?

• 14:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, that was crazy.

• 14:07Speaker 02

  Fuck you, you like radio in space? Like, radio?

• 14:10Speaker 01

  Like Radio One More?

• 14:11Speaker 02

  Cuba Gooding Jr.

• 14:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, Radio One More.

• 14:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah. Radio? Coach Klein, Coach Klein.

• 14:18Speaker 02

  Nah, I know you're kidding, man. I love you too, bro. I, I, I love you too.

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• 15:19Speaker 03

  So check this out, man. Um, when you're talking about spins and different things out, I don't know, maybe a week ago or so? The information, the, the Utah thing with, with Pat McAfee and that whole ordeal. What do you guys think? Because the way I, I took it, I feel like if you are, you know, you, you, you, you're very high-energy and entertaining, right? You are willing to at times poke fun at people. And this is the way you carry yourself? That you have to be willing to not be as thick-skinned? When some of this stuff kind of come back around? But at the same time, I do also acknowledge that if they do perceive this as a, a real threat,

• 16:01Speaker 03

  then you should be cautious within that. But I, I don't know, because I wasn't in that situation. What, what do you guys just think? So I just feel like if you, if you can dish it, you gotta be able to take it.

• 16:15Speaker 02

  If you're, if you're outspoken, boisterous, loud, cussing, playing as Pat, who I think, you know, I think he has a crazy following and ESPN's locked into him. They gave him 17 billion dollars. You can't have thin skin like that, man. Let's remember, he is a punter now. He, he's an underdog too. As a punter, to be where he is in the media and all, I give him credit for that. And I had no problem with Pat, but he is still a punter. He was not down there. So punters are usually soft. That was the softest shit in the world. Like, some little kids, now honestly, what, like, tell me if I'm wrong.

• 16:51Speaker 03

  Was it Rex Ryan?

• 16:52Speaker 02

  Some little kids didn't like him, right?

• 16:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 16:55Speaker 02

  Like, what's the story? Some little kids didn't like him and they started talking nasty to him?

• 17:00Speaker 02

  Welcome to the YMCA, Pat. Like, you can't take some little kids talking to you, like, little kid, ah, and hell with the Dolphins, Crowder, hell with you, Brad. Like, what's the big deal of it would be my thing? It's way overblown. I know they brought up like death threats and all this stuff. Like, if it's real, like, you respect, respect that, because you know, people have been assassinated, you know? But it, it just came off to me as pudding pie on Pat's side. And let's be honest, Stephen A. says it all the time, like, you either love me or hate me is the best thing. Don't say I'm okay. Pat's the love or the hate. You're the love or the hate. I know I'm love or the hate. You don't know that he done my. Fuck you. Crowder, we love you. Appreciate it. I don't give a shit either way, to be honest.

• 17:43Speaker 02

  So that's the thing, just, it was very, it was very soft to me.

• 17:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think, like, the one thing for me is, I'm not here to give an opinion on who he is on TV or how he responds. I think everybody has the right to do things their way. When you look at all humans, we have insecurities somewhere, right? And money and success don't make those things go away.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  Most men have egos. And money and success enlarge those things. Most of our responses come from those two places. When you look at the two biggest personalities in sports, I don't recall ever watching either of them draw up a play.

• 18:30Speaker 01

  Teach me about X's and O's, strategy. What they do is entertain. When you entertain, you have to give people a part of you. To judge, to criticize, to like, to love, to dislike, right? And it's going to cause or create discourse. It's just part of it. But that's also what you're supposed to do, right? Kanye said, everybody feel a way about yay, but at least they feel something. Your job as an entertainer is to make people feel something. And so I won't speak on him replying, I speak on me. I had to learn to respond or not respond based on what edified my priority, right?

• 19:13Speaker 01

  At first, it was like respect and being understood or misconceptualized. So I would always respond. Then I realized, oh, wait, it doesn't pay for these people to be on my side, right? I'm responding to people who it benefits to speak of me negatively. I'm not gonna do that anymore. I'm not gonna give them that light. I'm not gonna give them that shine. And so you have to get to that point to where you decide what's important for you to respond to. And as far as Pat, if there is truly a threat on his life or he's in that place, I understand that discomfort. I understand not feeling safe.

• 19:56Speaker 01

  And I also understand it's part of being put in a place where because you are insanely talented, people give you these opportunities and these spaces with no guardrails. And when you don't have these guardrails, you feel exposed. And he is. And so to me, it's about continuing to do your job the best you can, take care of your family and move forward in that manner. Because honestly, bro, he winning.

• 20:25Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:26Speaker 01

  Like, he winning. And love him or hate him, like, it's his world over there right now. And so for me, just keep doing your job. There's people that's gonna love you, there's people that's gonna hate you. It is what it is.

• 20:39Speaker 02

  I know people hate Watch Me.

• 20:42Speaker 01

  I don't think so.

• 20:43Speaker 02

  I do, man.

• 20:44Speaker 01

  I think you are, I think you are largely loved.

• 20:47Speaker 02

  And there's people that watch and say it every day. I don't, you know, I don't read all that, but I get people that send me that. I love the haters. That's what's saying, if people are hating on you doing something wrong?

• 20:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, if you ain't got, they say, they say if you ain't got, uh,

• 20:58Speaker 02

  If you don't have haters, you ain't popping. But I don't know if that's true. I think it's 100%.

• 21:03Speaker 00

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• 21:28Speaker 03

  You think the Chiefs fans hate their team for signing the kicker? Something they need for signing Tucker?

• 21:35Speaker 02

  Dolphins started that. Dolphins worked out Justin Tucker to open the door, to see the criticism. That's what they said. They're gonna sign Justin Tucker. They're not signing Justin Tucker. They're doing Justin Tucker a favor. I can probably figure out who on the Dolphins knew Justin Tucker, what coach, what scout, to throw him that bone to get him a workout to now, okay. It wasn't too bad on the Dolphins. Now it's coming in. Justin Tucker is one of the best kickers in the world.

• 21:57Speaker 03

  Right.

• 21:58Speaker 02

  NFL teams need to win. You see all these damn field goals that's been missed? You see Arizona Cardinals damn near blow that game on a chip shot?

• 22:05Speaker 03

  Been a lot this year.

• 22:05Speaker 02

  You need kickers. Justin Tucker, some nasty shit went on with Jay Tuck, but he's talented enough to try to get back in this league. And if Buckner keeps missing these field goals, Justin Tucker will be kicking for the Chiefs soon.

• 22:19Speaker 03

  Yeah, I think what you say is, it's a result, basically. The Chiefs has a need. They really need a kicker, obviously, after the last outing with their kicker. And I think the NFL imposed a suspension period for Tucker. And I don't condone what happened. And I don't even know their allegations for me. But the league said, all right, we're gonna suspend you for this amount of time. He served that time. Now he's eligible to return and be able to be on somebody's roster, and I take it from there. I don't have a thought on it either way, other than protect women at all costs. And I don't care about any of the other stuff, right? Those are all allegations for me.

• 22:59Speaker 01

  These things are really hard to talk about.

• 23:01Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 23:02Speaker 01

  Whether it was Deshaun years ago, Justin Tucker, Josh Jacobs, Matt LaFleur is under a lot of heat for his response. You're in this difficult place of not knowing the truth. Right? No matter how the allegations pile up, we have to, the NFL has to, acknowledge how heinous the acts are without being judgmental until truly having the evidence. It's okay to say that if these things happened, or that when these things happen, they're unacceptable. It's unacceptable to sexually assault a woman.

• 23:46Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:47Speaker 01

  It's criminal. It's evil. It's nasty. It's disgusting, right? It's deplorable. It's okay to say that. And you don't have to say that you believe that these individuals who have been accused of these things or of these alleged actions are guilty. What you have to say is, we're going to investigate this to the fullest of our abilities. The NFL is not the world's moral compass.

• 24:10Speaker 03

  No, right.

• 24:11Speaker 01

  We shouldn't expect them to be. What we should expect them to do, though, is acknowledge that having players who are accused of this is something that they take extremely seriously. And we can say that as coaches, we can say that as players, we can say that as former players. What our job is in the media, though, is just to report the news. Right? You can't give your opinion on a person if you've truly never been in. Well, you can, but it's an incomplete opinion because it's an incomplete fact check. You don't have all the evidence. And you can read the transcripts and you can make your judgment from there, whether or not you think a person is innocent or guilty.

• 24:56Speaker 01

  But in analyzing the sport, that can't be what comes into play when you're talking about whether or not he can make a kick. And we know in this league, extreme talent gets you extreme tolerance. Justin Tucker was once one of the best kickers in the world. He was easy to let go from Baltimore because when these things were alleged, he wasn't kicking well. Right? And now you're back in a place where he's getting another opportunity. Deshaun Watson got his opportunity and got his money because he, at the time, he was a top-two quarterback in this league. And so for me, it's about acknowledging that if these things do happen, and when these things do happen in society, that they are deplorable acts. And then also being patient enough to not judge

• 25:41Speaker 01

  or pass judgments on people when we don't know the true facts about what transpired between them and the alleged victims.

• 25:51Speaker 02

  And it's hard even for the legal system to set, like, parameters on that punishment. And it's not easy. And I'm not giving Adam Silver, Roger Goodell, any commissioner a pass because, you know, hell, y'all work for the owners. But how long is it? If Justin Tucker stuff, just alleged stuff, if it happened, and like y'all saying, it is nasty as hell that Deshaun Watson's stories were nasty as hell. I'm not saying it's okay, y'all tighten the fuck up. Is it six months? Is it six games? Is it three years? Like, there is no set time. So whenever that does happen, or they do come back or have opportunity to come back to do their job of playing this league, what's that timeframe? And there's no number set on it. And that's why I think the rational side of it would say, is it long enough? A lot of people say no. A lot of people might say forever.

• 26:35Speaker 02

  Is forever too long? I would say forever might be too long. There was a dude played for the St. Louis Rams named Leonard Little, drunk driving, killed a couple people. He played. He took people's lives and played in the NFL a couple of years later. They believed in next year. So that's why I think these situations are uncomfortable because there is no precedent set on what the suspension should be.

• 26:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's uncomfortable because the NFLPA gotta fight for the players, too.

• 27:03Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:04Speaker 01

  Right? I gotta fight for the players who are falsely accused. I gotta fight for the players who may be wrongly convicted or whatever it is, right? You gotta fight for those guys to have an ability to make a living. You just do, which puts you in a bad place because you may not always agree with what happened, but it's your job because you're fighting for the whole. And so on the other side of that, you're waiting for a legal system to do something, and then you're passing down these arbitrary suspensions that people can always argue because it's not in black and white enough for us to know. And I think that's just very difficult. And the bottom line is like what Fred said, man, you gotta protect women.

• 27:42Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:42Speaker 01

  Like, you just do. And you gotta set a statement or a precedent that that's important to you as a league because there are women who enjoy watching our game as well.

• 27:52Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:52Speaker 01

  You know? And speaking of the women's game, the Valkyrie won the championship.

• 27:58Speaker 01

  You know, we had the conversation with Monica McNutt about how Angel Reese had gotten better. You know, after they won game five, like, she struggled.

• 28:06Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 28:06Speaker 01

  Right? Gabby Williams ends up being the MVP. My question to y'all would be this, though. Did the 2025-2026 season, with everything involved in it, or how much did it help or hurt the WNBA? Because the spotlight was on it this year like it had never been.

• 28:27Speaker 02

  Yeah, helped. All attention is good attention. I really believe that. All attention is good. It is. We talking about it. Whether it's on the shows, it's on the internet. I'm pulling it up. The apps come up and I'm seeing those names. Gabby Williams. She said, fuck it in the second half, give me the ball. And went, and went crazy. You go 30 in a second?

• 28:47Speaker 01

  And she said, what's my favorite word? Bitch.

• 28:51Speaker 02

  Like, that was outlandish. Great for me because it's not that, that whole situation was great because it's not these little prissy little girls anymore. It's what I've been begging for at WNBA. Treat them like damn basketball players. Treat Gabby Williams, treat Angel Reese like you treat LeBron and all these people. Treat them the same way. Treat them the exact same way. I think it's great. I think they're on TV. I know they're on TV more. My daughter plays basketball. We watch way more games, way more names got out there. We bring them up from Olivias to, you know, just different young people coming in. What's her name? Paige went crazy. You're getting names that we talk about, all the people, the Yanises and this. Now we can just rattle them off, single names. We're to a point now, I can have a conversation with single-name WNBA players.

• 29:35Speaker 01

  Angel.

• 29:36Speaker 02

  Angel. If I say Angel, who you think I'm talking about?

• 29:38Speaker 01

  Nobody else but her.

• 29:39Speaker 02

  You talking about Angel Reese?

• 29:40Speaker 01

  I agree. I like that, Chan.

• 29:41Speaker 02

  That's what I'm saying. We're getting single-name WNBA players. That's the best thing that can happen. And I hope it continues to grow. All publicity is good publicity. Y'all write that down. I'm not the first person that said it.

• 29:51Speaker 01

  Bro, that made so much sense. There's, if you said Katelyn and Angel to me, there's only two people. I think of those two people. Is it? Wow.

• 30:00Speaker 02

  That's where we're getting.

• 30:01Speaker 03

  Asia.

• 30:02Speaker 01

  Same thing.

• 30:03Speaker 03

  Yep. So I think the WNBA has to find a way to turn the attention into capital, right? Turn it into long-term fan loyalty, right? And you said it, Chan, all attention is good attention at this particular point in time. And I think they found a way to keep the women in front of the camera. The women themselves have found a way to kind of spin it into a positive. It's not all bad because they're fighting for their rights. They're fighting for the league, and they're fighting to be heard. And I think that's great. But also think that the Valkyrie winning it in their second season, right? I think that was big, more than anything,

• 30:46Speaker 03

  because now there are interests in the game. It shows you that you can put together a team, not just a roster, but a team of coaches, of people in operations, and then the players on the court to actually be able to go out and have a chance to be successful. And I think with that hope, think the way they're gonna celebrate and show fans that we can do this, it's just all positives for the W. So they gotta continue to just double down on this and keep pouring gasoline on it, and they'll be fine.

• 31:18Speaker 01

  I think this year was the total win for the WNBA, and now you gotta capitalize on it. Unfortunately, there's only one sport in the world that is, or one organization in the world that is star-independent, and it's NFL. They can retire you, and it's gonna keep going, and it's gonna be a monster.

• 31:38Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 31:38Speaker 01

  Every other sport needs superstars. You had a superstar in the championship, in Angel Reese. Period, right? Gabby Williams had an opportunity to now put her name on that marquee.

• 31:51Speaker 01

  Golden State wins in their second year. The, it's exciting to watch them celebrate. The games were good. They were physical. It was a high level of skill. And the people who have become recent WNBA fans, like, they got to see that. I went to game three in Atlanta, man. It was jumping. I'm sitting by Monica, Two Chainz, Kerry Washington in there, Dwight Howard. Like, she, I'm halfway famous, right? Speedy there, he mic'd up, he ain't tell me he the feds. You know, like, it was just, it was one of those environments. And I was like, people love this, right? And you gotta build on that. And you had a year, bro. Olivia Miles comes straight into the league and goes off. Katelyn is rightfully who she said she was. This mother Erykah, who? She first-team NBA.

• 32:35Speaker 01

  Asia again, so she's the greatest woman hooper of all time, right? But then you got people that come along, looking at the championship. Ryan Howard, Alicia Gray, there's Veronica Burton. Man, this woman was out the league, right? So there are so many stories to tell. The WNBA gotta start storytelling them, right? The reason we love all these other sports, because we follow these dudes, man. You gotta story tell. Like, you gotta tell us where they come from. Tell us why they are who they are, why they, why they play the way that they do. Make people wanna watch these women hoop. Because like, bro, it's physical, it's nasty, it's crap talking. Like, it was fun, dawg. Like, it was good ball.

• 33:18Speaker 01

  And so I just think, man, the WNBA is on the precipice of being important and mattering in the way that they never have. And you gotta continue to push the narrative of the positive that's going on in the league. And obviously, the negative's gonna come as you grow.

• 33:33Speaker 02

  What's the crazy lady, the commissioner? Funny-looking woman, nobody likes their boo at the.

• 33:38Speaker 01

  She got fired. What was that lady's name?

• 33:39Speaker 02

  They brought her out. Let me just tell y'all this. This is not, this is not brain surgery. If the first couple of games next year aren't the damn Valkyrie playing the Aces, aren't that, I wanna see Fever, I wanna see Angel and Katelyn, one word, one-name players play each other. If New York's not playing Atlanta, just, let's be honest, NFL, NBA do it. They're gonna put the primetime stuff to crank up the season. Give me the primetime to crank up the season. Don't reinvent the wheel. You're the WNBA. Do what the NBA does.

• 34:10Speaker 01

  The, the, the, the first weekend of the WNBA has to involve the Valkyrie, the Dream, the Fever, and the Aces.

• 34:19Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 34:19Speaker 01

  Give me that! It has to involve those four teams in some sort of way. I agree.

• 34:25Speaker 03

  You gonna throw the Liberty in there?

• 34:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, Liberty, the Liberty are in there for sure. I think, though, when you're talking about names, maybe Breanna Stewart's that name, but Asia, the championship team, the best team in, in ball. Katelyn Clark, right? Angel Reese, like you, that's what they do, right? They, they still give us Golden State on big days, because Steph Curry's still there, even if they not the best team. Like, that's what, like, that's what matters. And Adam Silver, who understands that from running the NBA, has to make sure that transfers over into the WNBA as well.

• 35:00Speaker 03

  Yeah, and talking about transfer, I think they should also find a way to play an international game with Gabby Williams playing for the French team. I mean, at some point, maybe too soon, right now, but at some point. But talking about keeping the attention of everybody, college football playoffs, first rankings just came out. Frustrating, ain't it? I mean, because last year, we had a thing, right? Because Notre Dame and Miami, they'll, they'll be locking up. And then they kept Notre Dame out of it, right? Because of the week one loss to Miami. But now, you have a situation where the rankings are here, you have Notre Dame ranked, they're four, but they're, they're ranked like 11 in the coaches' poll, right? And then, on the flip side, UCLA sitting behind two, two-loss teams. They should be ranked higher.

• 35:44Speaker 03

  Why is it so frustrating each and every year?

• 35:47Speaker 01

  I don't know what they doing.

• 35:48Speaker 03

  Me either.

• 35:49Speaker 01

  Miami should be one, they're undefeated. Utah, they ain't really played nobody. They get, they got BYU this week. Okay. Texas? I love Texas. I love Sark. Are they the seventh-best team in, have they played like that? No. Think about this. Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee's at 13, Ole Miss is at 10. SEC's still winning, bro, right? They, they are, they are giving this conference, saying, you are so good, you're gonna cannibalize each other, you got a network deal with ESPN, we gonna make sure some of y'all in here.

• 36:29Speaker 01

  We gonna make sure some of y'all in here. And I get it with Notre Dame. I love Free, Free my dog. He knew that coming into the year. He said it. We gotta lead, no doubt. You can't go lose to BYU. You can't, right? Now, you facing Miami. Like, when you look at this, like, they just do whatever the hell they want. And you can't say nothing, right? And this is why, I think, I feel like, almost like, coaches and schools wanted 24 teams. And I feel like that had to be like the Big Ten and SEC, because it's the toughest in those divisions. So it's, it's gotta be us. So if we get 24, we get more teams in, because we know we gonna lose games. Them other conferences not. Like, this is, this is terrible.

• 37:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm glad you brought it up, too, because that, that gets my, my blood going. I'm not, I know I'm not a matchup guy, but let's back to the polls. You know what? Don't just, I'm, I'm sorry, Freeman, I love you, coach. The SEC is dominant. Texas loses to Florida. Ole Miss, Ole Miss runs them off the field. Then, what is it? Alabama loses to Auburn.

• 37:34Speaker 01

  Ole Miss lost to Florida, then Missouri. Ole Miss won, Ole Miss, yeah, Ole Miss lost to Florida.

• 37:40Speaker 02

  But the hell be that in my Florida by 20?

• 37:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:42Speaker 02

  Then Florida goes and beats Texas. Then Missouri beats Florida.

• 37:46Speaker 01

  LSU loses to Kentucky.

• 37:47Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 37:48Speaker 01

  Kentucky lost to Alabama, I think. Yeah, so it's like.

• 37:51Speaker 02

  Think about it. You talking about cannibalizing, we're speaking of cannibalism right now. Georgia beats Alabama in the last second, which probably should have been Alabama win. But then Auburn beats Georgia. Like, you think about, this is why.

• 38:03Speaker 01

  And then LSU whipped the pants off Auburn.

• 38:06Speaker 02

  This is why the SEC's respected. Go look at the records. If the SEC teams are getting beat, they're getting beat by SEC teams that probably aren't better than them, but they were better than them for four hours on that Saturday. And that's why they get the respect. It's justified respect for the SEC.

• 38:20Speaker 03

  Right.

• 38:20Speaker 02

  Right now, UM is the best team in the nation, flat out, period. You go from two to 12? I can't make a case for all them teams. I say UM, being undefeated, the way they, they're winning, and they're winning close games late. ACC is shit, too, now, let's be honest. But UM's the best team, the rest of them, we gotta figure out. And I think UM was solidified, they beat Notre Dame this weekend. They the best team, they gonna win it all.

• 38:44Speaker 03

  Yeah, and we're back to that conversation, because last year's college playoffs, it was, should it be Miami? And should it be Notre Dame? Ultimately, Miami got in because of the week one win. But this time around, you said Free said lead no doubt. All coaches say that shit, too. As a matter of fact, Williams had it last week against the Colts. But I think it's really an opportunity for either team to go and separate themselves. If Notre Dame loses this game, I don't think they deserve a spot in the college football playoffs. If they gonna win this game, they certainly deserve to be much higher than they are.

• 39:17Speaker 01

  If Notre Dame loses this game, you don't have to say they won't deserve a spot, they won't put them in.

• 39:21Speaker 03

  No, I mean, they don't, yeah.

• 39:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, they're, they're.

• 39:23Speaker 03

  I mean, the conversation that it had a year ago, whether they should be.

• 39:26Speaker 01

  That ain't gonna be a conversation.

• 39:27Speaker 03

  It won't be a.

• 39:27Speaker 01

  Because this is, this is the game they had to win, right? You lost to BYU, who's a top 10 team, who loses the next week. Yeah, you got, you like, you, you have to do it.

• 39:37Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up require compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 40:02Speaker 01

  There was an interesting conversation this week on a den of kings for Kirk Franklin. 2 Chainz was mad at Keith Lee about a review of his restaurant. Also think he had it confused with like another guy a little bit, too. Keith Lee didn't really crush him the way that he thought. Kirk Franklin, who is like hilarious as an old man to me, was like, say, bro, you being sensitive. And then Mojo was trying to make it sound better, like, sensitive in a good way, like, open and vulnerable.

• 40:33Speaker 02

  Vulnerable.

• 40:34Speaker 01

  What did you think about that, bro? Like, I don't, I don't even know what to.

• 40:37Speaker 02

  I'd rather be called sensitive than vulnerable. Seems like you could take advantage of me, I'm vulnerable. I think it's goofball shit all around. 2 Chainz is not a restaurateur, he's using his rap name to not make some more money on the side. Keith Lee, they said he's an athlete, where'd he play?

• 40:53Speaker 01

  He was an MMA fighter.

• 40:55Speaker 02

  He was an MMA fighter, and that's why he's a food expert?

• 40:58Speaker 01

  I don't, I don't know necessarily why he got into food, but I know because he, because he did, he focuses on minority restaurants to bring people in if they do well.

• 41:09Speaker 02

  And I respect that Keith Lee's doing, you know, God's work, trying to help, help out, you know, whatever, entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs. He's not a food expert, 2 Chainz ain't a food expert. Why does 2 Chainz care what Keith Lee says about his restaurant? And first off, I saw that Keith Lee said it was a long wait. Seems like 2 Chainz's spot is doing well if you gotta wait two hours to get in. You're making money, I don't know how you know food, I don't know why either one of them cares. Is Keith Lee making money online with his food? You're making money, and you're making money. Why y'all arguing? Neither one of y'all. L'Imro Legasi? Are they Gassieri? I don't give a shit what either one of them two dudes say about food. He can rap, I don't know what Keith Lee does well, honestly, I don't know if he's a good fighter.

• 41:54Speaker 02

  I know 2 Chainz is a hell of a rapper, that's all I know about either guy. Fuck a food expert. I'm a food expert, then. Let me make you some, some, some salmon. I put everything seasoned on it, give it a little crunch on the back end. The fuck does that mean?

• 42:08Speaker 03

  I mean, I, I think that, we've, we've heard this conversation before surrounding Keith Lee. That's how big of an influence he has in that space on the internet, right? We also know that the internet ain't a real place. But people do value his opinion on what he thinks about other people's restaurant.

• 42:27Speaker 02

  Who?

• 42:27Speaker 03

  Keith Lee.

• 42:28Speaker 02

  But who, who are people?

• 42:29Speaker 03

  People on the internet that follow him. I don't follow him till, I don't know. I'm barely on the same page as you when it comes to this thought. But I do know this. Any restaurant, it comes down to customer service. You treat all of your customers fairly, whether they're a celebrity, or at least that's the thought, right? Whether they're a celebrity or just an everyday person that wants to come in and frequent your establishment, like they're paying their hard-earned money to get great service, great food, et cetera, et cetera. So you don't, you don't toss them to the side. But on the flip side of that, as a restaurant person, they understand that, that if I have a celebrity in here, I have an opportunity to take that and market that as well. And then I can get more regular people in here.

• 43:12Speaker 03

  We went to Smackers in Memphis, right? Just a random conversation through DM, told us to come through. It took great care of us, but he told us with all honesty, he's like, look, my food's gonna take a little longer. Right? Because we, we're gonna serve it fresh, we're gonna make sure you get the best experience. And we tell all of our customers this before they even order, because we don't want them going back leaving those type of reviews. So maybe the, the ownership should start taking that sort of approach. Even with the Keith Lee's, they say, hey, look, man, this is gonna take a little longer, because this is how we service our, our guests, like, we really want you to have the entire experience. And then that's all it is, a conversation. So I don't know the, the back and forth with Keith Lee and Two Chainz.

• 43:56Speaker 03

  I'm just talking from what I believe should happen in the restaurant space. And people like Keith Lee gotta be, they gotta be careful on their reviews, because it has real, uh, uh, consequences to those establishments.

• 44:11Speaker 01

  You know, I was watching Two Chainz and Keith Lee, and my first thought was, I wish they could have had this conversation privately. But the public discourse was a great conversational piece in so many ways. One, it's about the manner in which you honor your job, right? That is now Keith Lee's job, to visit these restaurants and give his review. And people believe, many of them who follow him, believe that he has a good grasp on what's good, on what's timely, on what's worth it. And so much so that it did affect Two Chainz.

• 44:52Speaker 01

  I think the other piece is, it goes to our accountability and responsibility to the community. Right? There's so much that I may feel or think that if I have a personal connection to a person, I just tell them. I don't bring it to this platform. I don't say it out loud, because I'm like, okay, I need to hold this person accountable, or this organization accountable, but I also don't want to in any way affect them negatively as they continue to try to build. Right? I don't know if that's the right thing to do, that's the way I move, that's, that's what it is. And now, the other thing that comes out of this conversation is Keith Lee saying, the way I do it is, I send my people, not me, because if I go, I'm gonna get a certain level of service.

• 45:37Speaker 01

  And Two Chainz kinda like, yeah, that's life. And it is, like, it's a life we live, thank God. Right? I don't ever walk up any place and think that I'm going to be treated differently. I also never turn it down.

• 45:52Speaker 01

  Right? And so I think two things can be true. Right? You can treat celebrities or people of influence with a, a different level of care than you do your normal customer, but your normal customer should also get the best care or the best possible service you can provide. Period. If you can do both of those things, then you could be successful. And it kinda brought me to like what Shay Shay did with the North Carolina A&T thing. Right? They were supposed to visit, some things went wrong. And there's part of it where you gotta protect your reputation of saying, we were supposed to come, I don't want you to believe we aren't coming based on our decision-making.

• 46:37Speaker 01

  So just know that. And then there's part of calling people out and saying, hey, they're wrong, naming names and all of those things, because of the responsibility we have with our platforms. And I think so much now is becoming where like podcasts and shows or like these reality shows, that you feel like you gotta share everything. Right? And I think that's making some of the lines blurred, and I kinda think we kinda saw that in that conversation.

• 47:03Speaker 02

  A hundred percent with the, with the, you're letting out a lot of people, the North Carolina A&T thing. Letting out a lot of people that expected that, expected you to be there, might've changed their plans, might've did that. You should be upset by that. Why do you feel as if you need to hold a restaurant accountable? To who, to the restaurant? I went to a place called El Toro. What my best decision, I was just hungry and only thing on the corner. Ruined my fucking stomach. Nasty, dry rice, just disgusting. I need to hold El Toro accountable? To who?

• 47:31Speaker 01

  It's not, it's, but you haven't made that your job. You haven't made that your platform. That is Keith Lee's platform. And I wish I'd studied enough to know how or why it even started in the first place, but this is what he does, this is what he's now trusted to do. And I think, and the key for him is, you gotta do it in the same way, no matter whose name is on front of the building.

• 47:55Speaker 02

  Yeah. See, and that's the part of this disconnect with me with this, is I think that's goofy, that I'm listening to Keith Lee for what restaurant to go to. If I don't like El Toro, I'm gonna just tell nobody. Unless you find out for yourself. Like, I'm gonna go to Two Chainz restaurant when I go to Atlanta, to see if it's bad, as the MMA guy said. I don't care, I'm going to see Two Chainz. So that's the end of that, like, just, you know, put, put a value on your evaluators, I've said that before.

• 48:21Speaker 03

  Yeah, and to your point, RC, when you spoke about public discourse, being able to reach out to each other beforehand, as it relates to Shannon, Shay Shay's platform, that's a thin line, right? You gotta be very careful how you sort of put information out there as to what happened or why you weren't, uh, uh, available to, to make the appearance, because your platform is so big, right? And, and most times we find ourselves trying to uplift these HBCUs. And if you deliver messages a certain way, now you're doing the total opposite. Right? And, and people begin to frown upon, uh, the, the school, its leadership, or whatever it might be. So again, just to, as you mentioned, the public discourse,

• 49:07Speaker 03

  there's management and people you can actually talk to, to have that conversation and figure out, how can we get back on campus? At whatever time, we gotta figure this out. Because it's not for me, it's not for you, it's for the future of the HBCUs. It's for the kids that are there, giving them these experiences, ensuring them that we are approachable, we're touchable, we're just like you, we're not too far away. Uh, so it, it's a, it's a time and a place for different things. And it's a way to just handle business, and I don't know if it was handled the right way, but...

• 49:43Speaker 01

  I, I think what I find very strange about the, the space we're in now is that

• 49:51Speaker 01

  we always jump bad with each other. We don't handle one another with the delicacy we handle other people with. Whether it be the people we work for, the people we work with, the companies that we do business with.

• 50:09Speaker 01

  And it's all of us, it's always like us, people that look like us, now we want to speak about them in this certain way with a lack of respect or not with as much respect as we speak about other people. Why don't we keep the exact same energy all around? If you're gonna be somebody that jump bad and that, that's kinda messy and that tells people business, tell everybody business. Be that every single day. Not when it just comes to us. Right? And if you're gonna be a person that speaks respectfully or that really manages their words to make sure that things aren't put out in a certain way, be that all the time. And like, there're gonna be different times you feel certain things where you're a different way,

• 50:53Speaker 01

  and I get that, because we're human and we layered and all those things. But I do feel like we got a responsibility to our communities. Right? If we're trying to uplift them, even though I gotta tell you that I can't come to the school or I can't make it, because maybe you scheduled around this and it matters to you, and you set this thing apart, I don't have to crush the people that are a part of it. I can say, there was a miscommunication, we aren't gonna be able to make it.

• 51:20Speaker 03

  End of story.

• 51:21Speaker 01

  Yeah. We really want to, and we gonna make it up to you if we can. Now we go on about our business, then people forget about it, we forget about it, and it's, and it's done. But when we do things... A certain way when we speak about one another a certain way. We now create this conversation that allows other people who are peeping us from the outside to confirm the negative thoughts and connotations that they had about us already.

• 51:46Speaker 01

  And they get to say, I didn't say it, he said. And I do believe we gotta be careful about that. So I was looking for a way for us to have like a biggest pivot question. Right, because we don't get to ask each other that. Right, so I did like nerdy stuff, right, I was searching, reading, stuff like that. The question is, what's the one thing that the other two don't know about you that might change the way they look at you? It could be as deep or shallow as you want it to be.

• 52:13Speaker 01

  You're an open book, it's gonna be very hard for you to find.

• 52:15Speaker 02

  I was about to say, man, y'all know everything about me. Y'all know I got one kidney, ain't it?

• 52:19Speaker 01

  Yeah. No one's gonna make me look at you any differently.

• 52:22Speaker 02

  Well, you might be softer towards me.

• 52:24Speaker 01

  No.

• 52:25Speaker 02

  Because I'm damaged.

• 52:29Speaker 01

  What you got, bro, Freddie T? Come on, Freddie T.

• 52:32Speaker 03

  It reminds me of when we ask our guests, what's their biggest pivot? And they take that moment to kind of try to figure it out. Shit, man. I feel like y'all know everything. We've been rocking with each other for

• 52:45Speaker 01

  I have one.

• 52:45Speaker 03

  Five years, back to back to back to back. You can go first.

• 52:50Speaker 01

  This is very simple. I think I have one. I don't think it's gonna make you look at me differently, but I do believe that neither of you are going to have expected that this is the truth.

• 53:04Speaker 01

  I am absolutely petrified every Monday at about 9:59 now.

• 53:13Speaker 01

  The reason I can't catch my breath after we do what kept you up last night is because I'm so nervous before. I'm so nervous before every show. And I've never, I was never nervous when I had to be an analyst. I'm never nervous when we sit here. Every time I have to quote unquote, host, petrified. And more so because it's like, it's our own thing and it's so important to me.

• 53:40Speaker 01

  Every time we about to start the show, if you ever look at me, I'm praying.

• 53:44Speaker 01

  Yep, every time, because I am scared. And if you would listen to me breathe, I'm like,

• 53:51Speaker 01

  because I'm trying to calm down before we even start. And that's why, and like the, the what kept you up last night, it's like the first tackle.

• 54:02Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 54:03Speaker 01

  Right, so like I need it to be what it is now because I get so winded, I forget I'm nervous.

• 54:11Speaker 02

  We two months in, what is this? We got a little show, 10, 9?

• 54:14Speaker 01

  Same thing, bro, I was, before it started, bro, I was petrified that I wasn't gonna do good enough, that I was gonna forget what we supposed to do, that I wasn't gonna know what the video was, that I just might pause, suck in general. Like, it was just a bad deal, man, I'm nervous every time.

• 54:31Speaker 02

  Different people.

• 54:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:33Speaker 02

  I don't care what's going on, I'll be like, we gotta kill this bitch this week, bro.

• 54:39Speaker 02

  That's why I be playing the whole time. I be the RC gonna crate this thing up. I'm gonna jump off, Freddie gonna hit it, man, let's ride. That's the craziest thing in the world, but it's probably just different approaches. I do, I'm, I'm not that confident, but that's what I gotta tell myself to perform. If I, if I, if I was that way, I, man, I don't, I'd been a passed out of pee down my leg. You nervous every week?

• 55:00Speaker 01

  Every week, bro. Bro, when we stand up there and they about to roll that steady camera around, I could feel it, I could feel it. And then, and then when you go, Freddie T goes, and then it comes back to me, like, so did he turn the camera, it's like, I should crank up? You know, and the, the oddest part is, I actually don't know what I'm gonna say.

• 55:25Speaker 02

  Till they go.

• 55:26Speaker 01

  Until it starts.

• 55:28Speaker 03

  That's, that's a hell of a gift to have, and you're great at it, actually. I was telling you the other day. Were you like that as a player too?

• 55:38Speaker 01

  Very nervous.

• 55:40Speaker 01

  I was a very nervous player before the game. Very nervous, very nervous. I think that

• 55:48Speaker 01

  failure, I believe failure is a good thing, right? And I think I handle adversity well.

• 55:57Speaker 01

  Like, growing up, I was told, like, even when I was doing something great, it was always like a caveat to it. You know what I mean? Like, I remember, man, I got to the camp, my first year at LSU, and I was balling. Just going crazy. And the strength coach was like, yeah, man, they were asking me what we was gonna do at DB, you know? And they was talking about how mu, how good all these other guys was. And I told them, man, you better watch that Ryan Clark, like, he ain't as talented as the other guys, but, and I was like, damn. At this point, I'm 17, I thought I was talented. You know what I'm saying? Like, I was like, whoa. You know, I remember, coach, I wanted to go to like LSU camp. My coach was like, nah, we not gonna send you to camp because they gonna make you test.

• 56:43Speaker 01

  You know? He was like, but if I put the film on, I can make them believe you fast. You know what I'm saying? And so I just think, I just think a lifetime of being told that I wasn't certain things and just figuring, and I, I felt like I just always figured it out, you know? And so I think like before the show, not an imposter syndrome, but it's still like a, a question of how good at a certain thing am I? And will I be good at it or good enough today? Probably, I'd be sweating, that's why Ms. Karen come up there and pat me down after.

• 57:17Speaker 02

  Oh, you got your little grease pads.

• 57:19Speaker 01

  Y'all be thinking Ms. Karen gonna pat me, she be wiping.

• 57:21Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 57:22Speaker 03

  Wipe it off and reset it. I actually sat over here long enough to, to think of when I actually heard everything you said too. But it just kind of hit me, damn, this is embarrassing too, bro.

• 57:34Speaker 01

  You pee on yourself a little bit?

• 57:36Speaker 03

  Nah, I used to, I used to steal a lot when I was a jit. I used to steal all the time.

• 57:45Speaker 03

  From, from the local drugstore? I used to steal all the fucking time, bro, we was that broke. We was poor.

• 57:52Speaker 01

  Freddie T, what you used to be stealing?

• 57:55Speaker 03

  Listen, I used to steal the honey bun.

• 58:00Speaker 03

  Real life. But I can tell you this, real quick. I remember one time, so we used to play marbles under this tree all the time. We, I forget the name of the game, but we would dig the holes and like hit, and yours go in the hole, and then you're out or whatever. We would play the game, we end up going over to the store, to the drugstore, same drugstore. We would get ice cream, go in the store, get something else. I remember I had marbles in my pocket, but they had this fresh pack of marble. The big Dumbo marbles, the little cat eyes and all that. I just took it, opened it, and I took some and I put it in there. So I had my own marbles and I had those marbles. The person saw me, they called a cop. Everything I love, Rosalía, rest in peace, baby, they took me to jail.

• 58:44Speaker 03

  I remember seeing adults get in the cop car and they lean down because they be embarrassed, hiding from people. I was in the fucking cop car in the backseat, just like that. They took me to jail. My grandma and my uncle had to come and get me from the jailhouse. No charges, but they took my little bad thief ass to jail.

• 59:02Speaker 01

  How old were you?

• 59:04Speaker 03

  I don't know, man, probably 9, 10, something, something like that. I was a lot younger, but I had no business stealing. But I knew my grandma couldn't afford to get me no more marbles. And I wanted to just be like the guys in the neighborhood, man. Marbles was, for me, those were expensive, I ain't had no extra $3. So I stole, and actually, it gets worse. I would actually just take shit just because I knew I could, all the way up to college.

• 59:32Speaker 03

  So I was at the University of Florida dropping Snickers in my pocket, just because I knew I can get away with it. But I stopped that shit a long time ago, so.

• 59:41Speaker 02

  I know the rider over there. Isn't that the girl that steal all the time?

• 59:45Speaker 01

  She's stoplifting.

• 59:46Speaker 02

  Come on, Winona, stop taking Snickers. I done told y'all all my stuff. You know what? I don't know if it's embarrassing. When I was little,

• 59:58Speaker 02

  I was weird.

• 1:00:00Speaker 03

  In space?

• 1:00:01Speaker 01

  What's changed?

• 1:00:02Speaker 02

  But

• 1:00:06Speaker 02

  this is when mom and dad were together, we still had a nice house with a backyard. Then they got divorced and shit went down here fast. We had a backyard and I used to just dig holes. Just dig as deep as I could dig a hole, and then I dig out and I make like little couches, and I make like little apartments for myself underground. And then the neighbors' bunny rabbit fell in my hole one time. We had a rottweiler. This is how my apartment got taken.

• 1:00:34Speaker 02

  So the rottweiler went in the backyard, found the bunny in the hole, jumped in there and fucked up the bunny. And then I was too scared to get the bunny out of my little underground apartment, so then I just filled the dirt back in the hole on top of the bunny. Never told the neighbors that a rottweiler killed the bunny. Lost the apartment and the bunny same day.

• 1:00:54Speaker 02

  That's a true story too.

• 1:00:58Speaker 02

  It's an honest, true story.

• 1:01:00Speaker 03

  Yeah, I don't think we, neither of us answered the question.

• 1:01:03Speaker 01

  Hey, guys, that's the pivot. I work with a

• 1:01:08Speaker 03

  Because I don't look at y'all no different.

• 1:01:09Speaker 01

  I work with a kleptomaniac and a gravedigger. Like, that's my, that's my life, guys. I'm scared to do TV, just about to ever can't stop stealing, and this dumbass buried people's bunny. Y'all enjoy the freaking weekend.