Ballpark Food Debate, Masters Recap & Troy Aikman on NFL QB Play, Drafting Mendoza & More | Ep 187

- We love the fucking wedge back in the day, man. Get the big boys out there full on collisions. Like, what changed that? That's the start of the game right there. I get to see some action. - The wedge, I haven't heard the wedge. - I was a wedge buster in college before I started. I was running down in knee braces and this adjacent just take out this wedge. No joke, UCF had a really good kickoff. I was like, "Hey, guys, just go down there and take the wedge out. "We go down there. "We blow this four-man wedge up. "It goes 106 yards to the house. "Not to start it." - I would love to see them not only run down the field, but run down the field in knee braces. - That's right. (laughing) (upbeat music) - Welcome back to New Heights. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, a one-dress show brought to you by AT&T, the best service provider there is. You better believe it. Where your host, I'm Travis Kelsey. He's my big brother, Jason Kelsey. I had a Cleveland Heights. Ohio, shout out to the Heights and shout out to the University of Cincinnati as we are a lump from there. I didn't get a degree in it. A lot of you won't believe that, even Jason, but I do. And make sure you subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show on all social media at New Heights Show with one ask for fun, click throughout the week, Jason. - Tell the people what we have coming up for this week's episode. - We got another great episode for you. 90% of us we're gonna get out of the house with Travis at the Guardians Home Opener. We're also gonna get to the first ever on-site edition of Out of the House of Masters. - Yes, sir. (laughing) - And Hall of Famer Troy Ackman is here, that's right. - No one and only. - The best, Troy is incredible. And he's great in his conversation. You guys are gonna wanna stick around for that. And before we do get into that, we are gonna get into some of that new news. - New news coming in, hi. - New news is brought to you by American Express. Travis made his way back home to Cleveland for the Guardians Home Opener last week. He saw Slider. - Hey, is he still called Slider? Or is he Slider? - I don't even go down this road, Jason. - Yeah, I saw Slider. - I saw Slider, man. I got to see everybody over there. Progressive field, man. Over there at what we call Jacob's field. Got to be a part of the Guard's Home Opener is we took the game for one, man. - Hey, we go. You know, it's just something about getting my feet on the ground in Cleveland just energizes me, man. - You got those nice loafers out there. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, man. - Did you get a look at any of the absurd food? The MOB has been coming out with a bunch of absurdly crazy items all across the country. - I was just catching up with friends in the suite and just watching the game. I really didn't get outside, but we had some good food in the suite for sure. We got some wings. - I was about to say, what is your ballpark food of choice when you're not a hot dog person? - I'll eat a ballpark dog. - Time out. You have said on the show and to me for many years that you do not eat hot dogs or tubular meats of any kind. So now you're telling me. - One exception. - You know what I'm not gonna lie, this makes sense. - Ballpark dog, man. - It's a special, it's a special-- - It's the nostalgia. I'll sacrifice my Ick for the fact of how it's made and how it smells. And I'll just, I'll enjoy a ballpark dog, man. I don't know what it is about being at the ballpark, that I need a dog with some ketchup on it and being bang boom. I'm not gonna eat more than one. No, no, must be. - You're not putting mustard on it? - No, that's the one condiment you have to have on it. - That's a lie. Whoever told you that is fucking idiot. - I disagree. I think you must have, well yeah, listen, you can eat however you want, but that's the one condiment. I have to have mustard, you don't like mustard on a hot dog? - You can do mustard in a sauce or in a dry rub that the meat and like the other parts of the food like hide the taste of and like the melted crann texture that is mustard. - Melted crann texture. What about a sauerkraut? - No chance. (laughing) - Again, again, if it's hidden in like a Rubin, like a Rubin sandwich. - Yeah. - Or like a corn beef sandwich. Maybe the sourness could get a little too. Punch it. We should just like review all these crazy foods that I'm gonna do. Do you see this one over an era? I mean, I think I'm gonna go to a Diamondbacks game this year solely to try this ice cream peanut butter sandwich with cream, crack or jack, Kit Kat, concoction. - That thing is fucking insane. - Does that not look delicious? - It's insane. - By the way, that's a nut-a-butter, right? That's not a nut-a-butter. - Peanut butter sandwich. - Yeah, that's a nut-a-butter. Gosh, it did the Kelsey Alsold go through our fair share of nut-a-butters, dude. Holy shit. - All right. Do you wanna see some of the weird shit they've got out there real quick? Get the Kelsey Alsold read on it. Now I'm getting some edge shakes. You don't wanna see the mini dessert chicken bucket at the Yankees game? - I think they're pretty good. They're pretty cool. - I'm not gonna be it down right here. Let's see what we got. - You wanna see a mini dessert chicken bucket? There we go. - Dessert. - What is this called? - It's a German dessert ice cream with a chocolate-covered cookie bone center. A floating-up white chocolate and candied cornflakes serve in a souvenir mini chicken bucket. - What is the point of making it look like chicken? - It looks like chicken. I think we just got there. - I'm not a big fan of foods in person and other foods. - You're out on the chicken. I'm out on the chicken sandwich. Ice cream sandwich thingy. I just give me a fuckin' ice cream scams. I don't need to look like a chicken drumstick. Who are we foolin' here? What are we fool doin' it for? I would make sense if it was the New York Chickens. Then I'd be like, oh, okay. They're doin' somethin' that's like a theme of- - What is the New York Chickens? - I don't have a chicken bucket. - Yes, but I don't understand this at all. - Is it the drumstick flavoring, like the classic drumstick that we all know that we get from the grocery store? - It's just covered with candied cornflakes to make it look like it's fried chicken, but I'm assuming it's probably vanilla ice cream with a chocolate-covered cookie bone center, which I don't- - I'm out on this one. I've seen a lot of them. - This doesn't make any sense at all. There has to be something that's making sense to this. There's no way somebody was just like, all right, here, check this out, guys. A drumstick. - I think that's how they do it. I think we're over, they just- - There's no taste. - I'm just confused. - I don't know where the chicken comes in to, like, it just doesn't sound like a chicken. - Why didn't they- - The chicken isn't even known as being like a poker snack. - Exactly. - Why didn't they just make it like a baseball snack? - Like making- - You know what I mean? Just making it like a baseball snack. - Yes, here we go. - Why the fuck is this? - You guys didn't want to do this segment. And now here we go. - This is like, KFC was like, "Hey, we can't get the fried chicken in the stadium, "but why don't you make ice cream look like fried chicken?" And they're like, "Oh, yeah, sure. "We'll do that for no fucking reason." All right, let's skip to the next one. - Next. This one's made us mad. We're good. - Next. - I'll take the bucket. I'll take the bucket, no chicken. - Red Sox, we're doing a lobster poutine at Fenway Park this year, the ballpark food features crispy fries, lobster meat, clam chowder, and crispy bacon all served in a custom lobster boat. - Why are we doing chowder? Baseball is a fucking summer sport. Chowder is not a summer fucking food, cuisine, whatever like. I don't like the idea of how aware that chowder's been stored. I don't like the idea of where is it at the bottom? Is that like the lobster just like this? - No, that's what I'm saying. - I like the receptacle. I like the lobster. I like everything except the bacon. I have no idea why bacon is included in this. And what the purpose is, it's not gonna add much. - You give it a little salty to it. - A little salty crunch. - It's got chowder, and it's salty, it's crisp. I do think if it's hot, I would question the integrity of that chowder, but I'm still giving it. I'm still giving it. - The integrity of the chowder. - Z-food and heat usually doesn't pair well. Especially, especially shellfish. I'm gonna fucking 95 degree day at the ballpark, I'm out. - I'm gonna try any of these if you'll have me, but I will not try the chicken jump stick. I'm boycotting the chicken jump stick. - Well, Yankees fan or somebody in the Yankees organization, please tell us how this came to be. - I will say this, they did give us a great moment. I'm gonna share this. There was a man who constructed a chicken bucket hat towel. - No, see, that's the thing, which I like the bucket. - I'm big into this. I'm big into the bucket. - I'm talking with the bucket. - I fucking with the bucket. KFC, brought to you by Travis Kelsi. I mean, if that's not it next year's brother, I just signed you a giant ad deal. I'm fucking with the bucket. Travis Kelsi. - I'm fucking with it, Colonel Sanders, hit me up. - Buckets might be the most underrated piece of equipment that any man can own or utilize. I think it's a, you can stack them, you can carry anything you want in them pretty much. I mean, it's a very youthful receptacle, but the fact that we're making chickens just doesn't make any sense. I can't get past it. - They had the buckets already ordered, and they didn't know what to put in them. I'm going on the conclusions. They're like, what goes in a bucket chicken? - They had a new fried chicken chain that was going into the stadium, and then they had to back out on their contract, but they had already bought all the chicken buckets. - Cost a cooking oil with way up, and they said, I don't know if I can get a big ice cream. - That's the only thing that makes sense. - We've solved the mystery. All right, let me show you a couple more. The Rangers have revealed a wearable Nacho rally sombrero. The food vessel contains chip chimes lettuce. I'll thank you. I'm going to borrow any more. - This is hilarious. - Is this real? - Is this real? - Yes, this dead is real. The photo's incredible. (laughing) All right, what do we think of the not? The rally sombrero. - I'm kind of into it. Outside the beans, I'm kind of into it. - I think it's ridiculous. - Oh no, it's beyond ridiculous. but I mean it's kind of, I fucking love nachos in a game, I love nachos in a game. >> Imagine trying to wear that and utilize it like it's just- >> You're dumping that on your neighbors, you're dumping that on the seat next to you. >> Yeah, this is getting everywhere. I think it's hilarious. >> I'll wear it next to the bathroom with that on your hand. >> Can't look down, don't look down. >> Don't look down, don't look down. >> I like the idea of some brarrows, I just don't know that nachos was the best choice. What's the messiest food item that we can combine with a place that you can't access? You can't stand up and get excited. >> They should've just made like pretzel, some brarrows. >> They should've made little babies here. >> And dip it in cheese or something like that. >> But there's some brarrows that shouldn't be large scale enough to where you can put it on your head. It should just be like the old ice cream cut batter's helmets. You know those little small ones? They should've just made a little tiny some brarrow like that in the size of where you would always get the nachos. You know what I mean? Typically the size that you get is just like a four by four or five by five. You can hold it with one hand, have it be on the other hand. They should've made it some brarrow that size. This is absolutely ridiculous. >> What's interesting about this item is that it's probably the only food item ever in a ballpark where the person buying it is the one not utilizing it in. In fact, probably putting themselves at the most risk of things going badly, right? The person wearing these nachos is going to end up eating the least amount of these nachos. The people behind them and to the right and left of them. There's a very selfless maneuver if you're buying the just some brarrow nacho hat. >> You're bringing the party for everybody else. >> Yeah, this is hilarious man. >> While also putting yourself most at risk, just hot cheese sit on your head. All right, all right, all right. >> I went to a guards game right after college and we're sitting on top of like that baby monster on the left field underneath the screen. And there's probably 10, 15 of the homies that were all up there getting hammered and having a fucking blast. And we go to get hot dogs and we're like, how many hot dogs can we get? And they're like, well, we can make as many as you want. We're like, all right, everybody gets like three, four hot dogs. We end up with a fucking crate full of hot dogs to carry them back to the seats. And my guys, I think it was Steve Bigak. My guy Steve Bigak has it over his head as he's walking up and all the guys see him and start fucking going nuts like yeah. Like he was like the hero of the day. And I think that's what this fucking big ass umbrella reminds me of is like you bring this back to the home. You're just like, that's fucking go down a run in this rally some brarrow hits. I think this is going to be yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. >> Absolutely hilarious. >> Last one, Phillies, the Shwar bomb Sunday. It is a mini helmet filled with soft, serve ice cream top with a funnel cake fried strawberry uncrustable fresh strawberry sauce and 4 feet cereal pieces. >> I am so in and everything outside of the Fruity Pebbles cereal to be honest with you. I'm not a big Fruity Pebbles person, it's just sprinkling. >> I know, I know, but I'm going to try it. Don't go wrong, I'll get a full report. >> I'm a big fan of a helmet ice cream. >> I love strawberries, I don't know what it is about strawberry sauce. >> Like strawberry sauce. >> No, strawberry sauce, it says fresh strawberry sauce like the drizzle over, I don't know what it is about that. It makes me like, it gives me like the it like the fucking. >> I'm in on that. >> Strawberry sauce, no, I think it's the texture of it. >> It's like the red syrup, it doesn't look like there's a lot. >> I don't know what it is, I don't love it. But I love everything else about this and I'm taking that souvenir home and a hot olive oil. >> I was in when I read funnel cake fried strawberry uncrustable, that's the only thing I need to hear. >> I'm going to try this now. >> Dude, the fried uncrustable is being incredible. >> Yeah, all right, that's ballpark food. >> It's called a shore bomb, so I'm going to give it a go. >> Great name. >> Great player, great name. >> All right, man, that does a new news brought to you by American Express. >> Thanks to our presenting sponsor, AT&T. >> Here's the thing about golf. It's where deals get done, relationships get built and connections matter the most. >> That's right, just like you need reliability on the course, you need it in your network. That's why you should choose AT&T, a champion partner of the masters. >> All right, Jay, I got a question. If you could play a gust of national with any three people, dead, alive, who's your dream for some? >> Tiger Woods, Fred Couples. >> Okay. >> And I got to say Jim Nance now, because I heard he does commentating for people that are playing it for me. >> Yeah, I need that. >> Whether you're closing a deal between swings or catching a tournament while traveling to work, AT&T delivers the seamless connectivity that keeps you in the game on and off the course. >> Because when the connection matters, it has to be AT&T. >> Connecting changes everything. Visit AT&T.com/ConnectToChange to learn more. >> Thank you to our partner, American Express. >> Ooh, when you're at a live event, some of the best words you can hear are, come this way. >> Oh yeah, yeah, at a game concert, doesn't matter what event it is. 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Learn more about premium events collection at go.amx/with Platinum. >> Thank you to our sponsor, Amazon. >> Yeah, baby. >> Yeah. >> Here's the thing, life doesn't wait. Nope, one minute, you're crushing it at work. Next minute, your kid is spilling juice all over their favorite. >> Sure. >> And, oh yeah, that smoke detector been beeping since 3 AM because you're out of batteries. >> That's where Amazon saves the everyday. Low prices on everyday essentials, whether it's the stuff you plan for or the KS, you didn't see coming. >> Everything you need all in one place. So you're not running around to five different stores all day. >> Yeah, we're talking paper towels, snacks, cleaning supplies, whatever keeps you day moving. >> Amazon has your back with the prices you can count on. So you feel confident your money is well spent. No hassle, no stress. >> Shop Amazon and save on essentials, save the everyday. >> Hi, last thing, before we get to Troy, we got to get to this out of the house from this past week at The Masters. We're currently filming this while we're in the house. So we're going to toss to our own selves out of the house. This Master's Edition of Out of the House is brought to you by AT&T. >> Well, thanks guys. Appreciate you sending it to us down here at Augusta. >> I've been down here since Tuesday. >> Yeah, I just got down here yesterday and saw Jason up at the course. Had a few crow's nests, had a few asalias, saw a few asalias, saw a few good shots. We're out here in the front of the house that we're running down here. >> It's cool just saying hello to all the patrons outside of the course and going to head up there for another fun day. >> Absolutely, that was the part three. >> Part three was great. I don't know that I helped Okshay out at all. I actually do think I gave him a good read. He told me he was a good read. So I will take it a lot of fun, a lot of families, patrons are all just looking to have a good time. It's way more relaxed day than the actual tournament. >> Yeah. >> It's very unique in the way that no other major, especially, but really no other PJ event has something like that the day before you do it. You have programs in the other events, but this thing was so unique and special in the way that their families are incorporated into it. That was my first time being a part of it and it's just another example of, I think Augusta National just setting the example in the tone of what golf is, right? Know the sport, do you partake in as much with your families, whether you belong to a club, whether you play with your kids. It's just, I think it's something that really matches up well. >> Yeah. >> And to do that right before the biggest tournament in golf, it's pretty remarkable. It's also not mandatory. So those guys sign up to do that. >> Yeah. >> They could be hitting balls. They could be getting more reps. >> Yeah, but it's a part of the fun, it's part of the excitement of the week. >> Well, I think it's an acknowledgement that this thing is bigger than themselves, right? It's an acknowledgement that the history of this, our families are going to be included in it. All of it, they really embrace it. So I think it was awesome to be there and to have a lot of fun with those guys. >> Yeah, the one thing about this tournament is that it's more than just a golf event. It's like you don't necessarily have to be in the golf. You're going to see some amazing shots of the best players in the world. But it's an event that anybody can enjoy because of how beautiful the landscape is, because of everything that goes into what that course is. I mean, you have different houses and places you can go while you're there. And you just get a full experience like none other. And it's why it's one of the best events in sports. - The cool part about being there is that you're on these grounds that have been there and this tournament has been being played since 1934. The course was carved out and just feels like it was made to be a golf course. You don't have your phones. There's no digital scoreboard. Everything's manually being done. It feels-- - That's part, yeah. No phones and understanding where the match is. You don't know what a guy's got going on. Three holes over and whether they're making a push or they're-- - There's a level of mystery too. - Going all the way, yeah. - You're there and you're trying to figure out where's the scoreboard? Oh, Freddie just got a quadruple. A double through what it was a quadruple bogey of four. Like what that happened? And so there's this excitement in the fact that you don't really know what's happening when you're there. The way the grounds are handled, the way the faculty, the workers, everything's done there is just done at an insane level. - I got to give them-- - From the course management to the workers and everybody that's really putting this thing on and making this thing go, they make it one of the cleanest places I've ever been, especially on a golf course, man. - They do such a great job. Everybody says it's kind of like the Disney World of Golf. They, everything-- - I can see that. - All the dirty work kind of happens in a way that you don't ever see. So everything looks pristine. The way they treat everybody, the way everybody changes, whether it's the patrons, the workers, everybody's just there to have fun. To awesome time, they've somehow kept these prices down. I mean, the Pimento cheese sandwich was a buck 50. I think of Bala Water's $2. - Is that given that thing off for free? - If you have Berkman's passes, it's for free after you pay us for however many thousands of dollars for the ticket, I don't know, that works. But no, they could jack those prices up. - Yeah. - You're going to an NFL stadium, you're paying, what, like $8 for a beer? - Yeah, but those are premium beers. - Yeah, so, (laughs) but it was. - Was it your favorite shot? - I don't know. We saw, I'm trying to think of, my favorite hole is 13, I love 13. The par five, bend around the corner, then you got to play over, raise Creek. - Okay, raise Creek, you know the creeks, okay. - I think it's raise Creek. And you got to make a decision whether you want to go for it, and you got a long second shot approach, how you're going to lay up and pitch in. - But if you ever got to play, what would you do? - What would I do? I'm going for it. - Are you going for it? - I'm not trying to set a score, I'm trying to have a story. I'm trying to turn the corner and everything. - There we go. - Yeah, that hole's awesome. I also, I just like the par five's honestly. Par five's and par three's are the most fun ones to tee up because you're going to see somebody throw a dart at one of the par three's like 16, or two coming down the hill. - That's a fun one, yeah. - Yeah, well you see scoring. You're going to see somebody go for an eagle, you're going to see some birdies like, there's a lot of action. I feel like on the par five's and threes. So those are the ones I like to post up at. - You think Roy's running away with this thing or what? - I mean, he's winning by six strokes right now. - Yep. - So for those of you that know no, it is Saturday morning. The cut has just been made and Roy is winning by six strokes. He is going to be potentially the first person to repeat as Master's champion, since Psycho Woods did it in 2001 or two. Is he either 2001 or is 2001/2002? Either way, he would be the fourth person ever to be back to back Master's champions. I think that'd be awesome. Another guy that's up there right now, Justin Rose. I got to see him when the US Open and Philly in 2014. Awesome dude. - I watched him in the speech and Capca. - Yeah. - On the par three and then T off and man, it's just crazy when you see these pros T off with the driver man. I mean the sound, not only the sound of the club hitting the ball, but the swing and how tight it is. - The velocity it comes off, it's crazy. - How tight these, some of these shots they have to hit, even on one. One is just a par four up the hill, but that bunker on the right. You got like a 15 yard landing strip really that you're trying to hit. If you don't get it in there, you can be in the trees on the straw on the left side and you can't reach the green. It's watching these guys navigate how precise they are with all the shots. It's just a blast to see in person when you can see the ball. That thing, sky wrap, it's off that face. So you got to have some UV protection to try and see it. But yeah, what was your favorite thing you ate? - Favorite thing I ate? I know you're a big egg salad guy. - Yeah, because who doesn't love mayonnaise? Makes with eggs. - Throwing on some white bread. I actually used to love egg salad. Mom used to make it. I don't know what it was. Once I found out that she was just like. - Yeah, don't do that. - Don't do that. - I walked in the kitchen at the wrong time. - Please don't do the salad, man. - But mom, you made the best egg salad. - Yes. - I'm gonna be bougie and stay. There's a fried chicken in the Berkman's place that is to die for. - I didn't get the fried chicken. I got the pizza in Berkman's. - How was that? - So for those of you that know Berkman's place is another tier. - Are we allowed to talk about Berkman's place? - I don't know. - Are we even allowed to be sitting here doing that? - Probably not. We're gonna be a band for life, I'm sure. I hope not because it's an incredible experience. - Well, we can actually watch the tournament better. - I mean, listen, I like watching on Sunday, person. (laughing) - Alright, Pimento cheese and egg salad, combination was my favorite. - Combo? - Dude, it's called the Pomego. I found that out this week. - That is. - It's a lot. I don't think texturized you would be. - I am so out of my mind. (laughing) - Oh my God. - It's pretty darn good. There was also another combo of people were saying the Pimento and the barbecue. To me, that was too many flavors happening. It was overkill. Pimento and the chicken, classic chicken, grilled chicken sandwich. - Yeah. - That was good. But the Pomego is my favorite combo of it. The ice cream peach sandwich. - You didn't get one of them? - I'd be glad you tried all this 'cause I didn't. - Well, I was here longer. - I was trying to wash them go. - You were also having me do it as a part of the broadcast, so I didn't have any choice. - Missed. - It was all delicious. That's it. - Oh, I got around too. - Yeah, it was. - You see dance, see daily? - I didn't see either of them. - Me neither. I'm hoping I can maybe find dance today and-- - We called into Top Dog. - Who knows if John Daly still over there at Top Dog? - He is. He's there right now, actually. We called Top Dog, yes, Shay, when we left the course, as he was still there, and he had just left. But he is there this morning. And he'll be there this morning, Sunday as well, I believe. - Interesting. - So, yeah, for those of you that have never been, it's awesome. It's everything you've heard about. There's some of the best golfers in the world, the hospitality, the way it's run is second to none, the tradition to it, the history that's happened there. All of these gnomes, there's gnomes all over the place. Everybody's getting their gnomes. - Can I get my hands on these? - There's the merch bag, and that's where they get you. It's a $1.50 sandwich, but you're gonna go into that merch store and spend some cash, for sure. But you love it. I don't know the way it was for you, but like the moment people find out you're coming, you know, I got my barber hitting me up, oh, can I get a hat, can you give me this? So, it's an experience like none other, a tradition like no other. I don't know if we want to keep stealing gyms lines. But. - I mean, Jim, we're stealing your lines. We love you. That's how good your lines are. - That's right. - But we'll give you the nod. - Imitation is. - We'll find our sources. - Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. All right. That's it from us down here at Augusta, Georgia. - A little out of the house. - We'll see how the rest of it tees up. This weekend, how it shapes up, that's all I got. - Yeah, and that's out of the house. See you guys. - How about that? That's our segment. We don't know what that looks like yet, but hopefully it looks like we're having a great fucking time. - Once again, that master's edition of Out of the House is brought to you by AT&T. - Let's get to our conversation with the legendary Hall of Famer Troy Ackman. This conversation is brought to you by Amazon. One of our favorites. Our guest today is six foot forward, quarterback from UCLA. He was the number one pick in the 1989 draft. He's a six-time pro-war, three-time Super Bowl champion. 1993 Super Bowl MVP. - Yes sir. - He's a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He's also the 1983 Oklahoma High School State Typing Champion. I did not know that. He's been in the broadcast booth for 25 years. He's also my coworker at Monday Night Football. Please don't do this. - Welcome to the show. Mr. Troy Ackman, let's go. - There we go. - There we go. - How we gonna do? - What is best in troll ever? - I'm trying. I'm trying. That's easy. It's easy when you got them in the accolades Troy. - Troy Ackman, thank you enough for taking the time and hanging with us, man. You've been an icon in the Kelsey Household for such a long time. Remember I had the Dallas Cowboys action figures. It was all the stars. It was you, Irvin, Emmett, Dion. I remember having them as a kid, man. I've been such a big fan of you. Grew up a quarterback. Wishing I could one day be an Ackman. But you know, made my way into the quarterback's best friend world anyways. But I appreciate the time, dog. And I got to hit you with the first question, man. What was your first impression of Jason on air? - Oh, well, it was fantastic. I mean, I remember we did a production call with Jason back with when he was, when he was still playing with the Eagles. And someone asked, I don't think it was me, maybe it was Joe, maybe it was Aaron asked him if, if Jason had an interest in getting into television when he was done and he indicated that he might, you know, that he had given it some thought, was going to be doing some stuff. He, he talked about his grandfather, you know, he got emotional talking about his grandfather and it was, it was one of those calls where we, we hung up and we said, wow, we just, you know, we just saw a side of Jason that we had never seen before. You know, we just saw this great competitor playing center and dominating, you know, and being an all pro player and all that. But then we saw this human side to him and we thought, wow, you know, if that can translate, the guy has a real future, you know, if he wants to go that route and he did and by that time I was, I was at ESPN and, and just thrilled. I mean, it was the Kelsey sweepstakes. It's, it's, it's a little bit like, what you're going to be going through here Travis and seriously, and so to get Jason, you know, to be a teammate at ESPN has been awesome. I mean, I'm not just saying this, I said this to others. I think Jason's an absolute superstar in this profession. You know, I mean, he can take this and go as far with it as he, as he did his playing career. You know, we do that Monday night countdown hit that I come down and, and go on the set with him. The highest compliment that I can pay any former player or current player is by saying, you know, I would have loved to have been a teammate of yours. And Jason's one of those guys. And I, Travis, I can say the same thing about you. I've, I've covered enough of your games. But, but now I am a teammate of Jason's and he makes us better. So it's, it's awesome. And now if we get his brother, we get a brother over to the world wide leader. We get, you know, we got something. I don't know, but ESPN's a very polished organization. I don't know if I, yeah, I'm just kidding, man. I'm a fucked up glass. You're not that polished. Considering, considering Jason's first time on air, he's screaming tits on there. Yeah, that's right. And he still has a job, no. So if you think Jason could fit in on the, on the 90s cowboys? Oh, heck yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, he'd probably be hanging with me, you know, I mean. Oh, yeah. Some of those guys, they, you know, they, they, they had more extracurricular activities than than what I don't, I don't, I don't claim to know what Jason was doing in his personal time. But I have a feeling he and I probably would have been hanging out together. Hell yeah. That would have been a blast. That's some good shit right there, man. I had to ask you what your opinion was or at least the first thought of Jason being a, being a teammate. So that's awesome, man. I'm going to mention this too while we're still on like first impressions, going up in the booth with you and Joe for the first time. I didn't know what I was doing. And just watching you guys play off of it. And like the, the way you let me in there and just the great team that you were there to try and guide me through that. I really appreciate that. And then you come down to the regular table while we're talking me. You swag and the pre show and you kill it there, man. I mean, you've been doing this. Is there anything you can't do in Brockhead? How long you been doing 25 years? Yeah, 25 years. That is amazing, man. Yeah, it's crazy. You know, it was a, first of all, when I, when I got into this and, you know, one, I was in a three man booth. So I, I first worked with Darryl Johnson, my former teammate, he had retired a year before me. And then Dick Stockton. So the three of us. And then after one year, Madden left and when he went to money night football. And so then they were looking for a new number one booth. And that's when I got paired with Joe Buck and Chris Collins worth. And I was in another three man booth with those guys for three more years. So my first four years, I was in a three man booth. And I knew pretty early on that I didn't like the three man booth. But I learned a lot by going that route. And the other thing is, too, there's, there's, there was no social media. So, you know, I said a lot of dumb things, but when you say something, I'm your like, man, I hope, and you didn't have to hear about all the, all the people who heard you say it, you know? And now there's not much grace, there's not much grace period in life period, but especially in broadcasting. So you don't really get a chance to kind of learn your way. You know, there's a, everyone has a quick opinion on guys as soon as they come into it. But like working with Collins worth was, was good for me because he had been in television for a number of years prior to that. And Chris is one of those guys. There's a handful of these type of guys. There's not a lot of them. He could host a radio show. You know, he could, he could host a studio show. He can be the analyst. He could do, you know, he can do games. He can do all of it. He could do play by play, I think. There was one time when they talked to him about maybe doing play by play with Madden. And I could not. I wouldn't even attempt it. You know, I think what Joe Buck does and what play by play guys do is such a unique skill. You know, I've gotten more comfortable in front of the camera over the years, which is only natural, but I'm not as talented as a lot of other people that could really kind of do any type of medium that they wanted to. I don't know, man. I think you kill it every time we talk me swag Ryan SVP every time you're on the desk. It is amazing to us how quickly you snap into it. What you say, just like pierce us through all the nonsense that that's one thing that I think you do such a good job, not just on the desk, but also calling games where you talk about the quarterback position in particular, but really just football in general. There's a realness that doesn't come off like you're attacking anybody. It's just like a face value, what you're seeing that you articulate so well in every medium I hear you in. Jason, that's how I praise it. It means a lot to me. I'll be honest. I mean, what I'm most grateful for you saying is that it doesn't feel like I'm attacking anybody because there's times when somebody writes something that I said and then it comes off as though I was being critical of the player and I get offended by that because the one thing that I've always tried to do, I've tried to be honest, I mean, everyone tries to do that. I think you owe it to the audience. I think you owe it to your employer to be honest, but at the same time, I have so much respect for the players and the coaches that participate in this game. I mean, the three of us, we know how hard the game is to play and I especially know how hard the quarterback position is to play. It doesn't mean every throw is perfect, doesn't mean every time the quarterback plays, he plays well. And I will point that out, but I hope I do it in a respectful way and not in a way that tries to embarrass or be disrespectful to the people that are out there on the field doing it. For sure. And it doesn't come across that way to me, especially when you're watching it live, anybody can write an article with like a sound bite and frame it in whatever way they want. I'll just say, I think the players understand that the most, you know, the guys that are seeing exactly what you're seeing and on how you're describing it, really appreciate your ability to put it into words and to give that to the viewers. And I think, you know, we all are biggest worst critics if we're the best. You know, if you just have to have that mentality. So if somebody is saying that I'm not doing something that I need to be doing, like I'm the first one to point that out. So I think the players definitely see that first and it's typically the viewers that have this love and desire that, you know, their, their quarterback or their players are the best and can never do anything wrong that have those kind of views on that. Especially Dallas, because they, you know, I'm sure Jason, if, you know, you do games or if you were to say anything on a pregame show about the Eagles, it immediately gets, like if I say, when I'm calling a Cowboys game, and I don't call as many now on Monday night football, because we only get two games a year, whereas at Fox, you know, I had many more. But if a call, if I didn't agree with a penalty, that benefited the Cowboys, I'm in the Cowboys band, but they'd lose training, the one thing I do, remember from when I was playing, I would be watching a Sunday night game or a Monday night game and a quarterback would make a throw. And the, the analysts would say, no one, and he's the only guy in football that can make that throw or he's, he's the best guy. There is at that position. And then the next week, another quarterback would do something and they'd say, he's the best that, and I, and I'm like, there's 31 other quarterbacks that can make that exact same throw, you know what I mean? And so I, I never have been, and maybe at times this, this is not good, but I've never been prone to hyperbole, like I just, if I do say something that's really strong, I mean, it's because I honestly believe that that's the only player that could have done whatever that was, you know, I mean, I just think it's, I think it's disrespectful to all of the other great players in the league. If, if you're only trying to sell that moment for television and, and not really being totally honest about the league overall, absolutely. And it comes across for sure because I'm, we're not going to name other announcers, but other guys get labeled almost as like super fans of like specific players. Those are always saying certain things and I just feel like everything you say about a guy is very at face value. And I've always like loved hearing that perspective. Yeah. Thank you. What do you think about the current state of quarterback play in the NFL? Like where are you at just holistically with where we're at? Well, I like it. I know going back to towards the end of my career and I, you know, I played when we, when we played, I mean, I'm sure you guys feel the same. You feel like you played in the golden era of your position. You know, I mean, there were, I had L. Way, Marino, Warren Moon, Jim Kelly, Steve Young, you know, boomers. The list goes on and on. I mean, there were, there were a lot of really great quarterbacks. during the era that I was playing and towards the end of my career, I was asked, hey, where are all the great young quarterbacks? Who's going to fill those shoes once everyone retires? But what you find is somebody always fills those shoes. There's always more superstars that are coming along. I think the league is in great hands. I mean, I really do. We can look no further than Drake May at New England, a second year player and what what he's been able to accomplish and a number of other quarterbacks as well. I mean, obviously, Travis is quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, what he's been able to accomplish. But there's Josh Allen. There's a number of great quarterbacks. Joe Burrows has always been one of my favorites. But I think the game itself, what I've what I'd like to see here in the last couple of years, and Jason, you probably would agree. We got so into the spread sets and throwing the football, the rules favored the receivers. You know, it was tougher on the defensive backs. And that really goes back to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and some of those games because New England just went after the cult physically. And so they changed the rules and became more favorable for the receivers. So we saw this influx in teams wanting to throw the football. And now it seems to kind of be coming back to the middle where teams will have more and I love that. You know, I mean, my career, I would have loved to have thrown the ball more than I did. But I, if I was a coach today, I would do it the same way we did the 90s cowboys. I mean, a power running game, the play action game. And we see that, we see that from a lot, and we see that in San Francisco. We see it in with the Rams. We've seen it with a lot of other teams, Chicago. And they're kind of coming back to that, which, which I really like, which is only going to benefit the quarterbacks. So I like where the league is right now. I love these young quarterbacks and all the greatness that we've been able to see from that position. I love to hear you talk about the 90s cowboys, man. It's so fucking fun. I was just telling you how I was watching the documentary and how excited it felt like that organization, everybody in that building got when when you guys got North Turner. Yeah. And I think I'm really just I'm I'm I'm curious what was it about North style? And it really being suited for you because you kind of had that different world, a lot of a lot of like rough games and a lot of learning experiences for the first couple of years. There's so many quarterbacks that have come into this game that were came in as high draft picks, high expectations. And then it just never quite happens for them. And my first two years in Dallas, I was on that path. I was on the path of being a bust. We were the worst offence in football. Really, both years, my first and second year in the league, North Turner then came in my third year. With the same players, really pretty much the same offensive line and same skill players, Emmett, Michael, Novicech. And our first year, we were a top 10 offense and we went to the playoffs for the first time, 111 games. And then the next two years with Norb, we were top five offensively, and we won two Super Bowls. And so even in today's game, there's there's not a lot of great offensive minds. And if you're one of these quarterbacks who's fortunate enough to play for one, you've got a chance to be really successful. Everyone's always sound darn old. And what he's gone through and where he's been the last two years. And that's a great example of it. He's been around really great coaching. He's excelled. And we've seen his talents come out. And that's what happened to me. I mean, I credit, there's a reason why Norb Turner was my presenter when I went into the pro football whole thing. Michael and Emmett, they both, they both credit Norb Turner for turning their careers around. And Jimmy Johnson, he deserves a ton of credit too because he was a tremendous motivator, but he was a great evaluator of town. And so with those picks that we got from Herschel, the trade of Herschel, you know, we made the most of them and or he made the most of them. I had nothing to do with it. Give it to somebody, please. Give it to everyone to say we. It's fun to say we, it's our own team here. We picked some great players. But yeah, it was a fun time. And just as fun as it was, then then Jimmy laughed. And it just goes to show you that man, there's a lot that goes in to to have in success, you know. And when you have it, don't screw it up. And I think that the egos of Jimmy and Jerry, they, it happened too early for them in the NFL. They didn't realize really what they had. I think if it had been down the road years later after a longer period of struggling, I think maybe everyone would have kind of taken a back seat and said, well, wait a minute, this is too good. Let's just enjoy it. Let's not mess this up. But so so be it. Yeah, the perspective makes all the difference. I remember 2017, when we went on to win the stripple that year, Brent, we had a really good team. We could all sense in training camp. Do you just know when like you got the roster? Yeah. Everything's clicking. And Brent Selik stood up in front of the guys as I guys, I went to the NFC championship game my rookie year. And we lost. And I was like, I will be back there next year. It's been 10 years since I've been back to that game. He's like, you don't know how hard it is to get there. And when you got it to take advantage of it. And that was like, it's watched the season. It really had us like take it off. But I mean, the perspective you don't really know until you have been through and you've seen the down to realize how special it is to have all those pieces in place. Let me ask you this because you brought up organizations failing quarterbacks, more than the quarterbacks fan organizations. If you're built an organization and I know you're helping out with Miami, you're trying to get a young quarterback. What is Troy Ackman's like pinnacle of putting this guy in a successful situation? First of all, I'll say this about quarterbacks. I'm sure you guys do it as well. I worked the draft in 2018. I think it was whenever Sam Donald and Baker Mayfield and those guys came out. Josh Allen. Yeah. So great quarterback class. Oh, yeah. This young teacher like fine wine. I work that draft. So I went to some of these pro days and watched these guys throw. Now I don't go to physically to the pro days, but I'll watch a number of them on NFL network. And quite honestly, I watch them. And I think to my, what do you evaluate? What do you get watch? This isn't even football. It's just, you know, hey, let me just show you how strong my arm is. And, you know, you get to see the ball come out. You get to see a little bit of accuracy. But there's not to me. There's nothing that happens at a pro day for a quarterback that translates into whether or not this guy is going to be successful in the NFL. And, and, you know, it's all the intangibles. Because if you're, if you're looking at being drafted, you've got, you've got enough arm strength. You know, you've got enough athleticism. And then so, okay, well, then what's going to determine it? Well, you know, what kind of leader are you? What could, you know, do you want to be the best there is? Are you the first one in the building? What are your work habits? Are you intelligent? You know, I mean, there's just a number of things. And, and I feel it's easy. It's easy when you walk into production, meaning, and you're meeting Patrick Holmes, who's already won three Super Bowls. You know, I mean, you know, he's got it. Whatever that, you know, the trick is then finding that person who has it when they're still in college and they're getting ready to go to the NFL. That becomes, that really becomes how you evaluate it. But I think as far as what would it look like to give a young quarterback success, it goes back to kind of what we talked about earlier. I would want him under center for the most part. I think that I think the college game has gotten to where these quarterback sit back. They're hold the ball. They're waiting for guys to get open. And then when they get open, they throw on the football. They don't read coverages. They don't understand coverages. There's no sense of timing. It's one of the reasons why I love watching Joe Burrow play so much because the ball comes out on time. He's an old school quarterback. I mean, he could have played, could have played Meyer in the 90s. You can feel that. Yeah. So I think getting under center, it forces a quarterback to kind of play and rhythm and get the ball out. So I'd want that. I'd want a running game. All those things that are really beneficial and helpful for for a quarterback. But you're right. There's a number of teams. Dolphins included that are looking for the next young quarterback that can be their guy for the next 10, 15 years. You brought up college. Where does Triagman stand on NIL? When you talked about diving in on NIL one time and then the fucking kid didn't even write you a note and just bailed on UCLA. I hadn't been. I was already out on it. I was like, these kids just get the opportunity to jump. They're jumping in. It's like, why even waste your time on it? Yeah. It's an infernis to the young player. You know, it's a collectibles thing. He's just collecting the check. He doesn't know. He doesn't even know. So it's no reflection of him. But with that said, I know a number of people. My daughter's been two of them that would have loved to have me to have given them that kind of money. They would have ridden me of thanking you. I never even met him. I never even met the guy and then he didn't play. I speak for probably most people out there. I know that most alums have heartburn over this whole NIL program. I don't know how it gets cleaned up, but I do feel that at least in the NFL, you've got a contract that if you take money, you know, obligated. That's what it feels like an easy to get to. Yeah, yeah, you have to honor that man. Yeah, you can't collect a check And then the very next year go back in the portal and then go collect another check It just it defies, you know, what what this country's supposed to be about I always thought players should be paid because You couldn't work in the offseason or you could work in the summers you couldn't work During the school year back when I was playing and I didn't come from a wealthy family at all Yeah, but there were a lot of teammates of mine who came from less money than even I did and they were really struggling And I thought man these guys should be getting paid something and they the NCAA I think just really drop the ball I mean if they'd gotten out ahead of this and said okay, here's what we're gonna do and they didn't do it and And now it's the wild west out there, you know, I was so it is insane man and what also what you don't hear about Anymore is is the quality of the education. Yeah, that's I haven't heard that I haven't heard an education come by about college football Since and I you know came about it's all of a sudden. It's not even discussed graduation rates none of it I'd never heard a kid ask hey, how are my trance how am I credit? It's gonna transfer if I if I switch schools here Haven't haven't heard that one yet No, but let's play let's play a hypothetical because this is all funny games If you were a college quarterback And you had one more year of eligibility, but you knew you were a top top five lottery pick at a great University, but you know the NFL is waiting on you and everybody everybody knows you're gonna be a top pick Would you stay an extra year or play for the worst or get drafted by the worst team in the league? Well, it says Jets Travis just going to do the Jets thing We got a boy that that worst with us at New Heights, that's a huge Jets fan and the question was would you get drafted by the Jets? But I'm just going to say and by just would you would you question whether or not to stay the extra year or get drafted? By a argument like a rough situation That's a hard one because typically you know, for instance when I came out in 89 I was first overall pick and the Cowboys of course were the worst team and they were they were the worst team in football and And we were the worst team in football even after my rookie year We we were grasped we went from three wins before I came to Dallas to one win when I joined and And so that didn't look like a great situation and but yet it became an amazing place to play and and so I I think you got to be really guarded about saying well historically this franchise hasn't done it And so do I really want to go to that place or should I stay in college another year and maybe you know Reeshuffle the deck and I get a place chance to go play somewhere else. I You know, there's a lot of you take paid manning going to Indianapolis What he was able to you know, they all look good Joe Burrow going to Cincinnati I mean that all these programs start looking better You know when you start getting the racing people in place, so that's a That's a hard one. I I think it's so important that he's quarterbacks to play just play Play in college play as many games. I mean the chances of them then going on and having success In the NFL go up dramatically. I mean you look at a guy like bow nicks and what he was able to do and it's so rare A lot of these quarterbacks have only had 13 14 starts In college and that's a big jump Then go into the NFL and expect them to play well. Is there anybody out there that's struggling in the league right now that you would say might be the next Sam Darnell not off hand not off hand You know when I go back to that draft Sam was my number one guy I mean when I evaluated and I thought the one question mark was Sam and college was the turnovers He he turns the ball over a lot in college fumbles and interceptions and he still has had some of that in the in the NFL But early on it looked like well, maybe it's just not gonna work out for him But like we said he goes to San Francisco backs up then he goes to Minnesota And then what he's done this year in Seattle has has been awesome. We've seen that from Baker mayfield Josh Allen was a bit of a project coming out of college people thought he would take him longer than it did And he's the one who had the most success right away. So I've talked to so many people who evaluate quarterbacks for a living And and I've said hey when you walked in and met with Aaron Rodgers coming out of college or Joe Burrow or whoever Did did you know they had it and and it's about 50 50 you know, I mean, it's a coin flip as to whether or not What what you think is what they're going to become and and that's why That's why there's so many people that have been wrong It's not an exact science and getting these guys right. Well quarterback is even the hardest one to judge I feel like because they're like you've been saying there's so many attangibles that determine whether that guy pans out That's right. We got a great one coming out this year He took the college football by storm this year with both his play and his uh his personality man He's a bit of a unique individual in Fernando uh Mendoza over there to Indiana obviously national champion Everyone's saying he's going to be the number one pick. What's your what's your read on on him if you've been able to catch him Playing football. I haven't studied him I've seen him play a little bit. You know my my College football viewing is really more or less the games on and I'm Studying preparing for our broadcast or whatever and so it's more More background noise, so I don't really Study I'm too hard a big fan of what he's been able to do a big fan of that university for that matter And what Kurt Signetti accomplished. I mean, it's just remarkable. I mean, it's just blows me away Speaking of him not to avoid your question, but they played UCLA a year ago week three I'm home on a Saturday there you sell a Indiana at the Rose Bowl Uh, and they start talking about Kurt Signetti and I've never heard of them before and they say he came from James Madison They go through his whole thing. They played the sound bite of you know, all I do is win Google me and and so I got I got I got I got I got so locked in like it that's when television worked, you know like it And it wasn't because of UCLA it was because it man I want to know more about this Kurt Signetti this old ball coach man And I'm watching his team play and you could tell they were just so well coach, you know The they'd catch the football. They're three yards short of the first down with the guy immediately catches it Nice up the field picks up the first down. I'm like man these guys they've been well coached So I've been following them ever since and So I'm a huge fan of what he's done now Mendoza I will say we're just having this conversation with someone else that every year there is a best quarterback In the draft right there's always a best quarterback But it doesn't mean that every year there's a franchise quarterback in the draft and I think that I think that that's what and I'm not suggesting them Mendoza's not a franchise quarterback at all I'm just saying that you know, that's that's what has to be evaluated It is is he the first overall pick should he maybe not be the first overall pick It's just that as we've talked about the league is so starved for quarterbacks And if you're one of those teams that needs one man, they all look like franchise quarterback So I like him. I like his accuracy a lot of men tough He's played in big games. He's shown it on big stage. I think there's a lot to be said for that And now it's a matter of can he get to the right place is Vegas that place where he can really excel It's easy to say yeah because Tom Brady's an owner and he's got a vested interest and he's gonna be right there But he's not gonna be right there, you know, and there's a there's a lot that is happening within that organization. So But I like the young man and I'll be pulling for I pull for all these guys to play well I'll be pulling for him when he gets his chance That's awesome. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you to our partner liquid iv when it comes to travel I love a good road trip or discovering the best food spot in the city. Yep. That's right. You're driving through some random town See a line out of the door at any tiny place and you just know you got to try it. 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So check all state first for a quilt that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with all state. Potential savings vary. Subject to terms conditions and availability. All state, North American insurance company and affiliates, North Brook, Illinois. Let's get to this segment right here. We call it get off my turf. Get off my turf. We need a narrow these field. It's too easy to get built. Also out on these touch screens on the walls. I'm out on that too. I am out on that too. Oh, I want a smart house. What the fuck is wrong with morons? Get off my turf. Get off my turf. It's a new segment for us. Sick of this new wave, man. We've been we've been bitching about all types of shit and how the NFL's changed man. We're huge. We love the fucking wedge back in the day, man. Get the big boys out there. Locking arms. Okay, full on collisions. Like why change that? That's the most exciting. The wedge. I haven't heard the wedge. You're talking to two wedge wedge guys right here. We're fucking love that shit. Crackback, blocks being legal, defenseless receiver rules, man. I just watched the doc and Michael Irvin is just out here just enjoying every single lick he's taken over the middle, man. Just becoming bigger of more and more of a beast every time he catches one, man. And that's this. It's just a different game. So Jason go ahead. I was a wedge buster. Before I started, I was running down in knee braces and this adjacent just take out this wedding. No, no, Joe, no, Joe me and Ricardo Matthews, a D line in the plate in the league for a long time. They said we can get down there faster than anybody anyway. You see I've had a really good kickoffer. They ain't got just go down there and take the wedge out. They do all middle returns. It'll be great. We go down there. We blow this four man wedge up. It goes a hundred and six yards to the house. Now the style. Let's reevaluate this. Maybe get to the ball. You would have fucking loved to see this dude running down because it was in his transition. You heard him say knee braces. Yeah. Well, that's what I was going to say. I would love to see him not only run down the field, but run down the field and knee braces. That's right. He just made the transition up to the offensive line. It was the rule of all. I mean, he didn't wear knee braces. So he had this big old. It was like he had a yoga ball on his waist, man. He had this big old gut because he was trying to gain weight to play all line had the knee braces on, but still had like that line backer athleticism a little bit. Not quite. Nothing in that belly. More than beer and subway, man. It was hilarious. He was he was he was a baller. We're going to give you 40 seconds. Troy, air out any complaint you have with the modern game of football. Do you have anything that right off the top your head? You think I guess what I don't like is and I'm a former quarterback, of course. I don't like the extent of some of the protection on the quarterback is probably probably my biggest point just because it man, it just the whole objective for a defense is obviously to get to the quarterback. I mean, if you do that, you got your chances of winning go up and these guys, man, I I've never played defensive line or any of that, but I can only imagine that you're fighting through 300 pound offensive lineman. You're getting twisted and torqued in all kinds of directions and yet you're trying to get to the quarterback and and if you get there and you don't do it exactly the right way, then there's a penalty and I just I don't like that. I don't like that at all. Now there's so much that's been done to try to protect players and and I'm I'm all for it, but you talk about a wide receiver back in the in the you know, going back prior to the 2000s. I mean, if you went over the middle, it was up to the quarterback to protect the receiver and now they just quarterbacks will just throw it anywhere because they know the quarterback or the receivers not going to get hit. And what I see a number of times is defenders, they don't know how to play it like they're caught in no man's land. They don't know whether to try to make a play on the ball. Just just try to tackle the receiver. I feel bad for the players, the gladiators that are in the arena, they don't really want the protection. You know, they're the players are the ones always saying, hey, we're good. Let us play. I signed the contract. I'm good. I'm ready. I agree to this. That's right. So that's that's what's kind of different and and odd about the whole thing. Couldn't agree more. Yeah, I don't want to be the get off whatever the segment's called to get off my lawn guy. You don't want to be that. All right, we'll be those guys. Thank you for thank you for playing along. We'll get we'll get you out of here after this last segment. Man, we always ended with a little bit of we got to ask, but you can clearly not answer. You can just tell us the fuck off Troy. But we got to ask these questions. I got to ask the first one. I got to because this is the most impressive highlight I've ever seen in the NFL is Larry Allen chasing down that interception, the most impressive thing athletically you've ever seen in the NFL. Probably. I mean, that's insane. I've seen the clip you're talking about. And I remember I remember the play like it was yesterday. And and yet he was so athletic that I didn't think anything of it at the time that it happened. Yeah, Larry got to him before I did, you know, okay. I was pissed that it was an interception, but right, then I see the clip. And you're like, whoa, I mean, he was he was a freak and he was the he was the quietest shyest guy in the locker room. Oh my gosh. I mean, he he wouldn't say two words. You know, I mean, he was so shy. Silent assassin, man. And he'd get on the field and he would just destroy people. I mean, it was he was he was he was amazing. I think of that clip. I think of that. What did he put up on the bench press at the proble the one year? It was like some absurd number. Yeah, I might have been 800 pounds or something. It was after I had retired that that that he did that. And and just a general giant. I mean, God rest his soul. You know, he passed a few years ago, but I'd reached out to him. I'd heard he was struggling a little bit and he was just a general giant. I mean, just just an incredible his son went to Harvard, Harvard or Yale, played football. I mean, he was a family man, raised great kids. Everything he did, he invested back into his family. You know, the the words go gets thrown around a lot, you know, greatest of all time and all that. I mean, there's a lot of great line and and and I'd put a lot of others on par with him, but I wouldn't say anyone that's ever played. It's been better than him. I know that love, love having him as a teammate as well. Yeah, baby. Close friend of mine, Andy Reed, it says that he maybe have called you in 2002. Yeah, while you were while you were on the Fox broadcast to see if you maybe be interested in playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. That's right. Yeah, we were we now went down. We're at old Jack Murphy Stadium. I was in the three man booth with Collinsworth and and Joe Buck. And we had just done a game break that Donovan McNabb had just broke his leg. And the Eagles were playing really well. They were number one in the NFC at the time as mid season. We're getting ready to go to half time and my producer Richie Zion says, Hey, I've got a number that I need you to call it half time, which he had never done. And I was in my like third year, third year in the middle of a broadcast. And I was trying to call from the booth at halftime and there's no cell service. So I walk out onto the concourse because this was an old stadium was old Jack Murphy. So I'm out on the concourse. Fans are walking by course. They're like, Hey, FU Ackman Cowboys boy. I got Andy Reed. I said, Hey, he says, Hey, it's Andy. And I said, Andy Reed. He said, yeah. And he says, you know, you heard what happened. And then I said, yeah, we just did a game break on it. And he goes, well, I want to talk to you. I said, Andy, I'm in the middle of a broadcast. He said, I know you're he said, he should have called me after the game. And I said, all right. So I called him after the game. And he was selling me on why I should come out of retirement and go, go sign the people's play for him. Never playing Monday night. The following game was on Monday night against the 49ers. And Ty Ty Demer was the he I decide. Obviously, I didn't I didn't do it. I said, I didn't go. You didn't pull the old man rivers. I was on my way up to Montecito, Santa Barbara after that game. And I'm driving up. And I said, I can either keep on going north and enjoy a week in Montecito. Or I'm going to be on a plane in a blizzard in Philadelphia. You know, Edmer goes down the very next week. He gets hurt against 49ers. AJ Feely takes over. He wins five straight games. Magnav comes back from his injury, finishes out the season. And the Eagles went to the energy championship game that year. So it wound up being a still an amazing year for him. There you go. That's what a fun story, man. That's crazy. I can only imagine trying to be on the main concourse. Well, why is it yelling at you? It's like, this is Andy. Oh, man, that's too funny. Speaking of Philly, do you have any favorite stories from playing in Philly? I know they're good on defense now. But back when I played, it didn't matter if it was Buddy Ryan, Bud Carson, Ray Rhodes. I mean, it didn't matter who their defense or coordinator was. They beat the dog shit out of quarterback. So I mean, it was 91. They were number one against the run, number one against past, number one overall. They were knocking quarterbacks out every week. And my first game against them, I didn't know a lot about them. My rookie year, our first game was on Thanksgiving in Dallas. And at the end of that game, and that was the year, obviously, we weren't very good. And at the end of that game, they x-rayed both shoulders, both knees, my elbow. I thought, I thought I had broken bones through my whole body. We had to play the Eagles two weeks later. And after they x-rayed me after the game, they said, yeah, no, everything's good. I said, everything's good. What are you waiting for? (laughing) I had to go back two weeks later and play against these animals. I mean, they were brutal, and that was a game. They were throwing the, they had the snowballs with batteries and, you know, they were throwing the Santa Claus, throwing snowballs at him on his little tricycle. I mean, that stuff, that stuff was real, you know? - That's amazing, yeah, that's great. - Yeah, that was pretty good. - I remember we were sitting around at a round table one off-season as me, Farve, L.A., and I think Warren Moon, and they asked us, where are least favorite place to play was? Our toughest place to play. And they get to me and I said, said Philadelphia. I mean, it was hands down, Philadelphia was the worst place to play. And Farve, and then they go to Farve. And Farve says Philadelphia. And I said, what do you know about Philadelphia? (laughing) He only played there one time in his career and it was like four years earlier. I said, I gotta go there every year. These guys are. (laughing) I mean, that defense was so, they were so good. I mean, Reggie and Clyde Simmons, and, you know, the list goes on, Seth Joiner. Yeah, Eric Allen. I mean, they were just dominant. - We got a running joke on here that an average fan couldn't get a single yard in the NFL. But, with the guy as much football knowledge accumulated as Joe Buck, could Joe Buck get a yard in the NFL? - Get a yard doing what? Running? Running the ball? (laughing) - Running the ball? - Yeah. - Work out what? - Work out what? - Well, however. - There is no chance. - None. (laughing) - None. - In fact, in fact, you know, Joe played football. I broke his neck when he was in high school. - You broke his neck? - I didn't even know this. - Broke his neck playing football. - Get what the giggle is hilarious. - Joe would not only not get a yard, he would not, he might not get up. I mean, maybe like, (laughing) - Come on. - You serious? - My bad, so I said, Joe, I'm for failure right there. Who's a better actor? You and Jerry McGuire or Jerry Jones and Landman? - Jerry Jones and Landman, did he not crush that? - It's so fitting. - Dude, that scene in the hospital is unreal. - I've had a lot of meetings with Jerry over the years. I had a lot of great conversations with him about his past. And, you know, when he gets into talking about some of the things that he's lived through and that he's done, it's pretty fascinating. So, I've heard variations of basically that story that he told in Landman. And so, Joe and I were talking about it, Joe Buck. And he was saying, "Hey, did you see it?" And I said, "Yeah, I saw it, it was phenomenal." I said, "But I've heard him basically tell that story." I said, "He wasn't acting, that's Jerry." I mean, that's Jerry telling the story. And Joe made a great point. He says, "No, I hear you. I hear you, that it's his story and all that." But he told it in a sound studio in front of 40 people with cameras and lights and audience, you know? And he sold it. - He sold it for sure. - That is acting. So, when he said that, I said, "You know what, you're right." 'Cause we've all been on commercial shoots. And, you know, it's not as comfortable as what Jerry made it feel when he was delivering that. I thought he was phenomenal. - Couldn't agree more. - Yeah, the cadence and like the way he, the pauses and everything. It just came off so real. - And I've gotten to know Taylor Sheridan, and we were talking about that piece that Jerry did. And I agree. Taylor said, "If he wanted, you know, he could make a living as an actor, you know?" And he put, I mean, I got a joke I could tell, but I don't want to tell it. So, I'm not going to do that. - That's the joke. - Go for a role, then I got my hands full in the media for the next. I'll leave it at that. - When we stop recording, we're going to hear this, all right. (laughing) - Yeah. Using a former teammate to fill in the blank, people forget that blank was a problem. - Using a former teammate to fill in the blank that blank was a problem. - People forget that this man was a problem. - I mean, obviously we had some, we had some colorful figures. And it well-documented to my dad. But the thing that, you know, there's a lot of people who point to Michael. And it was in the documentary of all the things that he went through and dealt with in his personal life and away from the field. And I would say that Michael, like he and I have a relationship that's so unique and it's been that way forever. You know, my mom, who's passed, Michael and I were on a cruise after my first year and I brought my mom. And like my mom, Michael and the trouble and the things that he got into, like my mom would not have condoned those things. You know, a lot of people's moms wouldn't. A lot of people wouldn't, right? But my mom loved Michael Irvin because every time he saw her, he made her feel like a million dollars. You know, and I've met y'all's mom. And when people make your mom feel special, I mean, you can't put that into words. You can't put price on that. And so, and my mom loved Michael right up until the day she passed. And Michael and I have that relationship to where he's, for the longest time, as I've gotten older, you're more willing to tell people what they mean to you and let you love them. But when you're in your 20s, Michael was the guy who would come over, see me in public. He come over, give me a kiss and tell me he loves me and, you know, he's barefoot. Yeah, yeah. So, and regardless of whatever was happening in his life, when we went out to practice, 'cause people would say, how do you and Michael, or how are you and Michael so close? And I said, you know what, when we go out to practice, it doesn't, we live totally different lives. But he gets out there and he runs every route, like he's preparing for the Super Bowl. It's never affected the way he prepares during the week. And that's all I cared about. I mean, if a guy, if a guy came and showed up to work and was ready to get better that day and help us win, man, it was go do whatever the hell you want. And that was Michael, I don't know how he did it, 'cause he ran hard away from the facility, but he ran hard at the facility as well. And that's why we were as close as we were. Man, I'm sorry, man, he's the best dog. He's the piece, he's the one of one for sure. Do you have a welcome to the NFL moment? You might have already named it with the Eagles game from your rookie year, it sounds like, but. - It was the Eagles and it was my rookie year. And it was Thanksgiving that I talked about that in college, a big guy breaks through the line. You know, I wasn't the fastest guy in the world, but I could run. I ran the Whistbone at OU when I was playing at Oklahoma, but you know, you just run away from him. You know, you run away from him, you throw the ball and you go on to the next play. And we're playing the Eagles and Reggie. Why got through the line? So I take off running and then somebody tackled me from behind. And I was just like, who was that? I didn't know they brought a linebacker or something. - Yeah. - When I got off, it was Reggie. And that's when I remember thinking, man, this league is different when you've got 300 pounders like Reggie White who are running you down from behind. And yeah, so that was my welcome to the NFL moment. That's a mean God chasing you for sure. - Troy, we can't thank you enough, man. One of the best to do it all in the field in the booth. Stand up, God, man. Thank you for all the nuggets of gold, the wisdom, the stories, brother and all. And of course, the time, man, this is fun, man. - You got it. You got it, man. I appreciate you guys having me. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much. - Thank you to Troy Ackman for stopping by, man. I still remember having those action figures when I was a kid, man. I, even when I watched Little Giants, I was like, I kind of like the Cowboys, man. Ackman had those Cowboys jerseys looking fucking sweet in the '90s, man. Shout out to Ackman for all the stories, man. Obviously, one of the best broadcasters out here, but for all you young bucks, man, go watch some Ackman highlights from the '90s, man. - Oh, yeah. - You won't regret it. Once again, that conversation is brought to you by Amazon. - And that wraps up another episode of New Heights. Thank you to Troy Ackman. Make sure you subscribe to the new ice channel on YouTube or wherever you hit your podcast. Once again, New Heights a wonder show brought to you by AT&T this week. Ha ha, still got it. Follow the show on all social media. I had New Heights show with White S for fun clips throughout the week to our New Heights production team. Thank you guys for always making us look good. And you guys are really the engine that keeps this thing going. And we appreciate you guys. And thank you to the 92% us for tuning in, each in every week. Hopefully you enjoyed it as much as we did. And we'll see you next week. Peace. (upbeat music) - Does Intuitive Projects want to sponsor my trip to the zoo? - The LA Zoo? - No, I went to the living desert in Palm Springs. It's better to do that. - Oh, you're full of shit, I'll take you. - You're as close to San Diego as you are to the fucking desert. - I was in the desert looking at wedding venues. There's not, there's not a zoo trip, is there? - It's a whole brand in. - Jane Travis. - So nice. - It was very nice. And here's what I've learned. It's expensive. offensive. Oh, fuck. Oh, yeah. I said, Lauren, how serious are we? Honey, there's a there's an apple. He's right there. She'll say yes, honey. You know, I love you. It's $3.00 margaritas. How much are we really looking to spend on people? Half-off apps after 10, after nine, actually, they moved that up an hour. They have something called a triple-dipper. I think our guests will love that. Yeah, let me know when you guys want to come out. I'll book it around your schedules. Are we invited? You guys are both invited. You skipped jakes. So you got to come to mind. You're getting married at the zoo. Honestly, I would get fucking married at the zoo. I love a little wall of your running around. Dude, do not. Don't tempt me. Just come out on the elephant. That's happening. Dude, they had rhinos, man. If you fucking rhinos are sick. For rhinos, they are fucking. They're sick. They're very intense. Did you go in the cage with them? No, they don't give me the Travis Kelsey tour. Don't do it. I'm with gin pop. They keep me behind the fence. It's terrifying. No, they're there, but they're like, you're looking at an alien. When you see a fucking trot around, like holy shit. I have a ridiculous AI algorithm right now of Ionus. The high onus, Ionus. Yeah, that one is hilarious. The one where he's just laughing in the front seat. That's one that I had to look up. I'm like, I know this is fake, but I just like, like, let's just see it says AI is Jason. You had to look at the high unit had a mascot. Rock is this real hilarious. Just comment section. Just a quick glance, making sure you can't ask AI about another AI thing being real because then they're on the same team. They're going to say the robots get together. It's real. That's real. That's real. That's real. That's real. That's that's fine. Love it.