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We'll also talk about the U.S. Men's team and I'll ask them that soccer question. So a good 40 plus minutes of Stu Holden and a longer life advice. The cup is down to its final matches, one trophy, one champion, and DraftKings has you covered for every single one. The DraftKings app is now available in all 50 states and includes all markets bringing the game straight to your fingertips wherever you are from Florida to Texas to California. You're in on the excitement at the speed of sports. Follow every clash, every final whistle, every stoppage time moment with everything on the line. Sweat the biggest matches in the world of real time with a seamless experience built for the world's biggest stage. No matter where you're watching, you're always connected and in the game with one app. New DraftKings customers sign up with the code Ryan spend five bucks to get 200 in rewards within 21 days. That's code Ryan, R-Y-E-N in partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours. 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Hey, this has been a dream, honestly, for me, man. And all of us here at Fox Sports has kind of been weird when thinking about this moment for eight years and then it's here. You're calling a World Cup in your home country. The US games were electric until they weren't. That was one of the hardest games I have ever had to call, honestly, the game against Belgium. And then now thinking about a World Cup final on Sundays, it's going to be pretty insane in New York and just the energy. I mean, the numbers have been crazy. It's just been so fun to see people in this country, really consume the game the way we have for many years and fall in love with it. I think new fans, we've made a lot of new fans, so the hope is they stay in the tent here and as we go forward. Yeah, no question. It's been a lot of fun seeing guys just be this excited about a sport that I know, even personally, in the past, but I don't know when it changed, but maybe it was like 2018 when I went like, okay, I think I'm all the way in on this. So look, I want to get to a bunch of different topics, but we have to start with with Arjun Genius come back there. Let's start on the other side. I had a friend who was in a pub in London as that was happening and he was like, you think, you think he's experienced. Is he alive? By the way, what happened to England? I think honestly, they shook hands with the ghosts of the past. And Arjun Tina, you have to give them credit as much as the England collapse happened, but Arjun Tina have this way of creating an environment with their fans and their players and and their aura. I mean, that is the definition of aura what you saw there was just the world's greatest player and a team with a with a commitment that we're not going to lose. And then you had an English team that a lot of these players have never been here before. This was a World Cup semi-final. But the biggest mistake that is being rehashed and talked about all over was the one that you saw England made when they scored the goal. It was it was teams we've seen them this happened in the NBA and the NFL. You're playing not to lose as opposed to playing to win. And by doing so and making a sub, taking off an attacking player, putting on a defensive player, not not with five minutes to go, right? This was this was with 20 minutes to go to say like, all right, we've got our goal. Like that's it. We're going to batten down the hatches. We're going to defend. We're going to try to hold off the world's greatest player and the defending champions in a World Cup semi-final. And then you saw what happened. It just it sets the tone to your team that this is the only way we can win this game. As opposed to saying, you know what? Let's be let's be brave. Let's say let's still have an outlet in transition. Let's try to hurt Argentina. But by having no attacking firepower, it allowed Argentina basically to put 9-10 players around England's boss a box and just cross after cross after shot after shot, hitting post and post. And then you could just feel the English players just, you know, guys that were six feet tall are all of a sudden five foot five. And the goal came. And then once I said this to somebody else last night too, I could not believe that when the first goal went in, that England weren't just like, all right, we conceded. It's game on again. It was like, let's hold on for dear life again and get to extra time. And then once Argentina saw that, it was like a wounded animal that Argentina were just waiting to kill. And then as they decided, you know, should we wait for extra time? No, let's just go chop the head off now. And they just went for it. They got that second goal. And it was I haven't felt in a long time. I've done a lot of Argentina games. I've seen this before. But that inevitability that you were just everybody was just like the goals coming. It's just a matter of when. And then the goal came. And messy did his thing. It was English fans, man. It's the hope that kills you. It could have been six one with better luck. I mean, it was just a blitz and you're watching it. And again, that the part of me understanding the sport more and more, it's like, okay, I understand like having a lead and then playing a little safer. But I want to ask you about the first goal by Fernandes, the one that makes it one one. I was learning like even the terms of, okay, on the Argentina corners, they like to play it short, right? So they don't throw something into the box. And I was trying to figure out, I'm like, what is the advantage of this? Like what is the advantage of like playing it short instead of just maybe just anything that leads to a header that just puts you in a better situation by having the ball closer. And the one Fernandes gets his first touch. He's so clear. Like no one's even checking him. Yeah. And it's this strike where it's like, you know, the reason those of us that watch and go like, how come they don't shoot more? It's like, do you realize how hard it is to like get clear of all of these bodies, find the shooting lane, plant your foot and then feel like you can put anything on it. Like that's what all these guys are searching for. And it's why not as many shots don't happen for the guy that doesn't stand that's happening. But playing it short for Argentina, considering that's something that they do on top of England, just everybody back. Like what advantage does that give Argentina playing it that way? Which also maybe just a part of like, hey, we can get messy the ball back here too instead of throwing something right at the goal. Yes, you just nailed it. That last line, it's getting messy the ball back. If you actually look at the two teams in the final Spain and Argentina, both of them play short corners, maybe 85, 90% of the time. Spanish teams, club teams, international teams in general, they just think, look, we have a better advantage when we have the ball. We feel more dangerous with the ball at our feet as opposed to hooking one in, hoping that, you know, we can get our guys free. Neither of these teams are particularly tall as opposed to if you watch that Norway England game, there was there's barely a Norwegian on the field that's under 62. And so they think, look, let's just put the ball in the box. We've got some, some big dudes that will attack the ball. And so whereas Messi and Argentina, if you look at that play too, that is just once again, Messi and the aura and the fear that he injects into a team, even at 39 years old. Number eight for England, Elliott Anderson, 23 year old kid had a great game. On that play, he is standing next to Enzo Fernandez. But then the ball goes out to Messi and they've already got two guys on Messi. But he thinks I got to come help. Like this is Messi if we give him too much time. So he comes over and the Messi just dishes it to Fernandez, takes his first touch as you said, fires a beautiful shot at the goal and then the ball's in. And he's got a good shot from distance. I think actually the corner came because of his shot that was tipped over. And so that's sometimes when you've got so many guys in front of the goal, you've got to keep teams honest by shooting and shooting and shooting to make them come out and to try to challenge you. And then England were a little bit late. They rotate. And that was the goal that really broke their back. If they get through another, you know, a couple minutes, maybe they hold on. But I still don't think they were going to, they were going to do it. The way you described Messi and something I finally started figuring out with him, it is a lot like Steph Curry's gravity that we talk about in basketball where Steph off the ball doesn't even have it cuts in to go with him. And then there's a wide open clay Thompson at three point line. And you're like, how did you do that? It's like, well, because we're all freaked out every time this guy moves because we're just in the instinct and seeing some of the So slow replays, it's like two or a half minutes.
on messy. And messy keeps it alive in a way that just nobody else does. And then there's another guy kind of just going like, I gotta get over there. So the other thing that I've noticed with messy too is it feels like he keeps these attacks going longer. Like in the face of everybody else loses the ball, it appears like there's another step where it's like, I'm actually gonna, you think you have me cut off, but I still have a move. I still have an out to either, you know, it doesn't even necessarily needs to be a shot. That's what I find so fascinating about him is that it seems like he keeps the attack going longer than anything else that you'll see out there. I, I think that's a great point. The Steph analogies in comparison is really good because one of the things I noticed a lot with Steph is he's constantly playing in triangles, right? In basketball, you're, you're moving, you're, you're shifting. But one of the things Steph Curry does well that I always talk about with messy is he moves you to a position that he wants you in to then move to the next position. So it's not like, I saw an English pundit saying, why didn't England just man mark messy? Why didn't they just say to one guy at the end, look, your only job right now is to stay with Lee and L messy. Do you think people have been trying that for 25 years? >> Yeah, right. As I go people say, hey, we're just going to get physical with staff. You're like, okay, go ahead. >> Yeah, great. Go, go get physical with them. Go, go get physical with, with Lee and L messy because you know what, if you go man mark him, he's going to go stand on the touch line and he's just going to wait and he's going to make you just feel uncomfortable that you're just standing there with him. He probably have a little conversation with you. How's the family? How are the kids? Everybody good bang. And then he's gone. Like that's, he gets the ball. He moves you. It's impossible to mark him. It really is because as you said, the longer the attacks go and he keeps moving and he's just popping the ball to the right to the left is because he's just, he's waiting for that space to develop. He's playing the game at a slower speed than anybody else. I always used to say the more you move up in levels and your ability as a player for the game to slow down for you is what makes the elite elite is they can see the game at a different speed and feel it. And I felt that my first time going to the English Premier League. My first month there was like I was playing the game on six speed. It was crazy. Things were moving so fast around me. But once I got my footing, I started to now see and feel the game and understand the rhythm. And that's when I then had success. And I think for Messi, he just is, he's playing a different game than everybody else. He truly is. And that he is, he is like a chess player moving you to then take advantage of you on the other spaces. And so the stuff one is great. The Jordan, I don't know if you've seen this meme of or the conversation he had with Bellingham. Did you see this? I did. It's one of the best coldest sports clips I've ever seen. Dude, Bellingham is talking to Leon L Messi about a clip that happened or a moment or something that happened in the game. And Messi didn't like what Bellingham said to us. Oh, that. Yeah. Like in the game yesterday. He just looked at me. He's like, okay, like you're really going to make me do this. Fine. You just remember you asked for this. And then he did what he did. Like it's, it's, he's 39 years old, right? He's 39 years old. It's, it's, it's, it's amazing. So the way they position him too on that, on that right side, granted in the second half, like he is, he is also like going through his own conditioning maintenance, like his own energy maintenance, because it'll look like he's not involved or he'll even tell his teammates, like keep it up on that side, like keep it on the list. So is he kind of picking and choosing when he is able to exert his energy at 39 years old, like going, I don't need to have the ball every time me having it. It's a specific time. It's actually going to make these possessions that much better than me having the ball and running like crazy. Yeah. I actually think the coach Linel Schooloni deserves a ton of credit for how he's been able to find a, a system and a balance and a group of players that they fight for Messi. Okay. We, we know that like this, a lot of their motivation is driven by wanting to win Messi the first World Cup. And now it's about the second World Cup. But look, consider it's not that he doesn't defend you. I saw him yesterday really defending in a way that Argentina needed him, but they understand that there's things that the team needs to do to allow Messi to do the things that he can do to be special. England, you know, they don't play that way. You need 11 guys dialed in Spain. The star is the collective. Let me name all is a star, but he's only as big of a star as the team is the star. For Messi and Argentina, he is still the star, but and he doesn't hang out on the right until he needs to. And that's why I think I was saying at a point on the broadcast where England were starting to retreat deeper. And I said, okay, now it's like for Messi, okay, now I, okay, where's the space for me? There's nothing centrally. I'm going to go out to the right hand side. You guys, you guys occupy the space here, keep a little bit of a threat. Let me go do my thing. I'm going to get you the guy, you guys, the ball where you need. I'm going to be less of a goal scoring threat. But now I'm going to be the, the creator, the conductor, the assist guy. There's 12 World Cup assists. That's more than anybody in history as well as his, I think it's 20, 21 goals now or something he has in his World Cup career. And it's just, he doesn't need to score the goals as much as he can then create the goals, but he's still being that threat. And he just has the different tools in his bag of what is needed. But yeah, that's, that's a recognition of like, I can't be an impact here. So I'm just going to go out to the right side now. You guys get me the ball and I'll make stuff happen as much as like we said on the goal. Even if I, I'm not going to be the guy playing the pass or scoring the goal. I've got three guys covering me. Somebody has to be open at that point. Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's a very difficult sport to be like, hey, you're the best and now make it happen. And yet he just felt inevitable because of their attack and obviously the way English. That's a great point because England did that against Mexico when they were down a man. And they had to hold on for 20 minutes against Mexico in the SEC. That's difficult. That is really difficult. But think about how, how easy they made that look. Every cross that came in, they headed it out. And Mexico didn't really look a threat in that point. That was a similar situation except by the way, they had 11 men instead of the 10 against Argentina. But every time Messi was on the ball, he looked dangerous. So there's a difference. You have Mexico attacking. And then you have Argentina. And then you have Messi. And that was just that, that, that, it's so hard for me to explain to people constantly why this guy is so special. And what makes him, there's a freeze frame I posted on, on X where Messi is crossing that ball with his right foot. And you would have said in that moment, hey, England, you're in a pretty good position right now. You have four guys across. There's only one hour's in time at the back post. And you have a six foot seven guy, a six foot four guy, and a six foot three defender attacking that ball. It goes two inches over John Stone's head. And right on the head of the Lataro Martinez, and he heads it in. That's, that's greatness. Yeah. Um, I guess I, I could, I could talk about Messi more. I guess I have a little more thought here because I, I, I need it kind of explaining to me. Him taking out France. And then if he were to take out Spain. So this is like all time stuff. But is, is there anything else? Is this just all resume padding for his greatness? And how he has perceived in the game? Or is this, because we know in the Jordan LeBron thing, there are no converts. Like, I don't think there's anything that anyone, I mean, obviously Jordan is going to come back and play. But if like LeBron wins a ring next year, I don't know that anybody goes, oh, I'm going to flip because we're very stubborn. And you don't want to think that you're wrong about your guy. But what is is anything new on the table here for Messi? Is this so already been over for a while? Uh, I don't know. How do you, is it just like, does he keep stamping the stamp of approval again and again? Like, we had this, this is a perfect conversation that we had on the plane last night, as we're heading up here in New York. And there's a group of us. And somebody started the conversation. Well, if Messi wins another World Cup, does that? And everybody was like, stop. He's already the greatest. But if he wins another one, it's, it's even more the greatest than it becomes even harder for someone else. I would say, though, if he does win this second World Cup and goes back to back, it does make it much harder for killing Embape, who already has a World Cup that he won at 19, who already has a World Cup goals that are going to be pushing and probably will break Messi's record that is a rental, not an ownership, because Embape is 27 years old. To have Embape plays, let's say two more World Cubs. For a French team that most likely will compete for those World Cubs, he has the opportunity and, you know, he fell short against Spain. So if he'd won his second right now, there would have been an opportunity for them Embape to win a third and potentially even a four, where you would have been saying, hey, man, I know Messi was Messi, but Embape's, Embape's got three World Cubs. Like you'd have to give Embape room in the conversation for the greatest of all time. So there is still the threat that Embape could still catch Messi on World Cubs, but as far as for my eyes and what I've seen and just the way he does it with the brilliance and the genius that he just possesses within the game, I've never seen anything better. I didn't see Maradona play in person, but a lot of Argentines and people that grew up in that era will say to you, look, Maradona was as good if not better than Messi. But as far as what I have ever seen, like my kids are going to come to the final, I want my kids to see Messi play in person in a World Cup final so they can say later in their life, hey, I saw the greatest player of all time play the game. You know, that like I saw Jordan play in 94. I grew up as a kid in Houston and I got to see Jordan play and I made sure that I wanted to see Jordan play in that moment, and I saw a guy like I talked to Steve
I'm sure you probably know from the South Bay and Nash is one of my best friends. And he always says Jordan's the best ever and it will never change for him. So he's doing a podcast with the guy in the conversation. So he's doing a podcast with the bronze. So he might not say that as much publicly. I'm probably just out at him. But these are these are the conversations that we love in sports. But yeah, I just don't I if Messi wins the second like game over it's he's untouchable. When we write back after a quick word from our sponsors football is back and with draft King sportsbook September comes with a boost all September long opt in and get a 50% profit boost every game day with the draft King's game day boost pass new draft King sportsbook customers sign up with a code BSS and get 50% profit boost every game day. That's code BSS and partnership with draft Kings. 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I think what Spain did was exploit the French weaknesses that we really hadn't seen exposed in any point and maybe it even for them surprise them they've beaten beaten twice previously by Spain in the last two major tournaments was not like Spain were an unknown quantity but I think this French team had a confidence in an aura and a the way they got through the tournament was like barely breaking a sweat other than the hundred degrees temperatures that they were playing in across the eastern part of the United States but they were they were exposed by a Spanish team where like I said that they are a well oiled machine I say about Spain we talk about tactics and what formation are you going to play they have an identity that is cultural and they don't care you know what they're going to do you can scout Spain all you want but until you face that in that way it's it's hard to explain because everything is so connected at every different part of the field and they have so many guys that are comfortable with the ball they're often starts with their defense so even when you think you've got to reprieve and you've got the ball for five minutes boom they they're the covering time I think in that game was 11 seconds versus for France it was like 28 seconds so that's telling you that every time France lost the ball it took about least 30 seconds to even touch it again it's demoralizing even for the best players in the world and you know how you make the best players on offense not a factor in the game you make them defend and that's what Spain did really well so I think what the the curious part for me is what's going to happen in the final is with Argentina can they find a way to do what France couldn't which France said their game plan was like we're going to high press Spain and then they started a high press and they realized like their gas after 10 minutes and they couldn't touch the ball so I'm interested of Argentina can do that over the course of 90 minutes against Spain now in 85 90 degrees in New Jersey where it's going to be hot and humid I think it favors the team that keeps the ball longer and that's so there'll be a lot of inquests in France they just were completely they had their their worst day in the worst moment but I'm trying to think could they have done anything differently no I just think that's Spanish team that had their number and and the way they played was was was not France would have had to change everything they had done in the group stage to be effective and I just I don't think that's something they wanted to do I love that that reversal number that you just share with us of like getting because again Belgium for the US men's team that that number felt like it was five minutes which I do want to spend some time I think it's like I'll look at I'll look at the team the game summary stuff you know and like even the game yesterday Argentina's like 538 accurate passes yeah you just go that's like and I'll look at that passing number two sometimes you're like you have 300 more accurate passes than the opponent in the game like you this because I've kicked this around about the style of play in the U.S. thing and you said you're at the Turkey I imagine you must have liked what you what you've seen from the U.S. team at different points but would you have been okay had we then gotten to the you know the game against Belgium and we said okay the only way we can beat this team is to play a little bit more defensive or are you a guy that's like I guess what I'm asking is are you a guy that wants to see our teams play a certain style and be aggressive and and be that or you you just don't care how but you want to see us win well I don't know that I'm answering this number of position of any value I the thing that jumped out to me about the group stage which I've already talked about and it was more with like Rob Stone on that episode where you know for years it just felt like hey so we don't have any guys like make place yeah any guys and I think that's what was so much fun about this run even if it still ends in the round of 16 is like clearly there are play makers now at the front for the U.S. men's national team that I just don't I've never felt like you had that depth and there is even substitutions where it's like oh this guy's coming in like he can potentially make a play here and maybe it was like one guy in the past so the style of play and we had Lollison it's like you know it feels a bit like we're throwing the baby out with a bathwater because we pivoted from great goal tending or goalkeeping and defense and I'm like all right yeah you know I get it but I think this is a hell of a lot more exciting despite yeah I think I think like I don't want to say casuals but the round is 16 exit and saying it's all the same to me to be crazy which is why I did that monologue last week and why I had a hell of a lot more fun watching this run than any of the other runs. Yeah so that's an interesting point because I said about a year before this was World Cup that I felt to play against the elite opposition we're still not in a place to play that way to win and I felt that we probably would have to play more like you know the Netherlands tried against Morocco or more of the risk averse type strategy to maybe still play on the counterattack when it came to the best teams in the world because I don't think we could have played the way we did in the group stage against Spain, Argentina, France, even Belgium and expect to win. We're just not quite there yet but I did say to Mauricio Portugino's credit like if he had played the way we had in the group stage and then gotten to the knockout stage and just said we're going defensive now he would have been destroyed he would have been destroyed because unless we had won unless we had won if we'd won it's that people would have said well that's what you needed to do and so I think that was I found myself in the group stage thinking man how wrong was I like these the way we're playing so much fun this is exciting we're scoring four goals we're doing this this is this is the way we need to excite this country about our sport and then it was like bang against Belgium and that was the reminder again to me that we're just what I know we had an off day and we don't need to rehash all of that and you know the guys look scared and the bargain thing and the FIFA thing but it just it felt like we you know what we felt like actually we felt like what I saw from England in the in the 65th minute and when when they scored it was like oh crap like we're actually here like we we were there against Belgium and it was like man we're around a 16 home game Seattle the world's watching 45 million people are watching this game like what do we do we shrink and that's what the English did their their mentality it's it's crazy man sports have this way of of exerting pressure under under these in the in the in the biggest moments that that make you feel so much smaller than you are and that's why Argentina even with five minutes to go they're they're down a goal messy puffs his chest up I don't think he ever believed for a minute that was going to be his last World Cup game in his career and that's just that's experience that's culture that's a aura that's that's mentality that's that's that's that's something you can't teach you know that's that's just that's in the blood and that and that's that comes from years and years of being there that's why there's only eight teams that have ever won the World Cup in history yeah that's a crazy reminder of of that one England more than you now I mean the only thing I can say is a certainty about your sport is it feels like everybody just wants to coach fired every single time but then it's been expanding me a little bit more it's like actually with the World Cup like one to four years like you're not necessarily wrong to change the voice in the build up to it it's not like you're supposed to keep the guy the entire time but I I do think especially here in the States it's I just with the laugh that some of my soccer fans would be like you guys think every coach you ever have socks all of the time so I want to get to poachatino here in a second but if we if we talk about England I don't I mean how do you not do something different yeah by the way first of all thank you for that defending coaches in different moments because I think they become the easy target and I can already hear my pal Lexi Lawis in the back of my head saying oh poor coaches you know they get paid six million dollars a year to coach these teams that's part of the job look I understand that we're in a in a results based business and you
you live and die by those decisions. And I think a lot of the conversation in England right now is, that's why Tuckel was hired. In the same way that Pochettino was hired, that's why you paid $6 million, not to win the group stage, to win the round of 16 game, to get us to a quarter final. And that ends up becoming the definition of success versus failure in these situations. And from England's perspective, they've been to a semi-final before. They were there in 2018, they were in the final of the Euro with Southgate. And in the same situations, instead of being brave, they went negative and they went defensive. And so, I think once the dust settles, it's very hard in this business and I know we're all paid a lot of money to have hot takes and opinions and it's not fun to sit on the fence in many ways. But I think in the biggest moment, Thomas Tuckel got the biggest decision wrong. But I think even he felt the situation of, he felt a group of players and he saw the looks in their eyes and the hydration break of potentially fear. And so I think he's saying, look, I've got to try to give my team something right now that gives them confidence and maybe that is defending. And maybe that is putting another center back in because you know what? It's worked the last two games and it's worked against Norway. It worked against Mexico and it can work again. And it didn't work and so they got in another five minutes and the six minutes of extra time. We'd have been saying that was the best coaching performance we've ever seen. They looked phenomenal against Argentina for 60 minutes until they didn't. So I think that I would be okay if I'm English having another cycle for Thomas Tuckel. He's lost. I think it was maybe one game in charge since being England manager and that was that game right there. Other than that, he's been virtually flawless with a group of players that are good, but not great. You know, we, balling him and Kane are great players, world class players. The rest of those guys around there, they're very good players because they play in the English Premier League. They have this, I think sometimes a little bit of false sense of just how good they are. And I think what you had, they got into the final, I would have had them losing Spain. And that's, and that's the nature of this business. So we can get to approach Cino in a little bit. But from England, it's like, okay, you're going to have another coach and you're going to judge him on the same standards in the same way. But I think it comes down to like, is the money worth it? When you look at the two teams that will be in the final, we're coached by Spanish and Argentine coaches that were unheralded, that coach, they're U21 teams and then we're promoted to the senior team in a way that you didn't go out and get the big name foreign coach. A foreign coach has never won a World Cup with a national team. It has always been a coach from that country. That's kind of a crazy stat to think about. We'll be right back after a quick word from our sponsors. It's Fran from Chicks in the office. The weather is getting cooler and Abercrombie's fall drop has everything I need for the season. The best selling A and F Sloan Taylor pant is a closet staple for me. I'm always wearing it to work events. Happy hour. Anytime I want to be a bit more dressed up and the viral Dillon dress is easy, one and done perfection. But my fall uniform will always be denim pair with a Henley sweater, a bra free top. It's comfortable, effortless. It just never fails. Find your fall capsule at Abercrombie, shop in the app online and in stores. Okay, so Pochettino then, what do you think happens? I really like Mauricio Pochettino and the time I got to know him and see him. The thing I liked the most about him was that he was challenging these players and our culture quite frankly here in the United States to invest more emotionally in the national team and have a deeper connection with the players and the coaches and the people. I love that part. I do think though when it came to the biggest moment for him, look, it is still your job as a coach to prepare your players the most for that moment. But I did watch a group of players that even in that moment, Mauricio Pochettino can't run out there in St. D. Serginio desk, hey man, you're 12 yards from your goal, head the ball out of play. Don't let the ball bounce. That's not coaching, you know, that is players that had fear. But still, I didn't see anything as that game went on, that he had opportunities to really influence the game and say, look, they're bypassing our pressure. Let's play in a way where now we're not high pressing, we're sitting a little bit deeper, we're letting Belgium come up the field. And now we're going to play a little bit more transitional counterattack. And so I think he was outcoached in a big game as well. So it's not that I wouldn't be okay with Mauricio Pochettino continuing, I'd like to see him continue, but are you getting the value for the $6 million that you could get versus a coach that has been in our system that has coached our youth national teams or as an American coach and understands the American identity. So it's not that he doesn't understand the American identity, I just think, okay, we're going to give him four more years, what are we getting for that? I'd like to see him have more of an influence potentially on some of the youth national teams and the way in which we potentially develop some of these players. I've been thinking about this, I was thinking about this morning before I came on your show. We talk about youth development. I haven't seen this idea kicked around yet with our youth national teams. Why don't we do a residency program much like a think about a semester abroad if you're a student in college, you go do a semester abroad in Spain, Argentina, England. Why don't we take our best U16, U15, U17 players because we don't get tested at the same levels and the same environments that you do abroad. Let's go take those group of players, go let them live for a year and play against English academies, English use national teams, Spanish academies, whoever it is in Europe. And let's get these guys different games in different environments as opposed to being the best 18, 19 players in the United States and playing against teams, the same teams, the conkecaf teams, the Panama's, the whoever. Let's take those guys out. Let's go pay if you're a U.S. soccer, go put the $2 million there. Let's go house these guys there, let them beat up, roughed up, tested the very highest levels against the best players. I bet the result from that would be much better than what you see with us winning conkecaf for every other year or playing against Mexico. I don't know. It's the first time I thought about that this morning and I think that that would be something that would really interest me that I would present to U.S. soccer right now with a plan of, let's go do that. I think that would have more benefits for our youth development than anything you could do at even a younger age. Then I'll ask you the question I've asked every guy that comes from your world and I've been told that I'm wrong about this. I saw a tweet the other day that basically was looking at Messi going for every one of you that thinks of it. All of our football basketball and every other sport, all of these guys played soccer that we'd be more of a force. I look at it as just a math thing of like if you had soccer being the priority for every athlete growing up, you would eventually have a better men's national team. But again, I'm told that I'm wrong. I hate the Messi argument because it's like no one's going to go after Jaylen Brunson wins an NBA championship. No general manager is talking to me going, you know what I want to do? I want to get real small. And I want to get real slow, but you know, like Jaylen Brunson is a freak. He is, he's, he's as tough as they come. His footwork is impeccable. I mean, he, he did everything but like watching that going, that's what I want to do. So yes, Messi is five seven and is doing this at 39 years old. And it's incredible. But it's also like, I've been talked out of the six four and six five NBA guys running around there. But yeah, that's the question. If soccer were a priority for American athletes in a way that it is in so many other parts of the world, how much better do you think we would be? Yeah. So this conversation went full pendulum between France, when people were watching France, that was the main talking point was, wow, look how athletic they are, look how skilled they are. On the field for the warmups in that French game against Spain, those dudes are like double my size. Okay. I mean, they are just freak athletes and, and they are imposing and they had aura. And then they came up against Spain who have a bunch of dudes that are five 10, five 11. And so then the conversation went to, well, that's, that's culture. You know, that's, that's football. And that is how you almost combat the argument of having our best athletes is when you then come up against. And that would, we be, what I would present to you is that Spanish team where when I go to Spain, and I'm there quite frequently, I'm part owner of a, a Spanish team at Mallorca, the streets are flooded with every kid. I mean, there's, there's court yards the way their cities are built that have restaurants around them and they eat dinner at 10 p.m. that the families are drinking wine and all the kids are out there just playing soccer, just, there's balls everywhere. That's all they do. So it's not that soccer needs to be the number one sport that every kid picks. It has to be the sport of the streets in our country. And it has to be the sport where you have the Jalen Brunson's who was an unheralded prospect. Sure, you know, his dad was play basketball and pushed him in different ways, but he was always taught from a young age he was too small.
He's not big enough. He's not tough enough. It developed a mentality for him that I think you see in his play and that he's unfazed under pressure. He wants the big shot. He's going to fight. He had a, I'm going to get to the top no matter what type feel. And that's what you get from the kids in Spain and Argentina from the streets is they are competing against every other kid in their neighborhood that all wants to do what they want to do, which is be a professional soccer player. And they're constantly with a ball at their feet. And so they're just getting more touches. They're ideology. They're culture everything. So I don't think soccer will be that way in the United States until it is the sport of the streets. And I'm walking out here in New York right now for a coffee after this. And I see kids playing soccer everywhere. That's what it's got to be. And you just need access for these kids to play the sport. We don't have that. By the way, excellent choice with my orca. Like you're not, you're not messing around. I'm going to host you there. Man, if you ever want. I've been. I've been. I went. I did a whole like I kind of did obviously start in Palma and then you work your way around. But I went up to Alcudia Bay there and Cudia on the northeast of the island. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was pretty funny because you're talking about kids playing soccer. I mistakenly because I was just traveling by myself and like doing it all last minute. I ended up staying to resort. It was all families. And so in the beginning, I was kind of like, why is there a train like with kids? And then there was pony rides and then there was kids pool calisthenics. And then when I went out to get dinner, there was a magic show outside. And then I was surprised that when I checked in, they were at the front desk going like, it's just you. And I went, yeah. I was going to say, you sound like you're on a Disney cruise, man. Like, what's the problem? No, I rented a boat there and I ended up over that, that St. Sepal to St. Well, now I'm using a French pronunciation. But there's a private beach to hit the boat. Look, my whole point is, is Mallorca is one of the few international places that I've gone where I could go. Yeah, you could actually like live here, even though it's an island. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It had everything you needed. If I ever get fired from, if I ever get fired from my job, I'm there tomorrow. Perfect segue. Because I do have two quick questions. I imagine, because you're on the call, you can't pick the game, or do you not care? It's because some guys. Yeah. I mean, I give my analysis in a way that, yeah. All right. Well, it spans the favorite, but I guess it's kind of like how does Spain win, has Spain loose? Yeah, I was curious. Is that the betting odds that Spain's the favorite? Yeah. I figured. I figured. They would be the favorite in my mind if I was thinking how this game would shake out. And it's funny. When I was analyzing the England Argentina game, I talked myself into England and I felt like if it was a football, if it was a soccer game, meaning like, you know, it was a free flowing type of game, I thought England would win. But if it was emotional and it was intensity and it was a fight, then it was going to be Argentina. And that's what it was. It was a soccer game for 60 minutes and then it was Argentina for the last part. So I feel the same way about this final, honestly. I think Spain, we all know we're going to have the ball. That's not. You don't need me to tell you that. You could do that based on your eyes and watching the last couple of games. But yet this is an Argentine team that is going to make it the most uncomfortable for Spain that they have ever been. And they can pick their moments where they can defend deep. They can defend cross as well. They're not going to get drawn out of their shape the way that France did. This is an Argentine team that plays with a real intensity to their play that Spain will not have felt. So what I will say is the team that scores the first goal is the team that wins. We're not going to see a situation where England score first and lose. Spain is a very hard team to come from behind against because they just. They keep the ball and they demoralize you. They don't stop playing at all. But if Argentina score first, completely ruin Spain's identity and it forces them into a way that they now have to play with desperation and play a little bit more direct and it frustrates them. So I do think the heat will be a factor. The last two games were played indoors. The game is going to have the same type of intensity, unfortunately. I wish we were going to see another game like we saw with England and Argentina there because that was awesome. That game was played at 150 miles an hour. So Spain will be the team that will just control how that game is going to go. They want it to be fast. It'll be fast. They want it slow. It'll be slow. And I do have Spain edging our Argentina, even though Messi is there, man. I just think it's one step too far playing against the way that Spain plays the team. Okay. Final thought here. Over 10 years ago, the ESPN just threw you right into the mix. You had to meet every one of us and do a thousand different things. And then I listen to calls it, you're incredible. I think the best instincts that you have that you know when to lay out, which is really hard. I think for people to talk for a living. And you've mastered that. And I'll never forget like talking to Chris Fowler about like one of the few times like Fowler was having a hard time with me and he talked about his place in sports and whether it's a national championship of college football and Wimbledon or whatever, he was like, I want to be a part of history. And I've made this joke to the audience that's already heard it. But I'll share it to you. It's like you start hearing somebody talk like that and you're like, maybe I need bigger goals. Sorry. But you are going to be a part of history. I mean, have you allowed it to sink in? Maybe it's not something you think about at the moment. And I'm not trying to make it a rory, macaroy question where it's like, hey, in 100 years. But it's different in that whatever result we have on Sunday, like your voice will be heard for decades if not longer after that moment. Yeah. It's an honor and a responsibility. I don't take lightly, honestly, that over the years, you know, like when we were doing the ESPN over 10, 12 years ago, I think back to even the work I did at the beginning to now. I mean, that's 12 years later. I've been in media having retired early that I found something that I love doing so much. I feel an adrenaline rush that is as close as you could probably ever get to actually playing the game. And when I played the game, nothing will ever compare to that. But I'm telling you, when I called my first final in 2018, getting that count from 10 to zero before we were on air, you know, you have the butterflies and you have this adrenaline rush and it always reminds me that I care and I care. But I understand I think over the years that this is not about me. This is about the game and this is about the action on the field and my voice will be a part of history. But my job, I think, and why I hope to have this career for a long time is that I don't want to be the story. I want to be a part of the story and my boss, I thought David Neal always summed it up really well to me. He said, "Your job is to add to the biggest moments in a way that doesn't take away from those moments, but enhances the moments." And sometimes the greatest thing you can do is not say anything at all. And I'm always reminded by that, in not trying to force stuff in, not trying to have catch phrases to try to, you know, be on the highlight clip that's played in the feature of the coming week. It's just to speak with an emotion and a compassion and an energy that I think can match the moment. And I don't know if I always do it right, you know, I try to do my best and I think about when I'm analyzing these moments that, yeah, I got to get in, I've got to get out. I don't want to be talking over celebrations. You always hear me lay out when the goal goes in. I'm not going to talk for a minute. I just think that nothing is better than those crowdsides and the things that the field mics pick up. So as we head into a final on Sunday, I don't feel nervous. I don't feel pressure. I actually am thankfully at a point where I just feel excitement like I can't wait for this game, especially because I've already, in my prep, I see these games unfold sometimes and when they go the way you think they're going to go, it's a nice, it's a nice zone to be in. I felt that last night. That was the France Spain game was a little bit harder because the game, I thought France would make more of a game and then they didn't. So you're kind of reacting. And there was a flat atmosphere last like yesterday was just that's one that I'll remember for a long time. And I hope that the final is the same way. It thinks are great. I think you're special at it, man. So it's been a blast. And I can't wait for something. Yeah, thank you, man. I appreciate that. You know, I love, but obviously it's always nice to hear that from people like you that I respect and I enjoy it. I can tell you enjoy what you do too. So that I think that's that's always the most important part. Awesome, man. Can't wait for Sunday. Thank you. Thanks, Ryan. Yeah, see you, man. Bill, lucky you should be meet the new lucky one sweet tea from this peaches. The vodka drink that's positively doing good made with real tea and real vodka, non-carbonated to 100 calories. And here's the scoop. Their new sweet tea is the only Vodka based sweet tea on the market, simple ingredients in a smooth full flavor that makes it taste just like the real sweet tea. Best part, every can helps rescue dogs find their forever homes as they work to a goal of donating $1 million to dog rescues in 2026. So if you love true sweet tea, this one's a no-brainer. Pick up a lucky one sweet tea today and give back one can at a time. You want details? Bye. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolay. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine. Best of all, kids, I am liquid. So what's up? Now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. Life advice. Life advice,
[email protected]. Kyle, answer me here. What are you going to get a van hailing shirt going on? They're Kyle, can't you tell me? They're going to be. There's a lucky brand. Chevy. Just a classic Chevy from my demure trip. Still cycling through the new stuff.
I remember when I bought the banner of the 1984 Van Halen cover with the baby smoking the cigarettes, and I put it up in one of the old bedrooms that we taped in, and I just did it. I hung it in the back because I wanted it to be like, why does this guy have this? And then when they would do the wringer pods, they added them down so they would add it out the Van Halen thing. And I was like, can they just crop you up? Yeah. Or they blurt it. What do they do? They cropped it out. Like they started noticingably cropping it out, and I was like, damn it, that's hard. Yeah, that was like peak kid in college, she was like, I don't know what to hang on my wall. Here's a jersey. Here's a random poster that I got, you know, you start throwing stuff up on there with tape and pins that don't match good times. Yeah. I don't know why. I just had an old T-Mac Magic Church that was up on the wall. Hell yeah. I just would need it stuff to cover space, so I had a Champ Bailey Bronco's orange. Don't know why. I was still a champ Bailey was the man. I didn't want to get out of Bronco's stuff, but I just always knew he was the man. I was like, just the fact, I feel like Champ Bailey has an incredibly high approval rating. I love Champ Bailey. And I don't know if you're a Champ Bailey, you have to fucking name too. Yeah. I mean, he was awesome. He was. Yeah. Like who has him? Who's ever been on a debate show where you saw the guy and sitting in the other seat going like, actually, I mean, maybe it happened now because you can't do any of that. And you're rocking a sick you. So you got that at the US Open? Yep. Yeah. That is a nice lit. It's kind of like one of those like war, you know, war veteran hats. So I'm wondering if something to call me out for some stolen foul out here, but now this isn't. Yeah. I don't see like a year on it or anything. So that's good. It does. Oh, wait. There is a year, 2026. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, it's the style, but yeah. So I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if it's time you're bored in a flight. You might have somebody stand up and offer you their first bus seat. Yeah. The stay out of the VFW wearing that. That would be incredible. Like, you know, I heard you could actually go to the VFW. Not, I mean, I didn't want. It's not on the top of my list, but I love old guys and stories. And I watched a bar rescue of a VFW that was just like in shambles, and it's like, you can exactly imagine why it's sort of a, a volunteer sort of deal over there. But I learned that you could just walk into your VFW and like pay for a couple beers. You didn't know that? No. I thought it was like, I thought it was like a, you know, don't go in there if you don't got, you know, I went to one or Montana years ago, started playing video poker that they were psyched to see me. Maybe they could title cash in fusion. I get to tell you another travel log. Your travel log is incredible. The Pekipsy VFW travel log. I didn't know that you didn't know this. That's crazy to me. I just assumed it was a club I would never be in unless I made a career change, you know? But knowing how much you were going to love that atmosphere. I'm afraid that become my new product. It's going to be your thing. Yeah. So I don't know. I don't know how to do it for a day. I'll tell you. But he's everyone just kind of understands that you're one of the guys. And you've got a month off. Yeah. Dude. This will be good. I'll report back. I'll do it if I make it over there. You're going to love it. I think I will. I think I will. I think I will. You're going to love it too much. Yeah. Your friends are going to go like, Hey, we want to go out like just a couple of single friends and be like, Sorry. Ed. Be an Ed. That's expecting me. I told him I'd been going Saturday, I got to go. Speaking of love. We go quick though, like that you was open. That was that was through my guy. You guys get to get to the use open. Well, Kyle was supposed to go, but he had something going on. So I went with Maddie. And yeah, I hooked this up. Yeah. I thought about maybe getting like, getting the big guy hat or ball marker or something. There was not. I do have some extras if you want one. I don't know if they're your style, but you're right. I should have asked. That's actually a dick move. My bad. No, the guy didn't. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I did try to get you to go. You were hard now. During the NBA playoffs or whatever we were doing, the NBA finals, like when it, what was it? It was like you did not. It was miserable because it had a great time. It was tough to get to. Geno cock is out there all along that one. Well, it would have been, it just would have been tough. It would have been tough to do that. But you know what? I don't really want to have. I just want to say it. You got a lot of hats. I feel like you got you. You come back from Montana wherever you go. You always have a new hat. So I think you're on the hats front. I was at me too. It was like I'll do you from sorority. Yeah. Yeah. You probably don't even have a place to put it. Well, I sick you as open as the repaying of the favor of getting me basically would have been a burden. Yeah. Yeah. Doing you a favor. That was like, you're getting good. Well, for the record, that was a real bad shit. Yeah. Hit us up. It was like, hey, do you guys want to go? This wasn't like a, you know, I think I may have been forwarded in email from Ryan. I don't know. He was like, hey, he forwarded me some Kyle and Ryan want to go. I don't think this was just like. This is tip-toe. I just like what happened to all the Arizona gear and they were like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not saying that's unfair. That's unfair. I'm not stealing helmets out of the, out of the closet back. The helmet. What was for Sillo and Kennell was over, or actually, once for Sillo was over, the helmet, it's free for all. The helmet rush was on. Guys started going like, and Kennell took a couple of shocker, Kennell should have taken a couple. Like, he took the UNC when he was recruited by UNC and almost went there. So I think that was totally reasonable one. Now, is that a thing you take overtly or are you like, I got to bring this box into the studio for some reason or like, like, I just set my gym bag down in the corner. Like, is that something you just walk out with? If somebody sees you with like, you know, your fingers and four face masks, because you're walking out already, if you try to, you know, try to at least put up a front that you're not being a thief. There was a million helmets. Okay. Okay. There were locations too. Everybody was giving them to us and then it like, somebody had them in their office and then that was too much. So then we came up with like a locker system that was locked and so that that was going on. Right. But then TV would come down like, we would always have the newest shit. Because everybody loved Van Pelt and I, you know, obviously more of Van Pelt than me, but the schools were like, I got more, I'd say it exactly the way you said it. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly the truth. Right. Every school wanted their helmet there because we used to put the helmets out all the time and then we'd put out like the helmet of a matchup that we were excited about. Then we would just start fucking around with the helmets all the time. It was like all these little secret meanings of what we were doing, and Van Pelt was not somebody that was going, all of these helmets are mine, okay? I certainly was not going like all of these helmets are mine, but you had some dudes like looking around and then TV would come down and just take them to then put them on the TV set because we always had like the newest additions of everything. And then helmets would be missing and like in classic TV fashion, TV just takes care of TV. And then they're like, fuck radio guys. And then we go on to the ball lives on and you're like, wait, wait, that's where they are. And then you go over to like TV and go, what are you doing? And they were like annoyed with you for being mad at them stealing your shit. Which is the like the funniest part of the whole. There's even a lot to come up here. Right? He's mad, we stole from them. You know, as if it was all like one big team. I remember one time like somebody from TV came down and stole like a, and what was it? It was, it was a printer ink cartridge and he was like, oh, is this the 7041? He's like, yeah. He's like, we need one. And great. And they do. I mean, like, let's get it up there. And then I remember our office manager being like, that thing cost like $1,100. She's excellent now. It's going to be a couple days. Yeah. I need to figure out how I can order another one. I'm praying over to you next week. The case you just go like TV and say, hey, you took one of ours out of our budget. And they're like, no, you can't say where there was the TV part of it. Cannell definitely should have taken a bunch of the helmets. Which I think you can do. Yeah. I mean, as often as you remember, they were all on the wall after a while. And I when he got, when he got like, oh, I remember cleaning all those out form, I got some ties in that transaction. That was nice. Because he didn't want to bring all this stuff home, but he had a lot of them hanging up on the walls. But, yeah, I think they just got lost. I don't, because you, did you take, you took an LSU on? How many did you take? I took one LSU one. I had an Oregon one already that they had given me. The chrome one. And then they sent me the chrome one, and I'm looking at it right now, because that's so bad ass. So thanks to Kenny up in Eugene. And then I took the Air Force one. The shark one. Yeah. That's the way I've ever had. Yeah. Yeah. I took this Billy beer can from Tommy Alter's desk. It's like one of the only things I have. That's cool, right? That is cool. That's the best helmet of all time. This thing is. It's the thing. Yeah, that is pretty cool. I'm like, I can't away now. I thought that got lost at times, so I'm happy you have that. No. This was, this was kind of like, I went, I'm not going to be ridiculous about this. And I don't want all of these helmets anyway, even though I knew it was just going to be Lord of the Flies with the things after the fact, which maybe it's kind of nice. Like maybe it's cool that there's 20 people, however they worked on the show, like some guys have helmets. I think I remember one guy just as soon as I was done, I don't think it was even 24 hours. He walked in, took it, and like left was like, fuck, we're still at this place. Like, I'm just taking it. I'm leaving. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I'm taking over. All right. Well, memory lane for you, if you want to have, I'll get you. No. I'd pass. Oh, yeah.
the after the fact gift. I guess I could fight with it. - I just brinds, yeah, you're right. You know what, maybe I'm a dick in this. - I found this, it's a G-Max, it's us open. - Nice. - Total side not really quickly. Speaking of valor and things of that nature, I just watched the Uncle Shaps video of how he got his purple heart. How I recommend that if you haven't seen that. - I actually bookmarked it. So great call. I need to watch that. Thank you for doing that. I had fun going on with Shaps and our guy Don, Don's a great name. - Yeah. - All right. Let's read a couple of emails here. Hey, we've had a lot of people come in with a bunch of different emails on the parenting thing. Like we had our guy there, it was like the wife. And look, when you're in a relationship and the other person is telling you like, I want a kid, I want a kid, I want a kid, you know. You guys get to get on the same page or you're like fucking up the other person's life. And in this case, our guy was like marrying her. So like they're gonna be together and everything. I'm telling you, every email that we've had from parents and it backs up everything that I've heard from all of my friends is that as soon as you do it, the biggest regret is that you didn't do it earlier. I'm not saying everybody's the same and that the whole timeline or like, hey, you should be having kids of 20 with absolutely zero stability whatsoever. But I just would share that with the emailer and then to emphasize the point because it is a constant thing I've heard now for 20 years that all of my friends that have a bunch of kids are just always saying the same thing. Being like, I actually waited. I wish I hadn't waited this long. But again, I'm not telling like high school kids to get fucking weird. I'm just saying that I felt weird even saying that. - I think you are correct. I don't know that I directly feel that way. I think I had my- - You were pretty quick on it. - No, no, no, we got married in what, 18? And my daughter was born in '22, so we waited a few years. - Okay. - I was in my mid-30s, I think it was 33. - Got to enjoy marriage for four years. Good for you. - Yeah. But you think about the timeline and you go, okay, when she's in a graduate high school and I'm how old and then college, like what, all right, you just start doing that math and like, yeah, obviously, you know, gets bullied kind of quick. - That's cool when you could think like, we're done done at like 55 or something. It's like, dude, I don't even have to think about being an old guy yet. That's awesome. Whereas, some guys are like 68. - Yeah. - Some guys. - Yeah. - All right. - Get a little choked up. - All right. I hate going out. Six foot one, player comp PJ Tucker, four handicap. Well, turning 26 today, I believe. Yeah, look at that. Happy birthday. - I don't enjoy going out anymore. Anytime I go out to the bars with my friends, I always regret it a few years ago. I was much more into it, but I see it as a waste of time and energy at this point. However, I enjoy socializing and I don't want to be the guy that doesn't get out of his house. Two questions, what's the good compromise to spend time with my friends without going to the bars? Are my feelings about the going out scene normal? Feels like most people in my age still go out a lot. Yeah, I mean, you're kind of young to want to hang them up this soon, but Kyle. - Well, I've got two things off the bat. Like, are your friends going to be receptable at this age to maybe try to do a boy's dinner? Every once in a while, the moon is blue and I can actually, I'm like, do you want to go to dinner? And we go to have a nice dinner. Actually, I started doing that when the LA dudes would follow the recill on the road show and we'd go somewhere, we'd go to like a nice dinner and then we'd go out later, but we would have like a nice dinner and whatever, you know, Salt Lake or Denver or whatever. So like, that was like the, that was kind of nice. - That was the sports podcasting. I hate this, I hate this juggler thing. You guys came in at two of those shows with your hair on fire. Yeah, probably. Not giving you shit for it, but I was like thrown off. I'm like, what's happening here? - Yeah. - Remember one like they sat in your buddy's section? That would have been Denver. And there's like, that was for my guys. - I was pumped about that. Yeah, I didn't put them there. - I didn't put them there. - I know, but I remember like my friends at Texan be like, there's a bunch of people in the section you had set aside for the 20 of us. I go, well, that's wrong. Get them out of there. And they said, they're with you, they're with the show. And I went, I don't know if they're standards. - We're with Ryan. - I know this part. I was about to do my first like monologue in the live audience too. So I went, you know what, by the way, the Denver. - Shit, I wish I could remember the name. Do many of you guys remember the name of the place? - That was awesome. - We were at one place, one place was Ophelia, right? That was Denver, right? I think it was. - Well, whatever, they were awesome because they immediately just gave like another little section off to the side for the 20 guys that I had. So there you go. It all worked out. - So that was my one thing. I was looking at the right going, what is going on over here? - They traveled a long way. So I'm glad that they came out. - They sure did. - Which is the crazy scale of the stats. - Yeah, one guy drove from LA to Denver. - Just to go out. - To watch Kyle do life and stuff. - That's the guy who's like uncle's a congressman or something or what was his deal? - Yeah, yeah, we don't have to, I don't want anybody to play some. - Sorry, you're right. - I'm afraid to fly, I think. But I do have to make sure people know he's afraid to fly. And then, so that's the one thing. Could you, I don't know, you're saying tricking guys into dinner. Could you put a dinner on the table so to speak? Like maybe that's on the old joy more. - Yeah, yeah. - Exactly. - Or the other thing is like, are you, do you just hate going out to a bar or is like, can you find like, even in times like this where the World Cup's ending, there will be baseball and stuff. Like is there something you could center around watching a game like, you know, it sounds like it's not big, it's not 56. - Well, it sounds like you're not, yeah, I know, the baseball is tough, but like the rest of the year. - You guys, you can't, there will be something wrong. So, I mean, if there's some sort of activity, that's not just drinking. - Right. - I think, I understand what he's saying. He's just tired of the game. He's tired of sitting there, standing there, and then everybody's doing it. The problem is if like, you're gonna wanna do more adult things and no one is being critical of you. Like, you're aging out of it earlier than a lot of other people would. The problem is if your friends are all 25, 26, they're probably still out in the wild. Maybe some of your girlfriends are likely some don't. They're not gonna just wanna go to dinner, man. They're gonna wanna go some other place where there are women. And so, if you wanna hang out with them, then you're probably gonna have to do. I just, I always wanna emphasize the guys when you have a group of guy friends, like do not be in a hurry to shut that down, unless you have no issue with it whatsoever. - Be counting down the minutes till it's done, then that gets, that's probably where he's at, right? You know, if you end up being the guy in the group that's like, oh, you know, Doug always goes home early. - Yeah, that's better than never going out. Like, I would be, - That's shit, we can't find Doug. It's 4 a.m., but it's going on. - Or that, that's an area. - Yeah, just to have everybody know like this is kind of what my deal is. Like, I don't mind it for a little bit, but I don't wanna post up for three hours here and do this stuff. - Girls are kind of into that too, like if you're like kind of like the reserved, like mysterious goes home guy, maybe reads, you know? Like that could actually work out. - Those guys who don't mention women, he might have a girlfriend, he might not even care. - Well, that's what I'm gonna ask, what do you wanna do instead? Like, are you, do you have something else that you'd like to do? Like, are you, I mean-- - Poor handicap. Got an air hockey table at the house. Nobody ever wants to come over and play. (laughing) - Yeah, start throwing some house parties then, man. - I thought we'd come over. I was always house party over far guy anyway. So like, you know, anytime to do that, I'm in. - Theme parties. - Yeah. - It's gonna be clear. I wasn't gonna work up a beer pong party. - Sure story. - Around the world. To be clear, I'm not trying to set like every, you know, weekly dinners instead of whatever's going on. But like, if you can, if you can just swap one of these blue moon situations instead of a bar and you get to do a thing that you wanna do, that might be okay, you know. If you're, and if you're saying, maybe you can hang out during the daytime with these guys where there's way more to do, maybe that, like, will that scratch that itch? It's like, you still get to hang out with them, but it's not just the same plan every time. So I would just say, like, you definitely still go and maybe leave early, but maybe try to get a win every once in a while. Maybe it's bowling, maybe, you know, I don't know what it is, but every once in a while, the stars line, it's like, yeah, we haven't been bowling in two years. We'll go, then we'll go to the bar after and you can go home. So I was like, whatever, look for a small win. That'll probably do a lot for your mental health the next time you have to go. - Is there anything else we're not thinking of? I mean, you know, I get these running club emails. I don't know who signed me up for these. - Wasn't that like a thing about running clubs just being sex clubs now, though? I think I read that somewhere. - Yeah, I mean, I probably read that in a headline and it sounds familiar. But I think the problem with it is probably at night, right? It's like dudes are getting together at night where you just kind of have less options, I think. Once you got like a sick, twilight golf course near you, I'm not really sure outside of a handful of things what you could do. So like a part three, overlook. Somewhere that you can go hang out on a cliff and make a fire. Like you're fucking 16, I don't really know what else you can do. I don't know about that one, buddy. We got one, show out the cow rock. Okay, it should call it cow rock. How much I've been up there. What's Kyle doing? Get another fire going. He stashed a wood up there for the next time we go. So we don't have to go searching for it. He just said a thing to the group thread. Have you guys even tried low on brow?
Football seasons here and whether you're grinding your way through the week or gearing up for kickoff, there's one ride that's always game ready, the Chevy Silverado. There's a reason Chevy is called the heartbeat of America and Silverado keeps that heartbeat strong. Whether you're towing, hauling, or tailgating, Silverado lets you show up strong and tackle any task. With best in class standard torque, the most functional bed and the advanced tech that's football guy approved, check out offers on the 2026 Silverado at Chevy.com. Speaking of running, running shoes stolen off of my front porch, 24 years old, five, six, one, fifteen, no gym stats, they can hold a plank for six minutes. Run a marathon or ran a marathon past tense in 306, we don't even need wargon for that one. That's good. Currently training to run sub three hours in a race this fall, also part of the backstory for the email. NBA comp, Javon Carter, high intensity defense first point guard gets steals and hits some threes magic defense first point guard. Hey guys, long time listener. Love the show. I'm currently a third year lost to a student at the SEC school. I've gotten really into long distance running over the last few years, ran a half marathon at spring 25 and the aforementioned full on spring 26. I'm signed up for another marathon in October. I've been training four. I live with two roommates and don't want her house to smell or to track in mud. So after I finish a run, I'll leave my shoes and insoles outside on her front porch for a couple days to air out. I've been doing this since I moved in last year with no issues. Just grab the shoes from the outside when I need them for a run, a rotate between four pairs and run six days a week. So there's usually two pairs on the porch at a time was getting ready for my run this morning when I have to grab a pair of shoes I use for speed workouts off the porch and soon realize they weren't there. But the insoles were went back inside, checked all around the house, could not find them. At this point, I realized there's just nothing worse than when you can't find something and you're sort of convincing yourself that it's not gone. And then you're doing like, I hate when I do that, like you've checked all of this stuff. It is gone. You left the earbuds in Portugal. Well, don't, don't even check the fridge here. They're not going to be there. But it makes you feel better. I guess just open the fridge. Check the mailbox. Fine. It's not going to be there. Went back inside, checked all around the house. This point, I realized someone likely grabbed them off the porch. They could not find them being put on sale on eBay, D-Pop, Facebook Marketplace. So assuming someone isn't attempting to resell them, so our guy already double checked to see if they were out there. We live about a mile from campus in a moderately safe neighborhood, but there's a good amount of homeless people at the gas station and grocery store two blocks away who will walk past our house. But a friendly assumption is that somebody who needed shoes saw up here sitting out on the porch while passing by and quickly grabbed them. These shoes are pretty easily identifiable, Nike Zoom fly six picture below. These are sweet. These are really nice. And these are a very, very specific running shoe. Anyway, they have a carbon plate, so it would be highly unusual for somebody to be wearing them out casually, think like a pair of football plates. You're right. Like, the build on this thing, you just wouldn't be walking around in them. All right. Meaning that if I saw someone walking around in the area, it's likely they're my pair. If I do happen to encounter someone wearing them, how do I handle the situation? This is what the question is. I guess just chalk it up to the game and start leaving my shoes inside after runs if the person really needs shoes. I have plenty of worn out running shoes that are fine for walking, but the lost pair has another 150 plus miles left in them for running is a trade appropriate in that situation. If so, how do I approach making it offer? I'm going to just cut right to the chase. If someone stole them and is walking around, do you want them back from the person that is desperately in need of sneakers? Well, the trade thing could be interesting. What are you going to do? Walk around with the pair? How scary you're looking are they? It would be my first question. Is it reasonable? It would be like, hey, man, I took these and I'm not trying to get the police involved. Just take these. Can I have these back? These mean something to me? But how are you going to, I mean, you have to find that dude in the wild. If it's me, I'm charging to the game and also getting a ring camera. Simple as that. I mean, if it was something else, if it's a bike, okay, maybe I put my, you know, I keep my head on a swivel to see the bike, but like shoes like to Ryan's point, the person that would probably grab those shoes that have like insoles next to them that are probably pretty clearly airing out, instead of they have 150 miles left in them, they're probably pretty lived in. It's like a weird thing. It's going to get 150. He's going to get to 250. I think it's a weird, he's going to treat that like a Honda Civic, right? How many 500? Who knows? But I think the, the kind of person that would grab it, unless it's like a shitty college kid, which I guess I could get into the mind of somebody like that. But again, I think putting myself in those shoes, no pun intended. I wouldn't be stealing shoes. I'd be looking for something else that I'd want. Like it's a weird thing to take. It's a weird thing to get back. So because of what this item is, I certainly, I would, I would not be trying to get this back unless it's a principal thing and even then it would have to be something else that I'd be more jazzed up to get back, but I would get a ring camera and a new pair of shoes. Yeah, maybe invest in like a, some sort of like lock cage for the outside then because yeah, you got, you got, you got to secure, you got to secure this situation. Put it aside, man. Well, I get that, you know, it's just trying to be respectful, I respect that. Uh, I just don't know that you, the person that's stealing these doesn't know that the insoles go with them and is now going to be walking around and you're going to have a spare backup barter pair in a backpack with you. The hours that you're going to put in for this random thing that's likely never going to happen. And then looking at the dude that has them going, I now want to wear them after you've been wearing them. This doesn't really seem to make a ton of sense. And let's just get in front of it right now. If you send in a follow up email that says, Hey, it's his fault for leaving his shoes out there. It's also the person's fault who fucking steals, okay? So don't send the email. Thank you. Yes. Yes. Yeah. As you know, those are coming to beat up on this guy. Look, you're the dick. I shouldn't have plans on your porch. Yeah. You're the one that wanted to own something. Wedding gift etiquette as a gift recipient. Boys, long time listener, first time emailer 510-170, no gym stats, I've been slacking since my wedding last month. That's all right, man. Get away. People come. I feel like wedding prep has been a major factor why I never got married. I would hate those. Hey, we need to talk about I didn't do much. If I'm being honest, it wasn't that. I think I probably did more than you, but yeah, when it came to the registry, I pretty much had nothing to say. Registry, invite list, set list, nothing. I just don't, anyway, be the last, that's, I mean, you know, that's, that's what the love is for. It is funny. You're saying that's why you didn't get married. It's a little bit funny. You know what, I figured it out, like planning, not for me, just couldn't, couldn't imagine. It's just not, and say we did. You need to call this guy back. I don't want to. This isn't working. You can keep all the shit. All right, people of comp would be front office guys sitting and watching that never played past eighth grade. Love that. I have an odd situation I'd like the gallery's input on. I got married last month. It was a big wedding and we were blessed to receive much more gifts, money than we expected. The fact is basically made the decision on the situation of being my wife, but I'm still interested in your guys' take. So the fact that they did so well has helped make the decision that they're still asking us about. I'm 29 in a second tier Midwest city wedding was beginning of June. We cashed all the wedding checks and deposited the cash a couple of weeks post wedding, but after we got back from a honeymoon about a week later, received a notice in the mail that one of the checks didn't deposit because of a stop payment that had been put on it. The check was from one of my close friends. A guy hang out with several times a month, sometimes multiple times a week. He was not a groom's man, but he came by my bachelor's trip, so that level of friend. The check was for $200 and the notice on the bank was clear that a stop payment had been put on it. It wasn't insufficient funds or anything like that. He did not have a plus one. So it was a nice gift from a solo guest definitely me nor my wife mentioned anything to him or anyone else. The check was for $200. And as I said, we did well in the wedding gift department, so we also do well financially ourselves. A 200 is in make a break. Would you have mentioned something to him in this situation? I feel like if I was the one that wrote the check and it didn't cash, I would want to know, especially if it's a close friend that I could make it right, not giving a wedding gift is something I'd be embarrassed about. And if I was a check writer in this scenario, but being the gift recipient in this scenario, there's no way in my opinion to bring this up without sounding like a super cheap POS. My wife is on board that we just pretended cash and never mentioned it. What's the etiquette here? Would you mention to your friend or let it go if you have the same opinion as us on this? Is there an amount of money that would make you reach out to the person? Thanks to the hours of entertainment. Keep it up. Also shout out Kyle. Oh. I think this comes down to the degree of friendship. He said really good friend, right? Yeah, really good friend that really good friend. I think I wouldn't start with a mean joke. I would just start with like, you know, just wanted you like, I would probably feign the ignorance of that I could see why this checked in and cash. I don't I don't think I would say, Hey, it looks like you put a stop payment on this. I would just say, Hey, you know, just doing logistics got everything through from the wedding. It just it said this one was was no good. I just want to let you know, that's all. I wouldn't I wouldn't say that I know that as much as I know, I would I would almost say it like I'm helping him out. Like I don't know if everything's all right with, you know, with your banking system, I don't know. People get hacked all the time. I don't even know if I go that deep into it. I would just let him know the base that this didn't, this didn't cash. I'm not going to ask him to rewrite a check. I'm just going to like just.
Just wanted you to know, I don't know if your checkbooks are right, whatever. I think that's the smart way is to play it off like you're trying to make sure he didn't have fraud committed against him. Simple as that. He's like, "Hey, man, this thing popped up when we tried to cash you. Are you good? Like, I just want to make sure your identity isn't stolen." That's easy. I personally, I'd want to be told this. I wouldn't want, if I gave it to, I mean, who knows? Maybe he did this and he doesn't have the funds, and there's something going on. He actually did it, though. Did he? Yeah, I can't see a situation where you would do that because that's insane, but I'd want someone to tell me so I could write the wrong. Yeah, I hear you're 200 bucks, right? So, I don't think it's weird at all. I would want to know, this guy has given us no reason. If you have no reason to think, who is he? Is he one of those guys in your current group that despite the fact you said you hang up them sometimes even twice a week, does he have this on his resume? It's like, man, he's kind of just shady, you know, because I can think of like a couple guys where I go. If they did this to me, which again, I think we've established an opportunity to worry about that, I would let it go. It's 100% on the individual. It's not the act, right? It is the part. So, if I knew that it was one of like two guys that I'm thinking of right now, I would just go, well, whatever, I'm not going to say anything, but like God, that guy's just the worst. Has he ever asked to send you money on Venmo and then you send it back really quick? Has he ever done that before, like then maybe he's that type of guy. Yeah, but I kind of like Cerise thing of like, wouldn't you want to know because if you don't have any, there's no motive, if there's, if there's just this random thing and it doesn't make sense and it doesn't line up with like who he's been as a friend of you, then I think you can go, hey, this isn't about the 200 bucks. We wanted you to know that this stop payment came in and it's likely going to make him go. That doesn't even make any sense. And then he calls and it'll be kind of a funny story like later on. Yeah. Couple degrees away, though, from, from this friendship, I probably would let it lie. Yeah. This is like cousin that you're not close with on goal, probably not. Well, it's family. If she's not going to say anything, I'm not going to say anything coworker, probably not. Because I had, this isn't the same thing. I don't know if we told the story before or not, but somebody emailed me and it was late and it was a woman's name and I thought it was the sister of my friend emailing me saying, I hope you're going to go to the wedding. I really want you to be there and I was like, whoa, dude, I'm like, this is a sister emailing me this. I'm like, this is weird. And so I was like, yeah, well, I think I'll be there like, you know, it'll, it'll be great to catch up, like just super distant and like, what is this email? Like this doesn't even make any sense. Like I can't believe this guy's sister's hitting me up and it wasn't a sister. It was his wife who had already changed her email to his last name and the wife had the same first name as the sister. And so I didn't want to say anything to anybody. So for a couple of weeks, I sat there with the secret going, is this wedding going to be weird? Am I able to deal with this? Am I hooking up? What's happening? Yeah, like what's going on with the family? I didn't think I had it like that. And so finally, I say something to the soon to big wife and she's like, dickhead, that was from me. I probably didn't feel great. Actually, I felt awesome. I was like, great. But then the sister was like, I know it was me a little bit. I was like, why would I have thought anything different? I didn't know, I didn't know emails were changing, you know. And the reason why it changed, the reason why I was in the middle of the night is this person had a crazy schedule, it was just up early. So I think you had a lot on your side there at the time, especially the time, the middle of the night as the best thing that I did because it's how I felt was like vague and like, oh, okay. Yes. The awesome. Imagine if I had been like, oh my God, I'm so in. I can't believe you like me too. Yeah. Yeah. You're saying it right? That would have been. Yeah. Like no one can know. What do you mean no one can know? You're in the wedding. What? All right. Oh, that'll do it for the show. We have taped episodes each week while I put together the travel log of travel logs. So that is the plan. We've got the Reagan biography. We also have a book called The Gun Fighters, a full Friday feedback and then I think something else that we're doing. We're doing stories. Yeah. Recruiting stories. That's right. We're going to get in Kyle's travel log. Then Kyle's travel log, which is going to be a surprise like drop. No announcements. Maybe like a Drake album just going to happen, all of sudden Kyle's just giving you content. Thanks everybody. Talk again soon. Thanks a sturdy Tom Kevin and Kyle Reimers, the show are still sports. [Music]
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