Episode 73: The “Chasers” talk about Hank Aaron and his legacy. The NFL Division Playoff matches this past week. NBA, baseball, and MMA.

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In this episode, we’re going to talk about the NFL Divisional round. A lot of things are going on. The Bills got rid of the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. Tom Brady moves on past Drew Brees and we’ll talk about the other games. The NFL head coaching Merry-Go-Round continues. Eric Bieniemy still doesn’t have a job, even though he’s still coaching. Some others have gotten invitations. We’ll talk about that. We’ll talk about the fallout with the Nets train for Harden. Let’s see how that shake up, and see how they played. Also, Kyrie Irving coming back. The NHL has started. We’ll also talk about NFL Championship Sunday coming up. We’ll also talk about MLB, and some moves being made during the Hot Stove League. We’ll pay some tribute to Hammering Hank Aaron. For all the young ones who don’t know who Hank Aaron is, he was the baseball home run champ before Barry Bonds when he smashed Babe Ruth’s record on April 12th, 1973 against Al Downing and the Dodgers. We’ll talk about that. We’re going to meet the crew minus one. We’ll start off with James. What’s up? What’s going on? What up? What’s going on with you all? How are you all doing? It’s another episode. We bring it to you only the way we can. D-Dubb. What’s up? What’s up, fam? How are you all feeling? It’s another episode. We are here to do it. We got a lot of interesting topics. Rest in peace, Hammering Hank Aaron. Rest in peace, Hank Aaron. We’ll talk about Hammering Hank here in a little bit. I know the fans are probably like, “Does Mike Mills still work here?” Mike Mills is off again. He’ll be back. PTO is zero. He got minus. That dude is in the red. He’s in the hole, though. Mike, you might have to do some dishes when you come back. He might be a little bit depressed for the Ravens’ loss, but it’s all good. We’ll talk about that here in one second. D.A. will join us. He has to take care of some personal matters, but he’ll join us here in a little bit. We’re going to open up with the National Football League and the Divisional round games. Very good games. Very interesting storylines, but they were. The Buffalo Bills move on. We’ll talk about that first game. They move on to the championship Sunday. They beat the Ravens. Sorry for not being prepared and not having my score there, but yes, they did beat the Ravens, for all those that know. It doesn’t matter. When you told me the Ravens lost to Buffalo, it was all good. Buffalo had a good game plan. The defense came and played well. It was a slow start for Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense, but once they got it together, it was very windy up there in Buffalo. Once they got it together, they missed a couple of field goals, both teams. It was about 17 miles an hour with gusting wind throughout the stadium up there. It’s very tough for the kickers. You got Lamar. He went out, so tough game for them. Baltimore would be back, I would think. It was a 17-3 final. I don’t know if anybody else would agree. They probably would agree, but that interception in the end zone that was returned back, that’s a fourteen-point swing. At that time, it was 10 to 3 Baltimore. You get a touchdown, you tied up. If you don’t, you at least get three. You get something out of it and it turns into seven going the other way. To me, it took the air out of Baltimore. Sidelined completely. I totally agree. That 101-yard interception return for the build absolutely changed the tide. All he did was read Lamar all the way through. I think it was a bad pass by Lamar, but I know he wish he could have that one back. Some would say he should have made the tackle. It’s football. I’m saying that’s what some people say. He should have made a tackle. I’m not trying to be a fan here. You said that Ben should have picked up that ball last time too. Kev, you are comparing apples and oranges and you have seen it for yourself. I don’t suggest that my man make a tackle, but if the ball is loose on the ground, I suggest that you go pick it up or at least fall on it. I may not say you go ahead and tackle, especially Lamar Jackson’s frame. I’m not looking for him to go tackle anybody. My thing is, the guy had a wall of blockers. It’s not like it was a one-on-one. It is one of those things. People say whatever. I am the same one that said yes. Ben Roethlisberger, you need to fall on that ball. You looked and didn’t pick up the ball or didn’t fall on the ball. Buffalo moved on and they moving on and they got the defending reigning world champions. We’ll see. This should be a good game and you’ll be shocked. What do you think? Getting back to the Ravens, what do you think? I think most of the media and fans want to hold Jackson like he’s supposed to have won eight championships already. People forget that sometimes with life, there’s a progression of things to come. They’re learning to win. They take some steps. They might need to show up in the running game. I believe Ingram, they cut him. They might need to show up at their running game. People forget that sometimes with life, there is a progression of things to come. People are learning to win. They take some steps. They might need to show up in the running game. Click To Tweet I think they need to show up in that passing game. Can you give Lamar Jackson another weapon? Ravens fans, call in, chime in or whatever. I wish Mikey was here. The only sure-handed receiver that he has is Mark Andrews and he’s the tight end. Hollywood Brown still needs to learn how to run routes correctly. Just because you’re fast, does not mean that you can run routes. There’s a difference. He’s a good receiver, but he is not the A side or the number one. If I’m not mistaken, he even says that he shouldn’t be number one. They need a number-one wide receiver. Hopefully, they’ll go out and go get Lamar some help so he can progress. Please don’t do them like Sean Watson, but that’s another story. Shout out to Josh Allen. He did his thing and kept the Bills in the game. I like Josh Allen. I like what the Bills are doing up there in Western New York and how they went pretty much from nothing to something. They kept building and building and this is what we got now. I’m looking forward to them and Kansas City. With that said, let’s talk about the Kansas City game. The Kansas City Chiefs move on after they beat the Browns 22-17 at Arrowwood Stadium. Their quarterback for the Chiefs had to be in for a concussion protocol. He was out for a major part of the game. Mahomes rested up. He didn’t return. He’s passed concussion protocol and he will be starting on Sunday. You knew he was going to get rushed through that. It is championship weekend. I didn’t expect him not to be there and not to play. I know he bumped his head pretty hard, but I expected him to be there. I looked at it. The people were saying they didn’t hit his head hard, but apparently, he did because he was a little woozy getting up. He definitely didn’t look like himself or feel like himself. If the Chiefs go back and win this, is this a dynasty for the Chiefs? No. Can you get three before we start? If we are going to do two championships, there are a lot of dynasties then. If that’s the case, but at least get three, then I’ll start talking. I can’t speak for everybody. I’m with you on that one. I’m emphatically no, absolutely not. Not yet. They got to show me a little bit of something. They barely won the last Super Bowl. They happened the three messengers. Don’t shoot the messenger. Send a message back. That’s all I’m asking. That’s all I’m saying. What I’m telling you is that no, they’re not a dynasty yet. I’m with E. Give me three. Three before we start talking. Four, you’re in a different stratosphere. A dynasty is the New England Patriots who dominated a division for a decade. That’s ridiculous. What is that? That’s a damn dictatorship if you ask me. It’s going to be interesting. Let’s slow down on the dynasty talk with Kansas City Chiefs. I wanted to switch off for Kansas City. Cleveland Browns had a great year. You showed a lot of positives and expectations are going to be all in the off-season and the next seasons or whatever to see how you all progress. If you stay true to who you all say that you all are, you stick to that running game. Get Baker another receiver too. I’m sure Odell probably won’t be there in 2022, I don’t know.

You got to get these guys right. Offense, defense, everything. It seemed like they bought in and it showed. Shout out to them. It wasn’t good enough against the champs. I don’t know how anybody else feels. If I’m going to go out, I at least go out to the champs. Either the defending champs or the ones that are going to go take it again. Shout out to the Browns. They did good this 2021. They progressed and their head coach did a good job and only they can move forward and make good decisions. They keep that running game together. They get Chub and Hunt together. You got to change the pace. You got Chub that’s going to smash the ball. You got Hunts to change the pace back to what we talked about last time. I think they could have run Chub a little bit more than they did. That’s neither there or here. The Browns, exactly what you said, don’t get anything to be ashamed about. They’re on course. They don’t study court. As long as they keep on doing what they do, they got the defense good. Odell, he’s rehabbing. I think he’s coming back and that’s me thinking. They lost the world champion. That’s the goal to go get in 2022. They could get go ahead and handle business. They already showed they might be the top dog because they smacked around the Pittsburgh Steelers. More to come from the Browns, absolutely. We’re going to move right along. We’re shucking right along here to the Packers and the Rams game, which was anti-climactic. The Packers beat the Rams 32 to 18. Aaron Rogers looks good again. The Packers are showing why they’re the best in the NFL and they give the Rams a loss. What are your thoughts on this game here with the Packers and the Rams? I’m going to go ahead and say I picked the Rams for this game. I thought the defense was going to play a little bit better than what they did. I guess Aaron Donald was a little bit more injured. He couldn’t go his full 100, I think. I’m not saying that he would’ve changed the game or anything like that, but it would’ve been a lot closer. It’s all about matchups, as we say. It’s about matchups and Devonte Adams did whatever he wanted to do against the Rams. I do want to shout out the Packers coach and the OC because a lot of people look at plays and they don’t look at the play design. That’s what I like to do. Play design of how they move Adams around and had different matchups. Even with Ramsey being on them or not, sometimes with safety up, sometimes not. They knew exactly how to manipulate that, especially when you have Bad Man Aaron Rodgers back there throwing the ball. The Rams, they’ll be back. A lot of these guys are locked up, so they should be back. I know Cobb was not 100% either, but I don’t think it would’ve mattered. The Green Bay defense, that’s one thing that people don’t talk about enough to me. The Green Bay defense came to play, so that, to me, was the bigger difference in the game. Do you want to talk about the Rams and the Green Bay game? You got Bad Man Aaron Rodgers. He’s a bad dude. This dude had an incredible season. I believe I picked Aaron Rodgers. Didn’t I pick him? You picked up the Packers. I don’t know about them, but Packers did what they were supposed to do. They beat the Rams. The Rams defense was a little banged up. Aaron Donald, of course, is the main cog in that wheel. They didn’t have enough. I think Jalen Ramsey played decent. The rest of the guys couldn’t come up to the level where the Packers are at. They take it out and the Packers move on.

The Packers will face Tom Brady. They will face the Tampa Bay Bucs and Green Bay will be up there. It’s supposed to be 27 degrees. No snow or rain in the forecast, but it’s supposed to be cold up there. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem for Brady. He played up in the Boston, New England area for his whole career. We’ll go to that game. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold off the New Orleans Saints. I believe that was the game of the weekend, the anti-climactic game. I thought it was a little boring at first, but they got going and the Bucs beat the Saints 30 to 20. Tom Brady does it again. To me, Drew Brees, this is probably his last game as a professional athlete. I don’t see him doing this anymore. His arm looked extremely tired. It’s like he couldn’t throw the ball over 10 yards. The Saints lost. It looks like to me, the Saints have been getting jerked the last 2 or 3 preseason go. Not this one, but where they had chances of going back to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, they had some things to play on. What’s your guy’s thought on this game here? It was the Jordan Whitehead and Antonio Winfield Jr. show. Those dudes played excellent for Tampa Bay. That was the turning point. That was the picking off Drew Brees. Their defense was the catalyst and getting his Tampa Bay win. Drew Brees, I think this is it. He hasn’t said it yet. He hasn’t confirmed anything. He was 19 to 134 yards. That is un-Drew Brees like three interceptions. That’s definitely in the championship game, not in a champ division round game. Even for a championship game, it’s not like him. They had injuries, too, as well. I kept on saying, “Where is my man, Michael Thomas?” I thought he got hurt or he was not playing. I’m like, “Where is he at?” Come to find out, he was hurt. He didn’t have him, but he had Manuel Sanders and he tried to do as much as he could. He was 6 receptions for 48 yards. They go down to the Tampa Bay team that they beat twice in the regular season. Our mantra here and we always say it’s always hard to beat the team three times in a row. Usually, you’re split and then it’s a toss-up for the third, but you beat the team two times in a row and then that third time you can usually count on that other team winning. Things happen. It's always hard to beat the team three times in a row. Click To Tweet I jumped out of the gym on this one. I went out there and I thought the New Orleans defense was going to come to play and it was the Tampa Bay defense and Brady doing Brady things. They kept him right along. It was sad to see. I’m not a Drew Brees fan or anything like that, but he’s one of the great quarterbacks that I’ve seen with my own two eyes. To see him go out like that. Thomas did play, but you might as well say he didn’t play. He was targeted four times. You already know it was an issue there. I thought that Alvin Kamara would have a bigger impact than what he did. He had 18 carries, 85 yards or whatever, but it wasn’t enough. Shout out to Tampa Bay Defense. They locked in and watched some film and it and it showed. They know when Brees tuck that shoulder, he goes to fire. He doesn’t have that zip on that ball like he used to. They were able to make some plays. A shout out to them. They got a little crew there. When they come to play, they make it known. They’re saying, “I’m here.” It’s going to be good between Green Bay and Tampa. I remember as a kid coming up, these two teams, at one point, up until ‘92, until Reggie White went over to Green Bay, both of these teams were awful. Until you had Warren Sapp and them wrestling the boys, the Tampa Bay team and Green Bay used to be awful when I was coming up. To see these two teams in the playoffs now fighting for the championship game is pretty dope right here. I heard that Antonio Brown is out for the game. We’ll see who will step up for a Tampa Bay. He had some contributions to that game. Did he have his touchdown? I’m trying to see. No. Antonio Brown was 1 reception for 10 yards, no TD. The week before, he had a touchdown, I guess. Fournette and Mike Evans had a touchdown. Fournette had a very big game too. Fournette looked like he was fresh. Looks like he’s not run into the ground. He got Ronald Jones. Ronald Jones has been slept on. He’s a pretty good bat with 13 carriers for 62 yards. They shared it. Fournette has 17 carries in 63 yards and 5 receptions for 44 yards. Pretty good offensive display as far as sharing the ball and spreading the ball around. I think they look pretty good. We’ll see. That’s one thing about Brady. Whoever is open, he’s going to get him that ball. He’s not one of these guys that’s going to be tied into, “I got to get this guy or whoever is open.” If you see Gronkowski, he had five targets, he only had one catch. I’m sure depending on the matchups, that may change. It may be the same. I’ll save it for when we get into them, but if Tampa Bay is able to run the ball like that to try to offset that Green Bay pressure, this should be a very good game. Let me ask you something. Would the lack of fans due to COVID-19 in the stands, some NFL stadiums allowing some fans, do you all think that has had an impact on the playoffs and home-field advantage? I don’t know. Even with the limited amount of fans, the football game has been just football. I can’t tell if they’re there or not. Sometimes because they pipe in so much, they’re piping in the noise effect. I’m pretty sure, as a player, it probably makes a little bit different that somebody is there and somebody is looking at them and sharing them, real people. It might make a difference for that. For me, I couldn’t care less. Is that the Madden ‘21 crowd noise that they’re piping? Probably. I believe so. I wish they would use it in the actual game, but that’s neither here nor there. We’ll talk about that one of these days coming up. For the players, I think it’s different. These guys grew up playing in college-packed stadiums. In a regular NFL season, you got an upwards of 20,000 people or whatever. I’m sure it’s different for them, but for me as a fan, it seemed like a regular game. In the NBA, you could tell. It’s a big difference. It almost looked like they were still playing in a bubble, but they were playing in their own stadiums. I got the TV on Brooklyn and Cleveland and they’re in Cleveland. You’re right, they’re in a bubble. I believe the heat next game. They’re going to allow some fans inside the American Airlines arena, probably about 3,000. They’re going to be socially distanced. Do it safely. There are a lot of teams and a lot of postponed games here lately. They’re taking a lot of precautionary measures in the NBA right now. Shout out to the NBA for doing that stuff. Shout out to the National Hockey League, too, because they’re also limiting travel. All the Canadian teams will stay in Canada. All the US teams will stay in the US and there’s going to be a US versus Canada Stanley Cup finals, pretty much. That’s how the National Hockey League is handling everything and their season again. We’ll talk about that a little bit. Let’s move on right now. We’ll get back to Championship Sunday and we’ll make our picks of that nature. We’ll talk about real quick the NFL coaching carousel continues. Let me throw out some names here. We’ll talk about this. Now here’s some huffing and puffing and blowing the house down. Robert Saleh, who was his credentials? San Francisco 49ers is the defensive coordinator. He has the Jets top job again. The Jets are looking to start over once again. We’ll see. What they’ve been seeing for so long. You got Todd Bowles who they had. Now all of a sudden, he could coach again. These teams run through coaches. I don’t even know how anybody wants to be a coach. They absolutely hurt careers. This is not the first time. They’ve been doing this for quite some time with these players. There’s no direction. Nobody is coaching like how they used to. It is no development. It used to be a thing of developing talent. Now nobody is developing the talent of these people. Nobody cares. Either you got the talent or you don’t and nobody’s going to try to develop you either. That’s the sad thing about it too because you had people who try to develop the talent. You see talent and it might have been raw. Now people are like, “We ain’t got time to wait.” This is the whole thing now in sports because of the money. It is so fast and furious with the money. Nobody wants to wait on you and to see you develop your talent. Sad but that’s what it is.

The Falcons picked Arthur Smith. Arthur Smith is a former offensive coordinator for Tennessee. He got Derrick Henry going right. I like the fact that they got my man, who was killed by a quarterback killer. Ryan Tannehill was with Adam Gates, another franchise killer. He got Joshua with the Dolphins. He absolutely went there and killed the franchises all because he had one good season with the Denver Broncos, where he was the OC for the older Peyton Manning at that time. They won the Super Bowl and that’s how Adam Gates got that job. Arthur Smith got Tannehill humming. I thought that was a good pickup. I wish Dorian was on. I don’t know where Dorian is at now. Somewhere on I-77. The Jaguars picked him or the first time taking a stab at the pros. Let’s see what he can do. Let’s see if he’s not going to be like my man, who also used to coach Florida that went to Washington. What was your former man’s name? Steve Spurrier. Speaking of the Devil, he shall appear. What’s up, D.A.? I was talking about Tommy and Tampa Bay. Are we talking about Tommy yet? We finished up that segment, but we’ll double back. Tommy is the best. That bad man probably is going to beat him because Tommy is old and he doesn’t like cold weather anymore. It’s going to be a little different for him. What’s your name again? This is Richie. Richie, Tom Brady has played out in cold weather for some time, almost twenty years out in Boston, New England. That’s why he left. He doesn’t like that shit anymore. He likes it warm in Tampa Bay, where the Super Bowl is going to be. All serious, I think that’s going to be a good game. Green Bay has a better defense than folks talk about. They got one of the kids from the Jets, which I’m going to talk about later. I have to call back. The Jets had 4 linemen and all 4 of those dudes are starring in other places. Had a dude from USC with all the hair, Richardson or some shit like that. He had the other two big dark-skinned dudes. They had a crew. I think it’s going to be a better game than what folks think it’s going to be. I also believe that with the Buffalo game. I don’t think any blows to Sweet Man. Buffalo may give Kansas City a run for their money. I don’t think that Mahomes is hurt at all. He’ll be fine though. Buffalo may give Kansas City a run for their money. Click To Tweet I’m picking Buffalo to go. Some people tell me Buffalo is not there yet. I’m saying sometimes you pass a test even though you’re not ready to. Buffalo could pass the test. I think they got what it takes to pass the test. You got good players. I think they got enough. They may be a year away, but I think on Sunday they got enough to pass the test from what they’ve shown all year long. They got enough to pass this test because that Kansas City test, they’re good, but I don’t think they’re that good. They don’t scare me. We’ve seen other championship teams that you be like, “This guy, you got to worry about this.” Who’s coming off an injury? I think you’re right. In all honesty, I’m keeping it real with you. In baseball, when I say teams a year away or two years away, I think Buffalo using the Seattle model that me and Kev always talk about. If they’re not giving homeboy Allen the bag yet, which they haven’t. he’s very smart. He’s a year three and they haven’t given them the bag. He got three more years because rookie contracts are five years and then they can hit you with two years of being franchised. They can fuck them for seven if they like. I think if they wait from the 4th or 5th year to pay him, definitely next year, they’ll have the guys on the team to do it. I don’t want to throw too much stuff in. I got to go and get the show ready. I think the Niners should not, and I love Deshaun Watson. Take Deshaun Watson because we can’t afford that check. He has to be worth 2 or 3 players for us to do that. He has on his own. We’re not paying anyone else. If Houston had Deshaun Watson on the table and they call you and they say, “We’ll take Jimmy G and we’ll take a first-round pick?” That’s good. We’ll go with that because I think if we do it that way, we will probably still try to figure out a way. Remember, Jimmy G’s money is not real money to us no more. That’s all it was guaranteed paper. We could have cut him and not paid none of it. We gave him off $70 million or something that some stupid number that he’s on his cash big years money. I don’t think that it would benefit us to do that. If we didn’t want to, we could cut Jimmy G and not pay him anything because that’s where he is in his contract period. Deshaun is good enough in my eyes to do that. As long as Texas is willing to pay some of that money, we’ll do it. They got to help us out, so we not paying that money. It’s too much money. That contract is huge. He’s a dude that, without a doubt, I would trade for the draft pick because you know what you got with him. You don’t know what you got with a draft payment. You can get through that Washington ad. He is going down to Pittsburgh, so he bought Big Ben. He might be shipping Big Ben out of there. I don’t know. They don’t like paying $40 million. I’ll tell you that much. I know Pittsburgh is not doing that. That’s not going to happen. That doesn’t make fucking sense. I don’t even know but those are the contracts that dudes doing the NFL because the ownership, in reality, doesn’t expect to pay any of those dollars and that’s the fun shit. They’ll make the contract but they don’t expect to pay it because when Cam’s number came up, I think it was going to be $20-something million this season for Cam because he did all the other shit. It’s like, “I was an MVP. I went to Super Bowl.” He’s like, “Tell that shit walking home, boy. We’ll holler at you. I’ll see you when I see you.” They let him go because he was due his cash. Not to say he wasn’t getting paid, but he would due his big money in 2021 and 2022. You’re right. I would take them. Darrell always says that 10 years, you make a mistake like that, you’re fucked up for 10 years. I don’t have ten years to wait. You’ll set that franchise back. I’ve seen it too many times. I love him. I think that dude is serious business to me. It’s a real deal. Before you have to get out and get going, we were on a topic as far as these NFL coaches. Again, no light and no shine. I don’t know how you fix this problem. You got 32 White owners and it’s their team. It’s my shit. It’s my house. What the man says. He said, “You can’t change us from the niger’s heart.” For some reason, if you believe a dude that’s never coached, that no one knew about, he was a sister with the Colts for some shit. Now he’s a head coach of Philly. Dudes cautioned motherfuckers about this. Don’t get a coach for just your quarterback. You got 50-something other motherfuckers on the team. You can’t get a coach for one player. That’s where Fred Kitchens was. Here’s the buzzword that’s going around the NFL now. If you notice, he’s a CEO type of coach. Kev, get the fuck out of here. What is that? What is that shit? Kev, you’re right. This is the stuff that makes me mad. You know me and you talk throughout the week and we talk about all types of shit from off the field to on the field to outside of sports. The hypocrisy is real all around. It’s sickening because you can’t fix it. The only way you will fix it is unless you get your own. You got to get your own stuff. You got to get rich enough to be a billionaire on your own team. Not just that. You have to be voted in no matter how much money you got because that’s what killed Walter Payton. Walter Payton had the money in the ‘80s to buy the fucking Bears when they were in trouble. They told him no. The minute they told him no because he had the money, he started getting sick. Stress fucked him up. That’s what they say. To me, I’m saying that’s another code word for Black dudes who can’t do it. They already said that the enemy doesn’t interview. The reality is I have no fucking idea.

They said the same thing about Tony Dungy. I know he is a street dude from LA. He used to be a blood. Everybody knows that in the football circles. I don’t even know that from going back. I used to like him in Colorado when they won the national championship. They would be on the fucking sideline throwing up signs. That’s the only reason I know it. I used to watch Colorado a lot, but they were good. The reality was that you couldn’t say you’re not hiring a dude because he did an interview with you. He was working on his own fucking team. That happens every year. He’s hiring a guy that you want. Everybody wants a hot dude. He’s still playing. You can’t get him. If the Jets and the 49ers are still playing, he couldn’t go now, but that wouldn’t be held against him either. They try to make up shit that hold against this motherfucker. Everybody in the league that’s saying, “He should be a coach.” You got plans advocating for this guy. Let me make you a little bit mad. The best head coaching job left is the Houston, Texas job. He hasn’t gotten a call. Do you know who interviewed for them? Who’s that? Josh McCown who has never coached anywhere. You’re wondering why you got what you got? You got people upset and angry. I left you all upset and angry and I should have added that they also interviewed Jim Caldwell too. He should have never gotten fired with the Lions in the first place. Guess what the Lions are doing now? Hiring another coach. I don’t even know at this point what to expect because the NFL loves to hire coaches. They love to just pick up coaches and get another coach and get another. They like doing this instead of staying with the course. The NFL is no different from any other Corporate America type of job. They are going to get the people that they want in and that’s it. This is their own private business. Whoever they want to hire for whatever it is, that’s what they going to do. At the end of the day, when people realize that you got the only way that you can make changes is A) Either get your home or B) Stop spending, then you are going to see something. For now, this isn’t going to change. They’re still going do this mom and pop going around. The NFL is no different from any other corporate America type of job. They will get the people they want in, and that's it. This is their own private business. Click To Tweet It is what it is. It’s not going to change. Until we get either somebody gets a group and add a 33rd team and force your way in with your own, that’s the only way. As I said, the owner can do what they want to do. What we scream and yell about, “Get some new blood,” it’s old, young, White. That’s all young White blood. We keep on screaming, yelling and shouting. You’re not getting anywhere because they are the owner. They could do what they wanted to do. You’re fine to the letter of the law. You can do what you want. The real is that it doesn’t look right when you got a whole bunch of African-American players playing and you can’t get not one coach. Not the CEO. You can get the CEO. It’s the Miami Coach only. This is what the players need to start doing. What do you need to start doing? I know you want the money. Start doing the two-year deals. The only way they hurt them is start moving. Start going somewhere else to so another team that will develop your talent. I know it’s probably not going to work. It will work with the top 10% of players like the stars, the real Mac. I don’t know if the stars do it. You could talk about it. You could cry about it. You could tell people to stop buying the product. That’s what I would say. It was like the strikes they had back in the day. The dudes will strike. If the best players on the team break the strike line, then it’s not worth anything. You can’t do it. It’s got to be everybody unified to make it work. If you aren’t going to have everybody on the same page and are not willing to make a sacrifice and lose, then this is what you want to keep on talking and going in circles. The hot takes sounds good for the TV. Why Eric be the enemy? He can’t get a job and all. The owner, I got to trust you with the keys. You got to find somebody else with a new set of keys then. As we said before, it’s hard because the football dudes that are on TV are usually dudes that are sitting on all the take. They’re trying to say something stupid from time to time because they’re not getting all the money. They’re still trying to get it where they fit in. I think it’s harsh. I don’t like it because it’s 80% Black. I say this all the time and I’ll say this in my personal life or anything. You want a fair shake. You just want a fair chance. You want somebody to give you an opportunity. If you don’t do anything with the opportunity, that’s absolutely on you, but you want opportunity. That’s where I get a little livid about this. This guy has proven that he can coach. He’s done what he’s done and he did what he did. I remember what people were saying about Deion Sanders. “He’s coached nowhere.” I said, “Don’t start with me.” You need to have half some of these guys. Josh McCown, where has he coached at? Nowhere. He has a 52-man roster and be in the backup. I don’t know where. You want a fair shake. You want a fair chance. You want somebody to give you an opportunity. That's absolutely on you if you don't do anything with the opportunity. Click To Tweet You guys kill me with this. Meanwhile, we got Steve Nash, Eric Spoelstra, Jason Kidd, and countless other people who never coached. Shout out to Pat Riley for taking Eric Spoelstra for taking a video man who’s never played. He’s never played and now the guys respect him. Shout out to that. It goes to show it can be done. Eric is not a video guy. He’s a football lifer. He was a former running back with the Chargers. He was an all-time college great with the University of Colorado and he can’t get a gig. As I said, I think it’s a shame. It’s really hard. We could be saying the same thing about stockbrokers and you could say something about doctors, lawyers, or anything you got. I think you could say it about that because kids don’t have the chance to eat. It doesn’t matter. You got to do that. You got good examples. You got my man in Pittsburgh that’s been there for the longest and the stability of that team. They’re one of the most stable teams as far as moving in a year. It’s not like it’s a bad thing. This is crazy. I see you got dudes that can do the job and you don’t have any reason but that’s where we at. They don’t want to feel that they have to bullshit. I don’t need this. They don’t give a reason anymore as to why they’re not hiring us. “We don’t want to you.” They aren’t going to argue with you. They don’t interview. That had to do with the new coach. He was the coach before with that stupid shit. I think it was Miami, a big White boy, and he didn’t win shit there. He’s like, “We are going to be the toughest guys. If you hit us, we’ll hit your back. You are going to fall down.” I’m listening to this show and I was like, “What the fuck is this dude talking about? You don’t even get to fucking practice in the summer. What the fuck do you mean you are going to be a tough guy?” You don’t get the hit in the summertime anymore. I’m like, “You are fucking idiot.” Why did they give him the job? They hire another White guy. You all keep it up. I will be back on LeBron James time because I got a few nuggets for you. I’m fucking saying right now. Real quick. Two things. One, when Michael Jordan played, they wouldn’t have lost the Golden State. Golden State is bad in 2021. They don’t have all their players. The Lakers lost to them. If you are that F team and you’re supposed to be doing it like that, the year that Mike is with them, they won every year. Essentially, Mike wanted to put his foot on your throat of everything that wasn’t in the business. He did not accept losing the teams that were worse than you. This dude helps out the shit team right now, “I’m going to try this or that one.” You lose tomorrow, America. You are standing there looking sad and shit. No one wants that shit. We’re talking every day. It’s definitely a different NBA and these guys go for the playoffs. Regular season means nothing, unfortunately. Let’s go back to what we about. As Eric says, ‘You got them with your dollars.” How do we get out here so we can tell people, “Stop fucking with this shit. They don’t care about you?” How do we do this? I think we’re talking about it. We’re creating a conversation about it and you always say the 80 at halftime, turn it off. What’s the point? I’m about to turn it off. I can’t. You all know me. I’m the highlight king. I’ll watch the highlights in a minute. If it doesn’t pique my interest and this isn’t any sport, but primarily the NBA because they refuse to play defense for a whole game. This is where I’m at with it. That’s what you’re saying. For me, you can clearly see if your team is that good. When you lose to Golden State, it’s not a matter they played harder that night, but they were better that night. It was that you didn’t care that night as a team. I’m not taking that from the man, but LeBron, if you’re that leader, you can’t let that happen. That’s what I’m saying. That’s the problem when people are calling you the great leader. The great Michael Jordan wouldn’t have let that happen. They would not have lost to that team. If Mike had to score 60, they’re mad. Mike wouldn’t go all in on the fucking Golden State. Damn shit, fuck them. That’s their problem, not mine. That’s the Michael Jordan I knew. That’s what I say when guys say dude is the best and why. That’s why because the motherfucker cast a shadow on the game. Shit changed because of him. They did shit differently because of him. No one out here is trying to fucking be LeBron James. No players. Players are trying to be Michael Jordan when he was still there. When he came in, they called him Baby Jordan. No one out here is trying to be LeBron James. Players are trying to be Michael Jordan. Click To Tweet Harold Minor, Penny Hardaway, and Vince Carter. The list goes on and on and on. How many are being the new LeBron? Drake. There you go. Zion. That’s it. That’s what I’m saying. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. D.A. segued us to the NBA. Before we get back to the NBA real quick, this goes back to the coaches’ opportunity. We said it was not fair. Remember that young girl that read that poem at the inauguration, Amanda Gorman? She was seen by Dr. Jill Biden. She’s seen her and fallen in love with her. She had her speaking at the inauguration. Everybody’s amazed at her. She’s dope. Do you know how many other people are like that but don’t get the opportunity? I’m talking about Eric Bieniemy. How do you know if he’s what he is? You don’t give him the opportunity. He doesn’t interview well. We got so many things that says, “He doesn’t interview well.” I don’t take tests well. That doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. It doesn’t mean that you’re stupid. You got a tape on the guy. Look at what he’s done throughout his career. He has a body of work. You want to tell me my interview skills, but I’m over here coaching and you can see what I’m doing, but my interview, because I didn’t say certain things. How do you motivate people? Shout out to opportunity. That’s all I have for that one. Shout out to Amanda Gorman too. Since we’re on the NBA, what do you all think about the Nets playing together and Kyrie coming back? I think on paper, it looks good. Personally, I don’t think I would’ve done the deal. For one, it leaves your cabinets bare. You got nothing else in the cabinet. On a hungry night, if you are reaching for some pork and beans, there is nothing there. You got to keep on going with what you know. They got nobody on the bench to help them out. That’s what makes them have to play 42 minutes a night. The other night, Kyrie played the whole game, 42 minutes, and then double overtime. You are going to end up killing these guys. This is a guy that’s always hurt. You got one guy who is coming off an injury. He looks like he’s not missing a beat right now for 72 games. You got to watch out for all that. I don’t think it’s a good deal. They may make it on sheer talent, but again, if they don’t win, to me, it’s a flop. It’s a bust. I still say that I wouldn’t have done the trade because we’ve seen it too many times. When you trade for one guy, you’re losing the essence of your bench. Your bench is as important as the five guys that are starting. I will say this. Catching a little bit of the game and watching the other three games since the Harden trade, if I may say, they look better with 2 on the court than all 3, if that makes sense. Kyrie is Kyrie and no KD because the man played his heart out and got to watch his legs or whatever. They’re balling. They may be losing.

They seem they’re playing well with that duo. That goes back to what we all said that we wouldn’t have made the trade because we felt like you had enough to at least get out the east with KD and Kyrie. Also, the band of brothers had behind them because there was a bunch of brothers behind them. The trade is done now. They got a trade exception for $5.7 million. Hopefully, they’ll go get two guys with that money or whatever, get a vet, and grab some money. I think against Cleveland, they tried too hard to make it work. If everybody remembers that first year with the Heat, it was a long time before they got clicking. We say that they put pressure on themselves and they need to win now. I don’t think it’s going to happen this year, honestly. I think they need to do what they can do this year and then try to make a move or two or do something to where they could bring another guy in. You get Dean Wade back, but you need to bring somebody defensively to hold down that paint because Deandre Jordan is not that guy. I think they got the pressure on him already. They are not going to be allotted any time to get right. You got two guys that won championships and you got one guy who’s been to the championship in Western Conference Final. He knows what it takes. I don’t think they going to give them any type of a pass. Their pass days are over. This is it. I know what you’re saying but collectively with those guys, I don’t think it’s going to pass. I’m sure the talking heads and everybody will kill them because they’re not. I would love to see it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. When it doesn’t happen, they’ll get killed or whatever. Guys like KD and Kyrie, they’ve been doubted wherever they’ve been because of, “You went to Golden State. You can’t play with LeBron or you can’t be your own man on the team.” That could be a Tom Brady factor where they can put that chip on their shoulder and that could make them even better. Only time will tell, as we always say here on the show. What are your thoughts, moderator? I think they should have never made the trade. That’s for one. I know they won’t do it now. I’ll trade Kyrie Irvin now to go replenish my bench. I don’t think they’re going to do it, though. This is going to be tough. You need both to win because when it comes down to it, you can’t play 48 minutes. You’re going to kill them. They’re going to kill them. They’re not getting no younger. They are at their prime. Kyrie is 28 or 29. He is entering. He’s almost at the Apex. It’s going to be interesting. My next beat is Golden State. As Dorian said, “Golden State is not as good as they were.” Draymond Green got ejected. He was talking to the rookie and got thrown out. The referee thought he was talking to him. The ref later apologized to the head coach, Steve Kerr. The NBA should be very interesting going down the line. That said, we’re going to go back to football and then we’re going to end it with Hank Aaron tributes. I meant to get Dorian’s take on that, but we’ll go from right here, though. The first game, Sunday, 305, the Buccaneers and the Packers. Tom Brady against Aaron Rodgers. I was very fortunate. I made all of my picks. That occurred. They happened. There’s a pool that I’m leading because of Tampa Bay. Anyway, this Buccaneers and Packers game, this is where it’s going. It’s to going to end for Tommy, I think. This is the Michael Jackson song. This is it. Tommy, it is over. You’ll come back in 2022, but you’re not going to beat the Packers. I got the Packers winning. It’s going to be cold up there, 20- 17. That’s because Tampa Bay has to get a late scoring touchdown and go for an onside kick and don’t recover. Green Bay wins it at 20-17. D-Dubb, what do you think about this game? I got Tampa Bay, 27, and Green Bay, 24. Tampa Bay would be hosting their first Super Bowl and playing. Wouldn’t that be something with COVID where you couldn’t have all the fans there? That would be, but I think they going to do it 27-24 Tampa Bay, field goal kick. Tommy to the dance again. Aaron is a bad man, but that GOAT, I don’t know. That GOAT factor is something else. Eric, what have you got? Even though Kevin has had all his picks right, I’m going with the greatest quarterback that I have seen with my two eyes. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to beat the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau by the score of 31-24. It’s going to be something that occurs during the game that is going to make everybody roll their eyes. Here we go again. They’re saving Tom Brady and the Packers are going to have their chance and they are still going to fail. I got them. 31-24 is your final and Tommy goes right on back to the Super Bowl where he’s going to meet 1 of the 2 young GOATs in the making and he’s going to spank them as well. I’ll save that pick for when that happens. We talked briefly about the Bills and Chiefs match-up. That game will commence at 6:40 PM in Arrowwood Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Bills will take on the Chiefs. Oddsmakers have the Chiefs as a three-and-a-half-point favorite. I think that’s disrespectful to the Bills. My money is saying be safe and take the Chiefs and ride on out with it and you got it. I’m with D-Dubb. They’re graduating before it’s time. They’re in 11th grade and about to graduate. I feel it. I’m going to have to rock with the Bills 24-21 and their field goal kick. It wins it with a game and sends Josh Allen to the Super Bowl and the Bills. It has been 14 and 2, but I think Kansas City has been dancing and playing around all year long. They have been very fortunate at times of turning it on and turning it off. They think. That’s dangerous. You’re up there playing and dancing around. It is not a guarantee that you will get there and you make it back. Ask Dan Marino. Dan Marino went into that one and that was it. I’m rocking with the Bills, but go ahead. Eric, who you got? Since both of you all gone with Buffalo, I got to jump out of the gym. I could jump because I don’t have a problem with being wrong. Pat Mahomes, State Farm and that whole Kansas City Chief team are going to tell you all you go put some respect on the mother-loving name. I’m going to Buffalo. I got Buffalo winning 24-20. It’s going to be a dominant performance by the Buffalo Bills. It’s going to be talked about for a very long time what they do against this Chief offense. If anybody watched football, this is not hard. What you can’t do against the Kansas City Chiefs, you can’t let the old boy run all over the place and get behind the safeties and all this other stuff. You have to put two guys on him. I’m talking about Tyreek Hill. If you don’t have a linebacker, you need to have a safety on Kelce. That’s it. Other guys, you are going to have to man up. You have to play sound defense. I know they play that all the time. No, they don’t. You have to play sound defense man to man, except for Tyreek Hill. You got to have safety over the top. Do not let him beat you. Look at the tape of the 49ers in that Super Bowl. They played them great for 54 minutes. They let two plays on that last drive go. Kansas City is your champs. It’s not hard. This is not the Rams. Kurt Warner’s Rams with Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce and all those dudes. It was a matchup nightmare everywhere on the field. This is not it. They got two guys. That’s my pick. Buffalo 24-20. It should be something else. What’s the last topic we’ll talk about? Buffalo is going to whip Kansas City. He’s about to skip me. I felt it. This is exactly what you said earlier. The 11th grader skipping the grade. They’re skipping the grade and they go to college. Buffalo’s going to win 35-30. 35-30 is the pick. They have already seen this test. They already had Lamar Jackson. This kid Patrick Mahomes is something similar. They already got a precursor to the test. As far as I’m concerned, all they have to do is prepare for all the other stuff on the outside. What E said about Tyreek Hill and Kelce, keep those dudes in check. You’ll be all right. I think they got enough. Their defense come to play. They should be able to upset and go to the Super Bowl for the first time since ’90-something. When was the last time they’ve been to the Super Bowl? What was the last one for Buffalo? Dallas? ’93 in Minnesota. Can I ask you all a question? I know this is off-topic, but this came up, so I’m going to go ahead and ask. Did you all see the exchange between Shaquille O’Neal and Donovan Mitchell? Yeah, when Shaquille said, “You got to do this. I don’t think you’re that good,” or something to that effect. He said it to motivate him or to make him better or something. I didn’t see the exchange. I’ve seen something. I came across the thing here where I guess now it’s going be a pushback, old versus new, and all this other stuff. I feel like this. I think that if you are trying to reach out and motivate somebody, do that in private. Don’t do that on national TV like that. The dude is not a little boy. This is regardless of age or anything like that. You come off as very asshole-ish. Shaq wouldn’t like it done to him. I was about to say that. If this was the other way around and this was Shaq, he would definitely have a problem. If Bill Walton had done that to him, Shaq would’ve been ready to fight. Bill Walton gets crazy sometimes with his mouth. Shaq wasn’t like a gun to him. If you want to motivate the dude, call him up. Go to the arena. Go see him and tell him what you feel. Shaq comes off like a bully. Do you think it’s funny that you can pick and choose these certain guys that you want to talk about? I guess it makes your platform a little bigger. You come off as a personality, kind of like Charles Barkley or whatever. You look stupid out here and you look real goofy out here. Shouldn’t do that on anybody’s expense. I got no problem with you if you are analyzing and being critical of his game. That’s one thing. All the other extra stuff, that part of it, I don’t need you to be talking about you. I said that so I get you motivated. You are not even the best big man ever in the game. Who are you? First of all, you ate your way out of the game, to be honest. I wanted to throw that out there real quick. We’ll segue to Hank Aaron. Hank Aaron passed away at the age of 86. Here’s one of his quotes. He said, “It made me see for the first time a clear picture of what this country is about. My kids had to live like they were in prison because of kidnap threats. I had to live like a pig in a slaughter camp. I had to duck. I had to go out the back door of the ballparks. I had to have a police escort with me of all time. I was getting threatening letters every single day. All these things have put a bad taste in my mouth and it won’t go away. They called a piece of my heart away.” That’s Hank Aaron in 1974 when he passed Babe Ruth with number 755 on an all-time home run list. That was during a very tumultuous time in the country. I was one year old and didn’t know what was going on. I don’t want to mink this as about athletes now, but when athletes say, “I had a hard time playing this and playing this,” no. For Hank Aaron, this was real. He got some of the ugliest things done to him and he still was able to persevere and did what he did and being an all-time home run champ. He played for one organization, played with the Braves organization from when he was in Milwaukee Breeze.

He moved to Atlanta in ‘66. Hank Aaron was a great man. He said this other quote. He says, “I’m hoping someday that some kid, Black or White, will hit more home runs than myself. Whoever it is, I’ll be pulling for him.” That’s what he said about his legacy. Barry Bonds passed him. I don’t want to make this too, but Hank Aaron was a great player. After he finished retiring with the Braves, the Braves made him VP of Operations and he hung around the Braves organization. He had his own foundation in Mobile, Alabama, where he donated money so kids can work through the arts and play all types of sports. He was definitely giving of himself after the game. He was a great guy. I believe the Braves beat the Yankees in one of those times in the ‘50. I don’t have it up, but he was a champion. What are you guys’ thoughts real quick on Hank Aaron? I didn’t even see him play. It’s one of those things you have seen on the tape. Tim Kurkjian from ESPN did a good piece on him. It was good. You say it about perseverance. Playing in the times of being called nigga, he got so many death threats. He had to persevere through all that and still was able to overcome that. Shout out to him. God bless his family and everything. He’s an iconic idol. He’s one of those guys. He’s going to be missed, but shout out to the Braves for taking care of him too. Hank Aaron should be celebrated more. I hate when things like this happen because now, as we have seen with Kobe, it’s almost like you going to hear this outpour and outcry of, “He was this and he was that.” From those who were around him, that’s great and all, but for all those, that’s almost like they saying it to be saying it. Don’t disrespect anybody’s life and legacy and their family like that. If you knew him, you knew him, cool. You could have some in-depth things to say about him, but if you didn’t know him, don’t go hooping and hollering like you’ve known this man all your life or anything like that. Hank Aaron, I didn’t see him either, but from what people have said about him and reading up on what he’s been through or whatever, he’s one of those things where you can push through anything if you want to. If your heart is set on doing A, B, C or D, push through. You going to have adversity. You just got to push through the best way possible. Everybody has it bad at some point or another. Everybody goes through something, but don’t cast your shadow over somebody else’s thinking that you had it worse than anybody else because 9 times out of 10, you’re going to find out that you had it better than what you had. Everybody goes through something, but don't cast your shadow over somebody else's thinking that you had it worse. You will find out that you had it better than what you had. Click To Tweet Coming from Hank Aaron in that era, it’s rough. He will be missed. Guys like that, I wish I could somehow let them be my mentor because I like to hear about old stories and stuff like that. I know he had a plethora of stories. Shout out to Hank Aaron and his family. You all hold it down. Shout out to the Atlanta Braves, too, because most organizations don’t take care of their employees like that, regardless of what they’ve done for them. We’ll go with some parting shots. What are your parting shots, guys? Eric finished up. I’m going to just be based on what I said. The word of the day for me is persevere. We got a lot of things going on in the world, in this country, city, state, or whatever. If it’s something that you want to do in this life, persevere and push through. It’s never too bad to where you say effort. If you do, to me, it was never that big to you. Push through. It’ll get better. You got to believe in it. D-Dubb? Not too many parting shots. We got UFC. Conor McGregor fights. Check that out. It’s a good show. As I said, we got a Buffalo and Tampa Bay Super Bowl happening. You heard it right here. D-Dubb says Buffalo and Tampa Bay. I’m saying Buffalo and Green Bay. He believes in Tommy. In GOAT we trust. #InGoatWeTrust. There goes the episode name right there. My parting shot is that everybody, take care of yourselves. Be careful in getting in the vaccine. Get it and wear your mask until we can get a hand on these things. That’s about it. Shout out to Hank Aaron. Rest in peace. To his family, to the Atlanta Braves organization, and for him persevering and going through a lot. To do what he did was truly extraordinary. He was GOAT of all time doing what he was doing. He was hammering Hank Aaron. He did his thing. That’s all I got. Shout out to D.A. and Mikey. Miss you all. I know D.A. came in for a couple of minutes or whatever, but I hope to see you all back next time. Shout out to him and Michael. Shout out to D.A. pulling over to the side of the road and calling us up while he had to do some errands and things. We had a good time. It’s always a good show. We’ll be back next time so we can analyze some more stuff. We got around to Hank Aaron, but we didn’t talk about baseball. We’ll talk about that next time and some of the moves being made. On behalf of myself, I’m your host and moderator for Darrel DW Warren, for James the Angry One, Eric Warren for Mike Mills, and Dorian Albritton, the D.A. man, we’ll see you all next episode. That’ll be good.